this intro is one of my favorites of all time, so simple, yet bad ass and almost haunting . love this playing style. I can't get into newer periphery like I used to. all new materials was also genius
Its funny that he talks about folk chords. I think a lot of why I love Marks playing is because he makes his "heavy" chords beautiful. Hes not just always chugging along on simple heavy sounds.
Mrak, you're the shit. On top of being (in my opinion) the most interesting guitar player around, when you started this column I thought it was going to be like a one or two week thing, and you're still here throwing down wisdom. The community thanks you.
I love the way Mark 'works'. It's like he takes three lefts to make a right, and along the way he comes across different things than you'd get going right. If that makes any sense..
+Samuel Corbett but if you just took that right, you wouldnt have wasted so much time and effort for something thats not gonna be fun to come back to and listen to in 5 or 10 years from now.
+Christopher Rowe Without taking those lefts, you never would come across all these different ways to do things. What would you rather do? Do everything that same droll way that everybody does or have your own unique way that sets you apart? I'd always take the latter.
+Christopher Rowe Mile Zero has been out for like 4 years and its still one of my favorite songs, what you`ll find fun to listen in 5 to 10 years it`s really a matter of taste, it´s not about the complexity on the song or the lack of it.
I broke the two chords down for you guys, my analysis might be wrong but here is what I found First chord is a C7add9. or a C9. Its basically a normal C dominant 7th chord(C major with a dominant seventh) with an added ninth(second) same as in a sus2. The second chord is much weirder because neither of any of the notes as roots complete a full triad. If it is an Am chord as he sais, its an Am7add11(no5). Since the perfect fifth is usually not that strong in flavor, it can be left out. The added11 works well because of the dominant seventh which essentially stacks two perfect fourths on top of eachother. These two chords in combo work well because they are the tonic parallel of eachother (C major and A minor). According to stravinskys theories, switching between two tonics instead of Tonic, Sub-Dominant, Dominant. Helps you not to really feel like you are progressing and resolving a chord change, hence its almost like you are playing two variaties of the C chord. But due to the strong presence of the root(A), it does make a big difference in sound quality, especially because the lowest note is so much higher than in the previous chord which brightens up the progression. It basically makes it Dark versus bright. The addition of the perfect fourth also makes it much brighter and happier and more hopefull compared to a naked A minor chord. Because the C is played as a dominant chord with respect to the G as a root, the second chord functions almost as the root of the song because it also has a G in it which would make it a Gsus4add9 which is also that added tone chord. This makes it as though the first chord resolves into the second chord somewhat which increases the fact that it sounds 'hopefull' while landing on it but the highly dissonant character then helps it to be just unstable enough to want to move on back to the C. Maybe someone disagrees my analysis.
In order for it the be a dominant chord, the 7th has to be minor ( C to Bb is a minor 7th interval) there's is no Bb in the chord, it's a B natural (major 7th) and he throws in the D haha the 9th. It would be called Cmaj9. If you call it C9, it would imply that it a dominant chord, but it's not because there is no Bb.
Woah! That final 8th note thing you said and hearing it totally gave it an entirely new feel as if it heard a completely new riff for the first time. Really cool idea for songwriting and getting the creativity out there!
Sure you can - it's just a combination of practice and the right neck shape. If you have large hands, you can do this on just about any neck - if they're smaller you simply need to compensate by going with a smaller neck.
How is he doing that second chord without the pinky inadvertently muting the open 4th string (the 'D' string in standard tuning)? All those years avoiding using the thumb for all chords, now Mrak throws THIS shit at me!? *flips table*
if he played blues he'd be very jimi hendrinx. not just because of the thumb, but because of how well he plays notes with chords. think of "wind cries mary" and "little wing"
That's a definite no, you don't use knuckles to mute strings, you always use the open side of the hand, (side of the) palm on strumming hand, back side of fingers on fretting hand
+joeyfranzferdinand I think the whole song was just written in 4/4 but Mark plays this riff in between the beats and then when the verse comes on, he jumps into the beats and it goes on and on like that. You can notice this by listening the metronome when he's playing... He starts playing in a half-beat between the 3rd and 4th beat
My hands are too small, I can't wrap my thumb around the neck and still reach the 12th fret. Granted I'm attempting it on a Gibson SG, but I still don't know if a thinner neck would do me much good. I actually cannot play half of Mark's chords lol
+Lui The Ourea - with that much distortion, it doesnt' really. Just my opinion. I've played a lot of pickups and when used with such saturation, the pickups have minimal effect. Pickup height, maybe. But not the type of pickups themselves. Give him a guitar with different humbuckers but using the same amp and I'll bet you he'll still get the desired effect by tweaking the amp settings.
