Did Barracuda popularize chug?

[Donnie B.]

Wasn’t it referred to as a gallop back in the day?

I think the term gallop came along with the NWOBHM and Iron Maiden specifically.
Steve Harris owns the patent!

 

[panhead]

Sabbath was responsible for a ton of genre

 

[SpiderWars]

Wasn’t it referred to as a gallop back in the day?

Yes but that is just the technique/timing. The theme song for Bonanza has a gallop to it. If someone came on here and said "Listen to me chug on my killer amp" and it sounded like Achilles Last Stand he'd get run off of R/T or at least schooled. Again, I LOVE the song and it has a gallop but does not chug imo.

Lots of great earlier examples posted that do chug tho imo. This is what I was hoping for itt. Sort of a 'evolution of chug' and why I was careful to use the word 'popularize'.

 

[311boogieman]

To understand the chug, we first must define the chug.

To me it would be repetitive downstrokes at high tempo on a distorted electric guitar mostly utilizing the low E and/or A strings with or without power chords. Palm muting optional.


Go...

 

[311boogieman]

I tried to find a definition. It is sort of referenced in Wikipedia. I'm sure there are some much better definitions out there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_mute
I think I'm going to go with Communication Breakdown. I think this song also helped usher in the punk movement?

 

[LCW]

For earlier, I think of Black Sabbath, and Children of the Grave.

 

[Donnie B.]

If someone came on here and said "Listen to me chug on my killer amp" and it sounded like Achilles Last Stand.

To be clear, I only posted Achilles because it came before Barracuda in regard to the gallop beat.

I agree with Communication Breakdown which was well before anything by Sabbath.

 

[SpiderWars]

To understand the chug, we first must define the chug.

To me it would be repetitive downstrokes at high tempo on a distorted electric guitar mostly utilizing the low E and/or A strings with or without power chords. Palm muting optional.


Go...

For me it has to have 'that sound'. It doesn't have to be all downstrokes. You can't really gallop without some upstrokes and I still play some Hetfield parts with upstrokes where he may have used all downstrokes (MOP comes to mind) and you can get it close-ish. Kind of like 'djent' is more of a sound than a technique. It has to be thick...thin tone does not chug. This is all just what it means in my head tho.

 

[SpiderWars]

To be clear, I only posted Achilles because it came before Barracuda in regard to the gallop beat.

I agree with Communication Breakdown which was well before anything by Sabbath.

Oh I totally get that. Some of these earlier examples of similar technique and use are great examples of the evolution of it. I thought of Communication Breakdown before I started the thread. To me that song is a great example of something that has almost everything needed except...that it does not chug. It's a kind of a thin, fuzz-like tone and just doesn't have a chuggy tone at all. But again, I'm just going from the definition of chug in my head.

 

[Donnie B.]

It has to be thick...thin tone does not chug.

Now it comes down a bit to equipment too. If Page had used a Les Paul Custom into a Diezel Herbert on Comm it would have passed the test.

How about immigrant song which has the bass and guitars really cranking the lick in unison?

 

[SpiderWars]

Yes and yes, Immigrant Song is closer. Good one.

Edit: I was just thinking that maybe the best way for me to define it is this: Listen to the intro to Communication Breakdown and then listen to the very end of Barracuda. Barracuda chugs, Communication Breakdown does not. Still alot of grey area tho.

 

[panhead]

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

 

[311boogieman]

For me it has to have 'that sound'. It doesn't have to be all downstrokes. You can't really gallop without some upstrokes and I still play some Hetfield parts with upstrokes where he may have used all downstrokes (MOP comes to mind) and you can get it close-ish. Kind of like 'djent' is more of a sound than a technique. It has to be thick...thin tone does not chug. This is all just what it means in my head tho.

Super good points.
You can def get chugging on upstrokes
And yeah Barracuda reminds me of that second riff in Master of Puppets, pre verse, where James is downstroking that whole thing. There is no way I could do that, I have to alt pick that.
In the early days I think it was mostly downstroking, and didn't clarify that.
I'm sure there are examples I'm not thinking of.

 

[311boogieman]

Now it comes down a bit to equipment too. If Page had used a Les Paul Custom into a Diezel Herbert on Comm it would have passed the test.

How about immigrant song which has the bass and guitars really cranking the lick in unison?

I was going to say, pretty hard to get that more modern chug that we think of with his gear/tone. Page was just showing us how he does it.
Immigrant song is a great galloping chug across the land

 

[Donnie B.]

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Look up CHUG in the dictionary!

 

[psychodave]

Look up CHUG in the dictionary!

I’m a massive Sabbath fan...

Queen’s Stone Cold Crazy came out 7 months later. Sabbath likely had some influence.

 

[Donnie B.]

Early chug.

 

[panhead]

Freddie was a bad bad boy but he was also a hell of a singer.

 

[Exo-metal]

Sabbath, end of discussion....some of this had me smh. Anyone who says otherwise needs a head check.

 

[stephen sawall]

Wasn’t it referred to as a gallop back in the day?

I still call it that.