As a rhythm player, Padge can lay down
cool chugging patterns and intricate
single-note riffs that support the vocal
melodies perfectly. He’s also great at using
harmonized melody guitar lines in his main
lead sections.
Let’s take a look at a section inspired
by the lead from the Bullet for My Valentine
song “Eye of the Storm.” The chord
progression in Ex. 1 is a classic Iron Maideninfluenced
gallop rhythm that is composed
of an eighth-note followed by two sixteenth-
notes. This syncopated pattern has
a propulsive, bouncy feel—like you’re riding
a steed into battle!
The lead in Ex. 2 is a great illustration
of creating an arpeggio to follow each chord
in a progression. Padge uses a sweep pattern
over the first three strings playing
them in triplets over the gallop rhythm.
The arpeggios he uses are Em, D, C, and B.
An important part of playing these arpeggios
smoothly is the picking pattern; be
sure to follow the up, up, down, down,
hammer, pull-off sequence. Once you have
the notes under your fingers, you can download
and play with the bass and drum tracks
for this section at RockHouseMethod.com.
Happy shredding!
John McCarthy is the creator of the Rock
House Method.