Toontrack’s annual Metal Month, in which the top-tier recording software company puts the focus solely on metal for the entirety of November with a slew of new products and content, will soon come to a close. But we’ve got a few more things in store before we head into December!
Soon enough, the finished product from the Heaviest Riff in the Universe contest — in which Gear Gods head honcho Trey Xavier went through nearly 200 user-submitted riffs, chose his favorite, and will write a full song using that riff — will grace our ear drums and our bodies.
But first! What makes a band… that band? It’s a topic music nerds love to discuss, those seemingly intangible elements that define an iconic band’s unique sound.
Gear Gods has been tackling the subject one band at a time in a series of videos, the latest of which focuses on Swedish pop metal sensations Amaranthe. In Trey’s latest entry, he breaks down precisely what it is, musically speaking, that makes Amaranthe Amaranthe, then he constructs his own song from scratch written in that style. And, no surprise given his songwriting skills, he friggin’ nails it.
Check out the video below, featuring a condensed version of his real-time deconstruction and songwriting process followed by a full performance of the song (with a guitar solo from Amaranthe axe wielder Olof Mörck himself and guest vocalists Angel Wolf-Black and Metal Mary Z).
And don’t be surprised if you hear this song on Amaranthe’s next album. It’s that good!
