Bars 1-6:
Kick off our track with clean intro inspired by “Hallowed Be They Name”. The tempo of the intro is 90bpm. The key centre here is E minor, with a single E notes being played by the bass and second guitar on the backing track. The min guitar performs a series of diatonic 3rd intervals on the 5th and 2nd strings. I would suggest using both pick and fingers to perform this section.
Bars 7-8:
See us switching to a distorted tone performing the chords of C5, A5 and D5, concluding with a short E Aeolian scale sequence descending in groups of four. Also take care here with the tempo, as it raises to 108bpm.
Bars 9-16:
Kick off with our main riff that featured a palm muted “galloping” E5 power chord riff, with accented beats using the chords of B5 and D5. The riff features slight variation based round the chords of G5, A5, D/F# and D5. This section is reminiscent to the feel and tone of “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”.
Bar 17:
Concludes the first half of the verse with a slightly longer descending scale figure, Take care here as the rhythm of the run swaps from 16th notes to 1/8th notes, with the final note tying over into the first bar of the next half of the verse.
Bars 18-25:
Illustrates the second half of the verse, which is the same as the previous verse. The only tricky section is bar 18, where the final not of the previous bar ties over, resulting in a “push” into the beginning of the second verse.
Bar 26:
Concludes the verse with another descending scale sequence based around E Aeolian. Once again this run mixes both 16th and 1/8th note rhythms, shifting down the neck.
Bars 27-33:
Introduce our chorus section. Here we see the chords of C5 and A5, with notes linking the chords together. Bars 29-30 include an E minor riff played in harmony with a second guitar. The chorus concludes with the chords of C5, D5 and B/D# leading us to the next section.
Bars 33-36:
Introduce a new section inspired by “Phantom of the Opera”. Take care entering this section as the tempo jumps up to 155bpm. We kick off with chord stabs using the E5 chord. This is followed by a guitar and bass triplet unison run ascending up in 5ths.
Bars 37-44:
Include our new riff, which is a fast triplet E minor riff. This riff also features a tricky open string pull of figure as well as the chords of D5, A5, G5, and D/F#.
Bars 45-52:
Illustrates the second half of the riff, and sees the min guitar transposing up a 4th interval, performing in harmoney to the original riff played by the second guitar.
Bars 53-54:
Feature a link section, with the guitars performing accented chord stabs following the bass and drums. The chords used here are D5, A5, E5 and C#/E#. Take care with this rhythm, as we are playing a broken ¼ note triplet stab.
Bars 55-58:
Include our new section inspired by “Afraid to Shoot Strangers”, and include a Janick Gers style melody outlining the accompanying chord progression. Take care when entering this section as the tempo drops to 75bpm.
Bars 59-62:
Include a harmony of our Janick Gers solo, with the original line being performed by the backing guitar.
Bars 63-70:
Introduce a new riff and a new tempo, the tempo increasing to 215bpm. This section is inspired by “The Trooper”, and includes the same progression as our previous section. This section features a Dave Murray/Adrian Smith harmony melody line. You should also notice that this section has modulated to F# Aeolian, with the melody using notes from the F# Aeolian mode.
Bars 71-78:
Include a Dave Murray style solo, which demonstrates his use of melodic fluid legato phrasing and Hendrix inspired string bends.
Bars 79-86:
Illustrates an Adrian smith style solo, and includes open string legato lines, as well as pedal tone and pentatonic runs.
Bars 87-89:
Conclude our track with some stabs performed at the 14th fret of the 3rd and 4th strings, following the drum chocked cymbal accents.
Getting The Sound
When it comes to tone, although all three guitarist have their own specific voice and tone, they use the classic strat and Marshall combination. Dave Murray favours his signature Fender Strat whilst Adrian Smith has his own signature Jackson Super Strat. Janick Gers favours Strandberg and Fender Strat’s.
All three guitarists use the Marshall JMP1 valve midi preamps, and a selection of Marshall heads. For our Tech Session I used my own custom built Music Man Axis Supersport, built to celebrate with 20th anniversary as Music Man endorsee. The guitar includes DiMarzio Satch Track in the bridge and Injector single coil pickups neck and middle position.
I plugged into my MESA Boogie JP2-C head which was running into a Two Notes Torpedo Studio digital load box/Speaker emulator. I used n impulse response of a closed back V30 Marshall cab with a single SM57 mic.
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