Last week I started this short series on music and guitar playing. I promised that I'd keep on it and wrap the series up before long, but I forgot that this week was E3 and so for the past few days I've been busy watching disappointing press conferences and doing my duty as a gamer. Since the expo is done now, I've convinced myself to get on back to my blogging.
The first entry explained why playing guitar matters to me and how I got started with the hobby. This time I'll rape your churches and burn your daughters, no not really. This time I'll get straight to the point and explain the technical styles and guitar tones that shaped me into what I am today. I'm going to put up some videos of songs, but I don't expect you all to listen to them, so I'll also quickly explain why the tone or style in the song mattered to me. Today I'll cover the musical genre that influenced me more than any other, metal. I love many kinds of metal whether it's heavy, soft, fast, slow, old, new, romantic, violent, political, triumphant, fantastical, symphonic, gloomy, or any infinite mix of styles. Here some bands and songs that helped me define how I play.
Rhythm guitars
Metallica: The first album I ever owned was Master of Puppets and I was about 10. In elementary school my best friend Justin and I would listen to Metallica all day long and try to learn their music on drums and guitar. It was so long ago I have no idea what we sounded like, but we had a ton of energy, we practiced hard, and this music required us to focus on something in ways that you'd be hard pressed to find other 10-year-olds doing. The most powerful thing about Metallica is James Hetfield, and by extension the most powerful thing about this style of music is the tight, punchy, fast rhythm guitar. The palm-muting technique (the technique that creates the chugging crunchy sound) James has is the best in the business and when he sits down to play guitar he's a riff machine. The most important thing I ever learned from Metallica and from James Hetfield was how to play those tight rhythm guitars that give this style of music it's life blood.
Sylosis: This is my favorite contemporary metal band. The reason why is all in the rhythm guitars and philosophy of the band. This band is led by lead guitarist Josh Middleton and even though they only have two albums out they've managed to win my heart and Middleton has become my favorite guitarist to play along with. Josh is a huge fan of the same bands I listen to like Metallica and Rush, and the music he writes is thrash metal at its core, with a touch of progressive rock to make it unique. In a world where every new metal band sounds like the same downtuned, over produced, wannabe emo bullshit, Sylosis brings some honesty, power, and standard tuning into the metal world.
Even though I said Middleton is a "lead" guitarist, when he puts on guitar clinics and gives lessons he tells students that the most important thing to this kind of music is rhythms and discipline. It doesn't matter how fast you can sweep-pick, how pretty your hair is, or how much charisma you have. If you can't play in harmony with a drummer, and if you can't dedicate your time to diligent practice, you have no business making this kind of music. Most of you probably listen to this and just hear screaming and chaos. When I hear it I hear cohesion and passion. Every riff has purpose, every passage is there for a reason. It's like math to me, and the old punk ethos of "It's cool to play shitty" is nowhere to be found. If you don't have the endurance to play this, you won't last more than a minute. If you can't focus and deliver the raw power and precision this type of music demands, it will spit you right out (so will the fans). When you're listening to this type of metal music and somebody isn't doing it well, you'll be able to tell right away because the whole song will fall apart. But, if you can play this stuff well, it's magic to the ears of metal fans. Sylosis has both technical prowess, and heart.
I can play the rhythms to most of the songs from all of Sylosis' albums, but this particular song "Teras" is my favorite to play and I know every riff like the back of my hand. It takes all the lessons I learned from Metallica and builds upon them.
Playing a melody
Iron Maiden: I personally think Iron Maiden is the greatest group of guys to ever get together and play this kind of music. Money, drugs, girls, gimmicks, or fame have never torn this band apart, or defined it. They started doing this in the 70s and decades later they are still doing exactly what they were doing back then, because they love making music together. They're more popular now than they ever were, and the funny thing is, they've never needed to rely on radio play or MTV to accomplish their world dominance.
