James Murphy (guitarist)
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James Murphy | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | James Franklin Murphy |
Born | Portsmouth, Virginia United States | July 30, 1967
Genres | Heavy metal, death metal, thrash metal, progressive metal |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer, recording and mixing engineer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, bass, keyboards |
Website | msanthrope |
James Franklin Murphy (July 30, 1967 in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American guitarist. He is best known for his work in metal bands, Obituary, Death[1] and Testament.[2] He founded Disincarnate,[3] an early death metal band.
He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2001 but recovered. In October 2011, Murphy stated that the tumor had returned but that it was non-cancerous and that it was being treated pharmacologically.[4] He is working on a tribute album to Death founder Chuck Schuldiner who died from pneumonia, caused by complications of his treatment for a brain tumor. He is also producing Deron Miller's band World Under Blood. He also completed production of the industrial death metal band Dååth's second album, The Hinderers, which was released on Roadrunner Records, and Lazarus A.D.'s debut album The Onslaught released on Metal Blade Records. He has also performed as a touring guitarist for Agent Steel, and in Hallows Eve in 1988.[citation needed]
In addition to playing guitar, Murphy operates a recording studio, SafeHouse Production, where he has mixed and produced albums for other bands. He has also contributed lessons to Guitar Player magazine.
Equipment
Murphy has used Caparison guitars since he was able to play guitar again after his cancer treatment. During his years with Death and Testament he played Ibanez guitars, primarily the S series models, and B.C. Rich guitars during the Obituary period, especially Warlock models. He also played B.C. Rich guitars in Death. With Disincarnate, he used a Gibson Flying V, loaded with EMG's 81 and 85, through a Marshall 8100. He is a longtime endorsee of EMG pickups, and mainly uses the 85 and 89 models, although on Testament's The Gathering his Ibanez's were fitted with Dimarzio Steve's Special and Air Norton. For amplification he is currently using Framus Cobra series amplifiers, although previously he used Mesa Rectifiers through a Marshall 4x10 with Testament.
Discography
- Disincarnate
- Soul Erosion (demo, 1992) [6]
- Dreams of the Carrion Kind (Roadrunner Records, 1993)[3]
- James Murphy
- Convergence (1996)
- Feeding the Machine (1999)
- Weed out the Weak
- The Freakshow
- Come Down Cold
- Nothing Is Sacred
Guest appearances
- 1000 Ashes – "Guest appearance in first album"
- Abigail Williams – In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns – (Solo on "The World Beyond" and Whammy on "Smoke and Mirrors")
- The Absence – Riders of the Plague (two tracks)
- Agent Steel – (one live track on the re-release)
- Agressor – Medieval Rites (one solo)
- Agressor – The Spirit of Evil (three tracks)
- Artension – Into the Eye of the Storm (one solo)
- Artension – Phoenix Rising (one solo)
- Artension – Forces of Nature (four solos)
- Broken Hope – Repulsive Conception (one solo)
- Cannae – When Gold Becomes Sacrifice (one solo)
- Chaos Disorder – Infested (one solo)
- DÅÅTH – The Hinderers (one solo)
- Demise – Torture Garden (one solo)
- Explorers Club – Age of Impact[7]
- Enforsaken – The Forever Endeavor (Lead guitar on 'All For Nothing')
- Firewind – Forged by Fire (one solo)
- Foreign Objects – Universal Culture Shock (guitar solos)
- Gorguts – Considered Dead (one solo)
- Gruesome – Savage Land (one solo)
- Killfloor Mechanic – Estimated Time of Death (one solo)
- Malevolent Creation – Retribution (one solo)
- Malevolent Creation – The Will to Kill (two solos)
- Martriden – The Unsettling Dark (one solo)
- Memorain – White Line (five solos)
- Only Human -The Dismantling (one solo on the track 'Winter and the Dancing Leeches')
- Outliar – Provoked To Anger (Solo performed on the track "Faceless Enemy")
- Steve Morse – Prime Cuts (one solo)
- Nevermore – This Godless Endeavor (Solo on the track "The Holocaust of Thought")
- Rise – Pentagramnation (2009)
- Rob Van Der Loo's Freak Neil inc. – Characters (3 solos)
- Solstice – Solstice (four solos + backing vocals)
- Summon – ...And the Blood Runs Black (guest keyboard, acoustic guitar and lead guitar)
- Various artists – Roadrunner United – Annihilation by the Hands of God (solo), Constitution Down (intro solo)
- Various artists – Working Man - A Tribute To Rush (lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and/or keyboards on five songs)
- Vicious Rumors – Sadistic Symphony (one solo)
- John West – Mind Journey (one solo)
- John West – Permanent Mark (one solo)
- Warrel Dane – Praises to the War Machine (Solo on the track "The Day the Rats Went to War")
- World Under Blood – Solo on the track "Under the Autumn Low" between Deron Miller's solos
- Various artists – Guitar's That Ate My Brain – "Maiden Voyage" (lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and all lead & rhythm guitar solo's)
References
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Biography: Death". Allmusic. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Biography: Testament". Allmusic. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ a b Prato, Greg. "Biography: Disincarnate". Allmusic. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ "Ex-TESTAMENT/DEATH Guitarist Says His Brain Tumor Is Not Cancerous". blabbermouth.net. October 24, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
- ^ Torreano, Bradley. "Biography: Cancer". Allmusic. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ Archives
- ^ Hill, Gary. "Biography: Explorers Club". Allmusic. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
External links
- www
.msanthrope .com /jamesmurphy / James Murphy Official Website]