Fade To Black bass tab by Metallica

Bass tabs

’’’’’’Fade to Black
from Ride the Lightning
by Metallica

In this song bass line #1 is repeated a number of times
Since Cliff Burton was such a badass he played something
different each time. I didn’t bother transcribing out each
variation of bass line #1, because you really can’t tell the
difference and it sounds fine.


The beginning of this song is just the guitar solo that
I have marked as intro. Basically you just play along with the
bass drum.

  Intro (keep repeating)
|---------|--------|--------|
|---------|--------|--------|
|---------|--------|--------|
|---5--7--|--------|--------|


After playing that a couple of times you play this fill
--------------------|-----------------|-----|------
--------------------|-----------2-----|-----|------
--------------------|--2-----2--------|-----|------
--1-----1--4-----4--|-----------------|--5--|------


|--|----------|--------------|-----|-----|-----|
|--|----------|--------------|-----|-----|-----|
|--|----------|--------------|-----|-----|-----|
|--|-----3/7--|--5-----5-----|-----|-----|-----|


Drums enter (Bass Line #1)
---------------|------------|----------------
---------------|------------|----------------
------------2--|3-----5--2--|----------------
---5-----5-----|------------|----------------


--------------|------------|--------------|-----------------|------
--------------|------------|--------------|-----------------|------
--------3--2--|--------7/7|-----------2--|--3-----3--3--5--|------
--3-----------|--0---------|--5-----5-----|-----------------|------

------------|---------|-
------------|---------|-
------------|------/7|-
3-----5--3--|--0------|-

(end Bass Line #1)

For the 1st verse play the Bass Line #1 two and a half times
which then leads into the bridge part

--------------|-
--------------|-
-----------2--|-
--5-----5-----|-


-------------------------|----------------------------|-
-------------------------|----------------------------|-
3--------10--12--10------|--10-------------10h12--10--|-
----/12--------------12--|---------10--12-------------|-


              (Bridge)
------------------------||---------------------------|-
------------------------||*--------------------5-----|-
7--7--7--7--7--7--7--7--||*--------------7--7-----5--|-
------------------------||---5-----5--5--------------|-


------------------------|-----------------|--------------------------|-
------------------5-----|-----------------|--------------------------|-
------------7--7-----5--|--------------5--|--7-----7--7--------------|-
8-----8--8--------------|--5-----5--5-----|--------------0--0--8--7--|-


------------------------|------------------------||-
------------------5-----|-----------------------*||-
------------7--7-----5--|-----------------------*||-
5-----5--5--------------|--5-----5--5--3--2--0---||-


----------------|----------------------------------------------
----------9--9--|-9-----7--7--7-----5--5--5-----4--4--4-----5--
----------------|----------------------------------------------
-0--------------|----------------------------------------------

Then go back to bass line #1 for the interlude and 2nd verse


3rd and 4th verse
||---------------|----------------|-----------------------------|-
||*--------------|----------5--4--|-----------------------9--9--|-
||*--5--7-----7--|-5--7-----------|--5--5--5-----5--5-----------|-
||---------0-----|-------0--------|-----------------------------|-


------------------------------4--|-----------------|-----------------|-
9--7--7--7--5--5--5--4--4--4-----|-----------------|-----------5--4--|-
---------------------------------|--5--7-----7-----|--5--7--7--------|-
---------------------------------|--------0-----0--|-----------------|-


                            (repeat 3 times)
------------------------|---------------------------------------||-
------------------9--9--|--9--7--7--7--5--5--5--4--4--4--4--5--*||-
0--5-----5--5-----------|--------------------------------------*||-
------------------------|---------------------------------------||-


||---------------------|-----------------------|--------------------------|-
||*--------------2-----|-----------------------|--------------------9--9--|-
||*--------------------|-----------------------|--------------5-----------|-
||---0--0--0--0--------|--0--0--0--0--3--2-----|--0--0--0--0--------------|-


-------------------------------------||------------------|-
9--7--7--7--5--5--5--4--4--4--4--5--*||*-----------------|-
------------------------------------*||*--2-----2-----2--|-
-------------------------------------||------------------|-


------------------|-----------------|-----------------------|-
------------------|-----------------|-----------------------|-
2-----4--2--------|-----------------|-----------------------|-
------------5--2--|--5-----5-----5--|--5--5-----5--5--5--5--|-


------------------|--------------------------|-----------------|-
------------------|--------------------------|-----------------|-
------------------|--------------------------|-----------------|-
3-----3-----3--3--|--3--3--3--3--3--3--3--3--|--5-----5-----5--|-


----------------------||
---------------2--2--*||
---------------------*||
5--5-----5--5---------||

Just keep repeating until the song fades out

Other versions of Fade To Black

Alternative guitar chords and tabs for Fade to black (Ver. 2) by Metallica