Execution Magazine is a new publication geared towards musicians of all levels in the underground extreme music scene. They plan to feature instrument lessons, METAL guitar tabs, recording and studio tips, gear and show reviews, and much more.

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Extreme metal as a genre features so much technical proficiency, whether it’s finger bending riffing or warp-speed drumming, that listeners are often left wondering "how the hell did they play that??"  Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, fans can watch various videos of some of the top musicians in the scene explaining some of their tricks and techniques.

Most recently, Nile has done a lengthy interview for MetalKult, explaining some aspects of their tuning, hardware setups, and chord usage, as well as a series of video guitar lessons, in which they demonstrate how to play riffs from several of their songs.  Nile is also currently featured at Guitar World’s "Betcha Can’t Play This."

Gorguts’s guitarist/vocalit Luc Lemay and bassist Steve Cloutier did a guitar lessons feature on Guitar.com awhile back.  They demonstrate several riffs from "Obscura" and "From Wisdom to Hate," and discuss their inspirations and compositional techniques.  Guitar.com seems to have changed, but the videos are still available on YouTube:

• Gorguts Guitar Lesson Part 1

• Gorguts Guitar Lesson Part 2

Immortal’s Abbath also did some guitar lesson videos for Guitar World:

• Immortal Guitar Lesson Part 1

• Immortal Guitar Lesson Part 2

• Immortal Guitar Lesson Part 3

Children of Bodom guitarist Alexi Laiho has videos of interviews and guitar lessons all over the Internet.  Here’s a quick one from YouTube:

• Children of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho

There are a few videos of Opeth giving guitar lessons as well.  Here’s Mikael, Peter and Martin demonstrating how to play parts of ‘The Drapery Falls’:

• Opeth Guitar Lesson Part 1

• Opeth Guitar Lesson Part 2

Norwegian black metal legends Emperor also did a lengthy feature for MetalKult, demonstrating how to play riffs from several of their most popular songs:

• Emperor Guitar Lesson on MetalKult

Most metal fans may not be familiar with Mexican acoustic guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, which is understandable.  They’ve gained considerable fame playing acoustic latin-influenced folk rock, and are well known for their technical skills and highly rhythmic playing style.

Apparently, the two met while playing in a Mexican thrash metal band called Tierra Acida, and evolved into their current style after becoming dissatisfied with thrash’s rather limited creative scope.  Both musicians cite bands such as Slayer, Testament, and Overkill as influences, and their 2006 self-titled album features a cover of Metallica’s ‘Orion.’

Perhaps the most unique and impressive facet of Rodrigo y Gabriela’s music is Gabriela’s guitar technique.  Generally, Rodrigo playsmelodic lead riffs, while Gabriela uses a combination of rapid chord strumming, string muting and tapping on the body of the guitar to essentially function as both a second guitarist and a percussionist.

Check out a video of Gabriela and Rodrigo giving a tutorial about their guitar techniques.

Also check out a video of Rodrigo y Gabriela performing ‘Orion.’

Earlier this year, Decibel Magazine’s editorial staff compiled a list of who they felt were the Top 20 Death Metal Guitarists of all time.  Unlike the majority of mass media writers who say ‘metal’ and really mean ‘nu-metal and hard rock,’ Decibel really knows their stuff.  The list features a good mix of early pioneers like Chuck Schuldiner and obscurer (but definitely deserving) guitarists like Muhammed Suiçmez of Necrophagist and Luc Lemay of Gorguts.

Most extreme metal drummers cite the usual suspects as influences - Dave Lombardo, Gene Hoglan, Pete Sandoval, etc.  Going through some of the interviews at SickDrummer.com, I noticed a couple of unfamiliar names coming up repeatedly: Buddy Rich and Dave Weckl.

Buddy Rich was a jazz drummer who gained prominence in the 40s and 50s.  Dave Witte (Human Remains, Melt-Banana, Burnt By The Sun) described him as "the greatest drummer to ever live."  Richard Hoak (Brutal Truth) and Derek Roddy (Nile, Hate Eternal) also counted Rich as an influence or favorite.

Videos of Buddy Rich abound on YouTube.  Here’s Rich performing a solo: Buddy Rich Drum Solo

Dave Weckl is a jazz fusion drummer who seems to be extremely well known among drummers; the list of drummers citing him as an influence is impressive: Dave Culross (Suffocation, Malevolent Creation), Derek Roddy again, George Kollias (Nile), Ken Schalk (Candiria), Sean Reinert (Cynic, Death), Tim Yeung (Decrepit Birth, Hate Eternal, Vital Remains, Nile), and Danny Walker (Intronaut, Uphill Battle), among others. 

Here’s a video of Weckl performing: Dave Weckl Performance on YouTube