As GuitarWorld.com reported yesterday, Malaysia's Department of Islamic Development was calling upon local authorities to ban Lamb of God's September 28 performance in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur.

They had labeled the band "satanic."

Earlier today, The Star Online reported that the band's September 28 show has, in fact, been canceled.

The band has been denied a permit to stage a concert because their shows were deemed to be infringing on the religious sensitivities and cultural values of Malaysian society.

Last month, the Department of Islamic Development of Malaysia (Jakim) raised objections to the September 28 show, claiming that the band's music is a mix of metal songs with the reading of verses from the Quran. The decision to cancel the show was made Wednesday by the Communications and Multimedia Ministry at a meeting of the Central Committee On Applications for Filming and Performances by Foreign Artistes (Puspal).

Show organizers Livescape Sdn Bhd took responsibility for the cancellation.

"This difficult decision was made after thorough deliberation by us at Livescape and taking into account the objections raised by various groups as well as life threats made by certain irresponsible individuals towards the bandmembers," Livescape said.

In response to the ban, Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton issued this statement earlier today:

“It is very evident (and a bit frustrating) that the groups, parties and powers that have taken the most offense to our music and lyrics, have themselves only made a passing glance at the content and meanings of those songs. We would invite anyone offended by our music to engage in a discussion regarding the true motivations behind our work, especially before publicly slandering us based on assumptions and shallow misinterpretation.

"We sincerely apologize to our amazing fans in Malaysia for the cancellation. Many thanks to all who have spoken out in support of us through this.”

Livescape Asia issued an apology to fans and said details for refunds will be announced soon. For more information about the event, visit facebook.com/rockawayfest.

Lamb of God shows scheduled in New Zealand, Australia and Thailand will still be performed by the group.

Every now and then, we stumble upon something on YouTube that's totally new to us — including this clip, which was actually posted in 2009.

It's the never-officially-released 10-minute-long, experimental version of the Beatles'"Revolution 1," a track from 1968's The Beatles, better known as the White Album.

The clip gives fans a fly-on-the-wall perspective of what the White Album sessions were like. It also makes it a little more clear why the seemingly unrelated "Revolution 1" and the almost-maniacal "Revolution 9" share similar names.

In "Revolution 1" (Take 20), John Lennon steers an extended, experimental version of "Revolution 1" to its logical limits, then launches into the more avant-garde "Revolution 9."

How did this track get leaked? Who knows? According to Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles: Recording Sessions, only two copies of the take were made when recording the song was completed on June 4, 1968. One left the studio with Lennon that day. The other remained in the studio. It's unclear which copy appears on the bootleg.

Information provided with the clip:

"According to the Ateaseweb message board, the song first surfaced on an upcoming, Europe-only bootleg Revolution: Take Your Knickers Off, as a nod to Lennon saying, 'Take your knickers off and let's go' before "Revolution 1" (Take 20) started rolling."

Atlanta’s O’Brother draw from an eclectic mix of influences like Radiohead, the Melvins and Queens of the Stone Age, but manage to create a compelling cohesive sound all their own, thanks, in part, to the three-guitar attack of Tanner Merrit, Johnny Dang and Jordan McGhin. O'Brother's sophomore album Disillusion is out now.

Recording Disillusion was definitely a new and exciting process for us. It was our first time leaving home to make an album in a new place. Also, there were plenty of new toys in the studio for us to play with that had an enormous impact on the outcome of the record.

Our first LP Garden Window was tracked in Atlanta at Favorite Gentlemen studios owned by our good friends in the band Manchester Orchestra. At the time, their studio was pretty new and they didn’t have very many options in terms of amps and pedals. This meant that we primarily used all our own gear that we tour with and are used to using. So when it came to translating that record into a live scenario everything was pretty much the same.

With Disillusion the process was different. Each guitar part was dissected and then tracked through several different amps or pedal combinations, many of which, we were not initially familiar with. We would then listen back to the different tonal options, decide which was most appropriate, and then do several more takes with that setup. This approach, in my opinion, yielded some of the most interesting guitar tones our band has ever achieved. However, having access to all of those different amps and pedals is unrealistic for live shows, so adapting the songs to that setting has been different.

Luckily, we made friends with a few really awesome guitar pedal companies. We had met Ryan from Fuzzrocious Pedals not too long before going into record. He had sent us several pedals to try out and we fell in love with a few. Namely “The Demon” and “The Rat Tail”. Also, Mike Sapone (our producer) introduced us to Walrus Audio and we used several of their pedals on almost everything. After recording, we got in touch with them and started using a lot of those pedals live.

When rehearsing for this tour, we really had to nitpick what guitar effects were “necessary” live. I view our live sound differently than our recorded sound. It definitely has more of a “wall of sound” vibe. So a lot of the sounds and effects we use in studio aren’t as necessary. Overall, we love playing the new songs and feel it translates really well to a live setting.

Photo by gilphotography

The aggressive fluidity of economy picking is a valuable technique in any guitarist’s repertoire, providing the means for maximized speed with minimal effort.

