Hello GMC!
Welcome to the second lesson of this series based on the most important Power Metal bands from Germany. In this lesson I will be covering the style of Blind Guardian. This band has been formed in 1986 , has released 11 albums.
Don’t forget to check my first German Power Metal lesson:
Helloween Style
Music Style:
Blind Guardian style evolved a lot with the years. They started with a power/speed metal that was very raw and powerful. Then they started to add more symphonic and epic sounds inspired mainly by the band Queen and they opened their musical universe to unlimited possibilities. In this lesson I tried to make a balance between both BG eras to illustrate their style. Their music is complex and fast so you will find this lesson a bit tricky if you are a beginner. You have to be patient and maybe start with the other lessons of this series.
Tonality & Chord Progression:
The tune is in A minor tonality. I used A minor and A dorian for all the guitar melodies that you will find on this one. As many Power Metal bands, they use mostly minor tonalities like Aeolian and Phrygian but they also have some major tunes. The song first modulates to F sharp minor and then to B minor. They are also considered as a “Progressive Metal” band so you will find some modulations in their music.
Techniques:
The techniques used in this tune are palm muting, alternate picking, bending, vibrato and hammering. This tune is very fast so you will have to concentrate a lot on your timing to get a tight take which is very important for this style.
Sound:
I used my Pod HD 500 to record this lesson. I used the Treadplate Dual Amp Model with a 4x12 2001 Treadplate Cab Model and a Screamer emulation. If you want the tone you can find it
HERE. My guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Studio. The drums and the bass sound is from the Hyper Canvas. The strings has been created using Edirol Orquestal.
Tuning:
I used standard 440.
Well guardians of mankind... let’s begin with out epic journey!
Check out some other
BG lessons here and also we had
Marcus Siepen from Blind Guardian as an instructor here!