A metal riff is a repeating phrase or pattern typically played on the guitar in heavy metal music. These riffs are characterized by their use of power chords, aggressive playing style, and fast-paced tempo. To play a metal riff, it’s important to have a strong understanding of power chords and synchronization between 2 hands. Start by practicing basic power chord progressions, then work on incorporating techniques such as palm muting, Gallops etc etc. It’s also important to listen to and study the playing of well-known metal guitarists to gain inspiration and learn new techniques. With practice and dedication, you’ll be able to create your own killer metal riffs in no time. If you intermediate players may be check Easy Metal Riffs for Intermediate Players or if you an advance player may be try to learn Metal Gallop Guitar Technique.
Hey fellow metalheads, let’s turn up the heat with our awesome ‘Metal Riff Breakdown Lesson‘! I’m stoked to guide you through some killer riffs from today’s hottest metal bands. This isn’t just about learning some tough riffs – it’s a full-on journey into mastering the heart and soul of metal rhythm.
We’re going to dive into 10 mind-blowing pieces, each one with its own set of detailed tabs. So, whether you’re just dipping your toes into the metal scene or you’re already a riff-slaying pro, these breakdowns are going to amp up your skills big time. Grab your guitar, crank up that distortion, and let’s rock this metal adventure together! ????
As I Lay Dying – Through Struggle
“As I Lay Dying’s ‘Through Struggle’ hits you with an intense wave of emotion, blending ferocious riffs with deeply passionate lyrics. It’s a powerful anthem that encapsulates the raw energy and resilience of metalcore. Here is the breakdown part:
Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! – I Am Nothing Like You
Listen the breakdown part here:
Here is the tab:
Jamie’s Elsewhere – Antithesis
One of my favorite breakdown of all time. Listen it here:
Tab:
Elitist – Caves
Breakdown:
Tab:
Man Made Disaster” by Betraying The Martyrs
Man Made Disaster” by Betraying The Martyrs is a powerful metalcore track that combines aggressive riffs with melodic elements, showcasing the band’s signature sound. The song captivates listeners with its intense vocals and intricate instrumentals. Here is the breakdown part:
Tab:
Asking Alexandria – Breathless
“Breathless” by Asking Alexandria is an electrifying rock anthem that delivers a high-energy blend of soaring vocals and heavy guitar riffs. The song’s emotional lyrics and dynamic sound capture the essence of the band’s powerful musical style.
Tab:
Blessthefall – Hollow Bodies
Hollow Bodies” by Blessthefall is a metalcore masterpiece known for its ferocious breakdowns. Listen it here:
Tab:
After The Burial – Collapse
“Collapse” by After The Burial is a song from their album “In Dreams,” which was released in 2010.
Breakdown:
Trivium – Thrown Into The Fire
“Thrown Into The Fire” by Trivium is a song from their album “The Sin and the Sentence,” which was released in 2017.
As I Lay Dying – Undertow
“Undertow” by As I Lay Dying is a track from their album “Frail Words Collapse,” which was released in 2003.
Down picking is a crucial technique for any aspiring metal guitarist, and few players are as skilled at it as James Hetfield of Metallica. James Hetfield downpicking style has been a hallmark of the band’s sound for decades, and mastering it can take your playing to the next level. In this article, we’ll take a look at five James Hetfield down picking exercises taken from 5 Metallica Songs that will help you build speed, accuracy, and endurance. Plus, we’ve included tabs for each exercise to make it easy for you to follow along and practice. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced guitarist, these exercises will challenge you and help you improve your down picking technique. So grab your guitar and let’s get started!
Exercise 1: Creeping Death
Creeping Death” is a classic song by Metallica from their 1984 album “Ride the Lightning”. It is one of the band’s most popular and enduring songs, and is often considered one of their greatest achievements. The song features Hetfield’s signature down picking style, with lightning-fast riffing and intense, aggressive vocals. The lyrics tell the story of the tenth plague of Egypt, in which God kills the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, but spares the Israelites who have marked their doors with lamb’s blood. The song has become a staple of Metallica’s live shows, and is often accompanied by a massive singalong from the crowd.
