New Jersey’s Gaurav Bali and his band, Eve to Adam, blend hard rock with memorable melodies and tasty guitar work. The band has been building momentum over the course of their decade-plus history and relentless touring. On the eve of the release of their latest album, Locked & Loaded, I chatted with Bali about gear, recording and a wide range of topics. For more about the band, check out evetoadam.com.

GUITAR WORLD: How did you come to join Eve to Adam? Most of the guys in the band are originally from the South, and you're a New Jersey boy.

You're right, there's more Southern blood in the band now, but they actually got here fairly recently! I joined the band when Taki [Sassaris, lead vocals] and Alex [Sassaris, drums] moved to New York City from Florida and they saw my ad in the Village Voice. We hit it off right away and have been the core of Eve to Adam ever since. The "newer" Southerners are Luis Espaillat [bass/vocals] from Nashville and Adam Latiff [rhythm guitar/vocals] from Jacksonville. There really wasn't as much Southern blood here until this year, but I'm holding my own!

Your grandfather was an accomplished sitarist. Did that have any impact on you in your pursuit of the guitar?

Absolutely. Unfortunately, he passed away a couple of years before I was born and so I grew up only hearing stories about him from my family. I also have a cassette of him playing on the radio in India that my dad taped on an old hand-held recorder. I eventually ran it through some gear in my home studio to clean it up a bit and put it on CD and mp3 so it would be safe.

He was an award-winning sitarist in the 1930s, but pursuing a career in music was impossible because he got married and had kids. I think maybe my dad saw a certain sadness in him because of that and didn't want me to go through the same thing. I really feel that's why my entire family has always been so supportive of me. They know what a gift it is to have the opportunity to make music every day. So yeah my grandfather has had a huge impact on me because I realize how lucky I am to have the life he never could have.

Your slide solo in "Straightjacket Supermodel" really stands out as being unique in modern hard rock. Do you play a lot with a slide or was that just something you just tried and it worked?

I'm definitely not a slide player, but I feel comfortable enough to use it for certain things. I've used a slide for overdubs over the years, but I didn't really use one for a melodic solo until "Straitjacket." I had a great chord progression to solo over and really wanted to play something that would be an essential part of the song. I wanted it to sound creepy, melodic and memorable, and it didn't seem like a standard solo would fit. I started messing around with a slide, and much to my surprise the basic melody and vibe of the final solo came out pretty quickly. In fact, Eric Bass [Shinedown bassist and co-writer of the track] turned to me and said, “That’s way different than what I would've thought of, but it works perfectly!”

How was the experience of touring in support of Creed?

It was a blast and it spoiled us rotten. We were playing amazing venues like the Beacon Theatre in New York City and the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut in front of thousands of people every night. The experience of performing on these huge stages was priceless, as well as the friendships we built with them. For such a successful band to be so cool and gracious to their support act is rare, and we really appreciated it.

Also, the tour directly shaped the course of our new record, Locked & Loaded, because of our friendship with Mark Tremonti. He's a great guy, and we started hanging out a lot over the course of the tour. Eventually, he played us the Tremonti album [All I Was], and we said, “Who recorded this? It sounds amazing!'” When we found out it was “Elvis” Baskette, we asked Mark to get us in touch with him and put in a good word for us. Like a true brother, Mark hooked us up and Elvis ended up producing most of the songs and mixing all but one on the record. So touring with Creed had a major impact on our career in more ways than one.

You play the EVH Wolfgang primarily. Why is it such a good fit for your playing?

It just sounds and plays great. I actually began playing the 5150 III heads first. I loved the sound of them with my Fender Strat HSS Deluxe, but I kept watching videos of Eddie saying that the amps and guitars were really made to work together. When we played in Phoenix on the Creed tour, Erock [Creed guitarist] introduced me to Chris Cannella from EVH and we started to build a relationship.

A few months later, I got a three-tone burst Wolfgang and absolutely fell in love with it because it had everything I needed, like the D-Tuna, etc. Earlier this year, I got a black hard tail to perform three of our new songs that are tuned to drop C. The thing never goes out of tune. All the EVH stuff sounds great for what I need to do and is extremely versatile.

Your tone is dirty but at the same time very clean, almost like a David Gilmour. What are you using on the back end for amplification?

Wow, that's quite a compliment! Thanks. The "dirty but clean" tone is exactly what we were shooting for. The solos were primarily recorded with my three-tone burst Wolfgang USA played through a 5150 III 100-watt head. On a couple of solos, I also used a Bogner head, but I don't remember the exact model. That's one of the main things I love about the EVH stuff — the guitars and amps can get a very defined overdriven sound. It's also really cool that I was able to use my live setup for recording because my tone for the shows is basically identical to the record.

Eve to Adam’s new album, Lock & Loaded, will be released September 17. Visit evetoadam.com for updated tour information.

John Katic is a writer and podcaster who founded the Iron City Rocks Podcast in 2009. It features interviews with countless rock, hard rock, metal and blues artists. In 2013, he started Heavy Metal Bookclub, a podcast and website devoted to hard rock and metal books.

