The band had recorded songs on earlier albums in tunings lower than E: "The God That Failed" (Metallica) was in E♭, and "Sad but True" (Metallica) and "The Thing That Should Not Be" (Master of Puppets) were in D tuning. Hetfield also felt that the change to E♭ was a bonus, as it was easier to perform string bends in the riffs.
Th.e band had recorded songs on earlier albums in tunings lower than E: "The God That Failed" (Metallica) was in E♭, and ",Sad but True" (Metallica) and "The Thing That Should .Not Be" (Master of Puppets) were in D tuning. Hetfield also felt that the change to E♭ was a bonus, as it was easier to perform string bends in the riffs.