The REAL way Metallica plays the Leper Messiah intro! Weekend Wankshop 147

unclebeneller
twitter/instagram @BenEllerGuitars
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Hey kids! On episode 147 of Weekend Wankshop, your good buddy Uncle Ben here is finally spilling the beans on the REAL, ACCURATE, CORRECT way to play the intro to Leper Messiah by Metallica from the legendary Master of Puppets album! We have all been playing this riff wrong for decades now. There are SO MANY bad tabs and lessons for this thing floating around out there, and it turns out i had been playing it incorrectly for years now too. I used a bunch of live footage of the band, painstakingly watching James and Kirk's hands to see if my suspicions were correct. You may even be unsure when you hear this riff at first, but stick with it and i'll show you the proof!
Using my Suhr Modern Satin with my Kemper Profiler for maximum brutality.
Leave a comment letting me know what classic riffs you want to see decoded on a future episode!

[@kartikchandrasekhar2762]

People don't actually realize how truly creative James is.

[@peteplaysmusic]

These videos are great man! I'd love to see you decode literally anything from the And Justice For All album, the Tab book is woefully inaccurate, at least the version I have anyway :)

[@nyghtseven]

Pete Cottrell i agree with that ! Lets do a and justice for tabs !

[@codygranrud6212]

Pete Cottrell .. the Justice Tab book is ridiculous. Transcribed by a one eyed monk on an acoustic.

[@mostlyirishcarguy8955]

hey daddy pete

[@happyspaceinvader508]

If you're talking about the Wolf Marshall one... yeah, "Blackened" in particular is a mess, and nothing like it's played on the album.

[@Ibaneddie76]

PETE, YEAH ALL THE NEW TAB BOOKS FOR METALLICA ARE GARBAGE, I HAVE ALL THE OG ONES FROM THE 80'S AND THOSE ARE PRETTY LEGIT, OF COARSE THEY WILL NEVER BE 100% BUT THEY GIVE YOU ENOUGH TO FIGURE THE REST OUT ON YOUR OWN. CHECK EBAY AND JAPAN HAS AMAZING TRANSCRIBED BOOKS BUT YOU PAY FOR SURE.

[@MehYam2112]

James does the A octave on the fifth fret as a major 3rd harmony of the F chord. He throws in a lot of improvised harmonies live. The riff has a lot in common with the chromatic thing right before the first verse of And Justice For All. A new song on Hardwired does it too. Also interesting to note that this is all in the key of Am, which is why the G and F chords hit so hard.

[@nebula556]

You mean, THEY all have a lot in common with Leper Messiah's intro!😂

[@cooperlittlehales6268]

@@nebula556 Commonality can work both ways. A thing can have something in common with something that came after it.

[@metfan4l]

Another excellent deconstruction! Turns out I've played a lot of stuff wrong for the longest time :D Keep 'em coming!

[@Broncoblu90]

Nice work, you are the most studious guitarist on KZbin. Love your "how to actually play" vids. Knowledge, F yeah!

[@bdwitt66]

Excellent! I always think of the 1 finger 2 note barres as inverted power chords. At least when you want to analyze what is happening harmonically.

[@Bzorlan]

Actually it's a fourth. Power chord is a fifth

[@RyanMaziarz]

Inverting a root+fifth power chord (putting the fifth in the bass) does make a fourth interval - I'm sure that's what OP meant.

[@AndriyVasylenko]

Ryan Maziarz Based on the root as a reference point it's still fifth but one octave lower. Technically, it's more practical to say 'inverted power chord'. But yeah, saying 'fourth' is more correct if to consider that as a harmony, not chord

[@bestboy897]

True

[@bdwitt66]

Andriy Vasylenko Andriy Vasylenko checking in! Looking forward to more of your bass content!

[@benjones3878]

As a professional jazz musician (who is also a metalhead in his spare time!) it is so refreshing to see such musically intelligent dissection of this stuff! You have inspired me to get back on the guitar & get my down picking back up to speed!! Awesome job, Uncle Ben!!

