50 of The Best Metal Songs of All Times

Bigstock photo
The first metal band I really digged was Iron Maiden. I guess I was about ten years old.

I loved their music instantly. What was there not to love? All the songs had catchy guitar riffs and Bruce Dickinson’s voice was superb.

Years later when I went to high school I got to know some dudes that were into death metal. The genre was something I had to get accustomed to. To be honest, it really had to grow on me, but there was something that fascinated me and I was drawn to it.

The degree of loudness in the music was introduced to me backwards. Starting with Slayer and Obituary and followed by more popular bands like Metallica and Megadeth.

I got hooked and started listening to a lot of different metal bands and styles. I also started transcribing and playing a lot of metal on my guitar. My favorite metal bands became Sepultura, Death, Slayer, Pantera and of course Metallica and Megadeth.

I was hypnotized by Max Cavalera’s (Sepultura) heavy and diverse rhythm guitar parts, Marty Friedman’s (Megadeth) melodic speed soloing and Dimebag’s (Pantera) crazy wild bombastic riffs. There was so much creativity going on in all of these guitar players. An endless source of inspiration.

While these days I listen more to music that is totally the opposite like Ryan Adams and Damien Rice, I still get totally lost in the music whenever I put on a metal track.

There is so much to learn from listening and playing metal. If you want to learn about amazing rhythm, riffing and technique then metal is where you need to be. I developed a real sense of rhythmic feel and technique by listening and practicing all those bands.

So I decided to create a list with 50 of the best metal songs of all times.

The list below is in no particular order and incomplete, but it’s here to inspire you and to get to know some awesome metal songs, riffs, solos and bands you might not have heard of or just to refresh your memory of songs you haven’t heard in quite a while. There are also more songs from each band that are just as awesome but I tried to put in as much diversity as possible.

Take your guitar out of the stand, plug it in and learn to play some of the best metal songs ever!

Tip: Click on the song title to listen to the song and click on “Tab” to find the official guitar tablature.

Note: I want you to know I earn a small commission if you make a purchase through an amazon link to support the Guitarhabits website.

Enjoy!

1 – Master of puppets – Metallica – Tab

2 – Hallowed by the name – Iron Maiden

3 – Ace of spades – Motorhead – Tab

4 – Hangar 18 – Megadeth – Tab

5 – Angel of death – Slayer – Tab

6 – Painkiller – Judas Priest

7 – Paranoid – Black Sabbath – Tab

8 – Holy Diver – Dio – Tab

9 – Cemetery Gates – Pantera – Tab

10 – Rime of the ancient mariner – Iron Maiden

11 – One – Metallica – Tab

12 – Dead Embryonic cells – Sepultura – Tab

13 – Caught in a mosh – Anthrax – Tab

14 – Crazy train – Ozzy Osbourne – Tab

15 – Electric eye – Judas Priest – Tab

16 – Black metal – Venom

17 – Freezing moon – Mayhem

18 – Chop Suey! – System Of A Down – Tab

19 – Walk – Pantera – Tab

20 – The trooper – Iron Maiden – Tab

21 – Symphonie of destruction – Megadeth – Tab

22 – Territory – Sepultura

23 – Iron man – Black Sabbath – Tab

24 – Eagle fly free – Helloween

25 – Am I evil – Diamond head – Tab

26 – Chopped in half – Obituary

27 – Babylon – Soulfly

28 – Surfacing – Slipknot – Tab

29 – Eyes Of A Stranger – Queensryche – Tab

30 – Crystal mountain – Death

31 – Du hast – Rammstein – Tab

32 – Got the life – Korn – Tab

33 – Evil – Mercyful Fate

34 – Them bones – Alice in chains – Tab

35 – My Generation – Limp Bizkit – Tab

36 – Blackwater Park – Opeth

37 – The beautiful people – Marilyn Manson – Tab

38 – Kings of metal – Manowar

39 – Heartwork – Carcass

40 – Chapel of ghouls – Morbid angel

41 – Over the wall – Testament

42 – Demanufacture – Fear Factory – Tab

43 – Hammer smashed face – Cannibal Corpse – Tab

44 – Balls to the wall – Accept

45 – Scum – Napalm death

46 – Lateralus – Tool

47 – The count of Tuscany – Dream theater – Tab

48 – Imperium – Machine head

49 – Dead But Dreaming – Deceide

50 – Punishment – Biohazard

So what’s your favorite metal song?

Please share in the comments.