Creator Area
Sign in Creator Area

Practice Studio

Metallica - The Memory Remains - Guitar Lesson

Sections · Loop · Speed · Metronome

Not in tune?

Select a Loop

Start of your loop
End of your loop

Speed Control

Speed
100%

Tools

BPM
Key F# minor
Metallica - The Memory Remains guitar lesson video
Guitar 365
Guitar 365 Top Contributor
YouTube: 1.6Msubs 96Kviews
Creator Page →
PLAY WITH BACKING TRACK
·
–50¢ 0 +50¢
· Tap to start

Your browser will ask for microphone permission.

Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

AI-selected preset based on genre and era — adjust the knobs to taste.

Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
Reload album cover
Reload
1997 4:39
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Heavy Metal 1997 F# minor
Capo Advisor 0 F# minor · Original key

About The Memory Remains

From the 1997 Reload album, Metallica built "The Memory Remains" around a brooding, mid-tempo riff that sits right at home in Eb Standard tuning. That half-step down from standard gives the whole track a heavier, slightly darker colour, and in F# minor the main riff has a grim, circular quality that is deceptively simple to finger but needs real right-hand consistency to groove properly at 120 BPM. The core challenge is not speed but control: keeping the palm muting tight and even so the riff locks in with Lars's kick drum rather than sitting on top of it. There is also a clean, almost hypnotic guitar figure during the verses that rewards careful attention to dynamics. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop that muted riff section slowed down until the pick attack is uniform on every note. Once the right hand is locked, the heavy metal weight of the song falls into place naturally.

  • The song is played in Eb Standard tuning, so drop all six strings one half-step before you start.
  • The main riff relies on consistent palm muting at a steady 120 BPM, making right-hand control the primary technical focus.
  • A clean, repetitive guitar figure runs through the verses and is a good exercise for maintaining even pick dynamics at low gain.

How to Play The Memory Remains

Tuning: Eb Standard · Key: F# minor · Tempo: 120 BPM

It is played in Eb standard, a half step down, so tune down before you start or every position and bend will sit a half step sharp against the recording.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 120 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Kirk Hammett's vintage 1959 'Greeny' Les Paul Standard delivers warmer, more dynamic PAF-style tones that contrast his EMG-equipped ESP guitars, adding organic sustain to his lead work. This guitar's traditional construction gives his solos a thicker, less compressed character than his signature models.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

While not Hammett's primary choice, the Les Paul Custom shares the Les Paul's warm PAF pickup character and thick body resonance, offering heavier players an alternative to Strat-style designs for achieving Metallica's crushing rhythm tones.

Gibson Explorer
Guitar

Gibson Explorer

James Hetfield's early Gibson Explorer established his signature angular shape and thick body tone, delivering the aggressive midrange attack essential to Metallica's crushing rhythm style before his ESP signature models became his primary tool.

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Amp

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

Kirk Hammett's Dual Rectifier heads provide the high-gain, midrange-forward aggression that lets his solos cut through Hetfield's scooped rhythm tone, creating definition and clarity in Metallica's dense wall of distortion.

EMG 81
Pickup

EMG 81

Hetfield's bridge EMG 81 delivers the hot, compressed output with tight low-end that defines Metallica's palm-muted riffs, the ceramic magnet and active preamp cutting through heavy arrangements with focused, aggressive attack.

EMG 60
Pickup

EMG 60

Both guitarists use the neck EMG 60 for warmer, more articulate rhythm tones and smoother lead voicings, balancing the 81's aggression with clearer note definition across Metallica's dense arrangements.

Recommended for You

Play with Backing Track

Play with Backing Track

Solo (Backing Track)

Solo (Backing Track)