Guitarist of the Week: Trey Azagthoth

This week's Guitarist of the Week is Trey Azagthoth (born George Emmanuel III) of Tampa-based Death Metal band, Morbid Angel.

This guy is a fantastic guitarist. He's definitely the Jimi Hendrix of Metal.

Just listen to this clip: 

Trey is credited for bringing seven strings to extreme metal after Steve Vai introduced them into the eyes of many with the release of his Passion and Warfare album. The release of Morbid Angel's third album, The Covenant, featured Trey using an Ibanez Universe, Steve Vai's line of seven string guitars and the first mass produced seven string guitar ever.

Here is the music video for God of Emptiness off of Morbid Angel's Covenant:

Trey's use of whammy bar and the range of the seven string guitar really paved the ground for a lot of death metal bands.

Trey's Gear:

• BC Rich Iron Bird 
• Ibanez UV7BK (Also known as "Greendot") 
• Custom Hamer V 
• Gold Label Charvel Explorer
• Orange Ibanez RG550
• Custom Dean Razorback V (as seen in the picture at the top)
• Jackson Warrior
• Marshall JCM900 on a Marshall 1960b 4x12 can
• Boss GE-7 EQ
• Boss BF-3 Flanger
• Dunlop Uni-Vibe Chorus
• Eventide Ultra H3000S Harmonizer
• Furman Power Conditioner
• Morley Bad Horsie Wah (Another Vai signature)
• MXR Phase 90
• ProCo RAT
• Digitech Whammy Pedal

And to wrap it off, one of my favorite Morbid Angel songs!

Guitar Porn Tuesday: Is Mayones an Instrument?

(For those who do not get the title, a YouTube link is provided which should explain it...)

Mayones, based in Poland, was established in 1982 and produces some of the most wonderful instruments, in both playability and looks, the world has ever known.

My introduction to Mayones was by word of mouth through a friend about a year ago. I remember looking them up and being absolutely awe-struck by their instruments. They honestly have some of the nicest tops I've EVER seen on any instrument. The pictures really talk for themselves, or so the phrase goes. If pictures "talk", then seeing it in person is akin to screaming into a megaphone.

These beauties look a lot better in person. Honestly. I got the pleasure of getting a great look at Katatonia's signature model when I saw them live with Devin Townsend a few months back. Simply amazing.

Right now, you're probably like "Okay, Jarrett. Please, let us see what they look like if they're so beautiful!" So I will do just that.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mayones Guitars and Basses.


(Credits to user Rook on Sevenstring.org)


(Credits to Dustie Warring of Between the Buried and Me)

(above taken from Mayones website, all rights reserved)

(Mayones bass, credits to eBay user guitaraddictonline)

(Mayones Katatonia signature II, taken from their website)

New Meshuggah Song - Pitch Black

Scion (yes, the same company that brings you those fugly box cars) is, apparently, an avid supporter of metal. About a week ago, they announced that Meshuggah (one of the bands they support) was going to make an announcement on Tuesday.

Apparently, Tuesday was today, as Scion released two tracks; one track recorded in 2003 that was never released and another of a live performance of Dancers to a Discordant System off of Meshuggah's Obzen album.

Pitch Black, the new track, can be found here: 

The live performance of Dancers to a Discordant System can be found here: 

I really dig the new track. It's classic Meshuggah. Plenty of calculus chugs and jazzy solos, clean guitar over the dirt, hypnotizing vocal pattern, and thunderous drums.

It is a shame, however, that it's only two tracks. I really want more! I also do with that it was something new, not just leftovers from guitarist Frederik Thordendal seemingly massive plate.

Hopefully this is just a part of a bigger announcement, as it's not yet Tuesday...

Review: Ibanez RGD7421

Features: The Ibanez RGD7421 is a metal machine through and through, sporting 7 strings. It comes with a basswood body and a maple neck with two walnut stripes and a rosewood fretboard. The neck is connected with an All Access Neck Joint (AANJ). It features two humbuckers, a 3 way toggle, and a single volume knob. Lastly, the bridge is a sturdy Gibraltar 7 string string-through bridge. Perhaps the most distinguishable feature in this guitar is its 26.5" scale length which adds extra tension to strings.

Playability: It's Ibanez. They make very comfy guitars. The Wizard II-7 neck is very flat which makes fast movements very easy. The 26.5" scale length did take a little bit of getting used to; it's amazing how you can be so used to 25.5" and have just ONE inch throw you off!

This guitar was my first experience with an AANJ and I must say, the joint feels so natural, much like a neck-through or set neck. It's very comfy; so much better than a standard block bolt on.

The bridge, however, is a little less-than subtle. It's rather big and chunky, and can sometimes get in the way of my palm or wrist. This gets annoying sometimes. If it had a lower profile or was just generally smaller, I'd love it. The Gibraltar bridge is probably the biggest negative in the playability aspect.

Sound: Oof. Okay. The default pickups were, to my ears' dismay, terrible. They sounded so dull; so lifeless. I really needed to get rid of them quickly. I quickly picked up a set of DiMarzio D Activators (got them for cheap, so why not?) and dropped them in with the help of a guitar tech at Rustic Music in Philadelphia.

With the help of the D Activators, the sound is very clean and crisp. I love it. The D Activators sound like active pickups with a passive feel. It's a neat sound. Another gripe with the sound is that it's really just meant for metal; there's no tone knob. The pickups don't get a lot of versatility. As a metal player, I don't need a tone knob a lot, but sometimes it's fun to see what kind of tones I can get just by tweaking a few knobs.

Aesthetics: Most Ibanezes are a rather boring cookie cutter formula of: Black body, rosewood fretboard, maple neck. The RGD isn't a giant exception, except that its color is a more of a shadow color, which makes it a little more distinguishable in the vast sea of pitch black. But what's really killer about the RGD series is its sleek carved top. It's definitely one of the sexier Ibanez bodies, in my opinion.

If I could change the color, I'd probably get it in a white, dark purple, a blue (like a cobalt blue), or maybe something different, like an orange!

Thoughts: All in all, it's a solid guitar. I really dig the scale length; 25.5" 7 strings feel... like they're not what they could be. It was annoying to pay for pickups, but I feel it was worth the upgrade for such a sleek guitar that I would gladly use as a main 7 string.


Notable Players: 
(Note: This includes the Prestige model, Ibanez RGD2127z)

• Ihsahn - ex-Emperor
• Acle Kahney - TesseracT
• James Monteith - TesseracT
• Nick Conser - Oceano
• Devin Shidaker - Oceano
• Christian Vidal - Therion
• Christian Münzner - Obscura

Here's my baby! Her name is Stella.