Did Kerry King forget how to play the Slayer Angel of Death bridge riff? Weekend Wankshop 188
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- Опубліковано 11 лип 2018
- unclebeneller
instagram @BenEllerGuitars
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Hey kids! On Weekend Wankshop 188, Uncle Ben Eller here is going on a quest to find the truth about the Slayer Angel of Death bridge riff... you know the one, the best metal riff ever!
This is one you all have been requesting a lesson on for a while, and in the process of transcribing it, i found some more recent videos of Kerry King himself teaching this riff, and i noticed some very strange things... he's changed the riff at some point over the years of playing it! What he's done is to make it lock into Jeff Hanneman's harmony part, so that they lock into non-diatonic 5ths, instead of the mix of 5ths and b5ths that appear on the original Reign in Blood album. Crazy, huh?
I'll teaching you guys Kerry's part (both the old and new way), as well as Jeff's evil harmony he puts on the top, and providing you all with video evidence to prove my point.
What riffs do you all want a breakdown of next?! Let me know in the comments below!
Suhr Modern White Tiger
Kemper Profiler (amp factory JCM800)
Lagunitas Imperial Pilsner
Thank you all for watching this video! Why do you think Slayer has changed this awesome bridge riff from Angel of Death over the years? What do you think of Kerry King’s indoor shades/outdoor beard look?
Ben Eller Bet its as simple as he forgot and when it was time for the tour he didn't go back and check the record. And since they usually don't do fancy harmonies he just went with it.
Also agree, the energy gets lost with the tech. Motörhead and AC/DC didn't need any grids! That's rock and roll.
Terminator mode: Engaged!
A badass stepdad look
uncle Ben all I know is that as far as contributions in a lifetime go, the riff OR that beard would suffice, but BOTH?! Holy shit.
Top lesson btw
He's baldy beardy Bono of metal.
I'm a pre-school/kindergarten teacher and I play guitar with the kids sometimes. Usually pretty mellow happy stuff, but I like to show them different styles of music so they can experience it and hear the difference. Usually they dance along and change their dance according to the song. Some of their favourites are Tears in Heaven by Clapton (slow, floaty sort of dance), Peaches & Cream by John Butler Trio (a bit more active, bobbing up and down), You and Your Heart by Jack Johnson (whirling and clapping) and...the Angel of Death bridge riff + the chuggy bit that comes after. I legit didn't tell them how to dance or tell them what the genre/song name is (for any of them) and have no bias - but they all did the Meshuggah face and started head-banging when I first played Angel of Death. Brought a tear to my eye.
You are a legend.
Based on my Metallica experience ("riffs they play wrong live" sh*t), there are several reason to change the way of playing riffs:
1) boredom from playing the same over decades
2) when they re-learn songs after not performing them for a while (it happens quickly, on rehearsals, no tabs). Idk if Slayer ever stopped doing Angel of Death tho.
3) if it's a new member, he might adjust it to his own technique or body, so to speak, or to stand out among previous musicians who played it
4) simplifying and cutting corners, if a riff turned out to be too complicated or energy consuming for concerts (e.g. "Blackened" main riff got simplified yet in 1988, or the new way James performs the verse riff from Master of Puppets - single notes instead power chords).
5) a few other reasons I might forget
I definitely think it's reason number 5 you have there
billhicks8 😂😂
billhicks8 that’s what I thought)
I had never noticed that MoP thing before, but sure enough, I go check this clip out ua-cam.com/video/v0YJmb3okk8/v-deo.html and he's playing single notes during the verse.
Andriy Vasylenko i used to play the Master Of Puppets verse riff individual notes instead of power chords ever since i learned it from a friend
This kind of content is gold
"indoor sunglasses and outdoor beard" should be something we all strive for when we reach our golden years, unkie ben. like i always say, "you can get lupus pretending to have lupus and still be the King".
or it could be half of a verse in the theme song for the classic cartoon Thrift Store Cowboy i just made up. (dibs)
I think Kerry played the harmony part on the record and thought it sounded better, so when he plays the "low" part, he plays it the way he thought it should go. You've probably played with other guitarist and disagreed on small things like that. I sure have. But that's an interesting little quirk you stumbled across there. Thanks, uncle Ben!
I’m pretty sure Kerry played all the rhythym tracks and everything but Jeff’s leads on that record, I’m not 100% sure tho don’t quote me on that
Kerry never played Jeff's parts as he claims. You can clearly tell it's two different guitar players on those early slayer albums. Kerry and Jeff sound totally different. I don't buy that story at all.
