Will Wallner

Will Wallner (born 24 January 1987) is an English rock guitarist and songwriter. His main influences are Ritchie Blackmore, Gary Moore, Eddie Van Halen and John Sykes.^[1][2]

Life and career[]

He began playing guitar at age 16 and received his first "real guitar", a Gibson Les Paul Custom, which he has played his entire career, at the age of 18.^[3] He began playing guitar by ear, then had taken his first formal guitar lessons from a rock guitar teacher in his home town of Devon, England. He joined his first band Faustus, recording several songs and playing one show before the group disbanded.^[3] He is an alumnus of Colyton Grammar School and a graduate of the University of Portsmouth with a BSc in Music and Sound Technology^[4][5][6] and has also studied at the Musicians Institute, in Hollywood.^[3] Since 2012, he has been a regular contributor to Guitar World.^[3][7] He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Since 2011, he has worked with Croatian singer Vivien Vain. Their debut album Will Wallner & Vivien Vain was released on 8 October 2012 via Metal Mind Productions. The album cover features both musicians photographed by Glen La Ferman.^[8][9] They have released several EP's and singles. Most of their music is mixed by mixing engineer . The project has featured many guest musicians including Don Airey, Carmine Appice, Vinny Appice, Rudy Sarzo, Derek Sherinian, Jimmy Bain, Neil Murray (British musician), Brian Tichy, Tony Carey, Tony Franklin and Bjorn Englen. The song "Streets of Rage" was the first studio recording to feature both Vinny Appice And Carmine Appice on drums. So far the project has featured many musicians including^{[3][10][11][12][13]}

In 2012, he recorded several sessions with Grammy Award winning producer Bob Kulick. From 2012 to 2013, he toured and recorded as lead guitarist for White Wizzard.^[3][14][15] His first show with the band was in Shibuya, Tokyo on 12 May 2012 at Club Quattro.^[16] In 2012 he toured North America and Canada and was featured on their single "Torpedo of Truth".^[17][18] In 2013, he recorded guitar solos for White Wizzard's new album The Devils Cut. The album was produced by Ralph Patlan. The Devils Cut was released on 3 June in Europe via Earache Records and on 25 June in North America via Century Media Records.^[19] He toured North America and Europe in support of the release but left the band in October 2013.^[20]

He is currently endorsed by Bare Knuckle Pickups which are manufactured in South West England where he grew up.^[21]

In 2016, he purchased a large amount of musical equipment which used to belong to Gary Moore. This included several Gibson Les Pauls and vintage Marshall amplifiers.

Wallner founded the company Escape Game Enterprises Ltd in 2015. The company owns Escape game locations in Brighton, England and Berlin, Germany. Wallner designed several Escape game scenarios including Ghost of Kunsthof and Murder in Metropolis.

In 2015, he published a memoir titled 'The Howling Company'. The book focused on his childhood pets and his love for animals.

In 2018, he created a science fiction book series 'Phthalo Blues' and released a heavy metal soundtrack with he same name. Phthalo Blues was an EP with science fiction inspired rock and heavy music, and also featured the instrumental song "Berlin Blues", which was inspired from his time living in Berlin, Germany. Wallner also created the comic book series 'Wild Frontier' and 'Victims of the Future'.^[22]

In 2019, it was revealed on his website that he had purchased the former home of Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilminster, located in West Hollywood, just off the Sunset Strip, directly across the street from the Rainbow Bar and Grill.

References[]

External links[]

• Official Website