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Metallica - DAMAGE INC. - Guitar Tab

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Key D minor
Metallica - DAMAGE INC. guitar tab video
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Master of Puppets (Remastered Deluxe Box Set) album cover
Master of Puppets (Remastered Deluxe Box Set)
1986 5:32
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Thrash Metal 1986 D minor
Capo Advisor 0 D minor · Original key

About DAMAGE INC.

Few songs in Metallica's catalog demand as much stamina and precision together as "Damage Inc." The closing track on the 1986 album Master of Puppets, it opens with a clean arpeggiated passage that lulls you briefly before the band detonates into one of the fastest, most relentless thrash riffs Metallica ever recorded. The song sits in D minor, which keeps the riffs dark and tightly coiled around the low strings. The main challenge is sustaining clean alternate picking at high speed through the entire verse riff without letting your pick hand tense up. That tension is exactly what causes notes to blur together, so use the Practice Toolbar to loop the opening thrash riff slowed down until every note speaks clearly before you push the tempo. The clean intro arpeggio also rewards slow, isolated practice: the pick-attack dynamics there contrast sharply with what follows, and nailing that contrast is what makes the song hit properly.

  • The song opens with a clean arpeggiated guitar intro that contrasts dramatically with the high-speed thrash riffing that follows, so practice both feels separately.
  • Precise, tension-free alternate picking is the core technical demand here, as the main riff must stay articulate at a very fast tempo throughout.
  • The D minor key keeps the riffs anchored to the low strings, making string muting just as important as picking speed to avoid unwanted noise.

How to Play DAMAGE INC.

The song moves through: • Intro, • Speed Riff, • Pré Verse Riff, • Verse 1, • Chorus 1, • Verse 2, • Chorus 2, • Bridge Riff, • Bridge Chords, • Guitar Solo - Kirk, • Guitar Solo - James, • Bridge Bis, and more.

Key: D minor · Tempo: 194 BPM

The arrangement runs through 12 distinct sections, and the solo is the steepest jump, so isolate it on its own. At 194 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 194 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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