I have a few questions for Metal players

[Admiral Axtell]

What are the best strings for metal?

I kid, I kid.
So, I have a bunch of questions i'm just gonna throw em' out there and hope to get some answers.
Alrighty, so I am in a "band" with my best friend whom plays the drums, we both are around intermediate levels of skill for our instruments, but its just me and him. Now I am a huge metalhead and he is not really so we have just been jamming on grungy stuff for like a year now just not taking it seriously at all, I would love to find other members for that band though so we could start gigging because me and my friend work very well together, but he just moved and is going to a different school so we won't get to play near as much as we would like.
So now I am on the hunt for another project that will hopefully be gigging (that is really my ultimate goal, I will be the happiest person on the face of the planet when I can play my music and people are there to listen and enjoy us)
So I want to start a death metal band straight up I LOVE death metal, stuff like The Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Cattle Decapitation, hell Im down to add some deathcore elements because I enjoy a lot of that too but straight up death metal is what I aim for.
now that you know where I'm coming from my first question arises, a pretty simple one, what are some guidlines to write some death metal? I know it is a very broad question, but can I do a ton with just dimished riffing? I dont exactly know where to start because my teacher tought me a broad range of musical styles but he didn't know much about metal (I am no long with this teacher and plan to start learning how to do metal myself.)
and my second, how big of a rig do I need to play this kind of music? right now I only have a B100 Acoustic amp because Im not taking it seriously yet. Do I need some serious wattage? or will a single 410 and a 910 head cut it?

sorry for my wall of text guys, I hope you are understanding if I made an a*s of myself which I may have.. I tend to do it on accident I swear.

thanks for listening and I hope to hear some helpful replies!

[waleross]

Don't know anything about Death Metal but it seems like it is Large Rig Time......I have and use Ampeg 810-E's which get you in the door match it up with 700 watts and up and call the cops........Good luck ................

[Hollywars]

If you do a ton with just diminished riffing, you will sound VERY generic, VERY quickly. That might be what you are going for though, so it's up to you. There aren't really any "guidelines" to writing music, write things that sound like what you listen to, try to figure out the musical concepts that make bands sound the way they do.

[lokikallas]

hey, there fledgling evil dude

I would recommend not sticking to any formulas at all as far as writing music in general. When it comes to metal, I have found that learning guitar to write on, then playing bass in a band is a good way to go. I'm a pretty good rythym guitarist, but a great bassist first. It's next to impossible to get a song across to a guitarist just by showing him the riffs on a bass. Play whatever sounds good to you. Listen to a wide variety of music too. I grew up on thrash bands in the late 80's like slayer, metallica, etc... In the 90's I got into the new death metal wave like, death, obituary, morbid angel, carcass but also the new thrash like fear factory, machine head, and pantera. Even now I find newer bands like lamb of god, chaimera, and even some of the arpeggio bands like protest the hero pretty cool. The whole time I was discovering new emerging music, I was going back and discovering classics like Iron Maiden, black sabbath, led zeppelin, and jimi hendrix. You might want to consider who wrote the songs that inspired the bands that you are into. There's no formula to metal, if you play to any formulas, then most people will see your influences written on your forehead, and thats not very honest. Half the time when I write a riff, I have to think about, who did I rip that off from, then re-work it in my own way to feel honest. As far a gear goes, you will never need anything larger than a 4x10, usually these are about 400-500 watts at 4 ohms, which is what you need to power it with. For example, an ampeg 4x10 with a svt3, or br2e would cover you for the rest of your life. Anything else is just for looks. Don't get me wrong, I had an 8x10 AND a 1x18 at one point, but it was ridiculous to haul that crap around, and all it did was make me look like a guy with too much stuff. At rehearsals, in a tiny 15x15 room you'll never turn up more than 3/4 of the way to drown out the guitarists full stack, and at gig, you'll be fine. If it's a dive bar with no PA, you'll be fine, If it's bigger they'll put you through the PA, and ask you to turn down the amp on stage. You can find everything you need used for around 600-800$ so start saving. Anything you use until then I wouldn't invest in too much, just get some crap brand like carvin or something until you can afford the right stuff.

