The Synyster Gates Interview

[@MNGuitars]

So glad it synyster gates!! He's soooo much more than alot of people think, true class act, true guitar player. Thanks rick, syn!

[@Twice_Marvel]

surgeyX matt, syn and the rev are incredibly underrated.

[@jimmygray4525]

Mike Nappi I agree.

[@justinfromok7128]

It seems like it, I know I wasn't aware of what a well rounded player and individual he was. I understood he was a great guitarist but thought it was just a lot of fanboy stuff. It wasn't until I saw the master class stuff Syn referenced in this interview that I understood there was more to it. It's awesome that he was willing to take his time to discuss stuff outside of the normal interview garbage.

[@justinbowen2003able]

surgeyX because they were still rocking black nails and the emo look from the warped tour dates so alot of people called them emo losers without knowing gates went to college and can do more than just tune his axe

[@MrSUPERTWINKIE]

ERIC GIBSON they are so not “underrated”. They have been named best guitarist and best drummer numerous times.

[@nathanninja2]

Other than being an insanely talented and inspiration guitar player, Syn is such an intellectual and great guy, a person of such a high calibre. And so down to earth in person.

My favourite guitarist in the world :)

[@stacruthless172]

Ecl!uz same.

[@OliverBroenSteen07]

same

[@fabio5076]

Same

[@scatdaddy3790]

Rick the fact that you get that syn is next level speaks volumes about how open minded and unbiased you are. Awesome content. I saw syn in 2005 three times live. I was like how does no one get how amazing this kid is?

[@Achilleslegion9]

That is most ive ever seen synyster gates smile.

[@chrisjohnston4702]

Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this! One of my big sources of inspiration as a guitar player being interviewed by my main source of info and study as a musician! Best one yet for me, Rick! Thanks for what you do, Chris in Scotland :)

[@graneestudio7725]

One of the best Synyster Gates interviews i've seen in a really long time. Good job men!

[@TheReverendTholomewP]

I love to hear some stories, and especially from Syn Gates! He, together with Zacky, are the ones that made me pick up the guitar in the first place, and I could not be more proud of him!

[@cenamad]

52 minutes just flew by. very informative, great questions can 100% feel the real friendship between you guys Bounce back and forth so easily. Much love from Ireland

[@failuregreat9424]

just came here to comment I'm glad to see interviews like this. Rick articulates his questions pretty well, and Syn actually listen him THEN answer; instead of some people who jumps right away before the interviewer had the time to ask properly. I cannot tell u how satisfying it is to watch this.

[@randommetalhead7]

A good interviewer and a humble guitarist out of this world. Good shit, man.

[@adoseofreality6781]

I will NEVER get tired of listening to what Syn has to say. That part where he stated that he is still pretty much a "purist" is my favorite part of the interview. Thank you for such an awesome interview.

[@solarwinds5114]

THIS MAN IS LEGENDARY Like seriously, his personality and skill is amazing

[@constanzebillotet115]

that's the great thing about a kind and well informed interviewer: the artist enjoys the interview just as much as the fans. thank you for this gem, loved to watch it!

[@zlatanplaysguitar]

He's my favourite guitar player, my idol, the man who I want to be, and he showed me the way how I want to play the guitar. Thank you so much for that interview Rick!

[@eclecticmuso]

We need another interview with Syn now that Libad is out.

[@deathbat9384]

I've been waiting for so long 😍 Thank you Rick!

[@randommetalhead7]

Avenged Sevenfold is my favorite band of all time, and this interview is just fucking awesome. That's not some fucking basic "media" stuff, here we just see 2 men talking about interesting things in a very gentle and respectful way. Rick, you're such a nice guy for doing your job very well, you're a good interviewer, that's rare and satisfying to see a guy asking questions to some personalities without being annoying, disrespectful or whatever. Synyster Gates is simply one of the best guitarists of all time, and such a down to earth guy. All A7X guys are humble, they all love their fans and that's why i love them. The Rev is the main reason why i've started playing drums though, they are such an inspiration. Thanks for this cool interview, enjoy the good times with this amazing man, Rick !

[@albinhelen514]

I sure hope Rick will have another interview with Brian soon, would love to hear the talk about the latest album.

[@Darkhalo314]

It is my dream to one day meet Synyster Gates. Synyster is such a huge influence to me in every way I can think about. I have so many questions to ask him. I just wish I could sit down for a few hours or even an hour and just ask him everything. Such an inspiring person

[@theimmortalrain867]

Darkhalo314 It's definitely worth it! I met him in August, and he was so sweet!

[@tiaraguy7705]

I barely heard Syn repeat words when talking, this man's lexicon is massive and he's extremely well spoken but also inviting and kind.

