Riffage is dedicated to riffs: the perfect ones, the special ones, the weird ones – any notable permutation of the basic molecular unit of metal. Each column presents a transcription and an in-depth analysis of the riff in question.
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Reader “I, Monarch” somehow read my mind. This edition of “Riffage” focuses on the intro to Morbid Angel’s “God of Emptiness”, its evil swagger the product of guitarist Trey Azagthoth’s trippy yet disciplined psycho-theological musings.
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Lest you think I’m taking requests, I’ve been intending to dissect this beastie for some time. It’s an in-depth study in the Azagthoth’s inflection and feel, and it’s what will likely blare from a speaker in his headstone when he departs this mortal coil. This transcription is an arrangement of the right channel guitar to be played on a 6-string guitar tuned like the bottom six of a 7-string, down one half-step: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, low to high.
This riff, like the Megadeth one we explored last time, is fairly easy in that it involves no great trials of stamina or dexterity. It consists mostly of simple power chords and octave dyads played at a lurching tempo. Compromising any of its deft phrasing, however, renders this passage lifeless, like Mexican food with no salsa or peppers. Slides and vibrato are key here. Start those slides from the bottom of the neck and really clutch that invisible orange towards your heart. (Notice that fingering those octaves sets your hand in a claw-like orientation.) Once those chords hit home, wiggle them like you’re choking the life out of Cthulu itself. That whammy dive is subtle – you can fake it with a languid slide if need be. If you’ve seen Trey Azagthoth perform, you’ll notice his over-expressive gestures. That’s the genesis of his technique. It’s more than showmanship – the man inhabits his music.
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Like Scott Kelly of Neurosis, Trey Azagthoth just wasn’t made for these times. I always hear a nomadic longing in their riffs, like they’re desperately trying to conjure an alien world through sound. “God of Emptiness” bursts with this imagery. A great Sumerian beast breaches the sand, suddenly ten stories high. That high note filigree, the first ungodly wail of a long dormant being in millennia. It stomps the sands, shuddering the Earth, a humanoid beast with a gaping jagged maw, lizard scales glowing incandescent under three suns, elegant in its ghastliness. Its massive torso drags on the ground, seeking its new host. Enjoy exploring the conjuring of Mr. Azagthoth until next we convene for further “Riffage”.
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Godly riff
B flat?!?! Do you have to hold the whammy bar to keep the strings from sagging?
Well, ideally you should have that 7th string…or have big-ass strings…or a good imagination.
Trey is playing a seven-string guitar in that video still, even.
Amazing Song, I am really into my morbid Angel big time atm, if only I knew how to play guitar
B flat isn’t really rocket science…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hg9L1WX9XA
Lots of “heavy” hitters tune to A…it’s as close as you can get to “tuning to wind”!
I didn’t request this song, but if I could have, I would have. This song is at the height of its form. Your creative writing about the riff and Trey was also superlative… befitting of this fiendish dirge. Thank you.
And this is the worst song on the album!
But yeah, trying to “reproduce” Trey’s playing: whatever. Trey is in his own little world. Don’t even try it. Microtonality and microvibrato as personal vibrations re: personal expression, that’s all. It’s HIS music, it doesn’t belong to anyone else.
Other guitarists out there: if you haven’t seen him play live yet, go and see him…it’s totally worth it. Very, very inspiring.
Agreed. Trey Azagthoth is coming from a totally different place. Hail the mighty Morbid Angel!
Bow to Morbid Angel!
remember this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i5LvR5YRcY
classic
I stop at Blessed Are The Sick usually, all the positive qualities in the few good Covenant songs are there in Blessed as well, without the downwards slide in quality in Vincent’s vocals and lyrics. This riff – like many Azagthoth creations – is unorthodox and subtle in its graces and definitely worthy of study. I’ve never tried to reinterpret any Morbid Angel material… I know how Blessed Are The Sick / Leading is constructed but that amounted to me reading transcriptions and imagining the rest, heh.
Good choice of riffage. I know you’re not taking requests, but give a listen to the opening riff of ‘…And The Devil Cried’ by the one and only Psychotic Waltz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R_d9-ZmO68
Wonderful parallel thirds for harmonization (a staple of the whole album, nearly) like a demented Iron Maiden!
