I’ve had this book sat on my “to review” shelf for far too long, as I’ve been struggling to think of how to approach it. I am in no way musical beyond listening to the stuff, and this is a book for creative musicians. So apologies in advance if I do the authors a disservice!
Thy Third Wave Ov Black Metal is what’s classed as a “songwriter modal codex”, a monstrous collection of guitar scales designed to help musicians find chords and scales which complement each other – in this case geared at black metal guitarists. This is a hell of a detailed and well put together book, with a staggering number of scales for the songwriter to plough through. Neck diagrams are included for standard and drop-tuned 6-strings and standard tuned 7-strings.
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The book’s layout is clear and despite the wealth of information inside, it never quite gets overwhelming. As a songwriting nobody with zero musical training, I actually learned a hell of a lot just looking through it, more in appreciation terms for what goes into writing a good song. For each scale, the recommended black metal chords are given. In addition, the lead and solo scales which marry with the featured scale are given to ensure that all guitars playing at once gel as they should. I mean, I never even thought of this.
In a bid to review this properly, I had a go at matching some chords with a couple of scales (I own a guitar… I just can’t play it. It looks pretty), and to my untrained fan-only ear it really worked!
The layout is clear yet comprehensive and even the cover art (by Luciferium War Graphics) is spot on. As a complete amateur it impressed me. From a nerdy physics geek perspective it interested me (the relation of chords and frequencies to one another). I can see it being of real use and interest to the musicians out there.
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You can order a copy now from their website in various editions, along with the companion Brutal Slam Death volume.
