
How to level-up your down-tuned riffing in the style of Suffocation, Gorgasm, Deeds of Flesh, and more.
Theory: Intermediate
Lesson Overview:
• Ramp up your picking speed.
• Learn the basic elements of death metal rhythm guitar.
• Develop riffs that combine dissonance, chromaticism, and atonal elements.
Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson's notation.
In our previous metal lesson, we examined the melodic style that emerged in and around Gothenburg, Sweden. This time let's focus on a style that—even though it originated in the States—isn't associated with any particular region.
Brutal death metal has very active and growing underground scenes in all of Europe, the U.S., Southeast Asia, and Russia, largely thanks to the recent emergence of slam death metal, which focuses on slower so-called “slam" parts. Right now, it's probably the most vibrant underground metal genre with local scenes being connected internationally and many fans traveling to different countries to catch as many festivals as possible.
Named after its thematic focus on extreme violence and relentlessly ferocious music, the style emerged in the U.S. in the early '90s. In particular, the band Suffocation are considered to have delivered the blueprint of what would become brutal death metal on their 1991 debut Effigy of the Forgotten. Mixing violent lyrics inspired by Cannibal Corpse with a raw, yet technical delivery influenced by grindcore and New York hardcore, the album was not received well by critics when it was released. However, it became a cult classic that defined the genre. Brutal death metal's building blocks are atonal riffs, relentless speed that's only occasionally interrupted by slow, hardcore-derived slam/breakdown parts, and unconventional song structures. This is paired with indecipherable guttural and so-called “pig squeal" vocals.
All but one of the examples in this lesson are tuned down to B standard (B–E–A–D–F#–B), which is common for many bands in this genre. Disclaimer: You can use either a 6- or 7-string guitar for these examples. However, if you choose the latter, keep in mind that the 3rd string on a 7-string is usually tuned to G (B–E–A–D–G–B–E). To match the 6-string tuning we use in this lesson, you will either need to tune your 3rd string down to F# or adjust your fingering.
Most bands use modern high-gain tube amps, so I'd recommend a Peavey 5150/6505, Mesa/Boogie Rectifier, or whatever high-gain amp, or simulation, you can get your hands on. In the early days, most bands used solid-state amps like a Marshall Valvestate. These solid-state amps produced a sludgy, slightly muddy high-gain tone that gave the early recordings a lot of their raw charm.
Now let's dive into the examples. These are inspired by different bands, which I'll reference, but unlike the last installment, they're not meant to represent a band's style. Rather, they illustrate different types of riffs and elements typically used by brutal death metal bands.
Ex.1 shows the use of tremolo picking as heard in early Suffocationrecords. It is relatively fast and requires a warmed-up picking hand. As with most music in this genre, the riff is atonal and uses a lot of chromatic movement. Some emphasis is put on minor seconds and the tritone to create a dark, dissonant melody.
Click here for Ex. 1
Let's dig into another Suffocation-inspired riff (Ex. 2) that uses similar atonal chromaticism. It focuses again on minor seconds and tritones, but adds some leaps of a third when switching strings. This fast galloping rhythm would either be accompanied by a slower half-time beat or a blast beat.
Click here for Ex. 2
Now we'll raise the tempo a little. Ex. 3 is a bit longer and inspired by Gorgasm. Anything that isn't 16th-notes can be downpicked to get a tight aggressive sound or alternate picked for a messier, less-defined sound. Gorgasm was known for downpicking a lot of their stuff, while bands like Dying Fetus would use alternate picking for fast eighth-note power chords.
The riff is not easy at this tempo. Take your time working up to those speeds to avoid hurting your muscles. It's an atonal riff that shows a few different aspects: The use of power chords and inverted power chords to add dissonance, fast-paced riffs to create a chaotic violent feel, and the extreme speeds that some bands rely on. (As a matter of fact, Gorgasm and other bands often play even faster.)
