Riffage: Morbid Angel - "God of Emptiness"

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.

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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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaI4EpjKqv4

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