Hedras

The virtuoso's new eight-track effort will arrive May 13 via Blood Blast Distribution, and has been previewed with a track that debuts a new Cort Mutility model

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Hedras Angels
(Image credit: Hedras/YouTube)
Progressive electric guitar mastermind Hedras Ramos has announced his new album Angels, and has previewed the upcoming eight-track effort by releasing its EDM-infused title track.

Due May 13, Angels is scheduled to arrive via Blood Blast Distribution, and will be Hedras’s first album since the release of Pagans in 2020.

Anyone familiar with the virtuoso’s repertoire will no doubt be accustomed to the level of elite technicality present in Angels, though you may not have expected the Latin-esque trap rhythm that accompanies the prog phenom’s chops.

Using a trusty Cort – a brand with whom he’s partnered on many occasions – that’s said to be a newly finished version of the X700 Mutility he helped design, Hedras leans heavily into his new sonic direction, locking his Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers into a silky clean tone for surgical string-skipping and harmonic-infused licks.


Of course, there’s a healthy helping of blink-and-you’ll-miss-them scale runs to quench your fretboard firework thirst, too, as well as a three-strong cameo Felix Martin’s 16-string double-fretboard models.

You can check out the track – and the new Cort Mutility, which will be available later this year – in the video above.

“I'm a big fan of urban Latin music, trap, and EDM,” commented Hedras of the track’s direction. “I always imagined combining those styles with prog metal.”

He added, “I had to dive deeply into electronic production and learn how to cohesively put all those elements in synergy with my own guitar ideas and create songs that have a meaning and a vibe. Angels is the result of that and part of a full album in that vein.”

The tracklisting for Angels can be found below.

Latin Blood
Circle
Happy Raven
Angels
Lazy Monkey
Coffee N Chill
Future Math
Walking Home
It's been an eventful 2022 so far for Hedras, who earlier this year teamed up once again with Cort to design the new-and-improved Fishman Fluence-loaded Duality II.

Angels(opens in new tab) is available to preorder now via Blood Blast Distribution. - Guitar World

By Amit Sharma published March 29, 2021

The L.A. instrumental mastermind on what makes a good player and the systematic chaos of his new record, Pagans


GW live at NAMM 2020: Hedras Ramos tears it up on Cort's KX500 Etched, X700 Duality
By Jackson Maxwell published January 17, 2020

Some of Cort's finest axes get taken for a dizzying spin


Hedras: What's on My Playlist
By Guitar World Staff published February 13, 2019

What has Hedras been listening to? Find out here!


Hedras Ramos Premieres "Transitions" Music Video
By Damian Fanelli published April 09, 2018


Hedras Ramos Premieres "Euthanasia" Music Video
By Damian Fanelli published August 24, 2017

Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the premiere of "Euthanasia," a new song and music video byHedra Ramos, a jaw-dropping eight-string prog-metal guitarist fromGuatemala.

1 View Archive - Guitar World

Guitar World has teamed up with eight-string prog-metal guitarist Hedras Ramos to premiere his brand-new music video, "Transitions." The meaty, grooving and uplifting track is the opening cut from Ramos' latest album, 2017's The Impressionist.



"Transitions" was composed, recorded and mixed by Ramos, who was born and raised in Guatemala and now lives in Los Angeles—so, talk about transitions! The recording also features bassist Simon Grove and drummer Anup Sastry, and the album features further guest appearances by Plini and Martin Miller. The "Transitions" music video was shot in Los Angeles by Andrew Yoder(opens in new tab).

We posted our first story about Ramos a whopping seven years ago, when we identified him as a prodigy—and certainly someone to look out for in the future. Ramos has made major strides since 2011, catching the eyes and ears of scores of top guitarists and media outlets; he was chosen by Axl Rose to open for Guns N' Roses in Guatemala—and he's opened for White Cross, Kansas, Die Toten Hosen and many others.

Ramos plays a Cort Guitars X Series Custom Shop eight-string model; it's the only model in existence made under Ramos' specs.

For more information about Ramos and The Impressionist, check out our premiere of "Euthanasia" from last summer, and head to Bandcamp and hedrasramos.com. You also can follow along on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. - Guitar World

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hedras and Hedras Ramos Sr..

