Top 10 Metal Songs with the Best Guitar Solos

This solo is just amazing and may rightfully deserve number one but you Megadeth elitists need to calm down. Metallica doesn't suck just because Dave Mustaine has had issues with them, and Metallica is the most well-known band for a reason. Everyone has their favorite band but that doesn't mean other bands suck. And of course Kirk Hammett should be capable of playing this, he's a professional guitarist for God's sake! Just because his music is different than Marty Friedman's and it's easier to play for the most part doesn't mean that it's the limit of his skill. If he doesn't know how to play it then he could undoubtedly learn. Such blind elitism and butthurtness over nothing.

This is definitely the best of the best in all Metal solos, no other guitarist in this list can play this solo because their technique and melodic control is inferior compared to Marty's Friedman's ESPECIALLY not Kirk Hammett. This solo is the best in musical terms, One is simple Pentatonic wanking and simple tapping. Fade To Black isn't Metal, it's a power-ballad. Mr. Crowly is also pentatonic wanking that I like. Hangar 18, Lucretia, and Five Magics should be in the top five. Marty Friedman is God, he hasn't played Metal in years and his composition, skill, technique, and melodic shredding is still unrivaled today.

Both the top two solos on this list are my favorite. But I think one would win in my opinion because it's fast as well as melodic. Don't get me wrong guys... Marty Friedman is a complete genius and probably is more skilled than kirk, but this solo suits this song as anything... If you want to tell a person what is Metallica tell him to listen to this song...

I think the Megadeth fans should leave behind a pointless conflict and stop hating everything connected to Metallica. Instead of that use use your heart for a moment and you will feel the power, the energy, the feeling on this Hammett solo.

It shows many different styles throughout the solo, goes with the song well, and Kirk Hammett knows exactly what note to play which is a skill that isn't teachable.

I voted for this because this solo is an integral part of the composition of Mr. Crowley. It is more than a moment for the guitar to shine, and it is more than just basic peacocking. Without this solo, Mr. Crowley as a composition leaves something to be desired, and with it, the song is basically complete and strong.

The solos in this song almost act as a refrain or a chorus. The notes played by the guitar are important compositional material that could be played by a variety of instruments, but must be played in order to complete the musical thought. They tie the entire thing together and dramatize the points made in the lyric/verse melody.

Only second to Tornado of Souls, Randy was behind no one when it came to guitar. He could shred, play immensely fast, and yet even he could create a timeless, emotion-filled instrumental. Kirk Hammett has yet to surpass this man's two-album reign with his nine, so goodbye "One".

Fade to Black is Metallica's best solo, and the most emotionally stirring metal solo, a real masterpiece. I also want to say that I am disgusted by a lot of you metal elitists, "Oh I hate Metallica and only like Megadeth! " or the other way around. Realistically, you should just listen to what you like and accept that.

You really have to be in tune with the rest of the song to appreciate the solo. Fade to black is about a boy with suicidal thoughts and wants to die, and the lyrics describing are in first person. So it's like the solo at the end is like him going out this Earth with such a bang, or maybe that's just me. Anyway, this solo is wonderful.

This is the Comfortably Numb of metal. It deserves 1st or 2nd, Mr. Crowley might be a little better, that's coming from a guitar player's perspective, but this songs outro is mind blowing, the emotion that Kirk Hammett puts in this (and a lot of his other solos) is amazing.

This solo's pace is wicked, furious and speaks for the song itself. Painkiller is the pinnacle of Priest's career and metal in its purest form. The solo's change in pace and horrifying mood swings are exactly the sound you'd here if the painkiller was within your viscinity. The ultimate heavy metal song is home to a guitar solo which fits it perfectly.

Glenn Tipton born in 1947. Yet still has way better technical skill & more creative on making guitar solos than most of younger guitarist such as Kirk Hammett, Dave Mustaine, Randy Rhoads, Dimebag Darrell, Trio Maiden combined, etc.
Just listen his solo stuff, Baptizm of Fire. Neoclassical shred masterpiece.

There are two solos on this song. Both amazing. The first one very touching and melodic, the second one with very aggressive scratches on the guitar, noisy and very powerful. Heavy metal at the finest cuts.

This is not a regular metal solo, this is an art on a guitars fretboard. The slow, the fast, the shred the melody. No one can come as close as Dimebag Darrell when writing a solo for your song and this is his best! Period.

This is easily the best metal solo and would easily be in the top 5 guitar solos of all time in my opinion. It is a combination of many factors such as perfect speed (not to fast), the melancholy and emotive mood and even the superb bassline that somehow mirrors the rest of the solo which is something very rare.

I believe this is the best metal solo ever written by the best metal guitarist of all time, every time I hear this solo I always have to try and stop myself from bursting out into tears.

The whole song has 9 solos.
9 solos in one song.
And the quantity does not diminish the quality.
Loved the Marty Friedman - Dave Mustaine era.
The solos are pretty awesome, though Tornado of Souls will forever be on the top of every metal guitar solos list. :P

I almost voted for Tornado Of Souls, but then again, this is the greatest metal song of all time in my opinion, and the solos are absolutely magnificent. Megadeth rocks!

