Last but not least is Oli Herbert, the shredding master from the American metalcore band All That Remains. They have sold over 500,000 albums in the United States alone. Oli has a trademark heavy and technically skilled sound that continues to garner attention in the guitar community. Oli has agreed to share some of his ripping guitar skills here in the Roundtable, so plug in and get ready for a thrill ride into the world of shred guitar.
For all of these examples, Oli is tuned down 1 1/2 steps (low to high C#–F#–B–E–G#–C#).
Lick 1
In this example, we have a sequence of stacked seventh chord arpeggios played using various forms of legato in which the articulation is consistent throughout. All of these arpeggios fit within the key of B minor with no chromatic or modal alteration. The arpeggios themselves can be seen as separate seventh chords, (Em7, C#m7b5) or combined to form various ninth chord arpeggios. I tend to view them as larger chord forms due to the tempo presented.
Lick 2
Here is a focus upon one arpeggio played as triplets in which the Gmaj7 is played in root position and all three inversions. I have arranged the shapes to employ the same picking pattern throughout. I mainly utilize sweep or economy picking to facilitate the proper accentuation and overall flow. I have also outlined each arpeggio with scalar material in the key of D major. This firmly plants Gmaj7 as the IV chord giving it a Lydian tonality. The example ends with a B minor arpeggio that employs a tapped octave and quintuplets to achieve a minor diminuendo.
Lick 3
This example is played entirely with the left hand and is in the key of G major. The right hand is only used to keep down string noise. The main challenge here is to keep up with extended stretching and to keep equal pressure between the first finger and pinky. I would classify this as an example of lower pedal point where the upper voices move but the lower remains the same. I change the bass note every two beats to create a melodic sequence. I would suggest practicing this on a clean tone at slower tempos and changing to distortion at around 160 bpm once the hand has a grasp on the overall balance of the exercise.
Lick 4
Here is a very straightforward scalar lick in B minor. I am utilizing a six-note sequence in triplets that changes positions after each six and is the same, both ascending and descending. Be sure to alternate pick throughout. You will also notice that on the way up, every string change uses outside picking and on the way down, inside picking. This kind of sequence is very useful in general improvisation to connect melodic ideas.
Lick 5
This is variation on example four. I am using the same key, modal shapes, and positions, but I am altering the actual pattern played. The most noteworthy difference is the intervallic leap of a sixth within each sequence, and every note is alternate picked with sextuplets.
