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Metallica - PHANTOM LORD - Guitar Tab

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Key E minor
Metallica - PHANTOM LORD guitar tab video
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Kill 'Em All (Deluxe Remaster) album cover
Kill 'Em All (Deluxe Remaster)
1983 5:35
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Thrash Metal 1983 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About PHANTOM LORD

"Phantom Lord" from Metallica's 1983 debut is one of the heavier workouts on Kill 'Em All, demanding that you stay tight across both chunky palm-muted rhythm sections and more open, galloping passages. The song sits in E minor, which keeps the low-end riffing anchored around the open sixth string and gives the power chords a natural weight. What catches most players off guard is the mid-song clean section that eventually builds back into a distorted assault, so the challenge is less about raw speed and more about controlling dynamics and transitions cleanly. The picking hand is the real test here: the palm muting needs to be consistent but not choked, and the release into open chords has to land exactly on the beat. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the transition back into the heavy riff at reduced speed until the mute lifts feel natural. Getting the rhythm clamped down is the whole job before you worry about anything else.

  • The core riffs live on the low E string in E minor, making tight palm muting with precise on-off control the central technique to develop.
  • A clean-tone section in the middle of the song requires a smooth dynamic shift, so practice the clean-to-distortion transition as its own separate exercise.
  • Rhythm accuracy matters more than speed here, keep a metronome running while you lock in the galloping picking patterns before raising the tempo.

How to Play PHANTOM LORD

The song moves through: • Intro, • Madness Riff, • Verses 1/ Chorus 1, • Verse 2 / Chorus 2, • Guitar Solo Kirk Part, • Guitar Solo James Part, • Mellow Break, • Guitar Solo, • Verse 3 / Chorus 3, • Final.

Key: E minor · Tempo: 136 BPM

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 136 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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