Picking up the guitar at age 13, John initially focused on classic rock, learning legends like Van Halen, Led Zeppelin and Hendrix. John then explored progressive metal and virtuoso guitarists drawing inspiration from Dream Theater, Opeth, Symphony X, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai and Vinnie Moore. In his late teens, John transitioned to more heavier and technical genres, with the goal of blending death metal, technical death metal and deathcore into a sound that is both brutal and melodic.

John Matos released his first recorded work in the 2010 EP A Universal Plague and has since toured the world as a founding member of Abiotic. Known for his expertise with extended range guitars (both 7 and 8 string guitars) he is also a popular content creator, merging both metal and comedy and attracting tens of millions of views on social media.

John’s style is also influenced by bands such as Gojira, Cynic, Between the Buried and Me and Necrophagist, incorporating elements of hip-hop, rap, flamenco and jazz into his riffs and solos. This diverse influence is evident across Abiotic’s entire discography, with their first two albums released on Metal Blade Record with their last 2 entries, Ikigai and A Universal Plague: Mutation released on the label The Artisan Era.

Having toured across North America, Canada and Europe with many big acts, Abiotic has shared the stage with various metal titans such as Suffocation, Belphegor, Cattle Decapitation, The Faceless, Within The Ruins, Dying Fetus, Exhumed and Rivers of Nihil. John’s primary guitars are a Boden Original NX 8 (Earth Green) and a Boden Prog NX 7 (Charcoal Black), which he describes as “ergonomic, versatile and perfect for both rhythm and lead.”