Testament - Down for Life

      
 
 As recorded by Testament
 (From the 1999 Album THE GATHERING)
 
 
 Words by Chuck Billy Music by Eric Peterson, Chuck Billy
 
 C5III
 x 3 5 5 x x
 
 Eb5        
 x 6 8 8 x x
 E5open
 0 2 2 x x x
 E5VII
 x 7 9 9 x x
 
 F5         
 1 3 3 x x x
 F5VIII
 x 8 10 10 x x
 F5III
 x x 3 5 6 x
 F5I(type 2)
 1 3 x x x x
 
 G5III
 3 5 5 x x x
 
 A5         
 x 0 2 2 x x
 A5V
 5 7 7 x x x
 
 Bb5        
 6 8 8 x x x
 
 Bb5I
 x 1 3 3 x x
 
 Bbsus4     
 x 1 1 3 x x
 
 Gtr I (Db Gb B E Ab Db) - 'Eric Gtr. 1'
 Gtr II (Db Gb B E Ab Db) - 'Eric Gtr. 2'
 Gtr III (Db Gb B E Ab Db) - 'Pickslide Gtr.'
 
 Intro
 Q=210
 E5 F5 E5 F5 E5 F5 E5 BbA5 Bb5 
     
 4/4   
  Gtr I
 PM| PM| PM--| PM| PM| PM| PM--| PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q

 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-2-----3-----2---|---3-------------|-2-----3-----2---|---8S7---7---8--|
 |-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-1-0-0-3S5-5h6-|-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-6S5-5-5-5-6--|
 

 |
 | Gtr II
 | PM PM
 | E E Q H H E E E E E E Q H E E E E E E Q

 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-2---------------|-----------------|-2---------------|---8S7---7---8--|
 |-0---------------|---------3S5-5h6-|-0---------------|---6S5-5-5-5-6--|
 

 
 E5    F5  E5 F5 E5 F5 E5 
 Gtrs I, II
 PM| PM| PM--| PM| PM| PM|
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E W

 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|------|
 |-2-----3-----2---|---3-------------|-2-----3-----2---|------|
 |-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-1-0-0-3S5-5h6-|-0-0-0-1-0-0-0---|------|
 

 
 E5   F5   E5     F5   E5   F5   E5     BbA5  Bb5 
  PM|  PM|  PM--|  PM|  PM|  PM|  PM--|  PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q

 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------||
 ||o-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------o||
 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------||
 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------||
 ||o-2-----3-----2---|---3-------------|-2-----3-----2---|---8S7---7---8---o||
 ||--0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-1-0-0-3S5-5h6-|-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-6S5-5-5-5-6----||
 

 
 1st & 2nd Verse
 E5   F5   E5     F5   E5   F5   E5     BbA5  Bb5 
  PM|  PM|  PM--|  PM|  PM|  PM|  PM--|  PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q

 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
 ||o-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
 ||o-2-----3-----2---|---3-------------|-2-----3-----2---|---8S7---7---8---|
 ||--0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-1-0-0-3S5-5h6-|-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-6S5-5-5-5-6---|
 

 
 E5   F5   E5     F5   E5   F5   E5     BbA5  Bb5 
  PM|  PM|  PM--|  PM|  PM|  PM|  PM--|  PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q

 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-2-----3-----2---|---3-------------|-2-----3-----2---|---8S7---7---8--|
 |-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-1-0-0-3S5-5h6-|-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-6S5-5-5-5-6--|
 

 
 E5   F5   E5     F5   E5   F5   E5     BbA5  Bb5 
  PM|  PM|  PM--|  PM|  PM|  PM|  PM--|  PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q

 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------||
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------||
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------||
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------||
 |-2-----3-----2---|---3-------------|-2-----3-----2---|---8S7---7---8--||
 |-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-1-0-0-3S5-5h6-|-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-6S5-5-5-5-6--||
 

 
 Pre-Chorus
     A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5Bb5 BbA5 A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5Bb5 BbC5 Bb5 
 PM|  PM PM  PM PM PM|  PM PM  PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E 
                                 

 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
 |-----2S3---2S3---|-2S3---2S3---3S2-|-----2S3---2S3---|-2S3---3S5---5S3-|
 |-0-0-0S1-0-0S1-0-|-0S1-0-0S1-0-1S0-|-0-0-0S1-0-0S1-0-|-0S1-0-1S3-0-3S1-|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
 

 
     A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5   A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5Bb5 BbC5 Bb5 
 PM|  PM PM  PM PM  PM|  PM PM  PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E 
                                 

 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------||
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------o||
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------||
 |-----2S3---2S3---|-2S3---2S3---3S2-|-----2S3---2S3---|-2S3---3S5---5S3--||
 |-0-0-0S1-0-0S1-0-|-0S1-0-0S1-0-1S0-|-0-0-0S1-0-0S1-0-|-0S1-0-1S3-0-3S1-o||
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------||
 