[@SeneekiKaant]

it makes a lot of sense, they did that a lot throughout that whole album, inverted 5ths iirc

[@maxscardanelli6185]

Seneeki Kaant Morty!!!

[@MikeHPrice]

That's it, I'm throwing away my Master of Puppets tab book. Childhood ruined!!

[@guillermocorreatedesco2011]

In fact, The intro chors were fifth on the lower note.

[@ambiorixbelgae9768]

hahaha

[@teamatfort444]

JohanYZ59 blackened main riff in the book is completely retarded

[@bobbyincidemetal]

TeamAtFort big time! I taught myself guitar with Metallica tab. I had all the books. This was before the damn internet and I didn’t know shit. Looking at the tab now I get pissed. I wasted a lot of time for nothing haha.

[@sergiodambrosio363]

@@bobbyincidemetal Not only time! Because, and that's the worst thing, those incorrect tab books were NOT free like the tabs or the video lessons on KZbin! 🤬Those who made them, to sell them, should have been more accurate. I never bought them, but some friends of mine at the time complained about them. Greetings from Italy!

[@austinbramer558]

Yes! Always click on a Metallica video

[@bradk6170]

Austin Bramer never click on a Metallica

[@austinbramer558]

Brad Kelley JR why? Fuck you

[@Wyckerman]

My all-time favourite Metallica song. You didn't need to provide video evidence, you nailed it. \m/

[@TimACroninMusic]

Flat out THE BEST breakdown of this riff. Thanks, Ben!

[@eddiebrock7024]

💯🔥👍

[@rafaellago172]

10:06 Holy shit, for a second I thought James had grown his hair long like old times.

[@henrisonkajarvi7354]

Just jammed to the album yesterday and during this track had to stop because I couldn't do it right. Now I can! Thank you Unca Ben!

[@Doctorgogeta]

I love this video series because you go in depth as to what they're playing and you show proof, you should name the series Riffs Revealed

[@thomashjelm2928]

Wish I had seen this video 6 years ago! I was showing my daughter a recent live version of Leper Messiah (Montreal, Canada - August 11, 2023) and did a double take when I saw James's hands at the beginning. After she went to bed, I spent way too much time at 0.75x speed figuring out exactly the details you show here in the video. The August 2023 video has very clear video evidence at the intro and also at the very, very end of the song (in case anyone needs further convincing). The great sound quality makes it easy to hear too. Thanks Uncle Ben for confirming I wasn't hallucinating!

[@mrmustard4478]

Uncle Ben, you can see a GREAT, up close version of Kirk playing the riff (well, most of the entire song) in a video by Ernie Ball called "String Theory featuring Kirk Hammett". Much, much better than the video examples you give in the video. It fully shows all the little nuances he plays! Also, are you sure it's just single notes for the little "3 2 1" walkdown at the end of the riff? I've always thought it was more of those little two string chords, with 3 2 1 on both the E and A strings. I'm pretty sure this is how Kirk is playing it in this video, so just checking. Please check it out and tell me what you think!!

[@flekkzo]

MrMustard That video is a treasure trove of licks. I think I saw a few really cool things I need to check out when I get to a guitar:)

[@schizophrenicgaming5007]

There's also a video were Kirk teachers some riffs from master of puppets, I think Leper Messiah is in there.

[@rickkelley4618]

Mike Hunt Interestingly, I've heard Kirk lament on more than one occasion that LM is one of his faves, and they never play it.

[@joshuabarnett6158]

Absolutely correct man awesome stuff. If you see the august tuning room vid of leper you see both Kirk and James and it looks like this as well

[@Acroposthion]

I really love pulling apart each little piece of how the original artists put things down on tape, vs live, vs how others interpret and play something. Conversely on guitar, there’s so many ways to achieve, quote “the same thing” if perhaps with one’s own unique spin.

