“These guitars have completely changed my perspective on what a guitar should feel like in your hands. The ergonomics and versatility are truly unmatched and it inspires me to create in a way that no other instrument has.” – John Matos
Beginning his career in 2010 with the release of the debut EP A Universal Plague, John Matos has been playing and touring the world as a founding member of the Miami-based death metal band Abiotic. John is known for his work on both 7- and 8-string guitars, having played extended-range guitars for over 15 years. In addition to his career in metal, John is an active content creator, bridging the metal and comedy world, and garnering tens of millions of views across social media.
John began his guitar journey at the age of 13, leaning heavily into classic rock, learning songs from Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, and all the greats before being introduced to progressive metal and solo shred guitar players. Bands like Dream Theater, Opeth, and Symphony X, along with shredders like Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, and Vinnie Moore, helped shape John as a young guitar player to strive for the balance between technique and feel. Moving into heavier and more technical music in his late teenage years, John sought to bridge the gaps between death metal, technical death metal, and deathcore to create a sound that is crushingly heavy, but melodic and catchy.
Influenced by bands like Gojira, Cynic, Between the Buried and Me, and Necrophagist, John combines his metal influences with influences from jazz, flamenco, hip-hop, and more to develop a signature sound in his riff and solo writing. This can be heard across the band’s entire catalog of albums and EPs, the first two of which were released on Metal Blade Records. The band’s most recent full-length effort, Ikigai, was met with critical acclaim in the metal world and saw the band touring with Suffocation and Belphegor to support. The band has had the opportunity to tour across the US, Europe, and Canada with acts like Cattle Decapitation, The Faceless, Within the Ruins, Dying Fetus, Exhumed, Rivers of Nihil, and more.
John’s main guitars are a Boden Original NX 8 Earth Green and a Boden Prog NX 7 Charcoal Black. John describes these guitars as “Ergonomic, versatile, and perfect for both rhythm and lead playing.” We are thrilled to have a talent such as John as a part of the .strandberg* Guitars family of artists and look forward to seeing where his talents take him!
The original design, refined and perfected for the present and the future
Boden Original NX 8 Earth Green
Based on the first concept prototypes, the Original NX can be deemed the model that started a revolution in modern guitar design and takes the electric guitar into the 21st century. Ever evolving to meet the requirements of players and the changing times, the Original NX model lineup has been refined with sustainable materials that sound great, updated hardware components for improved functionality and reliability, enhanced ergonomics for even greater comfort and playability, and subtle visual tweaks to further refine the Boden playing experience.
View product"John’s work in Abiotic embodies the precision, structural thoughtfulness, and melodic sensibilities that have become the new standard in modern technical metal. To achieve clarity and dynamics amidst such an onslaught of musical aggression is no easy feat, and John manages it quite effortlessly."
