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Tag Archive for: Voice of Metal

Orange amps has often been associated with heavy slow riffs, the type that knock the filings from your teeth and would blow the speakers in your car. This has always been something we have been very proud of, we make loud amps and we think they sound great. Our amps are perfect for a genre that spans from classic metal such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath all the way through to the new boys of djent and progressive metal. But which amp works for each sub genre of metal? Well we are here to help!

Classic Metal

It feels a bit wrong to call bands like Sabbath and Zeppelin ‘classic metal’ but this is a way to show their older statesmen role in the genre. Basically if these guys had chosen another calling we all wouldn’t have a job or a record collection. So if you want to play like Jimmy Page, Orange has the amp for you, in fact he uses an Orange… see what we did!

The AD30 was used at the Led Zeppelin reunion show in 2007 (they were the single channel versions.) The current AD30 has two channels, channel one is cleaner, with channel two being the heavier channel, use this one for Page riffs!

Sludge Metal

Heavily influenced by Black Sabbath, sludge metal came about through bands mixing elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. What came from these two joining forces was heavily detuned guitars, lots of distortion and tempos switching from slow grooves to punk styled riffs. If this sounds like your thing then the Crush Pro 120 would be the perfect amp for you, none other than Kirk from Sludge Metal legends Crowbar uses it to create a wall of sound.

Taking inspiration from the Rockerverb 100, the Crush Pro 120 head is a solid state amplifier which delivers warm, rich analogue tone. Kirk started using one on the road and it has taken the place of an amplifier metal great Dimebag Darrell gave him. If this doesn’t make it the perfect amplifier for all those low tuned riffs, then we don’t know what will!

Nu Metal

In the late 90’s and early 2000’s this was the genre in rock, behemoths like Slipknot, Linkin Park, Korn and Limp Bizkit all came to the forefront of the music scene. Mixing rap, rock and metal elements they forged their own path, recently these bands have established themselves as some of the biggest rock acts in the world. Headlining every major festival Slipknot have become giants of the genre and Jim Root uses a Rockerverb to achieve his distinct, signature sound.

The Rockerverb was designed to be an amp for all genres and has been used by so many different players across its over ten year history. With two channels and four stages of gain it has become perfect for this genre. Not only does Jim Root trust the Rockerverb every night on stage but legendary guitarist Head from Korn calls the clean channel ‘buttery’.

Progressive Metal

Finally if you want to sound like a rock behemoth, then progressive metal is where it is all going off. Titans of the genre are Tool, Opeth, Rush and Mastodon and Orange has so many amplifiers that are perfect. The Brent Hinds Terror was built by men in mountains with googles (as told by Mastodon’s Brent Hinds) so it is the perfect fit for this genre.

The Brent Hinds Terror is a two channel, all valve, lunch box amplifier which was designed specifically to play Mastodon riffs loud. The bedroom/headroom switch makes bedroom practice a simple click of a switch, so nothing will get in the way of thundering riffs!

Swedish heavy metal band formed as a side project of Ceremonial Oath in the early 90’s and became a band at the forefront of the Gothenburg sound. Since then they have gone from strength to strength, releasing their thirteenth album this year (2019). We sat down with bassist Bryce Paul to chat amps and finger style playing.

Hi Bryce Paul here, bass player from In Flames and I play Orange amps.

I come from pretty diverse backgrounds of music, not just playing heavy metal but in the early days I was playing in Indie rock bands. So someone like Colin Greenwood of Radiohead, was very influential for me and I fell in love with the challenge of playing aggressive music with finger picking. Who do you go to? That is Steve Harris which is a great segue to my amp choice now which is the 4 Stroke series and the 4 Stroke 500. That was kind of part of the decision making and part of getting the right amps to use on the road. So we gave it a shot and it has been awesome ever since.

My demand is just some options, we play different rooms from an arena to a festival to a smaller club sometimes, and that comes into play, the room and the vibe and what you need in the mix. Playing with your fingers vs a pick style, you need to still cut through because it is going to be a warmer, a different tone. So that is something definitely always take into consideration, the 4 Stroke with the four band EQ, I am able to be pickier about certain frequencies and get the tone that fits my playing style best.

My experience to describe Orange gear, I’ve toured a lot with the AD200. Durability, it lasted many, many miles, never had any issues with it, it’s pretty straightforward rock n roll, plug n play and that is how I like it. I like things simplified but I need options at the same time.

I would say Orange amps for our sound, for heavier, heavy metal, heavier rock bands, it gives you the tools necessary to give you the tone that you need. You can have a great clean tone, it’s so warm but then overdrive, you are cutting through the mix and its going to be great.

I have two 4 Stroke 500s on this rig, one is the main and then I have a backup in case anything disastrous were to happen, because it happens. Then as far the cabs itself, I have an isolation cabinet, we mic that so we can have a few different sounds and then everything else is direct. So it’s pretty simple and it works extremely well.

Just to be associated with a brand where it is truly loved by so many heroes of mine is amazing. Because of the show, the quality and the respect that Orange has, it is awesome, I’m super stoked!

Crushing riffs and detuned guitars are what Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs or PigsX7 are all about, hailing from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, the band as mentioned a few times are influenced by Black Sabbath. We met up with them in the spring of 2019 and discussed the guitar gear arms race and what Orange adds to their sound.

Hi Adam Ian Sykes from Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

Hello I’m Sam Grant from Pig Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs.

Which artists inspired you to get into music?

Adam: Black Sabbath

Who are your main influences as a band?

Adam: ‘Changes’ by Black Sabbath

Sam: Yes!

Tell us about your sound goals?

Adam: Think as long as we sound 30% like Black Sabbath.

Sam: Would be ideal.

What has using Orange added to your sound?

