Pier Gonella | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Pierangelo Gonella |
Born | Italy |
Genres | Heavy metal, neoclassical metal, hard rock, instrumental rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 2001–present |
Website | piergonella |
Pierangelo Gonella is an Italian guitarist, composer and producer, most known in the metal genre as founding member of the heavy metal bands Mastercastle, [1] guitar player of the band Necrodeath, past member of the band Labyrinth, producer of many solo projects.
Pier Gonella began playing guitar at the age of 15. [2] During a 2012 interview he steted "I started to play listening to Pink Floyd, Scorpions and Deep Purple in particular. Then I fell in love of instrumental music of various artists like Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony Macalpine, Vinnie Moore ecc.". [3] From 1993 to 1997 Gonella studied guitar in many Italian schools. He could not find any rock guitar teachers, so he studied rock guitar by himself. [4] He studied music theory and, in June 1998, received the diploma of "Teoria and Solfeggio" at the Conservatory of Music "Nicolo' Paganini" of Genoa. [5] He also enrolled and studied four years of bassoon. [6]
From 2003 to 2008 he played with the power metal band Labyrinth in many Italian and European festivals (such as Gods of Metal, Metalway) and, in 2005, made a 6 "gig" tour in Japan, China and Taiwan. During the tour he recorded the DVD Live in Tokyo that was included at the album Freeman, released in 2006. [7] In March 2007 he released the album "6 Days to Nowhere" with Labyrinth, and that same year, toured Japan again.
He joined the band Necrodeath for the first time in 2006 as a guest guitarist. That year the band embarked on a 20 gig European tour supporting the band Marduk. In 2007, Pier recorded the guitars work on the album Draculea. He left the band because he was busy with his other bands. He definitively re-joined Necrodeath in 2008. He recorded the albums Phylogenesis in 2009, Old Skull in 2010, The age of Fear in 2011, Idiosyncrasy in 2012, The 7 deadly sins in 2014. [8] All albums were followed by a European tour. He is still playing with this band.
In 2008 Labyrinth decided to take a break. During that time Pier started a collaboration with the singer Giorgia Gueglio.
They wrote many songs and sent a demo to the label Lion Music which offered them a deal. In the meantime bass player Steve Vawamas and the drum player Alessandro Bissa joined the band. They chose the name Mastercastle and released the album The Phoenix in April 2009. [9] The album was well reviewed especially in the USA. The music video "Princess of Love" reached over 150,000 views on YouTube very quickly, and the band continued composing music. In June 2010 they released the album Last Desire [10] and, in 2011, the album Dangerous Diamonds. Many webzine's from all over the world gave Mastercastle and their albums very good reviews and Gonella also received really good reviews as a producer of the albums.
In 2012 the band had a split with the drummer "Bix". In 2013 Gonella announced the signing of a new drummer John Macaluso (Yngwie Malmsteen, James LaBrie, Ark, Tnt...). [11] In the same year the band released the album On Fire [12] which was produced and mixed by Gonella.
In 2014 the band signed a deal for Scarlet Records [13] for the album Enfer that was released on 14 October 2014, and 'Wine of Heaven, that war released on 2017.
On June 2022 the band released the videoclip Who Cares for The Moon with Fabio Lione as special guest singer, [14] and later the album Lighthouse Pathetic under the label "Diamonds Prod". [15] [16] Pier Gonella is still playing in this band.
In 2001 Gonella recorded the guitars for the album Athlantis and in 2003 he recorded the guitar and bass part for the album Wild Steel. Both were published under the label Underground Symphony. In April 2005 during his militance in Labyrinth, he published his solo album Odyssea – Tears in floods, released under the label Scarlet Records (Europe) and King Records (Japan). [17]
In 2006 Gonella appears as guest in the project Rezophonic, recording guitars for one song.
In the summer of 2008 Gonella was chosen as second guitar player by Timo Tolkki (Stratovarius, Revolution Renaissance) for two Italian gigs.
In 1998 Gonella started teaching guitar lessons, working in many private schools and creating guitar clinics in the north of Italy. In 2007 he founded a recording studio for the production of his bands and for his guitar school. In 2011, it was officially opened to all with the name of MusicArt . [18] [19]
In 2011, together with the drummer Marco 'Peso' Pesenti of Necrodeath and Giorgia Gueglio and Steve Vawamas of Mastercastle, he start a new project, completely rearranging and recording the famous album The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. The project is titled The Black side of the moon and was publicized for Black Tears label. [20]
On 2002 Pier Gonella joined the hystorical Italian metal band Vanexa.
From August 2014 Gonella collaborates with the magazine Metal Hammer Italy, writing the article "Learn to play" where he teach techniques, licks, advice regarding electric guitar. [21]
On 2014 Gonella started a new "soloist" project, with Dick Laurent (Cadaveria). Here Gonella plays live many Mastercastle songs in instrumental versions, classical arrangements (Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and others) in rock style and other unreleased material.
