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Metallica - Spit Out The Bone Guitar Solo - Guitar Lesson

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Key E minor
Metallica - Spit Out The Bone Guitar Solo guitar lesson video
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Hardwired…To Self-Destruct (Deluxe Edition) album cover
Hardwired…To Self-Destruct (Deluxe Edition)
2016 7:09
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Thrash Metal 2016 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Spit Out The Bone Guitar Solo

Few solos on "Hardwired...To Self-Destruct" demand as much from a player as this one. At 180 BPM in Drop D, the tempo alone is unforgiving, and the E minor tonality gives Kirk Hammett room to push into dark, angular phrasing that sits right on the edge of atonal. The Drop D tuning loosens the low E string slightly, which affects how bends feel on the lower frets, so spend time just getting used to the tension before diving into the fast runs. The biggest challenge is keeping alternate picking clean and even when the phrases accelerate, and any sloppy string changes will be exposed at this speed. Use the Practice Toolbar to isolate the most demanding passages and loop them slowed down until each pick stroke is deliberate and controlled. Metallica have always written solos that reward methodical, slow practice, and this one is no different. If you play Thrash Metal, this solo is a genuine benchmark for right-hand endurance and left-hand precision.

  • At 180 BPM, the solo demands precise, high-speed alternate picking, making right-hand endurance one of the primary technical challenges.
  • The Drop D tuning slightly reduces string tension on the low E, which subtly affects bend feel and fretting pressure across the neck.
  • Practicing the fast scalar runs at 50 to 60 percent speed with the Practice Toolbar's slow-down feature is the most reliable way to build clean accuracy.

How to Play Spit Out The Bone Guitar Solo

Tuning: Drop D · Key: E minor · Tempo: 180 BPM

The drop D tuning lets you fret the low power chords with a single finger, which is central to the heavier riffing here. At 180 bpm it moves fast, so the real test is building picking stamina and keeping every note clean at speed.

Loop the hardest passage and creep the speed up from around 70 percent until it holds at 180 BPM.

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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