Who is Ziras?:
Theodore Ziras was born in Poros island (Greece).
Started his music training at the age of 15 (Guitar, Music
Theory, Jazz Harmony, Rhythm & Counterpoint, Piano) His main
influences include generally anything
from Classical Music, Rock, Metal to Jazz & Fusion.
1994-1998:
His first serious band
collaboration was with the Athens(GR) based power metal
Greek band "Ice Divine" (1994-98) and
"Guardian Angel" (1997-98) as the lead
guitar player. He did numerous recording & performed in many
gigs
(e.g support with Iced Earth, U.D.O etc)
1998-2001:
Greece, he registered
at the prestigious Guitar Institute of London
for further Music/Guitar studies. He graduated 3 years later
getting his degree, Bachelor (Honors) in Music Performance &
Composition.
2001:
He returned to Athens/Greece,
he signed his first solo record deal. His first instrumental
solo CD "Trained To
Play" released in
April 2001. A mix of Orchestral
Neoclassical Metal with complex harmony/orchestration and
mind-blowing lead guitar parts. The reviews for "Trained To
Play" were more than positive and established Theodore as a
solid musician & Guitar Player with great perspectives for
the future.
2003:
Almost 2 years (2003) later during serving his
military duty Theodore prepared his 2nd instrumental album.
"Virtual Virtuosity" released in
March 2003. With "Virtual Virtuosity" Theodore
accomplished to move a step forward his career and be
acknowledged world-wide as a top class guitar virtuoso.
2005:
Few months later (early 2004) he decided to produce a CD
with Vocals. Searching for the perfect vocalist was not an
easy job, Jioti Parcharidis
(Human Fortress, Victory)
finally was the perfect choice. After almost 2 years of
recordings EUROFORCE
CD
hit the market on June 2005.
2006-2007:
Theodore prepared his 3rd instrumental
CD...time for change. He played along the legendary
keyboardist Derek
Sherinian and the top
L.A drummer Brian Tichy
(Whitesnake).
"HyperpyrexiA"
is the stunning result from
this co-operation. Great reviews from the world wide press
and Top Seller on Guitar9.com for several weeks. During this
year Theodore did appeared in guitar clinics supporting
world class acts as
Kiko Loureiro, Michael Angelo Batio, Gus G, Mattias Eklundh.
Also Theodore released
8 instructional DVD's.
2008:
On
"Guitar World (July 2008)"
issue Theodore mentioned as
#6 Fastest Guitarist of
all time (16 notes per
second). In the same list you can find names as
Yngwie Mamsteen, John Petrucci, Steve
Vai etc.
2009: The 4th
Ziras instrumental album released,
Territory 4
is a blend of virtuosity elegance and complexity. The drum
phenomenon Marco
Minnemann played on
this great release along with the ultra talented keyboardist
Alex Argento
and monster bass player
Kyle Honea.
Territory 4 was a top seller on Guitar9 and
Cd Baby CD stores.
On September 1st 2009 Theodore started the
successful “Lick of the
Week”
series, a weekly free video lesson on
YouTube
which achieves millions of views.
2011:
Monster 5
is the 5ths instrumental release from Theodore.
The Monster is here,
killer 7 string heavy riffing, monstrous soloing, extreme shredding
and
heavy
attitude combined with elegant playing. Great collaborations
on this release as the British shred monster
Andy James,
Christian
Nativo
(Vanishing
Point)
on Drums and the talented
Sergey Boykov
on keyboards
2013:
Hand of God
is the female fronted metal release with the vocal sensation
Marissia.
If you are a fan of the instrumental albums of Theodore, or
fan of Nightwish, Epica,
The Gathering, Theatre Of Tragedy
and Within Temptation you will love this album
2014:
Virtual Virtuosity "The Reincarnation"
11 years after the original release of
"Virtual Virtuosity" (2003)
the same compositions are back
in a brand new remixed and remastered version.
New drums, new Bass, new rhythm guitars.
Only the lead
guitars are the same as the original release (2003).
2015:
Trained to Play "The Reincarnation"
Theodore Ziras first instrumental release rimexed and
remasted with new Rhythm Section and superb
production.Monstrous sweeps, great melodies,
great playing, Neoclassical Metal at it's finest.
Theodore keeps extremely busy dividing his time between
studying, composing, teaching guitar, writing instructional
material, recording and trying to develop his style and grow
as a performer and composer. |