Hey guys,
This is part one in an upcoming series of lessons I'll be doing on the rhythmic concept of "djent". Derrived from a word "invented" by members of Meshuggah, and popularized by Periphery song-writer Misha Mansoor, the term has become synonymous within this distinct style of metal which involves heavy rhythmic syncopation, a wall of mid-range guitar tone and vocals which span various sounds and techniques. According to Wikipedia; "The word "djent" is an onomatopoeia for a heavily palm-muted, distorted guitar chord". Due to it's popularity on the internet, it has literally become a genre, although the argument against this is steadily on-going.
"Djent-metal" usually involves down-tuned, 7-string, or 8-string guitars. A fairly common tuning is standard 7-string, down 1 half step on all strings (Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Ee), which is what I'll be using for the demonstrations. Don't worry, though, the backing tracks will feature only drums, so you can play these riffs in any tuning or string set-up you desire, as long as the top four strings are tuned to perfect 4ths.
So, on to the lessons! We'll analyze the much-needed guitar sound, some hand techniques involved in achieving "djent", and then follow up by breaking down a few different approaches to riffing. In later lessons, we'll simply build on these techniques and dive into more complex forms of "djent" riffing.
REMEMBER: My 7-string is tuned to Bb (standard, down 1 half step on all 7 strings).