Metallica: 10 Hardest James Hetfield Riffs You Can't Play
Go on, TRY and play Master of Puppets the right way.
James Hetfield is known as one of the most gifted rhythm guitarists in the history of hard rock music. His style of downpicking mixed with fast bursts of notes has kept Metallica going strong for almost 40 years. Regardless of when Metallica releases new music, you could expect Hetfield to be the driving force behind the riffs.
The relentless energy that comes from these tunes have led many metalheads to pick up guitars of their own and try to master the songs of their heroes. It's always nice to see the music bug trickle down through various generations, but keep one thing in mind: Hetfield's riffs are some of the hardest riffs in the entire metal canon.
Sure, these riffs might not seem all that tough if given the tablature, but reading the music and then playing it up to speed are two very different beasts. There have been plenty of simple riffs like "Enter Sandman" that can be learned fairly quickly, but the more thrashy tunes will leave any guitarist clamoring to apply ice to their swollen hands.
These riffs may be a ton of fun to play, but one must always be mindful when treading the downpicking minefield that is Metallica's rhythm guitar parts.
10. My Apocalypse
For starters, let's go into the not too distant past of 2008, when Metallica wowed their audience with a striking return to form on Death Magnetic. After years of slogging it out in the world of hard rock and even nu metal on St. Anger, the band were back to the thrashy goodness we always loved them for.
What made this record even more amazing was the speediness of it, which showed that Hetfield's tenacity for writing blistering riffs had not dulled over time. The record is pretty standard procedure for a Metallica release, but most guitarists shake in their boots when it comes to "My Apocalypse." From the start, the song is incredibly fast, with a BPM that verges on the side of punk rock as James Hetfield employs fast triplets without batting an eye.
You may think you're out of the woods once the chorus hits with long slides, but you're in for a rude awakening when the offbeat accents start and the riff begins once again. Even Kirk Hammett's riff in this song is incredibly difficult to master, with your fingers begging for mercy by the end of the track's 5 minutes.
Metallica may have had a break from thrash, but that didn't mean they had skimped out on leaving your fretting hand in shambles.