A 12-year-old heavy metal prodigy named Vox Realis is making waves in the guitar world, after he was accepted into a mentorship program run by a former Megadeth electric guitar player.
Realis, who first picked up the guitar at the age of seven and learned Black Sabbath’s Iron Man as his first song, was recently the topic of a KOMO News piece, which explored the aspiring shredder’s guitar journey so far.
And, unsurprisingly, the young player has hit a fair few milestones already in his burgeoning career, including playing onstage at The Kelly Clarkson Show, amassing thousands of followers on social media thanks to his ‘Metal for Breakfast’ clips… and being accepted into a mentorship program organized by metal legend, Kiko Loureiro.
As Realis explains, he first met Loureiro after submitting a speculative application to join his mentorship program, though believed his chances to be slim after thinking it was mainly for older guitarists. Realis’ playing, though, made an impression on the ex-Megadeth shredder.
“How I met him was he posted online about an opening slot in his mentorship, but it's mainly for adults,” Realis says. “So I was like, ‘I'm a kid. I should apply. He's gonna say no, right?’ But he said yes. So I'm in Seattle, and he's in Helsinki, Finland, so we have to Zoom, and we Zoom every two weeks, and we talk about everything guitar.”
Despite conducting the majority of their initial sessions online, the pair eventually met in person, when Realis flew over to Finland to talk and jam with his hero in the flesh.
It takes a particularly bright talent to catch Loureiro’s eye, and naturally he’s especially praising of Realis’ already well-developed guitar skills.
“My initial reaction when I saw Vox play, I was amazed,” Loureiro remembers. “I saw his videos on Instagram. I was just amazed how this young kid can play so well. And of course, it takes me back to when I started playing guitar.”
Realis himself, meanwhile, has set himself some lofty goals, and is hoping he will be able to put his own stamp on the metal world.
“I'm thinking sponsorship with my own signature guitar, probably an album out and touring with a metal band,” he says of his future.
“But I don't know where metal is going to be in 10 to 20 years, but I want to put my stamp on it. I'm going to be me and metal is going to be me. I'm going to put my stamp on it.”
Visit Vox Realis’ Instagram account for more.
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