SHREDDERS OF METAL will return for season 2 on Monday, August 12
Humans have competed in skills and talents for as long as there is recorded history. Â Music is no different. Â Musicians continually push the boundaries of speed and technical acumen further and further.
Guitar shredding, the practice of playing the guitar lightyears beyond the normal technique, is an underground way for guitarists to measure skills. Â Dawning in the 1970’s with heavy metal guitarists such as Richie Blackmore, and coming of age in the guitar-dominated 1980’s, shredding is perpetually gaining new followers with each generation.
SHREDDERS OF METAL is the first talent competition show dedicated to heavy metal music. This season, eight guitarists enter an elimination bracket tournament where they will showcase their shredding skills for a panel of three judges: Alex Skolnick (Testament), Ben Weinman (Dillinger Escape Plan, Suicidal Tendencies) and Sam Dunn (Banger Films Co-Founder) for the chance to win a prize package fromESP GUITARSand MARSHALL AMPLIFIERSandbe crowned Season 2 Champion.
Comedian BLAYNE SMITH (Yuk Yuk’s, BangerTV) returns to host the series.
Canadian guitarists lead the way
Guitarist Nik Popovic, (also known as Nik Nocturnal) will be competing this year in Shredders of Metal. Â Well known for his videos on Youtube featuring metal guitar, Popovic aims to take no prisoners in this years competition.
“I’m excited,” says Popovic. Â “Even if I get eliminated in the first round, it’s going to be exciting to share the stage and jam with so many other talented guitarists.” Â Popovic doesn’t consider himself a shredder, and instead uses his honed guitar chops to shred when he feels the music would benefit from flashes of guitar wizardry.
Popovic often plays a John Petrucci (Dream Theater) Music Man guitar in his videos, and has been listening to Petrucci since he was thirteen years old. Â “Petrucci really makes every note count. Â He doesn’t just shred for the sake of shredding, and by carefully chosing his notes he creates something musical and unique.”
When the contest was announced on Banger TV in March of 2019, Popovic felt compelled to submit an entry. Â “Its rare to see a guitar contest, and when I saw it was going to be in my home town of Ontario, I just had to enter,” says Popovic. Â He plans to bring some “unique twists” into the Shredders of Metal contest by adding some jazz and Western classical musical influences in addition to his foundation of progressive metal.
JT Harris, of the band Heaven’s Fire, is also a finalist in the Shedders of Metal Season 2 contest.  One of the older contestants, JT recalls watching the legendary guitar slingers from Ozzy Osbourne’s bands of the 1980’s.  “Randy Rhodes really stood out to me,” says Harris. “When I was about 15, I saw a VHS of the Bark At the Moon tour and was blown away by Jake E. Lee.”
Currently listening to a lot of Dream Theater and Trans Siberian Orchestra while preparing, Harris intends to bring the heat in Shredders of Metal. Â “I’ve been experimenting with some different tunings and deciding on which guitar to use,” says Harris. Â His main ax is a Jackson Kelly Custom Shop, and he’s been splitting his time between standard and Drop-C# tuning. Â By using slightly heavier strings on the guitar tuned down 1 1/2 steps below standard tuning (EADGBE), Harris achieves an ever heavier sound.
“Rock and Roll has always been guitar driven,” says Harris when pondering why each new generation of guitarists gets excited by the music. Â “Big distortion, loud drums and thumpy bass just draws people in.”
Shredders of Metal Season 2 Finalists
This year, eight elite guitarists were chosen from video submissions to participate and duel for the title of the King of Shredders! Learn more about the eight contestants HERE.
The SHREDDERS OF METAL Finalists
MIKE NASSO (Oshawa, Ontario)
Born and raised in Oshawa, Ontario and plays in a metal band called Plethora.
TAYLOR WROBLEWSKI (Kitchener, Ontario)
Lead guitarist for Kitchener’s Cathartic Demise.
NIK NOCTURNALÂ (Toronto, Ontario)
YouTuber and independent solo artist from Toronto.
RIC GALVEZ (Toronto, Ontario)
Guitarist for blackened death metal band Astaroth Incarnate and returning from Shredders season 1.
ADAM PELL (Ottawa, Ontario)
Lead guitarist and singer for Death Metal band Accursed Spawn.
NICK MILLER (Ottawa, Ontario)
Lead Guitarist in tech death band Killitorous and has a Bachelor of Music from Carleton University.
JT HARRIS (Toronto, Ontario)
Plays in Heavens Fire and a mighty list of bands including Southern Cross, Jade and Decibels of DIO.
MATT CUTHBERTSON (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
Apprenticed under guitar virtuoso Glen Drover and plays in Thrash/Death Metal band Untimely Demise and Progressive Death Metal band Into Eternity.
Banger TV is the world’s fastest-growing digital channel for heavy metal music and culture. Since launching in September 2015 as a YouTube channel it has reached more than 210,000 subscribers and become the go-to destination for the international metal community.
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