Maybe in the near future I'll post some Wave files on here that you can stream or download so you can actually hear how some of these riffs and techniques are supposed to sound, but for now you'll just have to live with what's here ;-)
Section 1: Tuning
For playing metal guitar, of any kind, many people use different tunings.
Some of these are listed below:
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In the above table I have listed three common tunings in playing metal
guitar. If you are not familiar with the first one then I suggest
leaving, learning how to play a little and then coming back. The
second tuning (Standard Flat Tuning) should be familiar to most people.
The third tuning (tuned to C#) should be familiar if you've listened to
Black Sabbath's: "Children of the Grave", otherwise it's probably not familiar.
The fourth tuning is becoming more and more popular all the time and it
allows you to play many chords quickly without screwing up all of the time.
Section 2: Power Chords
Every metal guitarist uses Power Chords and you should too. In actuality Power Chords are Fifth Chords (you wouldn't believe how long it took me to figure that out ;-) but for our purposes, they are nothing more than Power Chords. Here is a tabulature example of how to play a Power Chord:
e |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B|---T---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G|---A--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D|---B----5---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A|---------5---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E |---------3---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Power Chord you just played is a G 5th but that doesn't really matter right now, all you need to know is that you can play a Power Chord. Now master the main Riff from Iron Man by Black Sabbath, and you'll be a pro playing Power Chords:
e |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B|---T---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G|---A----4--7--7--9--9--12-11-12-11-12-11--7--7--9--9-------------------------------------
D|---B----4--7--7--9--9--12-11-12-11-12-11--7--7--9--9-------------------------------------
A|---------2--5--5--7--7--10-9--10-9--10-9----5--5--7--7-------------------------------------
E |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not entirely sure about how to Tab the timing for this song, but that's how the chords go in Standard Tuning. If you need more help then pick up a copy of Black Sabbath's: "We Sold Our Soul For Rock n' Roll", "Paranoid" or "Reunion" that should help.
There are more ways to play Power Chords than just that though. One way is to loose the highest note like this:
e |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B|---T---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G|---A--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D|---B--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A|----------5-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E |----------3--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, that is still a power chord but it can sound heavier when played on the E and A strings.
Still another way of playing power chords in standard tuning is like this:
e |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B|---T---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G|---A--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D|---B-----5--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E |----------3--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that is a different sound (if you haven't noticed yet your guitar probably isn't in front of you which it should be ;-) these types of chords are used in Jimi Hendrix's (although that's not Metal) Purple Haze when he's doing the turn-around.
Some of you may have tried to play a standard Power Chord when in Drop D tuning on the D (formerly E), A and D strings. You will have noticed that those chords sound like crap. This minor problem is easily remedied though, all you have to do is bar the D (formerly E), A and D strings and play them, like this:
e |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B|---T---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G|---A--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D|---B-----5--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A|----------5-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E |----------5--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You just played a G 5th in a different tuning, give yourself a pat on the back!
The next thing I'm going to discuss is not exactly a Power Chord, but I can't think of anywhere else to put it in. I'm not exactly sure what this combination of notes is called (perhaps someone could enlighten me?) but that's ok. The combination of notes go like this:
e |------------------------------------7------------------------------------------------------------
B|---T-------------------------8-----0------------------------------------------------------------
G|---A------------------7-----0-------------------------------------------------------------------
D|---B-------------7----0-------------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------7-----0------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E |-----------0-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A good example of these combinations can be found on Black Sabbath's:
"Children of the Grave". If you want to hear that song, pick up either
"We Sold Our Soul For Rock n' Roll", "Master of Reality" or "Reunion".
Section 3: Palm Muting
Palm Muting is a technique used in Blues, Rock and Metal. How
you do it is kind of hard to explain but basically all you do is place
the side of your hand (opposite of your thumb) on the strings a little
left of the bridge (a little right of the bridge on lefty guitars) and
play as usual. Good examples of Palm Muting can be heard in "Children
of the Grave" by Black Sabbath in the main Riff and "Communication Breakdown"
by Led Zeppelin. You can also hear Palm Muting in one of the Riffs
in Metallica's: "Enter Sandman", "Sad but True" etc. (I just got the Black
CD and it's the first I have of theirs so I haven't had the time to listen
to the whole thing with my guitar in hand). Palm Muting can also
be heard in various songs by Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Ozzy Osbourne,
and even newer (and in my opinion not so great) Metal bands like Korn.
Section 4: Getting a Scary, Evil Sound
The answer to this question is simple: Semi-tones. But to many of you that won't mean anything so I'll explain using the Iron Man Tab above to help.
e |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B|---T---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G|---A----4--7--7--9--9--12-11-12-11-12-11--7--7--9--9-------------------------------------
D|---B----4--7--7--9--9--12-11-12-11-12-11--7--7--9--9-------------------------------------
A|---------2--5--5--7--7--10-9--10-9--10-9----5--5--7--7-------------------------------------
E |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notice on the tab when you go from 2nd and 4th fret to 5th and 7th? That is one example of a semi-tone because rather than going from 2nd and 4th to 4th and 6th you went up a Tone-and-a-half. Also notice when you played the fast, tricky part from 10th and 12th to 9th and 11th. If you were going from 10th and 12th to 8th and 10th you would be playing a whole tone and that just doesn't always give that Scary, Evil Sound that Metal is known for. When you went from 10th and 12th fret down to 9th and 11th fret you played a Semi-tone. Notice, however, that this Riff does contain Tones as well as Semi-tones. What I'm trying to point out here is that a good Metal song does not have to consist only of Semi-tones (ex: Korn's: "Freak On A Leash").