Return of The Riff Salad!

[@treyxaviermusic]

Wanna learn more about songwriting? My songwriting course is coming soon: bit.ly/SONGWRITINGRS

[@JaggedDagger]

Oh nice. I will definitely check that out

[@consumer365]

Hey Trey are going to replace your Friday 8 hour streams with contest songs? 😀

[@scottb2698]

okay but when tho?

[@someoneyoudontknow3257]

Treyyyyy bring the gong man! We're 3 videos into nothing but riff salad crap! Start kicking em to the curb!

[@treyxaviermusic]

@@someoneyoudontknow3257 yeah. it's comin.

[@RudyAyoub]

lmfao that intro

[@Grizzlyঐু]

The intro restored my will to live

[@9S0dX]

Also Steve was mentioned

[@obi-wannabekennotbi2418]

lmfao that comment. Disliked

[@keenannaugle9714]

Oh my god the whiny pop punk vocals bit was spot on, fucking killed me.

[@drpibisback7680]

It really was frighteningly accurate.

[@ScottFuckinRitchie]

@@drpibisback7680 "My girlfriend left me" was exactly what I always say lol

[@joehamilton6865]

Riffs and power chords aren't a song?! Doom Metal: Hold my bong Stoner Metal: Hold my bong and my IPA

[@chasecopeland5530]

That’s what I was thinking. I am curious what would say for a stoner track. Stoner jams and riffs have there own melodic qualities in my opinion. How many Sabbath songs are riff based with some tasty pentatonic solos and licks? It can work

[@violenceisfun991]

Intermediate Racism Application

[@Sergio-nb4hj]

@@violenceisfun991 ?

[@violenceisfun991]

@@Sergio-nb4hj ampetamines

[@Sergio-nb4hj]

@@violenceisfun991 hope you drop it

[@davidabhishektheethythee]

THE YEAR IS 3099. LEGEND HAS IT THAT TREY IS STILL CRITIQUING THE ENTRIES .....

[@PopeThunder]

Will he ever get to finishing that novel?

[@davidabhishektheethythee]

@@PopeThunder hahaha

[@miguelscserra]

Everytime I look at the email dates and still see April 7 I realize just how long its going to take..

[@julianaraneta5416]

And the word "disqualified" echoes and resonates in the catacombs.

[@MurphDoggTK_89]

Treys head in a jar with a robot body.

[@mattchavie3619]

The first song is good. There's a lot of room for vocals and it's structured.

[@Shxlo]

Thanks dude! Kinda weird how he didn't recognize that it's structured the same as any pop song you'd hear on the radio and proceeded to "roast" me for using the same parts over again when it's a fucking chorus.

[@mattchavie3619]

@@Shxlo I think he has to respond in the manner he does in order for the content to be engaging and I feel like we're in a progressive metal community so the expectations are different. You did a really good job of not overwriting parts and leaving space for vocals. It's personally hard af for me to write vocals over DGD noodle shit. I also fail to see why people hate on "boring" chord progressions. Don't reinvent the wheel unless it helps the song. It kinda reminds me of Of Machines if you've ever listened to it. Good job man.

[@Shxlo]

@@mattchavie3619 yeah I understand the whole react for content shenanigans but it's just sort of annoying to get berated on song structure when i followed a format as simple as this. Of machines is a huge influence in my playing! Anything from that 2006ish Saosin/Underoath era has definitely imprinted itself in my writing. I'm glad you enjoyed it man.

[@Mtaalas]

But it's not a song. It's a backing track for guitar solo practice....

[@BlackeSportsAustraliaCS]

@@Shxlo he’s right though. You are structured, but you’re bringing things back without adding anything - chorus or not. You sent an instrumental, he wanted a song. If you added vocals, Even if poor - he’d have caught your memos but you didn’t. You sent in a nice, structured instrumental - but he didn’t want a nice, structured instrumental - its a song writing competition. It was as simple as modulating that riff, ad9 etc. literally all you needed to do.

[@marcuslangford4679]

"the singer didn't show up to band practice." 90% of this competition.

[@No-cg9kj]

Singers are overrated. And mostly garbage.

[@Vyrus-1980]

@@No-cg9kj And they all rewrite the same fucking lyrics every time. Love song? There's 4 billion of those. Breakup song? Makeup song? Parents suck! Government is evil! War bad! Party! Rebel! Everything has been said about every subject in at least a million songs now. We've heard everything a singer could possibly ever have to say in every style and viewpoint imaginable. Much prefer instrumental songs/playlists at this point in humanity.

