(L-R) Guitarists Suvam Moitra and Biswarup Bardhan, bassist Angshuman Majumder

CAL ESP-IANS

Some swear by its “monster sound”. Others headbang to its “powerful chugging metal tone”. And if you are into metal bands like Metallica and Lamb of God, then you probably know by now what we are talking about. Yes, the “hot-looking, mean-sounding” ESP guitars! Axemen such as James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett (of Metallica) and Willie Adler (of Lamb of God) have been cranking out those badass riffs and solos on their ESPs even before you mastered the devil’s horn hand gesture (raising the index and little finger)! In fact, Kirk, James, Alexi Laiho (of Children of Bodom) and Willie have signature models made by ESP named after them. “I’m glad I made the decision to go with ESP, because they do not let me down. And they make us the best guitars,” the ESP website quotes Kirk Hammett, an ESP endorsee since 1987. Closer home, three members — guitarists Suvam Moitra and Biswarup Bardhan, bassist Angshuman Majumder — of the Calcutta-based metal band Chronic Xorn, rocking hard and loud since 2007, are now endorsing ESP guitars and basses. “Every ESP guitar has different tones and characteristics. The combination of the wood of the body, neck and the fretboard helps in bringing out the natural tone of every guitar. Then come the pickup choices. Our guitars are loaded with active EMG pickups and it sounds like a monster. It’s bright, it’s crunchy and meaty,” says Moitra. “ESP guitars have aggressive tones which make them suitable for playing hard rock and heavy metal. ESP guitars are perfect for modern-day heavy metal tones. You really need that big chugging sound or the big and powerful metal tone. An endorsement is like a dream come true for any musician and I am really happy to have one myself,” says Majumder.

Famous ESP axemen

Angshuman decodes a few killer metal tunes

Kirk Hammett — Metallica

Master of Puppets: This is an out-and-out thrash metal song which has a beautiful solo in the middle and an aggressive thrash solo by Kirk in the second half of the song. He incorporates shredding techniques and superb whammy work.

Fade To Black: Kirk does a brilliant job with the solo and he uses the wah-wah pedal very intelligently.

One: He plays a clean tone solo midway through the track and then a tapping solo in the second half of the song.

King Nothing: The solo in this song has Kirk’s beautiful signature wah-driven style with a very ’80s glam/hair metal style of soloing.

Battery: This song has a beautiful yet an aggressive solo by Kirk. Guitar shredding and whammy usage are predominant.

Alexi Laiho — Children of Bodom

Angels Don’t Kill: This song has a downtempo beautiful solo which is melodic and dark at the same time. In this solo Alexi uses the harmonic minors to make it sound dark.

Needled 24/7: This song has a signature solo by Laiho. This is a super uptempo track and in this track Alexi plays a high-tempo solo that has his signature style of shredding and whammy work.

In Your Face: This track is more in the lines of thrash metal fused with melodic death metal. In this track Laiho plays a very thrash metal-oriented solo and incorporates techniques like sweeping, whammy work and extensive high-tempo shredding.

Are You Dead Yet?: In this song Laiho demonstrates a well structured and concise fast solo.

Everytime I Die: This solo is truly majestic and one of my favourite solos. The solo has a perfect blend of melody and fast guitarwork where Laiho plays some beautiful licks followed by extensive whammy work throughout the track.

Jeff Hanneman (1964-2013) — Slayer

Seasons in the Abyss: This track features some amazing arpeggios in the intro. This is quite a downtempo track compared to the other ones by Slayer. However, it’s dark and truly majestic.

War Ensemble: It features some powerful and fast thrash metal riffing along with a great solo by Jeff.

South of Heaven: Apart from playing an absolutely brilliant solo, Jeff is also the composer. This song boasts of a truly epic intro.

Raining Blood: This one features some amazing riffs and a super fast-paced solo by Jeff that incorporates extensive whammy work and high-speed shredding.

Angel of Death: This song features some legendary crazy fast-paced riffs ever made in heavy metal music.

... and a Meinl cymbals endorsee

Sambit Chatterjee

Age: 23

Profession: Drummer with Chronic Xorn, Ganesh Talkies, What Escapes Me, Bandish Fusion

Artiste speak: “The best part about playing Meinl is to be a part of a great family. I play metal with Chronic Xorn, What Escapes Me, fusion with Bandish Fusion and indie pop with Ganesh Talkies. I need a variety set for myself... with Meinl, it’s easier for me to articulate my drumming.”

USP: “All the cymbals in the world are made up of copper-based alloys. What is important is how the smith works on it and how much it is machine-made and then how much is it man-hammered. Generally cymbal companies use four types of alloys but Meinl is the only company in the world to use six different types of alloys, which gives them that over-the-edge quality!”

On his fave meinl skin-slammers

I really love Meytal Cohen’s style of playing because somewhere I can relate to her. The way she got better at drums is the same thing I used to do when I was in school. I used to pick up Dream Theater songs one after the other and keep playing them. She has a slant towards progressive drumming and that is tough. I came across Meytal Cohen’s cover videos on YouTube by accident and later on I got to know that even she got into the Meinl family. I was looking for a drum cover video when someone suggested I check her out and there I was, completely mesmerised. Her cover videos are incredible.

Chris Adler (of Lamb of God) is my first metal hero drummer. Adler has a signature style to his playing and wherever he plays you know it’s Adler. He does not play too much but wherever its needed he will fill it up like a balloon. My best moment was when I saw him live in Bangalore, 2010, for the WRATH tour.

Matt Halpern (of Periphery) belongs from a different planet if you consider metal as a solar system. Matt and Adler are two different worlds. Halpern is the father of progressive metal drumming now, his work with Periphery has revolutionised the way we look at metal drumming. He is not just about speed but about the beautification of the riff that’s holding the groove. He has a huge grasp on gospel drumming, which gives him that outer edge to explore it into metal.

Text: Arindam Chatterjee

What’s your fave metal song and why?Tell t2@abp.in