Am i crazy or did he just call a D chord a C and a B chord a A? Maybe he's just one of those hard core technical players that say it like that because he's tuned down?
Love mrak but I wish he'd just stick to explaining how to play his material or inspiration behind it...his lack of musical theory knowledge isn't a big deal until he starts misrepresenting the term "voicing" as a generic replacement for various things like notes, chords, progressions...etc.
Yeah, Guitar World is kind of notorious for terrible guitar tones in their videos. They make the best products sound like shit. Kinda funny here though, since Mark is an Axe FX guy, all they would have had to do it load up a patch and go direct, and there you go, awesome tone. But nope, they managed to fuck it up again.
+Brian Larson I imagine they just have random 10W Modelling amps like Fender mark 1's and shit just lying around with 37 year old cables to plug into. They switch the dial to the "metal" channel and say "whelp here you go."
I love the ringing of these full bodied chords with high gain. Puts a lot of character into the progression
this intro is one of my favorites of all time, so simple, yet bad ass and almost haunting . love this playing style. I can't get into newer periphery like I used to. all new materials was also genius
The tone of this manz PRS is lethal i friggin love it
The solo by Wes Hauch is the best solo on the record and that's coming from a fan of Petrucci and Govan.
+BrandonofRedemption Took a couple lessons from Wes when he was still in the Faceless. That guy is a fucking monster player.
Best feeling in a solo yeah.
Its funny that he talks about folk chords. I think a lot of why I love Marks playing is because he makes his "heavy" chords beautiful. Hes not just always chugging along on simple heavy sounds.
Mrak, you're the shit.
On top of being (in my opinion) the most interesting guitar player around, when you started this column I thought it was going to be like a one or two week thing, and you're still here throwing down wisdom. The community thanks you.
I love the way Mark 'works'. It's like he takes three lefts to make a right, and along the way he comes across different things than you'd get going right. If that makes any sense..
+Samuel Corbett but if you just took that right, you wouldnt have wasted so much time and effort for something thats not gonna be fun to come back to and listen to in 5 or 10 years from now.
Christopher Rowe I hear where you're coming from but I don't think you get it. It's about the journey, not the destination man
+Christopher Rowe Without taking those lefts, you never would come across all these different ways to do things. What would you rather do? Do everything that same droll way that everybody does or have your own unique way that sets you apart? I'd always take the latter.
+Christopher Rowe Mile Zero has been out for like 4 years and its still one of my favorite songs, what you`ll find fun to listen in 5 to 10 years it`s really a matter of taste, it´s not about the complexity on the song or the lack of it.
+Samuel Corbett but we are only at mile zero ;D
I broke the two chords down for you guys, my analysis might be wrong but here is what I found
First chord is a C7add9. or a C9. Its basically a normal C dominant 7th chord(C major with a dominant seventh) with an added ninth(second) same as in a sus2.
The second chord is much weirder because neither of any of the notes as roots complete a full triad. If it is an Am chord as he sais, its an Am7add11(no5). Since the perfect fifth is usually not that strong in flavor, it can be left out. The added11 works well because of the dominant seventh which essentially stacks two perfect fourths on top of eachother.
These two chords in combo work well because they are the tonic parallel of eachother (C major and A minor). According to stravinskys theories, switching between two tonics instead of Tonic, Sub-Dominant, Dominant. Helps you not to really feel like you are progressing and resolving a chord change, hence its almost like you are playing two variaties of the C chord. But due to the strong presence of the root(A), it does make a big difference in sound quality, especially because the lowest note is so much higher than in the previous chord which brightens up the progression. It basically makes it Dark versus bright. The addition of the perfect fourth also makes it much brighter and happier and more hopefull compared to a naked A minor chord.