[@lern2swim]

Vocalists are damn hard to find for musicians/bands just starting out. It seems super predictable that most of the submissions weren't going to have vocals, given the lead time on the contest. Calling it now that something that's not as good as one of the submissions without a topline is going to win.

[@marcuslangford4679]

@@lern2swim this is a songwriting competition, not a performance competition. Sing over the song, sing badly, you could still win if the song is good. But if you leave an element unwritten you can't win. It's like submitting a short story to a competition with no nouns. What is the story about without nouns? Who knows.

[@lern2swim]

@William M. Parker IV who are you boo hooing at? Me? I didn't enter, just observing.

[@mikedavis7636]

Sounds like the greatest compilation of wrestler theme songs ever

[@ianposh4852]

Genuinely thought the same. Like Edge could have a century long career and always have a new intro salad.

[@tunguskagoboom107]

Power chords are a song and I’m sick of pretending they’re not.

[@BlackeSportsAustraliaCS]

@@sirborges the ramones had a career off 3 power chords

[@happyinhalecompany]

Omg! You guys are in Iron maiden an the ramones?!?! WOW! Nice to meet you guys!!

[@CoenBijpost]

Iron Maiden and the Ramones also have singers… What’s your point?

[@happyinhalecompany]

See the issue here is that You guys are nobodies with no following. and don't have millions of fans. So no one wants to listen to 3-4 minutes of power chords from you. They can do it because their listeners know to give them a chance. I personally wouldn't listen to a song from ANY band that is just 4 mins of power chords. It's why I don't listen to punk much anymore.

[@tunguskagoboom107]

@@happyinhalecompany you are very cultured.

[@cederickforsberg5840]

"power chords are not a song" Ramones: hold my bowl haircut

[@Kwert]

The Ramones' songs also included vocals. The power chords themselves did not make up the entire song.

[@cederickforsberg5840]

@@Kwert Its a yoke

[@TheJammerman]

"you're not disqualified but you for SURE did not win" 😂😂😂

[@noobasaurusrex9608]

"Some other piece of shit to scream", HAHAHA holy shit 🤣🤣

[@lammykins09]

Messiah gives me Alice In Chains vibes. Would love to hear some vocals on it

[@lammykins09]

@@s.i.s.t.m nice! Look forward to hearing it!

[@Rxbandit421]

So would trey

[@linusfotograf]

Best song in the contest

[@s.i.s.t.m]

LOL rly late to the party but we actually put the song out - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJyUi6JvprR-arM

[@scottlewis3139]

Isaac KILLING it w/the hilariously sick editing on these vids!! 😂

[@dillon3433]

Your editor needs a raise after making videos of you listening to these "songs" entertaining enough to not click away.

[@leocubiasmusiclifestyle7460]

Lord Of the Riff (the return of the salad)

[@brianbergmusic5288]

Just be glad this is for an amp and not a drum machine. Can you imagine 4 minute torture sessions of Four-on-the-Floor minimal techno?

[@frankjager1647]

For See The Sights, it seems like he's probably rendered out a reverb tail.

[@hiroshi138]

"yea I don't care what gear you use" gets me every time 😂

[@Shxlo]

Yo! Thanks for reviewing my song Kurama! I wrote it with the intention of it having vocals but I dont have a mic yet.

[@Superplexmusic]

Yo where can I listen to your song kurama? I thought it was really good.

[@JorisGriffioen]

"this is starting to feel like work" - what you really want to hear when people listen to your music lol

[@mattwhittaker1952]

Dark Vader was dope. I didn’t feel like it needed a vocalist. Seemed to hold its own.

[@SidusPostRock]

I will still try to find one though xD

[@thedude8526]

Tell that to Crowbar. Power chords galore and its damn good.

[@Sean-Ax]

and bendy slidey action but also plenty of vocals

[@jonahcovers1856]

Damm dude. 1000 entries? You’re gonna need to do some live streams of this. Even if you did 50 songs a video it would still take you 20 more review vids… prayers for Trey.

[@coreytherockstarduh]

980 disqualifications tho

[@drpibisback7680]

@@coreytherockstarduh The farther we've gone forward, the fewer disqualifications there have been, though. Even if a few hundred get DQ'd, that's still hundreds more.

[@madiimad]

I guess he's not showing all the reviews on the video. Only the ones he chooses. For obvious reasons. So there are many that we can not watch. I'm doing maths and approx 50-80 per week. So we have another 2 months at least! Brace yourselves.

[@jonahcovers1856]

@@madiimad Oh nice. That makes sense.

