Slayer · Seasons in the Abyss · song 1
War Ensemble tuning.
War Ensemble (Slayer, 1990) is in E♭ Standard, about 5 cents sharp (A ≈ 441), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
E♭ Standard +5 ¢
About 5 cents sharp (A ≈ 441).
Measured by TuneLit
5 ¢ sharp
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string +5 ¢.
Slayer · Seasons in the Abyss · 1990
About War Ensemble
War Ensemble opens Seasons in the Abyss (1990) at full speed, with Dave Lombardo's drumming driving fast, tight riffs. Like the rest of the album it is in E♭ Standard (E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭), half a step down.
For a guitarist, War Ensemble is a test of stamina. Most riffs are fast, palm-muted alternate picking on the lowest strings, with quick shifts along the neck and hardly a pause, while the leads lean on the whammy bar in Slayer's usual chaotic style. Start each riff at half speed with a metronome, keep the muting even on String 6, and raise the tempo only when every note stays clean and in time with the drums.
TuneLit measured the album about 5 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 441.2) on the CD, and Tune uses that value. War Ensemble reads higher, about 13 ¢ sharp, the sharpest song on the album, but with low confidence, as fast and dense mixes are harder to read, so it shares the album value.
So if your guitar sounds a touch flat against the record after you tap Tune, the song's own reading is the likely reason: nudge Fine-tune up a few cents by ear. The tuning itself is settled. Every tab says E♭, which Kerry King calls "D♯", and TuneLit's check from the audio agrees that the lowest open string is E♭. A guitar in E Standard would be a half step too high.
Tip: Tap Tune for E♭ +5 ¢, then nudge Fine-tune up a few cents if your guitar sounds flat against the opening riff.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E♭ Standard, every string +5 ¢, the notes War Ensemble was recorded in.
- From E Standard: Every string down a half step. No tuner that knows E♭ Standard? Clamp a capo across fret 1, tune to E Standard as usual, then take it off: every string drops to E♭ Standard. Check each string again afterwards, since a capo pulls the strings a little sharp.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. War Ensemble sits 5 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play War Ensemble along with the record: its lowest open note and your String 6 should ring together without a wobble.
Or the other way round
Move the record into your tuning
Rather keep your guitar as it is? Let Play along move War Ensemble instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in E♭ Standard +5 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and War Ensemble moves up 95 cents, at its own speed. Slow it down or loop a few bars to learn it, and save the result as a WAV file.
Questions
What tuning is War Ensemble in?
E♭ Standard +5 ¢: E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.