Rivera Amplification has posted a new demo video for its RockCrusher Recording Power Attenuator, and you can check it out below.

In the video, guitarist Joshua Ray plays two different Rockcrusher Recording EQ demos against backing tracks, direct into Protools.

The "Rockcrusher Rec" is an attenuator, load box and analog speaker emulator. For more information, visit rivera.com.

Seymour Duncan has teamed up with Knaggs Guitars to give away a Knaggs Chesapeake Series Severn Tier 1 Trem in Aged Scotch.

This instrument is one of Knaggs' finest guitars, featuring a double-cutaway beveled alder body with sapele top and a maple cap. The figured rock maple set neck comes with a cocobolo fingerboard at an 8.5-inch radius, 25.5-inch scale, and fingerboard inlays consisting of abalone diamonds and an abalone Chesapeake work boat inlay at the 12th fret.

The instrument also has a Wenge pickguard with Abalone and Green Snail purfling and features Knaggs' proprietary solid steel bridge plate/hinge tremolo driving increased string vibration into the center of the body.

This guitar has been upgraded with the Antiquity Texas Hot pickups, which produce a nice vintage "smokey” tone and are well suited to rock and blues.

"We have been working with the folks at Seymour Duncan since the beginning of our company in late 2009," said Peter Wolf, Knaggs' VP of global sales and marketing. "We couldn't be happier with their pickups and their service, and we are excited to give back to our growing communities."

This giveaway is open worldwide and one lucky winner will be randomly selected after September 30.

For more about Knaggs Guitars, visit knaggsguitars.com.

Godlyke has announced the release of the TWA GD-02 Great Divide Analog Synth Octaver effect pedal.

The Great Divide, which has undergone more than three years in development, combines classic analog octave division with proprietary synth technology to create a powerful tool for musical expression.

The Great Divide features five independent voices that can be continuously blended for a limitless array of sounds, from classic “stompbox” octave division to multi-layered, supersonic synth mayhem.

The Great Divide features TWA’s proprietary S3 “Shortest Send Switching,” a form of relay-based true bypass that provides the most transparent bypass sound available and automatically reverts to bypass if power is lost.

Other key features of the Great Divide include:

• Dry voice with Level Fader
• -1 Octave Down voice with Level Fader & LPF controls
• +1 Octave Voice with Level Fader & LPF controls
• +1 Octave Envelope Mode
• SUB voice with Level Fader – selectable between -1, -1.5, -2 or -2.6 intervals
• SYN voice with Level Fader – Selectable between 0, -1, -1.5, -2 or -2.6 intervals
• Four selectable waveforms for SYN voice
• TRS Effects Loop to patch in external effects
• 12 Internal controls to adjust various voice parameters
• Proprietary S3™ “Shortest Send Switching” relay true bypass switching
• External 9 VDC power required (no battery option)
• “Division Symbol” status LED array
• Made in USA
• Direct Price $399

For more information, visit godlyke.com.

Attention, country guitar fans! We've published a new special edition just for you — Guitar One Presents: Country Guitar! It's available now at the Guitar World Online Store.

Brad Paisley put the shred into country guitar with his fast-as-lightning licks. Now he moves beyond his Southern comfort zone with Wheelhouse, his blazing album of genre-bending tunes.

Keith Urban was devastated when the Nashville floods destroyed many of his favorite guitars. But with Get Closer, the country megastar returned with a new album — as well as some very nice axes and amps.

For Rascall Flatts guitar slinger Joe Don Rooney, freedom is just another word for fusing country, rock and heavy metal.

We've also got a roundup of guitars, banjos, and accessories for the country music player with our Gear Buyer's Guide.

The issue also features country guitar lessons, including:

• Inside the Nashville Number System
• Banjo Licks for the Guitar
• Travis Picking
• John Jorgenson on Country Techniques

Plus five songs with tabs for guitar and bass:

• Brad Paisley - "Camouflage"
• Willie Nelson - "On the Road Again"
• Jason Aldean - "My Kinda Party"
• Albert Lee - "Country Boy"
• Tim McGraw & Taylor Swift - "Highway Don't Care"

For more information, visit the Guitar World Online Store! The Country Guitar Special is available for $7.99!

A few years ago, the editors of Guitar World compiled what we feel is the ultimate guide to the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time.

The list, which has been quoted by countless artists, websites and publications around the world, starts with Richie Sambora's work on Bon Jovi's “Wanted Dead or Alive” (100) and builds to a truly epic finish with Jimmy Page's solo on "Stairway to Heaven" (01).

To quote our "Stairway to Heaven" story that ran with the list, "If Jimmy Page is the Steven Spielberg of guitarists, then 'Stairway' is his Close Encounters."

On June 10, we kicked off a summer blockbuster of our own — a no-holds-barred six-string shootout. We pitted Guitar World's top 64 guitar solos against each other in an NCAA-style, 64-team single-elimination tournament. Every day, we asked you to cast your vote in a different guitar-solo matchup as dictated by the 64-team-style bracket. Now Rounds 1, 2, 3 (Sweet 16) and 4 (Elite Eight) have come and gone, leaving us with a mere four guitar solos!