[@RYAN-cj2fp]

If just power chords aren’t a song.... I’m fucked!!! Lol

[@TheLemonKiller]

Really gets rid of a lot of Punk and other Metal and alternative and a few others

[@myoptik3x103]

These all sound like they were hurried to get into the contest. They all sound like good frameworks for what could eventually be good songs.

[@EndlessMeece]

6:06 to 6:18 -- OH MY GOODNESS, NAILED IT!!!!!!!!!! 🤘🔥🤘🔥🤘🔥🤘🔥🤘🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@SeagoGuitarist]

Son "Mom, I want some riff salad" Mom *destroys universe*

[@Jeremy-hx7zj]

how do people continue to send these tracks in without any vocals or a topline? Dude has made it abundantly clear over all of these videos that he will not be impressed by backing tracks.

[@jeanettekorzenko4958]

Thank you! To all entries this breaks up the day. The video editing is hilarious. 😂

[@joshhiroti]

Monuments riff salad had my feet going, pretty solid

[@olivierpeartnoy]

I really like Dark Vader. Even as purely instrumental I dug listening to it. But yeah definitely made for vocals

[@megalyth6322]

"Dark Vader" reminds me of certain songs from Quake2. I can always use some more of that in my life.

[@bigkid757]

Trey, Does the intervals course include the neck stickers? 😂

[@bigkid757]

Hahaha… I was busting balls

[@LeDechaine]

18:33 thanks. This will never be said enough.

[@followfornothing]

Patrick: Uh, Trey, is Salad an instrument? Trey Xavier: No! Salad is not an instrument. (In a demonic voice.)

[@RemusHerciu]

why do I feel attacked by every single title/thumbnail?

[@Mississippi_Martian]

I get anxiety everytime he uploads a video and I read the title.... is it me this week? lol

[@supertim101]

@@Mississippi_Martian haha same , finally i can chill now , heart rate was a 200bpm when i seen my stupid face haha

[@Mississippi_Martian]

@@supertim101 LOL! You can tear the guitar up though man! Just need you a singer and you'll be set. \m/

[@instrumentalist28]

Nirvana has left the conversation

[@freepadz6241]

Kurt was the king of hooky melodies

[@BloodSavedMe]

I'm a mix engineer but also a shredder so I loved this video lol

[@eon8893]

First and second songs sound like they both came off the same album

[@madiimad]

Salad for dinner - Album radio edit

[@jmac1013]

Please do a periodic recap of the contenders.

[@playdelay]

Good idea

[@NateRange]

Question, do you HAVE to add "200k Contest" to the subject of the email?

[@gospeedgo17]

song structure, what a concept...

[@No-cg9kj]

An overrated one.

[@ZakkiLowe]

The little Salad Fingers sound effect 6:00. 😂

[@LexiPixeL_]

Holy shit, that do be Salad Fingers. Props to Isaac.

[@KingOfAshesMusic]

This is so fucking brutal lol. Remind me never to enter in to one of these contests lol.

[@Questioneverythingx]

"I'm a lonely little bitch and I drink too much!" ... I see shots are fired haha

[@AaronMorgan666]

Trey, when you said to not worry about what genre you are, what if I wanted to be all over the place? I've had 2 ppl tell me that it'll turn ppl off. For example. I want to be deathcore/djent/punk/pop punk. Like have an ep with almost all different types of songs. Is that ok?

[@tealeaf3210]

So i'm not Trey and my english is often approximative, but i 100% support that kind of stuff. There will always be at least one person that care much more about that kind of stuff. Yes it's gonna be niche but worth it if you find some coherent way to take the best of what the genres have to offer. I'm still trying to put together some Cybergrind/Nintendocore/Vaporwave/vaportrap kind of thing but hey.

[@No-cg9kj]

Whatever the fuck you want is okay. Unless you are commissioned to write a piece for a specific purpose(like a soundtrack) the only person you should aim to satisfy is yourself. So many people are hellbent on impressing others with their music, getting others to like their music. Write what you want. Write what you like. Music is supposed to be personal and expressive. Who the fuck is ANYBODY to tell you how to express yourself?

[@russellzauner]

Everyone: PLS LISTEN TO WINNING TRACK AND DECIDE WHICH WIN Me: *they're the same thing*

[@naejin]

I liked that 4th song Messiah by Stef Mitev. Seemed to have good potential, but yeah that ending was abrupt & didn't feel like it belonged. Perhaps you were right that it was edited just to fit the time limit.

[@s.i.s.t.m]

Wasn't to be honest! Song is out now with vocals! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJyUi6JvprR-arM

[@s.i.s.t.m]

And thanks for the kind words lol!

