Heavy Metal Guitar
Heavy metal pushed distortion, speed and technique to the extreme. From the NWOBHM explosion to modern progressive metal, the genre demands precision, power and stamina. If you want to sharpen your picking, gallop rhythms and scale runs, metal is the place to do it.
GuitarZone covers the pillars: Iron Maiden, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath and more. Every tab comes with a video lesson so you can see the technique up close.
A
Artefact 1
Avantasia 1
Avenged Sevenfold 6
B
Black Sabbath 10
Bullet For My Valentine 1
C
Cacophony 1
D
Dance Of Death 1
Diamond Head 1
Dio 3
Drowning Pool 1
F
Five Finger Death Punch 1
G
H
Hear 'n Aid 1
Helloween 11
I
Iron Butterfly 1
Iron Maiden 127
- 1 2 A.M. Janick Gers's TAB 1990
- 2 2 Minutes to Midnight TAB 1984
- 3 22 Acacia Avenue COVER 1982
- 4 Aces High COVER 1984
- 5 Afraid To Shoot Strangers Dave Murray TAB 1992
- 6 Afraid To Shoot Strangers Janick Gers's TAB 1992
- 7 Alexander the Great COVER 1986
- 8 Back in the Village COVER 1984
- 9 Be Quick Or Be Dead Dave Murray's TAB 1992
- 10 Be Quick Or Be Dead Janick Gers's TAB 1992
- 11 Blood Brothers TAB 1990
- 12 Blood Brothers Dave Murray's TAB 1990
- 13 Blood Brothers Janick Gers's TAB 1990
- 14 Brave New World Janick Gers's TAB 2000
- 15 Can I Play with Madness LESSON 1988
- 16 Caught Somewhere in Time TAB 1986
- 17 Chains Of Misery Dave Murray's TAB 1990
- 18 Charlotte the Harlot TAB 1980
- 19 Charlotte the Harlot '88 TAB 1988
- 20 Childhood's End _Full Collab_ TAB
- 21 Coming Home Dave Murray's TAB
- 22 Como Estais Amigos Janick Gers's TAB
- 23 Darkest Hour Adrian Smith's TAB 1992
- 24 Darkest Hour Dave Murray's TAB
- 25 Days Of Future Past Adrian Smith's TAB
- 26 Death Of The Celts Adrian Smith's TAB
- 27 Death Of The Celts Janick Gers TAB
- 28 Deja-Vu COVER 1986
- 29 Die with Your Boots On TAB 1983
- 30 El Dorado Dave Murray's TAB
- 31 Empire Of The Clouds Dave Murray TAB 2015
- 32 Fates Warning Janick Gers's TAB
- 33 Fear of the Dark TAB 1992
- 34 Fear of the Dark - Famous Riffs LESSON 1992
- 35 Fear Of The Dark Dave Murray's TAB 1992
- 36 Fear Of The Dark Janick Gers's TAB 1992
- 37 Flight of Icarus COVER 1983
- 38 For the Greater Good of God TAB 2006
- 39 For The Greater Good Of God Dave Murray TAB 2006
- 40 For The Greater Good Of God Janick Gers's TAB 2006
- 41 Fortunes of War TAB
- 42 Fortunes Of War Janick Gers's TAB 1990
- 43 From Here To Eternity Janick Gers's TAB 1992
- 44 Futureal Dave Murray TAB 1998
- 45 Genghis Khan TAB 1981
- 46 Hallowed Be Thy Name COVER 1982
- 47 Heaven Can Wait TAB 1986
- 48 Hell On Earth Dave Murray and Adrian Smith solos TAB 1990
- 49 Holy Smoke Dave Murray's TAB 1990
- 50 Infinite Dreams TAB 1988
- 51 Innocent Exile COVER 1981
- 52 Killers COVER 1981
- 53 Lost In A Lost World Adrian Smith's TAB
- 54 Man on the Edge COVER 1995
- 55 Moonchild COVER 1988
- 56 Mother Russia TAB 1986
- 57 No More Lies _ International _ TAB 2006
- 58 Number of the Beast TAB 1982
- 59 Only the Good Die Young COVER 1988
- 60 Paschendale Dave Murray's TAB 2003
- 61 Phantom of the Opera TAB 1980
- 62 Phantom of the Opera (2nd & 3rd Solos) TAB 1982
- 63 Powerslave TAB 1984
- 64 Prodigal Son COVER 1981
- 65 Prowler TAB 1980
- 66 Public Enema Number One TAB
- 67 Purgatory COVER 1981
- 68 Quest for Fire TAB 1983
- 69 Rainmaker TAB 1992
- 70 Remember Tomorrow TAB 1980
- 71 Revelations TAB 1983
- 72 Rime of the Ancient Mariner TAB 1984
- 73 Run Silent Run Deep Dave Murray's TAB 1990
- 74 Run to the Hills TAB 1982
- 75 Sanctuary Dennis Stratton's TAB 1980
- 76 Sea of Madness COVER 1986
- 77 Senjutsu Adrian Smith's & Dave Murray's TAB 2021
- 78 Seventh Son of a Seventh Son COVER 1988
- 79 Speed Of Light Dave Murray's TAB
- 80 Still Life COVER 1983
