Lee Malia: “Les Pauls Make You Think Of Rock Bands”

It’s the 100th anniversary of the Les Paul this year – a guitar that has been used by some of the greatest musicians on the planet, with the likes of Jimmy Page and Slash producing some of rocks most iconic riffs.

To celebrate the occasion, Kerrang! spoke to Bring The Horizon shredder/Les Paul user Lee Malia about the legendary axe, and his first memories of playing guitar. Guitar nerds: this one’s for you…

Hey, Lee! How old were you when you first picked up a guitar? Can you tell us your first-ever memories…

“I think I was about 14 – maybe a little bit younger. I always had guitars and stuff in my house, but I was never bothered by them because I was into football. Just randomly, my dad had S&M, the Metallica CD, and he always had a load of classic rock. I heard that and it just got me into music and I just wanted to learn it. I got really into Metallica for about five years.”

What was the first guitar you owned, and how did you end up playing Gibson?

“I had a super-cheap Fender copy thing that I brought for like 80 quid. It was a shitty guitar but I always wanted a Gibson, however I could never afford one when I was younger. Eventually I met the guys from Gibson in Germany, and they were nice enough to help me out and give me a couple of guitars. Since then, all I’ve played is Gibson. I love them – I think they are great.”

It’s the 100th anniversary of the Les Paul this year… As a guitarist, what do you think when you see that guitar?

“It’s pretty much… When you see one, you just think of rock music, no matter who you are, or what type of person. When you see a Les Paul, it makes you think of rock bands. I think it’s just the most iconic guitar you can ever see onstage. It’s solid, it’s pretty simple but that’s why I like them – they’re old-school and heavy, they always sound awesome and I could get a new one tomorrow and it will still sound awesome! It’s not like you have to try and make them sound good – they just always do.”

When you play, how do the guitars feel and sound? What sets them apart from other brands?

“To me they just sound full, and that’s what I like. It is a really full, thick-sounding tone – it’s not brittle or anything like that. They are usually quite heavy – especially the older ones – but when I have a heavy guitar it makes me play harder. Having a heavy guitar makes me feel like it’s not going to break, do you know what I mean? But some guitars are super-light and they can feel like a toy, whereas a Gibson always feel proper.”

How many Gibsons do you currently own, and do you still have your first-ever one?

“Yeah, I’ve still got it. It’s in our practice room up in Sheffield… Actually, no, it’s at my house at the moment. Because I’ve been playing a bunch of my Epiphones which came out, I’ve got a bunch of them. I got about six or seven Gibsons… Oh no, actually, I’ve got more as I have some of the older ones as well. I think I’ve got 10 all together. Some of the ones I’ve got are not even the expensive ones – they’re from an era from when they tried to rival Fender, so like the S1, the Marauder and Victory. It was when they tried all weird stuff… They are under a grand on eBay now, but they are proper good guitars – they’re not like normal Gibsons.”

Did you use your Gibsons when recording your parts to new album That’s The Spirit?

“Yeah, I used my Epiphone custom that they brought out, which is part of Gibson, and I used my Gibson Standard that I’ve had for ages to do most of my parts as well.”

Pick up the new issue of Kerrang! (out now) to see where That’s The Spirit ranked in our Ultimate 2015 Rock Review: