Should Nevermore ditch the 7 strings?

[Brooks]

Yknow, I was listening to The Sounds of Silence, which just happened to reiterate the brilliance of S&G's lyrical prowess, when I realized that a lot of the riffs on Dead Heart have a real Nu Metal sound. I think having the presence of a 7th string just automatically brings about a low groove Nu chunk, rather than being creative with using 6.

Apart from Nevermore, Morbid Angel, and Cannibal Corpse (if you like them), 7 string metal bands absolutely suck. On top of that, is the 7 string stigma, if you use them, then you are a 7 string band, and thats instant typecast. Sure, you can get around it, but that does not happen often.

All I hope is that Nevermore remains fresh and innovative rather than resorting to the temptation to pound on the low B, as is the downfall of so many bands with 7's. EoR will say it all....

 

[Captain Beard]

Maybe he can downtune.

B tuning Muahahahahah!!!!

 

[the alumnus]

actually, nevermore was tuned to b flat. i think that is too low. b natural is as low as you can get a guitar before it starts to sound like mud. i think they are better off with the six strings tuned to e flat.

 

[Captain Beard]

Didn't Carcass use B flat? or was it straight B as I call it?

 

[Unregistered]

Labelers out there would just go away. I personnaly love the freedom of the seventh string. Jeff along with very few others actually can play a 7 string. Maybe all the lame ass bands who all sound the same should put them down and leave it to the people who know how to use them. Just like dropped D, it has been beat to death by bands that seem to only write songs with one finger and have no other dynamics in their music. Ever try playing anything off of Dead Heart in E? Sounds wrong, terribly wrong. Would you have been happy if Dead Heart sounded just like POE or DNB? DH was a great progression from the previous albums and I hope it keeps going 7 8 9 or 10 strings. Nu metal, please, that shit is'nt worth even paying attention too. Korn comes in a can.

 

[Brooks]

Well clearly the DH stuff sounds weird on a 6, as it was written on a 7. But if you look at the construction of the riffs on DHIADW compared to the bands 6 string records, from a technical standpoint, the riffs were much simpler, much more groove oriented, and just straightahead, very similar to your standard 7 string band. For what it is, Dead Heart is fantastic, but I think the 7th string acts as a security blanket for heaviness. You can play anything on the B string and it'll sound heavy. That takes away from the creativity required to be heavy in E or Eb.


By the way, Politics and Dreaming Neon Black are the heaviest Eb records I've ever heard. I know people that didn't believe that they were only tuned to Eb, because of the crushing production and songwriting. Those two albums are heavier than Dead Heart.

 

[Captain Beard]

Play EoR on a 12 string electro-distorted flamenco!!!

 

[Crown]

As much as I love DH. DNB and POE are alot heavier as you say. I wouldnt like to see them to drift away from what they had there and completely ditch that tight electric sound.

 

[Unregistered]

and many Kudo's to them for doing it. I see all the time on here, "Nevermore should do this, they should do that, write about this, write about that. " If all these critiquers (SP?) would go out and try to write a record their own album maybe they would be a little less poignent. Nevermore is an excellent band, by their own devices have come up with incredible albums that have shown a progreesion over the years. I guess I don't have the time (or patience) to sit down and pick over everything to death. I coud give a shit less if they used banjo's. As far as the riffs being simpler, ever try to play flaminco guitar on bass? Ever try to play Slayer on a harp?Certain instruments require a certain style and touch to not sound like crap. I hope they use everything on the next album, including banjo's. Let it rip guys!!!!

 

[AdamWathan]

I gotta agree wholeheartedly on that POE and DNB sound WAAAAAAAAY lower than Eb...It's official, Nevermore and Opeth are the only bands that can make an E sound like a C...

*EDIT* And yes, ditch the 7-strings...the riffs Jeff writes on a 7 string are awesome, but I prefer the style he used on his 6's...there's not a lot that hasn't been done on a 6 and Nevermore were the one band that continued to push the instrument to it's limits up until DH

 

[Gurgi]

Yip, the riffs are simplier on DH, but Warrel has more space for his genious voice.
And by the way, if y know how sounds work, we play "heart collector" on our 6 string guitars in E, which is a little more difficult than playing on a 7 string, but its written in E-flat.
Only problem is playing this song on guitar and singing half note higher than Warrel at the same time

 

[Will Bozarth]

singing like Warrel PERIOD is a problem haha

 

[Gurgi]

thats what i mean. i should take some classic lessons gg

 

[Unregistered]

If you play in E you can never get same sound than in B flat. In the other hand if you play 7-string like powermetal-bands, you can never sound heavy. If someone likes 80´s thrash-metal sound, so be it, but I think that low tune sounds more Metal than anything else.

 

[WarHead]

I have a 7 string and am going to sell it for a 6 string baritone.,.,,.mainly because my hands are too small for the neck,.,.and it kills my wrist.,.,.

All in all 7 strings are bad ass. \m/ (><) \m/ .,.,.,.,im just tiny

 

[Narayan]

Like other people have already said, I think the seven string just offers the band more freedom in their song writing and especially in their solo's. I don't see why some people want to restrict them to a six string just because Korn sucks. If they feel like they need to use another string to continue to be original in their art, who are we to say they shouldn't? A lot of bands who TRY to stick to one sound perpetually tend to get progressively worse, where as bands that continually mix it up keep it interesting. I think they should be left to their own devices, they haven't produced a single bad album to date, I don't see any reason to lose faith now.

 

[azal]

Carcass is in Bflat...and they sound anything but nu-metal.

you guys really need to stop being afraid of the "nu-metal" sound.

Nevermore riff all those asswipes under the table, so there is no realy comparison to be made.

 

[TheSinMakesYouReal]

Maybe they should just use fiddles and and banjos.

It's not about the strings!! You can tune a 6 string to B. Having 7 strings does not make you play any different then 6. The only thing that is different is the scales. Actully, if I remember right, the B string has the same scale patteren as the E. It's all about what the player wants to come out of the guitar.

You can tune a piano, but you can't tune a fish.

 

[Tee]

...saxon pipes I would recommend for this album.... Neverlady already mentioned violin I think..... the world is going forward not backward...

 

[[KOTNO]Narrot]

Originally posted by TheSinMakesYouReal
Having 7 strings does not make you play any different then 6

it does actually....you cant play as fast as on a six string using the seventh due to the 70 gauge u use.,..