Today we’re back on with Arch Enemy’s song Vultures from their album Rise of the Tyrant. This time we’re going to be discussing how Arch Enemy uses the harmonic minor as well as various key changes in order to get a very dark, brutal, and intense sound. The Main riff of this song has a very cool harmonized pull off and pedal tone lone that’s repeated several times at high speed. This line utilizes notes from the harmonic minor in order to get a dark sound. The verses that house the held power cords contain not only a use of the harmonic minor, but also a key change from C minor to B minor that occurs smack in the middle of each verse. It’s these non diatonic elements that are characteristic of Arch Enemy’s sound, and Give the listener a sense of unease and unrest. These intensely dark sections are accentuated by the transition to the more melodic chorus that we’ll discuss in another video.
