Synyster Gates | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Brian Elwin Haner Jr. |
Also known as | Syn |
Born | Long Beach, California, U.S. | July 7, 1981
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Instrument | Guitar |
Years active | 1999–present |
Member of | Avenged Sevenfold |
Formerly of | Pinkly Smooth |
Website | avengedsevenfold |
Father | Brian Haner |
Relatives | M. Shadows (brother-in-law) |
Brian Elwin Haner Jr. (born July 7, 1981), better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is an American guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist of heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. He ranks No. 9 on Guitar World 's best metal guitarists of all time. [1] Gates was voted as Best Metal Guitarist in the World by Total Guitar in 2016 and once again in 2017. [2] [3]
Synyster Gates is the son of musician, author, and comedian Brian Haner Sr., known as Papa Gates, who worked with Sam the Sham's band in the 1970s and has done session work for Avenged Sevenfold. Gates studied at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, California, as part of the Guitar Institute of Music program, studying jazz and classical guitar. [4]
Gates was featured on the EP Warmness on the Soul , which contains select songs from the first album as well as his new version of "To End the Rapture". His name on the EP was written as "Synyster Gaytes". [5]
Gates was voted Sexiest Male in the 2008 Kerrang! Readers Poll. In 2010, Guitar World listed him as one of the 30 greatest shredders of all time. They described him as being able to perform finger-twisting licks, acrobatic sweeps, devilish chromatics and towering dual-harmonies. Gates was chosen as one of Guitar Hero's 50 fastest guitarists. On Guitar World's 2010 Readers Poll, Gates was chosen Snappiest Dresser and the Best Metal Guitarist. Rock One Magazine's 2010 Readers Poll voted Gates the No. 3 best musician in the industry. On April 20, 2011, Gates won the Revolver Golden God award for Best Guitarist along with bandmate Zacky Vengeance. Avenged Sevenfold picked up numerous other awards and delivered the headlining performance of the night. [6]
In the special edition of Revolver magazine that was released the same day as the Nightmare album, Gates stated that he originally started out writing the song "So Far Away" in honor of his grandfather. However, the song is now primarily about his former bandmate, best friend and previous drummer of Avenged Sevenfold, The Rev, [7] who died on December 28, 2009.
Gates and The Rev played in an experimental metal band named Pinkly Smooth. Formed in the summer of 2001 in Huntington Beach, California, the band featured ex-Ballistico members Buck Silverspur on bass and D-Rock on drums. The band released one album, Unfortunate Snort on Bucktan Records, which features a crossover sound of mostly punk, ska and progressive metal. Former Avenged Sevenfold bassist Justin Sane played keyboards and piano on the album. There was speculation that Pinkly Smooth was going to produce another record, but due to the death of the Rev, it is highly unlikely that they will produce any more material. However, Gates has said that he would consider remastering the tracks from Unfortunate Snort and re-releasing the album. [7]
Besides metal music, Gates is a big fan of jazz, gypsy jazz, classical, and avant garde. [8] He cites Dimebag Darrell, Django Reinhardt, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Slash, Marty Friedman, Zakk Wylde, Allan Holdsworth, Mr. Bungle, Frank Gambale, Oingo Boingo, and Danny Elfman [9] as his artistic influences. [10]
Gates has named bassist Trevor Dunn of Mr. Bungle "one of [his] favorite songwriters of all time", praising his compositions of "masterful and incredibly singable atonal brilliance throughout [1995 album Disco Volante ]", and concluded: "[Dunn] is nothing short of pure genius." [11]
Gates married Michelle DiBenedetto in May 2010. [12] The couple have two children, a son born in 2017 and a daughter born in 2019.[ citation needed ]
Michelle's twin sister, Valary, is married to M. Shadows. [8] This makes him and M. Shadows brothers-in-law in addition to band-mates. They live close to one another and see each other very often because of their wives' being very close as twin sisters. [13]
Gates uses mainly Schecter Guitars. Schecter Guitar Research has been sponsoring him and he has signature Avenger models. He has also used Gibson Guitars when Avenged Sevenfold recorded Waking the Fallen and City of Evil . He has his own Seymour Duncan pickups, a custom SH-8 Invader, with Black, Gold, White or Chrome caps. [14] [15]
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, bassist Johnny Christ, and drummer Brooks Wackerman.
Sounding the Seventh Trumpet is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on July 24, 2001, through Good Life Recordings. The album was reissued on March 19, 2002, through Hopeless Records, featuring a slightly different cover art. Although the album only sold 300 copies in its first week of release, it has sold 370,000 copies worldwide, with 310,000 sold in the United States, as of November 2010.
Warmness on the Soul is the first EP by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. It was released on April 10, 2001, through Good Life Recordings. The release features the video for the title track "Warmness on the Soul" as an enhanced CD bonus. It is the band's first release to feature guitarist Synyster Gates, who joined the band in February 2001. All of the songs were later included on Avenged Sevenfold's debut album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, except for the heavy metal version of "To End the Rapture", which was featured on the album's re-release.
