Luís Kalil – the electric guitar virtuoso who has been making waves with his mind-boggling reverse tapping technique – has returned with a new single, More Luck Than Brains, which once again puts his boundary-pushing approach to playing on display in scintillating style.
The Brazilian fretboard master first drew the guitar universe's attention in April 2022 with the release of Reverse Strike – an explosive exhibition of what he introduced as "reverse tapping."
The topsy turvy tapping technique itself sounded simple on paper, but Kalil’s deployment of such sonic weaponry showed its devastating potential, helping the ESP artist open up ears to a new horizon of shred possibilities.
Now, Kalil and his band, Red Devil Vortex, have dropped More Luck Than Brains – a new single that sees the young shredder serve up yet another six-string masterclass courtesy of pulverizing riffs and blink-and-you’ll-miss-them lead passages.
If you thought Reverse Strike was good, just wait until you get a load of this. It's a fretboard masterclass of the highest order, rationing cameos of Kalill's reverse tapping technique throughout a track whose pinch harmonics, conventional tapping sequences, and downright mind-boggling guitar solo carries shades of Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads.
But the sonic tip of the hat stretches beyond the sounds of Van Halen and Rhoads. In total, four albums influenced Kalil’s playing on this track: Ozzy Osbourne's No More Tears, Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy, Van Halen's 5150, and Avenged Sevenfold's self-titled record.
That means Zakk Wylde, Buckethead, Bumblefoot and Synyster Gates – with some “Dimebag, some Slash in there” for good measure – all helped Kalil craft More Luck Than Brains. But, as he explains, “The idea is to incorporate these influences in my own thing.”
Mind-melting techniques aside, the single also showcases Kalil's growing penchant for pedals – the DigiTech Whammy pedal, in particular – which is something the shred star only developed recently.
“I was never a pedal guy up until 2020,” Kalil admitted. “That year I was learning how to drive, and all of a sudden I was using the pedals in the car, commanding it with my feet. I thought, 'This actually feels really good, I wonder what I'd sound like if I had more effects pedals.'”
More Luck Than Brains seemingly offers everything one could want from a modern day guitar track. A remarkable achievement, given that's exactly what Kalil was going for when he set about writing his guitar parts.
“It represents 100 percent what I believe a guitar needs to be in a classic heavy metal song,” Kalil tells Guitar World. “Expressive riff [that] conducts the energy throughout the track, and arrangements that make room for great vocal melodies but take the forefront and lead when it's time. I miss that a lot in modern metal.”
Kalil’s own desire for this particular modern metal sound prompted a particularly philosophical approach from the youngster, who went on to say, “I want to be the change I hoped to see when I was growing up.”
Red Devil Vortex are gearing up to go on tour with Doyle later this week, but have been “preparing and working behind the scenes so hard for the last year and a half” in order to get new material recorded and ready for release.
In an exclusive lesson with Guitar World, Kalil demonstrated his door-opening technique, and reflected on what it was that first inspired him to pioneer the neat tapping trick.
“My biggest goal as a guitar player from the beginning was to find my voice on the guitar, and I always wondered why some people sound unique and others don’t,” he said. “I came to realize it always came down to how they connect notes and their ideas.
“This is what reverse tapping is about: it’s an alternative way to connect notes. It opens the door to new possibilities to connect notes, ideas and phrases.”
The bar for guitar tracks this year has been set pretty high thanks to a certain Washburn-wielding guitar hero, but Kalil has shown once again he's more than ready to sit at the table with the elites.
Head over to Red Devil Vortex’s website for updates regarding upcoming releases and their forthcoming tour with Doyle.