Click here for Ex. 3
Ex. 4 is a well-deserved break for the picking hand and shows a groovy, heavy slam riff inspired by Devourment. As in the previous examples, it relies on atonal, chromatic ideas, but features inverted power chords to add some dissonance and make the chordal playing flow a bit easier. Think of it as moving around power chords in drop tuning.
Click here for Ex. 4
Inspired by Dying Fetus, Ex. 5 is another type of slam riff that's heavily influenced by the breakdowns used in hardcore bands. The open 6th string serves as a kind of pedal tone around which power chords move chromatically.
Click here for Ex. 5
Ex. 6 is another Dying Fetus-inspired riff that shows the more technical side of the genre by using fast, chromatic pull-offs combined with tapping and a sweep at the end. The riff is loosely based around a B key center with the open 6th string again serving as a pedal tone that gives the riff a rooted feeling. The pull-offs are all based around a minor third and move chromatically. The tapped note is derived from the E° arpeggio (E–G–Bb). The arpeggios at the end of the riff break with the 16th-note gallop feel and are played in triplets. It's a Bm arpeggio (B–D–F#) that moves up a tritone to an Fm arpeggio (F–Ab–C). The sweep is meant to be played somewhat slurry. It's just supposed to add some chaos to the riff, but if you want to go clean and technical on it that's cool, too.
Click here for Ex. 6
Ex. 7 shows a riff inspired by Deeds of Flesh, whose guitarist, the late Erik Lindmark, had an immense influence on the scene. He was not only an incredible player, but he started Unique Leader Records, an important label that supported other bands in the scene. The riff has a triplet feel that balances palm-muted, inverted power chords with faster tremolo-picked notes that move downward chromatically. (Unlike the other examples, this is notated in standard E–A–D–G–B–E tuning.)
Click here for Ex. 7
The fast eighth-note riff in Ex. 8 is typical of many brutal death metal bands and is usually accompanied by a blast beat that matches the guitar. This leads to a machine gun-like unison sound. Harmonically, we again find chromaticism, tritones, minor thirds, and minor seconds.
Click here for Ex. 8
Blast but not least, Ex. 9 shows another riff inspired by Suffocation. This is a pedal-tone riff where the power chords move around and the pedal note changes to fit the power-chord harmony.
Click here for Ex. 9
MayFly Le Habanero Review
Great versatility in combined EQ controls. Tasty low-gain boost voice. Muscular Fuzz Face-like fuzz voice.
Can be noisy without a lot of treble attenuation. Boost and fuzz order can only be reversed with the internal DIP switch.
$171
May Fly Le Habanero
A fuzz/boost combo that’s as hot as the name suggests, but which offers plenty of smoky, subdued gain shades, too.
Generally speaking, I avoid combo effects. If I fall out of love with one thing, I don’t want to have to ditch another that’s working fine. But recent fixations with spatial economy find me rethinking that relationship. MayFly’s Le Habanero (yes, the Franco/Spanish article/noun mash-up is deliberate) consolidates boost and fuzz in a single pedal. That’s far from an original concept. But the characteristics of both effects make it a particularly effective one here, and the relative flexibility and utility of each gives this combination a lot more potential staying power for the fickle.
“Le Habanero’s fuzz circuit has a deep switch that adds a little extra desert-rock woof.”
The fuzz section has a familiar Fuzz Face-like tone profile—a little bit boomy and very present in that buzzy mid-’60s, midrangey kind of way. But Le Habanero’s fuzz circuit has a deep switch that adds a little extra desert-rock woof (especially with humbuckers) and an effective filter switch that enhances the fuzz’s flexibility—especially when used with the boost. The boost is a fairly low-gain affair. Even at maximum settings, it really seems to excite desirable high-mid harmonics more than it churns out dirt. That’s a good thing, particularly when you introduce hotter settings from the boost’s treble and bass controls, which extend the boost’s voice from thick and smoky to lacerating. Together, the boost and fuzz can be pushed to screaming extremes. But the interactivity between the tone and filter controls means you can cook up many nuanced fuzz shades spanning Jimi scorch and Sabbath chug with tons of cool overtone and feedback colors.
