Riff Tone

Creeping Death

Metallica

Guitarmetal1980s

Original Gear

GuitarESP MX220 (custom Explorer-style, white finish, 1984)

AmpMesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ head into Marshall 4x12 cabinet (studio, 1984)

PickupsEMG 81 (bridge, active humbucker)

Amp Settings

gain8

bass5.5

mid3

treble7

reverb0.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1984. Rhythm guitar by James Hetfield. No confirmed pedals in studio chain; distortion from amp. Kirk Hammett used a 1979 Gibson Flying V for some lead parts, but main riff is Hetfield's rhythm track.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationarticulate pick attackdry, minimal ambiencecrushing low endrazor-sharp claritydouble-tracked heavinessfast attack

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, consistent downstrokes, tight palm muting, and precise timing at a high tempo, demanding both technical skill and stamina.

Sources

James' Amp Settings? : r/Metallica - Reddit Kirk Hammett's Top 3 Guitars: Greeny & More - Premier Guitar How to get creeping death tone : r/Guitar - Reddit I tried to copy the Creeping Death tone with a digital guitar plugin ...

This tone has been researched 169 times by the community

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