Originally published in Total Guitar magazine 121 · April 2004
Synyster Gates comments (excerpt)
Article1 min read
Heroes And Villains: Synyster On The Shredders He's Loved And Loathed
"There's always been metal guys who can just fucking play the shit out of their instruments. But when it comes to the bands you hear on the radio, none of them can really play. Even Jimmy Page. He couldn't play his way out of a fucking paper bag. I like Eddie Van Halen and I respect him as a pioneer, but he's obsolete now – that two-handed stuff has been done. The guys I loved as a kid were Dimebag Darrell, Slash and Frank Gambale. And John Petrucci - he's pretty much my favourite guitarist ever. He always puts at least five different techniques in each solo. And he always has a sort of melodic motif going on. He's a fucking brilliant guitarist."