So ...

WELCOME TO THE FINAL FOUR, where last the four still-standing solos:

• "Stairway to Heaven" (Jimmy Page)
• "Eruption" (Eddie Van Halen)
• "Comfortably Numb" (David Gilmour)
• "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" (Jimi Hendrix)

... will go head to head before your eyes! As always, you can vote once per matchup, and the voting ends as soon as the next matchup is posted.

As we've been saying since June 10, genre might clash against genre in these last few polls. But get real, people! They're all guitar solos, played on guitars, by guitarists. When choosing, it might have to come down to, "Which solo is more original and creative for its time? Which is more iconic or important? or Which one kicks a larger, more impressive assemblage of asses?"

Results from the latest Sweetwater Final Four Matchup

Winner:"Eruption" (58.71 percent)
Loser:"Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" (41.29 percent)


Today's Sweetwater Final Four Matchup (2 of 2)
"Stairway to Heaven" Vs. "Comfortably Numb"

Welcome to our FINAL Final Four matchup! We already know that Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" has made it to the championship match. But which guitar solo will face it? Will it be Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" or Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb"? Only you can decide!

HOW THEY GOT HERE

• "Stairway to Heaven" defeated Prince's "Little Red Corvette" (64) in Round 1, Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun" (32) in Round 2, Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker" (16) in the Sweet 16 and the Eagles'"Hotel California" (08) in the Elite Eight.

• "Mr. Crowley" defeated Guns N' Roses'"Sweet Child O' Mine" (37) in Round 1, Jimi Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower" (05) in Round 2, Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You" (53) in the Sweet 16 and Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr. Crowley" (28) in the Elite Eight.

Vote now! You'll find the poll at the very bottom of the story.


01. “Stairway to Heaven”
Soloist: Jimmy Page
Album: Led Zeppelin—Led Zeppelin IV (Atlantic, 1971)

If Jimmy Page is the Steven Spielberg of guitarists, then “Stairway” is his Close Encounters. Built around a solid, uplifting theme—man’s quest for salvation—the epic slowly gains momentum and rushes headlong to a shattering conclusion. The grand finale in this case is the song’s thrill-a-second guitar solo.

Page remembers: “I’d been fooling around with the acoustic guitar and came up with several different sections which flowed together nicely. I soon realized that it could be the perfect vehicle for something I’d been wanting to do for a while: to compose something that would start quietly, have the drums come in the middle, and then build to a huge crescendo. I also knew that I wanted the piece to speed up, which is something musicians aren’t supposed to do.

“So I had all the structure of it, and ran it by [bassist] John Paul Jones so he could get the idea of it—[drummer] John Bonham and [singer] Robert Plant had gone out for the night—and then on the following day we got into it with Bonham. You have to realize that, at first, there was a hell of a lot for everyone to remember on this one. But as we were sort of routining it, Robert started writing the lyrics, and much to his surprise, he wrote a huge percentage of it right there and then.”

Plant recalls the experience: “I was sitting next to Page in front of a fire at our studio in Headley Grange. He had written this chord sequence and was playing it for me. I was holding a pencil and paper, when, suddenly, my hand was writing out the words: ‘There’s a lady who’s sure, all that glitters is gold, and she’s buying a stairway to heaven.’ I just sat there and looked at the words and almost leaped out of my seat. Looking back, I suppose I sat down at the right moment.”

While the spontaneous nature of Plant’s anthemic lyrics came as a pleasant surprise, the best was yet to come. The beautifully constructed guitar solo that Guitar World readers rated the “best ever” was, believe it or not, improvised.

“I winged it,” says Page with a touch of pride. “I had prepared the overall structure of the guitar parts, but not the actual notes. When it came time to record the solo I warmed up and recorded three of them. They were all quite different from each other. All three are still on the master tape, but the one we used was the best solo, I can tell you that.

“I thought ‘Stairway’ crystallized the essence of the band. It had everything there, and showed the band at its best. Every musician wants to do something that will hold up for a long time, and I guess we did that with ‘Stairway.’ ”

04. “Comfortably Numb”
Soloist: David Gilmour
Album: Pink Floyd—The Wall (Columbia, 1979)

How do you reason with two guys who once went to court over the artistic ownership of a big rubber pig? That was Bob Ezrin’s mission when he agreed to co-produce Pink Floyd’s The Wall with guitarist David Gilmour and bassist/vocalist Roger Waters. The legendary tensions between the two feuding Floyds came to a head during sessions for The Wall in 1979—which was why Ezrin was called in.

“My job was to mediate between two dominant personalities,” recalls Ezrin. However, the producer turned out to be no mere referee, but contributed plenty ideas of his own. “I fought for the introduction of the orchestra on that record,” says Ezrin. “This became a big issue on ‘Comfortably Numb,’ which Dave saw as a more bare-bones track. Roger sided with me. So the song became a true collaboration—it’s David’s music, Roger’s lyric and my orchestral chart.”