[Admiral Axtell]

Right on, thank you guys.
So I should just write my groove guideline free eh? alright that won't be a problem at all, and thanks for the advice on the gear as well, my teacher told me to go into the local music store and ask them to hook me up with a 410 and a head, they have a few 410's there used for around $200-300 but the heads are expensive as hell.... but yeah thank you! I also need to find bandmates....... theres this one dude in my management class whom is into death metal and plays guitar.... so if he is interested theres one guy down and.... 2 or 3 more to go.... also im afraid its going to be very hard to get into a band.... there is an alright sized death metal scene down here in loveland so i'm hoping there are enough interested evil young people.
any tips on starting the band?

[sangsaratrip]

Deathmetal in Loveland,

Tips on starting a band: Start posting ads.

[AcidFripp]

Originally Posted by Admiral Axtell

So I want to start a death metal band straight up I LOVE death metal, stuff like The Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Cattle Decapitation, hell Im down to add some deathcore elements because I enjoy a lot of that too but

>Implying any of those are good bands
>Hahahahahahaha!

I will, however, help you on your quest! You want to listen to a LOT of good death metal. Technical death metal, for example, is often good to listen to. Bands like Gorguts (specifically the album Obscura) and Atheist (specifically Unquestionable Presence) will probably help to inspire you.
Just doing a ton of diminished riffing isn't going to help you, musically, unless you do it in a creative way. That's what it's about. Be progressive, be creative. And don't just listen to death metal. Progressive metal, classical, jazz, progressive rock, blues, and many other genres are all essential to listen to. See, you want as many influences as you can possibly gain, for they will help you be more inspired and better. There's inspiration everywhere, even in less obvious genres like Hip-Hop and Electronic.

Now, make sure to find a vocalist who suits your style as well. Remember that death metal vocals aren't all about being as low and br00tal as possible! The vocalist has to be dynamic, flexible, and good at singing clean too, even if you don't use any clean vocals. He/she must be able to employ many different vocal styles, remember.

I'm sure you're a good bassist and your friend is a good drummer. As for your rig, simply get a good, loud amp. Make sure you can always be heard in the mix. Don't distort it too much because then you'll just blend in with the guitar! Of course, if you WANT to blend in, then by all means, use liberal amounts of distortion. If you want to bass solo, then distortion sounds cool.
When you get a guitarist, make SURE they know about music. Make sure they know some theory, enough for you to be able to communicate to them. And also make sure they're not a total wanker. Someone who wants to solo 10 times every song just to show off his br00tal skillz (he thinks he's brutal because he tunes to C-Standard) is no good.

So anyway, make sure to get a lot of influences and have fun!

[Admiral Axtell]

Originally Posted by AcidFripp

>Implying any of those are good bands
>Hahahahahahaha!

I will, however, help you on your quest! You want to listen to a LOT of good death metal. Technical death metal, for example, is often good to listen to. Bands like Gorguts (specifically the album Obscura) and Atheist (specifically Unquestionable Presence) will probably help to inspire you.
Just doing a ton of diminished riffing isn't going to help you, musically, unless you do it in a creative way. That's what it's about. Be progressive, be creative. And don't just listen to death metal. Progressive metal, classical, jazz, progressive rock, blues, and many other genres are all essential to listen to. See, you want as many influences as you can possibly gain, for they will help you be more inspired and better. There's inspiration everywhere, even in less obvious genres like Hip-Hop and Electronic.

Now, make sure to find a vocalist who suits your style as well. Remember that death metal vocals aren't all about being as low and br00tal as possible! The vocalist has to be dynamic, flexible, and good at singing clean too, even if you don't use any clean vocals. He/she must be able to employ many different vocal styles, remember.

