Phil Sgrosso (born September 16, 1985) is an American heavy metal musician, best known as the

rhythm guitarist In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

of the American

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

band

As I Lay Dying ''As I Lay Dying'' is a 1930 Southern Gothic novel by American author William Faulkner. Faulkner's fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of 20th-century literature.The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to Wor ...

, the former rhythm guitarist of the band

Wovenwar Wovenwar is an American metal band from Southern California, formed in 2013. They released their self-titled debut album in 2014. The band's musical style on the album has been described as hard rock, alternative metal, melodic metalcore and ...

and the touring

lead guitarist Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featured ...

for

Saosin Saosin is an American rock band formed in Orange County, California in 2003 by Beau Burchell, Justin Shekoski, Zach Kennedy, and Anthony Green. The band released their first EP, '' Translating the Name'', in 2003. That year, vocalist Anthony G ...

and Nails.

Career

Before joining the band that jumpstarted his musical career, Sgrosso was a part of a local act known as Tomra, a

melodic metalcore Melodic metalcore is a fusion genre, incorporating elements of melodic death metal and metalcore; it has a heavy emphasis on melodic instrumentation, distorted guitar tones, palm muting, double bass drumming, blast beats, metalcore-stylized brea ...

band from San Diego, which disbanded in 2003. Joining As I Lay Dying at the age of 17, Sgrosso had honed his creative talents as one of the songwriters on 2005's '' Shadows Are Security''. His work with the band extends from solely instrumentation, with producing credits on the bands latter releases. Throughout his tenure with

, the band was named "Artist of the Year" at the

San Diego Music Awards The San Diego Music Awards are an awards show held annually in San Diego, California, United States, to recognize the best bands and artists in local music. The awards show benefits the San Diego Music Foundation, a non-profit organization dedic ...

in 2005, 2007, and 2008, and was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for the song "Nothing Left" in 2008. Sgrosso received the "Ultimate Metal God" award from

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

in 2007. Through six studio albums and one split release, As I Lay Dying sold more than 1,000,000 albums worldwide, with their DVD, '' This Is Who We Are'', being

Certified Gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

within one month of its release. As I Lay Dying's sixth album, '' Awakened'', was released on September 25, 2012 to high critical acclaim. Following the incarceration of As I Lay Dying vocalist

Tim Lambesis Timothy Peter Lambesis (born November 21, 1980) is an American musician and producer, best known as the founding member and lead vocalist of American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. He also had a solo/side thrash metal project in tribute to act ...

in 2013, the remaining members of the band formed

with

Oh, Sleeper Oh, Sleeper is an American metalcore band from Fort Worth, Texas that formed in 2006 with former members of Terminal. In over a decade's span, Oh, Sleeper has released four full-length albums, two EPs, and toured worldwide as an opening act. Af ...

guitarist Shane Blay. They released their debut album, ''

'', in 2014 via

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...

. As I Lay Dying reunited in June 2018. While touring on the

Mayhem Festival The Mayhem Festival was a touring Heavy metal music, heavy metal festival that took place during the summer. The inaugural season took place in 2008; the festival later became an annual event across the United States. Most years also included a ...

in 2012, Sgrosso pulled double-duty performing with As I Lay Dying and Slipknot, filling in for

Jim Root James Donald Root (born October 2, 1971) is an American guitarist. He is one of two guitarists for heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #4, as well as the former lead guitarist for rock band Stone Sour. Life and career R ...

on the first leg of the run. Beginning in 2016, he became a permanent fixture to

's touring lineup, taking over after Justin Shekoski's departure. Sgrosso is also a touring guitar player for American

powerviolence Powerviolence (sometimes written as power violence) is an extremely dissonant and fast subgenre of hardcore punk which is closely related to thrashcore and grindcore. In contrast with grindcore, which is a "crossover" idiom containing musical ...

band Nails. Sgrosso also has a band called

Poison Headache Poison Headache is an American thrash metal band that formed in 2010. The band consists of guitarist, bassist, and vocalist Phil Sgrosso, vocalist and guitarist Andy Kukta and drummer Kyle Rosa. History The band began in 2010 as a project of Phi ...

with him playing guitars, bass, and vocals, Andy Kutka (formerly of Internal Affairs) on vocals and guitar and Kyle Rosa (formerly of Thieves and Liars) on drums and they are signed to

Discography

As I Lay Dying * '' Shadows Are Security'' (2005) * '' A Long March: The First Recordings'' (compilation, 2006) * ''

An Ocean Between Us ''An Ocean Between Us'' is the fourth album by the American metalcore band As I Lay Dying (band), As I Lay Dying, released on August 21, 2007, by Metal Blade Records. It debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200, with sales close to ...

'' (2007) * ''

The Powerless Rise ''The Powerless Rise'' is the fifth studio album by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. The album was released on May 7, 2010 in Europe, and on May 11, 2010 in the United States. ''The Powerless Rise'' debuted at No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' ...

'' (2010) * ''

Decas ''Decas'' is a compilation album by the American metal band As I Lay Dying. It features three newly recorded songs, four cover songs, four remixes and one re-recording. The album was released through Metal Blade Records on November 4, 2011, in Ge ...

'' (compilation, 2011) * '' Awakened'' (2012) * '' Shaped by Fire'' (2019) Wovenwar * ''

'' (2014) * ''

Honor Is Dead ''Honor Is Dead'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Wovenwar. It was released on October 21, 2016, via Metal Blade Records. Wovenwar would go on an indefinite hiatus following the release of the album. Since then, Blay ...

'' (2016) Poison Headache * ''Poison Headache'' (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sgrosso, Phil Living people American heavy metal guitarists 1985 births American performers of Christian music As I Lay Dying (band) members Wovenwar members 21st-century American guitarists