What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?
My Ernie Ball Music Man Monarchy series Majesty 7 string.
How did you come across this particular item?
I’d been familiar with Music Man guitars for quite a while through one of my favorite players, John Petrucci. After many years with other brands the weight and playability had been causing me a lot of fatigue on the road so it made sense to move to something lighter and more comfortable for my wrists.
What is it that you like about it so much?
The playability and the contours, the way it fits to my body playing live and the playability of the instrument. The stainless steel frets are a massive bonus for me and the Music Man trem is super stable and fun to play on.
How do you use it and how has it shaped the way you write music?
I use the guitar in the studio and on the road, it’s the exact same guitar, setup with the exact same strings from Ernie Ball. Having the same instrument with you at all times forms a bond, an intimacy between the player and the instrument and it just feels so second nature to grab it to figure out a riff you’ve been singing in your head at home, to tracking guitars in the studio for 12 hours a day, to slinging it around on stage.
Tell us a little about what you have coming up?
Plenty more touring in 2019, and again in 2020. We return to Australia after hitting arenas in Europe with Parkway Drive and Killswitch Engage to play Download Festival in Australia, and we can’t wait to get out of this cold!
Thy Art Is Murder will perform as part of Download Festival in Sydney on Saturday March 9 and in Melbourne on Monday March 11. Dear Desolation is available now via Human Warfare.