The Bubonic J. Facts
Josh S Fox True. Even their tone is slightly different. Kerry is right speaker. Jeff left on most records. And then it switched on divine
This is awesome! I like how you explain these really atonal Slayer-isms in terms of theory. Having listened to Slayer since the 80s, I’ve always been under the impression that they wrote these riffs without really knowing what they were doing, and they just followed their ear to the evil sound. If you probably asked them about the harmony with the non-diatonic 5, then switching the the flat 5 harmony at the end of the riff, they would probably have no idea what your taking about....lol! I don’t even know if Slayer knows how to write in a key, but I still love them. Slayer has always been about feel to me.
the quality of the information you provide in every single video is magnificent!!you are the best teacher i ever had! thank you! i have made a lot of improvement in guitar playing while watching your videos.
The way you teach guitar is so accessible. You teach complicated processes in such a laid back and understandable way. You make things click in my mind, thanks man!
I really love your lessons Ben. Really appreciate taking the time to explain which fingers you like to fret the riff with, Makes it way easier to play. Just makes the riff feel right
I love that sound. Powerful like a dragster or Jet engine.
Hearing this song /album in 86 as a 13 year old beginning to love metal changed me for the better forever. Still listening to this album in its entirety fairly often, soooo good!
Thanks, Uncle Ben! You're the best.
I love the way Uncle Ben always makes learning fun 👍🏻
I noticed it sounded different than the record right away when I watched the video with the close up hand and I was SO CONFUSED on what was going on!!!! Whenever I played it like Kerry in the video there was something about it that just didn’t sound right at all. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CLEARING THIS UP!!!! Honestly the most helpful riff video on your channel!!
Cool vid, man. That beer on the amp is killing me though. :D
Love your content man I bought a non working peavey 6505+ 112 and in watching your channel I took it apart and saw that the filter compactors were bad through eye sight replaced them with a full tube change this amp is fucking brutal more shit post Friday please
Amazing and interesting video! These type of videos are so good becouse you teach the riff very well and then you talk about how its changed trough years:)! Keep up and have nice day🤘
Uncle Ben delivers the goods yet again, awesome lesson bud!
Super glad I caught a video yesterday and subscribed
For the people who say Slayer is shitty. Maybe, but they got a gold record without radio play or you tube or any other social media. They achieved it through word of mouth
you're partly right, but Slayer did have big label promotion. There was a huge Slayer billboard in Pacific Beach (SD) in 87 that said 'Do You Want to Die ?' plus nobody had social media then . it didnt exist. that doesnt mean bands in 87 relied on word of mouth. Similar to metallica, the tours opening for Ozzy, Priest + others helped.
Daniel Simon but the label didnt care about them untill people started seeing their shows. And Ozzy didnt untill labels did. They werent discovered through some mass media. I realize social media didnt exist. In my day social media was having a pen pal through metal magazines where we traded tapes and dubbed them.
I am not a fan of the vocals and sound of Tom Araya voice but their guitar playing is legendary brutal talent!
MegaCrasherMusic well slayer is pretty shit now. They use to be good
FuckingFluteBeater -WTF did you just SAY!!! I like each new one better and better, they never went soft. Take it back in 10.....9.....8.....7.... nevermind, I'm too tired.
-- /w\SlayeriZer/w\
"Indoor sunglasses and outdoor beard." Classic!
Top grade analysis Uncle Ben!
Really appreciate this video it really has it all for the different ways it’s been played
Great video! Thanks Ben.
Awesome! Been trying to figure this riff out for years!
The sunglasses mean he's either covering up his anxiety or he's smashed on something.
I thought he was just hiding the reptilian eyes?
His eyes are really close together and he's self conscious about that
Come ooon. He's a beautiful lad :)
Some baldies use beard and eyewear to distract from the baldness.
@@summerrr1 What!!!!! He's bald!!?!?!?!?!??!?!
To be honest, I'm pretty sure they didn't notice it or just didn't bothered to change the damn thing. Which is kinda cool, makes it more human as you said in the video.
It's almost like Kerry King has no idea what he's doing! Huh!
That's exactly what's happening and it has pretty much always been like that. But then again Kerry King doesn't care, and that is what makes it work.
He does tho
@J Slikbeer He literally said that in an interview. He doesn't give a damn about theory.
