Metal Appreciation Class | Painkiller (Patreon)

I hope you fingered the G-string at least 69 minutes this week muhahaha. I've been on vacation in Michigan, biking, boating and trying to survive my family muhahaha. To stay sane, I have two guitars to shred on. One is a beautiful solar with blue birds eye wood and the other is a Taylor acoustic. I also have a mobile recording setup I bring to record any evil sounds that spring to mind. By the way, I've been loving the evil music you guys are writing on discord. We're also doing theory quizzes and chatting about music. Join the fun with the link below!

🛑 DISCORD (tabs, quizzes, live chat)

https://discord.gg/C9d5f3qW

⚡️Today's Metal appreciation class is on Judas Priest's, PAINKILLER. Get ready, because we're about to study the history, themes and theory behind this heavy metal banger muhahaha!

ABOUT THE SONG

Painkiller was released in 1990 on Judas Priest's PAINKILLER album. The song is about a cyborg superhero sent to earth to save mankind from destruction. The character is depicted on the album cover, reflecting the tracks relentless, aggressive nature. Painkiller is the 2nd most popular Judas Priest song on spotify, with 145 million plays as of August 2024

EMOTIONAL THEMES

Painkiller is a roller coaster of emotion. Power and strength is embodied by the cyborg superhero. He's a symbol of resilience, overcoming insurmountable odds. Salvation and redemption is central to the song's narrative. Hope and deliverance protrude from Rob Halford's piercing screams. The track tells of a world in turmoil, requiring a powerful force to restore order. The Painkiller directs his aggression and anger towards the battle against evil, dedicated to save humanity at any cost. The dire situation on planet earth is amplified by each thunderous power chord

FORM + ANALYSIS

Painkiller is a fascinating study in music theory. The main riff uses the E Locrian mode. This scale is extremely uncommon in popular music. To say it's off putting is an understatement. The radical dissonance makes most people's ears bleed instantly. Check this out, the home base chord is DIMINISHED! This means you're left hanging in musical purgatory, with no chance of salvation! Metalheads have a penchant for the perverse, however, making the Locrian mode the perfect vehicle to quench our evil desires muhahaha

There's two intervals that make this mode a level 666 on the evil scale. The flat 2nd (F) and the b5 (Bb). In fact, combining these two intervals into one chord produces the most wicked harmony in existence...the Viennese Trichord muhahaha! (below)

Don't think you can just slap together some random notes in Locrian and score a #1 hit though. It takes considerable forethought to control the raging dissonance in these devilish tones. A key secret Judas Priest uses to make the wickedness palletable is pedal tones. I often discuss this musical feature as a core aspect of the compositional process. Without it, there would be no tonal foundation to build on. Below you can see pedal tones at play in Painkiller's main riff. I'm talking about the Low E open string. If you haven't tried this, your life is about to change forever. It's the single most powerful songwriting technique in existence

🎸LET’S PRACTICE

Painkiller is a treasure trove of musical wisdom to explore. Step one is playing around with Glenn Tipton and KK Downing's evil ingredients. Use the E pedal tone below to improvise freely with the E Locrian mode. This is a magical experience. Take your time and notice the unique emotional character bleeding from each pitch. This is our pallet to paint unspeakable terrors with muhahaha. Try the Viennese Trichord and allow your ears to guide you across the fingerboard. This is how the compositional process starts for me. It's about free exploration, fun and play. Our best ideas come from a state of relaxation. During this time our brain engages background processing mode. A flow state that unlocks your full creative power. The musical phrases you develop in this exercise can be used for full fledged songs later

⭐️E Drone Track

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilVEYvBS69U

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Do you enjoy this lesson format? Let me know in the comments below!

⚡️HOMEWORK

Full tabs for this lesson are below. For homework, write your own evil riff and post it in the discord chat!