Pat O'Brien (guitarist)
| Pat O'Brien | |
|---|---|
O'Brien performing live with Cannibal Corpse.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Patrick Q. O'Brien |
| Born |
December 15, 1965 Northern Kentucky |
| Genres | Death metal, melodic death metal, technical death metal, progressive metal, power metal, thrash metal, heavy metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Associated acts | Cannibal Corpse, Slayer, Monstrosity, Nevermore, Chastain, Ceremony, Jeff Loomis, Prizoner |
Pat O'Brien (born December 15, 1965) is the lead guitarist for the death metal band Cannibal Corpse, as well as a former member for the heavy metal band Nevermore, and a former touring musician with the thrash metal band Slayer.
O'Brien was born in Northern Kentucky. He graduated from Conner High School in Hebron, Kentucky in 1983 and currently resides in Tampa. He is of Irish and German heritage. His hobbies involve hunting and target shooting.
O'Brien got his first guitar when he was 11. His mother bought him an acoustic guitar for Christmas. Later, when he started to practice more he received his first electric guitar, a Gibson SG copy. His father also bought him a 1974 Gibson Flying V. His influences include AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Mercyful Fate and Metallica.
As a guitar player O' Brien is formally trained, having studied classical guitar for some time and taken lessons from a number of teachers. He also gave lessons at local music store Maschinots Music in Southgate, KY. He recalls that his interest in classical guitar probably came from a concert of Andrés Segovia he attended with his father. Segovia remains O' Brien's favourite guitarist and his main inspiration.
O'Brien started playing in a series of bands, sometimes as a touring musician and sometimes as a full-time member. Throughout the 1980s he played in heavy metal bands such as Chastain and Prizoner. In the 1990s O'Brien evolved from heavy metal to death metal. Between 1990 and 1992 he played in the Cincinnati-based death/thrash metal band Ceremony alongside Steve Tucker, Greg Reed and Shannon Purdon. They released a demo in 1992 entitled "Ceremony" and an EP called "The Days before the Death" that did not come out before 2000 and for which O'Brien did the mastering with Mark Prator. After the band's breakup, O'Brien decided to move out of Cincinnati. He relocated to Los Angeles and searched for a new band. Through tape trading he eventually got hired by Nevermore, who at the time were looking for a second guitarist.
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