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Metallica - Enter Sandman - Guitar Tab

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Key E minor
Metallica - Enter Sandman guitar tab video
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Metallica (Remastered) album cover
Metallica (Remastered)
1991 5:32
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Heavy Metal 1991 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Enter Sandman

Few riffs in Heavy Metal are as immediately recognisable as the one that opens this track, built on a repeating palm-muted figure in E minor that locks in with the kick drum before the full band enters. Metallica kept the tuning in E Standard, so there are no capo or retuning complications, but getting the palm muting tight and consistent at 123 BPM is where most players struggle. The riff lives low on the neck and demands that your picking hand stays relaxed while maintaining enough pressure to choke the strings cleanly. The verse gallop, the pre-chorus build, and the lead break each have their own challenges, so treat them as separate targets rather than running the whole song repeatedly. Use the Practice Toolbar to isolate the opening riff or the bridge section and slow them down until every note speaks clearly before bringing the tempo back up. Pay close attention to how the dynamics shift between the quiet, clean intro and the full-gain sections, because nailing that contrast is what makes the song feel alive.

  • The signature riff relies on tight, consistent palm muting low on the E and A strings, and sloppy muting is the most common reason it loses its punch.
  • The song stays in E Standard tuning, so no retuning is needed, but the picking-hand endurance required to maintain the gallop at 123 BPM is a real physical challenge.
  • The lead break combines pentatonic phrasing with sustained bends, making it a solid target for players working on their lead tone and vibrato control.

Fun Facts

  • Hetfield’s first lyric draft was much darker: it referenced crib death (SIDS) and the idea of “destroying the perfect family,” before the concept was rewritten into more metaphorical childhood-nightmare imagery.
  • Kirk Hammett wrote the core riff after being inspired by Soundgarden’s 1989 album "Louder Than Love" (the song’s early riff ideas were later shaped into the final pattern during writing).
  • Lars Ulrich helped lock in the main riff’s feel by suggesting a specific repeat pattern: the first bar is played three times, and the second bar returns every fourth time.

How to Play Enter Sandman

The song moves through: Intro, Interlude, Verse, Chorus, Solo, Bridge, Outro.

Tuning: E Standard · Key: E minor · Tempo: 123 BPM · Difficulty: Medium

The main E-string riff at 123 bpm sits at a tempo where sloppy palm muting becomes very obvious, so isolate the intro and loop it at reduced speed until the muted and open notes have a consistent, clean contrast. Hetfield's rhythm parts rely on tight downpicking rather than alternate picking, so resist the temptation to switch techniques when the riff repeats under the verse. The solo is moderately demanding but phrased melodically, making it approachable if you learn the bends and vibrato passages in small segments before connecting them. A common pitfall is letting the palm mute creep too far back toward the bridge, which kills the punch of the open-string hits in the riff.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 123 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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