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Metallica - My Friend of Misery - Guitar Lesson

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Metallica - My Friend of Misery - Guitar Lesson

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Metallica - My Friend of Misery guitar lesson video
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Metallica (Remastered) album cover
Metallica (Remastered)
1991 6:50
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Heavy Metal 1991 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

My Friend of Misery

"My Friend of Misery" is a track by Metallica from their 1991 self-titled album, commonly known as The Black Album, released on August 12, 1991 via Elektra Records. The album marked a deliberate shift away from Metallica's earlier thrash metal style toward a slower, heavier, and more refined sound, produced by Bob Rock. For electric guitarists, the song is a rewarding study in melodic heaviness, dynamic control, and the mid-tempo groove that defined this pivotal era of the band's career.

  • The Black Album was recorded at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles over an eight-month span.
  • Producer Bob Rock pushed Metallica toward a cleaner, more polished guitar tone, a notable departure from their earlier rawer recordings.
  • The song's mid-tempo feel makes it an excellent piece for practicing palm muting, dynamics, and controlled heavy rhythm guitar.
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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