Down Riff Lesson (Part 2 of 2)

Peeper Keenan and Kirk Windstein showing their best riffs.
1. The Path
2. N.O.D.
3. Lifer
4. Bury Me in Smoke
5. Lysergik Funeral Procession
6. The Seed
P.S. What amazed the shit out of me is that Pepper has some fucking incredible downpicking chops - almost like James Hetfield.

[@factsonly5994]

Pepper is one of the most underrated guitarists of all time! The attack of his picking hand is insane. 🤟🔥🤟

[@SwampyTrails]

I could listen to them jam all. freakin. day.

[@6672rock]

Sounds like Kirk's got more of that scooped-mid sound going on, whereas Pepper has more of a beefy midrange tone. That first Down album is a goldmine of Sabbath-esque riffs! Definitely one of my favorite metal albums of the 1990's.

[@brodemonz]

They play so well together.

[@addicted2tone349]

I remember when this album dropped. I got it right away in 95.. It was a game changer for me musically..

[@bradleegeraldkevin7799]

The power of the riff really compelled me on this one

[@judasiscariot383]

I like Kirk, he's like a dwarf from Lord of the Rings.

[@sguerilla6142]

lord of the riffs :)

[@myriadcorp]

The Bury Me In Smoke riff is so amazing!

[@jasoncrump1886]

These guys made up some killer riffs. I wish I could jam with these guys .

[@ShirleyGirl]

Kirk is even more underrated! the guy is a riff master

[@ajizzle4rizzle]

Wish they could do an updated video with Ghosts Along the Mississippi in it& a couple other ones in H.D.

[@sandblastedsk1n]

Fuck me dead Peppers tones is God like!!

[@Saighton]

Bury Me in Smoke is still the best riff, hands-down!

[@E2EJames]

CANT WAIT see them in NOLA real soon up close and personal House of blues aint a bad seat in the house

[@Obnacho]

So Pepper says he was inspired by Breadwinner for the opening riff of Bury me in Smoke.. I went and listened to all of their stuff I could find. Two EP's, like 25 mins or something. There's a song called " ".

[@centre4122]

sounds more like this one to me kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoGrnJx5rrVpmZo

[@johnj8683]

All down strokes, kids

[@Giantshredder]

Lifer is such an awesome song.

[@pedroalagos9771]

I like the groove of this song!! LIFTER

[@ShirleyGirl]

Out of the two, i agree. I think he comes up with more interesting riffs and progressions in Crowbar than Pepper ever does with CoC or Down. But they're both crucial contributors to Down, and pepper is very important to the Down sound because of his southern influence, whereas Kirk is more of a straight ahead sludge metal riffer.

[@AirGuitar]

Yeah, both of their riff ideas are fucking badass! For the more slower southern stuff, like the song Where I'm Going, i'm pretty sure Pepper wrote and played that one (such a fucking haunting tune, sounds badass!). Both are amazing!

[@riadsahinovic9378]

You wouldn't believe, but Phil is almost a main riff writer in Down :)

[@centre4122]

pepper and phil are the main songwriters in down. Down wouldnt work without pepper like it has worked without kirk

[@ZR21528]

@king666nothing oh ya i know man i got most of the C.O.C albums his voice on a lot of there songs are awesome

[@EugeneBakman]

Glad you liked it. The quality sucks though, because the video was too long (KZbin don't accept videos longer than 10 mins), I had to convert it to different format and then chop it in two parts. But yeah, I love this video myself.

[@srw92831]

some of the best heavy riffs since iommi

[@SwampyTrails]

RIFF LORDS

[@ghettogrip]

I hear you there bro... same here, the power of the riff compels me!!!

[@djabthrash]

Thanks a lot for posting this dude !

[@southsideaudioguy]

@6672rock, they split solos 50/50

[@ZR21528]

pepper is to underrated the guy can play

[@EugeneBakman]

Yeap, same for me. I knew that Phil was in this band, but I always thought that it's similar to Superjoint Ritual - that's why I didn't even care to check it out. But video just blew my mind. And now I'm huge Down fan, too bad they only have 3 albums.

[@MyScaryScrotum]

@TheBlackPriest There was talk from multiple people saying that late 2010 would bring a new Down release. It quite obviously never happened but I've heard talk and I think even Phil said there would be a new Down release quite soon. I could be wrong but I think he did an interview and stated that.

[@garanhierro8249]

massive!!!

[@arissp4950]

Pepper is the Tone Meister

[@jamespage3614]

kirk and pepper are so fucking cool!

[@FrankZen]

I love that SG!

[@theheartlandgroup757]

It’s not an SG. It’s a ESP Viper.

[@FrankZen]

@@theheartlandgroup757 I stand corrected!

[@theheartlandgroup757]

@@FrankZen no, problem…it’s hard to see the ESP stamp on the headstock…

[@tytantyphlosion2910]

I need a pickin style like Pepper, so smooth on how he recovers from down stroke

[@EugeneBakman]

@MyScaryScrotum He probably meant the live CD/DVD release, that just recently came out.