There are myriad applications of this close relative of sweep picking, most notably the three-note-per-string scalar patterns described in Frank Gambale’s Monster Licks and Speed Picking and used by countless jazz, fusion, country, rock and metal players.

But this time around, I’m going to focus on manipulating economy picking for the powerful execution of rapid-fire arpeggios.

To get a grasp of the fundamental properties of these economy picked arpeggios, Example 1 depicts the three basic forms of simple two-string, root-3rd-5th arpeggios found in any common minor or major key (Minor, Major and Minor flat 5). For the sake of this lesson, we’ll stay in the key of Am (A,B,C,D,E,F,G).

With root notes on the B string, Example 1a is an Am arpeggio depicting the minor shape, Example 1b is a C Major demonstrating the major shape and Example 1c is a Bm(b5) showing the minor flat 5 fingering.

Perform the exercises so that when you see two consecutive downstrokes, you pick the first note and PUSH the pick to the next.

For a split second, rest the pick on the next string and as you remove the finger from the previous note, continue to push through the next note. This should be all in one fluid downward motion, slicing through the friction presented by the strings. Focus on getting an articulate snap of the strings and complete the motion with an upstroke on the third note of the pattern.

Repeated properly and with rhythmic evenness, the overall action should feel like a broad alternate pick stroke. Try a little bit of a palm mute to emphasize the individuality of the notes and accentuate the flowing percussiveness of the pick stroke. Check out the beginning of Zakk Wylde’s solo on the Ozzy Osbourne track “Miracle Man” to hear this style of economy picking in action (Zakk plays these as syncopated 16th notes as opposed to triplets).

Similar to the economy picked licks of Marty Friedman, the phrasing of the arpeggios in Examples 2a, 2b and 2c adds a pull-off to the end of the previous examples and ups the speed quotient with an absolute minimum of added effort. Keep the duration of all of the notes even and rhythmic, and don’t rush the pull-offs!

Kicking things up a notch by adding some alternate picking to the mix (as well as making things a little more harmonically interesting), Example 3 adds the 7th (the scale tone below the root note of each chord) to each of the above arpeggios.

As such, Example 3a is an Am7, Example 3b is a C Maj7 and Example 3c is a Bm7(b5). Now that we’re using 7ths there is a 4th type of chord in the key, so Example 3d is the Dominant 7th chord found in the key of Am: G7. Be sure to emphasize the “swing” of your right hand wrist as you combine the alternate picking strokes with the economy picking sweep motion.

Examples 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d are the same notes as the previous example, just shifted relative to the beat. This melodic relationship to the rhythm is one often used in the “shred-era” playing of Gary Moore (R.I.P) as well as in the solos of Nuno Bettencourt, Kirk Hammett and Synyster Gates.

And while these obviously work well with arpeggios, try experimenting with any and every 2 string/4 note (2 notes per string) fingering you can think of. You’ll be amazed at some of the lightning fast, intervallic-ally exciting licks you’ll come up with!

Continuing further, the shapes in Examples 5a-5d add a slightly exotic flair to the proceedings with add9 arpeggios. Dealing with the “standard” shapes found in most keys, Example 5a is an Am add9 arpeggio and Example 5b is a Cadd9. The Bm(b5)addb9 arpeggio in Example 5c and the Em add b9 in Example 5d round out the other types of add9 shapes in Am, here emphasizing the two half-step scale relationships between B and C and E and F in the key.

These shapes sound particularly cool due to the close proximity of the 9 to the 3rd in the arpeggios and can give your pinky quite a workout. Start slowly, pay attention to the evenness of your left hand articulation and feel the flow of your right-hand motion.

The previous examples have added more chord tones to the arpeggios on the B string, but Examples 6a-6d add the 11th to the mix and switch things up mechanically with the extra E string note. In these cases, the add11 note pulls off to the 3rd, adding an easy means of achieving even greater speed with simple means. The motion of the pick hand is switched up as well, and you’ll find that this set of examples will feel most similar to straight alternate picking at high speeds.

Example 6a and Example 6b are the basic minor add11 and major add11 (Am add11 and Cadd11, respectively), Example 6c is the Bm(b5)add11 and Example 6d rounds out the types of add11s in the key with the Lydian-flavored Fadd#11 arpeggio.

As with the above examples, try varying the examples with different arpeggios in the key and with other scale types and fingerings (with one note on the B string and 3 notes on the E), using the examples as a template for your experiments. These sound particularly cool with wide stretch pentatonic and blues scale fingerings!

Finally, Example 7 is a short etude following an A harmonic minor (A,B,C,D,E,F,G#) progression: Am-Bmb5-G-Am-F-G-E7-E7 (E7b9 in this case- a G#Dim7 chord superimposed over E). I’ve used the add9 forms here to give the maximum left hand workout and for an exotic flair in the harmony, but be sure to try the same progression with the other types of arpeggios found in the previous examples.

Note that for the final two bars I’ve expanded the picking to include full-on three-string sweep picking, thus increasing the challenge of maintaining pick control by combining alternate, economy, and sweep picking in the piece. Note that you’ll start the whole etude on an upstroke to maintain the continuity of the picking on subsequent repeats.

