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Metallica - Fade To Black 1 - Guitar Solo Tab

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Key B minor
Metallica - Fade To Black 1 guitar tab video
Steph Le Gratteux
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Metallica (Remastered Deluxe Box Set) album cover
Metallica (Remastered Deluxe Box Set)
1991 7:45
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Heavy Metal 1991 B minor
Capo Advisor 0 B minor · Original key

About Fade To Black 1

Few songs ask a guitarist to cover as much ground as "Fade to Black" by Metallica. Written in B minor with E Standard tuning, it moves from fingerpicked clean arpeggios in the intro through increasingly heavy rhythm work before arriving at a series of lead guitar passages that test both phrasing and stamina. The clean intro is deceptively tricky: the arpeggios require a relaxed right hand and consistent finger placement on the left, or the notes blur together. As the song builds, palm-muted chugging enters the picture, and keeping that tight at 120 BPM while managing dynamics is its own challenge. The solos demand control over legato runs, bends, and vibrato in the Heavy Metal tradition, where every note needs to speak clearly. Use the Practice Toolbar to isolate any of those solo phrases and loop them slowed down until the muscle memory is solid before bringing them back up to tempo.

  • The song opens with fingerpicked clean arpeggios in B minor, requiring a gentle touch and precise fretting to keep each note ringing clearly.
  • Palm-muted rhythm chugging forms the backbone of the heavier sections, and maintaining tight muting at 120 BPM takes focused, consistent right-hand technique.
  • The solo sections combine legato hammer-on runs, string bends, and sustained vibrato, making them a practical workout for lead guitar control and phrasing.

How to Play Fade To Black 1

The song moves through: Studio version 100 %, Studio version 75 %, Live version 100 %, Live version 60 %.

Tuning: E Standard · Key: B minor · Tempo: 120 BPM

It is built from a handful of distinct sections, so learn each one in blocks before stringing them together.

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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