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" When practicing, it's great to break a part down into its different elements, start slowly, and then try to build up the speed until you're playing as fast as you possibly can. "

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" I think, back when I was younger, I was a lot more confident about certain things that I would write, and I didn't need the band's blessing or agreement; I would just kind of fight for it 'cause I knew it was good. And then the problem with getting older, especially when there's some success involved, you have a different measuring stick. "

Synyster Gates

Getting Older

Good

Success

" There are those people who try to change what you're doing. We don't like that. When we went into the studio for 'City of Evil,' we had 99 percent of the songs finished and ready to record. "

" Sometimes, with more progressive songs, you lose that feel somewhere along the line, but 'This Means War' never quits - the energy is always there. "

" My father was a studio musician, played for a lot of people like Frank Zappa and a lot of R&B bands, and was always gone doing that. Then when he was home, he was practicing. And so I always saw it, and I always wanted to do what he did. "

" I learned sweep picking from a variety of sources. One was a Frank Gambale instructional video, but he executes his sweeps a little differently. "

Synyster Gates

Video

Variety

" I don't feel like we have that Paul McCartney gene, and I think the cool thing about us is that we know it. "

Synyster Gates

Cool

Think

" I'm obsessed with great endings and crazy intros and stuff like that. I think we all are from what we've listened to and stuff, so I've always focused on great bridge melodies that just kind of naturally fit, or like a crazy ending at the end of 'Seize the Day,' something like that. "

" Our music is being played on MTV and the radio. That's something that still blows us away. And we did it our way. "

Synyster Gates

Away

Radio

" In a studio situation, I'm able to dig deep and come up with stuff that all the guys think fits the vibe of the song. And I think that's partly due to the fact that I grew up listening to just about everything under the sun. I'm very open to music, and I like to do things in a traditional and musical way. "

" We're happier when we're with friends on tour. "

" We really wanted to circumvent that online learning curve, where it's virtually impossible to use words to explain music. "

" The thing about me is that I'm very fortunate to have had the opportunities with Avenged Sevenfold in songwriting. I really think it's helped to bolster my guitar playing as well. "

Synyster Gates

Think

Guitar

" I don't like being locked in a cage on the creative scale. I need an outlet. "

Synyster Gates

Creative

Cage

" He happens to be my father and an incredible musician. When he gets lucky, we let him into the studio for 20 minutes to hear a song which has been previously written for him. "

Synyster Gates

Him

Lucky

" We're very much perfectionists, so when we're putting on a huge show and want to play to the best of ability, we rehearse intensely. And I have a guitar pretty much in my hand for at least five hours before doing a show. I'm just noodling and mucking around and working on some of the songs here and there. "

" I can't imagine doing anything cooler or better than what we did on 'The Stage' and felt like we're firing on all cylinders. "

" It's really fun to just get on a bike and just go and, I guess in a way, to be able to leave the tour and not be confined and all that kind of stuff. "

" We spent a lot of time in the studio. I mean, we've spent a lot of time on tour, too. "

" Korn is great friends of ours, so to be on tour with friends is usually our number one. We've been very blessed to meet a lot of great bands, successful bands, that we can go tour with. "

Synyster Gates

Great

Successful

" When we do find someone we trust, like our tour manager, they become an official part of the band. We take our time to make sure whoever we trust has our best interest in mind. "

" Everything from the lyrics to the production, solos to the writing - it's all democratic. At the end of the day, you know, when you're all done with the grind - which it is always an incredible grind for us to write records - I think it makes it that much more special to hear the final product. "

" I use Bogner amps and custom-designed Schecter guitars with Seymour Duncan Invader pickups. I beef up my tone with a Boss CS- 3 Compression Sustainer. It's kinda like my secret weapon. "

Synyster Gates

Boss

Weapon

" We listen to a lot of hip hop. They're the ones that are trailblazing. It used to be rock, but it's really turned to hip hop, and they're doing really unique and cool things, and we wanted to do that, too. "

" If you write a country song, and it's the best song you've ever written but throw it out because you're a metal band, you'd be an idiot. "

" During our formative years, it was all about, 'What did Metallica do?' and 'How do we do that?' and then you try and find an identity of your own, but they're still... They were the pioneers and the trailblazers. "

" When we try and blend the two together, the songwriting and the touring like we did before, it doesn't really work. We tend to become very focused on what we are doing. And we tend to be a little bit one-track-minded. "

" There's nothing like having some healthy competition. We really strive to think outside the box by taking the standard approach the then twisting it a little, all the while trying something new. "

" There is no doubt in my mind that I was going to do what my father did, but it wasn't kind of a family-business thing. "

" Just based on the primary adage of the necessity breeding innovation, it was just like 'Well, what makes me the guitar player that I am?' and I feel like I listen to so much different music, and I'm a student of so many genres of music, and I feel like it's fun to apply those things and anything super applicable to any type of music. "

" I think it's beneficial to practice with a metronome or drum machine in order to strengthen your sense of time. It will help your concept of time and improve your feel. "