The Fight Fire w/Fire Timing Mystery SOLVED!

[TheArtofGuitar]

Sorry I don’t know why the end got cut off but I figure most are checking out by then anyway. Anyhow, I don’t want to delete and reupload because of the awesome comments already made. Thanks everyone.

[arglbargl]

as the old saying goes, james hetfield's right hand is metallica's actual drummer

[gbirdo]

Mike I feel like you’re one of the few guitar channels that plays metal in E standard. I love it.

[matheusventura]

Dude, now that totally makes sense to me! There was always 1 beat missing when I was going to the second riff(the mystery one) and I couldn't figure it out. Now everything fits perfectly in time. Many thanks Uncle B...oh wait...

[TheModernMartialArtist]

Huh I always thought that James was just a bit behind Lars lmao This makes more sense.

[marlonmalave]

i don’t know if i’ve been always like this, but knew it was in the “off beat” since the beginning. even in my early stages of playing guitar! what got me at first was the speed of the song. it actually scared me for a while. but once i got the speed right, the song got “pretty” easy at the long run. even though i kinda knew this, it’s nice to see you teaching the good way of playing it! keep the good work Mike, i always binge watch you videos. greetings from Venezuela ;)

[yakbutter]

What makes this one so tough is the fact that James's vocals and Kirk's solos are also so heavily oriented on the offbeat. I can play still play this on the drums even while hearing it backwards for some reason.

[noah]

This channel is such a safe space for me. Fun videos covering esoteric subjects like this. Plus you can never tell when this guy uploads his videos because he doesn’t age. It’s comforting.

[joeyvanostrand]

People like to talk a LOT OF SHIT, but I don't see them putting themselves out there and playing their ass off like you do. Keep up the awesome work man. Some of us SINCERELY appreciate everything you do. Thank you.

[Viktor]

Fight Fire With Fire is fun to play. I would ask for Harvester Of Sorrow Live 1991. That was the best concert of the song and the best way the song sounded. James Hetfield was energetic to the max and probably the most hyper back then in that concert, plus it drove the Russians crazy!!

[shape]

Brother, thank you so much. I have been searching for this video for years. I've been struggling my whole life to hear this correctly. Exactly what I needed and have been seeking. Thank you!

[jeff_mossy]

Great explanation - Years ago, I worked hard to figure out what was really happening, and it turns out it's really James' fault.
As soon as he starts barking, his vocals hijack the "one" and I'm out until he stops.
I've been listening to this song since it came out and that kink still owns me.
By the way, the same thing happens to me on Van Halen's "Get Up" off 5150.

[elguitarTom]

They do this with the Blackened riff too. I always knew this with Fight fire with fire and riffs like this since the riff after suddenly jumps on you / missing a beat before it starts

[Cthulhu_Awaken]

It's amazing because when I heard this riff the first time I went like "mhm, this seems pretty straightforward tempo-wise", but after years it turned out to be more complex than I thought it was.

[joeravida]

Thank you for making this, it has bugged me for 30 years. Right up there with the hi-hat intro on Zep's Rock and Roll.

[mgrocki]

Battery is very similar to this. Do Battery next. (Then Blackened after that... yeah Blackened)

[jmestrmi]

Do this with Battery please!
I always get confused when playing the battery riff and I'm not sure why. Could you try figuring it out?

[andersjaevel]

It's a fun exercise to mentally switch between hearing the different beats. Flip back and forth. I do this often with alot of music just for fun. Crazy how many ways you can hear the same music.

[theclarkey]

I totally get you, it’s like an aural illusion. It happens in Damage Inc. as well, which I find very difficult to drum to because of the “on-beat” and other switcheroos in the beat, but this is a great video which is very helpful, great counting too!

[andersjaevel]

Metallica is the band with the most amount of timing mysteries I think. "Fight fire" was never a mystery to me though, always heard it the "right way" (and I hope most people do since the "wrong way" sounds pretty bad, totally different song lol). The biggest mystery to me was always "Frayed ends of sanity", the bridge between verse and chorus. I think a lot of there mysteries has to do with Lars, being an unconventional drummer and putting accents in weird places.