I’ve only scratched the surface here with what is possible with the utilization of economy picking, but these examples should serve as a great primer for those unfamiliar with the technique as well as being excellent refinement exercises for experienced players who may not use the skill very often.

As always, use the above examples to get comfortable with the technique, get creative with your own variations and look to seamlessly integrate them into your own individual style. Happy shredding!

Scott Marano has dedicated his life to the study of the guitar, honing his chops at the Berklee College of Music under the tutelage of Jon Finn and Joe Stump and working as an accomplished guitarist, performer, songwriter and in-demand instructor. In 2007, Scott developed the Guitar Strength program to inspire and provide accelerated education to guitarists of all ages and in all styles through state-of-the-art private guitar lessons in his home state of Rhode Island and globally via Skype. Learn more at GuitarStrength.com.

One key to becoming a more versatile blues soloist is learning to combine the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scales to create guitar lines that go beyond the minor pentatonic scale.

As a prerequisite to this lesson, you should have a basic understanding of the finger positionings for the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scales, particularly the first and second positions of both scales.

Stepping back, I should note that learning to play within both of these scales at the same time opened new doors for me as a guitar player.

Before combining them, I remember first learning to solo over the standard 1-4-5 blues progression, and my teacher at the time gave me a quick trick for alternating between the minor and major pentatonic solos: Use the minor pentatonic for the sections on the “1” and the major pentatonic for the sections on the “4," and alternate back in forth in this manner in the way that sounded best.

While this approach can work to give you a more varied sound beyond merely the minor pentatonic scale, this trick is by no means a hard and fast rule, and moving beyond it to learn to combine both scales makes you a more versatile player.

A quick point of reference to understand about these scales is that, in respect to physical finger positioning, they are identical, with one scale simply falling three frets below the other on the fretboard. That is to say, in any given key: (i) the finger position for the major pentatonic scale falls three frets down from the minor pentatonic scale, and (ii) the root note is the same for both scales.

So, for example, let’s focus on the key of A. The A on the fifth fret of the first string is the root note of both the A minor pentatonic and A major pentatonic scales. This means that, in the A minor pentatonic scale’s first position, the A on the fifth fret of the first string is played with your index finger.

And, three frets down playing the same positions for the A major pentatonic scale, the same A is played with your pinky (and your index finger is on the F# — you may also notice at this point that you are in the F# minor pentatonic scale’s first position). The below tabs illustrate this point.

So, first visualize both major and minor pentatonic scales, and practice them up and down the neck, focusing on their first and second positions for the purposes of this lesson. You can practice them with all downstrokes and/or alternate picking, and in doing so, keep in mind the locations of your root note A’s, which are relevant for playing blues in the key of A.

As you will notice, the first position of the A minor pentatonic scale and the second position of the A major pentatonic scale are both within easy reach of the first position of the A minor pentatonic scale (index finger beginning on the fifth fret of the first string, and proceeding on from there).

And, as you see below, these scale positions can be overlayed into a hybrid scale that encompasses all of their notes. And, what we want to learn how to do is visualize the first position of the minor pentatonic scale and the second position of the major pentatonic over the same position on the neck, and use the notes from both scales to play blues licks and riffs.

So, to make a riff using both scales, let’s focus on the top two strings starting at the fifth fret. The A minor pentatonic scale uses the notes at the fifth and eighth frets on these strings, while the A major pentatonic uses the notes at the fifth and seventh frets on these strings. So, to combine the scales and see what it sounds like, let’s play the following lick No. 1. And you can already hear the blues element present when you mix these scales.

After you are comfortable with lick No. 1, you can move to lick No 2, which further explores this principle. And at this stage, I would encourage you to start exploring further and have some fun coming up with new licks using the notes from both scales in this position.

Another common lick that combines these scales using a hammer-on is shown below in lick No. 3, and you have probably heard this combination of notes in many country and blues songs.

So, bringing a lot of these elements together, you can play something like the following.

You can always play the scales separately to give your soloing their different flavors. And soon, taking this lesson into account, and with some practice, you will be able to bring these two scales together into a hybrid scale to further expand what you can play, and allow you to play modern blues and some old-school blues in what may be a new way for you.

The first step is to be able to see the two scales and then put them together, seeing the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scales at the same time.

As you’ll see, if you know all five positions of the pentatonic scale, you can apply this very same principle all over the guitar neck. And pretty soon the new notes from scale to scale will begin to stick out, giving you new notes to play all over the neck in your blues solos.

Steve Stine is a longtime and sought-after guitar teacher who is professor of Modern Guitar Studies at North Dakota State University. Over the last 27 years, he has taught thousands of students, including established touring musicians, and released numerous video guitar lesson courses via established publishers. A resident of Fargo, North Dakota, today he is more accessible than ever before through the convenience of live online guitar lessons at LessonFace.com.

LessonFace.com offers live online music lessons via videoconference, allowing you to access top teachers in a wide variety of instruments from anywhere with a broadband connection. Steve is offering a live online group class for intermediate players this summer called “The Players Series” via the LessonFace.com platform. More information about live online lessons with Steve is available at lessonface.com/player.

