
Learn to play songs from Darkest Hour's Kris Norris.
Lesson 1
Kris teaches this song from his former band Darkest Hour. It uses the musical form "Passacaglia."
Length: 12:56 Difficulty: 4.5 Members OnlyLesson 2
Kris Norris teaches the song "Convalescence" by his former band Darkest Hour.
Length: 17:14 Difficulty: 4.0 Members OnlyLesson 3
Kris teaches the solo from the song "Tunguska." This song can be found on the albumDeliver Us by his former band, Darkest Hour.
Length: 11:00 Difficulty: 4.0 Members OnlyLesson 4
Kris takes you through this song from Deliver Us by his former band, Darkest Hour.
Length: 30:00 Difficulty: 4.5 Members OnlyLesson 5
Kris teaches you this song from Undoing Ruin by his former band Darkest Hour.
Length: 36:16 Difficulty: 4.5 Members OnlyLesson 6
Kris teaches you this song from Deliver Us by his former band Darkest Hour.
Length: 24:11 Difficulty: 4.0 Members OnlyLesson 7
Kris Norris teaches this sludgy down-tuned metal song from the band Entombed.
Length: 12:03 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
About Kris Norris
View Full Biography
Mr. Kris Norris was born August, 31 1978 in Canton, Ohio. He began playing around the age of 14. Early on the self-taught guitarist took an interest in metal and began playing in a local Virginia metal band. Kris' early influences were rooted in Swedish metal, bands include In Flames, Dark Tranquility, and Edge of Sanity. Norwegian Black metal also played a part in Kris' interest including early Mayhem, Emperor, and Ulver. Kris started Disinterment with future Darkest Hour bandmate Ryan Parrish. Disinterment lasted over 6 years and developed a local following in the Virginia metal by being some of the first players to incorporate Swedish metal and 3 guitar players.
College Days
When Kris was 17 he attended Virgina Commonwealth University School of Music (VCU). He studied Music composition and focused on film with world renowned composer Dika Newlin. Kris also studied classical guitar with John Patykula, prize student of Jesus Silva who was the prize student of Andre Segovia. Kris left the University after 6 years of studies. After college, he began his teaching career instructing private students and giving lessons at Mars Music. Kris' teaching career would eventually be put on hold to join Darkest Hour.
Darkest Hour Days
Kris' first album with Darkest Hour ,Hidden Hands Of A Sadist Nation, the 2005 release was recorded at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden with producer Fredrik Nordstrom. Ironically, the same studio facilitated many of Kris' influences 10 years prior.
Darkest Hour's next release, Undoing Ruin allowed Kris to stretch his wings and show what he could truly do on the instrument with the addition of several solos. The record was produced by Canadian metal mastermind Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad, Steve Vai). Townsend was a big part of pushing Kris to his own musical potential on Undoing Ruin and even more so on the follow up record, Deliver Us.
Deliver Us was released in 2007 and debuted at 110 on the Billboard Chart. This would be the last Darkest Hour record with Kris as a member. The album like its predecessor was also produced by Devin Townsend, who was able to take a bigger hand in its production. Devin pushed Kris to experiment with his own playing and to hone in on his strongest abilities.
Kris' career with Darkest Hour spanned 6 years, 23 countries, 4 continents, countless tours, 3 albums, near 200,000 album sales, and many lifelong friendships made along the way. With the birth of his son in 2008, Kris felt he needed to take his career closer to home while still focusing on music and guitar. In order for Darkest Hour to devote 100% to their music and touring, Kris came to the decision to amicably part ways with the band.
His Future:
As of early 2009, Kris has full sponsorships from ESP, EMG, Peavey, DigiTech, InTune, and Morley. Currently, Kris is producing and mixing aspiring metal acts while also working for Final Symphony Studios out of Charlottesville, Virgina. Kris also edits records for James Murphy (Testament, Obituary, Death) at Safehouse Productions. Kris has released his first solo record through Magna Carta Records, entitled Icons Of The Illogical. His solo effort was recorded at Karma Productions with Cory Smoot (GWAR) and features vocals from Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe.