St. Anger” is the title track from Metallica’s 2003 album of the same name and known for its unique and controversial production, which features a raw, garage-band sound and no guitar solos. Hetfield’s down picking is on full display in the song, driving the relentless riffing that propels the track forward. The lyrics explore themes of anger, frustration, and inner turmoil, reflecting the band’s difficult period of lineup changes and personal struggles. Despite its polarizing reception among fans and critics, “St. Anger” remains a powerful and intense song that showcases james hetfield downpicking.
“Blackened” is a track from Metallica’s iconic 1988 album “…And Justice for All”. The song features one of most memorable james hetfield downpickings, which drives the song’s intense, apocalyptic feel. The lyrics address themes of environmental destruction and the end of the world, with lines like “Fire to begin whipping dance of the dead” and “Termination laughter, it’s pulsing, pounding right through your brain”. The song’s epic structure, including a haunting acoustic intro and an extended instrumental section, make it a fan favorite and a showcase for Hetfield’s songwriting and down picking skills.
Atlas, Rise!” is a song from Metallica’s 2016 album “Hardwired… to Self-Destruct”. The song features Hetfield’s trademark down picking, with a fast-paced, intricate riff that showcases his precision and technical skill. The lyrics explore themes of redemption and self-discovery, with lines like “Bitter habits you cultivate/ You pick the lowest hanging fruit” and “Follow the endlessness/ Follow the dot to oblivion”. The song’s chorus is an anthemic call to action, with Hetfield urging the listener to “Rise, fall/ Who cares at all?” “Atlas, Rise!” is a modern classic that shows Metallica still has what it takes to write powerful, memorable music that resonates with fans around the world.
Master of Puppets” is the title track from Metallica’s landmark 1986 album which considered one of the greatest metal songs of all time, and is a showcase for james hetfield downpicking. The song’s fast, intricate riffing and intense, haunting vocals have made it a fan favorite and a staple of Metallica’s live shows for decades. The lyrics address themes of addiction and control, with lines like “Taste me, you will see/ More is all you need/ You’re dedicated to/ How I’m killing you”. The song’s epic structure, including multiple sections and an extended instrumental break, make it a true metal masterpiece that has stood the test of time.
Today we will learn some progressive guitar riff lesson, all from Dream Theater, which contain multiple signature changes.
If you want to be skilled in progressive Rock / Metal genre firstly, it’s important to have a good understanding of what odd time signatures are and how they work. Simply put, an odd time signature is any time signature that has an odd number of beats per measure, such as 5/4, 7/8, or 9/8. These time signatures can be challenging to play because they don’t fit neatly into the standard 4/4 time that most rock and pop music is based on.
Lesson 1 – Stream Of Consciousness (5/4 – Main Theme)
The song “Stream of Consciousness” appears on Dream Theater’s 2003 album “Train of Thought.” The song is an instrumental tour de force that features extended solos from each band member, including John Petrucci on guitar, Jordan Rudess on keyboards, and Mike Portnoy on drums.
The Particular part we will learn today is on 5/4 Time Signature. This riff used few times trhough out the song and its the main theme over the song.
Lesson 3 : Constant Motion ( 5/8 then 3/4 , 17/16 and 15/16 (!!!!!)
This one is the intro of the song, there are multiple time signature change on this one, starting on 5/8 then 3/4 , 17/16 and 15/16 (!!!!!)
Listen the audio here:
“Constant Motion” was released as the first single from their 2007 album “Systematic Chaos”. The song features complex instrumentation, including rapid-fire guitar riffs, pounding drums, and intricate keyboard and bass work.
The song’s opening riff is instantly recognizable, featuring a driving rhythm that sets the tone for the rest of the song. From there, the song takes the listener on a wild ride, with constantly shifting time signatures, intricate instrumental sections, and a soaring vocal performance by James LaBrie.
Lyrically, the song deals with the idea of being trapped in a cycle of constant motion and feeling like there is no escape. This theme is reflected in the song’s structure, with its relentless pace and constantly shifting rhythms.
