Pier Gonella (born Pierangelo Gonella) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

guitarist, composer, arranger, producer and founding member of the heavy metal band Mastercastle and the

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...

band

Necrodeath Necrodeath is an Italian extreme metal band from Liguria. It is one of the first extreme metal bands originating in Italy. They take inspiration from Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Venom, Kreator, Celtic Frost, Bathory and Sodom. The band ...

Biography

Pier Gonella began playing guitar at the age of 15, following his passion for such bands as

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

and Deep Purple. From 1993 to 1997 he studied jazz guitar in many Italian schools. He could not finding any rock guitar teachers, so he studied rock guitar by himself. In particular he studied scores of many of his guitar heroes such as

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...

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and many others. He studied music theory and, in June 1998, received the diploma of "Teoria and Solfeggio" at the Conservatory of Music "Nicolo' Paganini" of Genoa. He also enrolled and studied 4 years of basson.

Labyrinth

From 2003 to 2008 he played with the

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

band

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by t ...

in many Italian and European festivals (such as

Gods of Metal Gods of Metal is the biggest Italian metal festival, held annually since 1997. It takes place in early summer, usually on the first or second weekend of June. It is most often held at venues in or near Milan, but took place in Bologna three tim ...

, Metalway) and, in 2005, made a 6 "gig" tour in Japan, China and Taiwan. During the tour he recorded the DVD ''Live in Tokyo'' that was included at the album

Freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

, released in 2006. In March 2007 he released the album " 6 Days to Nowhere" with Labyrinth, and that same year, toured Japan again.

Necrodeath

He joined the band

for the first time in 2006 as a guest guitarist. That year the band embarked on a 20 gig European tour supporting the band Marduk. In 2007, Pier recorded the guitars work on the album Draculea. He left the band because he was busy with his other bands. He definitively re-joined

in 2008. He recorded the albums

Phylogenesis Phylogenesis (from Greek φῦλον ''phylon'' "tribe" + γένεσις ''genesis'' "origin") is the biological process by which a taxon (of any rank) appears. The science that studies these processes is called phylogenetics. These terms may be ...

in 2009,

Old Skull Old Skull was an American punk rock novelty band that formed in Madison, Wisconsin in the late 1980s. The band was started by ten-year-old J.P. (Jean-Paul) Toulon and his nine-year-old brother, Jamie Toulon, with encouragement from their father ...

in 2010, ''The age of Fear'' in 2011,

Idiosyncrasy An idiosyncrasy is an unusual feature of a person (though there are also other uses, see below). It can also mean an odd habit. The term is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity. A synonym may be "quirk". Etymology The term "idiosyncr ...

in 2012, ''The 7 deadly sins'' in 2014. All albums were followed by a European tour. He is still playing with this band.

Mastercastle

In 2008

decided to take a break. During that time Pier started a collaboration with the singer Giorgia Gueglio. They wrote many songs and sent a demo to the label

Lion Music Lion Music is a production company and record label founded in 1989 by composer and artist Lars Eric Mattsson. History Lion Music was founded in 1989 by Lars Eric Mattsson as a production company to handle production and licensing for his reco ...

which offered them a deal. In the meantime bass player Steve Vawamas and the drum player Alessandro Bissa joined the band. They chose the name Mastercastle and released the album The Phoenix in April 2009. The album was well reviewed especially in the USA. The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

"Princess of Love" reached over 150,000 views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

very quickly, and the band continued composing music. In June 2010 they released the album Last Desire and, in 2011, the album Dangerous Diamonds. Many webzine's from all over the world gave Mastercastle and their albums very good reviews and Gonella also received really good reviews as a producer of the albums.
In 2012 the band had a split with the drummer "Bix". In 2013 Gonella announced the signing of a new drummer

John Macaluso John Macaluso (born January 21, 1968) is an American drummer who has played for bands such as Ark, TNT, and Yngwie Malmsteen. Born in Commack, New York, Macaluso started playing drums at age 11. He has recorded over 200 records and played mul ...

(

James Labrie Kevin James LaBrie (born May 5, 1963) is a Canadian singer, best known as the lead singer of American progressive metal band Dream Theater, which he has been fronting since 1991. Early life Kevin James LaBrie was born in Penetanguishene, Onta ...

, ''Ark'', ''Tnt''...). In the same year the band released the album On Fire which was produced by Gonella and mixed together with

.
In 2014 the band signed a deal for

Scarlet Records Scarlet Records is an Italian independent record label based in Milan. It is most notable for featuring two side projects from Soilwork front-man Björn "Speed" Strid, as well as bands like Agent Steel, Royal Hunt, Skyclad, Eldritch, Hatespher ...

and the new album '' Enfer'' was released on 14 October 2014. Pier Gonella is still playing in this band.

Other projects

In 2001 he recorded the guitars for the album ''Athlantis'' and in 2003 he recorded the guitar and bass part for the album ''Wild Steel''. Both were published under the label ''Underground Symphony''. In April 2005 during his militance in Labyrinth, he published his solo album ''Odyssea – Tears in floods'', released under the label ''

'' (Europe) and ''King Records'' (Japan).
In 2006 Gonella appears as guest in the project

Rezophonic Rezophonic is a musical project organized by Mario Riso, who is also co-founder of Rock TV in Italy. The money gained will be devolved to the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF). Members Voices *Olly (The Fire-Shandon) *Cristina Scabb ...

, recording guitars for one song.
From 2006 to 2009 Gonella plays with the big band "Metal Gang", playing hysterical heavy metal and hard rock cover featuring Pino Scotto ( Vanadium), Roberto Tiranti (

), Trevor ( Sadist), Olaf Thorsen

, Fabio Lione and many other musicians. In the summer of 2008 Gonella was chosen as second guitar player by

Timo Tolkki Timo Tapio Tolkki (born 3 March 1966) is a Finnish musician best known as the former guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of the power metal band Stratovarius. With his tenure lasting for more than twenty years, he was the longest standin ...

