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Metallica - Through The Never - Guitar Tab

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Key F# minor
Metallica - Through The Never guitar tab video
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Metallica (Remastered) album cover
Metallica (Remastered)
1991 4:05
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Thrash Metal 1991 F# minor
Capo Advisor 0 F# minor · Original key

About Through The Never

"Through the Never" sits in an interesting spot on the Black Album: it moves at a firm 100 BPM and leans on a relentless, palm-muted gallop that keeps the right hand working hard from the first bar. The tuning is Eb Standard, so drop everything down a half step before you start, and the riff work sits in F# minor with that characteristically dark, closed-in feel. Metallica wrote a deceptively simple-looking track here, but the challenge is locking the palm mute tightly against the kick drum so the groove feels mechanical rather than sloppy. The verse riff shifts position quickly, and the transition into the chorus needs a clean string change without losing the muted attack. Use the Practice Toolbar to isolate those transitions and run them slowed down until the pick attack is consistent. It rewards patience more than raw speed, making it a solid study in disciplined Thrash Metal rhythm playing.

  • The entire song is played in Eb Standard tuning, so tune every string down a half step before attempting the riff.
  • The main riff relies on tight palm muting at 100 BPM, making right-hand consistency and pick attack the core technique to practise.
  • Position shifts in the verse riff happen quickly, so looping that section slowed down is the most efficient way to clean up string-change accuracy.

How to Play Through The Never

The song moves through: • Live intro - James, • Main Riff - J & K, • Verse Riff, • Pré Ch. & Chorus, • Guitar Solo - Kirk, • Guitar Solo - James RIFF, • Evil Bridge, • Pré Ch. & Last Chorus.

Tuning: Eb Standard · Key: F# minor · Tempo: 100 BPM

It is played in Eb standard, a half step down, so tune down before you start or every position and bend will sit a half step sharp against the recording. The arrangement runs through 8 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 100 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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