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Deafheaven Guitarist Kerry McCoy Sheds Light On Guitar Technique

The entirety of the metal genre has been harboring gear- and tech-heads for decades now and is showing no signs of slowing down. The campy instructional DVDs your father grew

9 years ago

deafheaven guitar power

The entirety of the metal genre has been harboring gear- and tech-heads for decades now and is showing no signs of slowing down. The campy instructional DVDs your father grew up on have since given way to gonzo fret-cam playthroughs, auto-playing tablature, gear dissection, and tech obsession. Peeling away the veil and laying bare the means by which our favorite music is made has been a gift given to us by the digital age, but the culture has also fostered an unspoken upsmanship and an over-emphasis on “goes fast” that can be as disenchanting as it is dizzying.

Fortunately, Rolling Stone contributor Matt Sweeney has made great strides in putting artistry, passion, and a casual atmosphere back into otherwise niche and clinical gear and theory talk with his Guitar Power video series. The latest episode features Deafheaven guitarist Kerry McCoy, who breaks down his almost minimalistic sort of approach to composition and showcases his use of effects pedals. While McCoy’s guitar work likely won’t land him on the cover of Guitar World magazine any time soon, his abilities to play simple guitar parts with such nuance is infinitely more fascinating that whatever guitar playthrough our favorite tech death bands have been releasing.

You can watch the video below, which also features a sneak peak at some new Deafheaven material.

An accompanying article can be read over at Rolling Stone.

Fortunately, signs are pointing to a new Deafheaven album for 2015. Of course, we’ll share that info if and when it comes in.

– JR

Jimmy Rowe

Published 9 years ago