Creator Area
Sign in Creator Area

Practice Studio

Metallica - Blackened - Guitar Tab

Sections · Loop · Speed · Metronome

Not in tune?

SECTIONS

Select a Loop

Start of your loop
End of your loop

Speed Control

Speed
100%

Tools

BPM
Key E minor
Metallica - Blackened guitar tab video
Mr. Tabs
Mr. Tabs Top Contributor
YouTube: 1.1Msubs 270Kviews
Creator Page →
PLAY WITH BACKING TRACK
·
–50¢ 0 +50¢
· Tap to start

Your browser will ask for microphone permission.

Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

AI-selected preset based on genre and era — adjust the knobs to taste.

Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
...And Justice for All (Remastered) album cover
...And Justice for All (Remastered)
1988 6:42
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Thrash Metal 1988 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Blackened

Few album openers hit as hard as this one. Metallica built "Blackened" around a backwards-tracked guitar intro that immediately signals this is not a straightforward thrash tune. Once the main riff kicks in, you're dealing with fast, precise alternate picking across a jagged, syncopated phrase in E minor that needs clean fretting hand muting or the whole thing turns to mud. The rhythm work throughout the verses demands that your picking hand stay locked and aggressive while your fretting hand handles some wide intervallic leaps at speed. Kirk Hammett's lead breaks are full of whammy-heavy phrasing and fast legato runs, but the real workout for most players is keeping the rhythm tight. The outro section accelerates the intensity even further, so stamina matters here. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the main riff slowed down until the picking pattern is automatic before you bring it up to tempo. Getting the muting and the attack consistent is the whole game with this one.

  • The intro was recorded forwards and then the tape was flipped, so the backwards guitar effect you hear is actually Hetfield's rhythm part played in reverse.
  • The main riff sits in E minor and relies heavily on tight palm muting combined with fast alternate picking, making right-hand precision the central challenge.
  • Looping the verse riff slowed down through the Practice Toolbar is the most effective way to lock in the syncopated accents before pushing toward full speed.

How to Play Blackened

The song moves through: Intro, Main Riff, Verse 1, Chorus 1, Verse 2, Chorus 2, Interlude, Twin-Guitar Harmony, Solo 1, Solo 2, Verse 3, Chorus 3.

Key: E minor · Tempo: 190 BPM · Difficulty: Medium

The arrangement runs through 12 distinct sections, and the solo is the steepest jump, so isolate it on its own. At 190 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 190 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.

Recommended for You

Play with Backing Track

Play with Backing Track

Solo (Backing Track)

Solo (Backing Track)