Shepherd of Fire
A heavy, stripped-back riff under brass and strings.
What is the Shepherd of Fire guitar tone?
The Shepherd of Fire guitar tone is a heavy, stripped-back riff under brass and strings, heard on Avenged Sevenfold's 2010s metal recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Avenged Sevenfold reportedly tracked it with Synyster Gates' Schecter Hellwin amp and cabinet, which he says won a unanimous blind vote among 25 combinations of popular and boutique amps that the band compared for Hail to the King, with Gates and Zacky Vengeance on their Schecter signature guitars, Gates' with Seymour Duncan Invader pickups; MusicRadar puts the Hellwin at the heart of the album's tone, which Gates spent two years developing with amp designer James Brown, the man behind the 5150; Vengeance says the band were trying to shed the layers of guitars upon guitars they were known for, and that the rhythms on this album are much more simplistic; he plays rhythm and Gates lead, over an orchestral arrangement by David Campbell with cello, upright bass, trumpets, trombones, tuba and horns; the song is the theme of the Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies map Origins, revealed on 8 August 2013, and Mike Elizondo produced the album, which came out on 23 August 2013; released as its second single on 7 November 2013, it became the band's third number one on the US Mainstream Rock chart. Here the band set out to shed the stacked guitar layers of their earlier records and keep the rhythms simple, and an orchestra fills out the song, so a tight, clear crunch with controlled low end gets closer than layered, saturated takes.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a high-gain head and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
Shepherd of Fire amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 5, Middle 4, Treble 7, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup.
- Gain 7
- Bass 5
- Middle 4
- Treble 7
- Presence 6
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- Noise gate → Amp distortion → Short reverb
- The control that matters most
- Gain, kept to a tight crunch. Vengeance says the band set out to shed the layers on this album and keep the rhythms simple, and the song carries a full orchestral arrangement, so set a clear, heavy crunch with the bass under control rather than a thick wall of gain, and let the brass and strings fill the space.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own. Your first match is free with an account, and needs no card.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Bridge pickup
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
Does the Shepherd of Fire tone sound off on your amp?
Pick what you hear. You get the knobs to turn from the starting point above, and how far.
What gear did Avenged Sevenfold use on Shepherd of Fire?
Synyster Gates' Schecter Hellwin amp and cabinet, which he says won a unanimous blind vote among 25 combinations of popular and boutique amps that the band compared for Hail to the King, with Gates and Zacky Vengeance on their Schecter signature guitars, Gates' with Seymour Duncan Invader pickups; MusicRadar puts the Hellwin at the heart of the album's tone, which Gates spent two years developing with amp designer James Brown, the man behind the 5150; Vengeance says the band were trying to shed the layers of guitars upon guitars they were known for, and that the rhythms on this album are much more simplistic; he plays rhythm and Gates lead, over an orchestral arrangement by David Campbell with cello, upright bass, trumpets, trombones, tuba and horns; the song is the theme of the Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies map Origins, revealed on 8 August 2013, and Mike Elizondo produced the album, which came out on 23 August 2013; released as its second single on 7 November 2013, it became the band's third number one on the US Mainstream Rock chart.
Sources: Wikipedia: Shepherd of Fire, MusicRadar: Avenged Sevenfold talk songwriting and Hail to the King, Wikipedia: Hail to the King (album)
Tonelify reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the Shepherd of Fire tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Shepherd of Fire
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Shepherd of Fire tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Shepherd of Fire?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 5, Middle 4, Treble 7, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same heavy, stripped-back riff under brass and strings from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Shepherd of Fire tone?
Gain, kept to a tight crunch. Vengeance says the band set out to shed the layers on this album and keep the rhythms simple, and the song carries a full orchestral arrangement, so set a clear, heavy crunch with the bass under control rather than a thick wall of gain, and let the brass and strings fill the space.
Can you get the Shepherd of Fire tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Synyster Gates' Schecter Hellwin amp and cabinet, which he says won a unanimous blind vote among 25 combinations of popular and boutique amps that the band compared for Hail to the King, with Gates and Zacky Vengeance on their Schecter signature guitars, Gates' with Seymour Duncan Invader pickups; MusicRadar puts the Hellwin at the heart of the album's tone, which Gates spent two years developing with amp designer James Brown, the man behind the 5150; Vengeance says the band were trying to shed the layers of guitars upon guitars they were known for, and that the rhythms on this album are much more simplistic; he plays rhythm and Gates lead, over an orchestral arrangement by David Campbell with cello, upright bass, trumpets, trombones, tuba and horns; the song is the theme of the Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies map Origins, revealed on 8 August 2013, and Mike Elizondo produced the album, which came out on 23 August 2013; released as its second single on 7 November 2013, it became the band's third number one on the US Mainstream Rock chart, but the parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order. Those translate to other equipment, which is what the adaptation step does.
Is Shepherd of Fire a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Avenged Sevenfold's 2010s metal catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
Your first match for your own gear is free with an account, and needs no card. After that it takes a plan, charged when you subscribe: Stage is $6.99 a month for 20 matches, Headliner is $10.99 a month for unlimited matching within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.