[@chardeemacdennis3852]

Thank you syn gates for restoring my faith in guitar in rock with bat country in 2004.. favorite band since

[@SchecterIsKING]

Hell yeah man.

[@VOYAGEUR-YT]

"Sounding off" the seventh trumpet? I'm sorry, I'll leave

[@Eduardoyanez__]

If you two jam, pleeeeeeeaaaaaase record it. We would love to see it.

[@caleb.wicken2503]

Brian has and always will be the only reason I ever listened to Avenged sevenfold. His understanding of theory and his application is inspiring

[@dantheman6888]

Caleb For me it was the Rev.

[@Capriles_Usa]

Dan The Man same for the vocals of the Rev just got me hooked.

[@officialryndwns]

Dan The Man same here man, gone too soon

[@ChazzyMcD]

Syn is a very smart man, his vocabulary is pretty impressive! haha

[@zekebeckman]

I've been waiting for this! Amazing. Super cool to have such a long interview with the chance to have long answers too. Loved that you mentioned Grace and that you both love it, it is one of my all time favorite albums too! Thanks Rick and Syn!

[@jacaria21]

Great interview! I have to admit I don't know much about the technical side of music, but I was fascinated and interested the entire time I watched this interview. So thanks Rick and Syn!

[@corey5363]

synyster gates is my idol. he's such a good player and he's such a great and smart guy. an all around great person

[@danoacel]

Thanks Rick was a great moment to listen to you guys. loved every minute of it...

[@usd5000000]

Thanks for sharing! I never listened to any A7X before until I heard Sophie Burrell play Syn's Buried Alive solo and was really inspired. After listening to your interviews I've come to really respect Syn as a musician and he seems like a real good human. I look forward listing to more of his music. I never considered play metal before, maybe now that will change. Thanks again.

[@darrenboyd8622]

What a broad, great interview and insight into a really great musician. So many great things in this (and yes, I watched the whole interview). Rick, this was awesome. Syn, is a monster.

[@needops97]

Great interview! Definitely Synyster Gates is an inspiration for the new generations of guitar players, including me.

[@Altroante]

Thank you so much for doing this! I'm a young dude who just started getting into playing guitar a bit less than two years ago and I listen to all sorts of stuff.. Hearing that my guitar heroes are like that really inspires me.

[@gtyrone83]

What he said about spreading yourself too thin and not being happy. So true in all aspects of life.

[@fawazalhomoud2482]

the solo of SCREAM after that moment every note i hear you play is life .. hope we listen to you jamming one day .. thank you for this Rick & Syn.

[@thomasmcgill6918]

What a great interview. What a great guy. Im an old guy and love metal!!! LOL

[@OliKember]

Great insight into the life and creativity of my favourite guitarist in the world. Thanks both!

[@bruceanderson8720]

such an interesting interview! thank you Rick & Syn

[@EliBlakley]

Love avenged! Syn is a great player and writer. Thanks for the interview.

[@rudicci]

Great Work Rick! Syn is such a nice guy and, as with A7X, i can't understand the hate he gets from other guitar players. I would love to see G. Govan here. Keep it up Sensei!

[@turtlecamelleg]

rudicci he gets hate from other guitar players?

[@thisararanatunge9089]

Syn has a vast knowledge of guitar not just rock & metal. Buried alive intro is one of the most beautiful intros in guitar history. He is an awesome human being

[@ralelunar]

He's very smart, he just downplays it because he's self-conscious about sounding like a nerd 😅

[@huntervowell2778]

Love Syn so much!!!

[@ashaddison1356]

Great interview :) Syn is such a great guy and him, along with Zacky, are my biggest inspirations

[@Twice_Marvel]

Ash Payne if that's your actual name you've got a metal as fuck name

[@justinfromok7128]

Awesome interview, was enlightening for me in a few different ways. It's hard for me to grasp all the complexities of a single six- stringed instrument but it is neat to listen and hear from those that do. It's also interesting to get this insight into Syn and some of his non metal influences which apparently there are many. Who knew?! As they touched on in the interview, this would have to be a contributing factor to his successes as the guitarist of possibly the biggest modern heavy rock act.

[@jameswatters8143]

'You're a much darker guy than me anyway' Syn: 'haha yeah I guess that's pretty apt' 'so how are you doing anyway?' Syn: 'I'm doing great! happy to be home :) :)'

[@AlmaGuitars]

Wow!! Awesome!!

[@AntohinAndrej]

I didn't expect this interview but i'm so glad it happened! Such a cool guy!

[@TiagoLageira]

This stuff is great, glad to see you doing these with guitarists from the whole spectrum. Thanks Rick!

[@MassimoChirico]

Real man, great man, amazing guitarist. Absolutely my favorite !!!

[@JorgeBCanchola]

best interview so far

[@asylumdarkness9474]

If Avenged Sevenfold was a restaurant... This is what a god tier guitarist thinks of... If their band was a restaurant...