I've learned how to play more of their songs than I even care to tell, and I could've put dozens of videos up here, but I think a song like Transylvania says what I want to say. The irony in that statement is that this song is completely instrumental. While other metal bands were writing songs about sex and drugs, as well as wasting time primping their hair, Iron Maiden were cutting loose and thrashing out technically demanding songs like Transylvania whether it was popular or not. Within the first couple minutes of this song, more notes fly by than you'd ever hear in a song from any other rock band. Yet they manage to keep it all together, keep it tight, and take you on a 4 minute instrumental romp. When I first learned to play this song a few years ago, I spent a whole afternoon working at it, and it was a son of a bitch. I can still play it now, but it's not easy. It takes a lot of stamina to get through all the sections of it in once piece without stopping.
Maiden's music isn't important just because of their philosophy and attitude, but also because of the simple repeatable melodies they write. Melodic metal was perfected with Maiden, and countless bands have been follow in this Iron Maiden's wake ever since.
Children of Bodom: This is one of the bands that is heavily influenced by Iron Maiden, and that's the reason I gravitated towards them. Their songwriter Alexi Laiho is incredibly talented but has much more punk influence, and is therefore much messier than the surgical precision of Josh Middleton of Sylosis. I love Alexi Laiho's playing because he's completely unapologetic, he does what he wants, and through all the chaos and distortion he manages to write really amazing melodies like the ones in this song. Playing along with Children of Bodom songs lets me bath in soaring melodies without sacrificing the fast pace of thrash metal.
Using your imagination - Escaping
Rhapsody: This power metal band makes music exclusively about fantasy lands and intricate story lines. This song takes you straight into battle. Every conflict is as epic as can be and it oozes an atmosphere of adrenaline and triumph over darkness. This is the RPG of metal music and listening to this could easily conjure up thoughts of riding titans, seeing dragons tear each other apart, or summoning a meteor shower to obliterate the millions of goblins surrounding you. If you enjoy classical music or epic movie scores, you should find Rhapsody to be the type of metal band you've always wanted. When I play the melodic guitars in this song, I feel like I'm a part of a medieval army of sound because thundering drums, singing choirs, and classical sounds are charging right along with me.
Nightwish: The little avatar profile picture I've always used is a subtle but persistent shout out to this band. This is the ultimate band for an escapist, intellectual, brooding, metal head to get lost in. The heavy guitars and drums mix fluidly with the sound of operatic vocals, keyboards, and symphonic bombast to give you a unique metal sound full of passion, imagination, and dark fantasy.
Well that does it for the metal edition. This series is getting ever closer to its conclusion. Stay tuned, in a few days I'll be back with more. Stay classy, kids
Comments
Joaquim Mira
Media Manager
06/08/2012 at 06:16 PM
Love Metallica. I also love their S&M concert, I listen to it quite frequently when I'm uploading media.
From that one Sylosis video I would say that the instrumentals are great to hear, but the vocals are meh in my opinion. I think that when singing at that volume you still need some harmony, Hedley has it, and so does Freddy Mercury (I know, I know. He doesn't do metal, but he sings at such a high volume with harmony, and with such pasion I can't bear to not mention him).
Hahaha, loved that Rhapsody song. Opera Metal FTW. Can totally see what you mean by having visions of grand battles.
Don't like the keyboard section in Nightwish, but otherwise it's some fucking awesome stuff.
By the way, have you ever watched Metalocalypse, and if so did you like it?
Michael117
06/08/2012 at 07:06 PM
I'm so glad you dug the blog and some of the music I put up Joaquim! I wasn't sure if anybody on the site would be able to get into it or take the time to hear the music :)
It's so cool you like Metallica's S&M live album they did, I love that album too! Do you have any particular songs you listen to the most?
I'm happy you enjoyed the musicianship in the Sylosis song I put up. I honestly could've put better Sylosis songs up there, but Teras (the song I put up) is the 1st Sylosis song I learned to play so I put it up for the sake of nostalgia I guess. Don't worry, if you aren't privy to the vocal style I know what you mean. I listen to a lot of music with screaming vocals like that but I honestly tune most of it out mentally. It's just the way my brain hears music. When I listen to music I hardly ever hear vocals and I never learn lyrics. Instead I always hear guitars and drums and I focus on those without really noticing that I'm tuning out vocals in my head. That vocalist you were hearing in the Sylosis song was actually fired after that album. The lead guitarist Josh Middleton does the vocals himself now and he still growls, but it's a bit lower pitched and dirtier. They sound even heavier now and their song writing is better now in the newer songs.
