Goreblaster (Will Lunden) is a guitarist living in the SF Bay Area. He primarily plays progressive metal and technical death metal in his active projects, but does reach back to his roots and play classical guitar on occasion. His style is characterized by very technical, usually tapped, melodic lead playing, and a riffing style that draws as much influence from electronic music as it does from modern metal. His main instrument is currently his custom eight string FT 8 from Equilbrium Guitars, who he endorses.
Goreblaster has released music with his primary project The Beast of Nod (technical/progressive death metal), as well as with his project Mimesis (experimental progressive rock/metal) and a new project called Pariahblaster (instrumental metal). His releases have been featured on sites as Metal Injection and It Djents, and have sold physical copies around the world. His guitar playthroughs have gained over 100k collective views on YouTube, and his performances have been shared on a variety of wide-reaching social media pages including Kiesel Guitars, Bass Musician Magazine, and RiffWars. On the live front, Goreblaster has toured the eastern U.S. with The Beast of Nod, Episodes (progressive rock), and as a live member of Unflesh (blackened/technical death metal).
Currently, Goreblaster is preparing to release the next The Beast of Nod full-length, which features Lord Marco (Rings of Saturn, Six Feet Under) on drums and a star-studded array of guest soloists which will be revealed when the album is announced. He is also in the middle of recording a new EP for Mimesis and developing new material for the Pariahblaster project.
Describe your rig or instrument of choice: Equilibrium Guitars FT 8, Amethyst 8 string set from The String Source, his custom picks from Rafive Picks, Nordstrand NDC pickups, a Gruv Gear fretwrap, and a Fractal Axe-Fx III.
How did you discover Nordstrand?
I started using them in 2020. Dave Cohen from Equilibrium Guitars suggested that I get Nordstrand pickups in my custom build. He let me play one of his axes in the shop that had them installed, and I was instantly sold.
These pickups can produce so many different, truly stellar tones. The humbucker tones are so beefy and yet articulate, responding well to changes in playing intensity and to a rolling off of the volume knob. At the same time, the single coil tones are incredibly crisp and uncompromising. For all the cleans, rhythm parts, tapping sections, and leads I want to play for my various projects, these pickups give me exactly the sound I'm looking for. I wish I'd found them years ago!
Artists whom with you are currently working:
The Beast of Nod (with Lord Marco of Rings of Saturn), Mimesis (with members of Scale the Summit, Abiotic, Aviations), Pariahblaster.
