There are two kinds of people: those who hear the opening of Nightwish's "Wishmaster" and calmly nod along, and those whose picking hand immediately files for early retirement. I am, tragically, both.
This is a very short clip — under twenty seconds — of the "Wishmaster" intro riff on guitar: the galloping symphonic-metal blast that Tuomas' keyboards and Emppu's guitar fire off before Tarja has even cleared her throat. All punch, no filler.
How the Wishmaster intro riff works
The magic here is harmonic minor meeting relentless palm muting. That raised seventh gives the riff its dramatic, slightly Baroque bite — the same neoclassical trick that makes half of power metal sound like Vivaldi joined a biker gang. Underneath it, the right hand chugs tight sixteenth-note gallops, and the whole thing only holds together if you keep the muted notes short and even.
Concrete takeaway: don't chase the speed first. Set a metronome slow, anchor your palm on the bridge so the low string is choked but still pitched, and drill the gallop (down-down-up) until it's boringly consistent. Speed is just clean repetition wearing a leather jacket — whether you alternate or downpick the accents is a whole rabbit hole of its own.
Then again, I've played this riff roughly nine thousand times and my pinky still occasionally stages a walkout. Grab the PDF and Guitar Pro file, blame the composer instead of yourself, and support me on Patreon.