Many of us can agree that there’s nothing quite like the utter joy of cranking your amp to 11, kicking on the distortion, and watching mothers pull their children from the streets as you blast out a 6th-string metal riff with reckless abandon. But what is it about the construction of a good (or evil) metal riff that makes it so excellent? It almost seems like we could simply fret random notes while chugging the open low E string and it would be metal. Nay, I say! There is careful note choice at work here, and this month, we’re investigating the science behind the steel.

THE DARKEST OF MODES
Part of the magic that makes metal so delightfully dark and evil-sounding is its use of modes, which are essentially scales derived from the major scale—king of all scales. Each note in the major scale is assigned a number (1 through 7) called a scale degree, and each degree has its own unique mode. Here are the modes of the major scale:

The three highlighted modes—Phrygian, Aeolian, and Locrian— are staples of heavy metal. Even their names sound metal. To demonstrate the difference in how each sounds, we wrote a single-string metal riff on the low E string, and changed the fretted notes of the riff according to each mode’s formula.

AEOLIAN
If you play the G major scale starting on the 6th degree, E, you get the E Aeolian mode, which is also known as the natural minor scale. In the first version of our riff [Fig. 1], the highlighted pitches (F#, G, B) seen below are pivoted against the root E pedal tone, giving it a distinct E Aeolian sound:

Play the riff slowly at first, and gradually increase the tempo to about 100 bpm. Watch out for the meter change in the second measure and use alternate picking and palm muting to achieve the full effect. (For a more open and raging feel, try playing it without palm muting as well.)

PHRYGIAN
Next we’ll take a look at the Phrygian mode, which comes from the 3rd degree of the major scale. This is a bit darker than Aeolian as it includes the very metal-sounding b2nd. Here are the pitches and degrees of E Phrygian:

Notice that the only difference between the two modes is the lowered 2nd, but it creates a distinctly different sound. Here is the same riff, but now with pitches from the Phrygian mode. You’ll notice how using F instead of F#, which is only a half step above the root, E, adds a darker shade of evil to the riff.

LOCRIAN
Locrian, derived from the 7th degree of the major scale, is the darkest of all modes. It includes the same pitches as the Phrygian mode with the addition of a b5th—the devil’s interval. We’re talking pure evil here, folks!

Now try our riff again, but this time with the full modal malevolence of Locrian.

So you can see how just a few pitch alterations can really change the feel and sound of a riff—or lick, for that matter. By harnessing the power of the modes, you can attain an informed grip on note choice and effectively add new shades of black to your next epic metal opus. -GE

Thanks to: GuitarEdge magazine

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