- 81 Strange World TAB 1980
- 82 Stranger in a Strange Land COVER 1986
- 83 Stratego LESSON 2024
- 84 Tailgunner COVER 1990
- 85 Tears Of A Clown Dave Murray's TAB
- 86 The Book of Souls COVER 2015
- 87 The Book Of Souls Dave Murray's TAB 2015
- 88 The Book Of Souls Janick Gers TAB 2015
- 89 The Clairvoyant TAB 1988
- 90 The Clansman Dave Murray TAB 1998
- 91 The Clansman Janick Gers's TAB 1998
- 92 The Duellists COVER 1984
- 93 The Edge Of Darkness TAB 1995
- 94 The Evil That Men Do TAB 1988
- 95 The Final Frontier Adrian Smith TAB 2010
- 96 The Ides of March TAB 1981
- 97 The Legacy Janick Gers TAB
- 98 The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner TAB 1986
- 99 The Longest Day TAB 2004
- 100 The Longest Day Dave Murray TAB 2003
- 101 The Man Of Sorrows Dave Murray TAB 1990
- 102 The Man Of Sorrows Dave Murray's TAB 1990
- 103 The Mercenary TAB 2006
- 104 The Nomad Dave Murray's TAB 1990
- 105 The Number of the Beast TAB 1982
- 106 The Parchment Dave Murray's TAB
- 107 The Prisoner COVER 1982
- 108 The Prophecy TAB 1988
- 109 The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg TAB 2006
- 110 The Thin Line Between Love And Hate COVER 1990
- 111 The Time Machine Dave Murray & Janick Gers solos TAB
- 112 The Trooper TAB 1983
- 113 The Wicker Man COVER 2000
- 114 The Writing On The Wall LESSON 2021
- 115 The Writing On The Wall Adrian Smith TAB 2015
- 116 The Writing On The Wall Dave Murray TAB 2023
- 117 To Tame a Land COVER 1983
- 118 Total Eclipse COVER 1990
- 119 Transylvania TAB 1980
- 120 Twilight Zone COVER 1981
- 121 Wasted Years TAB 1986
- 122 Wasting Love LESSON 1992
- 123 Wasting Love Janick Gers's TAB 1990
- 124 When The Wild Wind Blows TAB 2010
- 125 When The Wild Wind Blows Dave Murray's TAB 2015
- 126 When The Wild Wind Blows Janick Gers's TAB 2019
- 127 Where Eagles Dare TAB 1983
J
Judas Priest 7
M
Machine Head 1
Marty Friedman 1
Mercyful Fate 1
O
Ozzy Osbourne 22
- 1 Bark at the Moon TAB 1983
- 2 Believer LESSON 1981
- 3 Crazy Train TAB 1980
- 4 Dee TAB 1980
- 5 Diary of a Madman LESSON 1981
- 6 Diary Of A Madman Acoustic - Famous Riffs LESSON 1983
- 7 Flying High Again LESSON 1981
- 8 Goodbye to Romance TAB 1980
- 9 Hellraiser TAB 1991
- 10 I Don't Know LESSON
- 11 Killer of Giants TAB 1986
- 12 Miracle Man TAB 1988
- 13 Mr. Crowley TAB 1980
- 14 No Bone Movies LESSON 1980
- 15 No More Tears TAB 1991
- 16 Ordinary Man w/ Slash's Solos! LESSON 2020
- 17 Over the Mountain TAB 1981
- 18 Revelation LESSON 1982
- 19 S.A.T.O. LESSON 1981
- 20 Shot in the Dark TAB 1986
- 21 Steal Away LESSON 1980
- 22 Suicide Solution LESSON 1980
Q
Quiet Riot 3
R
Randy Rhoads 3
Rising Force 1
S
Saxon 4
Sentenced 1
Slipknot 1
Spinal Tap 1
T
The Clansman 1
Tokyo Blade 1
Type O Negative 1
V
Playing Heavy Metal Guitar
Metal guitar is defined by high-gain distortion, tight palm muting, fast alternate picking and complex song structures. Most classic metal sits in E Standard, but modern metal frequently uses Drop D or lower tunings. The rhythm hand matters as much as the fretting hand: the ability to palm-mute cleanly at high speeds separates good metal players from everyone else.
Black Sabbath invented the template in the early 70s. Iron Maiden added galloping rhythms and harmonized leads. Metallica brought thrash intensity. Ozzy Osbourne (with Randy Rhoads) merged classical technique with metal power. Each generation raised the bar on what was possible.
Start with the riff to Paranoid for raw power chord fundamentals. Move to The Trooper for gallop picking. When you can handle Master of Puppets at full speed, you've graduated to advanced metal territory.
Browse metal songs in Drop D, explore the Thrash Metal subgenre, or check what the 80s had to offer.