Riff Tone

Hero of the Day (Remastered)

Metallica

Guitarmetal1990s

Original Gear

GuitarESP MX-220 (Hetfield's main guitar during Load era, likely used for riff section)

AmpMesa/Boogie Mark IV

PickupsEMG 81 (bridge), EMG 60 (neck) active humbuckers

Amp Settings

gain6

bass6

mid5

treble7

reverb1.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1995-1996, Load (Remastered) sessions. Gear confirmed for album, but not tied to specific song section. No explicit pedal use for riff section found; effects inferred from audio and era.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussiveslightly scooped midschunky low endclear and articulatemedium-high gain saturationdynamic palm mutingmodern metal claritynot overly compressedfocused attackcontrolled sustain

Difficulty

The riff requires intermediate skill due to its tight palm muting, precise rhythm, and dynamic picking, but does not involve advanced techniques or high speed.

Sources

Metallica – Load (Remastered) - Gear & Equipment Used on the ...Hero of the Day Tone Test (clean and distorted) : r/Metallica - Reddit

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