For those who prefer heavier sound, we have picked some of the easiest heavy metal songs to play on guitar.
As for metal music, nowadays there are many genres and sub-genres, since it has been always evolving and crossed with other music genres and styles. But heavy metal is one of the founding and initial sounds of metal. Anyhow, there are often disputes and many disagreements between metal music fans about a band belonging to a certain metal subgenre, especially because many bands tend to develop a unique recognizable sound, using particular distinctions or features of different metal subgenres. So, for verification, so to say, whether a band is categorized as heavy we have consulted Encyclopedia Metallum, as the largest source of information on metal bands. And while there are many bands, as we have noted, fusing many genres of metal and other kinds of music, we will tend to pick those bands that are considered as heavy metal (or NWOBHM, see later) nowadays. Ok, so we have figured out what we want to have on our list, but how do we see metal and particularly heavy metal music today?
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It all started in the 1960s, deeply rooted in the popular music of that time, namely rock music that was in a stage of maturing at that age, after it stated departing from its blues origins. The music being created in that time was more loud, rebellious, energetic, lyrics started being more harsh, describing social and youth problems of that time. That was the time when bands and individuals like Jimmy Hendrix, Led Zeppelin or Cream started shaping new, heavy, hard rock style of music. Then in 1968, Black Sabbath was formed, and ever since considered an establisher of a new sound, the heavy metal. They have introduced darker and heavier sound. And since then the avalanche started, with many new bands emerging, which had brought to the appearance new sounds and styles of the same music. That’s when all genre and subgenre “confusion” started: power metal, glam metal, progressive metal, shock rock and early punk, then the era of new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), thrash metal, death metal, stoner metal, speed metal, and further, black metal, metalcore, goth metal, industrial metal, nu metal, grindcore… So, there’s this whole confusion of genres and different impacts on bands.
But let’s get back on the easiest heavy metal songs to play on guitar. This whole thing is, of course, subjective and depends on music skill levels. Because of that reason, we have started our research looking for songs for beginners on electric guitar. We have thus searched for opinions of guitar players on music forums oriented towards metal music. Those were Ultimate Guitar, Metalstorm, Metal Tabs and Guitar Master Class. So from those resources we have gathered information on which songs were the easiest for people to play as beginners. Most of them agree (considering the number of recommendations) on some particular bands such as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest or Iron Maiden, having in mind only heavy metal genre. So we didn’t want only those bands to fill our list, and we have also added others, according to other, but less numerous recommendations from those and similar forums.
Practicing any instrument requires dedication and practice on daily basis. There are many recommendations for practicing “metal” guitar playing. Those are practicing various exercises for both hands, including scales, arpeggios, fretting and so on. And even if metal is prime goal of your music development, apart from starting with easiest heavy metal songs to play on guitar be sure to go through various music styles like blues or jazz from which you can learn a lot, and of course don’t miss trying out some of the Easiest Famous Songs to Play on Guitar.
But for the part of your practice where you focus on heavy metal, we have tried to be as objective as we could in terms of picking only “pure” heavy metal for our list using the criteria we explained above. Surely not everyone will agree with this list, having to add some of their favorite songs or throw out some of the songs on the list, depending on guitar skills or music taste. But, here is the compilation of recommendations of some of the easiest heavy metal songs to play on guitar we found suitable for those interested in this sound:
16. Denim and Leather by Saxon
A song from a classic heavy metal album of the 80s of the same name, which nicely describes metalheads of that time. As for the musical part, apart from the solo (concerning beginners), this is a rather easy heavy metal song to play on guitar.
15. Am I Evil by Diamond Head
Although this song is today more recognizable as Metallica’s song it was actually released in 1980 by British heavy metal band Diamond Head. The tricky part of this song is hidden in the arpeggios, but they are kind of basic, and a good thing to learn as a beginner.
14. Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne
This famous song is a signature song and the first single of Ozzy Osbourne. It is a great and rather easy song good for practicing both minor and major riffs and scales.
13. Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden
Heavy metal would not have gone far without this legendary band. So here’s a suggestion for an easy heavy metal song to play on guitar. Having in mind there are three guitars in the band (this song written for two though), you can choose which one is easier for you to play, if you want to skip tricky solos at the beginning.
12. Abigail by King Diamond
Being in moderate tempo, this song is a great song for practicing chords as well as fingerwork with easy solos and melodies.
11. Countess Bathory by Venom
Considered as a great influence on black metal (with their album Black Metal), Venom is an NWOBHM band. This is a rather easy song especially because there are no complicated solos.
10. Run to the Hills by Iron Maiden
Yet another legendary Iron Maiden’s song on our list of easiest heavy metal songs to play on guitar. Although it sounds complicated at the beginning, practicing each part of song separately is a great practice. Here is an example video:
9. Princess of the Dawn by Accept
This song was released in 1982 by a pioneering German heavy metal band. Being rather slow and monotonous, it is among easiest heavy metal songs to play on guitar, good for practicing classical heavy metal riffs
8. Trooper by Iron Maiden
As we have noted, Iron Maiden songs are a bit more complex, and Trooper is one of those, and adding to it the speed of the song. But it is a good practice song for fast shifting and fingerwork of right hand.
7. Warriors of the World by Manowar
Although released in 2002, this song reminds of the heavy and power metal roots, as Manowar keeps the old school tradition in their music, as well as in their appearance. This is a nice and slow song, perfect for beginners on guitar, be sure not to miss this one on our list of easiest heavy metal songs to play on guitar.
6. Paranoid by Black Sabbath
And here we introduce godfathers of heavy metal. Paranoid is a song released on Paranoid album in 1970, and is probably most famous Black Sabbath song. So, apart from being the “blueprint of metal”, Paranoid is also very easy to learn on guitar. Take a look at the lesson below.
5. Living After Midnight by Judas Priest
This is a legendary song by one of the first heavy metal bands still active today, Judas Priest. And as many would agree that many of their songs are among easiest heavy metal songs to play, perfect for guitar beginners, Living After Midnight surely is among the top of those.
4. Ace of Spades by Motörhead
Although Motörhead that ranks 4th on the list of easiest heavy metal songs to play on guitar, could be categorized more as speed than heavy metal, this song surely deserves a place on our list of easiest heavy metal songs to play. It is great for gaining speed coordination in your left hand, and it is fun to play.
3. Iron Man by Black Sabbath
Of course, Black Sabbath’s song had to be somewhere on our list of easiest heavy metal songs to play on guitar again, with one of the easiest songs to play on guitar, the Iron Man, that also comes from Paranoid album. The song is rather slow with repetitive riffs, but rather diverse, hence interesting to play.
2. Holy Diver by Ronnie James Dio
This song comes from Dio’s debut album released in 1983, which was put on no. 16 of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time. This song is great for beginners for practicing triplets and getting to meet power chords and also there are no complicated solos there.
1. Breaking the Law by Judas Priest
It seems that many people agree on Breaking the Law being the easiest heavy metal songs to play on guitar, or at least as one of the easiest. Even though it is not complex, it surely is one of the most recognizable (metal) songs, being in 12th place of the list of Vh1 Top 100 Hard Rock Songs in 2009. Give it a try, here is a guitar lesson recommendation below.
