Metallica - DAMAGE INC. - Guitar Tab

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Metallica - DAMAGE INC. - Guitar Tab

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Master of Puppets (Remastered Deluxe Box Set) album cover
Master of Puppets (Remastered Deluxe Box Set)
1986 5:32
Capo Advisor 0 D minor · Original key

DAMAGE INC.


Damage Inc. is the closing track on Master of Puppets, Metallica's third studio album released on March 3, 1986, via Elektra Records. Recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it stands as one of the most aggressive cuts on an already ferocious record. For electric guitarists, the song is a demanding study in thrash rhythm precision, rapid-fire picking, and the coordinated riffing style that defined James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett's classic partnership.

  • Master of Puppets was Metallica's final album with bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a tour bus accident in 1986.
  • The song was recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark, a key location for Metallica's mid-1980s sound.
  • Damage Inc. closes the Master of Puppets album, making its aggressive outro one of the record's most memorable guitar moments.
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.