Bumblefoot

Ron Blumenthal records and performs as Bumblefoot, a name that occasionally appears in extended form as Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal. His widest recognition stems from serving as guitarist in the Guns N' Roses configuration overseen by Axl Rose throughout the 2000s, prior to that band's 2015 reunion with Slash. Although already established among shred guitar enthusiasts by the mid-1990s, he entered the group in 2006 and remained until 2014, a stretch that saw the long-delayed appearance of Chinese Democracy as well as multiple worldwide tours. During the same period he issued several solo releases that displayed his rapid, technically demanding approach, and upon departing Guns N' Roses he aligned himself with Art of Anarchy and Sons of Apollo while continuing independent work.

Exposure to Kiss' Alive! ignited his musical passion during childhood, prompting him to begin playing guitar at age five. From that moment the instrument became an all-consuming focus; he produced homemade recordings, performed live, and cultivated an intricate, densely layered technique shaped by conventional hard rock and unorthodox soloing. The latter trait drew notice from Mike Varney, founder of Shrapnel Records, who featured Thal's demo in a 1989 Guitar Player article. Varney subsequently signed him to the label in 1995, resulting in the release that year of The Adventures of Bumblefoot, followed in 1997 by Hermit, both issued under the name Ron Thal. After leaving Shrapnel in 1998, Thal assembled a band called Bumblefoot and issued Hands through his own Hermit Inc. imprint.

The group remained active until 2001, after which Thal chose to proceed alone and began using Bumblefoot as his solo identity with the 2002 album Uncool. He kept touring and recording, assembling leftover material into 2003's The Forgotten Anthology and delivering the full-length Normal in 2005 before being invited to join Guns N' Roses in 2006. While contributing to the completion of Chinese Democracy, which finally appeared in 2008, he pursued numerous other endeavors including session work, television and film scoring, instruction, charitable activities, production, and further solo recordings. He maintained this dual commitment until leaving the band in 2014 to concentrate on his own projects. At that stage he helped establish Art of Anarchy alongside Disturbed's John Moyer and brothers John and Vince Votta, enlisting Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots for vocals on an album that surfaced in 2015. The following year Creed's Scott Stapp became the permanent singer, and the revised lineup released The Madness in March 2017. In August of that year Bumblefoot launched Sons of Apollo, a collective featuring bassist Billy Sheehan, vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, drummer Mike Portnoy, and keyboardist Derek Sherinian; the ensemble recorded Psychotic Symphony, which arrived in October.