Top 10 Best Metal Songwriters
Stephen Percy "Steve" Harris is an English musician and songwriter, known as the bassist, occasional keyboardist, backing vocalist, primary songwriter and founder of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The more recent songs have even better lyrics with deeper meanings like war and religion. A Matter of Life and Death has great lyrics, from For the Greater Good of God, which is about how religion causes war, to Lord of Light, which is about Lucifer, the fallen angel. I just went on Genius lyrics and read the explanations for The Great Unknown lyrics, and it was really deep. Best songwriter from the best band.
Honestly, there should be a lot of room between Steve and anyone else. The man is responsible for some of the best and most complicated metal known to music lovers.
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, actor and author. Mustaine is best known as a pioneer in Thrash Metal, being the former lead guitarist of Metallica before his dismissal in 1983, leading to finding and becoming the front man of his own... read more Dave Mustaine has such a unique style: aggressive riffs (Holy Wars, Skin o' My Teeth), grooving drum lines (Take No Prisoners, Wake Up Dead), passionate lyrics (In My Darkest Hour, Sweating Bullets), awesome bass lines (Peace Sells, Poison Was the Cure), and ripping solos (Hangar 18, Kick the Chair). Everything goes in tandem so well, and this is why Megadeth has created many masterpieces over the years.
Songs are metal and not about silly demons, religious stuff, mythology, death, and crime. If it's about social, economic, political, and ecological causes, then it's Megadeth we are talking about.
James Alan Hetfield was born on August 3, 1963. He is an American musician, singer and songwriter known for being the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for the American thrash metal band Metallica. Just my favorite one. I love the lyrics of ONE that terrify and put you in that situation - the loneliness. Nothing Else Matters is also nice. Enter Sandman is one of my favorites too. Fade to Black, The Unforgiven, etc., are also nice. DIVYANSHU requests you to vote for it!
This guy. Come on, the best rock god ever!
Come on, he is the best. I know it and you know it. His lyrics make you think and make your dreams.
Jeffrey John "Jeff" Hanneman was an American musician, best known as a founding member of the American thrash metal band Slayer. Angel of Death, Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, Disciple, Mandatory Suicide. Quality, not quantity.
We will miss forever your evil tunes. RIP, my great guitar player.
R.I.P. Jeff. You should be number one.
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen (born 25 December 1976) is a Finnish songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician (but mainly keyboardist) and record producer, best known as the founder, leader, keyboardist and songwriter of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He also studied jazz and classical styles. A songwriting genius. Strongly influenced by film music composers such as Hans Zimmer and Ramin Djawadi, Holopainen is a master of melody. With his band Nightwish, he has surrounded himself with outstanding musicians.
Tuomas is often known as "Metal Mozart." Clearly, that means the music he writes is out of this world. Honestly, he should be in Hollywood. That's how good he is.
Nobody can beat the greatest songwriter in metal, Tuomas Holopainen. He wrote great songs for Nightwish, and they were great masterpieces regardless of who the singer is!
Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician, prominently known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth, as well as being the former vocalist of death metal supergroup Bloodbath for three albums up until 2012... read more This Swede is one of my favorite songwriters to study. He's the primary songwriter of Opeth. Every riff you hear in Opeth's discography (meaning hundreds) was made by him. Every folk-style acoustic guitar melody in Opeth's discography was made by him. He's not the lead guitarist, so he doesn't do the technical solos (that would be Peter or Fredrik's job), but he writes and plays the melodic solos (about 60% of their solos).
He's the one who arranges these 10-minute songs full of different parts and diverse musical territories. He's a great lyricist. He IS Opeth. If you like metal or rock and want to improve your songwriting, I strongly recommend studying this genius.
Charles Michael "Chuck" Schuldiner (1967-2001) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known as the founder and vocalist, guitarist and bassist of the American heavy metal band Death. He is considered the most influential figure in Death Metal, with some publications referring to Chuck... read more My number one vote for the greatest metal songwriter! He was spiritual and philosophical, covering many subjects in psychology and science-based themes. Most other metal songwriters focused on death, war, the end of the world, and even partying. Chuck Schuldiner changed the game for the better. His song structures were experimental, and his choice of melodies was unique and anointed by some higher power, to say the least.
My favorite album, "The Sound of Perseverance," focused on the human struggle with life and death. He addressed mental, emotional, and psychological abuse in the song "Bite the Pain." He used his Jewish influences in songs like "To Forgive is to Suffer" and "Flesh and the Power It Holds." He knew how to construct the perfect solos and rhythms, whether they were chaotic like in "Scavenger of Human Sorrow" or melodic and beautifully ancient like in "Voice of the Soul."
He never wrote a bad album and focused on mastering his craft, changing the game with each album released within one to three years of each other. He was consistent but not repetitive, technical when needed, and simple when required. To top it off, he had soul when he played - not like the soul Dimebag Darrell had, but his soulful expression came from his thoughts and psyche.
