Alexi Laiho is the lead guitarist, vocalist and song writer for the melodic death metal band from Espoo, Finland “Children of Bodom”. Alexi has a great talent for creating technical yet interesting leads; most are like mini compositions that have several sections each with their own personality. His wide variety of skills gives him a seamlessly endless “bag of tricks” that he draws from frequently. Alexi has been rising as one of the most talented shredders of todays metal music, I had a chance to work with him on a few instructional programs and see his talents first hand and I can tell you that it is not just hype he is an amazing player. Let’s take a look and see what one of his lead compositions contains.
“Next In Line” is a signature Alexi Lead from the CD “Are You Dead Yet”. In this lead he has a perfect blend of Melodic riffs, masterful techniques and ripping speed runs. Take a look at the complete lead in EX.1 and then I’ll break it down and analyze each section.
In the first section Alexi uses the whammy bar a rhythm instrument by picking a note and hitting his palm against the whammy bar to make the note sound in a melodic manor, the next three notes aren’t pick either he just hammers his finger down and hits the bar to sound these notes.
The second section is a string skipping scale run. Make sure to watch Alexi’s alternate picking on this riff that helps make this a silky smooth riff.
In the third section you’ll find double stops from the key of “E” Minor Pentatonic scale followed by double pump bends. These bends really give a bit of feel to the lead that you wouldn’t get by just ripping speed runs at 100 mph from beginning to end.
The fourth section starts with an ascending scale run then a bend into right hand tap technique.
The fifth section is simply a repetitive “E” octave slide starting at the 24th fret of the 1st string.
The sixth section is a right hand tapping pivot riff where the highest note is the tapped pivot note and your fingers fret a sequence of notes that are pulled off to below. He starts with a 22nd fret 1st string tap/pivot then moves it down to the 20th fret. Play this slowly at first it’s tricky.
The seventh section incorporates an open string whammy dive followed by a pentatonic run.
The eighth section is a ripping descending natural minor scale run that is characteristic of many of Alexi’s leads. Again pay attention to the alternate picking this is the key to getting it to sound so smooth.
This lesson comes from Alexi’s Rock House Method Metal Guitar program. You can download the complete video lesson and backing track to play with this lead for free at http://www.rockhousemethod.com/gpultimatemetal/gpulitmatemetal2. Check out all Alexi Laiho’s complete Rock House programs at www.rockhousemethod.com.
“Next In Line” is a signature Alexi Lead from the CD “Are You Dead Yet”. In this lead he has a perfect blend of Melodic riffs, masterful techniques and ripping speed runs. Take a look at the complete lead in EX.1 and then I’ll break it down and analyze each section.
In the first section Alexi uses the whammy bar a rhythm instrument by picking a note and hitting his palm against the whammy bar to make the note sound in a melodic manor, the next three notes aren’t pick either he just hammers his finger down and hits the bar to sound these notes.
The second section is a string skipping scale run. Make sure to watch Alexi’s alternate picking on this riff that helps make this a silky smooth riff.
In the third section you’ll find double stops from the key of “E” Minor Pentatonic scale followed by double pump bends. These bends really give a bit of feel to the lead that you wouldn’t get by just ripping speed runs at 100 mph from beginning to end.
The fourth section starts with an ascending scale run then a bend into right hand tap technique.
The fifth section is simply a repetitive “E” octave slide starting at the 24th fret of the 1st string.
The sixth section is a right hand tapping pivot riff where the highest note is the tapped pivot note and your fingers fret a sequence of notes that are pulled off to below. He starts with a 22nd fret 1st string tap/pivot then moves it down to the 20th fret. Play this slowly at first it’s tricky.
The seventh section incorporates an open string whammy dive followed by a pentatonic run.
The eighth section is a ripping descending natural minor scale run that is characteristic of many of Alexi’s leads. Again pay attention to the alternate picking this is the key to getting it to sound so smooth.
This lesson comes from Alexi’s Rock House Method Metal Guitar program. You can download the complete video lesson and backing track to play with this lead for free at http://www.rockhousemethod.com/gpultimatemetal/gpulitmatemetal2. Check out all Alexi Laiho’s complete Rock House programs at www.rockhousemethod.com.
First Section
Second Section Third Section
Fourth Section Fifth Section
Sixth Section Seventh Section
Eighth Section
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