Joel Michael Stroetzel (born July 24, 1980) is best known as the rhythm guitarist from the

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

metalcore band

Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbanding of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel an ...

Background

Stroetzel attended the Berklee College of Music in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

but did not graduate. Stroetzel's guitar style is influenced by the bands Slayer, Anthrax,

Zakk Wylde Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heavy meta ...

, as stated on the World Ablaze DVD.

Career

While at college, Stroetzel began playing in the band Aftershock. The band broke up in 1999, when Joel formed

with co-guitarist

Adam Dutkiewicz Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz (born April 4, 1977) is an American musician, recording engineer, songwriter, and music producer, best known as the lead guitarist and backup vocalist from Massachusetts metalcore bands Killswitch Engage, Aftershock, and ...

. Joel plays the guitar solo in the track "

Holy Diver ''Holy Diver'' is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Dio, released in 1983. Vocalist Ronnie James Dio had just finished his first tenure in Black Sabbath, whose drummer, Vinny Appice, he took with him to put together his ...

" and is seen occasionally singing during live renditions of "The End of Heartache". Stroetzel has also performed with the band

Times of Grace Times of Grace is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Southampton, Massachusetts. The group consists of Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage) and Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage, The Empire Shall Fall, and Seemless) while guit ...

as a touring musician.

Equipment

Stroetzel has used a wide variety of guitars and amps throughout his career, including the

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a ...

Roadster and Triple Rectifier heads, a

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

JCM900, a modified Soldano SLO-100, and a

Hughes and Kettner Hughes & Kettner is a German manufacturer of instrument amplifiers, cabinets and effects boxes. History The company was founded in Neunkirchen in 1984 by two brothers, Hans and Lothar Stamer, and moved to St. Wendel three years later. It is c ...

TriAmp MKII, which he did not like for metal because he said it "didn't hold together well." He has also used the

Framus Framus is a German string instrument manufacturing company, that existed from 1946 until going bankrupt in 1975. The Framus brand was revived in 1995 as part of Warwick GmbH & Co Music Equipment KG, in Markneukirchen, Germany. The company's cu ...

Cobra and Dragon, the

Peavey 5150 The Peavey 5150 is a vacuum tube based guitar amplifier made by Peavey Electronics from 1992 on. The amplifier was initially created as a signature model for Eddie Van Halen. After Van Halen and Peavey parted ways in 2004, the name was changed to ...

, the Splawn Nitro, the Diezel VH4, and the Fuchs Viper for distorted tones, and the

Fender Twin The Fender Twin and Twin Reverb are guitar amplifiers made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Twin was introduced in 1952, two years before Fender began selling Stratocaster electric guitars. The amps are known for their characterist ...

'65 Reverb and

Vox AC30 The Vox AC30 is a guitar amplifier manufactured by Vox. It was introduced in 1958 to meet the growing demand for louder amplifiers. Characterised by its "jangly" high-end sound it has become widely recognized by British musicians and others, su ...

for clean tones. He is currently endorsed by

Laney Amplification Laney Amplification is a British designer and manufacturer of guitar amplifiers, bass guitar amplifiers, cabinets, and public address systems. Laney Amplification does not sell directly to the public, instead dealing with distributors and ret ...

, used their Ironheart series of amplifiers and currently using

Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi () (born 19 February 1948) is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. I ...

's signature amplifier TI-100. Joel is proudly endorsed by Caparison Guitars and uses the Caparison Dellinger, Horus, TAT, and Angelus models. Caparison produces the Dellinger-JSM – Joel Stroetzel Signature Model. It has a Caparison Fixed Bridge and through body stringing, with Fishman Fluence Killswitch Engage Signature pickups, a walnut top, mahogany back, and a 5-piece maple and walnut neck. It is the first Caparison guitar to have a pick guard. He also had another signature model which is similar to an Angelus, but with a narrower body and longer horns, somewhat a cross between a TAT Special and an Angelus. In his current live amp rig, he uses both Laney amps, making use of a Laney Iommi head with a Celestion Vintage 30-loaded Laney Iommi 4x12 cabinet for his distorted tones, and a Laney Lionheart 1x12 combo for clean tones. For his current live effects rig, he makes use of a Maxon OD808 Overdrive, Maxon AD-9 delay, Maxon CP-9 Pro+ compressor, Boss Corporation NS-2 Noise Suppressor, Boss ABY switcher, Jet City JetDirect DI box, and a

Korg , founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, th ...

DTR2000 tuner. For wireless, he uses an

Audio-Technica (stylized as audio-technica) is a Japanese company that designs and manufactures professional microphones, headphones, turntables, phonographic magnetic cartridges, and other audio equipment. Company history Audio-Technica was established ...

5000 Series. He currently uses D'Addario EXL115 (.011–.049) strings and

Planet Waves ''Planet Waves'' is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on January 17, 1974, by Asylum Records in the United States and Island Records in the United Kingdom. It is also one of only two Dylan albums not or ...

Black Ice 1.10mm picks.

Discography

Aftershock

* ''

Through the Looking Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

'' (2000) – Guitar

Killswitch Engage

* ''

'' (2000) * '' Alive or Just Breathing'' (2002) * ''

The End of Heartache ''The End of Heartache'' is the third studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. It was released on May 11, 2004, through Roadrunner Records. It is the first album to feature lead vocalist Howard Jones and drummer Justin Foley. ...

'' (2004) * ''

As Daylight Dies ''As Daylight Dies'' is the fourth studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. It was released on November 21, 2006 through Roadrunner Records. It was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel. Background and release T ...

'' (2006) * ''

'' (2009) * '' Disarm the Descent'' (2013) * ''

Incarnate Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

'' (2016) * ''

Atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...

'' (2019)

References

External links

Joel Stroetzel's 2005 Killswitch Engage guitar rig from GuitarGeek.Com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroetzel, Joel 1980 births Living people American people of German descent American heavy metal guitarists Berklee College of Music alumni Rhythm guitarists American male guitarists Killswitch Engage members Aftershock (band) members 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians Times of Grace members