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Gorgoroth

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Crushing The Scepter - Guitar Tab

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Band Overview

Gorgoroth is one of the pillars of Norwegian Black Metal, formed in Bergen in 1992 by guitarist Infernus (Roger Tiegs). From the very beginning, the guitar work was the driving force of the band's sound, combining relentless tremolo-picked riffs, dissonant chord voicings, and a raw, buzzing tone that became a blueprint for the second wave of black metal. For guitarists, Gorgoroth represents an essential study in how minimalism and aggression can coexist: the riffs are not technically flashy in a shred sense, but they demand stamina, precision, and a deep understanding of how to wring atmosphere from distortion and minor-key intervals. Infernus has been the primary songwriter and guitarist for most of Gorgoroth's existence, though the band has featured other notable players over the years, including Tormentor (Bjorn Erik Haugen) on early recordings and various session and live guitarists. Infernus favors open-string drone notes combined with rapid tremolo picking on the higher strings, creating that signature black metal "wall of wasps" texture. His riffing style leans heavily on diminished intervals, tritones, and chromatic movement, often cycling through hypnotic repetitions that shift subtly to build tension. Overall difficulty for guitarists is moderate. The individual riffs are not usually complex in terms of fretting-hand shapes, but executing them at full speed with the required consistency and endurance is the real challenge. Tremolo picking must be absolutely locked in, and the downpicked sections (especially on mid-tempo passages) require a tight palm-muting technique to keep the low end controlled without losing the snarl of the upper frequencies. If you are coming from thrash or Death Metal, you will find some familiar ground, but the emphasis on atmosphere over technicality means you need to focus on dynamics within a narrow sonic range. Learning Gorgoroth will sharpen your picking-hand stamina, your feel for dissonant harmony, and your ability to maintain intensity over long stretches of relentless riffing.

What Makes Gorgoroth Essential for Guitar Players

Tremolo picking is the core engine of Gorgoroth's guitar sound. Nearly every fast section demands sustained alternate picking on the higher strings at extreme tempos, often lasting for bars at a time without rest. Building right-hand endurance is non-negotiable if you want to play these songs convincingly.
Infernus frequently uses open low strings as drones underneath moving melodic lines on the B and high E strings. This technique creates a massive, dissonant sound that is central to their atmosphere. Practice anchoring your fretting hand on the lower strings while stretching for melody notes above.
Palm-muted downpicking drives the slower, grinding sections. When Gorgoroth drops the tempo, the riffs shift to a thrash-influenced chug that demands tight, percussive muting. Keep your picking hand planted firmly near the bridge saddles and focus on even attack across all downstrokes.
Chord voicings lean heavily on diminished fifths, minor seconds, and chromatic clusters rather than standard power chords. You will encounter unusual two- and three-note shapes that require precise finger placement to avoid unwanted string noise. A noise gate or careful fretting-hand muting is essential.
Song structures are repetitive by design, which means consistency is everything. A riff might cycle 16 or 32 times, so any timing drift or picking inconsistency becomes painfully obvious. Use a metronome and practice locking in with a drummer or drum machine to build the discipline these songs require.

Did You Know?

Infernus founded Gorgoroth when he was just 17, and he wrote most of the early riffs on a cheap, stock guitar with no effects pedals, proving that black metal tone comes more from technique and amp settings than expensive gear.

The guitar tone on early Gorgoroth albums like 'Pentagram' was recorded with minimal studio processing, often going nearly direct into a distorted amp head with little post-production EQ. That raw, thin buzz is intentional and iconic.

Gorgoroth's tuning has stayed largely in standard E tuning or half-step down (Eb) throughout their career, bucking the trend of extreme metal bands constantly drop-tuning. The dissonance comes from note choice, not from detuning.

Infernus has cited both Euronymous (Mayhem) and classic thrash guitarists like Kerry King as influences, which explains why Gorgoroth riffs blend black metal tremolo work with occasional thrash-style palm-muted breakdowns.

On the album 'Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam,' the guitar tracking was done with more layering than usual, with multiple takes stacked to create a thicker wall of sound. This is a useful studio trick for any guitarist recording black metal at home.