Hedras and Hedras, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It all started with my dad Hedras Ramos (Sr.), who taught me my first guitar chords, he’s a Producer and Guitarist, he always had guitars and amps at home and was actively playing in bands and producing commercials in his recording studio. So basically, I grew up surrounded by musical instruments and a lot of music, including his instructional guitar material like CDs, DVDs, and Books, which were a great source of inspiration to learn most of what I know now. I’m a self-taught guitar player though.

I would say that my career started when I enrolled in 2009 in this awesome GUITAR IDOL competition, based in London, UK. I was 17 when I took part in this competition, out of 1200 guitar players from all over the world, after some rounds I made it to the finals and flew from my home country Guatemala to the UK, where 12 players supported by a live band played in front of a panel of judges, great personalities, and a huge crowd, and I won a nice prize, a 7-string beautiful guitar, hand-made, with the Guitar Idol logo on it, perhaps the only one of its kind since this competition exists.

After this competition, I got invited to compete in another awesome guitar competition named Ziua Chitarelor in Bucharest, Romania, where I won an incredible Guitar amp ending in 2nd place. After that, many more endorsements began to happen from more companies based in the USA and other countries. That led me to tour Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

I have produced several albums of my own music and have played on many other projects, perhaps the most important for my career was producing 3 projects for the legendary British actor/singer Sir Christopher Lee (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Dracula, Star Wars and 280+ movies).

I also had the immense honor of featuring on a very cool advertising massive campaign as the brand’s face of a soda named ‘Super Cola’, which is Guatemala’s own answer to Pepsi and Coke. The main picture of the campaign had me holding my custom-made 8-string guitar manufactured by giant guitar maker Cort Guitars. Super Cola made 8+ million soda cans, many giant billboards displayed all over Guatemala City and its main boulevards and interstate roads, plus 30,000 radio spots aired and a similar amount of printed posters placed on the wall of each small store across the country, it was really huge!

As a result of a long list of achievements and awards, my profile got bigger, which was great because my dad and I always had our eyes set on our main goal, to move to Los Angeles to continue developing our careers, and after a couple of years of getting the proper documentation I had the greatest honor of all, getting the “Einstein” visa, which is basically a green card, granted by the US government based on extraordinary abilities and internationally sustain acclaim.

So here I am, having a reset and a new beginning in my life along with my family. These are exciting times, and I already have put together an incredible killer band with amazing musicians ready to tour the wild lands of America and the rest of the world as well.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been easy at all, because the genres I mainly play which are Progressive Metal/Rock, Fusion, and Straight Jazz do not have many fans, these are not mainstream music at all, so it’s complicated! However, I’m doing what it makes me happy! I’m also very open to new opportunities as they come, and even new music styles.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Hedras Ramos – what should we know?
My career as a Guitarist has taken me to different fields within the same trade, like playing as a session guitarist for many artists, producing for other artists, playing live as a hired gun for other artists, and also as an educator.

As an educator I founded a guitar school named GIG (Guitar Institute of Guatemala) which was open for almost 2 years and had to close right before coming to the States, I can say with all satisfaction that GIG was the biggest and most successful guitar academy in the country with more than 250 students during that time, which really filled my heart because I was able to give back a little of the much I have received.

I would say that perhaps my strongest gift is composition and I’m so happy to have the honor of sharing my music with the world.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Perseverance and Discipline!

Contact Info:

Website: www.HedrasMusic.com
Phone: 213 421 4302
Email: hedras1@yahoo.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hedrasmusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hedrasmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hedrasmusic
Other: https://hedras.bandcamp.com/album/unforeseen-standards - SDVoyager

Some of Cort's finest axes get taken for a dizzying spin.

NAMM 2020: Last week, Cort threw its hat into the NAMM ring with its impressive and affordable KX300 Etched electric guitar.

The show this week found the company exhibiting that, plus its equally good-looking and performing KX500 Etched and flagship X700 Duality models. And who better to show off all of these axes than the brilliantly skilled Guatemalan guitarist, and longtime Cort endorser, Hedras Ramos?

Luckily for us, Ramos and another Cort employee by the name of Will were more than happy to sit down and discuss - and, of course, demonstrate - these sleek new axes.

Check out the demos in the video above, and be sure to check out the rest of our comprehensive NAMM coverage to get the skinny on more great gear. - Guitar World