(

Stratovarius Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band that formed in 1985. Since their formation, they have released sixteen studio albums, five DVDs and six live albums. In its history, the band has gone through many chaotic lineup changes, and after fo ...

Revolution Renaissance Revolution Renaissance was a multinational power metal band founded by guitarist Timo Tolkki after he left Stratovarius in 2008. The band released three studio albums before disbanding in 2010. History ''New Era'' The studio lineup for the '' N ...

) for two Italian gigs.
In 1998 Gonella started teaching guitar lessons, working in many private schools and creating guitar clinics in the north of Italy. In 2007 he founded a recording studio for the production of his bands and for his guitar school. In 2011, it was officially opened to all with the name of '' MusicArt''.
In 2011, together with the drummer ''Peso'' of

and Giorgia Gueglio and Steve Vawamas of Mastercastle, he start a new project, completely rearranging and recording the famous album ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of ...

'' by Pink Floyd. The project is titled ''The Black side of the moon'' and was publicized for ''Black Tears'' label.
Since 2012 Gonella has collaborated with the drummer

for guitar and drum clinics called "Rock and Heavy Essentials"
In the same year Pier Gonella joined the hysterical Italian metal band ''Vanexa''.
From August 2014 Gonella collaborates with the magazine

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

Italy, writing the article ''Learn to play'' where he teach technics, licks, advice regarding electric guitar.
On 2014 Gonella started a new "soloist" project, with ''Dick Laurent'' ( Cadaveria). Here Gonella plays live many Mastercastle songs in instrumental versions, classical arrangements(

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

and others) in rock style and other unreleased material.

Discography

*2001: ''Athlantis'' (with the band Athlantis) *2003: ''Wild Steel'' (with the band Wild Steel) *2004: ''Tears in floods'' (with the band Odyssea) *2005: ''

'' (with the band Labyrinth) *2007: '' Draculea'' (with the band Necrodeath) *2007: '' 6 days to nowhere'' (with the band Labyrinth) *2008: ''Amazing Maze'' (with the band Amazing Maze) *2009: ''

'' (with the band Necrodeath) *2009: '' The Phoenix'' (with the band Mastercastle) *2010: '' Old Skul'' (with the band Necrodeath) *2010: '' Last Desire'' (with the band Mastercastle) *2011: '' As Time Goes By...'' (with the band Labyrinth) *2011: '' The Age of Fear'' (with the band Necrodeath) *2011: ''

'' (with the band Necrodeath) *2011: '' Dangerous Diamonds'' (with the band Mastercastle) *2012: ''Athlantis – M.W.N.D.'' (with the band Athlantis) *2012: ''The Black Side of the Moon'' (with the band MusicArt Project) *2013: ''Hellive'' (with the band Necrodeath) *2013: '' On Fire'' (with the band Mastercastle) *2014: ''The 7 deadly sins'' (with the band Necrodeath) *2014: '' Enfer'' (with the band Mastercastle) *2011: ''Headhunting'' (with the band

) *2015: ''Sono animali al mondo'' (with the band Verde Lauro) *2015: ''Storm'' (with the band Odyssea) *2016: ''Colors & Dreams'' (with the band MusicArt Project) *2016: ''Mondoscuro'' (with the band Cadaveria

) *2016: ''Too Heavy To Fly'' (with the band Vanexa) *2017: ''Chapter 4'' (with the band Athlantis) *2017: ''6 aprile'' (with the band Verde Lauro) *2017: ''Wine of Heaven'' (with the band Mastercastle) *2018: ''The age of Dead christ'' (with the band

) *2019: ''The Way of Rock 'n Roll'' (with the band Athlantis) *2019: ''Defragments of Insanity'' (with the band

) *2019: ''Still in the Flesh'' (with the band Mastercastle) *2020: ''02022020'' (with the band Athlantis) *2020: ''Neraka'' (with the band

) *2020: ''Strategy'' (with the band "Pier Gonella") *2021: ''The Last in Black'' (with the band "Vanexa") *2022: ''Lightouse Pathetic'' (with the band Mastercastle)

Videogames Soundtracks

Since 2008 Gonella collaborates with the Italian videogames factory called ''Xplored''. To date Gonella has made soundtracks and sample effects for over 150 flash games.
Some examples: *''Zombie in the shadow'' *''Zombies in the Shadow-The savuoir'' *''Toxie Radd'' *''Toxie Radd2'' *''Toxie Radd 3d'' *''Dark Base2-THE HIVE'' *''Dark Base3-Phoenix Team'' *''Toys Vs Nightmares'' *''X-Team'' *''Dark Base-alien Rts'' *''Apokalyx'' *''Duo Blaster'' *''EcoBears'' *''Red Jet Rabbit'' *''Zits-20 to die'' *''Chili’Em All'' *''Drow’s Fury'' *''X-cream'' *''Dark Base Defence'' *''Suprb'' *''Motel Connection'' *''Troll revenge'' *''Season of War'' *''Methus'Tower Defence'' *''Secure Mc'' *''TacticalForce1'' *''KinderBuenoMegaRace'' *''Area52'' *''Zombiestalker'' *''Future Buggy''

References

External links

A recent Pier Gonella interviewPier Gonella Official WebsiteNecrodeath Official WebsiteMastercastle Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonella, Pier Italian heavy metal guitarists Italian male guitarists Italian rock guitarists Lead guitarists Italian heavy metal musicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Italian male composers 21st-century Italian composers 21st-century Italian male musicians Mastercastle members Labyrinth (band) members