What are some easy metal songs on guitar that you can just pick up and play? On this page we're rounding them up and putting them all in the same spot. These songs are firmly in the metal and hard rock genres with lots of guitar and even distortion in some cases.
Obviously, they're best played using an electric guitar.
However, they can be learned and mastered on an acoustic guitar as well.
Note that we'll avoid metal songs that require a difficult alternate tuning, instead focusing on standard and drop D tunings. If you need help with drop D, we'd recommend the following resource: Drop D tuning Fender article
Aside from that tuning, the songs on here should be accessible for most, even beginners with limited experience.
Although I will provide this qualifier: Knowing power chords in standard and drop D tuning will be a huge help with this list.
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Metal - Often loud, but not always easy. Flickr Commons image via Kristina Servant
Easy Metal Songs On Guitar (our list)
- Black Sabbath - Iron Man
- Judas Priest - Breaking the Law
- Linkin Park - Crawling
- Linkin Park - In the End
- Blind Guardian - The Bards Song, In the Forest
- Rage Against the Machine - Bulls on Parade
- Alice in Chains - Man in the Box
- Bring Me the Horizon - DIE4U
- Papa Roach - Scars
- Five Finger Death Punch - A Little Bit Off
- Metallica - Nothing Else Matters
- Metallica - The Unforgiven
- Metallica - Whisky In the Jar
- Slipknot - Snuff
- System of a Down - Lost in Hollywood
- Volbeat - For Evigt
- Bad Wolves - Zombie
- Tool - Sober
Chord sheets and Papa Roach. It can be done. Flickr Commons image via Kmeron
How are we defining metal?
In our definition of metal, we'd include most hard rock groups from the '80s through modern day, including grunge, nu-metal, and some segments of classic rock (Black Sabbath, Megadeath, etc.).
Chords or tabs?
We've tried to focus primarily on metal songs that can be played with a chord sheet. In other words, you don't need full tabs to learn them. While most of the songs we've listed have a chord sheet, there are a couple that use full tabs instead. They're still pretty easy.
About Drop Tunings
Keep in mind that some of these songs might list a drop tuning, but you can still play the chords in standard or drop D, if you prefer. Again, I've intentionally focused on metal songs that you can play without drop tunings, so fall back on the chord sheet and don't worry about tuning down.
What if I can't do power chords?
If you haven't covered power chords yet, now is the time to start, since they come in really handy when playing rock and metal songs. We'd recommend this lesson by Justin Sandercoe that covers power chords for beginners.
Conclusion
Hopefully you've found some songs you can play that quench your metal thirst and aren't super difficult. Don't be afraid to look up chord sheets for metal songs. They're helpful in that you can learn the bass line chord progressions, then get into more detail of the song as you go.
For just wanting to play a song and have some fun, the chord chart is hard to beat, even if we're talking about metal songs.
Questions About Easy Metal Songs on Guitar
If you have questions about the easy metal songs on guitar we've picked or the resources we've recommended, drop us a line in the comments section below. We'll check in there and help out as much as possible.
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Written by Bobby on Songs and Roundups
Written by Bobby on Songs and Roundups
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