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Ultimate Black Metal Guitar! (Udemy.com)

Learn The Techniques, Theory, And Secrets Of Black Metal Guitar Playing To Become An Awesome Black Metal Guitarist!

4.8
730 reviews

Created by: Simon Smith

Last updated April 2025

Our take

Based on the ratings of 730 students and a sample of their written reviews. No course pays to be reviewed.

Simon Smith's course is a focused guitar class for one genre. It runs about 5.5 hours and comes with 50 tabs. The description lists left and right hand technique, theory, chords, intervals and the structure of iconic black metal songs. It also touches on gear and how to practice. It is listed for all levels.

Reviewers like the focus. One five-star review says it gathers the minimum theory and technique the genre needs in one place, singles out the tremolo picking section, and likes that the tabs come as PDF and Guitar Pro files. Others call the instructor knowledgeable and say he explains the basics simply. Criticism in the sample is thin. One two-star reviewer, writing in Portuguese, says it missed expectations and gives no reason. The sample is only four reviews out of 730, so treat it lightly.

The course was last updated in 2025. The instructor teaches on YouTube, has around 130,000 subscribers, and has played in black metal bands since the 1990s. For a short, paid course, it is a fair pick if you want to write riffs in this style. If you need broad guitar fundamentals or a slow, thorough theory course, look elsewhere.

Best forGuitarists who want black metal riffs, tremolo picking and song structure without wading through general guitar lessons.
Skip it ifYou want general guitar fundamentals or a long, deep theory course that goes beyond one genre.

Pros

  • Stays on black metal: tremolo picking, melody and song structure, not general guitar filler
  • 50 tabs included, available as PDF and Guitar Pro files
  • Reviewers call the teaching simple and the instructor knowledgeable
  • Updated in 2025 and rated 4.8 across 730 reviews

Cons

  • One reviewer says the content is not much different from other guitar courses, apart from the tremolo section
  • One low review says it missed expectations but gives no reason, so the problem is unclear
  • No requirements are listed, so it is unclear how much guitar skill the course assumes
what differentiates this course is that out of all guitar theory and technique possible, Simon distills the stuff that is commonly seen in Black Metal genre, so it is much more focused.
Stenio Ferreira, a student

Listed for all levels, but no requirements are spelled out, so the starting skill it assumes is unclear.

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What you will learn

  • Electric Guitar, Black Metal Guitar, Metal Guitar, Heavy Metal Guitar, Guitar Techniques, Music Theory, Scales, Chords
  • How To Write Riffs, How To Write Songs, How To Write Harmonies & Melodies, How To Use Dynamics, How To Use Multiple Techniques In Your Writing

How it compares

Against the other 183 rated Udemy courses in Guitar on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.8 out of 5higher than 81% of them
  • Reviews730#26 of 184 by number of reviews
  • Length5.5 hourslonger than 72% of them
  • Last updatedApril 2025more recently than 86% of them

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Course Description

With over 4 and a half hours of video instruction and 50 tabs, in this course, you will learn everything you need to master the art of Black Metal guitar. We examine the techniques of both the left and right hand, the theory, the chords, the intervals and the structure of iconic songs. You will learn how to create your own riffs, songs, melodies, and harmonies ten times easier than you thought possible. We'll look at equipment, and how to practice efficiently to get the most out of your practice routines. By the end of this course, you'll have everything you need to create Black Metal riffs, songs, and albums of your own!
Who this course is for:
Guitar players, beginner guitar players, metal guitar players, people interested in heavy music, people interested in metal, black metal, black metal guitar,
Read More All Levels All Levels product length iconTime: 5.5h

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Instructor Details

Simon Smith

I've been playing guitar since I was 15 back in 1990/1991. I started with learning Iron Maiden songs, then progressed to more extreme forms of music. I co/formed my first Black Metal band in 1994 called Embalmed. Since then, I've learned pretty much all styles of music, and performed hundreds of gigs across the country and in Europe of all genres. I've taught many people how to play guitar face-to-face, but now I teach mainly on YouTube. At the time of writing this, I have around 130,000 subscribers. I also play guitar in the BlackMetal band Kyteler.

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Reviews

4.8

730 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

Write a review

By Samuel Borges on 12/27/2020

No atendeu minhas expectativas.

By Randy Aley on 11/2/2020

Course is exactly what I'm looking for, Simon is very knowledgeable.

By Stenio Ferreira on 10/20/2020

The course I have been looking for the past 5 years!!
Content is not much different from the many guitar courses out there (perhaps maybe the great section on tremolo picking), however what differentiates this course is that out of all guitar theory and technique possible, Simon distills the stuff that is commonly seen in Black Metal genre, so it is much more focused.
Pros:
- Black metal specific emphasis, such as tremolo, melody, song structure
- Consolidates in one place all the minimum theory and technique needed for the genre
- Tabs available in pdf and Guitar Pro format
Areas of improvement:
- I wish he would overlay the tabs during video explanations, it is easy to get lost in the descriptions of "index finger on fret 3 of E, middle finger on fret 5 of A", give me some visuals dude! Lol but practicing with the tabs then coming back to videos for double checking and finger position helps
- He could have expanded on the stylistic ideas, perhaps talking what differentiates Norwegian black metal to Swedish black metal, band focus like talking about how the style of Gorgoroth is different from Mgla, talk about DAW effects ideas
- He could have talked about translating Black Metal from distorted guitar to other instruments, like his acoustic versions on youtube
- Finally, he could have added a section about string gauges and different tunings
Overall a great course, I recommend. Maybe Simon can consider the above points for a second installment of this course? :-D

By Julian Andrs Adarve Ros on 9/26/2020

Hasta ahora ha cubierto aspectos bsicos necesarios para el total entendimiento del tema. Explica los temas de manera sencilla.

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Read all 730 reviews on Udemy

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Overall Score : 96 / 100

Ultimate Black Metal Guitar!
Visit course on Udemy Write a review
  • Video Duration: icon 5.5h
  • Price: $19.99
  • Provider: icon Udemy
  • Updated: icon April 2025
  • Level: All Levels All Levels
  • Language: icon English
  • Certificate: icon Yes
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