Because the C is played as a dominant chord with respect to the G as a root, the second chord functions almost as the root of the song because it also has a G in it which would make it a Gsus4add9 which is also that added tone chord. This makes it as though the first chord resolves into the second chord somewhat which increases the fact that it sounds 'hopefull' while landing on it but the highly dissonant character then helps it to be just unstable enough to want to move on back to the C.
Maybe someone disagrees my analysis.
+Robert Fennis the first chord is Cmajor9, with a major7, not a dominant.
In order for it the be a dominant chord, the 7th has to be minor ( C to Bb is a minor 7th interval) there's is no Bb in the chord, it's a B natural (major 7th) and he throws in the D haha the 9th. It would be called Cmaj9. If you call it C9, it would imply that it a dominant chord, but it's not because there is no Bb.
@@zague173 my mistake!!
I know its been years, but thanks for posting this very insightful
Favorite song off that album so stoked for this
One of the more interesting songs for me in many years. Very creative song.
Woah! That final 8th note thing you said and hearing it totally gave it an entirely new feel as if it heard a completely new riff for the first time. Really cool idea for songwriting and getting the creativity out there!
I'll never be able to use my thumb in that way...
Sure you can - it's just a combination of practice and the right neck shape. If you have large hands, you can do this on just about any neck - if they're smaller you simply need to compensate by going with a smaller neck.
use thicker low string, its way easier
Such gorgeous riffs.... an even more awesome song overall! Love you guys so much, keep rocking!
Shifting the same riff an eight note is really cool because it sounds familiar but new at the same time! Thanks for pointing that out
Oooooo awesome. Such an amazing song! I've always wanted for there to be a "How to" video for a song with an actual member
Watching these videos makes me really wanna pick up my guitar and start pushing myself further.
How is he doing that second chord without the pinky inadvertently muting the open 4th string (the 'D' string in standard tuning)? All those years avoiding using the thumb for all chords, now Mrak throws THIS shit at me!? *flips table*
Fam. Same. I change up the chord a little though.
Just bar the whole fret instead I guess? There’s a weird chord in flatline (I think?) that fucks me
love it
So much yes!
I randomly just searched for Mile Zero and I'm surprised this was posted just hours ago. I'll have to try this out.
That was a great lesson, really valuable tips in there. Thnx a lot Mark!!!
what a great guy
Love this song. Glad to know he wrote that lick cause i usually give misha all the credit xD
one of the best songs
god those chords are so beautiful
Guys tone is unreal
That’s the best chord in the galaxy dude.
inb4 guy with m&ms profile picture starts talking shit
Where?
+Alexsander Perisse S. on every over periphery video on this channel
Aaaaand there he is
+LikeMike oh, hi dude
I really like the Reverb that he has on too.
What it's really difficult about the 2nd chord is to get the 4 string open
oh please play that song live real soon.
Will you show how to play whole song?
Is this drop c?
Steven Crocker yessir
I'm not into PRS guitars too much but that is fuckin' gorgeous.
his tone is as good as his playing.. clear and heavy
how to get this crispy tone?
Where the fuck are you Hank Hill?
Ryan Quick you rang?
Damn a year ago? I been slackin.
Drinking game: Take a shit every time Mark says "Chord"
What's the song at the beginning?
ouuuuuuuhhh never mind just found it... Omega damn that's nasty
if he played blues he'd be very jimi hendrinx. not just because of the thumb, but because of how well he plays notes with chords. think of "wind cries mary" and "little wing"
I actually always thought of Holcomb as Hendrixian because of all the melodies he builds into his chords.
0:42, if you listen really closely it sounds like a Jewish surname
Whats the model of this guitar?
it's his signature PRS Custom 24
Thanks
Oh hi mrak
Good thing I got a 7 string so I can't easily use my thumb on the 6th! yay!
It looks like he uses his pinky knuckle to mute the higher stings. Can someone confirm?
That's a definite no, you don't use knuckles to mute strings, you always use the open side of the hand, (side of the) palm on strumming hand, back side of fingers on fretting hand
I don't get the exact rythm. Has somebody written it out?