 
 Chorus
 E5open F5VIII Bb5IF5
 Gtr II
 Q Q H H Q Q W H E E Q
 | | | |
 / / / / 
   
 Gtr I
 PM| PM PM PM PM PM| PM PM PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q

 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-------------10--|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-------------10--|-----------------|---------3------|
 |-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7---5h7----8--|-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7---5-1---3--|
 |-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0-----0-----|-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0-----0-1--|
 

 
           F5 E5 
 Gtrs I, II
 PM| PM PM PM PM PM PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q Q E Q E Q W

 |-----------------|-----------------|--------------|------||
 |-----------------|-----------------|--------------|------||
 |-----------------|-------------10--|--------------|------||
 |-----------------|-------------10--|-2----2----2--|------||
 |-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7---5h7----8--|-2----2----2--|------||
 |-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0-----0-----|-0----0----0--|------||
 

 
 3rd Verse
 E5   F5   E5     F5   E5   F5   E5     BbA5  Bb5 
  PM|  PM|  PM--|  PM|  PM|  PM|  PM--|  PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q 3x

 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------||
 ||o-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------o||
 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------||
 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------||
 ||o-2-----3-----2---|---3-------------|-2-----3-----2---|---8S7---7---8---o||
 ||--0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-1-0-0-3S5-5h6-|-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-6S5-5-5-5-6----||
 

 
 Pre-Chorus
     A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5   A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5Bb5 BbC5 Bb5 
 PM|  PM PM  PM PM  PM|  PM PM  PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E 
                                 

 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-------------------||
 ||o-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------o||
 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-------------------||
 ||------2S3---2S3---|-2S3---2S3---3S2-|-----2S3---2S3---|-2S3---3S5---5S3---||
 ||o-0-0-0S1-0-0S1-0-|-0S1-0-0S1-0-1S0-|-0-0-0S1-0-0S1-0-|-0S1-0-1S3-0-3S1--o||
 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-------------------||
 

 
 Chorus
 E5open F5VIII Bb5IF5
 Gtr II
 Q Q H H Q Q W H E E Q
 | | | |
 / / / / 
   
 Gtr I
 PM| PM PM PM PM PM| PM PM PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q

 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-------------10--|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-------------10--|-----------------|---------3------|
 |-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7---5h7----8--|-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7---5-1---3--|
 |-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0-----0-----|-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0-----0-1--|
 

 
           F5 E5 
 Gtrs I, II
 PM| PM PM PM PM PM PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q Q E Q E Q W

 |-----------------|-----------------|--------------|------||
 |-----------------|-----------------|--------------|------||
 |-----------------|-------------10--|--------------|------||
 |-----------------|-------------10--|-2----2----2--|------||
 |-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7---5h7----8--|-2----2----2--|------||
 |-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0-----0-----|-0----0----0--|------||
 

 
 Bridge
           F5 Bb5F5 
 Gtrs I, II
 PM| PM PM PM PM PM| PM PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E E E Q Q 3x

 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
 ||o-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------o||
 ||------------------|-------------10--|-----------------|-----------------||
 ||------------------|-------------10--|-----------------|---------3-------||
 ||o-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7---5h7----8--|-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7---5-1--3---o||
 ||--0-0-----0-----0-|-----0-----0-----|-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0------1----||
 

 
      F5 Bb5F5 
 Gtr I
 PM| PM PM PM PM PM| PM PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E E E Q Q

 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|---------------||
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|---------------||
 |-----------------|-------------10--|-----------------|---------------||
 |-----------------|-------------10--|-----------------|---------3-----||
 |-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7---5h7----8--|-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7---5-1--3--||
 |-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0-----0-----|-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0------1--||
 

 |
 | Gtr II
 | PM| PM PM PM PM PM| PM PM PM
 | E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E E E Q Q

 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|---------------||
 |-----------------|--------------6--|-----------------|---------------||
 |-----------------|--------------5--|-----------------|---------------||
 |-----4h5---4h5---|-4h5---4h5----3--|-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7-----3-----||
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-------5-1--3--||
 |-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0-----0-----|-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0------1--||
 

 
 4th Verse
 E5        F5 E5 Eb5 F5 G5 F5 
 Gtrs I, II
 PM| PM| PM| PM----|
 W +Q E E Q Q Q E E Q E E H E E E E 3x

 ||-----------|-----------------|---------------|----------------||
 ||o----------|-----------------|---------------|---------------o||
 ||-----------|-----------------|---------------|----------------||
 ||--2--------|-(2)------10--9--|-8------3------|-5--------------||
 ||o-2--------|-(2)-------8--7--|-6------3------|-5----3-3---3--o||
 ||--0--------|-(0)--0-0--------|----0-0-1--1-1-|-3----1-1---1---||
 

