Order of difficulty

[Starsailor]

Can somebody put these metallica songs in order of difficulty for me. I want to learn them you see.

One, Call of the Ktulu, Master of Puppets

Starsailor

[theguitarist]

What do you mean by that?

[Cuno]

My guess is (from easy to hard):

1. Call of Ktulu
2. Master of Puppets
3. One

I'm sure about One though, i've never played that

[LarryJ]

One isn't that hard. Master of puppets is harder (faster and more intense). Playing one is sort of like playing 'sanatarium', if you could make the comparison, alot of easy arpeggiated chords that sort of repeat with minor changes. No idea on call of the ktulu.

The problem is really that it's like 8 minutes long or whatever...so those repeats and slight nuances really get to you (sort of like learning vai)

[Starsailor]

Thanks Larry and Cuno.
I'll get working on One now
and The Guitarist I think the thread is self explanatory ( no offence mate )

Starsailor

[GuitarLausing]

yeah i can pretty much play all of those.


now.. for the solos (not just interludes, but the real solos, the big ones)
i would say order of difficulty starting with the easiest

call of ktulu - one - master of puppets



but for the rythm & interludes

one (watch out for the clean bridge timing) - call of ktulu (nasty chord changes, weird picking) -- master of puppets (fast-- especially the part right after the intro. thats like insane if you only use downstrokes)

[Relaxation]

I'd say Master of Puppets is the hardest, and Call of Ktulu the easiest.

Hammett throw some 16th notes during the main solo of MOP and the song is about 220 bpm!

[wild_child]

TBH they are all pretty much equal in terms of "hardness"
the way i'd go about it is i'd learn them in order of preference.
"one" and "master of puppets" i think are almost identical in terms of technical difficulty, but personally, i prefer MOP, so i'd learn that first (which, in fact, i did)
i think learning the 'easiest' songs first is only something you should do if you are a beginner guitarist, but, and i'm sure someones going to try to defy me on this, these are not beginner songs.

do you intend on playing these with a band? if you do, maybe you should consult them too.

[Milo]

Is Kirk playing only DOWNSTROKES during the intro part of Master of Puppets???

[wild_child]

i've asked that before and nobody gave me a conclusive answer. i'm sure james does, but its unclear with kirk.

[Relaxation]

I think Kirk does play it with all downstrokes. Otherwise you'll hear it when they play live. You can really tell the difference between upstrokes. People may not respect Kirk too much but I really believe if you let Kirk play infront of you, you'll see and hear how much a great player he is. Maybe I just like his simple fast playing.

[Bizarro]

FYI: Kirk doesn't play any downstroke rhythm on the old recorded albums! James Hetfield played all the rhythm guitars on everything up until the Black album. And he uses all downstrokes on MOP. Kirk only played the solos in the old days.

I'd have to say One is easy up until the the really heavy part where they chug on the low E. MOP can be very tough to play with authority.

[Metalliska]

Er.. easiest to hardest I'd say - Call of Ktulu - One - Master of Puppets. Kirk plays all downstrokes on the Puppets intro same as James. And what do you mean not many people respect Kirk, everytime I pick up Total Guitar Magazine and read an interview with some current rock guitarist they drop Kirk's name. It's always like Hendrix, Kirk and Randy Rhodes.

[Relaxation]

Some respect him and some don't. He's always criticized of playing the same pentatonic licks over and over again and though he does, for me, they really sound awesome and melodic. I've never really heard anybody in the likes of Zakk Wylde or Dimebag say they've been inspired by Hammett. Even in Dimebag's book he only cited James Hetfield as his influence from Metallica. The only shredder I think that likes Hammett is John Petrucci. Though he never said he liked Hammett personally, based from the live concert full performance of the Master of Puppets album, he didn't improvise but pretty much nailed everything note for note! Another reason why I like Petrucci.

[metalprep6969]

yeah he only uses downstrokes, i've wondered that myself so i watched on several live vids (live **** seattle, live **** san diego, s and m)

\m/