Why Iron Maiden is the greatest..

 Recently I published a statement which I suppose could be rather controversial, I said that Iron Maiden is the best pure heavy metal band ever. I felt that it would be right for me to defend my case. Before I present my case I would like to say that I am not trying to detract from other metal bands, they still have my eternal respect. However, Iron Maiden is my favorite 'straight' heavy metal band for several key reasons. The first reason that Iron Maiden is the best heavy metal band of all time is that they helped create the sound that would come to define metal, they also have colossal technical skill and they craft amazing riffs, finally they never lose quality, they remain the best of the metal bands from the start of their career to the present day. Without Iron Maiden than the sound that we call heavy metal might be completely different.

When their first album was released in 1976 times were changing. The mighty bands of the 70's were starting to lose a bit of their grandeur due to the new punk movement. While most young artists ended up joining the punk movement some wanted something more than that. Some bands decided that the best music would be a fusion of the sound of the earlier 70's bands, like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple with the punk sounds of the newer bands. With this combination of influences Iron Maiden would go on to spearhead the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). It would be the NWOBHM bands like Maiden who would set the tone for all metal. The bands that would create death metal, like Slayer and Morbid Angel loved Iron Maiden, they got the sound that Maiden was making and they wanted to make their own music because of them. Melodic death metal owes a lot to Iron Maiden as well. The creators of melodic death metal wanted the same feelings of light and dark as you got on a Maiden record. All in all Iron Maiden is one of the most influential metal bands of all time and this is for a large part due to their technical skill.

The technical skill of Iron Maiden is rarely matched, the guitarists have a sound that no other band can really challenge. Due to their double lead guitars they can create melodies with many layers that are hard to mimic. Another interesting thing about Iron Maiden is that their songs are not purely heavy metal, and also they are not purely any one type of heavy metal. Maiden has been willing to experiment with thrash, Slayer-type death metal, sludge metal and speed metal. While never dipping into the pit of brutal metal Maiden has proved that they can handle all manners of guitar solos, from classical solos to Hendrixian ones and then even Van Halens tapping solos. Really though Iron Maiden has a type of soloing all to its own with lots of bends and a very nice melodic feel. The drummers of Iron Maiden, in particular Nicko McBrain are amazing. If one doubts the skill of McBrain then one merely has to listen to Run to the Hills. Of course Steve Harris also gets a lot of amazing bass fills that adds an awesome layer to the music. Bruce Dickinson is often noted for the power and emotion in his voice and the lyrics are known for being deep and beautiful. The technical skill of Iron Maiden is amazing because it has not decreased over time.

Iron Maiden sounds much the same today as they did 20 years ago. (I'm not even going to go into the Blaze period.) They have soaring guitar riffs and a sound full of energy. If one listens to their live albums then one might be amazed to find that Iron Maiden's latest live album Rock In Rio is incredible and considered to be one of the best live album's of all time. It's hard to imagine a band that can still create original music that sounds just as good as their old standards. Yet if one listens to Maiden's more recent albums, namely Dance of Death and The Final Frontier then one might see that the critics are raving more and more about Iron Maiden. Essentially if the critics are to be believed Iron Maiden has incredible longevity and is actually getting better not worse.

Overall Iron Maiden is the best heavy metal band for a couple of key reasons. The first reason is that Iron Maiden has greatly influenced the heavy metal sound, even influencing genres that they never took part in. Then of course Maiden has 2 of the greatest guitarists that you will ever hear, with solos that are simply mindblowing and that cover all different genres. The final thing that makes Iron Maiden so good is the fact that, critics are suggesting that Iron Maiden is getting better with age not worse. That is my reasoning as to why Iron Maiden is the best heavy metal band of all time, However, I have skipped one important point about the band, they simply rock.

why i play guitar

Why I play Guitar

Not a review but I just wanted to get this on paper. Also we now have 100 views YAY! There are a couple reasons why I play guitar, the first is that I love music. The second is that it is an escape valve. There are other reasons why I play guitar, that is sure, but those 2 are the 2 most important. They make me practice every day. Jimmy Page brought me to the guitar his solos and riffs really made me love music. The guitar is also an outlet for emotion for anger for joy for sorrow, but more on that later. For many the main reason to play guitar is the music, and it is the same for me. All rock guitarists love music (the guy from ABBA loves sound not music).

