Emil Werstler

Emil Werstler is an American guitarist and musician based in Nashville, Tennessee who is perhaps best known for his work in metal and gypsy jazz. In 2004, Werstler became lead guitarist for the metal band Dååth, whose second album The Hinderers peaked at No. 49 on the Top Heatseekers chart in 2007. In 2009 Dååth released The Concealers on Roadrunner which reached No. 35 on Top Heatseekers and was placed as No. 3 on a list of the "top twenty metal albums of 2009" by Metal Sucks. In 2010 Werstler released the instrumental metal album Avalanche of Worms as a collaboration with Eyal Levi with the album receiving a largely positive response for its musicianship and experimental nature.

By 2011 Werstler had been confirmed as the new lead guitarist for the metal band Chimaira. With Werstler as a co-writer, Chimaira's final album Crown of Phantoms was released in 2013, reaching No. 52 on the Billboard 200 chart. Werstler announced his departure from Chimaira in late 2014, with the rest of the band dissolving shortly afterwards.

Since 2006 Werstler has worked with artists such as Arsis, Austrian Death Machine, Enders Game, Jason Bieler, Sylencer, The Agony Scene, Unearth, and Xerath. In 2018 Werstler launched his solo project Verlorener. In addition to teaching privately Emil has contributed to guitar publications such as Premier Guitar, and JamPlay. He releases content periodically on his YouTube channel, teaches clinics across the US, and has performed at various events including Experience PRS.

Early life and education Emil Werstler was born and raised in Alabama. He comes from a musically inclined family, and at a young age was exposed to diverse music by artists such as Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Led Zeppelin. At age six he began learning piano,

Career

Dååth early albums and live work (2004–2009)

While studying music in Atlanta, Werstler was introduced to metal musician Eyal Levi through a mutual friend. Though Werstler was not looking to focus on the metal genre in particular, he ended up giving Levi some guitar lessons. and Pop Matters.

Dååth's sophomore album The Hinderers was released on March 20, 2007, on Roadrunner Records, peaking at No. 49 on the Top Heatseekers chart. AllMusic gave the album a near-perfect score of 4.5/5, writing that "the intricately sculpted guitar collaborations of... Eyal Levi and instinctive lead guitar wunderkind Emil Werstler complement [co-founder Mike Kameron]'s considerable orchestrating abilities perfectly."

In 2008 Werstler was a guest guitar soloist on the track "Subzero" by Austrian Death Machine.

On April 21, 2009, Dååth released The Concealers on Roadrunner and Century Media. It peaked at No. 35 on the Top Heatseekers chart. A MetalSucks.com ranking by Vince Neilstein placed The Concealers as No. 3 on a list of the "top twenty metal albums of 2009," writing that "through Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler’s trained technique, The Concealers is musically interesting and extremely varied, too, a rarity in the realm of — for lack of a better way of describing it — commercially viable metal music." and he was a fill-in musician for the band Unearth in 2009, taking the role of guitarist Buz McGrath.

American metal band Chimaira had Werstler fill in for Matt DeVries during a number of European tour dates in 2009, with Werstler helping support their album The Infection from September until October.

Levi/Werstler's Avalanche of Worms, studio work, and Dååth (2010)

"Avalanche of Worms is an incredibly unique and diverse piece of work... [Levi and Werstler push] the boundaries in several directions at once, taking elements of prog, metal, avant-garde, classical, jazz and experimentalism to varying heights both in their respective contexts and as a wild, yet listenable, cornucopia of styles." — Blabbermouth.net The eponymous Dååth was met with largely positive reviews, with Blistering writing that "Levi’s and Werstler’s guitar riffs drive the album’s force and display beautiful transitions and time signature changes." AllMusic wrote that the album was "another reminder that now it's the guitar-wielding duo of Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler (whose superlative lead work remains a must-hear proposition in its own right) running the Dååth show." After previously having played rhythm guitar for the band in 2009, Werstler periodically performed bass guitar for Chimaira in 2011 and by 2012 it had been confirmed

Crown of Phantoms (2013)

The seventh and final studio album by Chimaira, Crown of Phantoms was released on July 30, 2013, via record label E1 Music. and guitar solos by Werstler. The album reached position 52 on the Billboard 200 charts on its first week of release,

By September 2013 the band was supporting Crown of Phantoms with a tour of the United States.