On 2019 he started the instrumental band Pier Gonella with Marco 'Peso' Pesenti of Necrodeath on drums and Giulio Belzer on bass. [22] The debut album Strategy was released in January 2020, with the two singles and videoclip "Strategy" [23] and "Liberland". [24]
In April 2023 they released a new album titled 667, preceded by the single "Margarita". [25]
Pier Gonella is also known for his YouTube channel Pier Gonella Jam, [26] which features one of the largest and most popular collections of original "jam tracks" and backing tracks on the internet (more than 1700), and also his original music, videoclips, improvisations, tour vlogs and notable bands projects as Mastercastle, Necrodeath.
Thanks to the extensive production of songs and backing tracks, in December 2023 Pier Gonella entered the Guinness World Records for The Most Studio Album Digitally Released. [27] He released 122 album with artist name "Pier Gonella Jam" and he stated that he has recorded over 300 including all his bands and projects. [28]
Since 2008 Gonella collaborates with the Italian videogames factory called Xplored. To date Gonella has made soundtracks and sample effects for over 150 flash games.
Some examples:
Labyrinth is an Italian power metal band formed in 1994 in Massa, Tuscany. The band underwent a change in style and themes after the departure of Olaf Thorsen in 2002.
Italian rock is a form of rock music produced primarily in Italy. The music genre has roots in the country as it spread in the early 1960s from the United States with the earliest versions of rock and roll during this period being cover versions or interpretative covers of already existing songs.
Face the Heat is the twelfth studio album released by the German hard rock band Scorpions in 1993.
Necrodeath is an Italian extreme metal band from Liguria. It is one of the first extreme metal bands originating in Italy. They take inspiration from Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Venom, Kreator, Celtic Frost, Bathory and Sodom. The band is also renowned for its live performances, and notably for their "wall of sound".
John Macaluso is an American drummer who has played for bands such as Ark, TNT, and Yngwie Malmsteen. Born in Commack, New York, Macaluso started playing drums at age 11. He has recorded over 200 records and played multiple world tours. He also runs clinics and teaches others.
Sadist is an Italian death metal band formed in Genoa, Italy, in January 1991. It debuted with Black Screams in 1991, then released three albums. The band went on hiatus after releasing the album Lego in 2000. They reunited in 2005 and released their self-titled album in 2007. Sadist has released three more albums since then. In total, the band has released nine albums and one EP. They are currently signed to Scarlet Records. Guitarist and keyboardist, Tommy Talamanca, has been a constant member throughout the band's existence, as the main composer and co-producer of their musical output. Trevor Nadir has been the main singer of the band since 1996.
Mastercastle is an Italian heavy metal band formed in 2008 by guitarist Pier Gonella and singer Giorgia Gueglio.
The Phoenix is the debut album of Italian heavy metal band Mastercastle.
Fleshgod Apocalypse is an Italian symphonic death metal band. Formed in 2007, the group resides in Perugia and are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. They have released five full-length albums.
Giorgia Gueglio is an Italian singer and founding member of the heavy metal band Mastercastle.
Last Desire is the second album of the Italian heavy metal band Mastercastle. The lyrics of the album tell about the concept of "desire". The track "La Serenissima" is a cover of the Italian ensemble Rondo Veneziano.
Return to Heaven Denied Pt. II: "A Midnight Autumn's Dream" is Italian power metal band Labyrinth's seventh album, released on June 21, 2010. The album had been announced in 2009. The former guitarist of the band, Olaf Thorsen, who had parted ways with the group in 2002, is back to perform, following Pier Gonella's departure.
Dangerous Diamonds is the third album of the Italian heavy metal band Mastercastle, released by Lion Music on 18 November 2011.
On Fire is the fourth album of the Italian heavy metal band Mastercastle. The lyrics of the album tell about "metals". The instrumental track "The Final Battle" is a cover of the composer Chris Hülsbeck, and the other instrumental "Almost a Fantasy" is a rock remake of the famous Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor "Quasi una fantasia", Op. 27, known as the Moonlight Sonata, written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Enfer [De La Bibliothèque Nationale] is the fifth album of the Italian heavy metal band Mastercastle. The lyrics of the album tell about a secret section of the National Library of Paris. There are also two instrumental tracks, the first "Coming Bach" is a remake of the Prelude in D minor BWV 999 by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Steve Vawamas is an Italian bassist, known for his collaborations with various metal bands as Athlantis, Shadows of Steel, Mastercastle, and The Dogma.
Vanexa is an Italian heavy metal band formed in 1978.
Wine of Heaven is the seventh album of the Italian heavy metal band Mastercastle.
Lighthouse Pathetic is the seventh album of the Italian heavy metal band Mastercastle, released on 10 January 2022 by the record label Diamonds Prod. There are also two instrumental tracks.
Marco Pesenti, also known as Peso, is an Italian drummer, composer, and teacher, and founding member of the black metal band Necrodeath.