As one of Metallica’s most common variation procedures involves the expansion or reduction of a phrase, the result often includes a change in the metrical length of the riff. Such a change occurs between the verse and chorus riffs from the song “Until It Sleeps” from the album Load. The verse riff is a two-measure phrase in 4/4 and in A minor with a descending chord pattern of A min. – G maj. – F maj. (in Roman numeral analysis, i – VII – VI). The metrical length of the two measures is eight beats.
