Hi GMC!
Welcome to my new lesson covering the style of Atreyu, an American Post-hardcore band from California, formed in 1999. The lineup is Alex Varkatzas (Vocals), Dan Jacobs (Guitar), Travis Miguels (Guitar), Marc McKnight (Bass) and Brandon Saller (Drums).
Music Style:
Their style is usually defined as Post-hardcore. Their sound mixes Metalcore with Alternative Metal influences and their songs are usually arranged with very powerful and interesting guitar riffs that include some classic Thrash and Heavy metal influences. In this lesson I tried to re-create the style of their most popular songs, which include groovy riffs and very catchy choruses.
Tonality, Chord Progression & Scales:
As it happens with most of the metalcore bands, their music is mostly composed using minor tonalities. Atreyu has some classic metal influences and that’s why I can say that I found many progressions that sound close to the ones used by great bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Metallica. I used A minor tonality to compose this tune, and the only extra chord that you will find is E/G# which is a variation in minor tonalities that reminds of neoclassical metal bands. That chord is basically an inversion of the major version of the V chord. Instead of playing it minor, I play it major to get this classical feel that can be found in bands like Stratovarius, but also in more modern bands like My Chemical Romance, The Used and Avenged Sevenfold.
Techniques:
This is a rhythm metal lesson. We will use different time figures and techniques like palm muting, downpicking and alternate picking. This is an excellent lesson for intermediate players but also for beginners who want to start trying more difficult stuff.
Sound:
I used LePoin plugins to create the guitar tone. These are free amp emulators that are extremely recommended. The cabinet used for this guitar tone is Poulin Lecto which is a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Emulation. I used Cubase to record audio and midi, SSD 3.5 for drums and Trillian for bass.
Click
HERE to download my Patch.
Tuning: standard EADGBE tuning
Tempo: 160 BPM