Riff Tone
Load (King Nothing" Original Arrangement Rough Mix)
Metallica
Guitarmetal1990s
Original Gear
GuitarESP MX-220 (James Hetfield's main guitar during Load sessions)
AmpMesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (studio recording, Load era)
PickupsEMG 81 (bridge), EMG 60 (neck) active humbuckers
Amp Settings
gain7
bass6
mid3.5
treble6.5
reverb0
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1995-1996. James Hetfield used his ESP MX-220 with EMG active pickups into a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier for the main rhythm tracks on Load. No evidence of pedal use for the riff section; distortion from amp. Settings are estimated from forum discussions and typical Load-era tones.
Tone Character(10)
tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationarticulate pick attackchunky low endcrisp high endmodern metal clarityminimal ambiencefocused rhythm crunch
Difficulty
The riff requires tight, consistent palm muting and precise alternate picking at a medium tempo, with a strong sense of rhythm and dynamic control to achieve the aggressive, percussive tone characteristic of Metallica's Load-era rhythm work.
Sources
Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear
Create Free AccountGuitarmetal1990s
Original Gear
GuitarESP MX-220 (James Hetfield's main guitar during Load sessions)
AmpMesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (studio recording, Load era)
PickupsEMG 81 (bridge), EMG 60 (neck) active humbuckers
Amp Settings
gain7
bass6
mid3.5
treble6.5
reverb0
presence6
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1995-1996. James Hetfield used his ESP MX-220 with EMG active pickups into a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier for the main rhythm tracks on Load. No evidence of pedal use for the riff section; distortion from amp. Settings are estimated from forum discussions and typical Load-era tones.
Tone Character(10)
tight and percussivescooped midsaggressive palm mutinghigh-gain saturationarticulate pick attackchunky low endcrisp high endmodern metal clarityminimal ambiencefocused rhythm crunch
Difficulty
The riff requires tight, consistent palm muting and precise alternate picking at a medium tempo, with a strong sense of rhythm and dynamic control to achieve the aggressive, percussive tone characteristic of Metallica's Load-era rhythm work.
More Metallica tones
- Master of Puppets · riff
- Enter Sandman · riff
- Seek & Destroy · riff
- Creeping Death · riff
- One · riff
- Fade to Black · solo
- Ride the Lightning · riff
- Fade to black · riff
- For Whom the Bell Tolls · riff
- One · riff