[Richie’s Ibanez RG 8-string guitar
his Strat-type custom guitar is in Drop-B tuning: B F# B E G# C#,
and his Ibanez RGD-7 string guitar is in Standard tuning: B E A D G B E.]
In this lesson, Richie Allan breaks down several sections from the tracks ‘Istagey’ and ‘Melodyk,’ off the Heavy Metal Ninjas album, Interstellar Abduction
Istagey: Palm-Mute Riff (0:50 – 1:05)
The key to nailing this riff lies in Richie’s right hand palm-muting approach. To start, hit an open B power chord (1st degree, 5th degree, octave) with some strength, then quickly palm-mute the strings over the bridge. Timed properly, the transition between the open ringing to the palm-muted sound gives a unique, vocal-like ‘bow’ character to the chugs.
Istagey Palm Mute
Istagey: Second Verse (2:05 – 2:27)
The haunting groove of the second verse of ‘Istagey’ is driven forward with a percussive, two-handed slap guitar part. Richie employs an envelope filter effect to accentuate its funky character. Like with the palm-mute riff above, the exact articulation of this part can be best internalized via the accompanying video and audio clips, so be sure to check those out.
Istagey Verse 2
Melodyk: Fast Run (3:08 – 3:12)
This lesson concludes with a blazing run from the track ‘Melodyk.’ It consists of six-note patterns played through the D major scale (D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#). Note the specific combination of hammer-ons and alternate-picking that repeats throughout the lick: the first note is down-picked, the second and third notes are hammered on, and on the next string the remaining three notes of the pattern are alternate-picked, up-down-up. This hybrid approach allows Richie to fly through the part at high speeds while maintaining much of the intensity that is inherent to alternate picking.
The six-note phrase is repeated across the entire neck in octaves until it arrives on the top two strings in the second bar. The remainder of the lick maintains the same picking pattern as it climbs diatonically up the D major scale, arriving at a victorious whole-step bend to from E to F#!
Melodyk Run
More Features With Richie Allan
- Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Interstellar Abduction
- Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Design
- Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Propulsion (Coming Soon)
- Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan’s Gear (Coming Soon)
[Special thanks to Peter Boyle for his transcription editing!]