“Metropolis” is a song by the progressive metal band Dream Theater, which appears on their 1992 album “Images and Words.” The song is a multi-part suite that tells a story of a dystopian city ruled by an oppressive government and a shadowy figure known as “the Miracle.”
This Riff is starting with a breakdown 5/8 then constanly change between 6/8 and 7/8
Achieving the perfect guitar tone can be a long and tedious process, especially when working with a pedalboard and multi FX processor. It often takes years of experimentation and tweaking to find the right combination of effects and settings that will give you the sound you desire. This can be frustrating, but with patience and perseverance, you will eventually get to the tone you want. It is important to remember that it is a process, and that small adjustments over time can lead to big improvements in your sound and get the best guitar tone in your guitar processor, vst, Guitar Rig or from your pedalboard.
Some Keypoints to get perfect guitar tone:
Start with a clean tone.
Experiment with diffrent effects.
Use Eq to shape your tone.
Listen and try your tone in different environment
Dont always copy / downlaod tones from Internet
Some Keypoints to get perfect guitar tone:
Start with a clean tone: Make sure your guitar and amplifier are set to a clean tone before you begin adding effects and Dont remember to tune your guitar properly :D.
Experiment with different effects: Try out different effects pedals and see how they interact with one another. Experiment with different orders of the pedals and different settings on each pedal. If you use multy fx processor there are tones of effects you can experiement – Reverb, delay, chorus are some basic effects that you can try in your tone.
Use EQ to shape your tone: Use EQ pedals to shape the frequency response of your guitar. This can help you achieve a more balanced tone and eliminate any unwanted frequencies. For a long long time i never tried this and once i started using and experiement with equalizer this improved my tone a lot.
Listen to your tone in different environments: Its very very important to listen to your tone in different environments and make adjustments accordingly. Some pedals may sound great in a studio setting but may not be suitable for live performance. If you use headphone to make your tone in home and next day in your band practice you will see the tone s__ked big time in big amplifiers but with slight changes to your eq you can get that tone back.
Don’t be afraid to experiment: Always be open to trying new things and experimenting with different sounds. Remember that it takes time and patience to achieve the perfect tone, but the journey can be just as rewarding as the final outcome.
Get your desire tone from Distortion / Overdrive Pedal & Multy Fx Processor:
This is an area that a lot of people (myself included) have found difficult to understand, and it’s even more difficult to understand when you find out that the same pedal setup won’t work for every amp and that there’s a huge difference between valve amps and transistor amps in terms of how they react to this sort of pedal.
Firstly, you should be aware of how much distortion is being put into the signal of your guitar. Try using the distortion pedal on a clean channel first. This makes it much easier to recognise the pedals’ independent distortion for reasons that I will explain shortly. Almost all distortion pedals will have a drive and volume dial on them; drive meaning the amount of distortion being fed into the signal, and volume being the amount of the signal being put through. In other words, some pedals make the amp slightly louder by increasing the amount of signal being received from the guitar, or quieting it, and can be toggled by turning the pedal on and off with the foot-switch.
Once you’ve found a level that suits you then you should be fine, but there are quite a few issues that may stop this from happening at first, so here are the main ones I’ve come up with.
Gain: the gain on the channel you are using can play havoc with the sound of your pedal if it’s not set right. In general terms you want the gain low enough so that the distortion of your amp doesn’t interfere with the distortion on the pedal, even on a clean channel, but high enough so that the full impact of the pedal can be heard. Most people who use a distortion pedal on ‘dirty’ channels (channels with overdrive on them) from the amp use the pedals as either a boost or a cutter. Here’s the difference between the two, and why people generally don’t turn the distortion on the amp up high as well as the pedals.
Boost; the pedal is set up to have a moderately small but noticeable amount of gain so that during a solo or a heavier section of a song, the guitar’s distortion suddenly leaps up to give the guitar more presence in a song.