Cause the whole song was written by Jeff Haneman
Thanks Uncle Ben 🤟🏼🤟🏼
I like the original one better; the tritones give it that unique, harsh dissonance that I love Slayer for.
Great video, Ben.
i wondered that too with his recent video. Thanks for clarifying I wasnt crazy, lol. Love your videos!
Not sure how I needed up down the UA-cam rabbit hole and ended here as I mainly enjoy 90s to earl y2k hip hop... but dope video man. Love the way you teach it and love skill.
Came here hoping to see someone discuss the "shapes" as you mentioned for the original album riff. Thanks for going over that thoroughly! It was hanging me up trying to figure out when to "jump" and with what fingers.
I think the original way of playing it sounds better. The lower part ends on the tritone (in relation to the note on the lowest open string, which is what the whole riff is centered around) which just sounds more fitting than ending on the fourth.
The original way is more chromatic. The newer way sounds like certain notes get too much emphasis and it sounds less atonal (the 7th fret on the "D string" is played twice, whereas in the original version all of the notes on the D string are played only once). In other words, the original way sounds more chaotic, the newer way sounds more stable.
Great video, Ben! I've heard Kerry admit to changing the way he plays riffs without even realizing it. I really like that about him.
Hell yeah, finally someone (guitar instructor) who likes Slayer! Everyone rags on them for sucking, but they write some awesome riffs and have stamina for days when playing live (saw them in Chicago a few months ago) RIP Jeff.
when a guitar instructor says a famous guitar player is bad they don't immediately mean the music is bad, only that he's bad at performing it. Slayer wrote some very good songs, but can barely play them.
@@bennymountain1 That's not true at all. Kerry plays everything pretty much perfectly. Jeff was always sloppy, but Gary is a very clean player.
@@cdsmetalhead99 you're high. Jeff wasn't the sloppy one.
@@jeffheff71 Have you ever seen him play? They would turn his rhythm down lower than Kerry's during live sets because of how sloppy he played. It was because of his arthritis.
@@cdsmetalhead99 wrong! I've seen slayer more times then I care to count. I got to know him personally the last 2 years of his life because he stayed with a close friend of mine here in central texas alot. And, it was Kerry who had lower volume on his rig.
This is a Jeff riff... but Kerry king plays it live. I think is bc of that he plays different
True. Jeff wrote all the music of this song, and the lyrics.
Thanks for your videos!! Regards from Spain
Kerry King is the Larz Ulrich of guitar.
Jeff was Slayer.
Lars is good. Only jealous Megadeth fans talk shit like you just did. Breaks over, Go back to work, I need my groceries bagged biatch !!
Lol true
@@TheGreatAlan75 lars ia a fuckin clown
Kids arguing on youtube, cute LOL!!!
@@hawk1093 dude you still at home with you parents.
Excellent thanks for the upload
I prefer the the original way, with the 2nd guitar starting the "spider finger thing" part harmonizing on the 5th and finishing on the flat 5th. Sounds way cooler to me, both as an idea and as a riff. Anyway they play it, though, it's a monster of a song! Loved the video, Uncle Ben :D Rock on!
IMO, this is the best riff in all of metal. Thank you so much for breaking it down so thoroughly.
No
Too funny… indoor sunglasses, outdoor beard… awesome!
Wow I'm so glad I found U Ben your awesome
I'll be damned, I've been playing it correctly for 20 years. Thank you for the awesome lesson, as usual.
That is cool I never knew that. Thanks UB.
Finally!! Someone who actually plays it right lol. I looked at 7 different tabs that were all wrong !! So frustrating. Thank you for an awesome video man! 🤘🏻
Love the content ben. Keep it up man!
Damn Ben. You got some ears to pick this up! Good job. Never learned that riff but now I can play it. Thanks. I like the later version. It's easier too.
One of the sickest riffs in .metal history or the greatest breakdown in metal period
"indoor sunglasses, outdoor beard"
Bro. 🤣😂🤣
Great video man! Going for my own brew now.
Wicked legendary riff, wicked guitar, wicked technique, wicked channel! 🤓👍
Oilid settle down meg
so awesome!!
If I remember correctly Jeff wrote angel of death. A cool thing to look into would be the demo version of angel of death from the Soundtrack to the Apocalypse album, since I believe that was arranged entirely by Jeff.
Thanks, Uncle Ben!
