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Metallica - WHEREVER I MAY ROAM - Guitar Tab

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Key E minor
Metallica - WHEREVER I MAY ROAM guitar tab video
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Wherever I May Roam album cover
Wherever I May Roam
2021 2:39
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Heavy Metal 2021 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About WHEREVER I MAY ROAM

Few riffs in heavy metal sit quite as deep in the pocket as the one that opens "Wherever I May Roam." Metallica built the song around a hypnotic, repetitive figure that leans hard on open-string drones and a Middle Eastern flavor, giving it a brooding, travelling feel that is immediately recognizable. Playing it convincingly means keeping your picking hand loose and consistent, because the groove depends entirely on steady alternate picking across several bars before the chord changes arrive. The key of E minor suits the open guitar perfectly, letting those low strings ring with real weight. The verse and chorus riffs are learnable at moderate pace, but the transitions and the bridge demand clean muting and precise left-hand control. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the intro riff slowed down until the picking pattern feels automatic before bringing it back up to tempo. The song rewards patience more than speed.

  • The signature intro riff relies on a droning, repetitive picking pattern with a Middle Eastern character, making consistent alternate picking essential.
  • Playing in E minor lets you exploit open low strings for added resonance and weight throughout the riff.
  • The bridge section requires tight palm muting combined with precise fretting-hand control, making it a good candidate for isolated slow practice.

How to Play WHEREVER I MAY ROAM

The song moves through: • Sitar Intro, • James Riff, • Main Riff, • Verse 1 part 1, • Verse 1 part 2 (James), • Pré Chorus & Chorus 1, • Verse 2 part 1, • Verse 2 part 2 Kirk, • Pré Chorus & Chorus 2, • Pré Chorus & Chorus 3, • Guitar Solo - Kirk, • Guitar Solo - James, and more.

Key: E minor · Tempo: 131 BPM

The arrangement runs through 12 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 131 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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