Gilmour’s classic guitar solo was cut using a combination of the guitarist’s Hiwatt amps and Yamaha rotating speaker cabinets, Ezrin recalls. But with Gilmour, he adds, equipment is secondary to touch: “You can give him a ukulele and he’ll make it sound like a Stradivarius.”

Which doesn’t mean Gilmour didn’t fiddle around in the studio when he laid down the song’s unforgettable lead guitar part. “I banged out five or six solos,” says Gilmour. “From there I just followed my usual procedure, which is to listen back to each solo and make a chart, noting which bits are good. Then, by following the chart, I create one great composite solo by whipping one fader up, then another fader, jumping from phrase to phrase until everything flows together. That’s the way we did it on ‘Comfortably Numb.’ ”

[[ When you're done voting, start learning most of the guitar solos in this poll — and and a whole lot more! Check out a new TAB book from Guitar World and Hal Leonard: 'The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time: A Treasure Trove of Guitar Leads Transcribed Note-for-Note, Plus Song Notes for More Than 40 of the Best Solos.' It's available now at the Guitar World Online Store for $29.99. NOTE: Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer" guitar solo (solo number 39 on our list) is NOT included in this book. ]]

Cast Your Vote!

Head HERE to see the current matchup and all the matchups that have taken place so far!

This is an excerpt from the November 2013 issue of Guitar World magazine. For the rest of this story, plus a John Petrucci poster, a feature about Petrucci's signature Music Man JP13 guitar, and features about Santana, Gov't Mule, Guthrie Govan, Zakk Wylde, Lamb of God, Joan Jett, Slash and more, check out the November 2013 issue at the Guitar World Online Store.

When it comes to shredding, John Petrucci rules. On Dream Theater’s new self-titled album, he proves once again that he’s earned the right to wear the crown.

“Complacency is the enemy,” John Petrucci says. “In order to move forward and continue to try to do great things you have to constantly challenge yourself.”

The 46-year-old Petrucci certainly knows a thing or two about challenging one’s self. In more than a quarter century with Dream Theater, the native of New York’s Long Island has regularly raised the bar for six-string (and sometimes seven-string) fretboard wizardry.

Over this time—a period that encompasses 11 studio albums, numerous audio and video live documents, and hundreds, if not thousands, of performances across the globe—Petrucci and Dream Theater have established themselves as the undisputed leaders of the progressive rock world.

As their ambitious new self-titled 12th album demonstrates, Dream Theater have no intention of stopping. “With every new album, we get that opportunity to push ourselves again,” Petrucci says.

True to Petrucci’s word, Dream Theater hardly sounds like a band resting on its considerable laurels. Rather, it shows Dream Theater—Petrucci, singer James LaBrie, bassist John Myung, keyboardist Jordan Rudess and drummer Mike Mangini—continuing to expand upon and refine what they do so well.

The disc is bookended by tracks—“False Awakening Suite” and the 20-minute-plus “Illumination Theory”—that feature lush orchestration courtesy of a live-in-the-studio nine-piece string section, the band’s first time working with a multipiece orchestra since 2005’s Octavarium. The seven cuts between them feature some of the most hard-hitting and tightly arranged music in Dream Theater’s history. The first single, “The Enemy Inside,” and the instrumental “Enigma Machine” are ferocious and riffy metal monsters, while “The Looking Glass” and portions of “Surrender to Reason” recall the bright and snappy prog-pop of Rush.

These are complemented by the highly melodic power ballads “The Bigger Picture” and “Along for the Ride.”

“We wanted each of these songs to pack a punch, and one of the ways for us to do that was to keep most of them pretty direct,” Petrucci says. “In our case, that also meant trying to keep them below the six-minute mark. And I gotta tell you,” he says, laughing, “that’s a challenge for us!”

Dream Theater is also significant in that it represents the band’s first effort with drummer Mike Mangini functioning as a creative member of the unit. Mangini first joined Dream Theater in 2010, after the smoke cleared from the group’s very public falling out with founding drummer (and, in many ways, band figurehead) Mike Portnoy. Various reasons for the split with Portnoy have been reported over the years, though they all seem to boil down to his desire for the band to take an extended hiatus, ostensibly so that he could pursue other artistic endeavors, including a stint with Avenged Sevenfold that ultimately soured.

At the end of the day, Dream Theater and Portnoy went their separate ways, and after a rigorous audition process, the band hired Mangini, who had previously played with Extreme and Steve Vai, among others, and taught as a professor in Berklee’s Percussion Department. The drummer made his debut on 2011’s A Dramatic Turn of Events, though for that album his parts were written for him by the other members using drum machines.

This time, however, Mangini made his presence felt from the start. “Mike did an incredible job during the writing and recording sessions,” says Petrucci, who also served as producer on Dream Theater. “And his personality is really strong on the album.”

He continues. “Overall, it was a just great experience in the studio, and we’re all really proud of the record. And it’s interesting—we’ve been doing this for a long time, but we feel just as passionate, or maybe even more passionate, about the creative process now as we were when we first started. We still get excited about making records and also about playing our music in front of people.”

