10 Best Acoustic Metal Songs
1. Fade to Black - Metallica
Metallica were never really concerned with commercial success when they first started getting the ball rolling. Emerging out of the Bay Area metal scene, these thrash metal titans made it their mission to become the biggest band in the world without having to cower to the more corporate side of rock and roll. Then again, a good song was a good song at the end of the day.
Despite being labelled sellouts for picking up an acoustic guitar, Fade to Black quickly turned into one of the greatest songs in Metallica's arsenal. After slogging away at the same fast tempo riffs, this emotional tale of a man having suicidal thoughts was much darker than any fast riff ever could be.
Even though James Hetfield really shines on this song, there are traces of Cliff Burton's influence all over it, from the classical harmonies sprinkled in to the melodic counterpoint happening in the outro.
While there might be faster songs in Metallica's catalog, this is the one sweet spot in their discography that was able to speak to the disenfranchised metalheads without having to dumb down their sound at all.
Fade to Black might not be the first song people associate with Metallica, but when you break it down to its raw essentials, this may be one of the best musical pieces this band has ever written.