I'm sure you're a good bassist and your friend is a good drummer. As for your rig, simply get a good, loud amp. Make sure you can always be heard in the mix. Don't distort it too much because then you'll just blend in with the guitar! Of course, if you WANT to blend in, then by all means, use liberal amounts of distortion. If you want to bass solo, then distortion sounds cool.
When you get a guitarist, make SURE they know about music. Make sure they know some theory, enough for you to be able to communicate to them. And also make sure they're not a total wanker. Someone who wants to solo 10 times every song just to show off his br00tal skillz (he thinks he's brutal because he tunes to C-Standard) is no good.

So anyway, make sure to get a lot of influences and have fun!

hey thanks for all the advice man!
I have been branching out a lot more with what music I listen to when I started playing pretty much but yeah I'll definitely check out some of those bands you mentioned!

[dozicusmaximus]

I'm with you too dude. I would like to play death metal as well. I'm starting lessons tomorrow. I don't want to start something until I'm decent enough. I don't want to just barely hang in there.
You'll definetly need more power and speakers.
Death metal= awesome drumming. A good drummer is a must, or good drum programming
Inspiration wise ATHEIST, as mentioned. any of their 3 albums. Pestilence, Death, Gorguts, Illogicist, Neuraxis, Spawn of Possession, Quo Vadis, Pitbulls in the Nursery, Anata, Beneath the Massacre, Gorod, Benighted (alot of quality french DM out there), Theory in Practice, Origin. Most of that is pretty technical stuff.
My favs are old school death metal. I usually have to go back to because some of the over technicality can wear my ears out haha. The first 4 I mentioned above plus Entombed, Seance, Electrocution, Morgoth, Autopsy, Malevolent Creation, Monstrosity, Altar, Gutted, Brutality, Morgue, Grave, Fleshcrawl, Ripping Corpse, etc. I really enjoy some of the slower heavy parts that the old school bands do.

[Big B.]

Check out Cynic and Nile also. Really great melodic metal and insanely brutal Egyptian metal. And I would suggest J.S. Bach for classical harmonies that are heard in metal.

[Admiral Axtell]

thanks for all the music suggestions, Athiest is sick! and I really like Nile already they are way sick as well.

[Admiral Axtell]

Any suggestions on what brand of cab and head I should get? or will anything work really?

[christw]

Play a lot of metal of any kind. For inspiration on crazy deathcore elements, check out After The Burial's reissue of Rareform. It is absolutely beautiful. Everything they've done makes me go Others like Whitechapel would be a good choice too. Neither band is afraid to toss in a major key and the arrangements. After the first time I heard After The Burial I was confused, stunned, and in a general state of awe.

Working on your fingerstyle can help immensely. I'm still struggling to keep up. I can do Harris finger style without a catch. You won't see me playing death metal with fingers. I wish I could. Deathcore, sometimes. But as for what to write, I still struggle often. I bring a very punk/hardcore biased background to my band with a tendency for melodic bass and high energy along with an adoration of song dynamics, bass chords, and a good knowledge of theory so I tend to do a lot of arranging, transposing, and helping bring the "I don't know what to play after this" to a manageable level.

As for amps, I use a Peavey AlphaBass (170w tube) into my SVT810E and max the amp out every time. I've had to push my SVT-II (tube 300w) into power amp distortion (putting over 300 saturated tubey watts out) before to keep up. For shows I use the direct out.

Major tips:
-Don't scoop your tone. No smiley face EQ, no mid scoop. It will take major watts to keep up and you will never be heard in the mix.
-Cheap is good but I've heard a couple guys on here say their Acoustic B600 and 410+115 rig doesn't totally cut it for metal. It farts out a bit.
-I'd look for a used SVT810E ($250-$500) and a good used solid state amp like a GK 1001RB ($400-$600). That'll get you a long way. For a more modern tone a cab like a Genz Benz Uber 410 or Uber 810 would go a LONG way.

[Admiral Axtell]

Wow After the Burial is great!
when you say no smiley face EQ what do you mean? keep the mids and highs low? Im still a way big noob in knowing amps and terms.

