James Hetfield is the undisputed master of metal rhythm guitar – and his downpicking will seriously test your abilities

Since the release of the Kill ’Em All album in 1983, Metallica have established themselves as the undeniable architects of the thrash metal subgenre. Metallica’s music has real purpose and authority, and is held in high esteem by many music greats outside the world of metal. 

The unrelenting pace and ferocity of James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett’s riffs took the metal world by storm, and paved the way for generations to come. Much of Metallica s intensity comes from the speed and accuracy of James Hetfield’s palm-muted down picking – seriously, just check out his isolated guitar tracks from ...And Justice For All and Master of Puppets.

This provides the aggression and attack that drives the band’s songs along. Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield often make effective use of chromatic movement, too, which brings extra drama and tension to their single-note riffs and chord sequences.     

Get the tone

Amp Settings: Gain 8, Bass 8, Middle 6, Treble 8, Reverb 0

Use your bridge pickup and a healthy amount of gain. However, instead of scooping the middle on your amp and losing the weight of your sound, keep the middle at 12 o’clock and then boost the bass and treble. When palm muting, rest your hand where the string meets the bridge, as this will bring chunk to your sound while retaining the pitch definition.

Example 1

We open with a stomping groove in E minor. Palm muting brings weight and shape in contrast to the melodic pull-offs. The second section features arpeggiated chords that move chromatically for a change in pace and some harmonic tension before resolving back to the opening riff.

Example 2

This study begins with fast-paced downstrokes and strategic upstrokes for the 16th notes within the sequence. Use palm muting to again focus the rhythms and contrast against the sliding power chords during phrase endings. 

The second section maintains the palm muting; however, the opening and closing notes of bars 5 -7 are unmuted. This helps to bring dynamics and overall shape when playing riffs at speed.