I'm a very goal oriented person. I need to see the end goal so that I can figure out how to get there. I like to break down my big goals into bite sized pieces and check things off my list.

There are so many elements of getting a song recorded that are out of my control. So, I have to figure out ways to do EVERYTHING I can do to make it happen and let the rest of the pieces fall where they may.

When I first started chasing writing as a full time career, I had difficulty staying motivated. There were so many times when something big ALMOST happened for me and then fell through. I would be devastated for days and it would be hard to go write again when all I was getting in return was disappointment.

I tried a number of things that didn't work before I found the answer in a simple place. One day I sat down and made a list of my goals for my writing. I didn't go crazy. Basically, my list was:

1) Get a song cut
2) Get a single and hear it on the radio
3) Get a gold record

Around the time that I started writing, I had toured Graceland in Memphis. When I walked into the racquetball court, my mouth dropped open. Floor to ceiling, it was covered with gold and platinum records. Not the new kind with a gold cassette or CD. Real gold RECORDS. Vinyl.

It made such an impact on me that I decided to throw that in as my big goal. I wanted a gold, vinyl record plaque on my wall. After living with my list for several days, I came up with a plan to motivate myself.

I put an empty nail in the wall at the end of my hallway, right by my bedroom door. I didn't tell anyone what it was for. But, I knew. That was where my gold record would hang. Every day I would walk past that empty nail and remember my goals.

I believe that the leap of faith I took to hammer an empty nail into a wall was the single biggest step I took during those days. I was committed. I believed I could do it. I had a nail waiting and ready for that plaque. I looked at the nail for several years. Some days I hated it. Some days I was challenged by it. Some days it inspired me.

It helped me remember that on ONE day in the past, I believed in myself enough to get a hammer and pound that nail into the wall. It was a sweet, sweet day when I finally hung that record there. A little extra sweetness - it was a platinum record.

Whatever it takes, find something that motivates and challenges you. On a strong day when you are believing in yourself, plant some visible reminder where you will see it often and use it to help you get through the disappointing days.

Most of us lose track of where we are going sometimes. Keeping your eyes on the end goal helps you stay on track as you make the journey. Whenever you lose your way or start to doubt, turn to your “nail in the wall” for a little “I can do this” encouragement. Write on.

Marty Dodson is a songwriter, corporate trainer and entrepreneur. His songs have been recorded by artists such as Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell and The Plain White T’s. He once bumped Psy out of the #1 spot on the K-Pop charts but that’s another story for another day. Marty plays Taylor and Batson guitars. Find out more about at SongtownUSA.com and martydodson.com. Or follow him here: www.facebook.com/songtownusa and Twitter @SongTownUSA.

Metallica are streaming a new live version of "Master of Puppets" from Through the Never: Music from the Motion Picture.

You can hear it over at RollingStone.com right now.

The two-disc CD, which set will be released on the band's own record label Blackened Recordings on September 24, highlights last year's sets at Rexall Place in Edmonton and Rogers Arena in Vancouver, where the band filmed all the performance footage featured in the film.

To pre-order Metallica Through The Never (Music from the Motion Picture) on iTunes, click HERE. There also will be a vinyl edition of the soundtrack album available in 33 1/3 RPM and special limited numbered 45RPM versions later in the fall.

Metallica Through the Never stars Metallica. In this music-driven, 3D motion picture event, filmmaker Nimród Antal immerses audiences in a bracing, raw and visceral cinematic experience with spectacular live performance footage of Metallica's most iconic songs — created exclusively for film — combined with a bold, narrative story featuring imagery drawn from the band's trailblazing iconography.

Dane DeHaan portrays Trip, a young roadie sent on an urgent mission, during the Metallica's roaring live set in front of a sold-out arena. To buy tickets, head here.

Earlier today, Black Label Society released a new music video for their cover of Bill Withers'"Ain't No Sunshine."

Check out the clip — which features Zakk Wylde & Co. dressed in admittedly cool-looking horse masks — below, and be sure to tell us what you think of it in the comments!

The track is from the band's new live album, Unblackened, which will be available September 24. Enjoy!

He fronts one of the most respected experimental alt-metal bands, and he grew up with Kurt Cobain. But what Guitar World readers really want to know is…

From Venom and David Bowie to Throbbing Gristle and Ram Jam, you picked some crazy songs for your new covers record [Everybody Loves Sausages]. How did you go about choosing them? — Marty Groban

We’ve always loved playing covers. When we decided to put this together, we picked songs that influenced us. That’s why a lot of it is pretty old. I was a huge Bowie fan since I was 12 years old. That was the first “punk” rock I got into in the Seventies. I didn’t find out about a lot of the other stuff that was going on, like New York Dolls and Roxy Music, until a lot later.

