As I Lay Dying Guitarist on Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'

As I Lay Dying Guitarist on Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’

As I Lay Dying’s Phil Sgrosso says Nirvana ‘blew my mind’

Listening to Phil Sgrosso’s killer guitar work in metal-core band As I Lay Dying, influences such as Anthrax, Korn and In Flames come to mind– not Nirvana. So, it’s curious to note that Kurt Cobain in the reason he decided to pick up the six-string and, eventually, form As I Lay Dying.

“I remember flipping through the channels when I was around 8 or 9 and finding MTV for the first time,” Sgrosso said in a Hails and Horns video. “I wasn’t too into heavy music at that young of an age, so hearing and seeing all the madness going on in a school gymnasium just blew my mind.”

Soon after discovering Kurt Cobain and Nirvana’s groundbreaking grunge sound, Sgrosso “got my first guitar and begged my guitar teacher to teach their songs to me.” Of course, the rest is metal history.

Lead guitarist, Nick Hipa, has fairly different tastes. “As a guitarist, I’ve always been drawn to more traditional forms of heavy metal: old school stuff like the Randy Rhoads era of Ozzy Osbourne,” he told Audio Ink Radio. “That’s my favorite type of guitar-based music, and I find myself playing that all the time when I’m at home. The Scorpions are another metal band that aren’t as brutal and aggressive and are more feel-good. There’s not a whole lot of that.”

As I Lay Dying are spending this summer touring Europe and beyond, including gigs in Germany, Bulgaria, Hungry and Austria.

Cat Badra

Meet the expert - Cat Badra is a music writer for Audio Ink Radio and a range of other music, sports and lifestyle publications. She's a graduate of Michigan State University with a master's degree in theater and speech. Contact her at cat@audioinkradio.com.

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