[@killemallmetallicatribute]

I do a Metallica tribute band out of Phoenix, Az. When we decided that we were going to Master of Puppets in its entirety, I knew had to learn or re-learn alot of these songs. I had found an older video of how to play Disposable Heroes from you from a few years ago and it made quite the difference back then. You didn't disappoint. The 2 songs I had to really work on were Leper Messiah and Damage Inc. and luckily I found you had done videos for both songs. It really made a difference when it came show time.

[@PatrickHelyer]

Thanks Uncle Ben, I almost had it right instead of the first two barred notes I was playing f to e power chords, but it's cool knowing these albums have such depth and intricacies that even 31 years later you can still discover this sort of thing :).

[@roberthofmann932]

This "omg, I've heard it wrong all those years" happend so often, since I watched your videos :0 also trained my ears and made me so much more interested in the riffing of songs. Thanks a lot, uncle ben!

[@svtcobra666]

Ben, I think these Metallica videos do a great job showing the different nuances Metallica put into their songs and that they're not as easy as they seem. Keep up the great work!

[@JimVincent]

Finally! Thank you! This song has haunted me for the 28 years I've been playing. You're awesome!

[@SteveLancasters]

I honestly didn't even need to see the proof at the end. Your shit is real, and if you hear even the start of this whankshop over and over again, it's pretty much right on the money. Thanks Ben!

[@P3t3rPizzarelli]

The first two Sabbat albums, 'History of a Time to Come' and 'Dreamweaver', are packed full of tricky riffs, would be awesome to see you tackle some of those.

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

Great video! I love how you patiently show us these without going too fast like most guitar teachers do online in their videos.

[@bestboy897]

Sick shirt uncle ben

[@PhantomLord114]

Uncle Ben always delivers! Thank you, my man!

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

The tricky part is flying fast on the palm muted notes and unmuted power chords across the fretboard at 200BPM for Metallica songs as well as the tricky tricky ass solos with hammerons and pull offs in rapid succession on the upper 15-24 frets.

[@mrmustard4478]

AWESOME, Uncle Ben!!! Thanks x 1000! Could you do that Angle of Death bridge riff sometime? Or, The Thing That Should Not Be, or that crazy riff right before the main solo in the Day That Never Comes? That thing is just crazy. OR do Malcolm Young's incredible Thunderstruck rhythm that I've NEVER seen played right by anyone. Just some dumb suggestions! Thanks once again!!

[@payazokoki]

This is exactly how it is and the way i’ve been playing it for quite a while. You’re 100% spot on.

[@TeacherGameplays]

I must say I was kind of proud after seeing this video. I sound this song out a few years ago, and played it the right way. This video was reassuring because, as you said in the beginning of the video, people have been playing it the "wrong" way and I always wondered why nobody would play it like I was doing. So, thanks o/

[@chewybang]

Spot on! I did not want to believe that rundown, but I just heard the original recording and sure enough, this is perfect. Thanks for sharing, Uncle Ben! \m/

[@ROOKTABULA]

I'm surprised there was this controversy. I've always played barres from when I first picked this out back in 93 or 94.

[@maxx42069]

thanks for the breakdown, this makes perfect sense. they used a lot of power chords on master but going back to kill ‘em all you see these kinds of inverted fifths used a lot by james. seek and destroy is a great example.

[@alexh.9171]

What about the verse riff? I see people play that one wrong just as much as the intro

[@dayglo98]

What is not clear about the verse ? It's obvious what it is

[@happyspaceinvader508]

Yeah, you've nailed it; what you're playing is exactly how it sounds on the album, and also in keeping with many other Metallica riffs where they do the same thing with the top 2 notes of a power chord (with the bass playing the root note). This was really what you had to do for some riffs, before people started playing with DADGBE tuning (or lower equivalents). I've got the "Authorised Edition" books of every Metallica album from the 90s, and I feel like a mug for thinking that meant anything. I remember several "WFT moments" where the tablature just didn't match up with what was being played. With that in mind... could you give "Blackened" a shot?

