10 Hardest Metal Songs To Play On Guitar

So, how do you pick the most difficult song for a metal musician to play? Is it the one that's the most technically proficient, or is it the one which manages to confuse you the most? It's never easy to really put a technical level on it, but sometimes the hardest licks are the ones that you never seem to fully understand.

Opening up their second album, Metallica's turn on Fight Fire With Fire is one of the most mind-boggling metal songs in the world. While the tender acoustic lines make you think this is a gentle offering, the psychotic riff engulfs you as things turn a corner. From the start, the real headtrip actually comes from James Hetfield, whose off-kilter syncopated rhythm between the verses feels like doing calculus homework while running a marathon. Whether or not you can blame this on Lars' drumming is irrelevant, considering the insane speed Hetfield is using.

Even though Kirk Hammett's solo is a huge undertaking unto itself, the madness continues even further once the harmonies come in, which are done so succinctly that they seem to be coming from the back part of Hetfield's unconsciousness. There's a reason the breakdown ends with one elongated chord, given the workout that you have to pull off to reach the end of the track. Ending with a splattering of amplifier noise, Fight Fire With Fire is the one Metallica song that proved to be too difficult even for the integrity of the group's equipment.