In the song “That Was Just Your Life” from Death Magnetic, the evolution of the riff is even more intricate than in “The Thing That Should Not Be” and “Enter Sandman.” The intro riff has similar characteristics to the one from “Enter Sandman”—it enters in clean-tone guitars, features an ascent from the low E up an octave and continuing to G, and includes a prominent tritone with Bb (here as the second note). The riff ends on F, creating the half-step tension to the E that follows with the repetition of the riff. The tempo, 84 beats per minute, serves as a point of variation.
