Metal Band

[lunchbox1121]

Hey everyone, Lunchbox here.
OK, I am starting a new metal band with my friend who is a drummer. I am the only guitar player and I am in charge of writing the music. I was wondering if any could help me with coming up with a way to use other techniques in metal. I was hoping to use some type of touch tapping, but im not sure. I am looking to be melodic, and heavy, so does anyone have any tips?

[Revenant]

One way to make your riffs more melodic is to lay off the power chords a bot and add the third instead.

If you over use it, you'll sound like In Flames, so be careful!

[Gui Rocha]

Yes, one of the techniques you may use to be more melodic I believe it's adding the third like Revenant said. Try listen to Van Halen, he uses alot of that technique in his riffs (ex: Panama, Unchained, So This is Love, etc..). Try also to add some jazz chords or some blues ideas ( clichés if you may :D ) like this one :

E ----------7\-
B ----------7\-
G ----------7\-
D ----------6\-
A ----------7\-
E --0(dive)----

Jazz Chord like this one :
The minor 7 flat

E -------------
B ----------6\-
G ----------5\-
D ----------6\-
A ----------5\-
E ------------

You can use in another position (change the position of the chords on the fretboard)

Try also some funk ideas, they give some kind of a fresh air to the songs, and can give metal some "edge" that is always needed. ;)

To solo, well maybe try some harmonizing ( I don't know if I spell right ) sequences.

Listen to all styles of music is always great.

[Obivion]

Metal generally uses distortion.

Chords with 3rds and 7ths sound messy with distortion.

To avoid this, it's best to put in clean sections i.e. Metallica's "Master of Puppets" classical interlude, Pantera's "Cemetary Gates" acoustic riff and Megadeth's "Holy Wars" harmonic minor run which use odd chords.

Tapping is great in metal, check out Rhoads' "Crazy Train" solo, the third "One" solo by Metallica and Van Halen's "Eruption" for basic ideas (sorta arpeggios on one string thing). Other guys such as Petrucci, Laiho and Vai combine sweep picking with tapping to great effect.

However, don't overuse tapping. Many great players (such as Slash and Friedman) never used tapping because just about every other player in the Bay area was doing it.

The best thing in metal is to keep the riffs simple (but good) and use the solos to show off your mad skills ala Dimebag.

Regards
Luke

[lunchbox1121]

Thanks alot guys, im going to go try and use some jazz chords, and im going to try to keep it simple and stay away from the power chords. I am actually trying to write song as we speek so I can try this stuff out right away. I appreciate all the great tips, thanks again.
The Box

[devouredelysium]

actually i think that is a bad idea to stay away from power chords. i mean, you're playing just with your drummer, if you want it to sound metal with just one guitar(and maybe later a bass) you'll really need to play lots of power chords to add heavyness to your music

but that's just my opinion

[ibanezzed]

don't forget to tune those strings way down too(2 whole steps, drop d,ect) I play metal all the time( I also am a drummer and have played with others) and dropping the strings add to the "heavy effect"
One thing I always tried to do is to use power chords but 4ths and other odd 2 stringers, aka Metallica's intro to Justice....using power chords no way shows off yer skills, but its the easiest and probly best way to make it heavy, like others said make the chords pretty simple, use solos and key changes to bring out the creative sounds

[Revenant]

About dropping tunings: You can achieve massive heaviness with regular tunings. Its all about how you use percussive effects and stuff. When I started out with guitar at age 14, I was all into metal. Metal was the music I wanted to play then, and I played it excelusively until 2 years ago. I have never played in alternate tunings. I have tried them of course, but not much. The reason is simple: I think it messes with your ear! Constanty changing tunings really confuses yoru ear about where each note is on the fretboard. If you want perfect pitch, stick with one tuning! That is of course, just my opinion and I by no means say one approach is right and another is wrong. But it is good to keep in mind.

To achieve massive heaviness with regular tunings, I have some tricks up my sleeve.
I used to play with a guitarist who is a huge fan of the band Iced Earth. Iced Earth are known for their galloping, fast riffs. If you use gallops right, it is downright devastating(that is a compliment for riffs in metal ;) ). There is also a diminished voicing that sounds KILLER. It goes like this in E minor:

E:
B:
G: 9
D: 8
A: 7
E:
The root is at the A string (E). This is of course, a movable shape and is the same if the root is at the low e string. But when the B string is involved, keep in mind that the shape changes. But you shouldn't worry too much about that, since in metal you'd prefer darker sounding chords.

devouredelysium said that it is a bad idea to stay away from power chords in metal. That is absolutely right! To sound metal(as it has evolved to today), You'll want to use power chords. But what I meant with my first post in this thread was to mix in those third-intervals here and there. You wanted advice to sound more melodic. If you know the scale of the key you're in, you'll visualize which third intervals are major and which are minor and when to use them. So in the key of E(as most metal songs are) you can play a C major root-third voicing by pressing the third fret on the A string and the second fret on the D-string.

Experiment on which chords to use as power chords and which to use as third-intervals. In Flames and Dream Theater are known for these approaches and I dare to say that they are very melodic sounding bands. The way they make complex chords sound less messy is to split it up to two guitars. One guitar plays half the voicing, the other plays the rest.

For melodic metal with killer riffs, you might want to check out metalcore bands such as Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall and Unearth. Metalcore generally uses harmonized riffs.
Here I want to bring in an interesting point. During my "early years" of discovering metal, I played a metallica CD in my dad's car stereo as we were driving. He commented: "I don't really like this kind of music because they use the guitar as a drum". He is right on the point there! In metal, heaviness is achieved by giving the guitar a percussive role! Mix percussiveness with melody, and you have a hooking riff!

If you want to discuss further with me, you can add me to msn. I still use my old E-mail from my metal days: amund_deathmetal@hotmail.com

[devouredelysium]

well..he can achieve heavyness with downtunings without dropping strings :P i simply have a 7 string guitar

[ibanezzed]

Revenant, y ou have a good point here, you said dropping the tuning messes with you ear, which is why i like to do it, and still do it all the time, I have experimented with many different tunings, and love the sound of it, especially when its that low the strings just kinda flop around, I get very neat effects that way. I have worked with others on intros where the rythm guitars are tuned one way, and the lead is tuned differently, really mixes it up.