Top 10 Bands with Best Twin (Dual) Lead Guitars

Metal_Treasure Bands that use harmonized twin leads and dueling guitar solos. This is when two different lead guitarists harmonize melodies together and not when one guitarist uses double tracking. Also, there are bands with 2 or 3 guitarists but they don't harmonize their lines and shouldn't be on this list.

Pioneers of twin guitars were: Fleetwood Mac, Allman Brothers Band, Thin Lizzy, Wishbone Ash, Home, Quicksilver Messenger Service (and maybe some other less known bands).

The Top Ten

1 Judas Priest Judas Priest Judas Priest are a British heavy metal band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1969. The band has sold over 45 million albums to date. They received a lot of popularity due to their big hits Breaking The Law, You've Got Another Thing Comin', and Living after Midnight which were played on the radio a ...read more.

I have to give it to Judas Priest. Tipton & Downing played together on their first album and continued together for over 35 years! Also... I appreciate the different styles each brought more than playing together.

Judas Priest did it in 1973 and they were probably the first metal band that used twin guitars. I put Judas Priest higher than Iron Maiden because Judas Priest did it before Iron Maiden. - Metal_Treasure

2 Iron Maiden Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. They were known for some big hits such as The Trooper, and The Number of the Beast, and have released 16 studio albums . The New Wave of British Heavy Metal Pioneers would ...read more.

Ahh this was a tough call between maiden and priest but I'd go with maiden as 1)they did it like no other and their synchronisation was truly unique 2)I'm a die hard maiden fan so it may have been a bit of a biased choice. - Toucan

@Toucan - I like both bands, too, and I truly understand your choice, and agree with you. - Metal_Treasure

I have to agree.Together they bore iron maiden's pride. - zxm

3 The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman, as well as Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks, and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson.
4 Primal Fear Primal Fear Primal Fear are a German metal band formed in 1997 by Ralf Scheepers and Mat Sinner. They play heavy metal, power metal and speed metal. Primal Fear remind of Judas Priest but Primal Fear are faster and heavier. They use twin (dual) lead guitars. Ralf Scheepers voice reminds of Rob Halford.

They use the Judas Priest formula. I have to say that Primal Fear twin guitar work is very intense and damn good. Currently I like their twin guitars the most, especially the solos that are very fast yet melodic (Strike, Riding The Eagle). - Metal_Treasure

5 Helloween Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg, Northern Germany. The band is a pioneering force in the power metal genre, and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I and Part II, are considered masterpieces of the genre.
6 Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their leader Phil Lynott was composer or co-composer of almost all of the band's songs, and the first black Irishman to achieve commercial success in the field of rock music. Thin Lizzy's most successful songs, "Whiskey in the Jar", "Jailbreak" ...read more.

Thin Lizzy were one of the first bands to employ dual-guitar harmonies. Their album Jailbreak (1976) contains great examples of twin guitars style and Thin Lizzy forged a style from which future British heavy metal bands would draw. - Metal_Treasure

7 Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band formed in July 1967, in London. The band have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time.
8 Wishbone Ash

Check Argus. This led the way for the many truly excellent bands that followed, including Priest, Lizzy and Maiden.

They influenced most of the rest in this list, especially Judas Priest and Iron Maiden in my humble opinion.

Masters of this style. This is really their thing...

9 Accept Accept Accept is a German heavy metal band from the town of Solingen, originally assembled by former vocalist Udo Dirkschneider, guitarist Wolf Hoffmann and bassist Peter Baltes.
10 King Crimson King Crimson King Crimson is a British progressive rock band that was formed in 1969. While the band had numerous band member changes, the head of the band has always been Robert Fripp (Guitar). ...read more.

The Contenders

11 Kansas Kansas Kansas is an American rock band that became popular in the 1970s initially on album-oriented rock charts and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind".

I read somewhere that they influenced Iron Maiden in this area. - Metal_Treasure

12 The Outlaws

They don't have specific roles for guitarists. But both guitarists did lead guitar. - zxm

13 Whitesnake Whitesnake Whitesnake are a rock band formed in England in 1978 by singer David Coverdale, after his departure from his previous band Deep Purple.

They started using twin guitars in the late 1970s. John Sykes of Thin Lizzy played for them, also Steve Vai. - Metal_Treasure

14 Megadeth Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1983 by guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson, shortly after Mustaine's dismissal from Metallica. They have released 15 studio albums, and their biggest hits are Symphony of Destruction, Holy ...read more. V 1 Comment
15 Dragonforce Dragonforce DragonForce are a British power metal band based in London, England. Formed in 1999, the group are known for their long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-themed lyrics, and electronic sounds in their music to add to their retro video game-influenced sound.
16 Eagles Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner.
17 Warfaze Warfaze Warfaze is a Bangladeshi hard rock band. The group consists of Palash Noor (vocals), Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal (lead guitar), Sheikh Monirul Alam Tipu (drums and percussion), Samir Hafiz (Guitar), Shams Mansoor Ghani (keyboards and vocals), and Naim Haque Roger (bass) . Multiple changes have taken place in ...read more.

Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal had picked lead guitar and still is the lead guitarist of the band.
Russel Ali picked lead guitar and keyboards in the early days. But also played rhythm guitar.
Then they again had one lead and one rhythm in the middle years.
Jewel also joined the band as a lead guitarist.
In Moharaj, it again became two lead.
Oni Hasan also joined the band as a lead guitarist. He also did rhythm guitar part.
After departure of Oni Hasan, Samir Hafiz also joined the band as a lead guitarist.

So, except for few years, they mostly had dual lead guitarists. - zxm

18 Slipknot Slipknot Slipknot is a Nu Metal band formed in 1995 from Iowa. The band released their first album in 1999 and was well received by critics and fans. The group gained success after the release of their second studio album, "Iowa". ...read more.
19 Opeth Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive death metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's only founding member and primary driving force throughout the years. Along with Edge of ...read more.

I'm surprised that I had to add Opeth myself.

20 Angel Vivaldi
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List StatsUpdated 19 Aug 2017

22 listings
1 year, 62 days old

Top Remixes (4)

1. Iron Maiden
2. The Allman Brothers Band
3. Megadeth
zxm
1. The Allman Brothers Band
2. Fleetwood Mac
3. Iron Maiden
Billyv
1. Judas Priest
2. Iron Maiden
3. Helloween
Metal_Treasure

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