Again within the early Nineteen Eighties, should you have been selecting up a guitar with desires of creating it massive in metallic, there was one clear path: mastering lightning-fast solos within the vein of Eddie Van Halen or Randy Rhoads. For a lot of younger gamers, it appeared that rhythm guitar and songwriting took a backseat to show-stopping lead work.
But the rise of thrash metallic on the finish of the 80s shifted these priorities. The style put a highlight on tight, aggressive rhythm taking part in. Simply consider the commanding chops from Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, James Hetfield of Metallica, Scott Ian of Anthrax, and each guitarists from Slayer. And proper there with them was Eric Peterson of Testomony.
Throughout a latest look on the Scars and Guitars Podcast, Peterson mirrored on his early days within the scene—and the way a dose of humility formed his strategy to guitar.
“Once I began out, there have been numerous guitar gamers higher than me,” Peterson admitted (as transcribed by Final Guitar). “However what I feel what did it for me was I had a imaginative and prescient of what I wished the band to sound like, and the entire idea of all the pieces. Relatively than simply being a shredder. Which I type of do now. It is humorous, as a result of right here we’re 30 years later, and now I am beginning to do solos.”
That readability of imaginative and prescient was key. As an alternative of getting misplaced within the aggressive world of lead guitar, Peterson honed the rhythm taking part in and songwriting that may turn into a signature of Testomony’s sound. Notably, he stays the one steady member of the band since its formation in 1983—a testomony (pun unintended) to his function in steering its course.
Trying again, Peterson credit a variety of influences for shaping his strategy: “However I feel again then, it was nearly having nice songs, and there have been so many bands to be influenced by,” he defined. “All these bands like Mercyful Destiny, numerous the darker New Wave of British Heavy Steel type of bands have been for me.”
And when it got here to crafting Testomony’s identification?
“However I feel that is how we went in it, we went in to…that is what we need to do.”
For up-and-coming guitarists, Peterson’s story affords a beneficial perception: you don’t have to be the quickest or flashiest participant within the room. Typically, a transparent imaginative and prescient and strong basis can carry you additional, and in Peterson’s case, it’s labored for over 4 a long time.
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