David Zaffiro

    David Zaffiro

    Seattle, Washington6 reviews across 4 releases

    adult alternativeaorhard rockmelodic rock
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    David Zaffiro is an American guitarist who also sang and produced records. He came out of Seattle's Christian music circuit, helping form Topaz before playing in Crystal City Rockers and joining Bloodgood in the mid-1980s. His work there established the sharp lead playing that followed him into a solo career, although the solo records covered more ground than Christian metal. The 1989 debut The Other Side paired searing guitar with a new, gutsy vocal performance, moving between rockers, acoustic ballads, and Pink Floyd-like keyboard atmosphere. In Scarlet Storm pushed the heavy side much harder; one contemporary description put its balance at roughly 90 percent heavy metal. By Surrender Absolute, the emphasis had shifted toward melodic rock, with spacious instrumental passages and songs about divorce or a friend's illness. Zaffiro wrote most of the material and played much of it himself.

    In 1988, Zaffiro left Bloodgood to spend more time with his family and develop work as a producer. He still contributed to the band's later recordings, but his own direction was already elsewhere. He produced the first two Holy Soldier albums, a role the early-1990s reviews connected to their bright hooks and heavy impact. In 1993 he moved from Seattle to Nashville with his wife and children. After Yesterday's Left Behind appeared in 1994, no further solo album followed in the 1990s. Instead, Zaffiro built a long career behind the console, chiefly as a producer and mixing engineer, while continuing to write and play guitar. His later credits include Point of Grace and Little Big Town, alongside work with other Christian artists. He remains based in Nashville and continues to work in recording.

    4 releases reviewed