Canadian death metal guitarist forced to relearn as a leftie, then plays gig at elementary school

Now this is a great Back To Live story: Can you imagine having to switch and relearn to play guitar left-handed, or vice versa? For Quebec's Phillipe Drouin it involved four years and 7000 hours of practice.

The guitarist and singer of the death metal trio Obvurt was forced to adapt from right to left-handed guitar playing after developing osteophyte (a bone spur) in his right picking hand.

Instead of quitting guitar the music teacher at a music school set about switching to a left handed instrument. On June 23 he celebrated his hard work paying off with a show in front of his students at Saint-Albert-Le-Grand school in Quebec. 

Obvurt

(Image credit: Obvurt / YouTube)

It may have been the first time the 7-12-year-old students have heard death metal but it looks like a great time was had by all during the set – Obvurt's debut live performance as a band.

 "I am very happy to share this this beautiful moment because it's inspiring, says Phillipe.

Obvurt's debut album The Beginning is out now. For more info on the band visit Obvurt.

Rob Laing
Guitars Editor, MusicRadar

Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of hi waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear and making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing a Floyd Rose guitar.