To that end, there is at present plenty of activity in the Dream Theater camp. In addition to the self-titled record, there is the impending release of the DVD Live at Luna Park, which captures the band performing in Buenos Aires last summer on the A Dramatic Turn of Events tour. Then there is the world tour for the new Dream Theater, a massive undertaking that will keep the band on the road for the foreseeable future.

[[ Guitar World Gear Review: Sterling by Music Man JP100D John Petrucci Signature Series Guitar ]]

According to Petrucci, that tour will kick off at the beginning of 2014, which leaves a few months open between then and now. But for the guitarist, there is hardly time for relaxation. He plans to continue to challenge himself, with a eye toward recording a solo album, the follow-up to his 2005 solo debut, Suspended Animation.

“I think about when that album was released, and it was a long time ago,” Petrucci says. “I’m certainly ready for another one. And doing the G3 shows [with Joe Satriani and Steve Morse] in South America last year was a catalyst for bringing out some new material. I debuted three new songs on that tour, and I have a bunch more stuff ready to go as well."

Photo: Dale May

For the rest of this story, plus a John Petrucci poster, a feature about Petrucci's signature Music Man JP13 guitar and features about Santana, Gov't Mule, Guthrie Govan, Zakk Wylde, Lamb of God, Joan Jett, Slash and more, check out the November 2013 issue at the Guitar World Online Store.

Longtime (and former?) Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora has released a new song, "Engine 19."

The track, which was released today, the 12th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, is a tribute to the families of the victims and heroes of 9/11.

The track was written by Sambora and Bernie Taupin. Check it out below!

This is the second new solo track to be released by Sambora this summer. Back in July, he released "Come Back As Me," which you can hear HERE.

Last month, while getting ready to hit the stage in Regina, Saskatchewan, Paul McCartney performed an impromptu version of his new single, "New."

It quickly turned into a full acoustic performance when McCartney was joined by the rest of his band for a run-through the song. Check out the video below.

New (which also is the name of McCartney's upcoming album) will be released October 15. It's available for pre-order at iTunes and Amazon.

To hear the official studio version of "New," which McCartney released August 29, head HERE.

For more about McCartney, check out his official website and Facebook page.

Kluson has been supplying hardware to companies like Fender, Martin and Gibson (to name just a few) since 1925.

At this year's Summer NAMM Show, they released their 19:1-ratio line of tuners. The line features a few different varieties; locking and non-locking versions, contemporary versions and a vintage Fender version.

I checked out the non-locking, contemporary version, also known as the KCDF-3805CL model. This model is a direct drop-in replacement for Standard and American Standard Fender Stratocasters. Each tuner has the two small location pins found on Fender tuners.

I installed Klusons on my 2002 Fender Standard Stratocaster with absolutely no headaches. No tools are needed, but I suggest using a wrench or pliers to set each tuner just above "finger tightness" to avoid any possible rattling.

Tuning up was smooth yet firm. The stock Fender tuners weren’t causing me problems, but there was a noticeable upgrade with the Klusons in overall smoothness and tuning stability. I don't use my whammy bar a ton. If you are heavy on your whammy bar, the locking model of these tuners might work best for you.

All the necessary mounting hardware is supplied — a washer and a hex-screw-in bushing. If you're looking to drop a set of these in a non-Fender product, they are designed for a 25/64-inch or 10mm peghead hole. Besides chrome, these also are available in gold or black.

Web: kluson.com
Street price: $56

You can't believe everything you read on the Internet, but Billy Voight is a gear reviewer, bassist and guitarist from Pennsylvania. He has Hartke bass amps and Walden acoustic guitars to thank for supplying some of the finest gear on his musical journey. Need Billy's help in creating noise for your next project? Drop him a line at thisguyonbass@gmail.com.

Testament have posted a clip from Dark Roots Of Thrash, their new DVD/2CD. Check out "Rise Up" below.

Dark Roots Of Thrash, which documents the Bay Area veterans' sold-out headlining performance at the Paramount in Huntington, New York, this past February, will be made available October 11 (Europe) and October 15 (North America) via Nuclear Blast.

Dark Roots Of Thrash was produced by Get Hammered Productions, directed by Tommy Jones and mixed by Juan Urteaga. It captures 19 live tracks with countless cams onstage and above the audience, plus a moshpit cam.

Vocalist Chuck Billy adds: "For all you die-hard metal heads out there, Dark Roots Of Thrash is a must-have for your collection. This live DVD and CD is something you can put in you player and crank up for the feeling of a live Testament performance! You will get 18 songs from the early days of thrash metal to where we are today. Heavy metal forever!"

Here's the first batch of Asking Alexandria's headlining dates with All That Remains, Sevendust, For Today and Emmure for the From Death to Destiny tour.

More cities will be announced soon. Check out the video below for more information!

