REVOCATION’s Dave Davidson Talks Syncopation

Revocation’s Dave Davidson (Dave-squared, if you will) has a regular video column with Guitar World in which he breaks down the theoretical concepts behind certain riffs and licks. In this week’s “Thrash Course,” Dave Dave talks about disguising the meter with syncopation using the Revocation track, “Theater of Horror.” The song is featured on Great Is Our Sin that was released this past July.

Among other helpful rhythmic hints, Dave talks about punctuating the downbeat of 4 instead of the downbeat of 1 to create a somewhat unusual feel, while also enlightening viewers with a bit of chord and modal theory.

Clearly, the goal of these lessons is not to make anyone feel like an underwhelming or inadequate player—they’re lessons, not pissing contests—but I’ll be damned if hearing Dave Davidson lay down riffs and knowledge doesn’t sting just a tad. Cue Whiplash-esque practice montage of me wearing my useless fingers to the bone. And if you’d like to do the same, there’s a super convenient tab provided with the lesson.

Not only does his musical intelligence inspire and frighten me, but I think Dave Davidson is one of the few guitarists that can totally pull off the “X-treme” body shape thing, too. All the more reason to admire the guy.