Pale Meridian · level 2 · goal 140 bpm

Pale Meridian is an eight-bar melodic riff in standard tuning: Melodic death, E minor, half-time riff at the 7th fret with chord hits. This is level 2 of 3, played at 140 bpm; the three levels of the riff run from 110 to 160 bpm. It works on palm muting, power chords, hammer-ons and pull-offs. The player loops the riff with drums and bass, starts at 70% speed and steps up 5% after every clean pass until you play it at full tempo.

Palm-mute the gallops tight, then lift your palm for the chord hits so they bark. Make the rests truly silent. Pick only the first note of each hammer-on.

The three levels

1. Level 1 · 110 bpm · Melodic death, E minor, half-time riff at the 7th fret with chord hits. Keep your hand parked around the 7th fret.
2. Level 2 · 140 bpm · Melodic death, E minor, half-time riff at the 7th fret with chord hits. Palm-mute the gallops tight, then lift your palm for the chord hits so they bark.
3. Level 3 · 160 bpm · Melodic death, E minor, half-time riff at the 7th fret with chord hits. The reverse gallop (16-16-8) leans into the next hit, so accent the chord, not the chugs.