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Metallica - Eye of the Beholder - Guitar Lesson

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Key E minor
Metallica - Eye of the Beholder guitar lesson video
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...And Justice for All (Remastered Deluxe Box Set) album cover
...And Justice for All (Remastered Deluxe Box Set)
1988 6:26
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Thrash Metal 1988 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Eye of the Beholder

Few songs from the "...And Justice for All" era capture Metallica's angular, mechanical riffing as clearly as "Eye of the Beholder." The main riff sits in E minor and relies on tight palm muting with sudden releases, so your picking-hand discipline matters as much as your fretting. Getting those muted chugs crisp while keeping the accented notes punchy is the central physical challenge, and the transitions between sections happen fast enough that any hesitation will throw off the whole feel. The rhythm playing throughout demands that your downstrokes stay even under fatigue, so isolate a four-bar chunk with the Practice Toolbar, slow it down, and don't speed it back up until every note is clean. Metallica also layers in a lead section that asks for precise bending in the same key, so ear-train yourself to the root E minor sound before you tackle it. Treat the whole track as a picking-hand workout before anything else.

  • The main riff is built around E minor palm-muted downstrokes, so consistent right-hand pressure and release timing are the first things to lock in.
  • Rhythm guitar parts on this track are dense and change quickly, making it worth looping short segments slowed down before chaining sections together.
  • The lead work sits in E minor and involves string bending, so intonation and bending accuracy are worth isolating during practice.

How to Play Eye of the Beholder

The song moves through: Intro, Guitar Intro, James' Intro, Kirk's Intro, Main riff, Verse, Pre Chorus, Chorus, Main Riff Variation, Verse Variation, Pre Chorus Variation, Harmony Rhythm, and more.

Key: E minor · Tempo: 122 BPM

The arrangement runs through 12 distinct sections, so it helps to learn it in blocks rather than front to back.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 122 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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