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Metallica - MOTH INTO FLAME - Guitar Tab

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Key E minor
Metallica - MOTH INTO FLAME guitar tab video
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Hardwired…To Self-Destruct album cover
Hardwired…To Self-Destruct
2016 5:51
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Metallica Thrash Metal 2016 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About MOTH INTO FLAME

"Moth into Flame" is one of the sharpest things Metallica put to tape in their later career, and for guitarists it delivers a lot to chew on. The song sits in E minor and leans hard on a driving, palm-muted gallop riff that anchors the verse, so tight right-hand control is the first thing to get under your fingers. The pre-chorus and chorus open up with a melodic, almost anthemic quality that contrasts the grinding low-string work, meaning you need to shift gears cleanly and quickly. Kirk Hammett's lead playing here involves wide vibrato and fast legato runs, and the transitions in and out of the solos are easy to fumble at full tempo. Use the Practice Toolbar to isolate those transitions and loop them slowed down until the shifts feel automatic. The rhythm parts reward focused attention to muting: any sloppiness in the left hand gets amplified by high-gain tone, so keep that as your benchmark when you feel ready to bring the speed back up.

  • The verse riff relies on tight, consistent palm muting on the low strings, making right-hand precision the core technical challenge.
  • The song is in E minor, with rhythm parts that shift between a galloping muted groove and open, melodic chord passages.
  • Kirk Hammett's solo sections feature wide vibrato and legato runs that benefit from slow, looped repetition before being attempted at full speed.

How to Play MOTH INTO FLAME

The song moves through: • Intro, • Riff, • Verse / Pré Chorus 1, • Verse / Pré Chorus 2, • Interlude, • Guitar Solo Kirk, • Guitar Solo James, • Verse / Pré Chorus 3, • Outro.

Key: E minor · Tempo: 190 BPM

The arrangement runs through 9 distinct sections, and the solo is the steepest jump, so isolate it on its own. At 190 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 190 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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