Cutter; the pedal is set so that it has a slightly lower volume than normal as well as only a small amount of distortion, and this cuts out some of the distortion from the amp, getting a smoother and more laidback tone if pulled off correctly.
Why do people not turn both distortions up?
This can over saturate the input which can play havoc with lower notes and ruin the definition of higher notes. Even heavy metal guitarist are aware of this fact and so tend to use one or the other, and either turn up the bass on the amp or use another effect like compressors or a chorus pedal to thicken up their sound.
Okay, so, like, What’s the difference If I have a valve or a transistor amp? Simple, transistor amplifiers don’t actually have overdrives in them. Only valve, tube and valve-state amps have overdrives in them.
How To Fix The noise on Overdrive Noise? Well, on transistors, the overdrive is actually a digital effect worked into the signal inside the amplifier; whereas on valve amplifiers there’s an actual part of the amplifier specifically there just to get the overdrive, which is why valve amplifiers sound so much thicker and more powerful than transistors, and why a valve will always sound more natural than a transistor amplifier. Because of this, transistors are set up to more actively receive distorted signals a lot of the time, so will be more accepting of the pedals you’re using, but there always exceptions to the rules. Whereas unless you get a really high quality distortion pedal which likely has some part of valve technology built into it, it will never be able to match the distortion of a valve amp effectively.
Therefore it’s best to use a distortion pedal as a boost or a cutter rather than all of you distorted signal when using a valve amplifier.
Where should I put my distortion pedal along with my other pedals? If you have other stuff being used, then put your distortion pedal right at the end of the signal path closest to your amplifier (i.e. after the pedal the signal goes straight to the amp). This is so that the distortion doesn’t drown out other effects that you need to hear clearly, as distortion is definitely one of the more overbearing effects you will come across.
Which effects do I need to use for soloing and which do I need to use for rhythm playing? This is purely down to personal preference. Some guitarists use none throughout while some use fleets of effects pedals.
Here is a quick overlook at the most prominent pedal effects I’ve come across.
Overdrive/distortion: some people prefer to use pedal distortion rather than amp distortion, so use the pedal as a means of switching between clean and distorted sound. Others may use them as boosts or cutters for certain sections, so these are pretty open use pedals.
Chorus: this gives the illusion of another guitar playing within the same signal, which gives a much thicker and ‘wavy’ sound to your guitar. Used a lot with clean guitars as it can really enhance the depth of the guitar sound, but again guitarists like Alex Lifeson of Rush do use chorus whether clean or distorted to give their sound more bulk. Also very good for atmosphere-like sounds when combined with delay.
Delay: Essentially an artificial echo effect; can be used to great effect throughout all types of playing but takes up a lot of sonic space. If you want a song with very precise parts and complicated riffs, then I would recommend steering clear of it unless you’re absolutely sure of how you would use it. Notably Steve Vai uses this technique often, and is considered one of the ‘essential’ effects of a guitar rig nowadays, with it being used practically by every guitarist out there.
Phaser: a really spacey sound. Most famously used as the effect present through the entire song ‘barracuda’ by heart, it is a very seventies style sound. Still a very good effect to use to atmospheric effect because of the constantly shifting sound produced.
Octave pedal: moving the sound of your guitar either up or down by an entire octave. Used in stuff like ‘searching’ by Joe Satriani, it’s one of the more tricky effects to use. Very noticeable in a song, so I wouldn’t recommend using it for a song with subtle changes.
There are compression pedals out there as well, but I will go into them in another lesson. There is a difference between overdrive and distortion pedals though, so be sure to listen carefully before you buy one. Overdrive pedals generally have less gain than distortion pedals do, and are modeled to try and sound as natural as possible, whereas distortion pedals are made to sound different than what amplifiers normally produce.
And that’s pretty much it for distortion pedals. In next episode i will discuss about Getting Perfect Guitar tone from Your Amp.