+joeyfranzferdinand I think the whole song was just written in 4/4 but Mark plays this riff in between the beats and then when the verse comes on, he jumps into the beats and it goes on and on like that. You can notice this by listening the metronome when he's playing... He starts playing in a half-beat between the 3rd and 4th beat
What this tuning ?
Drop C. CGCFAD
I always forget he's a huge black metal fan. Love that Bathory shirt
*reworks technique to avoid thumbness hand strain and increase speed...*
mark Holcumb.
*quits guitar*
yeah,the guy managed to perfect an unefficient technique. Like wtf.
wheres the alternative for the thumb chord :(
Right?! I play on a 7 with smallish hands and can't use my thumb in such a way without breaking things.
My hands are too small, I can't wrap my thumb around the neck and still reach the 12th fret. Granted I'm attempting it on a Gibson SG, but I still don't know if a thinner neck would do me much good. I actually cannot play half of Mark's chords lol
Dude my hands are short and fat! :( but that 2nd chords is so awesome
Tuning?
Drop C I believe
+Coltin Porter yes it is
+BORIS TUBETI “BARS” actually drop d tuning
+Sebtab1990 No, it's Drop C
RedSkyWhisper yeah i just noticed, my bad sorry.
really dig his approach to rhythm
1:15
It's so hard to change from chords like that.
Edit: i got it
If you take a picture with Mrak at a show, he WILL do the Darkthrone pose.
Every. Time.
I took a pic with him this month and he did no such thing
then it wasn't mrak
*****
I'm pretty sure it was. His guitar his face his hair it all matches
maketotaldestroy then u don't really know mrak.
these pickups are ridiculous. even through the muddy mix each note is clear as hell
+Lui The Ourea the pickups are just one thing that contributes to that. The amp and distortion/drive used also has a great deal to do with it.
+paqman78 of course. but the pickups play a massive role
+Lui The Ourea - with that much distortion, it doesnt' really. Just my opinion. I've played a lot of pickups and when used with such saturation, the pickups have minimal effect. Pickup height, maybe. But not the type of pickups themselves. Give him a guitar with different humbuckers but using the same amp and I'll bet you he'll still get the desired effect by tweaking the amp settings.
+paqman78 of course. but in a mix it's plays a huge role
+Lui The Ourea - whatever helps you feel better mate lol.
Bathory's cool
WTF tuning is this?
Just a regular Drop C tuning
why is the metronome fucked
probably helps to have 9 inch long fingers.
His tone is soo dark!
Djark
Step 1 buy Seymour Duncan Alpha & Omega pickups
priffry
is something off about the metronome or is it just me....
That's the point and he explains that just before playing it. Nothing wrong with it... all about TEMPO
ua-cam.com/video/TKaHMy3zqDM/v-deo.html we already know how to play! ahaha
He needs more metronome practice
Please!!!! Mic this stuff up better for UA-cam. Coming from other videos, this just sounds... :/
Sounds fine... 🙄
Am i crazy or did he just call a D chord a C and a B chord a A? Maybe he's just one of those hard core technical players that say it like that because he's tuned down?
You just might be crazy lol.
+brandon godwin maybe its a compound chord, with the figured bass changed.
Mark looking as homeless as ever.
Love mrak but I wish he'd just stick to explaining how to play his material or inspiration behind it...his lack of musical theory knowledge isn't a big deal until he starts misrepresenting the term "voicing" as a generic replacement for various things like notes, chords, progressions...etc.
terrible tone, but probably a bad recording setup
Yeah, Guitar World is kind of notorious for terrible guitar tones in their videos. They make the best products sound like shit. Kinda funny here though, since Mark is an Axe FX guy, all they would have had to do it load up a patch and go direct, and there you go, awesome tone. But nope, they managed to fuck it up again.
+Brian Larson I imagine they just have random 10W Modelling amps like Fender mark 1's and shit just lying around with 37 year old cables to plug into. They switch the dial to the "metal" channel and say "whelp here you go."
If you take a picture with Mrak at a show, he WILL do the Darkthrone pose.
Every. Time.