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Metallica - If Darkness Had a Son - Guitar Lesson

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Metallica - If Darkness Had a Son - Guitar Lesson

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Metallica - If Darkness Had a Son guitar lesson video
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72 Seasons album cover
72 Seasons
2023 6:36
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Heavy Metal 2023 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

If Darkness Had a Son

"If Darkness Had a Son" is a heavy metal track by Metallica, released on March 1, 2023, as the third single from their eleventh studio album 72 Seasons. The song showcases the band's signature aggressive riffing and high-energy drive, making it a rewarding challenge for electric guitar players. Its modern Metallica sound offers players a chance to study the band's evolved approach to rhythm tones, palm muting, and dynamic song structure.

  • Released as the third single from 72 Seasons, Metallica's eleventh studio album, giving it a clear place in their modern catalog.
  • A music video directed by Tim Saccenti accompanied the single's release on March 1, 2023.
  • The track is a strong study in modern Metallica rhythm guitar, featuring the dense, down-tuned riff style the band refined in later years.
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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