About the Solo
I remember discovering Per Nilsson’s solo on Zierler’s track “Aggrezzor” while I was in college, and it absolutely blew me away.
Nilsson’s precision is second to none. Like one of my other favorite guitarists, Vinnie Moore, Nilsson’s playing is incredibly melodic while tastefully incorporating blazing fast runs and arpeggios. This solo showcases all of those elements.
The Song
“Aggrezzor” is by Zierler, a group led by Danish keyboardist Finn Zierler. It’s a groovy progressive metal tune with lots of twists and turns, and Nilsson’s rhythm guitar work takes the song to another level.
After a clean break, we’re introduced to some of Nilsson’s melodies, followed by an awesome solo from Zierler (don’t sleep on his keyboard work!). Once Zierler wraps up, Nilsson launches into his solo. Even though it’s only 16 bars at 200 bpm, this solo is packed with great material.
The Solo
​While the key signature suggests C# major, that doesn’t tell the whole story. The chord progression Nilsson is soloing over looks like this:

Surprising to see a series of four major chords in a metal tune, right? If we dig a little deeper, we can start to unravel what makes this solo sound so interesting.
If it’s not obvious, there’s no single key that contains all four of these chords. To navigate this progression, Nilsson uses a technique called Modal Interchange. While the song’s overall harmony is set by the other instruments, Nilsson’s melodic choices add an extra layer of intrigue.
Anticipation
This is a fast tune, and the chord changes fly by. Nilsson is no stranger to this, and it’s evident in his use of anticipation.
Rather than waiting for the downbeat of each chord, Nilsson often anticipates the changes by playing notes from the upcoming chord before it arrives.
Just before measure 3 of the solo, you can see (and hear) him anticipate the major 3rd of the upcoming E major chord (G#).

Measure 4 has another example of anticipation as Nilsson lands on E#, the major 3rd of the upcoming C# chord, just before it hits.

Rhythm
Not only are these anticipations played ahead of the chord changes, they’re also played on upbeats. Notice how both of the examples above are on the “and” of beat 4. This creates a groove in the solo. In fact, after the first note of the solo, Nilsson doesn’t land on beat 1 again until measure 9! This gives the solo a floating quality, making it feel less anchored to the band’s rhythm.
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Harmony

​In the table above, I’ve mapped out the notes Nilsson uses in this solo over each chord in the progression. Notice how he doesn’t play every single note of the scale over every chord. For one, the chord changes are too quick for that. More importantly, he carefully chooses which notes he wants to highlight.
Nilsson isn’t afraid to omit some notes to focus on the ones that really matter. This is key—just because a scale “fits” doesn’t mean you have to use every note in it. Take what he does over the E chord, for example. He’s essentially playing a triad with an added 4th degree, and it sounds killer. As you work on your solos, explore different possibilities. For instance, does a ♭6th sound better over the C# chord, giving you a Mixolydian ♭6 vibe? There’s no right answer, just what sounds good to your ears.
Further driving this point home, the tapping section at the end of the solo is entirely triadic—and it’s badass!
Conclusion
A lot of players fall into the trap of overcomplicating their approach, searching for the most exotic scales to use in a solo. But as you can see, you can be just as effective—if not more—by playing fewer notes. This is the whole “less is more” idea applied to scales instead of the number of notes. Don’t get me wrong, Nilsson is playing a ton of notes in this solo! But there are fewer ingredients than you might think. These ingredients work so well together because they’re chosen with precision and intention.
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Here’s a video of me attempting to play Per Nilsson’s solo:

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About The Solo​
Vinnie Moore’s track “Rain” comes from the 1999 album “The Maze.” I was struck by this track, particularly the solo, when I was in college. I remember hearing it and being blown away by the melodic control Vinnie Moore has while still maintaining the badassery of a great rock guitar solo.
The solo starts with what I’m pretty sure is an E-bow to create these beautiful, long, sustained notes. If it isn’t used in the solo, it’s definitely used earlier in the song. Some of those notes sustain for days!
The first half of the solo sticks to the key of G Minor and it sounds like Vinnie is thinking just that; G Minor. As a result, when the C minor chord comes around, you can hear him landing on the 9th (D) just before resolving to the 5th (G) later in the phrase. While it’s great to be able to look at chord changes and play to them in a vertical fashion (playing to each chord as it comes up), the horizontal approach will yield different results. In the case of the opening of this solo, I think it makes the melodic content sound more cohesive as the chords under it help color the melody.
The next section hangs on the bVI and bVII chords, which I’m absolutely a sucker for! I could listen to a bVI-bVII-i chord progression all day. The beauty of the changes in this section is that the resolution to the i chord is delayed. Once it hits, the resolution is very satisfying. But, wait! It gets better.