John Christ

John Christ (born John Wolfgang Knoll on February 19, 1965) is an American musician best known as the original guitarist for the metal band Danzig. He has been known for his bluesy hard rock sound and frequent use of the pinch harmonic. Christ was ranked 63rd in Guitar World's list of 'The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists'.

Early life Christ was born the youngest of five children, with four older sisters. Christ first started playing acoustic guitar when he was in grade school and began playing electric guitar at age 13. He had previously taken piano lessons. His first electric guitar was a Univox Les Paul copy. He later studied classical guitar at the Peabody Institute and attended Towson University studying Jazz, theory and composition.

Samhain and Danzig In 1987, Christ dropped out of college and moved to New Jersey to join Glenn Danzig's band Samhain, which became the band Danzig later that same year. During his time with Danzig, Christ's main guitar was a 1983 BC Rich Bich strung with custom D'Aquisto strings and fit with PRS HFS White label pickups. His backup customized 10-string is currently on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando.

Solo career In 1997, Christ was part of the short lived band Juice 13, which also included Randy Castillo, former drummer for Ozzy Osbourne. Christ's guitar work has been used by TV stations ABC and Nine Network. During his time with Nine Network, he provided backing guitar for performances by artists including Tom Jones and Lou Rawls. On November 27, 2009, Christ returned to the live stage for the first time in ten years with a solo performance in Essex, Maryland.

Discography Danzig 1988 – Danzig 1990 – Danzig II: Lucifuge 1992 – Danzig III: How the Gods Kill 1993 – Thrall-Demonsweatlive 1994 – Danzig 4 2001 – Live on the Black Hand Side 2007 – The Lost Tracks of Danzig

Samhain 1990 – Final Descent

Solo 1999 – Flesh Caffeine

Others 1987 – Less than Zero soundtrack album by Various Artists (contributed the track "You and Me (Less than Zero)" with Glenn Danzig & the Power and Fury Orchestra) 1994 – Guitar Practicing Musicians 3 by Various Artists (Contributed the track "For Christ's Sake", also featuring Chuck Biscuits) 1996 – Guitars That Rule the World, Vol. 2: Smell the Fuzz: The Superstar Guitar Album by Various Artists (Contributed the track "One Song") 1999 – Black Glue by Mike Hartman 2001 – Metallic Assault: A Tribute to Metallica by Various Artists (Contributed the track "Enter Sandman", also featuring Robert Trujillo, Burton C. Bell and Tommy Aldridge) 2012 – Ex Lives by Every Time I Die (Contributed guitar on the track "Revival Mode")