Truefire - Angus Clark's Focus On: British Metal (2015)

Angus Clark’s Focus On: British Metal will quickly impart the requisite right and left-hand techniques, harmonic considerations, rhythm and soloing approaches to play in the style of British Metal. “British Metal is a broad genre and it’s certainly evolved over the years. Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep and Deep Purple pioneered the sound in the early years. Bands like Judas Priest and Thin Lizzy followed. New wave bands like Iron Maiden and Saxon kept the genre very much alive. Seminal guitarists leading the British Metal charge include Tony Iommi, Ritchie Blackmore, KK Downing, Glenn Tipton, Brian Robertson, Scott Gorham, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and John Sykes. These players’ rhythm and soloing techniques personify British Metal, and that’s exactly what and why we’ll focus on them throughout Focus On: British Metal.”

Angus presents his curriculum in four sections. The first section is a quick summary of British Metal history and its most influential players — the players that you should be listening to as you learn to emulate their sound in your own playing. Angus also passes on critical advice for dialing in the optimal British Metal tone on your own rig.

In the second section, you’ll get right down to business as Angus guides you through five key soloing concepts and techniques that will power your British Metal improvisational prowess: Blues Scale PLUS, Bending and Inflections, Scales and Arpeggios, Melodicism and Solo Structure.

Rhythm guitar chops is the focus of the third section. Angus steps you through another five key concepts and techniques for your British Metal rhythm work: The Mighty Riff, Keeping It Straight, Gallops, Between the Chords and Mixing Up the Arrangement.

It all comes together in the fourth section as you apply all of the key concepts and techniques across a series Performance Studies. Angus has prepared four real-world arrangements and rhythm tracks, across a variety of feels and tempos, to put all ten of your new skills to work.

Additionally, each of these performance studies pay homage to a particular British Metal master. Work through these four Performance Studies studies and you’ll be ready to take your new-found British Metal chops to the bandstand: 1: Iommi Swings (Tony Iommi), 2: Scott and Brian (Thin Lizzie), 3: Dave and Adrian (Iron Maiden), and 4: Glenn and K.K. (Judas Priest).

All of the key examples and performance studies are tabbed and notated, plus you’ll get all of the practice rhythm tracks to work with on your own.