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Metallica - Devil's Dance - Guitar Tab

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Key E minor
Metallica - Devil's Dance guitar tab video
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1997 5:19
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Metallica Heavy Metal 1997 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Devil's Dance

Drop D tuning does a lot of the heavy lifting on "Devil's Dance," letting Metallica drop the low string to D and power through the main riff with one-finger power chords on the bottom two strings. That low-end growl is the core of the song, and getting it to sit right means keeping your picking hand tight and consistent at 120 BPM, which is brisk enough that sloppy alternate picking will show up immediately. The riff itself is not technically extreme, but the groove it sits in is deceptive: there is a behind-the-beat swagger to it that catches players who rush. Spend time with the Practice Toolbar looping the main riff slowed down until your right hand stops anticipating the beat. The E minor key gives you a lot of room to explore the neck if you want to work on lead phrasing over the track, but locking down that rhythm feel first is what makes the song actually sound like Heavy Metal rather than just loud guitar.

  • Drop D tuning powers the main riff, allowing one-finger power chord shapes on the lowest two strings for maximum low-end punch.
  • The groove sits slightly behind the beat, so players who rush will lose the swagger of the riff even at the moderate 120 BPM tempo.
  • Keeping right-hand palm muting firm and consistent is the key technical challenge, as the tone depends heavily on controlled, even picking pressure.

How to Play Devil's Dance

The song moves through: • Intro, • Devil Riff, • Verse 1 (JAMES), • Chorus 1, • Verse 2 (KIRK), • Chorus 2, • Guitar Solo - KIRK, • Guitar Solo - JAMES, • Verse 3 (KIRK), • Chorus 3.

Tuning: Drop D · Key: E minor · Tempo: 120 BPM

The drop D tuning lets you fret the low power chords with a single finger, which is central to the heavier riffing here. The arrangement runs through 10 distinct sections, and the solo is the steepest jump, so isolate it on its own.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 120 BPM to build it up to tempo.

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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