Some time ago I recorded a metal version of this song for a bit of fun. I'd heard a band do a good take on it, and fancied a go too. You can hear the result in the normal speed audio.

It's just 1 lead guitar over the backing music for the song. It was never intended to be an ActionTab, as I'd just quickly recorded it as a joke to share with a few friends at the time. However, it seems to have gotten about a bit since then. Many people seem to like it and have requested I ActionTab it...so, I listened over it, figured out what I played, re-recorded it slowed down, and here it is!

I wouldn't recommend this tune for beginners, as you should be able to play quite consistently fast already, and know your techniques before attempting a solo like this. There's a wide variety of techniques here, from pinch harmonics to vibrato. That said, the main melodic parts of the tune aren't so difficult. That's the good news. But, there are a fair few fast runs and flashy parts that push the difficulty rating up considerably.

For the brave and persistent - Don't let those tricky parts put you off learning the easier parts of the solo. You can always substitute them with slower runs / powerchords / gaps etc until you've got the hang of playing faster (or just improvise). Then you should work at the harder parts (no pain no gain right?).

I re-recorded the very fast parts (like the runs) at a slower pace than the rest of the tune so you can see more clearly how they are played in the ActionTab. Just remember that those parts are played much faster in reality (at least 4 times faster), whereas the rest of the solo is recorded at about half the speed of the original (which is in the normal speed audio).

For the most part, the solo uses the C natural minor scale:

C - D - Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb - C

The lead guitar follows the vocal line for much of the melody, so if you know the song you should have no problem picking that up. However, there are plenty of little frills and trills thrown in to rock things up. Notice the extensive use of vibrato and slides for a bit of extra drama. The slides emulate the breathing effect between phrases (covered in Rock 1 Solo B). Of course, there are plenty of bends and hammer on / pull off combos etc as well.

The whammy bar is occasionally used on the longer notes. You can hear it here, here and here. Nothing too difficult there. The silly one was due to laughter at the time (Like I say, this recording was born as a joke at the time, and not much was being done seriously).

Notice that pinch harmonics are sometimes used, and occasional palm muting - all for effect. Varying and combining techniques like this can put more expression and bite into your solos.

There are a lot of licks in this ActionTab, many worth learning even if you aren't interested in learning the whole solo. Pick out the bits you like and practice them. Adapt them into your own repertoire and have fun with them!