#METALLICA RIDE THE LIGHTNING GUITAR HOW TO#

Cliff also inspired James greatly on counterpoint and rhythmic concepts.вЂќ He made it his thing, but it was originally CliffвЂ™s. James really absorbed the dual-harmony thing and took it to heart. вЂњI had a grasp of music theory, thanks to Joe, but Cliff went the whole length and learned musical theory and everything. вЂњCliff studied music in college,вЂќ Hammett says.

#METALLICA RIDE THE LIGHTNING GUITAR HOW TO#

They just had to figure out how to pull it off.Д«y all accounts, their bassist Cliff Burton-who died tragically in a 1986 bus accident-was integral to helping the band expand its horizons. But unlike Anthrax, Slayer and other thrash acts that were rising around that time, Metallica had a broader, more ambitious vision of what their sound could encompass.

I felt like Lincoln walking 18 miles to go to school or something.вЂќД«ack then, Metallica were a quartet of hellions who ignited the underground thrash metal movement with their blazing, neck-breaking debut, Kill вЂ™Em All, which was released on indie label Megaforce in 1983. After we finished, IвЂ™d grab my lesson papers and bike 25 miles again home!вЂќ He laughs at the memory. So I would ride the whole way there-all huffing and puffing and sweaty-and IвЂ™d grab a guitar off the wall.

And it took me over an hour and a half, because I lived, like, 25 miles away. вЂњI didnвЂ™t have a car, so I had to ride my bike to the lessons. вЂњAround the time we were writing Ride the Lightning, I was taking guitar lessons from Joe Satriani,вЂќ Hammett says after he joins us at HQ. When Ride the Lightning was released 30 years ago, Metallica were a bunch of young musicians from the San Francisco Bay area, hungry to push the limits of the nascent thrash metal genre and willing to go to any lengths to make that happen.

But Number One albums, feature films, massive tours and sprawling rehearsal studios werenвЂ™t always a part of the bandвЂ™s lifestyle. At this point theyвЂ™re a metal institution and one of the most successful selling artists in the world. Fitting nicely with the objective of our mission, the original Ride the Lightning stage backdrop is hanging across the rear of the rehearsal room.ДЄs we take in HQвЂ™s scope and content, weвЂ™re reminded that Metallica arenвЂ™t your average working band. Today the room is staged with the bandвЂ™s acoustic arsenal, as theyвЂ™re in the middle of rehearsals for an upcoming unplugged gig. HQвЂ™s massive main rehearsal area is bursting with even more gear. A quick scan of the inventory reveals a mint of mouth-watering guitars, from vintage Flying Vs, Les Pauls and Strats to a staggering array of ESPs, Jacksons and Warwicks. Not unlike the oversized aisles of a SamвЂ™s Club, the shelves in this room are packed to the rafters, only with gear. ThereвЂ™s the kitchen table over which drummer Lars Ulrich confronted guitarist James Hetfield in a particularly tense scene from MetallicaвЂ™s 2004 documentary, Some Kind of Monster, as well as the electric chair from HammettвЂ™s KirkвЂ™s Crypt horror memorabilia collection and the Lady Justice prop head from the 1988-вЂ™89 Damaged Justice tour.Д«ut the real gold is in the bandвЂ™s storage room.

Metallica ride the lightning guitar