[@randommetalhead7]

Food is life, so is A7X.

[@joelcoool]

The D minor thing was so funny though hahahaha

[@AugustShaman]

@@joelcoool lmao I swear tho 🤣 D minor served in a thousand different ways was great and on point! *excluding the songs that are in C# minor, E minor, heck even in C minor.* 😂 love it

[@mattbirtwistle6188]

I was talking with a friend of mine over the weekend about the state of metal guitar playing. Sync was one of the guys I mentioned who you can tell through his playing has a respect for the past. To see him in this interview talking about his influences just reconfirmed everything. That's what makes an old fart like me enjoy listening to AX7

[@AugustShaman]

D minor served in a thousand different ways was amazing and so true! *excluding the songs that are in C# minor, E minor, heck even in C minor.* To use D minor so much and be able to make each song have a different vibe, perspective, and feel.. is incredible and insanely inspiring. I try too much , too often to not stay in the same key very much to make even my tone sound different on guitar, so I've grown to love using different tunings. I love to play in D standard but Syn totally reminds me that you can be in E standard and the majority of the songs you write be in one key and with some amazing writing, techniques, tons of practice, and being open minded...each song can have a life of it's own. Syn is the reason I started learning theory. Like I'm a self taught musician, singer, producer and I had no idea what it was when I started the guitar journey but because of his masterclass nearly ten years ago now, I've become much more eclectic and can play along to about any song and have become so much more advanced in my writing, playing, and how I approach everything. Syn and Rick thank you so much for being great teachers and awesome musicians, you both have no idea how much you've had an impact on my craft and my life. It means more than you know 🤘🖤

[@coolumar335]

What a legend! And even to this day he's so intellectual and humble - new songs added to The Stage are great too.

[@dansands6363]

I wonder if that Bill Nash guitar was what he used to record the intro for Roman Sky. Absolutely loved that tone!

[@edzkymunoz3837]

Such a talented individual. Such a cool dude. Makes me appreciate AX7 even more. Great interview Rick!

[@rockon709]

as soon as i saw syn i started smiling,such a great guitarist and human being

[@dale1782]

RockOn *such*

[@rockon709]

CIM 2nd sorry

[@dale1782]

RockOn its good my dude. Im just being a doofus

[@rockon709]

Cheers :)

[@outirytkonen8024]

Very good interview! You asked great questions, I really like that.

[@madmike078]

Finally took to the time to watch this and it was totally worth it! Synyster, and actually all the guys in Avenged Sevenfold, have become so mature in the way they present themselves. Pretty awesome to hear you guys talk about what you love! Are you gonna do a "What makes this song great?'' video about an Avenged Sevenfold song?

[@jamdwhi]

You rule man! You're such a good interviewer. This is such an amazing breath of fresh air. You need to give seminars on this art form lol.

[@michaelscott1199]

2 amazing souls chat'n it up. Thanks for a great Sounding Off!

[@arturoangulo4990]

After this I admire syn 100% more than I did already what a charming and awesome guy, thanks for this rick

[@ItsJoeFFS]

I wish this was hours longer. Super interesting

[@nick_guitarist]

Rick, thank you so much! Such a pleasure to see Brian on Sounding Off. By the way how about Virgil Donati for the next episode?

[@ELeeHamm]

Syn, Tool hasn't released an album in over a decade. You guys going 3 or 4 years in between albums is fine!

[@eduardoceron4636]

Erica Hammond. I thought Tool released/are going to release an album this year didnt they???

[@joaoloureiro163]

Eduardo Ceron Nope

[@thattypicalslimy8548]

They are recording in March, so the record should be done by 2021

[@thattypicalslimy8548]

@That Boy T that was a year ago lol. Now I am much wiser and happier lol.

[@svintjvck]

@@thattypicalslimy8548 WELL HERE WE ARE

[@Rampagedd]

loved this interview. Yes Syn, you are coffee to my mornings.

[@artyomdark4205]

I wish syn was my dad

[@tanktheturtle_8388]

Uh... ok?

[@rebisanoviaevar317]

I wish syn was my husband

[@drums4life937]

@@rebisanoviaevar317 I wish Matt was mine lmaoo

[@davidpds98]

Synister is one of the best composers in the genre. What an influence!!

[@sixstringswl]

I really, really liked this one. the way you two ended it was absolutely amazing. yes were all guilty; especially in political posts... or at least i am in that sense. lol! a few years ago I started playing countryish style things and really took some heat from people. the whole thingbis tho that a lot of my childhood was spent around it and it was like going home for me. so I liked it as a sort of retreat from playing metal. one thing led to another and I started to take a look into the jazz world... which is how I found out about channels like this one. And still, I can't see how people can be so spiteful about something. I try to explain how some of the concepts are useful ... but to no avail usually. great job on this stuff Rick!

