Metallica - LEPER MESSIAH - Guitar Tab

Practice Studio

Metallica - LEPER MESSIAH - Guitar Tab

Sections · Loop · Speed · Metronome

Not in tune?

SECTIONS

Select a Loop

Start of your loop
End of your loop

Speed Control

Speed
100%

Tools

BPM
Key E minor
·
–50¢ 0 +50¢
· Tap to start

Your browser will ask for microphone permission.

Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

AI-selected preset based on genre and era — adjust the knobs to taste.

Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.

Master of Puppets (Remastered Deluxe Box Set) album cover
Master of Puppets (Remastered Deluxe Box Set)
1986 5:40
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

LEPER MESSIAH


Leper Messiah is a track by Metallica from their landmark 1986 album Master of Puppets, released on March 3, 1986, via Elektra Records. The album was recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, and stands as the final studio recording to feature bassist Cliff Burton. Leper Messiah offers electric guitarists a deep dive into Metallica's signature mid-paced thrash riffing, combining heavy palm-muted grooves with dynamic shifts that reward both rhythm and lead players.

  • Master of Puppets was recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen with producer Flemming Rasmussen.
  • Leper Messiah features Metallica's classic mid-tempo thrash style, making it ideal for practicing tight palm-muting technique.
  • This is the last Metallica album to feature Cliff Burton, who passed away during the subsequent tour in 1986.
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.