Confession time. I’m not really a metal guy! But I love this song.
I’m more into rock of all types, from acoustic folksy stuff through to art rock to pop punk to as hard as it gets. But there are a few Metallica songs I really love.
I feel like I’ve been playing this song for ages now. Turns out learning the riffs is one thing, and then playing the arrangement of the whole song over a backing track and not getting lost is something else. Of the rhythm guitar parts… the hardest bit for me is still the clean riff. Even though it’s the first part I learned. Took a lot of finger stretching to be able to play it the James Hetfield way.
So here it is. I’m doing the rhythm guitar parts (James Hetfield’s parts). It’s over a backing track with those parts stripped out, so if you hear rhythm guitar, it’s me. However Kirk’s lead guitar bits are in there… it’s not me cranking out that awesome solo. Those that know this song really well will recognise a few imperfect bits. Representative of my skill level and all that though.
Check it out, let me know what you think. All feedback welcomed, good, bad, tips, etc.
Hi JK,
Nice,… already sounds great, ,…I believe Justin says something like ,…for a metal song this isn’t particularly hard,…then I already know it’s going to be sweating …and this is a very nice one to keep in the coming time, and then hear your growth in it,…but you don’t need a lot to get it really tight, … if that is your goal by the way …
Greetings,…
Neither am I mate and now you’re making me feel guilty that overlooked this one That sounded like a really solid performance. Beyond my play grade to give you any meaningful feedback so you will have to make do with a round of applause
Metallica isn’t at my playlist and I don’t know the song very well. On top I’m not experienced yet in the techniques you’re using. But: it sounded really good to me. With every AVOYP, one can see your progress. Cool!
Nicely in the pocket throughout there JK, would love to see Hetfield play that on a Tele on stage
My struggle with this has been the second part of the intro which you seemed to have nicely sorted, must have taken a good number of hours and plays to get it like that!! I know this song exceedingly well and whilst seeing what you refer to as the imperfect bits, they’re very few and far between!
Thanks Darrell, I know you’re a metal guy so it means a lot .
Thanks Dave, rock on!
Glad I could start your day with some metal Eddie, thanks for the kudos!
Thanks Seb, it’s such a good song. One of the best metal songs of all time IMHO. Thanks for checking it out!
Yep, he totally did say this in his lesson! Actually I found it deceptively challenging. The chugs aren’t fast and learning the riffs wasn’t too bad, but getting it all in the right place, and timing… quite a bit to get down there. I think I will keep playing it now and again as it’s such a good song, I’m probably at the point of diminishing returns now though where progress gets much, much slower so I’ll go learn some new stuff and when I come back to it hopefully my playing is better by then . Thanks for checking it out Rogier!
Glad you liked it Adrian, thanks for checking it out! Yep, a lot of practice went into this one
I mean it’s not your Oasis type stuff James . It’s an epic song. Super fun to play as well so worth giving it a go. I think we’re pretty similar playing levels.
Thanks Andrea. Makes me happy that you can see the improvements. Sometime I’ll post some strummy stuff again but them I’ll probably be tempted to sing and that is much harder than playing the geetar . I reckon it might be time for you to post an AVOYP hint hint
Thanks Toby! Yep totally agree one of Metallica’s best, such a great song. I remember hearing this song in high school for the first time, at a friend’s house, and I still absolutely love it.
Thanks Mark! I didn’t have a Gibson Explorer hanging around so my Telespaul it is!
It is worth persevering with for sure. If you’re playing it I highly recommend Carl Brown’s lesson on it (“hi, I’m carl brown from guitarlessons365”), it was the best I found. Justin’s lesson has a good breakdown but Carl’s tops it.
I also downloaded a guitar pro file from ultimate guitar to play along with in Guitar Pro to get the details on the transitions. And then listened to and played along with the track a lot!
The solo Maybe a 2024 thing… lol, I did actually look it up, the first bit I thought - maybe with some practice. Then it gets fast - no way!
Thanks Digger! Glad you liked it! There are a few of their other songs in my “someday” list. So I do like a bit of Metallica, just not really any of the other classic metal stuff like Iron Maiden, Slayer, etc. Some 90s/2000s metal (Deftones, Disturbed, Tool) I was into but don’t really listen to it much now.
Glad you liked the tone, the filthy tone was courtesy of Fender (I downloaded it to my mustang ), it’s a cranked Mesa/Boogie IIC+ with a Klon Centaur in front of it, all emulated.
Hey,
For not being a metal guy, this had a real metallic bent to it. I liked your tone as I found it very believable. Play is solid and in time. Good job!
Spectactular, JK, that was outstanding, super impressive. You’ve mastered the parts, playing along, and a killer tone.
Maybe one day I shall pluck up the courage.
As for not being a metal guy. Metal is now such a broad term covering so much ground it is hard not to be a metal guy, or at least enjoy a lttle metal.
I mean Justin called Paranoid by Black Sabbeth one of the great, classic metal tunes. I’ve never ever thought of them as a metal band, considering them to be just the heaviest of the hard rock bands.
So I enjoy Sabbeth, Purple, Lizzy, Maiden, that Metallica black album, Van Halen, Guns n Roses. Am I a bit of a metal-head?
And am I not also right in saying that many hardcore Metallica fans consider that Black Album to be a bit soft, a commercial sellout?
Anyhow, who cares, bring on more rock or metal or grunge or whatever …
Thanks for the kudos Stefan. Okay, funny story. My fingers couldn’t play the clean riff that way either. At all. Couldn’t even get my fingers in the spots. At various times since that rock module in grade 2 I’ve had practicing that in my practice routine for around 1 minute a day, slowly gaining dexterity and flexibility. Months and months.
,…I believe Justin says something like ,…for a metal song this isn’t particularly hard,…then I already know it’s going to be sweating 
…and this is a very nice one to keep in the coming time, and then hear your growth in it,…but you don’t need a lot to get it really tight, … if that is your goal by the way …
That sounded like a really solid performance. Beyond my play grade to give you any meaningful feedback so you will have to make do with a round of applause 
. Thanks for checking it out Rogier!
. I reckon it might be time for you to post an AVOYP hint hint