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Terry Balsamo

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Terry Balsamo
Balsamo performing with Evanescence in 2009
Balsamo performing with Evanescence in 2009
Background information
Born (1972-10-08) October 8, 1972 (age 52)
Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Genres
OccupationMusician
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1994–present
Formerly of

Terry Philip Balsamo II (born October 8, 1972) is an American musician who is best known as the former guitarist of the rock bands Cold and Evanescence. Balsamo is noted for his onstage expression of his fondness for Michael Myers of the Halloween film franchise.

Biography

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Early projects and Cold

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After a brief run with the early lineup of Limp Bizkit[1][2][3] in 1995, Balsamo joined fellow Jacksonville rockers Scooter Ward, Sam McCandless, Jeremy Marshall and Kelly Hayes of the band Cold in 1999.

Balsamo wrote and recorded with Cold for their albums 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage (2000) and Year of the Spider (2003). He also appeared alongside Staind in Staind's 2001 MTV Unplugged performance. Near the end of his stint with Cold, the band joined Evanescence as an opening act on the 2003 Nintendo Fusion Tour.

Balsamo briefly re-joined Cold for their early 2009 reunion tour. According to a post on Cold's Facebook page on July 8, 2016, Balsamo was returning to the band for the recording of new music. However, he had departed the group again by January 2018, when Cold announced a new album with a new lineup.[4]

Evanescence

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When Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody left the band during the European tour of their debut album Fallen (2003), Balsamo replaced him as lead guitarist on tour and soon joined as Evanescence's permanent guitarist.[5][6] Balsamo featured on Evanescence's 2004 live album and concert DVD Anywhere but Home, and became singer and pianist Amy Lee's musical collaborator on their second album, The Open Door (2006).[7] Balsamo continued with the band, playing and co-writing on their 2011 self-titled third album. In August 2015, it was announced on the band's Facebook page that Balsamo had parted ways with the band.[8] He performed with the band again in 2019 for the song "Sweet Sacrifice".[9]

Health issues

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In October 2005, two days after having finished recording all of his guitar tracks for Evanescence's album The Open Door,[10] Balsamo suffered a stroke from a torn neck artery, leaving the left side of his body paralyzed.[11][12] The doctors showed him that it was caused by a blood clot in his neck, possibly a result of headbanging on-stage and likely formation of an aneurysm, allowing for pooling of static blood and a thrombus.[13] His doctors did not think he would ever be able to play guitar again. Balsamo however was determined to overcome the paralysis, and began physical therapy and the process of re-training his hand to play.[14][15]

Equipment

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I use Ibanez guitars. In the studio, I kind of use a similar setup to what I used on the last Cold record I did, which is mix up the amps and combine the sound together. It's a Diezel and a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier and mixed that for one side. Then I took a Bogner and a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier on the other side. I combined it and made one big wall of metal! Right now on tour I'm using T.C. Electronics, the G-System.

— Terry Balsamo, Ultimate-Guitar.com[13]

Band projects

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  • Evanescence – guitar (2003–2015; 2019 tour performance)
  • Cold – guitar (1999–2004, 2009 tour only, 2016–2018)
  • Shaft – guitar (1996–1999)
  • Limp Bizkit – guitar (1996)

Discography

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Cold

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Evanescence

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Terry Balsamo Rejoins Limp Bizkit | tunelab™". Tunelab.com. September 24, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Melodic Net – Terry Balsamo Rejoins Limp Bizkit". Melodic.net. September 24, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Terry Balsamo recalls Limp Bizkit opportunity". Facebook. November 8, 2011. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  4. ^ "Cold Returning with First Album in Seven Years, New Lineup Announced". Ultimate Guitar. January 15, 2018. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  5. ^ D'Angelo, Joe (January 16, 2004). "Evanescence Name New Guitarist". VH1.com. MTV News. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved August 20, 2008.
  6. ^ "Evanescence: Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  7. ^ "Another 'Door' Opens for Amy Lee". The Washington Post. October 6, 2006. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  8. ^ wookubus (August 9, 2015). "Evanescence Part Ways With Guitarist Terry Balsamo, Welcome Jen Majura". Theprp.com. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  9. ^ "First night back and we had a blast, Jax! So much love tonight. A very special thank you to @TerryBalsamo for joining us onstage for Sweet Sacrifice". Evanescence. May 4, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2022 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Lee, Amy (July 25, 2008). "Evanescence on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos". The Hour (Interview). Interviewed by George Stroumboulopoulos. Strombo. Retrieved October 25, 2022 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ Harrington, Richard (October 6, 2006). "Another 'Door' Opens for Amy Lee". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  12. ^ Powers, Ann (October 1, 2006). "Rock's a hard place – ask Evanescence". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  13. ^ a b "Evanescence Guitarist: Filling Ben Moody's Shoes". Ultimate Guitar. March 11, 2006. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved February 4, 2006.
  14. ^ Armstrong, Denis (January 8, 2007). "Amy Lee bares her artistic soul". Jam!. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ Conniff, Tamara (September 16, 2006). "Into The Great Wide 'Open'". Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 37. p. 34. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
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