hess began playing guitar on january 31, 1986 inspired by heavy metal bands such as metallica, def leppard and iron maiden. his musical style later evolved from hard rock and heavy metal to the neo-classical and progressive rock styles, influenced by artists such as: yngwie malmsteen, dream theater, symphony x, andy larocque, jason becker, fryderyk chopin, gustav mahler, johannes brahms and claude debussy.