[@BrendanMacsMusic]

You could always slow it down in a DAW and use a mid side decoder (voxengo msed comes to mind) with some eq to clean out unwanted stuff to get a better version to listen to. I use an MS decoder/encoder to work out untabbed versions of songs for my students and works really well.

[@dementisband]

i agree , theres a certain ring and flutter of a one finger chord on the GA strings in the halts of the intro . makes your theory 100% correct. typically people would try to play it (simplified to one string notes) E : 0 0 2 3 - 0 2 3 5~ring - . but its wrong theres no disharmony ring of the flat chord notes.

[@codyhayley]

Love these videos man! Really cool how a lot of these Metallica riffs seem so simple yet they all have their own complexities. I found out last week I've been playing the enter sandman intro wrong for the last 12 years... lol

[@Royolu]

Damn! And i played it today! Good to know Uncle Ben

[@kfbr3929]

This is fantastic, man. Subscribing now. You had me sold pretty early on and yup, it's obvious to me now that I've been playing it the wrong way..the way you played it as an example early in the vid. Only difficult part now will be breaking the habit of playing it incorrectly. Nice job.

[@mikebarrett3982]

Well done sir. You're the forensic guy as far as guitar is concerned. Some slayer would be cool.

[@ianmforbes]

Great video, just like your other "The REAL way..." videos. Thanks, man.

[@leetf]

Cheers for that, I always knew I was playing it wrong with the barres (Way of the Step Dad) but would never have guessed the double stops.

[@Kennelmouth]

You're absolutely right. Ive been starting the song lately with F, then E on the E string (after I saw Mike Gross doing it on his channel), but it sounds much better as your "double stop." As for the C bar in place of where people usually play a G power chord, I had a tab book that clued me into that years and years ago, but in the tab book it is the bar you used, plus the octaves of both notes (so basically a 3-3-5-5 in tab notation) which actually ALSO reproduces the sound that you said James does live. Now that I hear you bringing it all together, I'm like, "damn, that's it." I always knew something wasn't quite right but you nailed it. Great job, and thanks. Now I can play it right...although I'll probably be the only person who will notice.

[@blackie75]

I pulled the G to the side, then put the D into the A, but my GF said that it sounded like I was getting bogged down. What to do now? I was thinking of adding a counter clockwise swirl but....I dunno. Also, special thanks to you Uncle Ben, my GF watched your Weekend Wankshop 70, Blackened Intro and now she's completely lost her gag reflex. God bless you sir.

[@ronfigg1]

You are by far my favorite KZbin guitar player/teacher!

[@dencemond]

Thank you! Unlike you, I always felt we were missing something when we were playing it with power chords; it did always sound off to me. And your explanation solves it. I'll just grab my guitar and relearn it now, after 17 years. (One little correction, not for the riff but for your explanation: around 09:00 you say "you don't see his first and third fingers form a G power chord" but James (and Kirk too) always uses his fourth finger for power chords, not the third.)

[@Quazi-moto]

Nicely done, man. I've been playing it the wrong way for... god... nearly 30 fkn years. I could always hear something wasn't 100% spot on, but it wasn't enough to really smack me in the face. But after hearing this version, and seeing the video proof you provide, I'm convinced.

[@Technosel]

I can't get enough of these videos. I still think my favorite was the jambi decoding. That one blew my mind

[@mazklassa9338]

Ben outstanding analysis. So bang on.

[@tomanderson798]

I’ve tried a couple other ways and videos, and yours by far has helped me the most. Thank you.

[@davidparry1973]

crunchy. Hey man, weird happening. I've been tackling Blackened this week and just about there, but I know I'm not solid 100% on the fast picking on the part of the intro riff down at the first fret. I'm watching this and see Weekend Wankshop 70 waiting in the corner. Bonus!!!

[@bordiuras14]

I believe you man. I'm relearning every Metallica song that I knew and also finding that a lot of stuff I was playing wrong :D This video is helpful also cause at the moment I'm relearning Master Of Puppets album. Keep up the good work!

[@codyholland5138]

I was playing it wrong just like you said. I'm convinced, I'm glad you do these videos. Very helpful.

