As a former surf guitarist, I hereby confirm that the rumors are true: heavy-trad instrumental surf rock sounds a bit like heavy metal minus the distortion—but with a lot of soaking-wet spring reverb thrown in.
Take this recent video by the Paranormal Guitar Channel, "Metal Without Distortion, aka Surf Music from Hell."
In the clip, which has already wracked up more than a million views (and an unusually high number of "thumbs down"), the guitarist—let's call him "Mr. Paranormal"—plays tunes by Slayer, Pantera, Death, Cannibal Corpse, Megadeth and Metallica, all without distortion but with a touch of (what sounds like) digital reverb. And yeah, it does sound like surf music from hell and/or purgatory ... or not very good surf music. Be sure to check out the clip below.
If you're interested in some worthwhile surf covers of classic metal tunes, check out Big 4 Beach Blanket Bingo (2014) by Killjoy & The Cutthroats. You can hear one of their songs—a Metallica cover called "For Whom the Beach Calls"—below (bottom video).
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
