Metallica - Through the Never - Main Riffs - Guitar Lesson

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Metallica - Through the Never - Main Riffs - Guitar Lesson

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Metallica Heavy Metal F minor
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Through the Never - Main Riffs


"Through the Never" is a track by Metallica from their self-titled fifth studio album, commonly known as The Black Album, released on August 12, 1991. The album marked a deliberate shift away from thrash metal toward a slower, heavier, and more polished sound, making its riffs more approachable for electric guitarists while still delivering serious weight. Learning the main riffs from this song offers a solid entry point into Metallica's mid-career style, blending tight rhythm work with clear, powerful tone.

  • The Black Album was recorded at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles over an eight-month period.
  • Producer Bob Rock pushed Metallica toward a more refined, radio-friendly sound, audible in the cleaner riff structures of the album.
  • The shift from thrash metal means the main riffs rely more on groove and palm-muting control than pure speed, great for technique building.
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.