I lived in a time warp in the middle of nowhere, and there certainly wasn’t internet back then. I didn’t have any friends with hip older brothers either. In the town where I grew up, the older brothers were listening to the Eagles or maybe Jethro Tull. Whatever…I’ll take Tull over the Eagles. Actually, I’ve always thought they’d be a better band if they were called the Spread Eagles. [laughs]

I’ve heard you’re a big fan of Buck Owens. Have you been into country music for a while? — Joe Zucchiatti

I’ve liked country music for forever. And Buck Owens is just one of many country guitarists I like. I think Buck’s Sixties records are really progressive. He used a lot of fuzz bass, and some country fans actually gave him shit for that. His stuff is incredible, and his guitar player, Don Rich, is fucking amazing. That whole band is amazing. I’m a die-hard Buck Owens fan. You know who else loves Buck Owens? Jello Biafra. He’s a huge fan. But new country drives me crazy. It just sounds like REO Speedwagon. I’m not into it. If I’m listening to country, it’s Hank Williams, George Jones, Merle Haggard and stuff like that. If people out there don’t take that stuff seriously, well, they just haven’t listened to it and don’t know what they’re talking about.

Was, or is, the use of drugs ever a part of your creative process? — Chris Lukasik

For me—and I am strictly speaking for myself—I’ve never found alcohol or drugs to be anything but anti-creative. Let’s look at someone who was an amazing artist that advocated drug use: Hunter S. Thompson. I would say Hunter S. Thompson’s career was totally destroyed by drugs and alcohol. During the last 30 years of his life, his writing was completely horrible. What can you attribute that to? And we can make a long list of musicians who made a few good records and then had everything collapse because of their drug and alcohol use. Look at the Rolling Stones, who are one of the best bands ever. The last time they did a good record was in the mid Seventies. So for the vast majority of their career the music they made is crap. What else could it be?

In our own band, I’ve only found drugs and alcohol to be a massive problem. That is one of the main reasons why we stop playing with musicians—because they can’t get it together. But am I gonna tell people what to do? I don’t think so. If you wanna get wasted, you should get as wasted as you want. You should O.D. with a giant stockpile of drugs in front of you.

Go ahead! If I were in charge you would have all the freedom in the world to do whatever you wanted. But don’t expect me to pick up the pieces, because you blew it. I would advise you not to do drugs. But if you’re going to do it, I would advise you to go insane with it. The only thing worse than a drug user is a candy-ass drug user. [laughs] Like, “Oh, I’m too much of a pussy to take it all the way.” Then fuck you. I can learn nothing from you! [laughs]

I’ve heard stories that Kurt Cobain used to roadie for the Melvins when you were first starting out in Washington. Is that true, and when did you first meet Kurt? — Miles Hunter Ray

I knew Kurt since he was in little league. We lived in a very small town and we went to school together, even though he was a few years younger than me. What originally attracted me to him was his dark sense of humor. We were kindred spirits. We’d sit in art class and he’d draw perfect representations of the art teacher being killed. We’d laugh our asses off. People don’t really understand that he was a funny motherfucker. He was not just some down, dour drug addict. Nobody laughed more than Kurt, and we had great times together.

I always think it’s funny that people say he roadied for us. Look at him! He couldn’t lift himself out of bed. You think he could roadie for someone? But we all hung out a lot. [Nirvana bassist] Krist Novoselic drove for us for a while. But roadie? We didn’t have a roadie. I didn’t even know what a roadie was until 1990. In order to hire someone to roadie you have to be making money. The first time we made money was in 1988, and that was $200. If we would go to Seattle and play a show and make $160, maybe we’d all go buy everyone a burrito. That’s it. There was no money.

And people also say Kurt tried out for the Melvins. Yeah, right. I’ve never had tryouts for this band, ever. I can’t imagine doing that. We all jammed and played together back then. It was hopeless and stupid and horrific and mind numbing. There are happy memories, but in the end it’s a tragedy. I can’t rewrite history in such a way that makes me feel good about it. Honestly, I wish Kurt would have never become famous and was still alive. I don’t give a fucking shit about any of that [success]. If that hastened his death, it’s the worst thing that could have happened.

I love how Melvins songs always challenge songwriting conventions. Any tips you’d like to share? — Chris

One of my main problems with music is that the basic formula is always the same: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, chorus, chorus, chorus, end. One of the bands that changed that was the Beatles. If you listen to “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey.” It’s three verses, bridge, end. That’s not to say you can’t use a normal structure; I just prefer not to do that. I wanna drag people outta the normalcy of music…whatever that may be.

One thing I do is record any idea I have, on my iPhone or whatever. If can’t record for whatever reason, I won’t play new stuff. I’ll play stuff I already know. I don’t wanna fall on something and not be able to record it. I’m so paranoid about that. Another thing I do if I’m trying to come up with vocals is, once you come up with the guitar line, you play guitar melodies instead of vocals and then sing those melodies. That really helps.

You played Les Pauls for years, but it seems since you switched to those aluminum guitars you’ve never looked back. What about those guitars makes them so special? — Adam Thompson

I found those guitars about three years ago. The guys in Isis were playing them. We rehearsed at the same facility in L.A. as they did, and I saw these weird aluminum guitars. I picked one up, and what instantly sold me on it was the neck. It was the same thickness from the headstock to the body. You can’t get that thin of a neck with wood because it’ll break. Plus, I have the hands of a five year old. You look at a picture of Hendrix and he could wrap his finger around a Strat neck like four times, whereas a Strat neck looks like a Precision Bass in my hands.

