
Metallica
Phantom Lord

Cliff Burton
Tuning: Standard: E A D G

                          Tablature Notation
~         Hold Note
b         Bend
r         Release Bend
h         Hammer—On
p         Pull—Off
S         Slap Note
P         Pop Note
/         Slide Up
\         Slide Down
*pb       Pre—Bend
Mute: * * Mute Notes Above Stars
^         Accent Note(Play Note Stronger)
b(#)      Bend String Until Note In (#) Is Reached
b(#)r     Bend String Until Note In (#) Is Reached Then Release To 
Original Note
x         Ghost—Note Play Note On String but has no recognizable pitch
———       Notes W/ More ———'s Indicate Longer Space Between Notes  
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Wait for guitar effects intro

Intro
0:09
G|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|—0————0—0————0—0—0————0—0————0—0—0————2————2—2————2—2—2————2—2————2—2—2—|
E|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|

Pre—Verse
0:38
G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|x4
A|———————————————————————10h12——————————————————————————|
E|—10h12—12——12—12—12—12———————10h12—12——12—12—12—12—10—|

Verse1
0:51
G|—————————————————|
D|—————————————————|
A|—————————————————|
E|—5————8————7—5—5—|

0:54
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D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|x2
A|———————————————————————10h12——————————————————————————|
E|—10h12—12——12—12—12—12———————10h12—12——12—12—12—12—10—|

0:59
G|—————————————————|
D|—————————————————|
A|—————————————————|
E|—5————8————7—5—5—|

1:03
G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|x2
A|———————————————————————10h12——————————————————————————|
E|—10h12—12——12—12—12—12———————10h12—12——12—12—12—12—10—|

Chorus1
1:08
G|————————————|
D|————————————|x8
A|————————————|
E|—5——3—5—2—3—|

Pre—Verse
1:28
G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|x2
A|———————————————————————10h12——————————————————————————|
E|—10h12—12——12—12—12—12———————10h12—12——12—12—12—12—10—|
        Wait Until Guitar Plays It A Few Times

Verse2
1:34
G|—————————————————|
D|—————————————————|
A|—————————————————|
E|—5————8————7—5—5—|

1:37
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D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|x2
A|———————————————————————10h12——————————————————————————|
E|—10h12—12——12—12—12—12———————10h12—12——12—12—12—12—10—|

1:43
G|—————————————————|
D|—————————————————|
A|—————————————————|
E|—5————8————7—5—5—|

1:46
G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|x2
A|———————————————————————10h12——————————————————————————|
E|—10h12—12——12—12—12—12———————10h12—12——12—12—12—12—10—|

Chorus2
1:52
G|————————————|
D|————————————|x8
A|————————————|
E|—5——3—5—2—3—|

Solo
2:06
G|————————————|Im not sure how many times
D|————————————|Cliff plays it. Just 
A|—3——2—3—————|Keeping reapeating that
E|————————2—3—|over & over until...

2:30
G|——————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————|
A|—7————5————3——2———————|
E|————————————————3—2—0—|

Post—Solo
2:34
G|—————————————————————|
D|—————————————————————|x8
A|—————————————————————|
E|—0——00—3—00—2—00—1—00|

3:03
At first I thought you played the riff
G|—————————————————————————————————|
D|—————————————————————————————————|x4
A|—————————————————————————————————|
E|—0—0—0—0—3—3—3—3—2—2—2—2—1—1—1—1—|
But if you listen closely, bass actually plays when the drums 
hit the symbols

G|—————————————————————————————————|
D|—————————————————————————————————|
A|—————————————————————————————————|
E|—0———————————————————————————————|
  3:07, 3:10, 3:14

3:17
G|——————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————|
A|——————————————————————————————————|
E|—0————0———0————0————0————0——0—0—0—|

Solo2
3:22
G|——————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————————(plays zero's as)—|x4
A|—0————3——2—————(fast as possible)—|
E|———————————3—3—000000000000000000—|

Pre—Verse
3:49
G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|x2
A|———————————————————————10h12——————————————————————————|
E|—10h12—12——12—12—12—12———————10h12—12——12—12—12—12—10—|

