This is a metal classic. The verse riffs are tight and chunky, and the choruses melodic. There are 2 guitars for the song (Dave on rhythm and Marty on lead) which are almost identical except during the solo, and some slight variations during the pre-chorus and chorus. Here we look at Dave Mustaine's rhythm guitar part.

If you aren't a fast player yet, learn this guitar part rather than Marty's Lead (shown in the next ActionTab). The solo there is very fast and requires great dexterity. Even seasoned players will find it a serious challenge. Dave's rhythm guitar part is still great fun to play, and won't require a nitro injection.

The intro / verse riffs are heavy and easy to do. Just make sure to palm mute the F - G - F notes (downstrokes is easiest). And open strike the F5 and E5 powerchords.

Notice we use an upstroke on the E5. You can use a downstroke instead, you can also just slide your fretboard hand down by 1 fret to quickly get to the E5 from the F5. The riff is not too hard, so there are quite a few options on playing it. Just make sure that you mute the strings between the chord stabs. use your strumming hand as well to kill the strings if you wish. That will help you get that 'dead stop' between stabs.

That riff repeats quite a while, then this riff kicks in. Again, quite simple but the little hammer on / pull off flourishes here can be tricky. These are where the two guitars differ - Marty plays hammer / pull offs on higher strings.

You can use your first finger to play down through the 'double stops' (2 notes struck together), instead of using 3rd, then 2nd, then 1st finger (as we show here). However, this means quickly moving your hand position after the hammer / pull offs. Whereas the way we show it means you are already in position.

The chorus is the hardest part for rhythm guitar, and it's not too bad - with some effort you'll get it ok. It is based around a simple descending chord sequence E5 - E flat 5th - D5 - E major (or B sus4 variant depending how you look at it) - C5 - C flat 5th - D5 - B minor

That's really what it is - just a nice melody that descends through these chords. It's just that the chords are mostly picked note-by-note rather than strummed. Notice that the Low E string is occasionally picked between chords. This keeps the rhythm flowing and the 'key' (tonal center) consistent with E minor. Once you've cracked the chorus, you'll be flying with the rest of the song!