So I called Kevin Burkett from Electrical Guitar Company and asked if he could make an aluminum guitar that’s a Les Paul scale. And he did it. What people don’t realize is that these aluminum guitars actually have more low end than Les Pauls. They’re wonderful guitars. I have about seven of them. But if you gave me the best guitar and amp in the world, and gave Hendrix the worst guitar and amp…he would still fucking bury me! [laughs] So it’s not just about the gear. Hendrix could stomp you into the dirt even with a five-string acoustic.

I love that the Melvins are always collaborating with people. Adam Jones from Tool always talks about how much he loves you. Have you ever considered recording music with him? — Graham Muttram

Well, on The Crybaby record we did a whole song with Tool called “Divorced.” We’ve done stuff off and on, but Tool’s pretty busy. Adam’s the one millionaire- rock-star kinda guy that doesn’t treat me like a peon. We’re actually friends above and beyond all that, which is nice. I’m not good at networking and I’m not good at parties. I’m the guy that would rather drive to San Diego to see a big rock show than see it in L.A. [laughs] I don’t wanna deal with it! If Adam lost all of his money tomorrow, it wouldn’t affect our relationship at all, thank god. Maybe he and I could get jobs at Starbucks.

Photo: Travis Shinn

Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of "Eleanor Rigby" by Al Di Meola.

The track is from Di Meola's new album of Beatles covers, All Your Life, which will be released September 10 by Valiana Music and Media/Songsurfer.

"Had [the Beatles] not existed, I probably would be, who knows, a fireman today or some other job," Di Meola says. "And beyond just me, they changed the whole world. There is no music in my lifetime that made as huge an impact on the world like that of the Beatles. What they did to modern pop music in the '60s changed everything."

All Your Life was recorded in analog at Abbey Road Studios in London, where the Beatles recorded the bulk of their studio output. The album features 14 Beatles tunes in a stripped-down, strictly acoustic setting.

On some tracks, like "In My Life" and "Because," he overdubs three guitars. Others, like "Penny Lane,""I Am The Walrus" and "I Will," feature two guitars. And while "Eleanor Rigby" features a string quartet, "And I Love Her,""Blackbird" and "If I Fell" feature a single guitar track. All the percussion heard on the album is Di Meola slapping his guitar or strumming muted strings.

"I've come full circle with this," Di Meola says. "I started out my life loving the Beatles, and I never stopped, just like a lot of so many other guitarists from my generation. In the middle, we all went into whatever music we pursued in our careers — fusion, jazz, whatever it might be. We all wanted to further our craft. But when you come back to the Beatles' music, it's like, 'Man, this stuff is still happening! All of it!'"

For more information, visit Di Meola's officlal website and Facebook page.All Your Life is available for pre-order here.

Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of a new live video by Flying Colors, a band featuring guitarist Steve Morse, drummer Mike Portnoy, bassist Dave LaRue, singer/guitarist Casey McPherson and keyboardist Neal Morse.

The "The Storm," is from the band's upcoming CD/DVD/Blu-ray, Live In Europe, which will be released October 15 through Music Theories Recordings.

"'The Storm' is an uplifting tune from our last Flying Colors show," Steve Morse says. "Everybody is having a great time, because it is such a unique and talented group. Have a listen and I hope you enjoy hearing it as much as we did making it."

Live In Europe captures the quintet performing in Tilburg, Holland, on September 20, 2012. Directed and edited by Bernhard Baran (Guns N' Roses, the Cure, Porcupine Tree), the concert presents songs from the band's studio album plus favorites by individual band members.

It includes "Blue Ocean,""Shoulda Coulda Woulda,""Love Is What I'm Waiting For,""Can't Find a Way" (Endochine/Casey McPherson), "The Storm,""Odyssey" (Dixie Dregs), "Forever In A Daze,""Hallelujah" (Cohen), "Better Than Walking Away,""Kayla,""Fool In My Heart,""Spur of the Moment" (Dave LaRue), "Repentance" (Dream Theater), "June" (Spock's Beard), "All Falls Down,""Everything Changes" and "Infinite Fire."

"What a band, what a tour," Portnoy says. "The magic that we captured on the debut album was only further developed and cemented on Flying Colors' 2012 tour. Each night on stage I felt like I was part of something very special and cherished every moment of it. As it was such a brief and limited tour, I'm so glad we captured it here to now share with fans all around the world that didn't get to see this special band in person. Enjoy!"

To pre-order Live In Europe, visit flyingcolorsusa.mlgmerch.com.

For more about Flying Colors, check out their Facebook page and official website.

Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of Lullwater's new self-titled album.

The album will be released September 17 through the quartet's own Dinobird Records.