Why do I love music? Why do I love heavy metal specifically? I love music because of rock and roll, my earliest memories involve me dancing to Grateful Dead, listening to Black Sabbath and the Stones in the care with my mom. I love rock and roll and heavy metal because of the words, the words I can relate to. They aren't full of crap like todays lyrics about texting, sex and friends. This stuff is meaningful. 300 years from now Led Zeppelin will be Mozart, you can quote that. 300 years from now The Beatles will be Beethoven, and I feel like I am one of the few who realizes that this Katy Perry crap can't last. I love music because it is powerful, dominating and it chooses you, it finds you and defines you.

Now guitar also lets you release emotion. Right now I am angry and depressed because I have been sick for a week. Thus I am playing both mournful Led Zeppelin and the Ramones. It reflects your emotions. When I am feeling dark and scary I play “The Number of the Beast” when I am happy I play “Float On”. My Uncle (the one with the guitars) has a poster in his guitar room that says “Where words fail music speaks” and that is completely true! Music speaks better than words in fact. You have both the tonality reflecting emotion as well as the actual lyrics which express the verbal meaning of your point. Guitar and music as a whole, RELEASE emotion out into the world and make it so that everybody can see and here your emotions! This isn't some girly girl crap. THIS IS REAL!. Music is everything, it reflects everything, and that is why I love guitar!

In conclusion, music is everything to me and can be everything to anybody. Music is real, its one of the realest and fullest things out there. There's a buzz you get, moreso than when just listening to music when you're in your room, jamming on your Les Paul to your favorite song. Music is BUZZ music is real and fundamentally, and guitar is one of the best ways to make music. That is why I play guitar! The buzz, the music, the emotion, the EVERYTHING. So those of you who read this and have no guitar, buy one! FIND THE MUSIC IN YOU! (Unless its crappy then just give up.)

2 riff theory

The 2 Riffs and a Verse Theory and Song Writing guess.

This is just something I have noticed lately in my attempts at writing music. I have found that really for anything I write I really only need 2 riffs to base the song on. You need a lead riff and a chorus riff, sometimes you only need 1 riff which you can use for both the intro and the chorus in songs like Highway to Hell and Rock you Like a Hurricane to name 2 of my favorite 1 riff songs, Then the verse can be a couple nice power chord or a bit based off the lead riff. I think this is really interesting and has made everything I do in trying to compose music a lot easier. The simple realization that 2 riffs are all that you need to write a decent rock song is very liberating. You can write a lot of really good, practical to write songs that are pretty heavy just using a 2 riff method. Below I will detail how to write a good 2 riff song.

There is no shortage of 2 riff songs, Paranoid, NIB, The Ocean, Houses of the Holy, Today and most AC/DC, just to name a few good tracks. A lot of the worlds best bands seem to use this general idea to set up their songs. This is a method that you really can't question when you go through and look at the tabs of the songs you can see that a lot of the songs use similar bits repeated and it can be brought into 2 riffs and a verse bit. Oftentimes like in in the Smashing Pumpkins Today which uses the intro in a non-distorted way to establish the verse. Seriously just go and take a hard look at a lot of hard tabs and you will find only a couple of true riffs that drive the guitar parts of the entire track. Trust me, take a look.

So to write a good song you have to come up with 2 riffs to get started. These riffs should relate to each other, preferably being close to each other on the fretboard or based around the same scale. Sometimes you can change the notes into powerchords or move it around the fretboard to make it sound better. Thats really all you have to do. It sounds hard at first but some fiddling around the fretboard ends up giving surprisingly good results. I recommend fiddling with repeating notes rather than just single not scales. Its a lot easier to write a riff that way. Think about classic riffs like The ocean and NIB they are based off scales but focus on repetition which is what makes the song sound awesome.

Here is a little step by step thingamabob

1. Fiddle with various scales.
2. Consider converting them to powerchords to add better depth.
3. Fiddle with repetition.
4. Find one good riff to base the song on.
5. Find a lesser riff to do the chorus with.
6. Figure out a verse bit that can be easily based off the primary riff of the song. (see Today by the Smashing Pumpkins for inspiration.)
7. Put them together in a good order.
8. Make a band to play your song with.