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist, songwriter and producer. Best known as lead guitarist and founding member of the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, he has been the band's sole continual member and primary composer. At age 17, he accidentally lost the fingertips of his middle... read more What? He is a genius. He should be in the top 5.
John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist, composer and producer. He is best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Compared to his level of skill, John Petrucci is relatively unknown in the modern music industry.
Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona; July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010) was an American heavy metal singer, songwriter and musician. He fronted and/or founded numerous groups including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell. He is credited with popularizing the "metal horns" hand gesture... read more
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Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler is an English musician and songwriter. Butler is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of heavy metal band Black Sabbath.
Jon Ryan Schaffer is an American heavy metal musician. He is best known as the guitarist and last remaining original member of the Florida-based heavy metal band Iced Earth, which he formed in 1985 under the name "Purgatory". By far the best metal lyricist of the '90s. Just listen to Dante's Inferno. That will do it.
Maynard James Keenan, often referred to by his initials MJK, is an American musician, record producer, winemaker, and actor, best known as the vocalist for Grammy Award-winning progressive metal band Tool. He also is the singer of A Perfect Circle and Puscifer bands that vary in style. The best, hands down. Before voting for Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Megadeth blindly, take a minute to listen to Tool and learn to appreciate the lyrics. They are about real, meaningful stuff. I'd say the best songwriter of the last 20 years.
His lyrics reach way beyond conventional and even rational thought. He plays on the psyche of every listener and pushes them to either learn more or question what is.
He's by far the best there is. Whether you're talking about technical genius with his syllable coordination or overall storytelling, in every way this man is the greatest writer there is.
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work in the hard rock/metal bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. He was ranked number 16 on Guitar World's "100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time" in 2004, and number 50 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the... read more His songs are so perfectly written that they should be compiled in a "Songwriting Handbook" and studied carefully. Ritchie Blackmore knows how to write melodic metal, but it's classy melodic, not cheesy melodic. Try "Gates of Babylon" and "Stargazer" (Rainbow).
Glenn Raymond Tipton is an English Grammy Award-winning guitar player and songwriter. He is most commonly known as the lead guitarist for English heavy metal band Judas Priest.
Kim Bendix Petersen, better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish heavy metal musician. He is known for his extensive vocal range, usually sung in falsetto. King Diamond was originally known as the vocalist for Mercyful Fate, but has become notorious for his horror themed Concept albums... read more
Mat Sinner is a bassist, vocalist, songwriter and record producer from Stuttgart, Germany. He is best known as the bassist and primary songwriter for the metal band Primal Fear.
Jeff Waters (born February 13, 1966) is a Canadian metal musician and founder of the metal band Annihilator. He's best known as the guitarist for Annihilator, appreciated for his fast riffs and solos. Waters is also the primary songwriter in the band. Very often he has taken on the role of lead singer,... read more Incredible gift for riffs, solos, and melodies.
Adrian Frederick "H" Smith is an English guitarist, best known as a member of Iron Maiden, for whom he writes songs and performs live backing vocals on some tracks.
Clifford Lee "Cliff" Burton (February 10th 1962 - September 27th 1986) was an American musician, best known as the second bass guitarist for the American thrash metal band Metallica, recording three studio albums... read more
Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. is an American musician, singer-songwriter and guitarist best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains.
Michael Ingo Joachim "Weiki" Weikath is a German musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member and one of the guitarists and backing vocalists of pioneering power metal band Helloween. Consider Keeper of the Seven Keys alone. He should be in the top 10!
Tobias Sammet is a German metal musician, best known as the vocalist and primary songwriter of the power metal band Edguy, as well as the founder, main singer and bassist of the metal opera Avantasia. With each subsequent album, Sammet keeps writing great lyrics for both of his bands. Avantasia, in particular, requires very demanding lyrics since some albums follow a story, and he always delivers!
He writes music and lyrics for two active bands in parallel!
Corey Todd Taylor was born in December 8, 1973. He is an American musician, author, and actor best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the Nu-metal band Slipknot and hard rock/alternative metal band Stone Sour. Great live performances, touching songs. Songs that are hard to perform.
Devin Garret Townsend is a Canadian musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has an extensive career as a solo artist. This guy is brilliant. He's made many great albums and has a very diverse discography too (unlike Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, etc.). He just plays whatever he feels like. For instance, with SYL, he did some brutal and fast stuff. Later on in his solo career, he did some somewhat more psychedelic things like Accelerated Evolution and some spacey, relaxed stuff like Ghost. Helluva musician.
Easily the best. With an ability to write such diversified yet ever-mind-blowing music, he should undoubtedly be in the top 10 at least. Listen to the album Terria and come back and tell me I'm wrong. No other songwriter here could write something so inventive and inspired.
Paul Bruce Dickinson, known professionally as Bruce Dickinson, (born 7 August 1958) is an English musician, airline pilot, and broadcaster. He is most well known for being the lead singer in heavy metal band Iron Maiden and his solo career.Outside his career in music, Dickinson has pursued a number... read more Second best songwriter in the band. Nobody beats Steve Harris.