Kris is excited to be an addition to the JamPlay Instructor Roster. Lending his metal chops and thorough education to his lessons make him a valuable teacher. Kris is excited to be making lessons for JamPlay and just as stoked to learn new things from our other instructors. Check it out and stay Metal.
Our acoustic guitar lessons are taught by qualified instructors with various backgrounds with the instrument.
Mitch teaches his interpretation of the classic "Cannonball Rag." This song provides beginning and intermediate guitarists...
Free LessonSeries DetailsIn lesson 6, Kaki discusses how the left and right hands can work together or independently of each other to create different...
Free LessonSeries DetailsOrville Johnson introduces turnarounds and provides great ideas and techniques.
Free LessonSeries DetailsEve talks about the boom-chuck strum pattern. This strum pattern will completely change the sound of your playing.
Free LessonSeries DetailsMark Nelson introduces "'Ulupalakua," a song he will be using to teach different skills and techniques. In this lesson, he...
Free LessonSeries DetailsErik expounds on the many possibilities of open tunings and the new harmonics that you can use in them. He explains what...
Free LessonSeries DetailsLesson 7 is all about arpeggios. Danny provides discussion and exercises designed to build your right hand skills.
Free LessonSeries DetailsTime to unlock your creativity because in this information packed lesson. Mark dives deep into how to deconstruct the process...
Free LessonSeries DetailsJessica kindly introduces herself, her background, and her approach to this series.
Free LessonSeries DetailsJim Deeming discusses how to use a metronome for practice, skill building, and speed building.
Free LessonSeries DetailsOur electric guitar lessons are taught by instructors with an incredible amount of teaching experience.
Nick starts his series with Alternate Picking part 1. Improve your timing, speed, and execution with this important lesson.
Free LessonSeries DetailsAllen shows you the 24 rudiments crucial to developing finger dexterity. This is a short lesson but the exercises here can...
Free LessonSeries DetailsLisa breaks into the very basics of the electric guitar. She starts by explaining the parts of the guitar. Then, she dives...
Free LessonSeries DetailsJane Miller talks about chord solos in part one of this fascinating mini-series.
Free LessonSeries DetailsLearn a variety of essential techniques commonly used in the metal genre, including palm muting, string slides, and chord...
Free LessonSeries DetailsTosin explains some of the intricacies of the 8 string guitar such as his personal setup and approach to playing.
Free LessonSeries DetailsThis is a crucial lesson that explains tablature, how to read it, and why it's important.
Free LessonSeries DetailsNick explains how to use scales and modes effectively when soloing over a chord progression.
Free LessonSeries DetailsJames explains how to tap arpeggios for extended musical reach.
Free LessonSeries DetailsWhile we have attempted to provide you with an accurate rendition of our video lesson experience, there are some features which
require a membership with us!
At JamPlay, we give you the ability to monitor your own progress for any lesson! If you watch one of our lessons and feel as though you understand around half of it, mark your progress at 50%. This adds the lesson to your customized Progress Report, and gives you an incredible ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.
With thousands of lessons at your fingertips, JamPlay can be a touch intimidating to a first-time user. With Progressive Bookmarking, we give you the ability to systematically bookmark sections of any lessons you are working on to quickly access later. After all, what is the point of all this content if it isn't easy to use?
JamPlay also gives you the ability to leave notes for yourself on any lesson. Just like in any educational system, taking your own notes while learning gives you the ability to highlight the instruction that is important to you. Leave your notes, and we store them in our database for you to reference each and everytime you come back to the lesson.
Signup today to enjoy access to our entire database of video lessons, along with our exclusive set of learning tools and features.
Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.You guys really are missing out if you haven't explored Kris' phase 2 series :)
where is cuz i looked
This is great!
awesome! and a bit hard for me as well
blew my mind...
very nice kris thx
wow
Amazing!!! cant wait to start this