TUNELIT

Metallica · 2008 · Studio album

Death Magnetic tuning.

E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD and the LP. 1 of 10 songs are tuned differently.

Death Magnetic album cover

Album tuning

E Standard

At concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD and the LP.

MeasuredWidely reported

Tune like thisPlay alongAll 10 songs

Measured by TuneLit

At concert pitch

SourceOffsetEquivalent ASongsSpreadConfidence
CD edition Used for the Tune buttons−1.0 ¢A 439.710−2.5 to +0.4 ¢High
2LP, Warner 508732-1−3.8 ¢A 43910−5.7 to −2.0 ¢High
 Offset from concert pitch (A 440). Spread: the middle half of the songs, when four or more share the album's pitch. Confidence: how well the notes agree with one grid.

Before we measured, sources said: E Standard, with no pitch given (widely reported).

After more than a decade of E♭ and Drop C records the band went back to E Standard for almost every song, including That Was Just Your Life, The Day That Never Comes, Cyanide and The Unforgiven III. In concert since the Load era these songs are played half a step down in E♭, so tune to E♭ for modern live recordings.

10 songs · 1 tuned differently

Every song, ready to tune

Tune opens the tuner in that song's tuning, pitch included. Play along opens the song player set to that tuning, so the track plays in yours. What the labels mean

  1. 1. That Was Just Your Life

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  2. 2. The End of the Line

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  3. 3. Broken, Beat & Scarred

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  4. 4. The Day That Never Comes

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  5. 5. All Nightmare Long

    Different tuning

    Drop DMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    The only Death Magnetic song in Drop D. Just a Bullet Away, an outtake from the same sessions released on Beyond Magnetic (2011), is also in Drop D.

    Drop D: only the low E string comes down a whole step.

  6. 6. Cyanide

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  7. 7. The Unforgiven III

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  8. 8. The Judas Kiss

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  9. 9. Suicide & Redemption

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  10. 10. My Apocalypse

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

What the labels mean

Measured
TuneLit measured the pitch on an original CD or LP. The tuning name still comes from the sources.
Official
The band, a member, their producer or their guitar tech said it.
Widely reported
Trusted outlets, guides and tabs agree, but the band did not say it directly.
Community
From community tabs, or from players who tune along with the record.
Disputed
Sources disagree. The likeliest setting is shown; the notes name the other one.

Each song shows one label, the strongest it has, in this order. How we measure recordings →

Questions

What tuning is Death Magnetic in?

Metallica recorded Death Magnetic (2008) in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit on the CD and the LP. All Nightmare Long uses Drop D.