[@skummtoons6686]

Now that you play it like that, it sounds spot on. No need for video proof. Us with good ears can definitely tell. Great video 👍👍 as always. Still boggles my mind they were 24-25 when they wrote this album.

[@han36solo]

Impressive detective work! I think you nailed it.... again!

[@JoshuaLTRyan]

well, I've been fucking that up forever apparently. Thanks Uncle Ben.

[@CaptnShred]

I love these! Please do some Van Halen next!

[@austinbramer558]

Capt'n Shred no he needs more Metallica!

[@schizophrenicgaming5007]

Or Van Hagar

[@MikeStock88]

Fully agree that's the right way After hearing you play it then playing the audio I could hear it

[@mikeonis]

just watched the vid called Leper Messiah MetOnTour - Shanghai, China - 2013 and it's clear as day! good ear Ben!

[@nicolaschinchurreta]

You nailed it. They do this all the time. Note the beginning of justice for all.

[@bradbutler]

Uncle Ben...always always demystifying the mysteries of our metal world! Nothin but respect & support! You are the man!

[@TheUmart]

i'd like to see some beneath the remains leads,that early kisser work is still if not the best in my opinion.

[@kamaboko1]

Damn, I'm not a Metallica fan, but you did one hell of a dissection of this piece. Great job.

[@theduftmeister]

"There's just one more thing, sir"......Holy Moses Ben Eller, Columbo wouldn't sniff out what you manage. Well done Ben 'Peter Faulkner' Eller..

[@MusicTeacherGuyNorristown]

I think Ben is right. There's something about this intro that I always thought was a little off from what one might expect.

[@damobyrne]

Great work uncle!!

[@Metalltool]

Dude, just came across your chanel by accident, but I instantly subbed! Thanks for those insightful videos!

[@AVJHalonen]

Thank you! I practice so rarely that getting stuff right is important. Sucks that even the "authorized-super-official" tab books are wrong and then I go and trust them and think I suck even worse because it doesn't sound right.

[@karjii]

2:50 "2 girls 1 cup" I completeoy lost it U R hilarious xD!

[@maidenfan1212]

I want to say that your channel is fantastic. You give such good advice, so thank you for that! I’ll spare you the rest of the compliments, I’m sure you hear them constantly. So, I’m really wondering if you’re going to post a video detailing the Tornado of Souls solo. I’ve known the solo for quite some time and can play it at speed and what-not... The only thing that I ever question is the ending portion after the fast, wide stretches. It’s all tablature gibberish, in my opinion. You seem to have figured it out accurately and straightforwardly from what I could tell. I’d sure love to hear what you came up with for it.

[@AtticusStount]

I spotted those barred power chords in Seek and Destroy too. I thought it was just me.

[@guitarwizzz]

Well time to unlearn what I have been playing for years and play what my ears and your vid tell me. 😅 Great job.

[@dgambl1]

Great video, this is excellent. I do have to say that in a couple of tabs I have seen that first G tabbed as a C5 with a G in the bass. Basically playing the same thing that you show here, except that it has a high G instead of just being an inverted C5. Good work as usual, keep them coming.

[@IcedDemon666]

You are doing gods work here, fixing mistakes made by tab books decades ago! Here's a good one you might wanna check, although its not Metallica its infamous for being tabbed and played wrong by guitarists all over the land. Ozzy Osbourne : Shot in the Dark. The official tab book and every tab and cover video I've ever seen have you tune up the Low E and A strings to some alternate tuning, which is completely wrong. I've always questioned it, but there was never really good footage of Jake playing the song until a few years ago when he played with his band Red Dragon Cartel and someone filmed him front row and you can clearly see he's in standard tuning. search this for the video: Jake E Lee - Red Dragon Cartel - Shot In The Dark - May 2, 2015

[@ikename149]

How about a lesson breaking down Slayer's "Altar of Sacrifice"?