I have seen this live, also Tornado Of Souls and Holy Wars...Hangar 18 is hands down the best solo, live, studio, wherever...ridiculously good soloing in this song!

UP THE IRONS! I'm tired of everyone picking Metallica songs just because it's the only metal band they know about. Go back and listen to the greatest masterpieces of all time, and you'll see that a song like Powerslave has a far better solo than One or some other guitar hero crap like that.

Something very deep about it. It manages to be melodic but heavy at the same time.

Maan! This song has the best solo ever! Listen to that bass play and the guitars, just simply amazing! Steve, bruce, dave, adrian,... All of you are simply amazing m/

After 10 years of listening to metal every day, several hours a day (all subgenres, decades and countries), this is the solo that still impresses me at most because it's timeless. Definitely ahead of its time (1976). Of course, currently there are more advanced techniques and I totally enjoy them but this solo is really special.
Although it's probably the longest metal solo ever, it's not boring even for a second because it's epic but also fast, technical, intense and melodic.
It's a top 10 material but the list is getting too mainstream again, so who knows.

Most amazing solo, great musicianship.

Even though the guitarist is not a well known one but this solo is much better than many of the ones ranked above it. It is very technical and melodic as well.

Anyone after listening to this solo will want it to be on the number 1 spot.
I don't know how can one play this on the guitar. Antti Kokko rules.

By far the best! Don't get me wrong, I love tornado of souls and every solo above this, but the true genius of this solo is it's fast, yes but there are no fancy sweeps or string-skipping-impossible-to-play-techniques. It is simple. And the melodies are incredible. Fast, yet melodic. It's a sin that this guitarist isn't worldwide famous. This is the best guitar solo ever hands down!

I myself played tornado of souls.. It's great, It's different. I've played Metallica stuff, easy but sounds good. What about Synyster's stuff? He can shred everything, in any type of song... The modern guitarist ever, If I am the universal reference for music, I will place it at #2 right after the tornado of souls, you guys please listen and then vote. How can you rank a solo with out listening to all the others? Common sense right? I think you got it now...

The blistering speed of this solo mixed with the melody behind it makes this solo so incredible, and if you don't think it's good, go try to play it yourself, I assure you, it will take you a year to learn, that's how long it took me to learn half of it, and I still can't play it full speed..

While I wish "Nightmare" was on this list in place of "Afterlife", I cannot help but agree with the below comments. A7X is one of the best solo acts that I've ever heard, possessing such a wide note range, that it's nearly unbelievable.

This song moved the New Wave of British HM forward. For 1978, this song would go on to inspire Metallica's Fade to Black and others. Tipton's solo is the greatest of all time for me!

One of Priest's more downbeat songs, with the harmonic, drawn-out soloing by Tipton and Downing.

Glen Tipton is the solo God of the metal gods. This solo brings a tear to my eye every time I hear it!

This is the best heavy metal guitar solo because I have the most respect for its meaning. I've searched all over the internet and articles for the meaning to this song and no one has it right. The song is about the fact that we all are going to die and there is nothing you can do about it.

One of the greatest solos ever written. Deserves to be higher on this list. My favorite is still Tornado of Souls though

Such depth... greatest solo ever! I can listen to the solo on repeat, just amazing.

This solo is hard and fast. But still I don't like this solo.

Um should be before one

My 1# favorite solo

This solo is way better than most of the current top 10. This guitar is on fire!

The arpeggio part in the beginning of the solo is simply epic!

Really fast technical solo by Yngwie - also nice interplay between the guitar and keyboards

The entire song is a guitar solo.

Eddie is my favorite

This is one of the best metal solos I've heard so far. In my openion it should be ranked much more above than 18. Great Job Children Of Bodom!
Keep up the great work...

Really insane guitar work.
Tornado of souls is untouchable, but this is a shred-fest.
A headbanger's paradise.

This should be much higher than #44.

The first metal song that became a really huge hit (1972) although nobody knew it was metal because the term metal didn't exist and most importantly - the features of the genre were not clear at all. After decades of metal evolution, now we can firmly say: it's metal at its best because it's based on Bach scales and the long smashing solo is also classically inspired (Bach-like chord sequences).
The solo contributed at most to the incredible success of this prototype metal song (alongside with the riff and speed, of course).
This great solo of a genre defining song deserves lots of credits in general and a decent spot on this list, in particular.

The middle part of the solo was the best part. Though that part wasn't very metal. The last part was fastest part. But still it's a metal solo. Great solo.

Everybody should know about this solo! Especially the Dave Murray One!

This solo is so underrated. Better than powerslave id say.

It's not super complex but it is gorgeous and the way it ties into the riffs (yes there is more than one amazing riff in this song, it's Iommi for Christs sake) it's absolute perfection. So if we are talking about best solo in terms of how it fits the song and the beauty and emotion and overall quality this has to be it

My favorite sabbath song... Dio rules the guitar and the bass lines are just made too damn perfect an awesome solo by tony as well...

This is 154? You gotta be kidding me... This is definitely the best solo from Dio's band, much better than the one in Holy Diver (Which is the better song but that doesn't matter) which is currently sitting at number 42. Honestly, this is regularly listed as one of the best solos in metal, yet the people on this site seem to forget it all the time.