Thorpe Rob - Heavy Metal Rhythm Guitar: The Essential Guide to Heavy Metal Rock Guitar: Volume 1 (Learn Heavy Metal Guitar)

Published by www.fundamental-changes.com

ISBN: 978-1-910403-24-2

Copyright 2015 Rob Thorpe

Edited by Joseph Alexander

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The Complete Guide to Playing Blues Guitar Book One: Rhythm Guitar

The Complete Guide to Playing Blues Guitar Book Two: Melodic Phrasing

The Complete Guide to Playing Blues Guitar Book Three: Beyond Pentatonics

The Complete Guide to Playing Blues Guitar Compilation

The CAGED System and 100 Licks for Blues Guitar

Fundamental Changes in Jazz Guitar: The Major ii V I

Minor ii V Mastery for Jazz Guitar

Chord Tone Soloing for Jazz Guitar

Jazz Blues Soloing for Guitar

Guitar Scales in Context

Guitar Chords in Context Part One

Jazz Guitar Chord Mastery (Guitar Chords in Context Part Two)

Complete Technique for Modern Guitar

Funk Guitar Mastery

The Complete Technique, Theory and Scales Compilation for Guitar

Sight Reading Mastery for Guitar

Rock Guitar Un-CAGED: The CAGED System and 100 Licks for Rock Guitar

The Practical Guide to Modern Music Theory for Guitarists

Beginners Guitar Lessons: The Essential Guide

This book is a comprehensive guide for guitarists who wish to master the essential techniques and concepts in metal. It includes a wealth of material that is accessible yet challenging for beginner to intermediate guitarists.

Metal Rhythm Guitar examines the guitar playing at the roots of metal in the mid-1960s, such as Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands of the late 70s and early 80s like Judas Priest, Saxon and Iron Maiden. The thrash metal of bands like Metallica and Slayer will be studied, along with bands like Death, Pantera and Meshuggah who progressed the style and expanded the technical possibilities.

Where did metal come from? Who were the first real heavy metal band?

Fans and musicologists have suggested answers to both of these questions, but in my opinion, heavy metal was born in Birmingham, England in 1969 with the bell chimes, thunder, and the crashing guitar riff that opened Black Sabbath's first album.

Sabbaths guitarist, Tony Iommi, worked in the steel factories of industrial Birmingham, and the sounds of the machinery most likely influenced the ominous, dark rhythms of Black Sabbath's music. Black Sabbaths bassist, Geezer Butler wrote many of the band's lyrics. His interest in religion, fantasy, the occult and horror combined the lyrical subject matter with the industrial sounding music.

At that time, many bands had been moving in an increasingly heavy direction, but until now, the sound had remained planted in blues-rock. Black Sabbath introduced many of the ingredients that we now think of as essential characteristics of heavy metal, and for the first time The Blues took a back seat.

The next generation of rock musicians took the influence of Sabbath, Zeppelin, Mountain and other hard rock bands, distilling the heavier tone and darker lyrical subject matter and causing it to diverge further from rock and pop music trends.

While progressive rock explored unusual song forms and classical influences, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands like Judas Priest, Saxon and Iron Maiden created dramatic songs that balanced powerful instrumental music with the operatic vocal power of singers like Bruce Dickinson.

Meanwhile, musicians in San Francisco, California had been influenced by both the NWOBHM bands and the faster, more abrasive development of punk rock known as 'hardcore'. Hardcore punk exploded out of Southern California and across America in the late 70s, led by bands such as Black Flag. These musicians went on to develop thrash metal. Key figures were Dave Mustaine, James Hetfield, Jeff Hanneman and Scott Ian, who played in several notable bands before forming Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax.

Thrash metal also adopted the DIY ethic of indie record labels that characterised hardcore punk.

By the time these thrash metal bands came to record their standout albums such as Master of Puppets (Metallica, 1986) and Rust in Peace (Megadeth, 1990) their sound had become extremely polished and the complexity of compositions had developed greatly from their punk-influenced beginnings.

When thrash metal was adopted and progressed by a new generation death metal was born, with important death metal scenes present in both Florida and Scandinavia. The ingredients of thrash metal (guttural singing, fast double kick drums, and intricate, technical guitar riffs) were all exaggerated in death metal music. Similarly, the bleak, lyrical subject matter developed into increasingly vivid depictions of graphic, satanic imagery.

At the same time, other bands were taking rock music in a new direction. Rather than exploring increasingly aggressive music, they built on the melodic and theatrical elements of bands like Iron Maiden. Power metal formed in the mid-'80s with European bands like Helloween, Blind Guardian and Stratovarius and was characterised by a more symphonic sound employing keyboards, vocal harmonies, orchestral elements and folk melodies to create rich textures. The lyrics frequently drew from pagan myths, or fantasy writers such as J.R.R Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft.

Power metals upbeat harmonies and melodic hooks were combined with the complexity and theatrical influence of the progressive bands like Yes and Rush to form progressive metal. This sub-genre raised the bar for virtuosity and featured technically demanding instrumental sections, strong vocal delivery, and complex song structures. Early pioneers included Fates Warning and Queensrche followed by Dream Theater and Symphony X.

No matter which sub-genre of metal you connect with, the following journey through the development of metal guitar playing will help you to understand the music and play it authentically. Understanding how the style evolved will help to turn you into a well-rounded and knowledgeable musician.

This book covers the key concepts and techniques common to all styles of metal and they can be applied however you wish. There is a logical progression from classic hard rock through to more technically demanding modern metal ideas. Along the way we will cover all the relevant music theory including scales, rhythm and harmony, and how to apply these components to the guitar.

By the end of the book, you will have developed strong guitar technique and an understanding of the mechanics of metal guitar allowing you to write your own songs.

Have fun with these ideas but above all experiment and be creative with the information. Doing so will mean that you get the most out of this book and help you to grow rapidly as a musician.

Good luck, and have fun!

Rob Thorpe

You can download all the audio in this book for free from www.fundamental-changes.com/download-audio .

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Before we begin, it will be helpful to learn how to play and notate rhythms. This will help you to notate the music you write or transcribe, and also to practice efficiently.