Significantly smaller and lighter than original TAE. Easy to configure and operate. Great value. Streamlined control set.
Air Feel Level control takes the place of more surgical and realistic resonance controls. Seventy watts less power in onboard power amp. No Bluetooth connectivity with desktop app.
$699
Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander Core
Boss streamlines the size, features, and price of the already excellent Waza Tube Expander with little sacrifice in functionality.
Many of our younger selves would struggle to understand the urge—indeed, the need—to play quieter. My first real confrontation with this ever-more-present reality arrived when Covid came to town. For many months, I could only sneak into my studio space late at night to jam or review anything loud. Ultimately, the thing that made it possible to create and do my job in my little apartment was a reactive load box (in this case, a Universal Audio OX). I set up a Bassman head next to my desk and, with the help of the OX, did the work of a gear editor as well as recorded several very cathartic heavy jams, with the Bassman up to 10, that left my neighbors none the wiser.
Boss’ firstWaza Tube Amp Expander, built with an integrated power amp that enables boosted signal as well as attenuated sounds, was and remains the OX’s main competition. Both products have copious merits but, at $1,299 (Boss) and $1,499 (Universal Audio), each is expensive. And while both units are relatively compact, they aren’t gear most folks casually toss in a backpack on the way out the door. The new Waza Tube Expander Core, however, just might be. And though it sacrifices some refinements for smaller size, its much-more accessible price and strong, streamlined fundamental capabilities make it a load-box alternative that could sway skeptics.
Micro Manager
The TAE Core is around 7 1/2" wide, just over 7 " long, and fewer than 4 " tall, including the rubber feet. That’s about half the width of an original TAE or OX. The practical upside of this size reduction is obvious and will probably compel a lot of players to use the unit in situations in which they’d leave a full-size TAE at home. The streamlined design is another source of comfort. With just five knobs on its face, the TAE Core has fewer controls and is easier to use than many stompboxes. In fact, the most complicated part of integrating the TAE Core to your rig might be downloading the necessary drivers and related apps.
Connectivity is straightforward, though there are some limitations. You can use TAE Core wirelessly with an iOS or Windows tablet or smartphone, as long as you have the BT-DUAL adaptor (which is not included and sets you back around 40 bucks). However, while desktop computers recognize the TAE Core as a Bluetooth-enabled device, you cannot use the unit wirelessly with those machines. Instead, you have to connect the TAE Core via USB. In a perfectly ordered world, that’s not a big problem. But if you use the TAE Core in a small studio—where one less cable is one less headache—or you prefer to interface with the TAE Core app on a desktop where you can toggle fast and easily between large, multi-track sessions and the app, the inability to work wirelessly on a desktop can be a distraction. The upside is that the TAE Core app itself is, functionally and visually, almost identical in mobile and desktop versions, enabling you to select and drag and drop virtual microphones into position, add delay, reverb, compression, and EQ effects, choose various cabinets with different speaker configurations and sizes, and introduce new rigs and impulse responses to a tone recipe in a flash. And though the TAE Core app lacks some of the photorealistic panache and configuration options in the OX app, the TAE Core’s app is just as intuitive.Less Is More
One nice thing about the TAE Core’s more approachable $699 price is that you don’t have to feel too bad on nights that you “underutilize” the unit and employ it as an attenuator alone. In this role, the TAE Core excels. Even significantly attenuated sounds retain the color and essence of the source tone. Like any attenuator-type device, you will sacrifice touch sensitivity and dynamics at a certain volume level, yielding a sense of disconnection between fingers, gut, guitar, and amp. But if you’re tracking “big” sounds in a small space, you can generate massive-sounding ones without interfacing with an amp modeler and flat-response monitors, which is a joy in my book. And again, there’s the TAE Core’s ability to “expand” as well as attenuate, which means you can use the TAE Core’s 30-watt onboard power amp to amplify the signal from, say, a 5-watt Fender Champion 600 with a 6" speaker, route it to a 2x12, 4x12, or virtual equivalent in the app, and leave your bandmate with the Twin Reverb and bad attitude utterly perplexed.
