Progressive Metal Guitar
Progressive metal fuses the technical demands of prog rock with the heaviness of metal. Complex time signatures, extended compositions, virtuoso playing and heavy tones define the genre. It's some of the most challenging guitar music ever written.
Tool, Dream Theater, Queensryche and Gojira represent different facets of prog metal in our catalog.
Songs to Start With
Gojira 3
Queensryche 3
Progressive Metal Guitar
Prog metal guitar requires comfort with odd meters, polyrhythms and rapid style changes within a single song. You might go from a clean arpeggiated passage in 7/8 to a heavy palm-muted riff in 4/4 to a sweep-picked solo in 5/4, all in the space of a few minutes.
Tool's Adam Jones uses Drop D tuning with patient, hypnotic riffs that build tension over long sections. Dream Theater's John Petrucci is one of the most technically accomplished guitarists alive. Gojira brings a modern, environmentally conscious heaviness.
Schism is a perfect introduction to odd-meter riffing. From there, explore the Progressive Rock and Heavy Metal genres for related music.