Departure from Chimaira, studio work, and live shows (2014–2016) Werstler announced his departure from Chimaira on September 1, 2014, and a day later, four other members announced their departure as well. On September 3 the band announced their formal break-up, describing it as amicable.

In early 2015 Nok Novum released a single, Shiryō featuring a guitar solo from Werstler.

According to an interview in May, Werstler was nearing completion on his debut solo album. He described the album as an opportunity to avoid "compromising" on the final rendition of tracks in any way, and also stated it wouldn't be described as "guitar music" only. Stated Werstler, "I don't look at myself as just a guitar player - I've always stressed the importance of having an identity and writing music." Emil made his final live appearance of 2015 opening for Deantoni Parks with electronic artist Chris Hunt on December 16. In 2016 Emil contributed guitar work on Tomb by Chris Hunt and noise for Silver Planet by Kacie Marie and Chris Hunt.

Col. Bruce Hampton, Verlorener, and Sunbelt Bliss (2017–2018)

In May 2017 while playing for Col. Bruce Hampton's 70th birthday concert at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, Hampton suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed on stage, dying shortly after.

In June 2017 Emil announced a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo for his upcoming solo project Verlorener. The project raised $14,883 in total. According to Emil, Verlorener "is a musical and visual identity created to facilitate my need to record and perform without compromise. This project is intended to be an ongoing effort to create a sound that is closer to what I intend to convey to the world." In February 2018 "Devil In The Room" premiered as an audio track. was released shortly after. Emil also played on Ryan Knight's Sunbelt Bliss album that came out in 2018.

Tony MacAlpine, clinics, and studio work (2019–2021)

In 2019 Emil joined Tony MacAlpine's touring band for The Electric Illusionist Tour (2019/2020), Sons of Apollo MMXX World Tour (2020), and a tour with Verlorener as special guests which wrapped up in early 2020.

In April 2020 Werstler was featured on the Kingsmen album Revenge Forgiveness Recovery. Werstler was part of the Digital PRS Experience in May 2020

In January 2021 Jason Bieler And The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra released their album Songs For The Apocalypse featuring Emil's talent on the track "Horror Wobbles The Hippo".

Style and equipment

As a six-string guitarist and bassist with a musical background in jazz and blues, though he is perhaps best known for his work with metal and gypsy jazz. After playing a Spruce Hollowbody PRS on the first few Daath tours, Werstler was approached by the company in 2006 and began playing Paul Reed Smith Guitars exclusively. He often tours in the United States with seven different models on hand. He has been a part of a few ad campaigns and product launches, including the PRS Hollowbody with Mike Scott.

Discography

Albums with Verlorener 2018: Verlorener

Albums with Dååth

2004: Futility 2007: The Hinderers 2009: The Concealers 2010: Dååth

Albums with Levi/Werstler 2010: Avalanche of Worms

Albums with Chimaira

2013: Crown of Phantoms

Other appearances 2006: United in Regret (Depeche Mode cover) by Arsis 2008: Total Brutal by Austrian Death Machine 2009: Guitars That Ate My Brain 2009: Monolith by From Exile 2010: What We’ve Lost by Enders Game 2011: II by Xerath 2011: The Age of Hell by Chimaira 2011: Just Like You Imagined (NIN tribute) by From Exile 2012: A Lethal Dose of Truth by Sylencer 2014: A Question of Perspective by Ron George 2014: Shiryo by Nok Novum 2015: Plagued by Works of Flesh 2016: Tomb by Chris Hunt 2016: Silver Planet by Kacie Marie and Chris Hunt 2018: Sunbelt Bliss by Ryan Knight 2018: Tormenter by The Agony Scene 2020: Revenge Forgiveness Recovery by Kingsmen 2021: Songs For The Apocalypse by Jason Bieler 2024: WAXpaper by WAXpaper, Kevin Scott

Videography 2007: "Subterfuge" by Dååth 2007: "Festival Mass Soulform" by Dååth 2009: "Day of Endless Light" by Dååth 2013: "All That's Left Is Blood" by Chimaira 2013: "No Mercy" by Chimaira 2013: "Wrapped In Violence" by Chimaira 2013: "Crown of Phantoms" by Chimaira 2018: "Devil In The Room" by Verlorener