The Verdict
Opting for the simpler, thriftier TAE Core requires a few sacrifices. Power users that grew accustomed to the original TAE’s super-tunable “resonance-Z” and “presence-Z” controls, which aped signal-chain impedance relationships with sharp precision, will have to make do with the simpler but still very effective stack and combo options and the “air feel level” spatial ambience control.The DC power jack is less robust. It features only MIDI-in rather than MIDI-in/-through/-out jacks, and, significantly, 70 watts less power in the onboard power amp. But from my perspective, the Core is no less “professional” in terms of what it can achieve on a stage or in a studio of any size. Its more modest feature set and dimensions are, in my estimation, utility enhancements as much as limitations. If greater power and MIDI connectivity are essentials, then the extra 600 bones for the original TAE will be worth the price. For many of us, though, the mix of value, operational efficiencies, and the less-encumbered path to sound creation built into the TAE Core will represent a welcome sweet spot that makes dabbling in this very useful technology an appealing, practical proposition.
IK Multimedia is pleased to announce the release of new premium content for all TONEX users, available today through the IK Product Manager.
The latest TONEX Factory Content v2 expands the creative arsenal with a brand-new collection of Tone Models captured at the highest quality and presets optimized for live performance. TONEX Tone Models are unique captures of rigs dialed into a specific sweet spot. TONEX presets are used for performance and recording, combining Tone Models with added TONEX FX, EQ, and compression.
Who Gets What:
TONEX Pedal
- 150 crafted presets matched to 150 Premium Tone Models
- A/B/C layout for instant access to clean, drive, and lead tones
- 30 Banks: Amp & cab presets from classic cleans to crushing high-gain
- 5 Banks: FX-driven presets featuring the 8 new TONEX FX
- 5 Banks: Amp-only presets for integrating external IRs, VIR™, or amps
- 5 Banks: Stompbox presets of new overdrive/distortion pedals
- 5 Banks: Bass amp & pedal presets to cover and bass style
TONEX Mac/PC
- 106 new Premium Tone Models + 9 refined classics for TONEX MAX
- 20 new Premium Tone Models for TONEX and TONEX SE
TONEX ONE
- A selection of 20 expertly crafted presets from the list above
- Easy to explore and customize with the new TONEX Editor
Gig-ready Tones
For the TONEX Pedal, the first 30 banks deliver an expansive range of amp & cab tones, covering everything from dynamic cleans to brutal high-gain distortion. Each bank features legendary amplifiers paired with cabs such as a Marshall 1960, ENGL E412V, EVH 412ST and MESA Boogie 4x12 4FB, ensuring a diverse tonal palette. For some extremely high-gain tones, these amps have been boosted with classic pedals like the Ibanez TS9, MXR Timmy, ProCo RAT, and more, pushing them into new sonic territories.
Combined with New FX
The following 5 banks of 15 presets explore the depth of TONEX's latest effects. There's everything from the rich tremolo on a tweed amp to the surf tones of the new Spring 4 reverb. Users can also enjoy warm tape slapback with dotted 8th delays or push boundaries with LCR delay configurations for immersive, stereo-spanning echoes. Further, presets include iconic flanger sweeps, dynamic modulation, expansive chorus, stereo panning, and ambient reverbs to create cinematic soundscapes.
Versatile Control
The TONEX Pedal's A, B, and C footswitches make navigating these presets easy. Slot A delivers clean, smooth tones, Slot B adds crunch and drive, and Slot C pushes into high-gain or lead territory. Five dedicated amp-only banks provide a rich foundation of tones for players looking to integrate external IRs or run directly into a power amp. These amp-only captures span clean, drive, and high-gain categories, offering flexibility to sculpt the sound further with IRs or a real cab.