The metal gallop guitar technique is a guitar playing style that is commonly used in heavy metal and hard rock music. It involves playing a fast, repetitive pattern of sixteenth notes with a combination of alternate picking and palm muting. The technique is typically played on the lower strings and often used in riffs and solos. The alternate picking allows for a fast and precise execution of the sixteenth notes, while the palm muting gives the notes a tight, staccato sound. To master this technique, one should focus on proper hand positioning, finger placement, and timing. It is also recommended to practice with a metronome to develop accuracy and consistency in the speed of the gallop.
What are 6 Tips For Metal Gallop Guitar Technique?
Proper Hand Postioning
Finger Placement
Synchronization between 2 hand
Alternate Picking
Palm Muting
Timing
Proper hand positioning: Make sure your hands are in the right position before attempting the metal gallop technique. This will ensure that your fingers are able to move quickly and accurately over the fretboard.
Finger placement: Practice placing your fingers on the correct frets and strings for the metal gallop technique. This will help you to play the notes cleanly and accurately.
Synchronization between hands: In the metal gallop technique, it’s important to have good coordination between your left and right hand. This includes synchronization of finger placement, alternate picking and palm muting. Practicing exercises that focus specifically on hand coordination can help you to improve this aspect of your playing. This could include exercises such as a chromatic scale or a simple pattern that involves using both hands at the same time. As you progress, try to play the metal gallop pattern at faster speeds while maintaining the synchronization between your hands.
Alternate picking: The metal gallop technique requires a combination of alternate picking and palm muting. Make sure to practice your alternate picking to ensure a smooth and precise execution of the sixteenth notes.
Palm muting: Use your picking hand to lightly touch the strings near the bridge of the guitar. This will give the notes a tight, staccato sound.
Timing: The metal gallop technique requires precise timing. Use a metronome to practice playing the pattern at different tempos. This will help you to develop accuracy and consistency in your playing.
Lesson 1 – Battery by Metallica
“Battery” is a song by American Thrash Metal Pioneer Metallica, it was released on their 1986 album “Master of Puppets”. The song is known for its fast-paced, aggressive and heavy sound, with a prominent use of the gallop guitar technique. it is helpful to listen to Metallica’s music and study the guitar parts in order to gain a deeper understanding of how the technique is used in a musical context.
“Satan is Real” is a song by German thrash metal band Kreator. It was released on their 2017 album “Gods of Violence. This song showcases the band’s signature aggressive and fast-paced thrash metal sound, with a prominent use of Metal Gallop Guitar Technique.
“She-Wolf” is a song by American Thrash Hero Megadeth, it was released on their 1999 album “Risk”. The song is known for its fast-paced, aggressive, and heavy sound, with a prominent use of Gallop Technique.
My Most Favorite Band Of All Time and probably they are the reason why start playing metal.
Heresy” is a song by American heavy metal band Pantera, it was released on their 1990 album “Cowboys from Hell”. Very Groovy Riff and probably faster one in todays list.
“Stranded” is a song by French metal band Gojira. It was released on their 2020 album “Fortitude” and this particular song from the album is known for its heavy, intense Gallop Breakdown.
This lesson is very effective to start learning Metal Riff Triplet. Its a part of the song from Holier Than Thou from Metallica Self Titled album released in 1991.
In this series I will list, discuss and give tab lesson for som Easy Metal Riffs for Intermediate Players. Those are sounds amazing but actually not that hard if you try. And those are not overplayed riffs and not forbidden to play in guitar center :P
Lesson 1 : For Whom The Bell Tolls By Metallica
A metallica classic from There second album Ride the lightning, released in 1984. This riff is super groovy. Need Palm muting and a lot of chords : )
Very Easy But your Non Guitarist Friends will think you became a Pro Guitarist :P Jokes apart this song is very groovy. No advance technique just play in flow. This song released in Album Countdown to Extinction (1992) from their classic lineup era.
So another thrash Classic from Big 4, This one is little Tricky , bit faster and need to be in exact flow. try to practice with slower tempo to get used to it and gradually increase tempo to play perfectly. One of Salyer’s most popular song.
This lesson is very effective to start learning Triplet. It’s a song from “Fate of Norns” Album Released in 2004 by Amon Amarth. Song’s name is Pursuit Of Vikings.