Metallica Package

Lessons

• Lesson 1: Nothing Else Matters Guitar Lesson - Metallica

  This is mostly a look at the introduction played on acoustic guitar. We have a complete lesson for electric guitar as well.

• Lesson 2: Nothing Else Matters

  This is our complete look at Nothing Else Matters.

• Lesson 3: For Whom The Bell Tolls

  For Whom The Bell Tolls is one of Metallica's most played songs from their album "Ride The Lightning" released in 1984. I used to play this song all the time in my high school heavy metal band, so I'm pretty fond of it. It's a very groove oriented song and definitely a headbanger for the metal guys out there. The main element to this song is the power chords. This song really emphasizes the space between the chords to build the groove, so it's great practice to play with a solid rhythm. It has a palm muted descending power chord riff that has a sludgy and grimy sound which provides the basis for the triplet lead licks that play over the top. Metallica often had both guitar parts playing different and intricate parts while the vocals were on top which made for a complex blend of melodic and harmonic sounds. There's a lot of different elements as far as the lead guitar part goes. It has a cool repetitive cyclical pattern that circles through in triplets, giving it an almost Iron Maiden feel. This is a really good song of beginner or intermediate players to get into play heavy metal. Since there's no crazy solos in it, this one's a bit more accessible.

• Lesson 4: Master Of Puppets

  Master Of Puppets is one of the most influential metal songs ever written from Metallica's 1986 album "Master Of Puppets". This is an intense, complicated, and very long song with a lot of intricacies. It's based around an open E palm muted groove along with a cool descending power chord riff. In addition to this, it goes through several variations of it's own riff, making for a really good song to study and master the E minor shape all over the neck, alongside the typical metal guitar techniques that players did in the 80's. There's so many different elements in this song, from the fast palm muting to quick power chord changes. It has a clean, almost acoustic interlude that breaks into a heavy metal solo section that's really difficult to play. You'll definitely need some experience to get through this one. It uses a variety of pulloffs, speed picking, hammer ons and all kinds of Kirk Hammett techniques. He was a student of Satriani and a huge pioneer of heavy metal lead playing, which gave him some blazing chops and tight technique, making this song is one of his absolute shining examples of what he was able to do while basically staying in the simple E minor pentatonic scale.

• Lesson 5: Seek & Destroy

  Seek And Destroy is one of Metallica's best live songs, released on their album "Kill 'Em All" in 1983. I was a huge Metallica fan when I was a kid, so this is one that I learned pretty early in my guitar playing career. The opening riff is so raw and catchy with that iconic early 80's thrash metal element that got me hooked. The riffs are unlike your typical metal riff, instead starting with a jazz-like approach with arpeggiated chords and string skips that adds a unique quality. Metallica was a band that always evolved and changed and this song is a great example of their starting sound, which has some standard metal elements with palm muting and double stopped riffed. This song has some great signature minor pentatonic licks and leads too that are great to add to your library. The bridge has almost a double time feel that really gets into the thrashing and head banging elements of the song, which leads into the blazing solo that you'll need to have some experience to get through. Even though they're fairly standard pentatonic riffs, they're played so cleanly and quickly that you'll really need to practice them with a metronome to get it down clearly. It has a ton of techniques like bending, string skipping, slurs, vibrato, and all sorts of things that will really trip you up if they're not under your fingers already.

• Lesson 6: One Guitar Lesson

  This short lesson on One, by Metallica goes over the opening riff and how it is incorporated into the rhythm guitar parts for the vocal sections of the song. It also includes the variations on the riff that occur later, the power chords used in the chorus, tab to the rhythm parts and some of the lead sections, as well a separate segment on a bit of the history of the band and the times.