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Example 2:

The second example is taken from the song “Soul Burn” by Meshuggah – from the album Destroy Erase Improve/1995.  This example represents a very different approach from the one analyzed previously, both in regards to its rhythmic properties and its use of the Octatonic Scale (aka Diminished Scale). The first 4 notes (C Gb Bb E) are taken from a Whole Tone Scale and are the only notes/phrases that do not conform to the diminished/octatonic set in this part of the solo.

Starting from measure 3 we have the whole thing based on these notes (C# D E F G Ab Bb B), which is a C# Octatonic Scale - the rest of the solo we will analyze here corresponds to this set. The most interesting aspect of this solo is without a doubt distinguished by its use of syncopation and a diverse array of rhythmic cells. Pay attention to where the notes fall, and to the clever use of rests to build tension and to give breathing room to the lines being executed. For this example, I decided to record with a clean tone, and attempted to get a quasi-synthaxe sound. I felt compelled to use this tone because it reminds me of one of my favorite guitar players…I will let you guess who!

Meshuggah - Soul Burn

Audio:

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