Despite the extreme image, Infernus is known to be meticulous about his guitar parts in the studio, often re-recording riffs dozens of times to get the attack and timing exactly right. Precision matters even in raw-sounding music.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Pentagram 1994

This debut is the purest distillation of Gorgoroth's guitar style: relentless tremolo picking, simple but effective dissonant chord shapes, and raw tone that forces you to focus on technique rather than production tricks. Tracks like 'Begravelsesnatt' and '(Under) The Pagan Megalith' are perfect for building tremolo-picking stamina and learning classic Norwegian black metal riff construction.

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Antichrist 1996

A step up in riff complexity and tempo variation compared to the debut. 'Gorgoroth' (the self-titled track) and 'Bergtrollets Hevn' feature excellent examples of shifting between tremolo-picked passages and mid-tempo palm-muted sections. Great for practicing dynamic control within a harsh, distorted context.

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Under the Sign of Hell 1997

This album showcases some of Infernus's most creative riff writing, with unexpected rhythmic shifts and more chromatic movement than the earlier records. 'Crushing the Scepter' is featured on GuitarZone for good reason: it combines grinding mid-tempo chugs with explosive tremolo bursts and is an ideal intermediate-level black metal piece to learn.

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Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam 2006

A more polished production gives you a clearer picture of what the guitars are actually doing, making it easier to transcribe and learn. Songs like 'Carving a Giant' feature layered guitar parts that teach you about doubling, harmonizing, and how to thicken your sound in a recording context.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Infernus has used various guitars over the years, but he is most associated with Les Paul-style instruments and, in later eras, BC Rich models. In the early days he used more affordable instruments, proving the tone came from his hands and amp. For the classic Gorgoroth sound, any solidbody guitar with a set or bolt-on neck and humbuckers will get you in the ballpark. Avoid guitars with overly bright tonewoods or single-coil pickups if you want that thick, swarming midrange.

Amp

Classic Gorgoroth tone leans on high-gain amp heads pushed hard, with the gain around 7 to 9 and the mids scooped slightly or set flat depending on the era. Marshall-style amps and Peavey heads have both been used in Norwegian black metal circles. For the raw, buzzing early tone, think of a tube amp (or a solid-state amp mimicking that character) with treble and presence boosted, bass kept moderate, and the gain high enough to sustain tremolo picking without turning into mush.

Pickups

Humbucker pickups are essential for the Gorgoroth sound. Medium to high output humbuckers (around 10k to 15k ohms) give you the saturation and noise rejection needed for sustained tremolo picking and heavy distortion. Stock pickups in most metal-oriented guitars will work fine. The key is enough output to drive the amp into saturation while retaining enough clarity in the upper mids so that individual tremolo-picked notes do not dissolve into pure noise.

Effects & Chain

Gorgoroth's guitar sound is famously minimal in terms of effects. The signal chain is essentially guitar straight into a distorted amp head. A noise gate is highly recommended to tame feedback during rests between riffs, especially at high gain levels. Some recordings may feature a subtle boost pedal (like a Boss SD-1 or similar overdrive) to tighten the low end before the amp's preamp stage, but there are no modulation effects, delays, or reverbs in the core guitar tone. Keep it raw and direct.

Recommended Gear

Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Infernus's signature choice for classic Gorgoroth records, the Les Paul Standard delivers the thick, warm humbuckers and sustain needed for tremolo-picked black metal riffs. Its weight and solid construction anchor the swarming midrange tone that defines their raw, buzzing guitar assault.

Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

The Les Paul Custom's slightly different pickup voicing and construction provide Infernus with tonal flexibility while maintaining the humbucker saturation essential to Gorgoroth's distorted, noise-rejection sound across recording eras.

Pedal

Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive

A subtle boost pedal used sparingly in Gorgoroth's chain to tighten low-end clarity before the amp's preamp, adding definition to sustained tremolo picking without introducing color or modulation effects.

Pedal

ISP Decimator Noise Gate

Essential for taming feedback during rests between riffs at extreme gain levels, the Decimator noise gate lets Infernus maintain the high-saturation tone necessary for Gorgoroth's raw black metal assault while keeping the signal clean during silences.

How to Practice Gorgoroth on GuitarZone

Every Gorgoroth song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice Crushing The Scepter - Guitar Tab