Lullwater — John Strickland (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Brett Strickland (lead guitar), Roy “Ray” Beatty (bass) and Joe Wilson (drums) — met through mutual friends in the fertile Athens, Georgia, music scene. They relocated to the Northwest in December 2011 and recorded Lullwater at Seattle's legendary London Bridge Studios with producer Jonathan Plum at the helm.

The historic rooms where Pearl Jam’s Ten and Soundgarden’s Louder Than Love were created delivered a creative revelation for the band.

"They’re adamant about recording on tape, which was perfect for us," Brett Strickland says. "We wanted the music to be as raw and natural as possible. It was all us. You hear every nuance of the performances because we were playing live together.”

Lullwater is available for pre-order at iTunes now.

For more about Lullwater, visit their Facebook page and official website.

Vox Amplification has unveiled the all-tube Night Train G2 series of amplifiers.

Well-known for its distinct metal exterior design, the Night Train series provides an easy way to enjoy classic and new Vox tones in a convenient, compact format.

The new Night Train G2 series includes the 15-Watt NT15H-G2 and 50-Watt NT50H-2G amplifier heads, plus the 15-Watt NT15C1-G2, the first-ever combo amp with the Night Train name. Optional matching cabinets are also available.

The overall sound has been enhanced, featuring full, robust tube tone in a class AB design. The pre-amp is driven by three 12AX7 tubes; the power amp boasts two EL84 tubes on the NT15H-G2/NT15C1-G2 and two EL34 tubes on the NT50H-G2.

The Night Train G2’s two-channel design delivers not only classic Vox clean and crunch sounds, but also modern high-gain sounds as well. The GIRTH channel has a powerful, modern high-gain sound that's ideal for the guitarist who seeks an even heavier sound. The BRIGHT channel provides Vox's distinctive clean/crunch sounds and also features a THICK mode that bypasses the tone control circuit and boosts the gain to obtain a thicker tone, for a rich variety of tonal character. An optional VFS2A foot switch can be used to conveniently toggle between the two channels during live performance.

A digital reverb designed exclusively by VOX for this series has been added to all models for road-ready reliability and studio-quality reverb sounds. For the guitarist who wishes to integrate pedals and outboard effects, the Night Train G2 amps provide an FX loop. The NT50H-G2 also includes a DI output that can be connected to a mixer or PA system.

The optional, dedicated speaker cabinets are a perfect match for the amplifier heads, both aesthetically and sonically. The V212NT-G2 contains two G12H anniversary model speakers that were specially produced to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Celestion, and whose voicing complements the NT50H-G2. The V112NT-G2 contains one classic Celestion G12M greenback speaker. Both cabinets feature a rounded, retro exterior.

The Night Train G2 series amplifier heads feature a black gloss finish; the combo amps and cabinets feature a rounded retro look with VOX black diamond grille cloth. Both are equipped with suitcase-type handles.

The Night Train G2 Series will be available in Fall 2013 with pricing as follows:

NT15H-G2 - U.S. Street $499.99
NT50H-G2 - U.S. Street $699.99
NT15C1-G2 - U.S. Street $699.99
V212NT-G2 - U.S. Street $499.99
V112NT-G2 - U.S. Street $249.99

For more information, visit voxamps.com.

No song in the Beatles' catalog features as many literary and social references in its lyrics as "I Am the Walrus."

In writing it, John Lennon drew inspiration from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (the walrus), a playground nursery rhyme that he and his pals sang as children (the line beginning with "yellow matter custard") and the traditional song "Marching to Pretoria" (whose lyric "I'm with you and you're with me and we are all together" Lennon mimics in the opening lines).

Along the way he namechecks the Hare Krishna movement, which was then growing in popularity, the Beatles' own "Lucy in the Sky" and Edgar Allen Poe. By this point, Lennon was aware that his increasingly obscure lyrics were becoming the subject of interpretation, and he relished the idea of tossing his listeners a few red herrings.

Beatles biographer Hunter Davies, who was present during one of the writing sessions for the song, recalls Lennon saying, "Let the fuckers work that one out!"

The Beatles recorded the basic track over 16 takes on September 5 in Abbey Road Studio One. (It was the first Beatles song to be recorded after the death of their longtime manager, Brian Epstein, on August 27.) According to Paul McCartney, Lennon then instructed producer George Martin on how he wanted him to score the song, singing most of the parts to Martin, who arranged them for violins, cellos, horns, clarinet and 16-piece choir. The orchestration was recorded on September 27 in Studio One.

But the song wasn't quite finished yet. Two nights later, Martin began the mono mixing sessions for the song. Lennon, clearly intent on being involved at every stage of the track's development, sat in to oversee the work.

During one of the two mono mixes of the song completed that evening, a live radio feed was patched into the mixing board at Lennon's request, so that he could add random sounds to the recording as he flicked through stations up and down the dial. Eventually, he brought the dial to rest on a live presentation of Shakespeare's Tragedy of King Lear, where it remained for the duration of the mix.

Lennon was so pleased with the result that he had Martin splice together a master version using roughly the first half of the mix without the radio broadcast and the last half of the other. The splice occurs just before the line "Sitting in an English garden."

