Metal Rhythm

Heavy metal rhythm guitar is all about the right hand. In this chapter you build the core skills behind every great metal riff, all in E minor on the palm-muted low strings: the gallop rhythm, tremolo picking, chromatic riffs and pedal-tone riffs that keep coming back to the open E.

You start with the gallop, the eighth-and-two-sixteenths pattern of classic metal, then move it through power chords. Next comes tremolo picking, fast alternate picking from the wrist that turns a slow melody into a wall of sound. Chromatic riffs add half-step tension and a dark Phrygian flavour, and the pedal-tone lesson shows you how to make a melody pop out of a chugging open string. The chapter ends with a metal riff library: three original riffs from beginner to advanced, including a syncopated breakdown.

Every exercise plays as tab in your browser with a click, and the tempo ladder takes you from a slow start to the target bpm. A checkpoint closes each lesson. By the end you'll palm mute evenly, keep your downstrokes tight, and play heavy riffs that lock in with a drummer.