Speed or Accuracy

Today when we listen to lead guitar playing there are some notable differences...lead players of several bands just go ahead and shred...but compared to some of the classics of yesteryears..for instance think of leads in hotel california, stairway to heaven, Sultans of Swing or for guys who want faster stuff think of Hallowed be thy name by iron maiden or Painkiller from Priest or say Fade to Black (what an intro) by hammet and co...my personal opinion is that the leads in most of these songs were technically superb...but in recent times my impression is metal guitar is more abut speed at the cost of melodies...do you guys agree with me?? is this good???? do post ur comments...

 

Well, it would be a sweeping statement to say that all metal music is more about speed than melody... look at some bands like Nightwish, Blind Guardian, Sonata Arctica, Dream Theater etc... they manage to make music with great melodies and at the same time maintain a high degree of speed (especially Sonata Arctica)... whereas it is quite fair to say that speed is now becoming an important feature of some genres of metal music. However, we also see an increase in the number of slow and soft metal balads these day, showing that speed is not everything about metal.

First, could you give a clearer description of your impression of metal guitar?

 

I agree. Melody is more important than just speed. Thats why Yngwine, though considered a great guitarist is placed low when compared with Vai or Satch. They have far more Melody than Yngwine (Who is considered that fastest shredder). Thats why i personally like Marty Friedman a lot. He concentrates more on melody and his solos always sound amazingly great (Just check out the solos no.3 and 4 in Hangar 18, you'll know). The recent metal bands have lost Melody and are too keen on speed. And this is bad. Melody is much more important.

 

@essi, you are right. Dream Theater and Blind Guardian do have melody in their solos. I haven't heard much of Sonata Artica, so i wouldn't know. But a majority of Metal bands go for speed rather than Melody.

 

ya damn right melody rules, but when that is mixed with speed...
you get someone called joe satriani

 

Youve hit the nail on the head buddy...good one..

 

Melody will always be better than just pure speed. With melody you are able to bring a solo to life and give the song a soul and a meaning which is more than what can be said for speed.

 

hey jackdaw glad our opinions match. its very difficult to make a point here without facing a lot of argument. but then, that is FUN.

 

Ya, melody gives life to a solo, speed sustains it.

 

I find mix of everything in Metal. If you dont listen to Progenies of The Great Apocalypse - Dimmu Borgir.. Then talk..

 

lol...dude first of all its YNGWIE not YNGWINE...
now plz dont tell me YNGWIE stuff doesnt have melody !lol...
plz that guy is classically influenced and yeah his playing might get a little repetitive with his trade mark arpegios and harmonic minor scales ..and a few of his songs are really cheesy...barring that i think his stuff is gr8..marty friedman is also cool ..check out his solo albums .i think he has released three solo albums..DRAGONS KISS,SCENES ..and i dont remember the third albums name..he has also played with a another guitarist JASON BECKER who was also gr8 but had to quit bcoz of a disease..that guy could play yngwie at double the speed..too bad a prodigy snipped at the bud.!

 

Marty Friedman and Jason BEcker rule..

 

@Dimebag - Hmm.......How come no one pointed it out till now? Im surprised. Anyway, i never said Yngwie didn't have melody, I said Vai and Satch had far more of it. I think Yngwie is a great guitarist. But not anywhere near Vai. Anyway, ur right about Marty. He is great. I have his solo album "Dragons kiss". Its awsome. I didn't know he had three albums though. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

ur welcome man..anyway ...does anybody have jason beckers stuff in here..
u know his albums raspberry jam,blueberry jam,and the latest perspective..he has composed all the stuff of perspective and other guys have played it..and yeah theres a tribute album of his too..im looking for his stuff but cant seem to find them.

 

I have Jason stuff.. Videos and tutorials and loads of songs..

Draqgon Kiss is really cool.. I would say Marty at his best..

 

where did ya get it from jayanth??? lemme guess relatives from abroad...??if yes u lucky bastard !

 

I got them from a friend here in Bangalore.. Dunno where he got it from.. I just stole all those cds..