Trey Azagthoth
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Trey Azagthoth | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | George Emmanuel III |
| Also known as | Trey Azagthoth |
| Born | March 26, 1965 |
| Origin | Bellingham, Washington, United States |
| Genres | Death metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, synthesizer, vocals |
Trey Azagthoth (born George Emmanuel III March 26, 1965) is an American musician best known as founder and guitarist of the Florida death metal band Morbid Angel.
Azagthoth began playing at the age of 16. His playing features much utilization of the whammy bar, complex finger tapping, extensive use of a Morley Wah-wah pedal and other effects, and wailing guitar solos that have a distinct tone fans consider to be his trade-mark sound. He also does synth work for Morbid Angel. He cites Mozart, Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads as a huge influence and inspiration on his music. His state of mind when he solos is what he refers to as the "Temple of Ostx". A collection of some of his famous guitar solos from Morbid Angel's sixth album "Formulas Fatal to the Flesh" were put on a B-side record entitled "Love of Lava" which later were included on the second disc of Morbid Angel's 8th album, "Heretic". His non-musical interests include anime, his favorite shows being Sailor Moon and Gundam. His favorite video games include the Doom and Quake series, Castlevania, Street Fighter, Devil May Cry, Legacy of Kain and Metal Gear Solid. In between writing and recording the 2003 album "Heretic" Azagthoth created a zdoom level called "Chambers of Dis". This was up for downloading on his personal Myspace page and can be found on the Morbid Angel home page.
Decibel Magazine ranked him number 1 on their list of the 20 best death metal guitarists, and he was listed at number 7 in Joel McIver's 2009 book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists. Trey uses Ibanez and Jackson guitars, and at one point B.C. Rich, but has stated on his personal Myspace page that he has worked out a deal with Dean Guitars to make, as he calls it, a personalized "X-Core" V.
Trey's Gear has included, for some time, two Marshall JCM900 tube amps put into a chain into a stereo type effect. His favorite effects include an MXR Phaser and multiple chorus and delay pedals. These are run straight to his guitars, which have included the following companies: Jackson (Warrior), Ibanez (Universe), B.C. Rich (Ironbird), Dean (the new "X-Core" V), and Charvel (an explorer and superstrat shape).
References
- [1] Interview with metal-rules.com before release of Heretic
- [2] Interview with metal-rules.com before release of Gateways to Annihilation