10 Hardest Metal Songs To Play On Guitar

There are many definitions on what constitutes the greatest players of all time. While some may consider the greatest guitarist to have the best phrasing, others may gravitate towards those who have the ability to play over a thousand notes per second. However, Dream Theater is the one band who manages to do both at the exact same time on Panic Attack.

Before you get over the monster bass intro of Panic Attack, you realize that the guitar section is not really going to be a walk in the park. Given John Petrucci's musical pedigree, this song is a workout if there ever was one, with pummeling riffs that give way to sections that are bluesy, jazzy, and somehow perfectly timed. Instead of the chaotic barrage of notes you'd find in other outfits, you can tell that every single note is dead-on, as Petrucci and John Myung perform in lock step with each other on their respective solo sections.

While you do end up getting a bit of a break in the drawn out open chords, that's only a quick cooldown to prepare you for the chunky riffs that are in store on the verses and choruses. Whereas other metal songs might sound hard at the outset, this is one of the few metallic offerings that would leave seasoned musical professors exhausted by the end.