Must-have Stompboxes
TONEX Pedals are ideal for adding classic effects to any pedalboard. The next 5 banks focus on stompbox captures, showcasing 15 legendary overdrive, distortion, and fuzz pedals. This collection includes iconic models based on the Fulltone Full-Drive 2, Marshall DriveMaster, Maxon OD808, Klon Centaur, ProCo RAT, and more.
For Bass Players, Too
The last 5 banks are reserved for bass players, including a selection of amp & cab Tone Models alongside a few iconic pedals. Specifically, there are Tone Models based on the Ampeg SVT-2 PRO, Gallien-Krueger 800RB, and Aguilar DB750, alongside essential bass pedals based on the Tech21 SansAmp, Darkglass B7K and EHX Big Muff. Whether it's warm vintage thump, modern punch, or extreme grit, these presets ensure that bassists have the depth, clarity and power they need for any playing style.For more information and instructions on how to get the new Factory
Content v2 for TONEX, please visit:
www.ikmultimedia.com/products/tonex
Alongside Nicolas Jaar’s electronics, Harrington creates epic sagas of sound with a team of fine-tuned pedalboards.
Guitarist Dave Harrington concedes that while there are a few mile markers in the music that he and musician Nicolas Jaar create as Darkside, improvisation has been the rule from day one. The experimental electronic trio’s latest record, Nothing, which released in February on Matador, was the first to feature new percussionist Tlacael Esparza.
Taking the record on tour this year, Darkside stopped in at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl, where Harrington broke down his complex signal chains for PG’s Chris Kies.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Express Yourself
Harrington bought this mid-2000s Gibson SG at 30th Street Guitars in New York, a shop he used to visit as a kid. The headstock had already been broken and repaired, and Harrington switched the neck pickup to a Seymour Duncan model used by Derek Trucks. Harrington runs it with D’Addario NYXL .010s, which he prefers for their stretch and stability.
The standout feature is a round knob installed by his tech behind the bridge, which operates like an expression pedal for the Line 6 DL4. Harrington has extras on hand in case one breaks.
Triple Threat
Harrington’s backline setup in Nashville included two Fender Twin Reverbs and one Fender Hot Rod DeVille. He likes the reissue Fender amps for their reliability and clean headroom. Each amp handles an individual signal, including loops that Harrington creates and plays over; with each amp handling just one signal rather than one handling all loops and live playing, there’s less loss of definition and competition for frequency space.
Dave Harrington’s Pedalboards
Harrington says he never gives up on a pedal, which could explain why he’s got so many. You’re going to have to tune in to the full Rundown to get the proper scoop on how Harrington conducts his three-section orchestra of stomps, but at his feet, he runs a board with a Chase Bliss Habit, Mu-Tron Micro-Tron IV, Eventide PitchFactor, Eventide H90, Hologram Microcosm, Hologram Chroma Console, Walrus Monument, Chase Bliss Thermae, Chase Bliss Brothers AM, JHS NOTAKLÖN, two HexeFX reVOLVERs, and an Amped Innovations JJJ Special Harmonics Extender. A Strymon Ojai provides power.
At hip-level sits a board with a ZVEX Mastotron, Electro-Harmonix Cathedral, EHX Pitch Fork, Xotic EP Booster, two EHX 45000 multi-track looping recorders, Walrus Slöer, Expedition Electronics 60 Second Deluxe, and another Hologram Microcosm. A Live Wire Solutions ABY Box and MXR DC Brick are among the utility tools on deck.
Under that board rest Harrington’s beloved Line 6 DL4—his desert-island, must-have pedal—along with a controller for the EHX 45000, Boss FV-50H volume pedal, Dunlop expression pedal, Boss RT-20, a Radial ProD2, and another MXR DC Brick.