10/25-Dallas, TX @ KEGL Freakers Ball
10/26-Lubbock, TX @ KFMX Freak Fest
10/27-San Antonio, TX @ Backstage Live
10/29-Nashville, TN @ War Memorial Auditorium
10/30-Knoxville, TN @ Club NV
10/31-Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
11/01-Charlotte, NC @ Amos Southend
11/02-Lancaster, PA @ Freedom Hall Convention Center
11/03-Poughkeepsie, NY @ Mid Hudson Civic Center
11/05-Buffalo, NY @ Rapids Theatre
11/06-Washington, DC @ 930 Club
11/08-Flint, MI @ Machine Shop
11/09-Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
11/10-Cleveland, OH @ Wolstein Center
11/13-Grand Rapids, MI @ The Orbit Room
11/14-St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
11/15-Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall
11/17-Tulsa, OK @ Brady Theater
11/19-Grand Junction, CO @ Mesa Theater
11/22-San Diego, CA Soma

The "breakdown" has become a common yet divisive aspect of the new sub-genres in metal music.

Basically, if the sub-genre has a "core" in its title (metalcore, deathcore, sludgecore, you get the idea), you're likely to hear a breakdown or three.

The traditional approach to breakdowns is that they be heavily percussive and rhythmic in their delivery. This means the entire band is in lockstep with the same groove-based and sometimes staccato-sounding pattern. The result is a very precise, tight and often catchy section to a song, which can even eclipse the main chorus.

The problem is that the breakdown also can be musically limiting. Most times, the same one or two power chords are palm-muted in predictable succession with little or no variety. Some bands have tried to fight their way out of this corner by making the rhythmic patterns more complicated and oddly timed, but then it can lose its catchy appeal.

Beyond what has already been said, I'm not trying to make a case for the musical validity of breakdowns. I know some people find them annoying, others hate them, while still others find them to be a guilty pleasure of head banging euphoria. It is what it is.

For those of you who enjoy breakdowns, I want to discuss how one can add a 'progressive' flavor to them. This all stemmed from a song I was recently writing where the intro opened up with a rather ugly-sounding breakdown. I say it was ugly because I was basically chugging away at a diminished power chord (simply the root and the flat 5th, otherwise known as a tritone). The rest of the song ended up being very uptempo, and there were some potential sections where I thought about adding a guitar solo. But I kept coming back to this idea of adding a guitar solo right out of the gates, over the breakdown.

This is not a new idea, yet it is still an uncommon occurrence in your average metal song. And if you do hear something like this, it's usually more of a lead riff, which falls into a diatonic box (usually pentatonic or natural minor feel, occasionally harmonic minor).

But how much inspiration can we really get out of a sludgy and awkward rhythmic pattern played with diminished power chords?

Well, as I've said in previous columns, it all depends on your perspective. On the one hand, we have no discernible melody or chord progression to guide us in our guitar soloing endeavors. On the other hand, we have lots of harmonic freedom when we're dealing with a diminished power chord.

As some of you probably know, a power chord is technically a dyad (meaning only two notes are involved). This makes things rather ambiguous as to whether we're dealing with a major or a minor progression. The major or minor 3rd interval, which is crucial in the building of triads, is omitted in the case of power chords. For traditional rock songs, this is not so much of a problem because the main melody often will tell us the quality (typically major, minor or dominant)

But what about our example of a breakdown? There's usually no melody involved and, again, it's often percussively and rhythmically focused. This puts the lead guitarist almost completely in the driver's seat. The only note you have to adhere to is the diminished 5th.

So you have some obvious choices like the blues scale, or you could derive a few licks from a diminished arpeggio, but we have many more options. Without the 3rd interval, we also can view this diminished 5th as an augmented 4th. It's still the same note and same interval distance from the root, but now we can look at a whole bunch of scales, which sometimes can include both the major 3rd and this augmented 4th.

Check out the diagrams of the following scales, which contain the augmented 4th/diminished 5th below:

(The red circle indicates the root note, the blue circle indicates the sharp 4 / flat 5)

In particular, playing one of the Lydian scales over our hypothetical breakdown really changes the whole vibe and intent of the diminished power chords. It might sound weird at first, but it only takes a few moments for your ears to adjust and acclimate to this sound. The Lydian dominant scale can be especially effective because it has that tritone relationship between its major 3rd and minor 7th intervals. If you want to really throw a curve ball, try the Lydian #5 or the altered scale. This will give your solo an unexpected "jazzy" sound.

Try recording a breakdown involving only diminished power chords and use the above scales as your jumping off point. You could also create interesting licks that mimic the rhythmic patterns you write. If you're into this type of metal but feel that most breakdowns have gotten stale, then give this approach a shot and see where it takes you.

Photo: nick kulas via photopincc

Chris Breen is a New Jersey-based guitarist with 14 years of experience under his belt. He, along with his brother Jon (on drums) started the two-piece metal project known as SCARSIC in 2011. Due to a lack of members, Chris tracked guitars, bass and vocals for their self titled four-song demo (available on iTunes, Spotify and Rhapsody). They have recently been joined by bassist Bill Loucas and are writing new material. Chris also is part of an all-acoustic side project known as Eyes Turn Stone. Chris teaches guitar lessons as well (in person or via Skype). If you're interested in taking lessons with Chris, visit BreenMusicLessons.com for more info.

