[Post Pics Of Your Guitar!]

A true beauty!

[whos your favorite singer and WHY!!??]

My favorite singers are, sad but true, not among the living anymore:

Ronnie James Dio and Freddie Mercury

[Internet Promotion Vs Playing Live]

I believe it is also a question why you are in it. For the money? For the fun? Or for both? For myself personally, there is nothing more satisfying than performing my own music with a red hot band in front of people. I will bring my music to the people that way, even if I have to pay for it. So it`s obvius, I`m in it for the fun.....

[Song Title Association Game]

Sign of the Southern Cross - Black Sabbath

[Song Title Association Game]

To loud for the crowd - Venom

[Song Title Association Game]

Be quick or be dead - Iron maiden

[Song Title Association Game]

Iron man - Black Sabbath

[What Can Anyone Say About A Song With Two Different Chorus's?]

If it sounds good to you, go for it!

In my opinion, the most important rule in songwriting is : "There are no rules!"

[Post Pics Of Your Guitar!]

From left to right: Old Yamaha classic guitar, Seagull S6 (my main accoustic), PRS SE Tremonti, LTD Viper, Dean Deciever (My main electric)

[Song Title Association Game]

The Free Electric Band - Albert Hammond

[What Have You Learnt From X Factor / American Idol Etc?]

I am glad to say that the Norwegian version of X-Factor has taken a nice direction. Both the winners from 2009 and 2010 were singer/songwriters, winning the competition with their own songs.

[Shredding]

And as a wise man once said : "The most important notes in any solo are the ones you don`t play"

[Writing For A Cd - Do You Think A Band Has To Have " A Sound"]

I think you need to have a sound. That beeing said, I don`t think it is crucial to have a "style".

Queen is mentioned as a good example. Led Zeppelin is another. In the catalogue of Zep you can find examples of heavy metal, blues, folk, reggea, country and some crossovers.

[Post Pics Of Your Guitar!]

My Axes

That bassguitar on the right looks like a true beauty!

[Shredding]

And please, don`t become one of those mindless guys who shreds just for the sake of it. A little bit of shredding is nice if you manage to put some "soul" into it, but most of the shredders I have heard are playing like machines.

[Esp Horizon Nt 2 + ? For Progressive Metal?]

Sorry that this post slipped my attention......

The 5150 Head is very suitable if you want to rock hard. The only thing you should bear in mind is that it is real loud, and needs to be played at quite some volume to show it`s true potential.

[How To Write Completely Meaningless Lyrics]

Thanks for all advice. I am currently writing lyrics for some of the songs we are working on in the band. It turned out that no one else comes up with anything, and somebody has got to do it........

For me, lyrics are just words to go with the music, I know that stating this opinion in this forum might be like swearing in the church, but that`s how it works for me. I try to make the music as interesting as possible, and leave the lyrics to be "words to go with the music"

I think this works for metal, wich is my genre. As for pop, rap, dance or country, I think you need some good lyrics, as the music in itself might not be interesting enough to keep the listener occupied. (Just my personal opinion again)

Well, here are some of the words I have come up with.

1. Verse of "song 1":

Don`t look behind the darkness

There is no turning back

as day bleeds into night

and night turns to a darker shade of black

The darkness whispers secrets

not ment for man to hear

An old forgotten doorway

to the pit of coldest fear

1. and 2. verse of "song 2"

Living in between the hammer and the nail

Every single move is bound to fail

Nothing but nightmares left to dream

close your eyes

eternal scream

Your cards are played, your train is gone

You`re racing for the setting sun.

You stare the sandman in his eyes

plain ice-cold fear

without disguise

[Song Title Association Game]

Lay your hands on me - Bon Jovi

[Staying Motivated]

I use to make very simple recordings of small pieces that comes to my mind when I play guitar. Some of them never fits into anything, and some of them eventually becomes songs. When I am out of ideas I use to listen to the old recordings, and all in a sudden something emerges to take it in a new direction.

[How To Write Completely Meaningless Lyrics]

Vill du skriva på norsk eller engelska? Det är inte så lätt att skriva på norsk... Jag vet inte - kanske

Tack

Alex

I certainly want to go for english lyrics, not norwegian.

[Guitar Tuners]

I use the built in tuner of my Boss GT8. I have programmed it so that the tuner shows in the display every time I press the volume pedal all the way down. Very usefull for live performances, since you can check your tuning in a hurry inbetween every song.

[How To Write Completely Meaningless Lyrics]

Hello folks. Thanks for opinions and good advice so far. I might have expressed myself in the wrong way, by using the word "Meaningless", but I can see most of you understood what i ment.

[Seth Riggs Speech Level Singing]

Seems to be a broken link............

[How To Write Completely Meaningless Lyrics]

Here is a very good example of what I am looking for, Another one from the pen of Dio, Children of the sea, by Black Sabbath:

Children Of the Sea

In the misty morning, on the edge of time

We've lost the rising sun, a final sign

As the misty morning rolls away to die

Reaching for the stars, we blind the sky

Oh hmm

We sailed across the air before we learned to fly

We thought that it could never end

We'd glide above the ground before we learned to run, run

Now it seems our world has come undone

Oh they say that it's over

And it just has to be

Ooh they say that it's over

We're lost children of the sea

Uh oh

We made the mountains shake with laughter as we played

Hiding in our corner of the world

Then we did the demon dance and rushed to nevermore

Threw away the key and locked the door

Oh they say that it's over, yeah

And it just has to be

Yes they say that it's over

We're lost children of the sea

Oh

In the misty morning, on the edge of time

We've lost the rising sun, a final sign

As the misty morning rolls away to die

Reaching for the stars, we blind the sky

Oh they say that it's over

And it just has to be

Oh they say that it's over

Poor lost children of the sea, yeah

Look out, the sky is falling down

Look out, the world is spinning round and round and round

Look out, the sun is going black, black

Look out, it's never never never coming back, look out

Doesn`t make much sense, does it?

But sounding amazing performed with a powerfull voice.

[How To Write Completely Meaningless Lyrics]

Rainbows, kings, swords, mirrors, you name it.......

But I still find his lyrics quite suitable for the music. Telling a good story with a lyric is not very easy. I believe some of the best writers in that direction is to be found in the countryscene.

And of course, by meaningless lyrics, I don`t mean "bla,bla,bla....." There has to be, as you mentioned, some structure and a hook.