I really enjoy the show Metalocalypse lol. The first couple times I watched it I didn't know what to make of it, but after a while it grew on me. Their voice acting is ridiculous and it's funny hearing people do impressions of those characters. My friend Justin does a really good Murderface (the bass player) impression and he tries to teach me how to do it all the time, and I can't do it at all lol.
Do you like instrumental songs? If so, I'm going to leave you two good ones to check out if you would like to.
Sylosis - Where the Sky Ends: http://youtu.be/PlBfc0BvU5g This is a heavy progressive instrumental that they did and you won't have to hear any of the growling vocals. It has a more uplifting vibe to it than most of the other songs they write.
Nightwish - Last of the Wilds: http://youtu.be/0oLqP6AsI7o This is a great instrumental because it's very much full of hard rock guitar and drums but it's mixed with folksy sounds and various extra instruments outside of the normal band setup. Nightwish always does at least one great instrumental epic on their albums, and this is one of the standouts.
Joaquim Mira
Media Manager
06/08/2012 at 08:32 PM
I think Julian, and Angelo also like metal. I'm not exactly sure though lol.
I listen to the entirety of the S&M album. However I really do like Devil's Dance, Hero of the Day, Master of Puppets, Of Wolf and Man, The Ecstasy of Gold, Battery, Enter Sandman, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Nothing Else Matters, One, Sad but True, Until it Sleeps, and Wherever I May Roam... that's almost all of them LOL.
I have a hard time tuning out vocals sometimes, specially when intrumentals are better as I can automatically tell that someone isn't supposed to be singing hahahahaha.
Yeah. Metalocalypse is fucking awesome. I also listen to some of Dethklok's songs too. My definite favs are: Crush My Battle Opponent's Balls, the coffee Dethjingle (starts with "do you folks like coffee", hilarious shit), of course I also like the main theme, Thunderhorse, Awaken, and Go Into the Water.
I do like instrumental songs. It would be hard to deny because of my love for video game cover songs. So many songs from the NES era go well when played with an electric guitar.
Definitely liked the Sylosis instrumental.
I have never been much of a fan of folk sounds, but it depends on its purpose. I like to put purpose to songs, or at least they have to be telling me a story. As I said, I do like folk sounds, I really do like them in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (Gamecube) soundtrack. I do have to say that this Nightwish song kind of resembles this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhnlQUSrb30 And now I like the Nightwish song because they're similar hahahahaha.
Xayvong
06/09/2012 at 01:52 AM
Ah good times.
I remember cruising around listening to metal all night. I'm a huge fan of Metallica, and I also listen to Nightwish pretty often.Iron Maiden has some classic songs I'm a huge fan of.
I'm interested in what you have in store for us next!
Nick DiMola
Director
06/10/2012 at 09:04 PM
Wow, Sylosis is awesome. Thanks for the recommendation! I've honestly never heard of them, but there is absolutely a level of cohesion there that you don't often see in modern metal bands. Like you said, if you're not playing in harmony with the drummer it often just sounds like noise.
If you have any other suggestions, I'm open to them. My iPod has gotten stale lately (with more than 6000 songs you wouldn't think that would happen, but here we are).
Though not metal, I've recently gotten really into Glassjaw, though their latest album isn't anywhere as good as their older stuff. I've also really enjoyed listening to 36 Crazyfists from Alaska. They're not quite as heavy as Sylosis, but they've got a pretty original sound.
Also not metal, but I'm always jamming out to Coheed & Cambria. Amazing rock opera riffs, a backing story, unique vocals, and incredible energy. They're progressive rock at its best.
Michael117
06/11/2012 at 07:09 PM
Thanks for checking out the blog Nick, I'm glad you liked the Sylosis song I put up! I'd be really proud if I was able to turn you onto Sylosis, they're my favorite modern metal group. They have two albums out and you can virtually find all their songs on youtube if you want to give them a try. On iTunes they should have both albums as well. The first is called Conclusion of An Age, and the second is called Edge of the Earth. Both are stellar, can't go wrong.
What album(s) or songs from Coheed & Cambria have you been listening to? I haven't listened to them for a few years but I always loved their sound. If you can recommend some songs are albums I'll definitely go check them out.
