Chris Petersen

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, NE 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. It was quickly responded to by bassist Josh Krohn. Together with Krohn and singer Warren "Andy" Curry (a longtime friend of Petersen's) they began putting together songs for a band project dubbed Apostate, later changed to Cellador.

Chris Petersen (born June 22, 1983 in Papillion, Nebraska) is the founding guitarist and songwriter for American power metal band Cellador. Having founded Cellador in 2003, he is the only remaining original member of the band, having gone through several lineup changes in the band's beginning.