Demon of the Fall - Guitar Help Needed

[-MegaTron-]

I've been playing guitar for a little while (a year maybe...?) but still have a long way to go. I recently obtained the official Opeth songbook and decided to try and learn Demon of the Fall. Not sure why really, seemed less technical compared to the other songs in the book and the fact that it fucking rules also helps!

Anyway, I'm having difficulties with the strumming pattern of the chords in the intro, verse etc. Should I be playing all downstrokes or should I be alternating with a down-up picking style? Both ways sound pretty good and the down-up style certainly makes it a lot easier but I'd like to know the proper way of playing it before I go any further.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[The Poona of Peshwa]

It's not all downstroked. Videos of Opeth playing this song are pretty easily available on Youtube.

 

[wankerness]

If you have an eighth - sixteenth - sixteenth - sixteenth - sixteenth rhythm in 6/8 (like the intro of that song and TONS of their other riffs), you almost always will be doing a down down up down up strumming pattern.

 

[Heliotropic_Rose]

just feel it out dude - once you think you have the riff down play along with the cd, then it should be cake; that's how I learned the riff

 

[-MegaTron-]

Thanks for the replies, particularly Wankerness. I figured the down up approach was probably right since it felt more natural and made it way easier to play along with the song. I guess I just needed confirmation before I committed to learning the whole thing.

BTW, I thought about YouTube, but 56k and streaming aren't really the best of friends...

 

[Scourge of Malice]

why would you even think to play those parts with only downstrokes? that would wear out your wrist in a second

 

[Vega Skater]

I don't think Megatron is hearing all the notes

 

[wankerness]

why would you even think to play those parts with only downstrokes? that would wear out your wrist in a second

A lot of metal guitarists, notably james hetfield, play everything with downstrokes. It gets a more aggressive sound. Opeth definitely doesn't do much of that.

 

[BlackRoseImmortalWaterPark]

From me being a felllow guitarist for over 2 years and playing mostly opeth tunes, Opeth does not use solid downpicks usually, its mostly strummed or alternate picked, as dimebag darrell said you can get more of a chunk out of the sound and string if you alternate pick it like from New Level or Primal Concrete Sledge. It seems all the really great guitarists use alternate picking, like in the beginning hetfield probably only could downpick so he kept to it, Opeth are very professional, so they definately know how to play. Obviously Hetfield is great and its not easy down picking Master of Puppets all the way through, but I like Alterate picks better.For all my solos and pretty much now all my riffs I use alternate picking haha its a big help. A good song for practicing alternate picking with Opeth would be Deliverance, Leper Affinity, The Moor- wth that one riif near the beginning very hard haha do not try downpicking it, ALTERNATE PICK everything except for the Old Tallica!!! Keep shredding Opeth

 

[Scourge of Malice]

A lot of metal guitarists, notably james hetfield, play everything with downstrokes. It gets a more aggressive sound. Opeth definitely doesn't do much of that.

yeah thats true, ill the MOP intro with down strokes still, but it never occured to me to play DOTF with all down strokes. but then again i dont play many fast songs.

 

[Whisper and Weep]

I play it with alternating strokes and it sounds fine so I guess up and down.

 

[wankerness]

I play it with alternating strokes and it sounds fine so I guess up and down.

It's like I said, the standard way you'd play that intro rhythm according to guitar basics would be down down up down up cause the first note is twice as long as the others, and you basically keep moving your wrist at a steady pace instead of the herky-jerky start-stop that would result from alternating down-up for every note regardless of rhythm. If that made any sense. Also, you want to keep the stresses of the beats on the 8th notes instead of the sixteenths in between them, and downstrokes naturally give a bit more of an accent to a low chord than an upstroke does. It's hard to explain without visual aids and without knowing if anyone knows musical terms. >

 

[Whisper and Weep]

Yeah, I know what you're saying, I've been playing guitar for almost 3 years. It seems a lot of people just have trouble getting rhythm down whether it being chords or a riff or solo.

 

[ndSinister]

I recently obtained the official Opeth songbook

Heheheheheheehheeehe This book is shit! I have it too. I took it with me to the Melloboat to have it signed by Mikael. He was very surprised to see this book and he said that he has never seen this book before and actually laughed about it.

So there's no official Opeth guitar tab book, it's totally bullshit and full of mistakes!

 

[antipunx13]

A good song for practicing alternate picking with Opeth would be Deliverance, Leper Affinity, The Moor- wth that one riif near the beginning very hard haha do not try downpicking it, ALTERNATE PICK everything except for the Old Tallica!!! Keep shredding Opeth

True, Opeth does the whole alternate strumming and picking thing, but to say "alternate pick everything except Old Tallica!" is pretty bad advice. For example, the beginning of Deliverance is all down-strokes.

 

[-MegaTron-]

Heheheheheheehheeehe This book is shit! I have it too. I took it with me to the Melloboat to have it signed by Mikael. He was very surprised to see this book and he said that he has never seen this book before and actually laughed about it.

So there's no official Opeth guitar tab book, it's totally bullshit and full of mistakes!

Really? Hehe, that is pretty funny. Although I do remember a thread a while back specifically about the songbook where Mikael posted saying something along the lines of having a brief look through an upcoming tab book and making sure it was of passable quality...? I don't mind the song book personally. It's a good reference for when I'm trying to work something out by ear. It's also a pretty good companion to most of the decent Opeth tabs on the web (the Powertab tabs mainly.)

Cheers once again for all the info dudes. I feel I should provide a minor history if anyone is interested. I've mostly been playing thashy sort of stuff since I started on the guitar. Megadeth, Iced Earth, Slayer, a little bit of Maiden and early Metallica etc. hence my tendency to downpick a lot. I do alternate pick pretty much all the single note runs and chromatic stuff I play however and as I said, I have been playing the DOTF riffs with alternating strokes since it felt more natural this way. Honestly though I've probably neglected studying chords and strumming patterns and such thus far, probably more than I should have so it's nice to have confirmation on how I should be playing DOTF and songs with similar chord structures.

 

[shadyfigure]

A lot of metal guitarists, notably james hetfield, play everything with downstrokes. It gets a more aggressive sound. Opeth definitely doesn't do much of that.

 

[BlackRoseImmortalWaterPark]

True, Opeth does the whole alternate strumming and picking thing, but to say "alternate pick everything except Old Tallica!" is pretty bad advice. For example, the beginning of Deliverance is all down-strokes.

Dude it was just a saying haha I know over 30 opeth songs on guitar all the way through and I pretty much alternate pick every riff, and all the solos obviously. The beginning riff of deliverance is solid down picked yes, but the rest of the song is pretty much alternate picked, like that one part around 7:37, The accoustic bit, the solos, and the open E rhythm riff at the end is all up and down strokes, gives it a more of a chunk too play it that way. What I meant was pretty much all the riffs should be alternate picked, obviously the slower/ less technical riffs wouldnt alternate picked. Alternate picking everything is a good way to improve and practice, it worked for me lol, so I kept with it. The only thing you cant alternate pick is Metallica haha, everything else be my guest.

 

[Kir-ir-Bannog]

jesus, how the fuck do you downpick through battery? surely impossible....?

 

[wankerness]

jesus, how the fuck do you downpick through battery? surely impossible....?

The really fast stuff he doesn't solely downpick (like Disposable Heroes, Battery verses) but basically wherever possible he does, ex all of master of puppets the song.