[Ola’s signature Washburn Solar guitar is tuned down one step to D Standard: D G C F A D.]

Mass Destruction Solo

Ola kicks off the solo to Feared’s Mass Destruction with a mysterious lick over the riff in B that includes a b6 and b7 and lands on the major 3. He then further outlines the tonality with a diagonally-ascending B7 arpeggio in five-note groupings that makes good use of economy picking. Watch out for the slide up to the 18th fret in the middle of bar 3 that leads up to a bend.

Changing gears, he heads back down the neck in bar 5 with an alternate picking pattern before jumping back up with a much faster tapping lick that includes a half-step slide up and down on the tapped 15th fret. At bar 9, Ola winds up to to a wild bend followed by a legato line that descends much like the alternate picking line from bar 5.

In bar 14, Ola uses his pick to tap the 19th fret while gradually releasing a full bend at the 16th fret. Since your picking hand will be busy tapping, you’ll need to rely on your fretting hand exclusively to mute the higher strings. It all ends in a series of unison bends that line up with rhythm section hits and a modulation up a whole step, so digging in and wailing on the bends will really bring the solo home.

Feared – Ola Englund – Mass Destruction – Solo

Check out our other lessons with Ola where he teaches us the solo to The Haunted’s ‘Eye Of The Storm’ and offers some advice on downpicking. Also see Part 1 and Part 2 of our interview with Ola to learn about the disciplined life of an ambitious entrepreneur and family man who’s carved out a career for himself in the new music business!

[Special thanks to Chris Dingman and Alexander Pierce for their video work, Chris and Peter Boyle for his additional editing assistance, and Paul Schneider for his transcriptions!]