[@bluecomet1109]

Holy shit this guy took analysis to a whole new level lmao! Really pays attention to detail

[@schizophrenicgaming5007]

Can ya do that fast riff from Dyers eve? Some people play 222222 and some play 232323, I don't know which one it is.

[@AFXAcid37]

It's 222222, Kirk has confirmed it.

[@schizophrenicgaming5007]

Ah ok, thanks.

[@clarencegaspar3626]

I play it 232323

[@B3Band]

If it's 222222, then they must be palm muting hard as shit, because it goes a half step sharp pretty rhythmically. Easiest way to tell would be to use the stems, which are readily available.

[@schizophrenicgaming5007]

I slowed it down in audacity and it sounds like 222222. It might just pe palm muted really hard as you said.

[@bryceharris6388]

I always thought they did something different with that intro. Once you hear it, it's pretty obvious that's how it's played. You are the shit my man.

[@scottterwiel]

You are correct on this. I remember hearing a riff tape not so long ago. Its on you tube. Its one guitar and james i think doing the la da da over the top. But you can clearly hear the double stops on the a and d strings. I hear it on the record too because the g5 and a5 are so zingy and positive sounding, The double stops are very heavy cruchy and abrupt. No amount of p.m is going to get that sound. Sometimes you think you hear the open E p.med but i thing thats what you expect to hear. But its not there. Maybe in the recording it could be layered in the mix but im not convinced.

[@Seandawg99]

Wow!!! Right on Buddy!!!

[@guitarsbymetaljay]

I always got that wrong, thanks for taking the time to show it man!

[@ChubyMAYO]

I watched this thinking...so which is the correct way?..not realizing i played it like that already😂

[@nopotato4217]

I'm your biggest fan, step dad ben

[@Thisischrisrao]

the more he posts this shit, the more i'm starting to think uncle ben secretly wrote all metallica's songs for them

[@marcreichman]

James doing that A octave live isn't just in a vacuum, though.. Kirk and the bass still move to F, so you get this nice little interval between them!

[@fadetoal]

Love your investigation on this. Great work Ben! I was playing it wrong as Well.

[@Axenicsecond]

Off the bat, it sounds totally right. Thanks man!

[@holydiver327]

I don't know if you've heard of pitchblak - My Torment. I think that would be fun to play.

[@francescobarbaro7114]

How the hell can anybody dislike this!!!!!!! Thanks man, you've solved an authentic mystery!!!!

[@TTIX3]

Amazing work !!

[@wesharris5650]

Great eye/ear Uncle Ben I've been playing this song for over 20 years and always thought it never sounded quite right love your videos man really appreciate how technical you dive into these classics keep up the great work cheers!!! 🤘

[@kevenklayne4211]

I'm not surprised about this at all. I know James Hetfield loves those flat finger chords. He used them in Creeping Death, Sad but True, One, Lepper Messiah and probably a lot of other songs. I wonder if he got that from someone else or he just discovered it on his own and really liked the sound.

[@ADITADDICTS]

The thing that should not be.

[@HEADBANGRR]

COOL. THANKS FOR THE UPLOAD!

[@chriswalton3383]

I have always thought it was a G power chord but I knew it sounded wrong but like everyone else, i've been playing it wrong. Thanks Ben.🤘🤘🤘

[@joncbartlett]

Awesome. For years, I've thought that the way it has been tabbed and covered was incorrect, but could never figure it out satisfactorily (listening to the album version never helped). A little while ago I saw Mike Gross give his version, and up to that point, it was the closest version I could find. But this is it. I always find it funny that everyone plays that third fret E & A as a G power chord. You can listen to the song and tell that's not correct. It's similar to the chorus riff of The Thing That Should Not Be. On another note, I'm convinced that all of the Metallica tabs were made 20 years ago and have circled the internet over and over with different people putting their names on them as the authors. That's why tab websites will list 8 versions of a song and they're all the same (and usually wrong).

[@silvergreen1654]

Lol these are the types of things that keep metal guitarist up at night. Instead of Sleeping we are eyes wide open trying to understand a riff from the 80s Only James does this to us!