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After playing two “secret rehearsal shows” in June and another “tryout” concert on November 2, the new DELAIN lineup performed its first Dutch gig last night (Friday, November 4) at Hedon in Zwolle.
Joining keyboardist, founder and main songwriter Martijn Westerholt in DELAIN’s current lineup are ne…

FOZZY kicked off its U.K. tour last night (Friday, November 4) in Manchester. It marked the band’s first live appearance since FOZZY postponed the remaining dates of its summer/fall 2022 “Save The World” tour due to a throat injury suffered by the band’s lead singer, wrestling superstar Chris Jerich…

POISON frontman Bret Michaels, fresh off his band’s “The Stadium Tour”, is joining forces with the Tunnel To Towers Foundation for the “Homes For The Holidays” television series. Michaels will be featured in the holiday TV special, giving Gold Star and fallen first responder families the ultimate ho…

SLIPKNOT’s latest album, “The End, So Far”, was released on September 30 via Roadrunner Records. The follow-up to 2019’s “We Are Not Your Kind”, it is the band’s final record with Roadrunner after first signing with the rock and metal label in 1998.
In a new interview with NME, SLIPKNOT percussionis…

How many times are you paralyzed by the sheer number of options you can play over a dominant chord? It’s probably one of only chords where nearly anything works if you land correctly. One of the most common sounds to use is the Mixolydian scale, which is simply a major scale with a lowered 7. But let’s add on to this sound by expanding our musical Mixolydian palette with a few blue notes and some chromatic embellishments.The first four examples will be played over a “train” beat. Think more old-school and traditional country. We will look at a few modern applications later on. In Ex. 1 we are thinking C Mixolydian (C–D–E–F–G–A–Bb) over a C major chord. It’s very common to treat major chords as dominants. Other than the hammer-on to the 3 on beat 3 the entire lick falls nicely within the scale.Ex. 2 is a nice way to incorporate open-string ideas over a major I chord (in this case, C). The back half of the lick has a nice chromatic passing tone that leads nicely into the next chord (F). Make sure to let each note ring out as long as possible.Connecting chord tones is a crucial element of country guitar. In Ex. 3 I start with a double-stop that directly outlines the essential notes of an F7 chord (Eb and A) before I slip into another double-strop phrase that hints around that same sound. In measure 2 I approach the chord tones of a G major triad (G–B–D) chromatically before winding things up with a trademark country bend.Ex. 4 is an alternate way of approaching the same two chords (F and G). This would be more how a pedal-steel player might phrase the line. The string of sixths gives the pre-bends a connecting theme. Make sure to hold the last bend, hit the G on the 1st string twice, then release. This creates cool tension that resolves nicely back into the C chord.You now have several ideas that work well over a 1–4–5 progression on a train beat that’s common to more traditional country. Let’s move to a different groove and vibe that might be considered more modern.Ex. 5 is played over a E7 chord. This one gets to the heart of using chromatic connecting notes or passing tones. You can really hear the tension the extra possibilities add to this slippery lick.This lick (Ex. 6) reminds me of how Larry Carlton might approach playing over a E7 chord. Once again, using notes not found in the Mixolydian scale offers a different texture to the musical line, especially the slides in the first measure and the chromatic approaches to the root and 3 in the second measure.Same groove, different chords. In this case (Ex. 7), one measure of G and one of A. I approach the 3 of the G chord by a half-step right at the top and then repeat it an octave up in the next beat before immediate descending back down to the open 3rd string. The double-stops in the second measure offer a hint of tension before resolving on beat 3.Ex. 8 is a “no frills” approach and sticks entirely within the A Mixolydian scale (A–B–C#–D–E–F#–G). The entire second measure reminds me of the main lick to Eagles’ “Life in the Fast Lane.”So, there you have it. More note options will lead to more possibilities to choose from. Some examples just add one extra note, others much more than that. The most important thing is finding what works for you. Until next time!

In a new interview with Michael’s Record Collection, legendary drummer Carmine Appice, best known for his work with VANILLA FUDGE, CACTUS and Rod Stewart, spoke about his diminished touring schedule as he approaches his 76th birthday. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “We [in VANILLA FUD…

GODSMACK has been forced to postpone its first-ever South American shows “due to logistical issues.”
Earlier today (Friday, November 4), the Sully Erna-fronted outfit released the following statement via social media: “Due to logistical issues beyond our control, we are very disappointed to announce…

During an appearance on Thursday’s (November 3) episode of SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna was asked how he felt about the addition of the John Bush-era track “Only”, which hadn’t been performed live since 2011, to the setlist on the band’s summer 2022 U.S….

In a new interview with Sonic Perspectives collaborator Rodrigo Altaf, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares confirmed that he and his bandmates have commenced work on the follow-up to 2021’s “Aggression Continuum” album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “We started pre-production about a…