10 Hardest Metal Songs To Play On Guitar

In the world of metal, there's always something to be expected out of the guitar player. Whereas the singer might be expected to reach massive high notes and the drummer to have a huge double bass presence, the kind of workouts that you have to put your fingers through to play these songs efficiently is the stuff of nightmares for casual six-stringers. Then again, there are even the few songs that even the brave won't touch.

Across metal's storied history, it seems that the intensity level seemed to kick up a notch with each passing year. From the heavy downbeat of thrash in the '80s to the prog metal that was reaching its apex in the '90s, there always seemed to be some new technique around the corner that would melt your fingers off. At the same time, the hardest ones didn't necessarily stay within the confines of metal all the way through, instead going for more classical ambitions and even throwing in some more avant garde stuff for good measure.

On the surface, pulling these off almost feels wrong for your fingers, and yet it manages to sound utterly transcendent when heard in context. From the dark depths of Hell to the lighter side of metal, these are the riffs and licks that your hands will never forgive you for.

One could really make the argument that Judas Priest were responsible for starting what became known as metal guitar. Though Tony Iommi's doomy riffs were definitely a start, it wasn't until KK Downing and Glenn Tipton came along that all of the blues worship was stripped away to make room for riffs that could cut through steel. However, it took them over 2 decades as a band to really bring the pain as well as Painkiller.

From the word go, this is unlike any other Priest song up to this point, as they soak up all the extremity of thrash metal and spit it back out at the public with the ferocity of a machine gun. Trying to keep up with the insane downpicking is one thing, but the real monster comes when the solos take center stage. Since its a guitar tandem too, you're in for one hell of a ride. Just when you think you're out of the woods with Downing's whammy bar action, Tipton blows right past him and proceeds to tear your head off with his insanely fast runs.

As the solos give way to the main breakdown, you begin to realize that there is virtually no letting up on this track, with every other section being liable to set your hand ablaze. For as essential as the Priest are to metal, you best be saying your unholy prayers before taking this one on.