Btw, can you do some death metal guitar lessons for bands like Necrophagist or Death?
Xziol Psyxe I'd chub so hard if he did Flattening of Emotions or Crystal Mountain.
I started playing guitar november last year. Right now I can play crystal mountain, all the rhythm and most of the lead, except for the shredding parts but im getting close. That being said, deaths songs in general are wayyyyy easier than necrophagist songs. Right now I'm starting to approach the speed required to play fermented offal discharge rhythm. I figure in two months I should have it down. I feel like I'm bragging lol but my point is, learning music from these two bands is very doable. The way Ive been learning is by starting with the easiest riffs in the song then trying harder and harder riffs. Wish you luck on your guitar journey. I've also started learning the solo for fermented offal discharge but I can barely sweep pick sl I figure ill be good enough to play it in 8 months to a year
God yes, I’d die if he did Epitaph
Crystal mountain would definitely be good. So many people play this wrong.
Joshua Salgado yeah this lowkey annoys me. I learned from a tab sheet of someone who tabbed out how chuck schuldiner plays it. Much easier to play this way. But on yt I see so many people playing the intro riff wrong on the 9th fret
They used that riff as the theme song for the Pepsi Power Hour metal show on MuchMusic back in the day. Killer.
Didn't Jeff used to play the start of the bridge and Kerry joined? I know at the live shows in the 80's they did least and then Kerry to over the riff and Jeff jumped in with the harmony for some reason.
I also like the Public Enemy - Channel Zero sample of it. KMFDM has used it as well!
I Jeff watched this video and I gotta Hanne to you, Man, I like how you Kerry yourself. I think you're a guitar King.
What?
Ozzy? Is that you?
No more internets for you
They seem to have randomly changed a lot of stuff over the years. On the record and on live videos from around the time of RiB, Jeff used to play what you're referring to as "guitar 1" in this video. Somewhere along the lines he and Kerry switched parts there.
Same deal with the breakdown riff in Raining Blood right before "Raining blood from a lacerated sky" part.
I think all of the single guitar parts are played live by Kerry because his rhythm playing is very tight and Jeff became really sloppy as time went on. So Kerry would play the "guitar 1" part once and then Jeff would start playing and Kerry would switch to the part he played on the record. Not really sure about Raining Blood though. I guess Kerry is just less likely to fuck that riff up, even though it's pretty simple.
I've read somewhere, that Jeff started having some health problems affecting his playing, already on Divine Intervention tour. If that's true, it would make sense that Kerry started playing parts when only one guitar plays, so Jeff had "easier" job.
Kwert everything Gary holt plays now is trash. So does it even matter? Homeboy butchers Jeff’s leads.
That mega man intro is almost as great as your playing/lessons/videos 🤟🏻
It was a good move, because it adds extra tension at the end of the riff to bring you back to the beginning.
Another A+++ episode Unkey B! The reverse headstock on that Suhr is so sexy btw.... 🤘🤘
Haha...the Pilsner is the most important Plug-in... the more you use it, the more you have the flanger effect 😜
Runnershigh75 lol VST brain flanger.
Nearly 150k ❤
This reminds me of the well-known Hypocrisy song 'Eraser': during live shows Peter has some different lyrics in the second verse and he ends the choruses differently. I guess he changed his mind about the lyrics and decided to keep the changes for shows.
Nice, never seen a Suhr painted 80s Lynch style. Hawt!
Such a bad ass riff!!🤘
Indoor sunglasses outdoor beard......awesome.
Yes sir it is 🔥hell🔥 of a riff and gets me on that we're my guitar mode
excellent! hugely interesting :)
8:33 sums this video up
I notice stuff like this sometimes when bands play live they either forget the riff or just try to make it easier or something. It's weird and it always stands out to me.
Very nice as usual Ben, how about a little Testament for the next Whhhank Shop, Practice what you preach solo maybe? 🤘🤘
RIP jeff.one of the greatest riffs ever written
I think i seen a lesson long ago on a cd rom that came with guitar one or world cant remember, it was 10 plus years ago. He mentioned he was tuned a whole tone down as apposed half.
Fonzo Hernandez nah man that album is down a half step without a doubt!!! Play to it!
UNCLE BEN. Thank you so much!! Been asking for this for a very long time, and it was much better than I could've ever expected! How about Beatin' Around the Bush by AC/DC? Freaking impossible riff that I'd love to get the picking down on. Or the main F# riff to Lords of Summer by Metallica...seriously have never been able to get that picking even close. Thanks again for another great one.