Bass Player Live! 2013 is scheduled for November 9 and 10 in Hollywood. The annual event will feature musician clinics and exhibitors at S.I.R. Studios and will be highlighted by the November 9 Bass Player LIVE! Concert & Awards Show presented by Hartke.

This all-star concert will take place at the historic Fonda Theatre and will honor heavy metal legend, Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler and rockabilly bass legend Lee Rocker, while jazz-rock phenom Tal Wilkenfeld will be presented with the “Young Gun” award.

Tickets are on sale now at bassplayerlive.com. Weekend package tickets that include the concert and awards show along with all clinics and exhibits are available for $90. Tickets for the Bass Player LIVE! Concert & Awards Show also can be purchased separately as follows:

Day Pass for Saturday OR Sunday: $37.50
Day Pass for Saturday AND Sunday: $52.50
Bass Player LIVE Concert general admission: $42.50
Bass Player LIVE Concert balcony seat: $45
All-Inclusive Day Pass for Saturday and Sunday, plus general admission concert ticket: $90

NOTE: Each day pass purchase includes a complimentary subscription to Bass Player.

The Bass Player LIVE! concert will feature an all-star band of rock luminaries performing with Geezer Butler, including Lee Rocker (Stray Cats), Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, David Lee Roth), Blasko (Ozzy Osbourne), Buzz Campbell (Lee Rocker), Charlie Benante (Anthrax), Corey Taylor (Stone Sour, Slipknot), David Ellefson (Megadeth), Frank Bello (Anthrax), JD Deservio (Black Label Society), Kerry King (Slayer), Rex Brown (Kill Devil Hill, Pantera), Rudy Sarzo (Blue Oyster Cult), Tal Wilkenfeld, Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society) and more.

Doors for The Fonda Theatre open 6:30 p.m. Saturday, November 9. The concert begins 7:30 p.m.

The Bass Player LIVE! clinics and exhibitors will be located at S.I.R. Studios on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, November 9, and Sunday, November 10. Bass players of all ages, levels and styles are invited to attend.

“Bass Player LIVE! is the biggest and baddest bass event of the year,” says Bass Player editor Brian Fox. “And this year’s lineup is our heaviest yet. When it comes to hard rock bass playing, Geezer Butler wrote the book. That he continues to perform with every bit the raw intensity of his early days in Black Sabbath is an inspiration for players of all ages and all styles. With the Stray Cats, Lee Rocker took the upright bass—already one of the coolest instruments ever—and somehow made it even more hip, slapping the snot out of it to codify the sound of rockabilly bass.

"To our ears, Tal Wilkenfeld personifies the bright future of rock bass. From her work with Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock and Joe Walsh to her fleet-fingered solo work, Tal’s refreshing fusion of jazz, soul, funk, and rock is something we’ve had our ears and eyes on for a long time now. We’re thrilled and honored to have these three artists anchor an evening of amazing performances.”

The daily schedule of clinics and panels is as follows (subject to change):

Saturday, November 9
10:30-11:30 AM
Room A: David Ellefson (Megadeth) & Frank Bello (Anthrax)
Room B: Carlos Del Puerto, Jr. (Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Chris Botti)

12:30-1:30 PM
Room A: Lee Rocker (with guest guitarist Buzz Campbell)
Room B: Billy Sheehan (Winery Dogs, solo artist)

2:30-3:30 PM
Room A: Michael Manring (solo artist)
Room B: Artists to be announced soon

4:30-5:30 PM
Room A: Changing Face of L.A. Session Bass
Room B: Janek Gwizdala (solo artist, Randy Brecker)

Sunday, November 10
11:00 AM-Noon
Room A: Nathan East (Toto, Fourplay, Eric Clapton)
Room B: Artists to be announced soon

12:45-1:45 PM
Room A: Jerry Jemmott (Gregg Allman, Aretha Franklin)
Room B: Artists to be announced soon

2:15-3:15PM
Room A: Conversation Series Hosted By Hartke With Rex Brown (Kill Devil Hill, Pantera), Billy Sheehan (Winery Dogs), David Ellefson (Megadeth) & Frank Bello (Anthrax)
Room B: Hadrien Feraud (Chick Corea, John McLaughlin)

4:00-5:00PM
Room A: Nate Watts (Stevie Wonder)
Room B: Artists to be announced soon

Additional musicians expected to attend Bass Player LIVE! include Ariane Cap (Lara Price), Bakithi Kumalo (Paul Simon), Bernhard Lackner (solo artist), Brandino (Robbie Krieger), Brian Bromberg (solo artist), Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction), Damian Erskine (Gino Vanelli), Divinity Roxx (Beyoncé), Igor Saavedra (solo artist), Jeff Hughell (Six Feet Under), Jimmy Earl (The Jimmy Kimmel Show), Juan Alderete, (The Mars Volta), Mike Merritt (The Conan O'Brien Show), Phil Chen (The Doors), Ready Freddie Washington (Steely Dan), Scott Reader (Kyuss), Sean Hurley (John Mayer), and Tim Lefebvre (Rudder), among others.

For more about Bass Player, visit bassplayerlive.com and facebook.com/bassplayermag.

