Rolling Stones came later for me. I was a Beatles guy. All of us were pretty much more along the lines of… — Synyster Gates Beatles Copy Share Image
We wanted to do something really, really different, something next level, and use new technology and things. — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
All of my solos were improvised initially - I would go in and get my bearings and see what I came up… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
I don't really play a lot of slide in general, but it was fun getting into that style and exploring it. — Synyster Gates Fun Copy Share Image
We're not gonna write a fusion song for Avenged Sevenfold, obviously, but I love having those elements and blending it in, and… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
I don't feel like we have that Paul McCartney gene, and I think the cool thing about us is that we know… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
If you write a country song, and it's the best song you've ever written but throw it out because you're a metal… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
I am a product of an amalgamation of different teachers. If it was just one teacher, even just my father, I would… — Synyster Gates Father Copy Share Image
We make sure we have total artistic control with our albums. We were working with Interscope Records, and they had a hard… — Synyster Gates Art Copy Share Image
We're very much perfectionists, so when we're putting on a huge show and want to play to the best of ability, we… — Synyster Gates Ability Copy Share Image
Lyrically, 'Planets' is the precursor to 'Acid Rain'; it's about a meteoric, intergalactic war that results in an apocalypse and the human… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
I don't like using fourths and fifths. Instead, I'll come up with a harmony line made up of major and minor thirds… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
I think if you go to 'Strength of the World,' a song like that, the chorus isn't that great, but you go… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
There's nothing like having some healthy competition. We really strive to think outside the box by taking the standard approach the then… — Synyster Gates Competition Copy Share Image
During our formative years, it was all about, 'What did Metallica do?' and 'How do we do that?' and then you try… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
Our singer, Matt, was reading Stephen Hawking and other physics-related books, and I was reading entrepreneurial books, and we all started discussing… — Synyster Gates Books Copy Share Image
Some people will basically just shred all over everything, even a ballad. I'm glad I wasn't born with that genetic chip -… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
The thing about me is that I'm very fortunate to have had the opportunities with Avenged Sevenfold in songwriting. I really think… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
I think it's beneficial to practice with a metronome or drum machine in order to strengthen your sense of time. It will… — Synyster Gates Computers Copy Share Image
We're more about other things over odd timings: orchestration, composition, horn/vocal arrangements - that's where we get super weird. — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
I hope we're not the last of the Mohicans when it comes to putting on a big, crazy, over-the-top theatrical rock show. — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
I hate to debunk the myth - kids don't wanna hear it - but as songwriters, you have to polish your craft… — Synyster Gates Hate Copy Share Image
Our music is being played on MTV and the radio. That's something that still blows us away. And we did it our… — Synyster Gates Music Copy Share Image
Usually when we go in to cut demos, one of us will lay down some mumbling sort of stuff for the vocal… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
When kids invest their time and money in coming to see us, we owe it to them to give them the best… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
We really wanted to circumvent that online learning curve, where it's virtually impossible to use words to explain music. — Synyster Gates Education Copy Share Image
If I'm proud of one thing in my playing, it's being able to slow it down and focus on the melody. — Synyster Gates Being Copy Share Image
I learned sweep picking from a variety of sources. One was a Frank Gambale instructional video, but he executes his sweeps a… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
Breaking Benjamin, talk about songwriting, I mean, some of the greatest songwriters of the modern era. And, obviously, it's a little heavier. — Synyster Gates Era Copy Share Image
There is no doubt in my mind that I was going to do what my father did, but it wasn't kind of… — Synyster Gates Doubt Copy Share Image
I try to, at least, think very melodically, and my band forces me to think very melodically. — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
It's really fun to just get on a bike and just go and, I guess in a way, to be able to… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
When practicing, it's great to break a part down into its different elements, start slowly, and then try to build up the… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
We don't ever spread ourselves too thin. And sometimes it's a little bit to the chagrin of our fans; they don't get… — Synyster Gates Beatles Copy Share Image
I'm obsessed with great endings and crazy intros and stuff like that. I think we all are from what we've listened to… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
We're fortunate that our fans worldwide have really embraced our evolution. We know how lucky we are. We want to change people's… — Synyster Gates Change Copy Share Image
We're fans of stuff like Maiden, but I think we generally get it from weirder places. For me, the Eagles' 'Hotel California'… — Synyster Gates California Copy Share Image
In a studio situation, I'm able to dig deep and come up with stuff that all the guys think fits the vibe… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
I wouldn't be one-third of the player I am today if it wasn't for Avenged. They're an inspiring group of guys, and… — Synyster Gates Ability Copy Share Image
We're trying to leave no stone unturned, to push forward in every aspect of what it means to be a band. Because… — Synyster Gates Copy Share Image
