Brian Elwin Haner Jr. (born July 7, 1981), better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the band Avenged Sevenfold. He ranks No. 87 on Guitar World’s 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time.

On the Avenged Sevenfold DVD All Excess, Gates claimed that his name was created on a drunken drive through the park with the Rev.