Rage Against The Machine - Bombtrack - Guitar Tab

About Bombtrack

Drop D tuning is the foundation of everything "Bombtrack" asks of you. That lowered sixth string lets Tom Morello power through the song's heavy, palm-muted riff with a thickness that standard tuning simply cannot replicate. The riff itself sits in E minor and moves at a steady 94 BPM, which is approachable enough, but the real challenge is keeping your palm muting tight and consistent while locking in with the groove. Morello's right hand is doing a lot of work here, and any looseness in the muting will muddy the low-end punch the song depends on. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the main riff slowed down until your picking hand feels completely automatic before you bring it back up to tempo. Rage Against The Machine opened their debut album with this track, and it remains one of the cleaner entry points into their catalog for guitarists learning to play in Groove Metal. Get the muting right first, and the rest follows.

• The song is played in Drop D tuning, which gives the main riff its low, crushing weight and makes one-finger power chords on the bottom strings easy to execute.
• Palm muting precision on the low E string is the core technique to practise here, as any inconsistency collapses the tight, percussive feel the riff depends on.
• At 94 BPM the tempo is moderate, making this a practical song for guitarists building comfort with heavy, groove-oriented riffing before tackling faster material.