The Axe

Where have I heard that name before?

This metal track will put your speed picking to the test.

The song is recorded in DGCFAD (one step down from standard), so you'll need to adjust your tuning to play along with the song.

Here we have the main riff of the song.

Remember that a group of six 16th triplet notes equals one quarter note and the timing will fall into place.

All the note changes take place on quarter note beats.

After two repetitions of the intro, we get the verse riff. This "group of 3" timing sees a lot of use in metal.

It's a good way to keep the intensity high.

At the end, we get a harmonic slide. To do this, start tremolo picking on a 5th fret harmonic, and gradually move over to the 2nd fret. It's difficult to transcribe, so try it for yourself to get a feel for it!

Then we get our chorus riff. More tremolo picking! This repeats twice before returning to the intro riff.

After repeating the intro and verse, we return to the chorus. This time with an alternate ending to lead us into the final sections of the song.

After that build-up, we return to the verse riff without the harmonic slide.

This time, though, we have a new riff accompanying it (see below).

This riff repeats over the verse riff 4 times before we move on to the last section of the song.

Lastly, we have a 9 bar pattern incorporating a mix of the chords of the verse riff along with harmonics.

This repeats quite a few times to close out the track.

Did you make it through? This song is really quite simple from a theory perspective, but it demands a lot of stamina and precision from the player to pull it off.

If you've learned the parts individually, I highly recommend you try playing along with the song - the real test is whether you can keep that pace for several minutes.

Remember to stay loose and relaxed while playing! Good luck!