Adam: Kick to the chest and a kick to the groin.

Sam: Yes! Just like that.

Adam: I recently got some Orange cabs replaced, I was using, there is a lot more kicks to the groin.

Sam: Followed by…

Adam: The chest, the head…

Sam: Then as you keep pushing the pedal forwards it goes over peoples heads.

Adam: Pull their spine out from the skull.

How has it made a difference to your individual sound?

Adam: Moving to Orange the cabs in particular, there was a big boost in the low mids. The low mids, it’s a big part of my sound I guess. As much as a lack of practice… they are both quite important to my playing style.

Sam: Distinct flavour you manage to get.

Adam: I always have my volume on full, I don’t touch any of the knobs on my guitar because something may go drastically wrong. There is enough response from the amps to get round my technical inability I think.

Sam: I tend to to love the low end, the frequency range…

Adam: The groin kick?

Sam: The groin kick, the frequency range, the high mids I’m not too fussed about them.

Adam: It’s of the face, don’t touch the face.

Sam : Can’t touch the face.

Anything else Orange helps with?

Adam: We are playing in drop C which the amps tend to handle pretty well.

Sam : That is important because I think we write everything in C.

Adam: Ye, we try out best.

Sam: So far so good.

How do you decide who uses what gear?

Sam: I think in part there needs to be some decision made in what each of us are using.

Adam: I think in part the consideration is one up manship of how loud, how many cabs.

Sam: An arms race!

Adam: It is an arms race, we are deep in the arms trade. Well I have got more cabs haven’t I?

Sam: You have got two more speakers but one less head. That’s a shame.

Adam: Well I best get another amp. I’d like to have more amps and cabs than Matt Pike, then I would be happy. Twenty four is not enough.

Sam: Twenty five?

Adam: Ye, twenty five.

Sam: And a little Micro Terror? Just one side.

Adam: Interesting, just in case they all go.

It’s October and ‘Voice of Metal’, this might get heavy – which we do well, really well. This one doesn’t really need an introduction, so without further ado, let’s get to it.

Sleep and High on Fire, Matt Pike

Rockerverb100 MKIII
Crush Mini
PPC412

You’re probably not surprised we started this list with Matt Pike, are you? Our favourite shirtless hero and alien expert, singer of songs and player of electric guitars. Whenever Matt Pike comes to town we clear out our backline suppliers within a 50 mile radius before his crew gets given the most exhausting job any road crew has had since the days of Terry Bozzio touring with Frank Zappa, a heavy load (in – and out..). Matt Pike has pioneered doom and metal with his bands Sleep and High on Fire, and has become sort of a legend while still alive. His average Sleep set up, which is bigger than the High on Fire one, normally contains of nine heads, mostly Rockerverbs and Dual Darks, and twelve cabs. Haters will say they ain’t all plugged in, but haters are wrong. For those of you who’s ever been lucky enough to attend a Sleep show and have had the same religious out of body experience as oh so many others while watching Matt Pike tear shit up, you know they’re plugged in and turned up to 11.

Slipknot, Jim Root

Rockerverb100 MKIII
Signature #4 Jim Root Terror Head
Signature #4 Jim Root PPC212
PPC412

Shock rockers Slipknot have been twisting stomachs, turning heads and upsetting parents since the 90s, and Jim Root has been on the front of it all since ’99. Jim, who’s also known by his number #4 is a massive Orange fan, so much that we developed a head and cab for him, the Signature #4 Jim Root Terror Head and Signature #4 Jim Root PPC212. 

“I really like the creamy mid-range, big headroom, and ‘less is more’ philosophy of Orange amps. And all I have to do is plug straight into it with my guitar. That’s my tone.”
-Jim Root, Slipknot

Mastodon, Brent Hinds

Brent Hinds Terror
PPC412

Mastodon’s Brent Hinds might just have one of the most famous face tattoos out there, alongside Mike Tyson, a feature we included on his signature Brent Hinds Terror. Orange and Brent have a longstanding relationship of working together, we’re good to Brent, and Brent’s good to us – just look at all the stupid shit he agrees to do for us!

KoЯn, Brian ‘Head’ Welch

Rockerverb 100 MKIII

KoЯn were one of the first bands to pioneer nu metal and bring it to the masses, with guitarist Brian Welch playing a key role in how the bands sound developed, defining the nu metal sound of the early 90s.

“KoRn has always been in the game of matching different amp tones and blending them together in the studio. And Orange has always been right there in the mix! One of the reasons I started using Orange amps live is because I was able to get such a smooth tone for my clean channel on classic KoRn songs like “Falling Away From Me” and “Here to Stay.”
– Brian ‘Head’ Welch

Sepultura, Andreas Kisser

Rockerverb 100 MKIII
PPC412

The year was 1983 when Andreas Kisser attended his first gig, seeing one of his all-time favourite bands in his hometown playing his football team’s stadium. The band was KISS on their ‘Creatures of the Night’ tour, and that night changed everything for him. Picking up guitar, his initial goal was to be able to play ‘Stairway to Heaven’. Starting out with acoustic Brazilian music, Andreas swiftly found Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Jimi Hendrix who’s vintage sound influenced him massively. When given the opportunity to play Orange, he instantly took it; 

“You can watch Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’ video where both Iommi and Geezer Butler are using Orange, so when I was given the opportunity to try it for myself I took it straight away – Orange always just had that ‘aura of the masters’. Orange offered more of an organic sound then what I was used to, because what I really love is when I’m able to just plug in and play. There is a lot of demand for distortion and heaviness with Sepultura, and I was very surprised that the Rockerverb II had all of that. A warm, and heavy guitar sound that kind of seemed to expand a bit more.“
– Andreas Kisser, Sepultura