Guitar World Supplement Series: October 2013

Check out the frugal guitarist's guide to the greatest budget axes. Read it now on any browser! 

It's not uncommon for a great guitar to retail for more than $5,000, but killer axes of all types can also be had for $500 or less. And while budget guirars are practical choices for players who don't want to take an expensive ax to bar gigs and house parties, many of them can prove to be treasured all-around performers with great tone, easy playability and killer looks.

This month, we've set our sights on 15 budget guitars that look, feel and sound like professional models.

The year 1980 saw the United States hockey team beat the Soviets for Olympic gold, the tragic death of former Beatle John Lennon, the release of AC/DC's epic Back in Black and the launch of a relatively small New York publisher's guitar-enthusiast magazine called Guitar World.

Although the magazine — which, back then, was published every other month — focused primarily on jazz, country, fusion and blues, it didn't take very long before it attracted a multitude of followers from all different styles who had few other literary resources to turn to.

Our very first cover star? Johnny Winter, who was "Rockin' Better Than Ever!" in 1980.

Below, check out a photo gallery of every Guitar World magazine cover from 1980 to 1986. It's the first in a series of similar galleries.

Before you dive in, who do you think appears on the most GW covers during our first six years? Hint: He (Yes, it's a he) most recently appeared on two covers in 2012 — April and August (And it's not Stevie Ray Vaughan).

Enjoy! The next gallery is coming soon!

NOTE: Remember, you can click on each photo to take a closer look.

We're not gonna lie, we like Guthrie Govan.

In fact, you'll find a feature on Govan and the Aristocrats, his band with Bryan Beller and Marco Minnemann, in the all-new November 2013 issue of Guitar World.

There are a lot of stellar Govan performances to be found on YouTube, but be sure to check the clip featured below. It shows Govan, with uber-talented bassist CJ Hann, performing the aptly titled "Wonderful Slippery Thing," a track from Govan's 2006 solo album, Erotic Cakes.

Enjoy the flawless, often mystifying playing, especially the particularly impressive section that kicks off around the 2:50 mark and, well, just keeps on going. And don't worry about the annoying lettering at the beginning of the video; it eventually disappears.

For more about the November 2013 issue of Guitar World, visit the Guitar World Online Store.

Gov’t Mule have released two more tracks from their new double album, Shout!.

Actually, they've released two versions of the same song, the slippery, Led Zeppelin-esque "Done Got Wise." One version features only Govt Mule; the other features guest vocalist Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge.

Both versions appear on the album, which features 11 tracks recorded straight up as Warren Haynes & Co., plus the same tracks with guest vocalists. The album will be released September 24 via Blue Note Records.

“One of things we’re very proud of about this record is that all the songs stand up for themselves and have their own personality," Haynes said in a press release for the new album.

"Hopefully, hearing another singer interpret them helps shine even more of a light on the songs and somewhere in that picture people get a glimpse of what Gov’t Mule does."

For more about Haynes, Gov't Mule and Shout!, check out the all-new November 2013 issue of Guitar World, which is available now at the Guitar World Online Store.

FROM THE ARCHIVE: Steve Vai chooses (and discusses) the record that changed his life.

West Side Story
Original Broadway Cast Recording (1957)

I was about seven or eight years old when I first heard West Side Story, and it had a huge impact on me.

If you look at the elements of that record, it contains many of the things I enjoy doing today. It has history, melody (How can you compete with [Leonard] Bernstein and [Stephen] Sondheim?) and the lyrics are wonderful.

Along with its enchanting and exquisite melodies, West Side Story has attitude and a tremendous amount of frenetic energy. It's emotional, theatrical and technical. It's everything.

Because I was a young kid, that type of music represented a sort of freedom for me. It wasn't all groove- or beat-oriented, and it didn't fall within the confines of conventional pop song structures. These guys just did whatever the hell they wanted. When I first heard it, I thought, This is what music needs to be.

And you can see the influence in my approach. From the first note I ever recorded on my first solo record, I've made a very conscious decision to try and work outside of the box.

NOTE: This video is from the 1961 film version of West Side Story.

In the video below, which was posted today, September 13, Dream Theater guitarist (and current Guitar World cover star) John Petrucci demos and discusses DiMarzio's new Illuminator pickups.

The pickups are based on Petrucci's existing signature model pickups, the Crunch Lab and LiquiFire, but with a twist.

“This pickup set is building upon the Crunch Lab and the LiquiFire, so we’re starting there, and most of it — really all of it — is the work of Steve Blucher at DiMarzio," Petrucci told iheartguitarblog.com.

"In the case of this one, knowing that the guitar was going to have a preamp in it and everything, he was able to predict what would be necessary to make the guitar be more open-sounding and able to breathe more. He did a fantastic job, and I’ve been working with him so long that I barely have to say much. He just instinctively knows. It’s wonderful.”

For more about DiMarzio, visit dimarzio.com. For Guitar World's new review of the Sterling by Music Man JP100D John Petrucci Signature Series Guitar, head HERE.

For more about the November 2013 issue of Guitar World, which features Petrucci on the cover, visit the Guitar World Online Store.