Jeff Loomis
Jeff Loomis (born September 14, 1971 in Appleton , Wisconsin ) is the former lead guitarist of the American thrash metal and progressive metal band Nevermore , which emerged from the band Sanctuary , where Loomis shortly before the band split up replaced the dropped out Sean Blosl. In addition to the guitar, he also plays bass, drums and keyboard. Guitarists such as Yngwie Malmsteen , Jason Becker and Tony MacAlpine are often mentioned as his influences . He has been a tour guitarist with Arch Enemy since November 2014 .
Life
Childhood and youth
As Loomis explains in an interview, he made his first acquaintance with music on the drums. But he soon discovered the guitar as his instrument. He got his first guitar at the age of nine, but didn't start playing seriously until he was 15. From then on he played in several bands, including the death metal band Fear-Tech , with which he won several band contests and thus gained his first studio experience.
At the age of 16, Loomis took part in a casting for the US thrash metal band Megadeth , as their former guitarist and songwriter Jeff Young had previously been fired. After Loomis had rehearsed a few times with the band, lead guitarist and head of the band Dave Mustaine thanked him for his commitment and told him that one day he would be a great guitarist. At the same time, however, he made it clear to Loomis that he was still too young to join the band at the moment. At that time Loomis was a big fan of the neoclassical metal band Cacophony and their guitarists Jason Becker and Marty Friedman , whose music has influenced Loomis' way of playing to this day.
Sanctuary
A short time later Loomis joined the band Sanctuary after their guitarist Sean Blosl left the band. However, there were disagreements between the band members, especially because the band's rhythm guitarist , Lenny Rutledge , wanted to make grunge- oriented music, which the rest of the band strictly rejected, so that the band split up four months after Loomis' entry should.
Nevermore
After the dissolution of Sanctuary, Loomis founded the thrash metal band Nevermore in the 1990s together with former Sanctuary members Warrel Dane (vocals) and Jim Sheppard (bass) , in which he served as lead guitarist and songwriter. Jeff Loomis shapes the unique sound of the band through his distinctive playing. Progressive, tech-savvy solos characterize Loomis' style of playing as well as heavy, distinctive riffs. Loomis often uses techniques like sweep picking or tapping . As can be seen on the album This Godless Endeavor or in the song Jato Unit , Loomis often improvises on exotic scales, which are particularly emphasized by the sweep picking. On April 21, 2011 Loomis left the band.
Arch Enemy
On November 17, 2014, Arch Enemy announced on their homepage that Loomis will replace Nick Cordle, who has dropped out, as guitarist on all tours up to and including 2015. He has been part of the Arch Enemy line-up since then.
solo
In 2005 Loomis announced that he wanted to record a solo album. In an interview he said: “It's something I've been wanting to do for sometime ... It will be like a Jason Becker / Marty Friedman kind of thing.” (“I've been planning to do something like this for some time. .. It will be something like Jason Becker / Marty Friedman ”). On April 1st, 2008 all ten songs were written and on July 3rd the name of the album was fixed: Zero Order Phase . According to Loomis' predilection for Cacophony or Jason Becker, the instrumental album contains both neoclassical and progressive elements.
During this time Loomis got from Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) the offer to take on the role of lead guitarist. However, Loomis declined on the grounds that he was still working on his solo album. On Loomi's recommendation, Mustaine finally took Loomis' former bandmate Chris Broderick.
Trivia
- In the music magazine Guitar World Loomis has his own section called "Merchant of Menace", in which he explains how his riffs and solos can be played and in which he reports from his life.
- In 2009 his first instructional video was released, which will be expanded with a second part in winter 2010.
- He has been engaged since 2008.
Equipment
Loomis plays several Schecter guitars , such as B. the signature model Jeff Loomis C7 FR with EMG -707 pickups and a Floyd Rose tremolo system. His equipment also includes a Schecter C-7 Hellraiser and a Schecter C-7 Blackjack . In addition to Schecter models, Loomis also owns guitars from Ibanez, Gibson, Jackson, ESP and Warmoth. In 2007, the revised version of the signature model Schecter Jeff Loomis FR 7-String , a 7-string guitar based on the C-7 Blackjack model, with EMG-707 pickups, a maple neck and fingerboard and a was released Ash body in the color Vampire red satin . Loomis prefers Peavey and Engl amplifiers . During his time at Sanctuary, he played on Krank brand amps .
Effects
- Digitech X-Series Delay, Reverb, Chorus, Whammy
- Brian May pedals,
- Ill Distortus Maximus Distortion pedal
- Ibanez TS-9 Tubescreamer & TS-808 Tubescreamer
Recording
- Digidesign 002 Rack Protools unit
- Drums From Hell Superior
- Korg Padkontrol
- Apple MacBook Pro
- M Audio speakers for monitors (BX8's?)
- Line 6 Pod Pro XT
- Roland Fantom X-6 keyboard
Discography
Nevermore
solo
- Zero Order Phase (2008)
- Plains Of Oblivion (2012)
Guest appearances
- God Forbid - Gone Forever (2004)
- Pamela Moore - Stories from a Blue Room (2006)
- Annihilator - Metal (2007)
- Warrel Dane - Praises to the War Machine (2008)
- Marty Friedman - Future Addict (2008)
- Switchblade - Invictus Infinitum (2009)
- Tim "Ripper" Owens - Play My Game (2009)
- Periphery - Race Car (2010)
- Francesco Fareri - Mechanism Reloaded (2013)
- Hannes Grossmann - "The Radial Covenant" (2014)
Arch Enemy
- Will to Power (2016)
Instructional videos
- SUPER SHRED - Guitar World
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Loomis, Jeff |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American guitarist, lead guitarist for the band Nevermore |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 14, 1971 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Appleton , Wisconsin |