Career
According to interviews, Petersen began playing guitar in 1998 at the age of 15. At this time Petersen was largely influenced by thrash metal bands and has stated in interviews that this style of music formed the foundation for his tight guitar playing. He was entirely self-taught, having learned guitar by playing to his favorite bands and learning music theory over the internet.
By 16 he had joined his first band in Omaha, North-East called Roy Batty, a post hardcore band, as their 2nd guitarist.
The band played several shows in the midwest but disbanded shortly after. The next 2 years he spent jamming and rehearsing with various bands in the Omaha area but quickly became discouraged by the Omaha music scene"s lack of traditional metal.
In 2002 Petersen began posting musician"s wanted ads for band members who wished to form a European influenced metal band. lieutenant was quickly responded to by bassist Josh Krohn.
Chris Petersen uses Jackson Guitars, Doctorate"Addario strings, Planet Waves guitar picks, EVH 5150 III guitar amps, and Mesa Boogie Amplification.
He has often been photographed playing Jackson"s V series guitars.