Went back and checked (it’s been a few years). Parallel thirds in the intro, fourths in the verse, unison in that awesome bridge with second interval accents, a wonderful stacked fifth at the return to the altered intro theme, it’s like they’re moving through the list. Rock/McAlpine didn’t stand still for a second on the debut, wouldn’t want to sell them short. There isn’t much metal more fluent in traditional harmony than Psychotic Waltz (outside of Spiral Architect, perhaps).
>I stop at Blessed Are The Sick usually
I totally understand this.
I’ve been using heavy-ass strings (16-68) and tuning to B for about 10 years. They keep very firm but I have my action adjusted for the tension. Interesting to note: Trey’s strings have a slightly slack tone. There’s a certain floppiness to those low notes even with the 7-string. It’s probably a very light set he’s using.
I tune to B standard no problem even with 12-54. I like the loose feel and sound, but it probably wouldn’t be ideal if you’re playing something more on the technical, as opposed to just heavy, side.
Please keep the sweet riffage up!
Any chance you could attempt an exegesis of a Portal “riff”? I just got an Agile 8 string and I’m dying to figure out how to figure out some of their music. Either way, keep up the excellent work!
I can only suggest asking Portal themselves, preferably while seeing them on tour…
AWESOME
that Beavis and Butthead clip is how I got into MA.
regarding the tunings and such, my 7 string came with 11 – 57’s and I’ve had them as low as drop F with no problems. There is something to be said for playing a 7 string rather than a 6 string at these tunings, even a baritone. There is a certain tone and feeling that resonates in your gut that you can only get from a 7 and music written on and for a 7 really looses somthing with out the extra scale.
Thanks for this
These are the best blog posts! You could make a blog that is only this and I’d love it more than IO, that’s no slight. It’s a big compliment. MA live is a wonder indeed and we’re all still waiting for that god damn new album…
You want a great riff? Sleep’s Dragonaut. Best intro ever. Closely followed by Blood & Thunder by Mastodon
Helm – Holy shit! Never heard Psychotic Waltz before. Reminds me of a heavier Cacophony perhaps?
Peter Anderson – I’m simultaneously compelled and overwhelmed by the idea of transcribing Portal. I’ll leave that on an elliptical note…
Brooke – Obviously it’s a matter of preference. I like having firm strings so I can really beat them up. I also like feeling 6 strings underneath me when I play. Whenever I tried a 7, I would get confused about where I was for chords and such. The music I play is very hybridized anyway with not much orthodox thrash or death metal; so there’s that!
I never thought of them as similar to Cacophony, heh. I can sort of hear what you’re talking about. Psychotic Waltz come I think, from a mixture of the psychedelic/art rock of the 70’s (from the Beatles to Jethro Tull, Genesis, some Rush perhaps?) and believe it or not, R. Rhoads type of neo-classical pop metal shred. Of course there’s also a ‘US Power metal’ influence in there just due to the era in which the band operated. Now why on earth the end result came out so twisted and angular, I wouldn’t know. They’re one of a kind.
Check out the album in full if you get the inclination. The material is focused but expansive. ‘A Social Grace’ for me is a top10 all-time best album, so there you go.
Also, in what band do you play? Where can I listen to you?
Helm: Alee plays in a couple bands, but the hybrid band he speaks of is called The Atomic Bomb Audition, and we’ve been playing since 2004 in the Bay Area.
It’s great stuff and the drummer kills (just kidding, that’s me). Anyway, check it out. Alee is a good writer and a good musician. We are currently recording our third album. Cheers
http://www.theatomicbombaudition.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/theatomicbombaudition
http://www.theatomicbombaudition.com
“Like Scott Kelly of Neurosis, Trey Azagthoth just wasn’t made for these times.” Hail.
Do I hear a riffage entry for Mr. Kelly in the future? TO THE WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIND!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stop at Blessed? While that’s my favorite Morbid Angel record, Covenant, Domination and Formulas are all killer.
Also, the worst song on Covenant is “Angel of Disease.”