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Metallica - One - All Heavy/Distorted Rhythm Parts - Guitar Lesson

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Key E minor
Metallica - One - All Heavy/Distorted Rhythm Parts guitar lesson video
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Metallica Thrash Metal E minor
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About One - All Heavy/Distorted Rhythm Parts

The heavy rhythm work in "One" by Metallica is a lesson in contrast and control. The track moves from clean, restrained picking in its opening section into one of the most aggressive rhythm performances the band ever recorded, and it is the second half that this page focuses on. When the distortion kicks in, you are dealing with tight, palm-muted low-string riffing that demands both right-hand accuracy and consistent muting pressure. Any sloppiness in your picking hand will blur the articulation that gives those riffs their punch. The notorious machine-gun triplet section near the end puts your alternate picking and stamina under serious strain. Getting that passage up to speed while keeping every note even is the real challenge here. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop that triplet section slowed right down, building the pattern cleanly before you push the tempo. The song is in E minor, which keeps the riffing anchored in a comfortable range, but the demands are entirely in precision and endurance.

  • The climactic machine-gun section requires relentless alternate picking in a triplet rhythm, making consistent right-hand technique and stamina the core challenge.
  • Heavy palm muting on the low strings is essential throughout the distorted riff sections, and inconsistent muting pressure will collapse the tightness of the parts.
  • The song is in E minor, so the heavy riffs sit in a familiar range, but the difficulty is in precision and endurance rather than fretting-hand complexity.

How to Play One - All Heavy/Distorted Rhythm Parts

Key: E minor · Tempo: 110 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 110 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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