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Metallica - Enter Sandman - Outro Section - Guitar Lesson

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Key E minor
Metallica - Enter Sandman - Outro Section guitar lesson video
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Metallica Heavy Metal E minor
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About Enter Sandman - Outro Section

The outro section of "Enter Sandman" is one of the most satisfying parts of the song to nail on guitar, built around that relentless, palm-muted E-string chug that defines the track's heaviness throughout. In E Standard and E minor, everything sits low and tight, so your picking hand needs to be consistent: uneven palm muting pressure will immediately expose sloppy technique at 123 BPM. The outro leans into rhythmic repetition rather than flash, which means your right hand stamina and precision matter far more than speed here. Kirk Hammett's lead work weaves in and out with bends and vibrato that need to feel controlled rather than frantic, so pay close attention to the pitch of each bend before you try to play it up to tempo. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the transition points slowed down, especially where the rhythm shifts under the lead, since those handoffs can feel awkward until the muscle memory is solid. Metallica built this track around groove and tension, and the outro is where that tension finally lets go, making it well worth spending real time on.

  • The outro relies heavily on tight palm-muted downpicking on the low E string, a core technique in <a href="/genre/heavy-metal/">Heavy Metal</a> rhythm playing.
  • At 123 BPM in E Standard, keeping your palm muting consistent across a long outro section is the main physical challenge here.
  • Kirk Hammett's lead phrases in this section use expressive string bends, so practise matching pitch accuracy before adding speed.

How to Play Enter Sandman - Outro Section

Tuning: E Standard · Key: E minor · Tempo: 123 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 123 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Kirk Hammett's vintage 1959 'Greeny' Les Paul Standard delivers warmer, more dynamic PAF-style tones that contrast his EMG-equipped ESP guitars, adding organic sustain to his lead work. This guitar's traditional construction gives his solos a thicker, less compressed character than his signature models.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

While not Hammett's primary choice, the Les Paul Custom shares the Les Paul's warm PAF pickup character and thick body resonance, offering heavier players an alternative to Strat-style designs for achieving Metallica's crushing rhythm tones.

Gibson Explorer
Guitar

Gibson Explorer

James Hetfield's early Gibson Explorer established his signature angular shape and thick body tone, delivering the aggressive midrange attack essential to Metallica's crushing rhythm style before his ESP signature models became his primary tool.

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Amp

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

Kirk Hammett's Dual Rectifier heads provide the high-gain, midrange-forward aggression that lets his solos cut through Hetfield's scooped rhythm tone, creating definition and clarity in Metallica's dense wall of distortion.

EMG 81
Pickup

EMG 81

Hetfield's bridge EMG 81 delivers the hot, compressed output with tight low-end that defines Metallica's palm-muted riffs, the ceramic magnet and active preamp cutting through heavy arrangements with focused, aggressive attack.

EMG 60
Pickup

EMG 60

Both guitarists use the neck EMG 60 for warmer, more articulate rhythm tones and smoother lead voicings, balancing the 81's aggression with clearer note definition across Metallica's dense arrangements.

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