[@VAA_JesusIsLord]

Your bit at 18:21 had me straight up in tears man idk why that was so funny to me but damn I couldn't even laugh right! lol

[@Volytyr]

I’m a bit new. Could you please give us a list of all the songs you are credited with writing?

[@SteveFye]

This is what happens when there aren't any more "guitar heroes" like Satriani, Vai, Malmsteen, Lynch, etc. Riffs for days and not a melody to be found anywhere. Sad.

[@orlock20]

I believe 90% or more of the contestants have never heard a song in their life. Are these people actually just listening to menucore?

[@No-cg9kj]

There are plenty of guitar heroes. Plini? Aaron Marshall? Angel Vivaldi? I could go on and on and on and on.

[@ConstantineM]

Petrucci?

[@Mtaalas]

@@No-cg9kj The fact that I haven't heard any of these people should tell you something... that people don't talk about them enough for guitar heroism to come back to lime light and for guitarists to have examples of how to write songs, not backing tracks for solo practice.

[@Bones12x2]

@@Mtaalas if you havent heard of any of those guys you are not trying at all... its impossible to be looking for younger guitarist focused bands/players without being recommended at least one of those dudes. Jason Richardson, Polyphia, Tosin, Max Ostro etc... All relatively youngish guitar masters. I will agree that guitar gods are not popular anymore in society like Van Halen but thr likes of Paul Gilbert, Yngwie, or Steve Vai were never truly household names outside of the guitar community either.

[@ConstantineM]

Green day leaves the chat.

[@RJW14]

Yes, that Mayones is gorgeous holy shit that quilt.

[@treyxaviermusic]

They make amazing shit

[@RJW14]

@@treyxaviermusic I know from experience :P If only I were as good at making music as my guitar is at being a guitar. 😂

[@iDealMedley]

that dark vader has the sphere of madness riff lol

[@benjaminnixon3995]

5:11 genuinely sounds like it could be a Bury Tomorrow track

[@supertim101]

I know you were taking the piss but I’m stoked you think my riffs are like John Brownes haha thanks man… Also Im Australian 🤙🏼

[@treyxaviermusic]

"you put the Queen on your money, you're English" - Dr. House. haha you're welcome

[@treyxaviermusic]

ps I'm assuming this means you won't put the hurt on me pls say yes

[@supertim101]

@@treyxaviermusic Hahaha you're all good man

[@madiimad]

Plz don't hurt him.

[@crescendo5594]

@@madiimad No, no. Let’s see this play out a bit. Maybe just a smidgen of hurt. Just little hurt hors d'oeuvre.

[@kaleidojess]

20:37 is probably my favourite and 10:28 , 14:20 was cool too

[@lern2swim]

"Don't worry about the mix" immediately after commentary about a weird mix thing. lol

[@PopeThunder]

Are these entries called Salad Tossers?

[@treyxaviermusic]

#saladtossersclub

[@somedude5414]

They are NOW!

[@PopeThunder]

@@somedude5414 I think the first one was relying more on jelly than syrup.

[@AXQZL3]

The first song gave me while she sleeps vibes

[@BarberMister]

No wonder 80s Glam metal is making a comeback.

[@chilledpenguins8381]

Definitely add a disqualifier for the next videos: if there's not top line after a minute and a half.... DISQUALIFIED.

[@treyxaviermusic]

I've begun doing this now, but the videos where I do are a few weeks out

[@casaroli]

I keep coming back to listen to the pop punk that could’ve been.

[@michanowak7060]

When did metal got that boring? All the distorion guitars sound so clean, not heavy at all, bring on the fuzz, embrace the noise, speed up choruses.

[@iDealMedley]

that sistm song sounds like it's an intro from a full length

[@archittak2792]

at this rate, it'll take more than a year for trey to go through all the entries

[@treyxaviermusic]

stop doing the math I'm gonna get depressed hahaha

[@archittak2792]

@@treyxaviermusic I feel you man Even if it takes a decade I'll wait for my revv patiently 😌

[@MurdochGuitar]

Yo. Question..... My song I submitted.... it's still unlisted as per your contest rules. I was wondering, I've since gone through and finished it up. It will not meet your requirements now... LoL. However, I'd like to re-upload the new/final version to my KZbin channel as a public video. Will that disqualify my original entry?

[@MurdochGuitar]

The difference is about 3 seconds.

[@jarrodhroberson]

You can totally tell how bad a song is going to be by just looking at the waveform!

[@previnmarquez7119]

Long solid bar with kind of a dip in the last third of it? Oh yeah baby.

