Jeff Loomis
Jeff Loomis is the lead
guitarist for Seattle's
heavy metal band,
Nevermore, and is widely considered one of the best guitarists in recent times. Loomis was born in
1971 and from
Appleton, Wisconsin. Jeff took up
guitar at an early age, self-taught even to this day, and played in various
Wisconsin death metal bands while growing up. At the age of 16, Loomis' guitar entry won Wisconsin's
Guitar Wars contest. He has listed players such as
Yngwie Malmsteen,
Tony MacAlpine,
Jason Becker and
Marty Friedman as his influences.
Jeff was auditioned by
Megadeth (during the
So Far, So Good...So What! era) at the age of sixteen, when their lead guitarist
Jeff Young left the band. After they played a few songs together,
Dave Mustaine, the band's mastermind, thanked Loomis and told him that one day he would became a great guitar player, but because of his age and lack of experience he was not right for the position. Ironically, in
2005, Loomis would share the stage with Megadeth, as the lead guitarist for Nevermore as part of Mustaine's
Gigantour festival. Jeff Loomis saw
Cacophony on tour, and told
Marty Friedman, who was very interested, about the audition. Marty tried out for the position and joined the band in 1989.
Not too long after being auditioned for the lead part in Megadeth,
Lenny Rutledge left the band
Sanctuary. Jeff was able to take his place at this time, however, but because of pressure from the band's record label, Sanctuary broke apart two weeks afterwards. Subsequently,
Warrel Dane (vocalist) and
Jim Sheppard (bassist) made plans to form Nevermore, and in late
1994, Jeff became Nevermore's lead guitarist.
Jeff is the main songwriter of Nevermore, immensely adding to the unique sound that fans are familiar with. His contributions can be found in albums such as
The Politics of Ecstasy,
Dreaming Neon Black and their latest album
This Godless Endeavor (including
Steve Smyth, who previously featured in the band
Testament). Currently, Jeff plays an important role in portraying the sound that Nevermore is today, one of his most important musical showcases being in the album
Dead Heart in a Dead World, in which he wrote most of the songs before Nevermore.
Jeff Loomis has recently been given a monthly column in
Guitar World magazine entitled "Merchant of Menace" where he explains how to play the riffs and solos of Nevermore. In more recent columns, Jeff's co-guitarist in Nevermore,
Steve Smyth has co-wrote the column, which is now dubbed "The Merchants of Menace."
Jeff plays various
Schecter seven string guitars, including the Hell-Raiser 7 with EMG active humbucker pickups, and the Blackjack 7 with Seymour Duncan pickups. He was endorsed by
Peavey amplifiers (using the XXX model), but has recently switched to Krank Krankenstein amplifiers. He has also made his own 6-string custom Warmoth guitar with
EMG pickups.
Schecter guitars has recently announced the production of a Jeff Loomis signature guitar.
Jeff has mentioned at various times that he's been planning for a long time to record a solo album, but it is not yet known if or when that album may be released.
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Jeff Loomis's Website.*
Jeff Loomis's winning guitar entry at the age of 16.
