Death Metal Guitar Lesson
Part 2 - Blast Beats & Tremolo Picking

In the first death metal guitar lesson, we looked at the basics of building a riff, using percussive palm mute techniques and moderate speed playing. This part is all about more technical speed elements and complimenting "blast beats". Death metal is schizophrenic, as you know - it can plod through an achingly slow riff and then flick switch in to alternate picking mayhem.

I have to admit, this isn't an easy lesson to teach (even if I was face to face with you) because I have to trust you have at least some sense of rhythm and timing here! The fact remains the same though - start slow, and gradually build up speed with a metronome. This lesson will introduce these more complex techniques.

We'll be looking at 3 core elements in this death metal guitar lesson:

1.) Riffing at speed (in drop C tuning)

2.) Tremolo picking

3.) Fusing the first two elements together to create progressive death metal

As I mentioned, we're gonna be playing in drop C, if that's OK with you. A lot of death metal is played in drop B But you really need to have at least .52 gauge low E string to make drop B work smoothly, so I thought we'd compromise for those of us with standard gauge strings. You can tune up on the drop tuning page (opens in separate window).

There's a storm brewing outside, so while I'm in the mood...

Cheesy :)

Chromatic exercise for speed riffing in death metal

In the 1st lesson we looked at the "death scale" which represented the movements and cadences that naturally created a dark and unsettling atmosphere. When riffing at speed though, blasts of chromatic progression are often used as bridges between the more coherent phrases. In plain English, that means moving the the riff up and down the fretboard fret by fret, in recurring half step movements...

So we're jumping around the fretboard a bit with chromatic phrases that climb and fall - fits well with blast beats (as long as your drummer is competent!)

TIP: With faster drop tuning powerchord riffs, use a mixture of your 3 main fingers (index, middle, ring) and sliding just your index finger. In that riff above, when ascending up the fretboard in the example above, I use the sliding technique with my index finger. See what works best for you.

Single string phrases can be used in between powerchord riffs to add a bit of texture (texture?! Is this still metal?!). A common technique used in death metal is where you palm mute a few lines of the phrase and create a rhythmic, non-muted "stab"...

TIP: Some guitarists (like me!) prefer to use only downstrokes rather than alternate picking on slow-moderate riffs like above. I think it produces the best tone, allowing you to use more defined pinch harmonics, and the punch of the strings when palm muted is most emphasized with firm down picking. However, if the riff was faster, you might have to use alternate picking. As always, use a metronome to gradually build up speed.

A technique that really compliments the violent rhythms is using palm mute bursts, usually in groupings of 3 fast alternate picking strokes -

down up down / down up down / down up down / etc.

For a good intro to using alternate picking palm mute bursts, take a visit to the advanced palm mute section, or take a listen to, and then try, the exercise below...

Another example is using "blast" groupings of 5...

Tremolo picking in death metal rhythm guitar

This technique was born out of thrash metal, and both genres push it right to the limits of speed and endurance. It's mostly used alongside the drummer's blast beats and these elements together create a frantic, warzone-like atmosphere.

So, just to recap - we're using alternate picking, up-down-up-down-etc. at high speed. The "secret" to pulling this off at break neck speeds is to relax. Don't tense up your picking wrist or hand, just learn to gradually speed up those up-down strokes whilst keeping in rhythm. Easier said than done, I admit, but there's no other way to explain it.

TIP: Rest the edge of your hand (the same part of your hand you would usually palm mute with) on the bridge of your guitar - just find a spot near the upper corner, towards you. With your hand rested there you can pivot over this point, almost like you've gone crazy and nailed your hand there (not advised).

This allows you to just scrape over the surface of the string and not get obstructed. Some guitarists like to position the plectrum so you're almost cutting across the string with the side of the nib. Again this is to remove as much obstruction in the picking sweep as possible. The picking sweep itself, either side of the string, should be as small as possible.

The rhythm will come with time, and if you use a metronome to gradually build up speed, you'll be surprised how fast you can reach your playing goals.

Let's try a couple of open "chainsaw" exercises.

We'll start with a rather simple riff just the bottom string. The tricky part is changing note (fret) whilst maintaining the same constant alternate picking rhythm. It's easier when there's a metronome or drummer, but the below sound clip is just guitar so you can hear it clearly. 

Now let's try using the bottom 3 strings in a riff - this means you have to switch strings at the same time as alternate picking in rhythm, but it allows you to create more dynamic riffs, mixing high and low tones.

You can also use fast alternate picking over diads (two notes played together, like a cut-down chord) other than the standard powerchord root-fifth. This creates more melodic riffs without sacrificing the brutality of this chainsaw technique.

When alternate picking over two or more strings at the same time, you obviously have to widen your picking movements. You also need to block out the unwanted strings by resting one of the fretting fingers over the unwanted strings and effectively muting them.

Try the exercise below, it includes the use of major and minor diads. I've placed red markers on the tab to help you keep timing (count: 1 2 3 4 - so it's one count every 4 strokes)...

Remember: you can also use the same "chainsaw" technique but with palm muted strings so you get more of a "machine gun" effect. Mix muted and unmuted riffs to make your death metal more interesting and progressive!

Finally, let's put to practical use what we've learned in this death metal guitar lesson and create a riff that goes somewhere...

Creating progressive death metal

Death metal doesn't need a coherent structure (e.g. verse - chorus - verse), in fact, the erratic nature of the music lends itself well to a progressive structure. Let's look at fusing the elements we've looked at in both these death metal guitar lessons...

See the tab for this riff (fairly long) here (right click to save recommended as viewing in your browser can scrunch the image up too much)

Click to hear the track >

Hopefully, from both death metal guitar lessons, you now have the solid foundations to build on these core techniques and create your own progressive riffs. The great thing about metal is the musical freedom you have to experiment - as long as you keep that raw aggression and a good level of rhythmic accuracy using the techniques we've looked at, you'll be able to create dynamic and engaging death metal through every minute of your tracks.

We've only scratched the surface though! To develop more advanced skills (e.g. for more technical death metal), I'd recommend the Burning Metal Rhythm Course.