[@someoneyoudontknow3257]

Are you telling me there's only 11 actual songs with lyrics or a topline in this whole contest??

[@thegreenembers]

I made one so at least 12

[@Ryahu]

Mine has a top line soo 13 lol

[@bpxo.creations]

Nailed the pop punk vocals

[@Ryahu]

I wonder how far he is along in the submissions 🤔 mine was early April lol. Doubt I'll win but I'd really love to hear his comments on what I wrote cx

[@Bking7string]

Riffhard is creating JB clones. Going to be a lot of monuments sounding bands in the next 5 years haha

[@Terry_Tomatoes]

First song literally just sounds like they tried to rewrite if you can't hang by sleeping with sirens

[@Shxlo]

Thanks! Side by side they sound pretty different and that song still slaps harder than your stepdad.

[@somedude5414]

"Did I mention that I cried?" - MST3k Morrisey

[@user-yk4gd1fl4z]

How do these metal guys manage to write such similar sounding music? Fucking amazing. Sooooooo one dimensional ....all clouded by just wanting it to be “heavy man “ lol

[@treyxaviermusic]

I wish I knew

[@orlock20]

It's pretty easy Pick the key then go through all the notes in that key over and over again for four minutes as fast as possible. Now that I know my ABCs, I'll write a song and win a Revv!

[@crescendo5594]

This is why the metal heads of the 90s have stopped being metal heads. You gotta have some variation, man. These crab stand neo-gutter-poopy-djent-core whatever-the-fucks aren’t interesting at all.

[@No-cg9kj]

You realize that happens in literally every genre, right? I'm convinced there are only 3 country singers in the world.

[@SlyHikari03]

Amp Feedback is not a song, Tapping is not a song, Ring Mod is not a song. Unison bends are DEFINITELY not a song.

[@jacktowers7533]

The freedom furniture ad that came on during song two was more interesting than the song

[@stephenrochester6309]

Tried to find that Dark Vader track on Apple Music but the only thing there is some second-rate rap tune 😭

[@Sabbaticgoat666]

Doom metal: "Am I a joke to you?"

[@materedai4158]

I know I'm late but Darth Vader would be hecking good with Eric Emery

[@drphdmd7064]

Dude your emo lyrics are too on point. You wore eyeliner in highschool, didn't you?

[@Citizen_J]

Introducing my buddy to "arranger chain" in Cubase was one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made

[@manny75586]

It's remarkable how many instrumentals you get that are clearly just demos for a singer/lyricist to listen to and put a vocals onto. Especially the metal ones. Listen to Conquering Dystopia. Are your riffs and leads as good as those? No? Then you probably need a vocal.

[@prowokator]

Sorry you had to go through this.. Next time I'm in for sure.

[@CoenBijpost]

I have never understood the reason for calling yourself a band, that’s for the critics to decide afterwards. And if you’re really good and creative, people will name a new subgenre or even genre after you. The need to fit into some small pocket is beyond me. That will always just limit your options instead of giving you more…

[@sobasage1958]

Soooo... When's the next competition?

[@Hanssone]

its the bi product of the "Mom, I want to be buckethead" generation, and now we seeing it unfold with endless generic riff salads.

[@orlock20]

I can now see why Beth Hart gets contacted by so many top guitarists. She is a keyboardist but her voice and song writing ability is built for guitar. Beth Hart said she was contracted to do the song Mother Maria by Slash, but Slash said she changed the song. I want to hear Slash's original version of the song.

[@JamesBurwellActual]

LOL. Salty Tray Tray!

[@djevon4853]

That song messiah has some strong ass 127s with that the pack.

[@wowwhataworld.9590]

"Hey girl, are you a waitress?" 🤣

[@helgijonsson3537]

That verse section in "Messiah" sounds a lot like the intro to Flying Whales by Gojira

[@azzakirk44]

Hmm. First vid I've watched of you. Loving the fact that you gove some tough but well-needed constructive criticism. I reckon I'll watch more 😁😁

[@dookieeater]

Why must I wait till 2?

[@riec0123]

"Just find somebody who sings" Do you have any fucking idea how goddamn difficult that is for some of us? I've been trying to find a singer for over a decade.

[@TheBaconWizard]

I did like Dark Vader, very cool. I could put lyrics to that for sure.

[@SabiaCDO]

You are tough but fair.

[@Bryant.Defiant]

Tabs?

[@MunchiesMusicMadness]

Three power chords ar3 definitely a song

[@jonnylikertrommer]

but if you play enough of them, they turn into a song.