Verse3
3:55
G|—————————————————|
D|—————————————————|
A|—————————————————|
E|—5————8————7—5—5—|

3:58
G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|x2
A|———————————————————————10h12——————————————————————————|
E|—10h12—12——12—12—12—12———————10h12—12——12—12—12—12—10—|

4:04
G|—————————————————|
D|—————————————————|
A|—————————————————|
E|—5————8————7—5—5—|

4:07
G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|x2
A|———————————————————————10h12——————————————————————————|
E|—10h12—12——12—12—12—12———————10h12—12——12—12—12—12—10—|

Chorus3
4:14
G|————————————|
D|————————————|x8
A|————————————|
E|—5——3—5—2—3—|

Outro
4:26
G|————————————|
D|————————————|x4
A|————————————|
E|—5——3—5—2—3—|

4:32
G|——————————————————|
D|——————————————————|
A|——————2—————————7—|
E|—0—————————3——————|

4:42
G|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E|—0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000—|
  Thats not the right amount of zero's. Just play them
  as fast as you can until the end of the song. 

Have Fun



          Lyrics

Sound is ripping through your ears
The deafening sound of metal nears
Your bodies waiting for his whips
The taste of leather on your lips

Hear the cry of War
Louder than before
With his sword in hand
to control the land
Crushing metal strikes
on this frightening night
Fall onto your knees
For the Phantom Lord

Victims falling under chains
You hear them crying death pains
The fists of terrors breaking through
Now there's nothing you can do

Hear the cry of War
Louder than before
With his sword in hand
to control the land
Crushing metal strikes
on this frightening night
Fall onto your knees
For the Phantom Lord

The leather armies have prevailed
The Phantom Lord has never failed
Smoke is lifting from the ground
The rising volume metal sound

Hear the cry of War
Louder than before
With his sword in hand
to control the land
Crushing metal strikes
on this frightening night
Fall onto your knees
For the Phantom Lord

Fall to your knees
and bow to the Phantom Lord

About Metallica

Metallica (pronounced /m??tæl?k?/) is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1981. Founded when drummer Lars Ulrich posted an advertisement in a local newspaper, Metallica's line-up has primarily consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, while going through a number of bassists. Currently, the spot is held by Robert Trujillo.

How to Read Bass Tabs

Bass tablature (tabs) is an easy way to learn songs without needing to read traditional sheet music. Here’s a quick guide to understanding the symbols and techniques commonly found in tabs:

1. The Basics

Strings and Frets:
Each line in a tab represents a string on your bass:
- The top line is the highest-pitched string (G on a 4-string bass).
- The bottom line is the lowest-pitched string (E on a 4-string bass).
Numbers on the lines indicate which fret to press. For example:
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------------------|
A|---3---------------|
E|-------------------|
            
```
This means you play the 3rd fret on the A string.

2. Common Techniques

Hammer-On (h):
Play the first note by picking it, then press down on a higher fret with another finger without picking again.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------5h7---------|
            
```
Pull-Off (p):
Pluck a note and then "pull off" your finger to let a lower fret ring.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------7p5---------|
            
```
Slide (/ or \):
Move your finger up (/) or down (\) the fretboard while maintaining pressure.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------5/7---------|
            
```

3. Advanced Techniques

Bend (b): Push the string up or down to raise the pitch. Example: G|-------7b9---------|
Vibrato (~): Shake the string slightly after playing a note to create a vibrating sound. Example: G|-------7~----------|
Muted Notes (x): Rest your finger lightly on the string without pressing a fret and pluck for a percussive "click" sound.

4. Rhythm and Timing

Tabs don’t always indicate timing, so listen to the song while reading the tab. Wider spaces between numbers mean longer pauses, while closer numbers indicate quicker notes.

5. Slap and Pop

Slap (s): Strike the string with the side of your thumb for a percussive sound.
Pop (p): Pull the string away from the fretboard and let it snap back.

Practice Makes Perfect

Tabs are a great tool to learn songs, but mastering the techniques takes practice. Listen carefully to the original track and play along to lock in the rhythm. Don’t rush — smooth, accurate playing is more important than speed. Happy jamming! 🎸

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Metallica — Phantom Lord bass tabs