I have a lot of music I could recommend to you Nick, is there anything specific you like or are looking to try out? Are there any particular types of singing you want to hear (conventional, operatic, screaming/growling, etc)? Do you like a good melody? Any particular genres?
Nick DiMola
Director
06/11/2012 at 09:20 PM
Typically speaking, if it's metal/hard rock I'm down. I like all vocal ranges so no reservations there. If there's anyone else you like a lot, I'm down to hear it. Also I really enjoy acoustic stuff, so if you have any of that, I'm down. Andy McKee who we use for the podcast intro/outro has become a standby favorite as well.
As far as Coheed, I basically celebrate their whole catalog. I've been listening to them since their first album and coincidentally they're from the same place I grew up. So yeah, much love for them. If you haven't listened in awhile, I suggest checking out both their first and fourth albums - Second Stage Turbine Blade and Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow, respectively. Both make for some great driving music and just stuff that's fun to rock out to.
Here's one of my favorites from the fourth album:
Gravemakers & Gunslingers
Angelo Grant
Staff Writer
06/13/2012 at 11:02 AM
I friggin love Coheed and Cambria. I was so happy when they were featured in Rock Band. They have such a uniquely dark and harmonious sound mixed with amazingly creative back stories. They really deserve more exposure.
Angelo Grant
Staff Writer
06/13/2012 at 10:57 AM
Sorry for being late to the party on this one. I like metal, but I'm not dedicated to any one musical style. Frankly, the only things I don't like are old country music (before the southern rock influence touched it) and modern rap. Those just suck.
As far as metal goes, Check out In Flames. They are the only ones I like that haven't already been mentioned that I really think are worth checking out. Here's a couple of my favorites:
This last song is kind of interesting to me because it inspired my take on the darklings as a race in a novel I've been struggeling to write for years:
One more. This is their "melodic death metal" take on the balad:
Michael117
06/13/2012 at 07:21 PM
Angelo you're the man for showing up with In Flames songs lol. I really like In Flames, they're amazing. They're actually my friend Justin's favorite band, so I hear a lot of their music through him. I have the album A Sense of Purpose and I love that thing from beginning to end and I would actually listen to it all the way through repeatedly as I played Halo Reach Firefight mode for hours. I also love some of their older songs, like Episode 666, Only for the Weak, Pinball Map, Embody the Invisible, My Sweet Shadow, Colony, and lots of other stuff. In Flames rocks.
Angelo I come across 8-bit versions of In Flames all the time, you should check this crap out it's awesome. I'm a junkie for finding 8-bit versions of metal songs on youtube.
If you can think of a metal song, it probably has an 8-bit version.
Angelo Grant
Staff Writer
06/14/2012 at 02:03 PM
Wow, those work really well as 8-bit pieces. Sweet Shadow in particular is amazing. I could almost see it as a score to a darkly themed classic platformer.
Just for fun, I wanted to see if any of our favorite bands got the Mario Pant treatment. I didn't find any In Flames, but no other band is safe. Behold!
And Just because I know you love it, Mario visits Morrowind! so bad it made me laugh, but it's still an oddly beautiful melody, even sounding like this.
Michael117
06/14/2012 at 05:05 PM
Those Mario Paint renditions were really cool Angelo! My favorite has to be the Morrowind one, just because that's probably my favorite theme song ever.
Esteban Cuevas
Staff Alumnus
06/13/2012 at 12:36 PM
Man. PixlBit's full of metalheads! I'll be honest, I like metal but it isn't my favorite genre of music. However, I thoroughly respect the genre for its complexity and attention to detail.
I've actually thought about blogging about music as well but didn't think this was the place for it. I could nerd out on music just as much as I can with video games. Way to broaden the topic list, Michael!
Michael117
06/14/2012 at 05:12 PM
You should definitely nerd out about your music Esteban, I'd like to see it. I know you love Rolling Stones, so if you give some shout outs to Paint It Black or Beast of Burden I'd be smitten. I love those songs. You listen to lots of other stuff besides the Stones though, so you should put together some music stuff when you have the opportunity cause I'd like to check it out!
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