MrMustard dude I was playing beatin around the bush earlier and wondering if anyone would want to see that one broken down!
DUDE me and my friends would love it! I honestly don't know how they did it...it was never played live, but there is a mimed "performance" on some Spanish TV show from early 1980 that might provide a little picking insight. I haven't seen it in a while, but it might help. One crazy riff that I've never ever heard sound quite like the original! PLEASE do a breakdown and give us any insight you could...having those upstrokes/downstrokes broken down would be like finding the guitar-player Meaning of Life.
Thanks for this lesson, Uncle Ben. It would be great if you do a lesson of the solos of this song. :'v xP lml
I like your funny words magic man
Its cool you mentioned how the song has changed over years. If you're lucky enough to see a band/artist a bunch of time over the years (well you can just watch it on the Y tube now, but I digress) you'll notice how songs seems to "change" a little when they play them live. Be it the tempo, or a minor re-arrangement or even the instruments and tuning when playing it. I've found it fairly common for songs to be recorded in one tuning but when played live, use a different tuning and they just compensate for the change. I personally do it all the time when playing with friends. I'm not down tuning unless there are some notes that are too much work to just drop a fret or 2 and adjust. (Okay I'll be honest here, I have a small arsenal all set at different tunings, but I still tend to compensate before changing guitars, unless changing the guitar was the real purpose in the first place. I hope that makes sense.) Compensating alters the tone slightly, but it's the same song/notes. Just different tone sometimes. (I don't get into tone wars. If you like how it sounds it's a good tone. If you don't like it, It's not for you. Move on, but never forget. That garbage sound you made today might be the exact sound you're looking for in 2 years. Tastes change.) I think there are a variety of reasons why "songs" as we know them "change" over time, it was great that you brought the concept to attention.
You Da Man!!
So I went and experimented with how the two sounded (something I wish you'd done in the video, show how the change affects the harmony) and to be totally honest
I prefer the straight diatonic fifths, as opposed to the change to flat 5ths of the original. It just gels and feels more "slayer" than the flat 5ths, weirdly enough
I'm guessing they were going for simple P5s throughout, but didn't quite work it out correctly on the original studio version, and now Kerry modifies his part to "correct" it. The original version still sounds cool, though. Even with dissonant tritones, the harmony being split across two guitars keeps it cleaner.
Slowëd down, and in that 6th or 7th position it totally sounds like Mastodons "Oblivion"
and here at frame 238 you can clearly see that instead of the 9th fret, kerry's index finger is back and to the left at the 8th. back and to the left. back. and to the left. back. and to the left.
nice
Should you focus on learning one song all the way through before jumping to another one? Like when I cant play a solo I usually just skip it with the intent of working on it later then I never focus on it as I did the rest of the song
DOA the version on there they play it a little different every time it repeats in the song, and breakdown on the lyric sections the same way.
live licks
vs.
studio licks
I have no idea why they changed it but they dropped the harmony live years ago also Jeff used to lead it off but Kerry has been doing it since I think Divine Intervention dsys as well as the melody towards the end of Ranning Blood.
i love this riff but i never play it smoothly, probably because my hand synchronization sucks. i think i need to review one of your old videos.
Well, Im 4 yrs late. I think the diminished/dissonance of this riff emphasizes the lyrical picture and helps deliver the agony the song conjures. Either way still works.
He didn't actually change it, I showed him the right way last week... check it OUT! -- /w\SlayeriZer/w\
THRASH METAL & FUN RIFFS lol good job!
You Mean Kerry King only Remember 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 😂
That's djent there buddy
I watched an interview where he was actually not douchy and was pleasant. Yeah, I know ! I thought, "Was I tripping on his douchiness all these years??" Wtf
great riff written by jeff hanneman :)
Thanks Uncle Ben.
Are you into Exodus at all? I'm having trouble hearing what Gary Holt is playing in Chemi-kill about a minute in. Maybe the Verse? Or pre-chorus?
Unknown Try looking up Songsterr and searching your song on the site. Their tabs are pretty accurate and they have midi files to go along with it so you can get the rhythms right.
Cool
Can you do a tutorial of the 9 notes in Van Halen's Light Up The Sky? Not the Doug Steel way.
Could you break down Orgasmatron by Motorhead? I just can't seem to figure that one out.
Do the Sepultura version.