Practice Studio

Riot - Bloodstreets - Guitar Solo Tab

Sections · Loop · Speed · Metronome

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End of your loop

Speed Control

Speed
100%

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BPM
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Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

AI-selected preset based on genre and era — adjust the knobs to taste.

Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.

Thundersteel album cover
Thundersteel
1988 4:39

About Bloodstreets


"Bloodstreets" comes from Riot's 1988 Thundersteel album, a record that pushed the band into a harder, faster corner of Heavy Metal. The track demands tight, aggressive rhythm playing with the kind of precise palm-muting and rapid picking that can quickly expose any looseness in your right hand. Getting the riff to feel locked and punchy rather than sloppy is the real challenge here, and that is entirely a matter of consistency under speed. Work through the main riff phrase by phrase using the Practice Toolbar to loop it slowed down until your fretting hand stops fighting your picking hand. The lead work calls for confident bending and vibrato in the upper positions, so make sure your intonation stays clean when you push those bends. Standard E tuning means nothing exotic to account for, but the tempo keeps the pressure on throughout, so pacing your practice is just as important as nailing the notes.

  • The rhythm parts rely heavily on palm-muted, fast alternate picking, making right-hand consistency the key technical hurdle to clear.
  • Lead guitar passages sit in the upper fretboard positions and require accurate string bends with steady vibrato to match the recorded tone.
  • Playing in E Standard keeps the tuning straightforward, but the driving tempo means you should build speed gradually with a metronome or the Practice Toolbar.

How to Play Bloodstreets

The song moves through: Intro, Full speed, 60 % speed, Bars 5-6, Bars 9-10.

Tuning: E Standard

It is built from a handful of distinct sections, so learn each one in blocks before stringing them together.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage and drop the speed to build each section up to tempo.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Mark Reale's primary instrument throughout Riot's career, the Les Paul Standard delivered the thick sustain and warm PAF-style humbucker tone essential to their heavy metal attack. Its responsive pickups allowed Reale to control his tone dynamically, from articulate rhythm crunches to singing, sustained leads.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

The Les Paul Custom provided Riot with an alternative voice featuring similar humbucker warmth and sustain as the Standard, maintaining the band's classic Gibson-driven tone across their catalog. The Custom's slightly different pickup characteristics offered subtle tonal variations while keeping the core heavy metal character intact.

Marshall JCM800
Amp

Marshall JCM800

Riot's signature sound came from cranking the JCM800's natural tube saturation, creating the crunchy, articulate rhythm tone and sustain-rich leads that defined their classic era. The amp's prominent midrange cut perfectly through the mix, a cornerstone of their approach to heavy metal tone.

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9
Pedal

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9

The Tube Screamer served as Riot's primary tone shaper for home and studio work, pushing a clean amp into natural overdrive that mimics the midrange-forward character of their cranked Marshall setup. It's the ideal pedal for capturing their classic metal tone without full stack volume.

Play with Backing Track

Play with Backing Track

Solo (Backing Track)

Solo (Backing Track)