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Riff Tone

That Was Just Your Life

Metallica

Guitarmetal2000s

Original Gear

GuitarESP MX-220 (Hetfield's custom model, black finish)
AmpMesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ (studio), Mesa/Boogie Mark IV (possible layering), Diezel VH4 (likely used on Death Magnetic era), Marshall JCM800 (possible layering)

Amp Settings

gain8.5
bass6

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Effects & Signal Chain

Notes

Studio recording for 'That Was Just Your Life' (Death Magnetic, 2008). Main rhythm by James Hetfield. ESP MX-220 with EMG 81 bridge pickup into Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ or Diezel VH4. No confirmed pedal use for riff section; high-gain amp distortion. Settings estimated based on Death Magnetic era and genre. No evidence of time-based or modulation effects in riff section.

Tone Character(10)
tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationarticulate low endcrisp highsdry, immediate responsemodern metal clarityminimal ambiencefocused attack

Difficulty

The riff requires extremely fast and consistent alternate picking with tight palm muting, demanding advanced right-hand stamina and precision, making it challenging even for experienced players.

This tone has been researched 3 times by the community

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