Guitar Guy Brian Haner Is An American Musician

Brian Haner (born Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. on July 7, 1981) in Huntington Beach, California), also known as Syn, is an American musician. He is currently the lead guitarist for Heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold.Brian attended, and graduated from, the Musicians Institute in Hollywood as part of the GIT program, studying jazz guitar. Up until that time he was primarily self taught by watching music videos and reading books, which is surprising because his father was/is a songwriter and guitar player, having played with Frank Zappa during his career. After six or so months of being there, he got a phone call from Jimmy (and the rest of the current line up of Avenged Sevenfold) asking him if he wanted to come and be their lead guitarist. Brian joined up with them rather than continuing his education and becoming a studio musician.

Gates joined Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) when he was 18 at the end of 1999, right before the recording of the band's first album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. He was featured on their EP, "Warmness on the Soul," and on the reissue of their first album. He also plays piano for the band on songs such as "The Beast and the Harlot" and "Sidewinder," though a friend of the band, bassist Justin Sane, played the piano on Warmness on the Soul.

In the Avenged Sevenfold DVD "All Excess," to emphasize the seemingly random placing of names, Gates stated that his name was thought of on a drunken drive through the park with The Rev. His exact words were, "I am Synyster Gates, and I am awesome!"

Gates cites Django Reinhardt, Adam Aparicio, Dimebag Darrell, Slash, John Petrucci and Francis Canavan as his favorite guitarists and major influences. He has won numerous awards, including the "Young Shredder" award of the year in the Metal Hammer awards in 2006 and the "Guitarist of the Year" Award for Total Guitar Magazine in 2006. In June 2008 Guitar World magazine interviewed Syn, reader Shawn Butterfield asked "You're one hell of a guitarist. But who do you really look up to?" to which he responded "Definitely Slash! the Ozzy guitar dudes, Alexi Laiho from Children of Bodom! Jimi Hendrix of course, Dimebag Darrell from Pantera, Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, a lot man!"