Waking the Fallen is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on August 26, 2003, through Hopeless Records. It is the band's first full-length album with new lead guitarist Synyster Gates and bassist Johnny Christ.
Matthew Charles Sanders, known by his stage name M. Shadows, is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and a founding member of heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. In 2017, Shadows was voted third in the list of Top 25 Greatest Modern Frontmen by Ultimate Guitar.
James Owen Sullivan, also known by his stage name The Rev, was an American musician, best known as a founding member of the heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, where he played drums, piano and provided backing and co-lead vocals. He was also the lead vocalist/pianist in the avant-garde metal band Pinkly Smooth and drummer for the ska punk band Suburban Legends from 1998 to 1999.
Schecter Guitar Research, commonly known simply as Schecter, is an American manufacturing company founded in 1976 by David Schecter, which originally produced only replacement parts for existing guitars from manufacturers such as Fender and Gibson.
"Seize the Day" is a power ballad by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. It was released on July 11, 2006, as a promotional single for their third studio album, City of Evil. Additionally, the song was released on July 27, 2010, as a downloadable track for the video game Rock Band 2, along with "Nightmare" and "Scream".
"The River" is a song by Good Charlotte featuring M. Shadows and Synyster Gates of the band Avenged Sevenfold. The song was the first single from the Good Morning Revival album in North America and the second single throughout the rest of the world except for Australia. On December 8, 2006, the second GCTV episode was released on Good Charlotte's website. "The River" was featured in the video and can be heard playing in the background. The song was premiered January 4, 2007, on their official website, and via the band's Myspace. The song impacted radio on January 23, 2007. There are several references to the Bible throughout the song and the overall time of the song is three minutes and sixteen seconds, intentionally to reference John 3:16.
Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough is the first live DVD and compilation album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on September 16, 2008 by Warner Bros. Records. The live DVD features the band's April 10, 2008 show at Long Beach Arena headlining the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour, while the CD contains previously unreleased B-sides that were recorded during the making of the band's self-titled 2007 album, plus covers, and other never-before-heard material.
Brian Elwin Haner Sr., also known as Guitar Guy or Papa Gates, is an American musician, comedian, and author. Haner is known for touring with fellow stand-up comedian/ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, as in the 2008 holiday program, Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special. He is also a noted session musician for Avenged Sevenfold, a band in which his son, Brian Haner Jr., is the lead guitarist.
"So Far Away" is a song by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released as the third single for their fifth studio album, Nightmare. The single was released on April 5, 2011, via Warner Records. The song is a tribute to the band's original drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, who died in his sleep on December 28, 2009.
"Not Ready to Die" is a song by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. It was created specifically for the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010), appearing as an easter egg in the game's "Call of the Dead" Zombies map. The song, along with the 3 other originals the band wrote for the Black Ops series, was later released on the Black Reign EP in 2018.
"A Little Piece of Heaven" is a song by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. It is the ninth song from their self-titled fourth album. Though not released as a single, the song is one of the band's most popular. In December 2007, the song received an animated music video. The song was written by the band's drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, and features him on dueling lead vocals with M. Shadows.
"Carry On" is a song by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. The song was released on iTunes on September 24, 2012.
Hail to the King is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on August 23, 2013, through Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by Mike Elizondo. Hail to the King is the only Avenged Sevenfold album to feature drummer Arin Ilejay, prior to his departure in July 2015. It is also the first Avenged Sevenfold album without musical contributions from Ilejay's late predecessor, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan; the bonus track, "St. James", was written in his memory.
"Hail to the King" is a song by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold and the lead single from their sixth studio album of the same name, released on July 15, 2013. The song was premiered live on July 17, 2013, at the Ford Festival Park in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The single was certified 3× Platinum in the United States on August 23, 2023, Silver in the United Kingdom on December 11, 2020, 4× Platinum in Canada on March 4, 2023, and Gold in Denmark on November 22, 2023, making it their most successful single in terms of sales internationally.
"The Stage" is a song by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. It was released on 13 October 2016, as the first single from their studio album of the same name.
The Stage is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. It was released on October 28, 2016, through Capitol Records, their only release through the label. It is the first Avenged Sevenfold album to feature drummer Brooks Wackerman, who joined the band in late 2014 but was not revealed as Arin Ilejay's official replacement until Ilejay's departure in 2015, because the band wanted to "make sure that it was a correct fit".
The Schecter Synyster Custom-S is a solid body, Set neck electric guitar produced by the Schecter Guitar Research. It is the signature guitar of Avenged Sevenfold lead guitarist Synyster Gates. It was introduced in 2012 after much demand to release it to the public, as Gates had been using it on stage and in the studio since 2005, after the band had finished recording for City Of Evil, Many Variants have since been produced including many different pinstriped colourways, and other styles such as the American and German flags.