[@LeapingDodo]

"why are you so into music" Because he was bored. Let's be honest here. Boredom is a extremely good motivator to drive people to go to the end of the earth of a craft.

[@adamholm2436]

LeapingDodo worked for varg vikernes

[@TiagoLageira]

So true

[@leestevens1539]

And his dad being a well respected and very well known studio guitarist probably had something to do with it

[@justinbowen2003able]

Usually someone who goes to school tends to try and get jobs in their field of study he studied to be a jazz studio musician

[@Errorfile404]

lol thats stupid the whole "because he was bored" bs no one gets that far into the music industry because theyre bored

[@Fotini90]

Synyster Gates or better Brian Elwin Haner Jr. is a great guitarist and an awesome human being too! His talent is great and has no end!!! 🖤🤘 Thanks Rick for interviewing him!

[@thomasrodabaugh2992]

I was at the show in May of 2017 in Philly when A7X cancelled....was bummed at the time, but very elated when I received tickets to an exclusive A7X show in Camden NJ...was able to see a complete headliner show, rather than a one hour set... it was most excellent

[@AkshaySahu]

Thanks Rick, Syn is awesome as always :-)

[@Kurt1969]

I don't really listen to this band, but what a fantastic interview! Will have to check them out for sure. I am an Elfman fan and listened to some Pinkly Smooth. Wow. Glad I decided to give this a listen. Learned a lot. Thanks for sharing!

[@Twice_Marvel]

kurt singer City Of Evil is the way to go. If you listen only one of their albums it should be this one.

[@Kurt1969]

Thanks for the suggestion. Will do!

[@keremkayn9333]

I've been waiting for this since you posted a pic with him to ur instagram. I can't thank you enough for doing this because he is my biggest idol and avenged is my all time favourite band please let him know that he is the reason i started playing the guitar if you ever read this comment!

[@dirtyhappiness]

Syn is an amazing player. 10/10

[@bobbyjordan100]

Great interview, thanks!

[@ivanthomas5218]

Man syn is just so amazing!!!

[@dwightdwindley3141]

Great interview. Both nice guys, and even though I'm not a huge fan of the band I watched the whole thing

[@MichaelAPhillips]

Such great insight, thanks! I have much respect for both of you! I am of course a HUGE a7x fan and now I know why! G-d bless Syn!

[@lucyFV]

Thank you! That was so enjoyable!

[@jimmygray4525]

Synyster Gates is an awesome guitar player for Avenged Sevenfold.

[@RichardFriendartist]

such a grounded guy...love this band more and more each year.

[@sketchnfiend8955]

Loved the part towards the end about people being so judgemental about music when the artists they love are inspired by the music they are criticizing.

[@6string327]

Syn is so cool, he's an amazing guitarist. I'm a huge A7X Fan

[@JoshClarkson]

Good to have Sounding Off back after a bit of a break.... what are the chances of interviewing Anais Mitchell? Great singer and composer.

[@jonathanperez8404]

Awesome interview!

[@johnraineri]

Ahhh! I've been so keen for you to do this interview since you posted those Instagram pictures!

[@simbathegermanshepard9564]

think sometimes people hate the person makeing the music more then the music

[@gesh92]

He seems like a great guy!

[@InnerAnimate]

Im rick too

[@nicolasbascunan4013]

Rickdiculous

[@gktde9874]

Rick Sanchez Rick Sanchez ....No Way

[@kriskryptonite5144]

No fRicken way!

[@skornthesnake6935]

But are you The Rickest Rick??

[@hectorquijada3332]

Pickle Rick

[@KHALID47]

this was an amazing interview ty subbed

[@sbiegs3885]

THIS IS BEYOND GOD LEVEL!!! RICK AND SYN!!!!!

[@montaguemetal3416]

Really like Syn' s playing. Avenged Sevenfold are an awesome band. But I think Syn is a massively interesting person, and guitarist to listen to

[@tonifallo5831]

Can you invite this man again? And do interview without the video call thing..

[@Personalreborn]

Syn is daddy. But for real I loved this interview and would love it even more to see the follow up one. Whenever I get a chance to watch an interview with him, I jump on it because I love when his brain gets picked

[@CrucialGuitar]

Awesome!!! Great interview!

[@brianlonjak9424]

Wow! i loved the guy before this but he just set the bar super high!

[@andrewsullivan7940]

What are the odds we could get a round 2 on this?

[@wyatt7454]

I really like him. He is the only modern metal guitarist that I would consider to be in the top ten best. He is a true musician and can actually play clean instead of relying on high gain. He and zacky have a lead to rhythm guitar sound I think no other band really has

[@Dracula_sb]

Tits McGee >Periphery