 
 E5 BbsusE5 BbsE54 F5 
     

 PM--| PM--| PM--| PM| PM--| PM----------| PM|
 

 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E Q E E Q 4x

 ||------------------|----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
 ||o-----------------|----------------|-----------------|----------------o||
 ||------------------|-------------3--|-----------------|-----3-----------||
 ||------------------|-------------1--|-----------------|-----1-----------||
 ||o-2-2-2---2-2-2---|-2-2-2---2-2-1--|-2-2-2---2-2-2-2-|-2-2-1--2-2-3---o||
 ||--0-0-0---0-0-0---|-0-0-0---0-0----|-0-0-0---0-0-0-0-|-0-0----0-0-1----||
 

 
 E5open
 Gtr I
 W +W +W +W +W +W
 | | | | | |
 / / / / / / 
    
 Gtr II Gtr III
 TP
 W +W +W +W +W W

 |----------|------------|------------|------------|------------|--------||
 |----------|------------|------------|------------|------------|--------||
 |----------|------------|------------|------------|------------|--------||
 |-2--------|-(2)--------|-(2)--------|-(2)--------|-(2)--------|--x\----||
 |-2--------|-(2)--------|-(2)--------|-(2)--------|-(2)--------|--x\----||
 |-0--------|-(0)--------|-(0)--------|-(0)--------|-(0)--------|--x\----||
 

 
 5th Verse
 E5    F5  E5 F5 E5 F5 E5 BbA5 Bb5 
 Gtrs I, II
 PM| PM| PM--| PM| PM| PM| PM--| PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q 3x

 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------||
 ||o-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------o||
 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------||
 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------||
 ||o-2-----3-----2---|---3-------------|-2-----3-----2---|---8S7---7---8---o||
 ||--0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-1-0-0-3S5-5h6-|-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-6S5-5-5-5-6----||
 

 
 Pre-Chorus
     A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5   A5Bb5 A5Bb5 A5Bb5 BbC5 Bb5 
 PM|  PM PM  PM PM  PM|  PM PM  PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E 
                                 

 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-------------------||
 ||o-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------o||
 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-------------------||
 ||------2S3---2S3---|-2S3---2S3---3S2-|-----2S3---2S3---|-2S3---3S5---5S3---||
 ||o-0-0-0S1-0-0S1-0-|-0S1-0-0S1-0-1S0-|-0-0-0S1-0-0S1-0-|-0S1-0-1S3-0-3S1--o||
 ||------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-------------------||
 

 
 Outro
 E5open F5VIII Bb5IF5
 Gtr II
 Q Q H H Q Q W H E E Q
 | | | |
 / / / / 
   
 Gtr I
 PM| PM PM PM PM PM| PM PM PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q

 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-------------10--|-----------------|----------------|
 |-----------------|-------------10--|-----------------|---------3------|
 |-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7---5h7----8--|-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7---5-1---3--|
 |-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0-----0-----|-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0-----0-1--|
 

 
           F5 E5 
 Gtrs I, II
 PM| PM PM PM PM PM PM PM
 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q Q E Q E Q

 |-----------------|-----------------|--------------*|
 |-----------------|-----------------|--------------*|
 |-----------------|-------------10--|--------------*|
 |-----------------|-------------10--|-2----2----2--*|
 |-----5h7---5h7---|-5h7---5h7----8--|-2----2----2--*|
 |-0-0-----0-----0-|-----0-----0-----|-0----0----0--*|
 

 
 
 Duration Legend

 ---------------
 W - whole; H - half; Q - quarter; E - 8th; S - 16th; T - 32nd; X - 64th; a - acciaccatura
 

 + - note tied to previous; . - note dotted; .. - note double dotted
 Uncapitalized letters represent notes that are staccato (1/2 duration)
 Irregular groupings are notated above the duration line
 Duration letters will always appear directly above the note/fret number it represents the
 duration for. Duration letters with no fret number below them represent rests. Multi-
 bar rests are notated in the form Wxn, where n is the number of bars to rest for. Low
 melody durations appear below the staff
 
 Tablature Legend

 ----------------
 

 h - hammer-on
 p - pull-off
 b - bend
 pb - pre-bend
 r - bend release (if no number after the r, then release immediately)
 /\ - slide into or out of (from/to "nowhere")
 s - legato slide
 S - shift slide
 <n> - natural harmonic
 (n) - artificial harmonic
 n(n) - tapped harmonic
 ~ - vibrato
 tr - trill
 T - tap
 TP - trem. picking
 PM - palm muting
 \n/ - tremolo bar dip; n = amount to dip
 \n - tremolo bar down
 n/ - tremolo bar up
 /n\ - tremolo bar inverted dip
 = - hold bend; also acts as connecting device for hammers/pulls
 <> - volume swell (louder/softer)
 x - on rhythm slash represents muted slash
 o - on rhythm slash represents single note slash
 
 Misc Legend

 -----------
 

 | - bar
 || - double bar
 ||o - repeat start
 o|| - repeat end
 *| - double bar (ending)
 : - bar (freetime)
 $ - Segno
 & - Coda
 Tempo markers - <E/E./Q/Q./H/H.> = BPM(8/16=s8/s16), where s8 = swing 8ths, s16 = swing 16ths