Wherever I May Roam

"Wherever I May Roam" is a song by the American metal band Metallica. It was released as the fourth single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica.

All stringed instruments featured in this song, both guitars and basses, are tuned in the standard tuning of E A D G B E. The original recording of the song is notable for its interesting instrumentation: Asian instruments such as a gong and sitar feature, along with an overdubbed Warwick twelve-string bass (as mentioned by the bassist Jason Newsted on the Classic Albums: Metallica - Metallica DVD). This instrument was only used for 'effect' during the intro to emphasize several accented notes and that a standardly tuned 4-string bass was used as the main bass instrument throughout the remainder of the recording.

The song is performed frequently during the band's live concerts, and was performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Michael Kamen) on the live S&M and its companion DVD. When performed live, the band has always relied on their original sitar recording for the intro (the band enters on the first accented note to dramatic effect), however for the S&M concerts guitarist Kirk Hammett utilised a Danelectro electric sitar for the intro before switching to his ESP electric guitar. Jason Newsted never reprised his use of the 12-string bass guitar for any live performances of the song.

The music video featured clips from Metallica behind the scenes and in concert, during their Wherever We May Roam Tour.

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