Interview from Guitar World Magazine: ROB ARNOLD of Chimaira

GW: What inspired you to play guitar?

RA: A buddy of mine had just gotten an electric guitar and an amp. I was super stoked about how good it could sound with a little distortion and a whammy bar. Then I started seeing some of my idols and the things they were doing with a guitar on MTV, and I was immediately hooked. I told my mom that I needed a guitar. Sadly, but not unfortunately, she got me an acoustic.

GW: What was your first guitar?

RA: After the Acoustic, my first "real" guitar was a neon-yellow Ibanez. It came with a little Peavey combo for about 400 hundred bucks. My dad thought I was crazy; he was pushing me toward a more mildly colored sunburst Fender, but I wasn't havin' it. A flashy guitar hero movement was underway, and a flashy looking guitar seemed the way to become a part of it.

GW: What was the first song you learned?

RA: It was either Metallica's " To Live or To Die" or Megadeath's "Symphony of Destruction." Both Songs have monster riffs that greatly appealed to my young ears.

GW: Do you remember your first gig?

RA: I was about Fifteen years old, and my band at the time scored a gig at a "musicians night" show. We were told to arrive with our gear; all of the other bands would play on our equipment, and we'd close the show. When about five or six hundred people showed up, we gave ourselves a pat on the back, thinking it was due to all the flyering and promoting we'd done for the show. We were greatly humbled when we ended up closing the night in front of 10 or 15 of our friends.

GW: What's your favorite piece of gear?

RA: Probably my iSP Decimator. It's an inexpensive noise suppressor that's tough as a tank, and it keeps signals clean. I've tried out a handful of different noise suppressors, and nothing has satisfied me more than the Decimator. It's perfect for my high-output combination of EMG 81s and Peavey and Engl amplifiers.