Rob Arnold is an American musician, best known for performing as the lead guitarist of the metal bandChimaira and later the rhythm guitarist of the death metal band Six Feet Under. In an interview with Roadrunner Records, he named Kirk Hammett, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman and Kerry King as being influential to his playing style. Some of his favorite bands include Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Pantera, Sepultura, and Cannibal Corpse. Arnold is endorsed by ESP Guitars and has his own signature model, the RA-600, which has an M body shape based on the ESP LTD m-1000. In Chimaira, Arnold preferred the drop-C tuning. He also uses custom ESP 7-string guitars, tuned to drop-A. Arnold has been a long-time user of Peavey amps, using the 5150II since the beginning of Chimaira. Since the mid-2000s, he uses a Peavey 6505+ amp head paired with a Mesa Boogie Cabinet. He uses Custom , DR Guitar Strings, cables, a Digitech GSP1101 Processor, an ISP Decimator pedal, a Boss tuner pedal, a Furman power conditioner, a Peavey wireless system, and EMG 81 guitar pickups. During the mid-2000s, he released a Signature Series guitar with ESP Guitars based on his custom RA-3 model. It is called the ESP LTD RA-600. He also has an instructional DVD available through The Rock House Method which focuses on metal guitar, soloing, riffing, and song writing. Arnold is also the lead guitarist for his band, The Elite, with former Baphomet/Stemm front man T.J. Frost, and Bleed the Sky/Chimaira/DevilDriver drummer Austin D'Amond. They released an EP titled WW3 in July 2009, and their debut full-length album Total Destruction in September 2018. On February 27, 2011, it was announced that Arnold along with fellow Chimaira guitarist Matt DeVries, and former Chimaira drummer, Kevin Talley, would be joining the band Six Feet Under. Arnold, Talley, and Six Feet Under vocalist, Chris Barnes, wrote and recorded 2011's Undead, then briefly toured Europe and the United States. In November 2011, it was confirmed that Arnold would be leaving Chimaira after their Chimaira Christmas '11 show for personal reasons. On May 22, 2012, Six Feet Under announced that guitarist Ola Englund would be replacing Arnold, who planned to retire from touring. The band suggested that Arnold may perhaps remain a central writing partner and collaborator on future Six Feet Under releases. Currently, Arnold writes, produces, and mixes music for himself and others at his own RobArnoldWorld Recording Studio, in Cleveland, Ohio.