[somegeezer]

Not all the bands there mentioned in your post are Death Metal, but I'll let you slide. ;D I play some myself and am using a Gallien-Krueger 1001RB-II head with, at the moment, a single 410 cab. Though I have 2 of them, the guitarists are only using 150 watt 212 combos and I'm overpowering them. =P You need to keep your mids quite high and your treble quite low for the most part, but that really up to you to decide. I know a lot of guitarists in Death Metal really love their mids too, so it might take some doing to get the right amount to punch through them. If you're on a budget, the 700RB-II head is exactly the same as the 1001RB-II with slightly less power. But last time I looked, it was only about £100 less brand new [I think about $150?]. As for actually writing the music, just listen to a lot of the Metal. There have been some great choices in some above posts.

Bloodbath, Cannibal Corpse, Decapitated, Gojira, Kataklysm, Obscura, Opeth, Death, Cynic... Granted, a lot of these are Technical and Progressive Death Metal, but that just makes them that little bit more awesome. ;D

[Admiral Axtell]

Originally Posted by somegeezer

Not all the bands there mentioned in your post are Death Metal, but I'll let you slide. ;D I play some myself and am using a Gallien-Krueger 1001RB-II head with, at the moment, a single 410 cab. Though I have 2 of them, the guitarists are only using 150 watt 212 combos and I'm overpowering them. =P You need to keep your mids quite high and your treble quite low for the most part, but that really up to you to decide. I know a lot of guitarists in Death Metal really love their mids too, so it might take some doing to get the right amount to punch through them. If you're on a budget, the 700RB-II head is exactly the same as the 1001RB-II with slightly less power. But last time I looked, it was only about £100 less brand new [I think about $150?]. As for actually writing the music, just listen to a lot of the Metal. There have been some great choices in some above posts.

Bloodbath, Cannibal Corpse, Decapitated, Gojira, Kataklysm, Obscura, Opeth, Death, Cynic... Granted, a lot of these are Technical and Progressive Death Metal, but that just makes them that little bit more awesome. ;D

The Black Dahlia Murder??? they seem pretty Death Metal-esque to me??? whatever they are good (probably my favorite band)
WOW $150??? Im gonna do some research on that puppy but I will probably be able to buy the more expensive one depending on how much it is. I really don't have a budget but it will take me a long time to save up cuz I only get like $150 paychecks every two weeks, cuz of school I can only work two days a week... but I'm thinking that im willing to spend like $500ish, but yeah I have been checking out a lot of these bands that you guys are tellin me about and most of them are really quite good.

[Admiral Axtell]

Originally Posted by somegeezer

Not all the bands there mentioned in your post are Death Metal, but I'll let you slide. ;D I play some myself and am using a Gallien-Krueger 1001RB-II head with, at the moment, a single 410 cab. Though I have 2 of them, the guitarists are only using 150 watt 212 combos and I'm overpowering them. =P You need to keep your mids quite high and your treble quite low for the most part, but that really up to you to decide. I know a lot of guitarists in Death Metal really love their mids too, so it might take some doing to get the right amount to punch through them. If you're on a budget, the 700RB-II head is exactly the same as the 1001RB-II with slightly less power. But last time I looked, it was only about £100 less brand new [I think about $150?]. As for actually writing the music, just listen to a lot of the Metal. There have been some great choices in some above posts.

Bloodbath, Cannibal Corpse, Decapitated, Gojira, Kataklysm, Obscura, Opeth, Death, Cynic... Granted, a lot of these are Technical and Progressive Death Metal, but that just makes them that little bit more awesome. ;D

Also the 700RB-II is $600 new :O

[dozicusmaximus]

Originally Posted by Admiral Axtell

Also the 700RB-II is $600 new :O

Got mine for $350 used

[Admiral Axtell]

Originally Posted by dozicusmaximus

Got mine for $350 used

nice, alright Ill search craigslist and a local store, and GC perhaps as well. Im posting the ad on Craigslist right now to look for bandmates too, wish me luck!

[Admiral Axtell]

got a reply from a drummer! sweeeet