"Fade To Black" - A Musical Analysis

    Metallica is one of the largest metal bands of all time. They have an extensive collection of songs that have millions of copies sold and plays worldwide. This song in particular is one of my favorites from the band: Fade To Black. Upon its debut in 1984, this was the first balled Metallica ever released (Songfacts). Metallica is known for its fast and heavy songs, so this one was quite different from the rest of its songs at the time. This song is special to me because this was one of the first songs I learned on guitar.

Click on the link below to listen to the full song

Metallica - Fade To Black - 1984, USA

Lyrics

    This song was inspired by a story from the main singer, James Hetfield. He explained that his mother bought him an amplifier before she passed away. Unfortunately, this amplifier was stolen shortly after his mother passed. 

    This song is about an individual who is going through depression and decides the life they are living is not worth the fight. The song's lyrics explain the emotions this individual is going through and he/she concludes with a goodbye at the end of the song. (Alimbekova).

    Although this song has depressing lyrics, it has received much praise from fans. James Hetfield mentions in an interview that he received "tons and tons" of letters that Fade To Black saved their lives (Muller).

Clean and Distorted Guitars

    The song consists of changes between clean acoustic guitars and distorted electric guitars, with many guitar solos in between. The intro starts out slow, with an acoustic guitar, and later changes to a heavy, distorted electric guitar during the choruses. These changes in guitars are what I love about this song! 

    These changes give the song dynamics since it makes the choruses more impactful due to the switch in volume and tone/timbre. Furthermore, there are no lyrics during the choruses since the main emphasis is the guitars.

Form

    What makes this song even more unique is the structure/form of this song, specifically the solos and the second half including the bridge and outro. There are many guitar solos throughout this song. These guitar solos are some of my favorite solos by Kirk Hammett since they are very melodic and emotional. After the second chorus, the tempo suddenly changes from 115 BPM to 135 BPM. This tempo change and key change (which I will discuss in the next part) make this part almost feel like an entirely different song for the average listener!

Scale/Key Changes

    This song changes from 3 different keys throughout the song! The beginning is in B minor, the verses and choruses are in A minor, and the bridge and outro are in E minor (Zillio). Notice how they chose a minor key rather than a major key to achieve this sad and depressing mood of the song. These key changes are what keep my attention since it makes the song sounds like it is always developing and evolving over time.

Guitar Articulation

    Although the verses have a simple 4 chord progression, what makes it interesting to me are the staccato notes played at the end of the fourth chord. These short notes give the progression silence and space before it enters the next part.

    Additionally, the guitar solos have a bunch of different kinds of articulation due to Kirk Hammett's playing style. There are legato, slurs, slides, trills, ghost notes, and probably much more.

Sources

Alimbekova, Julia. “Meaning of Fade to Black by Metallica & the Story Behind.” Blimey, 15 Sept. 2022, https://blimey.pro/meaning-of-the-song-fade-to-black-metallica/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.

Muller, Robert. “Fade to Black - the Trauma and Mental Health Report.” The Trauma & Mental Health Report, 4 July 2022, trauma.blog.yorku.ca/2022/07/fade-to-black/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.

Zillio, Tommaso. “The Fade to Black Modulation (Why It Sounds so Amazing).” Musictheoryforguitar.com, www.musictheoryforguitar.com/Fade-To-Black-Metallica-Modulation.html. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.

“Fade to Black.” Songfacts, 24 Oct. 2012, www.songfacts.com/facts/metallica/fade-to-black.

“Metallica - Fade to Black (Tab).” Tabs.ultimate-Guitar.com, tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/metallica/fade-to-black-tabs-23218. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.

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