[@wozg83]

Awesome 🤘👌🤘

[@AirGuitar]

Lifer is such a fucking classic! \m/

[@kenman91]

tnx guys coz im looking to buy a viper from ebay coz from malta too expensive and wanted to do the same set up

[@johnymartin5411]

Kirts tone on this is like nails on a chalkboard

[@huaman8]

liiiiiffffeeeer!

[@janusego1]

@ 4:33 it does sound like a FUNERAL PROCESSION......what a great name for a band too, funeral precession......or maybe funeral obsession......nevermind

[@Juggalokilla332]

pepper keenan is a sick mamma jamma so the fuck is kirk together they're one giant fuckin eargasm i love down FOREVER NOLA

[@vlm385]

🤘

[@popeipoparrot2951]

OMG!What a tone.. O_o

[@thefreezingmoon1]

Peppers tone,

[@EugeneBakman]

I was Pantera guy all the way. And still am. Phil kicks ass.

[@EugeneBakman]

I sure will check them out. Thanx a lot! Do they have any records out?

[@MyScaryScrotum]

SuperJoint Ritual FTMFW, Downs releasing a new album later this year, it will brutalize the world.

[@TheKorfish]

LIFER! FTW!

[@EugeneBakman]

@buriedinsmoke3 You might want to check out a little-known band called Black Sabbath. As much as I love and respect Pepper and Kirk, they're imitating what Tony Iommi has been doing since 1969.

[@bigtinymanowarrior7330]

2:28 Bury me in smoke

[@EugeneBakman]

@JohnACorp782 I know but you were talking about this particular video, and in this video they use ESP's. Just saying. ))))

[@EugeneBakman]

Yeah, there is a talk.

[@lysergickfuneralproc]

@iommiSG71 Stone THrower? I'm in Southern GA(waycross) where can I found someone who sounds like DOWN...

[@illgetbacktothat2291]

Does anyone have tabs for what Pepper is playing over the opening riff of Lysergik Funeral Procession?

[@mainline2008]

that was fuckin sick. DOWN rocks

[@jackdrumsnash]

The song Pepper says they ripped off for BMIS: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoGrnJx5rrVpmZo

[@lysergickfuneralproc]

I just came....

[@EugeneBakman]

@Raifo92 Have you heard Pantera's Power Metal? Phil's got the pipes of gold. And considering the evolution of his vocal style through the years it's safe to say that he's a more versatile vocalist than Pepper. Pepper can kill on guitar though.

[@downvan77]

Fuck Yeah! That's all I can say!

[@emtec2111]

6:25 compare Pepper's downpicking to Kirk's up&down picking, makes Kirk look like a douche :D

[@deanstanley2125]

I like how Kirk calls Pepper pep. That's my daughter's name and I call her Pep or Peps.

[@helppotato]

Are there any more this kind of material of Down boys?

[@deftone408]

Kirk is a riff master.. best rythm guitars in my opinion . listen to Crowbar

[@archieherrington4506]

This is real shit kids, better pay attention. No Imagine Dragons or safe spaces!!!

[@EugeneBakman]

@JohnACorp782 That's weird - it should make you want to buy an ESP not a Gibson. )))

[@EugeneBakman]

Even if there is, I'm not aware of it. Sorry.

[@robertdunlap2680]

I like kirks tone better. Was he using a Randall on this recording?

[@EugeneBakman]

@ZR21528 He can sing too. Not as good as Phil, but pretty damn good.

[@MarzMiller]

I can't listen to Lifer without scream singing the lyrics...

[@6672rock]

I've always wondered if, when it's time for a solo in a Down song, does Pepper play the lion's share of the leads while Kirk sticks to playing riffs, or do they split the leads fifty-fifty?

[@alexmatthews2332]

Kirk does alot more of the complex stuff like solo on pillars of eternity, hes a better player in my opinion Pep comes up with damn catchy riffs though.

[@centre4122]

pep plays all the downpicking parts

[@kdubya90]

Ok, Lumberg.

[@AlexGullichsen]

@MyScaryScrotum and what source does confirme this?

[@NWOBHM1777]

hahah "Pep"

[@kenman91]

anyone knows what pick ups pepper is using ?

[@MyScaryScrotum]

@king666nothing Yeah, that's most likely it. I don't know, though. Phil is a busy man, they could've planned something but gotten tied up. Seeing as Eyehategod and Crowbar are touring(Crowbar's new album drops in February) and Arms of the Sun and Arson Anthem released records and are still touring.

[@dorcap7]

Most of the metalheads are Iommi disciples. Usually, with pride. And it supposed to be with pride.

[@outlaw6066]

Iommi Disciples.

[@MrItsabeautifulday]

Stop being immature all of you. "Ooh, so-and-so's better because blah blah blah", they're botth great.

[@EugeneBakman]

@riseofthefallen301 Where the fuck did you get that from?

[@EugeneBakman]

LOG

[@riseofthefallen301]

kirk is hands-down a better guitarist

[@EugeneBakman]

Yeah, but compare it to James's downpicking - makes Pepper look like an awesome guitarist, which he is!

[@EugeneBakman]

@buriedinsmoke3 I'm gonna have to disagree with you here.

[@ShirleyGirl]

both of their tone here ain't great here. They're probably just plugged into a practice amp.

[@subliminallime4321]

Kirk's tone sounds awful in this recording.