The finished recording demonstrates not only Lennon's genius but also his incredible luck — the lines from Shakespeare are a spine-tingling addition to the track and help make "I Am the Walrus" one of the most spectacular productions in the Beatles' catalog.

RECORDED: September 5, 6, 27, 28 and 29, 1967; Abbey Road Studio One and Two

The original Pandora Multi-Effect Processor, released in 1995, was a new product concept that packed an enormous amount of effects processing and practice features into a unit the size of a cassette tape.

Now, the long-established Pandora series includes the new Pandora Stomp, which offers the same high-quality effects found in other Pandora products, housed in a stompbox-style pedal. It can be used on its own or in a pedal board either live onstage or for practice and recording.

Featuring a die-cast body the size of a compact effect unit, Pandora Stomp is actually a multi-effect unit that contains 158 types of modeling effects (seven simultaneous). Two hundred preset programs include many well-known, signature sounds, as well as 100 rhythm patterns that cover a diverse range of styles.

There's also an auto tuner with a large, bright, easy-to-read LED meter. Players can use Pandora Stomp for jam sessions by connecting an MP3 player to the AUX input, which provides a +/-1 octave pitch shift function.

The multi-function foot switch can also be used to switch program memories, just like with a single effect unit. In addition, four program memory buttons allow one-touch recall.

DC9V power supply allows easy integration with a pedalboard. The Pandora Stomp will also operate on USB bus power for hassle-free integration with a computer. A free, downloadable PC editor/librarian makes it easy to create and manage sounds.

In addition to the standard model in black, two special colors — ivory and orange — will also be produced in a limited edition run.

The Korg Pandora Stomp will be in stores in Fall 2013 with a US street price of $129.99

For more information, visit korg.com.

Alice In Chains have released two new music videos from their latest album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here.

You can check out clips for “Voices” and "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" below.

"Voices" was shot in Seattle and features neon signs with the song’s lyrics placed throughout the city. It was filmed with director Roboshobo, who helmed videos for the band’s first two singles, “Hollow” and “Stone.”

"The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here," which was directed by Travis Hopkins (Tegan & Sara), paints a disturbing, psychedelic vision of a children’s TV show that proselytises controversial religious propaganda through the medium of an increasingly demonic presenter, an oversized rabbit, a drunken clown, puppets and terrified children.

Alice In Chains (vocalist/guitarist Jerry Cantrell, vocalist/guitarist William DuVall, drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Inez) have been playing both songs during their sets on this year’s Uproar Festival, which hits the Gorge Amphitheater in Seattle September 7 and wraps at the Sleep Train Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, California, September 15.

Check out their September tour dates below.

SEPTEMBER
05 Nampa, ID Idaho Center Amphitheater
07 Seattle, WA The Gorge Amp
08 Ridgefield, WA Sleep Country Amphitheater
11 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
13 Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
14 Phoenix, AZ Ak-Chin Pavilion
15 Chula Vista, CA Sleep Train Amphitheater

Below, check out the isolated guitar parts from Brian May's solo on Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Ritchie Blackmore's solo on Deep Purple's "Highway Star."

But wait, there's more!

If you keep listening to the playlist, you'll hear several more isolated guitar tracks, including "Painkiller" by Judas Priest, the Eagles'"Hotel California," Eddie Van Halen's solo from Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and Metallica's "Fade to Black."

What do these songs have in common? Not a hell of a lot, except that all the clips were posted by the same YouTube account (the guy who made this playlist).

If nothing else, these clips are fun to listen to — and they'll help you figure out what you've been doing wrong all these years! Enjoy!

Aubre is the latest addition to our Girls of Guitar World Gallery.

Photos by Glenn Fricker, www.spectremedia.ca

Scroll down to see the complete photo gallery!

If you think you have what it takes to be a Guitar World Girl, simply email photos of yourself with a guitar to modelsearch@guitarworld.com!

Motörhead have announced a new studio album, Aftershock. The disc — the band's 21st full-length studio effort — will be released October 22.

The album, which was recorded at NRG Studios in North Hollywood, features smoky biker bar blues (“Dust And Glass”), the pogo-powered punk-spiked stab of “Queen Of The Damned” and the steamy, humid, mournful “Lost Woman Blues.” Check out the complete track listing below.

“Steal it if you must, buy it if you can!” says Lemmy.

Guitarist Phil Campbell adds: “I really think the variation on the album shows that we’ve dug deep and produced some of our best work for a long time.”

“It is,” adds Mikkey Dee, “a really, really strong Motörhead album, one that really does define everything this band stands for.”

Aftershock will be available in four different formats: CD (limited-edition digipack), CD (jewel case), vinyl (gatefold — 180-Gram Single LP) and digitally. A North American pre-order will be announced in the coming weeks.

Aftershock Track Listing:

Heartbreaker
Coup de Grace
Lost Woman Blues
End Of Time
Do You Believe
Death Machine
Dust And Glass
Going To Mexico
Silence When You Speak To Me
Crying Shame
Queen Of The Damned
Knife
Keep Your Powder Dry
Paralyzed