Top 10 Bands with Best Twin (Dual) Lead Guitars
Bands that use harmonized twin leads and dueling guitar solos. This occurs when two different lead guitarists harmonize melodies together, not when one guitarist uses double tracking. Additionally, bands with two or three guitarists that do not harmonize their lines should not be included on this list.The pioneers of twin guitars include Fleetwood Mac, The Allman Brothers Band, Thin Lizzy, Wishbone Ash, Home, and Quicksilver Messenger Service (as well as possibly some other lesser-known bands).
Judas Priest are a British heavy metal band that formed in Birmingham, England, in 1969. They are often referred to as one of the greatest metal bands of all time, and are even commonly called “The Metal Gods”, after one of the songs on their 1980 album “British Steel”... read more No other heavy metal band compares to Judas Priest. It's not just because of the dual lead guitars of Glenn Tipton and Ritchie Faulkner, either. Rob Halford as the lead singer puts the cherry on top of the greatest metal sound you'll ever hear.
He hits every octave and does things with his voice that defy logic, turning it into a musical instrument. Even their albums that are considered mediocre by so-called experts still rock. Every component of the group blends together seamlessly.
I have to give it to Judas Priest. Tipton and Downing played together on their first album and continued for over 35 years!
Also, I appreciate the different styles each brought when playing together.
Iron Maiden are an English Heavy Metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. The most critically acclaimed period for the band was from 1983-1989. With vocalist Bruce Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, lead guitarist Dave Murray, rhythm guitarist Adrian... read more I'm torn between Priest and Maiden, but I enjoy the intricate melodies Dave and Adrian play back and forth. They are technically perfect in how they play off each other.
While Tipton and Downing were more in your face, Adrian and Dave take you on a journey.
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. Stop right now! Nothing comes close to the ABB. It's like comparing Michelangelo to a velvet painting of Elvis.
Allman Brothers, world-class dual guitar army. Rock royalty.
The Allman Brothers put all the other bands on this list to shame.
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 was one of the first bands to employ dual-guitar harmonies. Their album Jailbreak (1976) contains great examples of twin guitar work, and Thin Lizzy forged a style from which future British heavy metal bands would draw inspiration.
For me, Thin Lizzy was the first to make twin guitar melodies sound so good!
The greatest twin guitar band of them all!
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. Peter Green and Danny Kirwan were ahead of the curve. They took blues to another level. Add Jeremy Spencer, and you have three lead guitarists who played it all: blues, rock, and oldies.
Great guitar duos and trios on the Live at the Boston Tea Party (1970) CDs (three in total).
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, Primal Fear's twin guitar work is very intense and damn good. Currently, I like their twin guitars the most, especially the fast yet melodic solos (e.g., Strike, Riding the Eagle).
What can I say? Heavy metal at its best! For over 20 years, Primal Fear has defined heavy metal with scorching guitars, heavy grooves, and soaring vocals.
Classics like Running in the Dust, Final Embrace, Revolution... the list goes on!
Absolutely brilliant musicianship and totally fierce showmanship to go with that! Respect!
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.The Argus album was one of the first I ever purchased. I was too young at the time to fully appreciate the brilliance of the group.
Now that I'm older, I understand how guitars can act as actual voices in a song. Very few bands have that ability, and those that do are among the best in music.
They were the first band where both guitarists were hugely talented and could play both individual and harmony lead. Shout out to Ted Turner as possibly the most underrated guitarist of the early seventies.
They don't have specific roles for guitarists, but both guitarists played lead guitar.
Green Grass and High Tides is all I have to say.
King Crimson were a British progressive rock band that was formed in 1969. While the band has had numerous lineup changes, the head of the band has always been Robert Fripp (guitar). However, the most notable lineup is between 1972-75, consisting of Fripp, John Wetton (bass/vocals), Bill Bruford (drums),... read more
The Newcomers
Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh metalcore band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matthew Tuck (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Michael Paget (lead guitar, backing vocals), Michael Thomas (drums) and Jamie Mathias (bass guitar). Former members include Nick Crandle and Jason James;... read more
The Black Crowes were an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles.
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.
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.
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner.
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. Megadeth was formed in 1983 by guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson, shortly after Mustaine was fired from Metallica. They have released 15 studio albums to date, and have gone through many lineup changes, with Dave... read more
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, and also Steve Vai.
Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup, from Halmstad, formed in 1996. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, and Eucharist. A good example is their 2017 song The World Is Yours (watch the video clip), where Jeff Loomis plays an individual solo, followed by a harmonized solo with Michael Amott, and then Amott plays another individual solo.
Metallica is an American Heavy/Thrash Metal band formed in 1981. The original lineup was James Hetfield (Vocalist and Rhythm guitarist), Dave Mustaine (Lead Guitar), Lars Ulrich (Drums), Ron McGovney (Bassist). The group came into mainstream from their Self-Titled album and the hit single "Enter Sandman"... read more Yes, Metallica used dual guitar licks. Orion, Master of Puppets, the middle part of For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ride the Lightning, Creeping Death, and more.
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. As far as I'm concerned, Dragonforce is at the top of their game. There isn't anybody close to the speed and technical precision of these guys.
Dragonforce has the best twin lead and rhythm guitar players in the world. Speed and technical playing.
Queensrÿche is an American progressive heavy metal band formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. They released their self titled EP in 1984, but didn’t gain notoriety until the release of their critically acclaimed album Operation: Mindcrime in 1988. As of now, they... read more Seriously, this wasn't added until now?
Queensryche took Maiden's twin lead and elevated it, just like Maiden did with Thin Lizzy's and Wishbone Ash's twin lead styles.
Of course, they had classic twin riffs, but they took it to another level. Wilton and DeGarmo would write a solo and play it in a twin style. Not every song had a twin solo - often, they'd feature back-to-back solos or sometimes just one solo per song, or even no solos.
Take a listen to NM156 and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Scorpions are a German rock band formed in 1965 in Hanover by Rudolf Schenker. Since the band's inception, its musical style has ranged from hard rock to heavy metal. Matthias Jabs is a great lead guitarist. Rudolf Schenker plays awesome leads and can hold his own on rhythm guitar with the best.
Def Leppard are an English hard rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. Def Leppard does not get enough credit, in my opinion. The template was laid with Pete Willis and Steve Clark, and continues today with Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell. Both guitarists can shred, no doubt, but they also know how to successfully employ the "less is more" approach.
Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by David Isberg, who invited Mikael Åkerfeldt into the band as a bassist. Isberg ended up leaving the band, which led to Åkerfeldt becoming the band's vocalist, guitarist, principal songwriter, and driving force... read more Orchid and Morningrise are so beautiful because of the twin leads. The Night and the Silent Water is just a chef's kiss.
Slipknot is an American metal band formed in Des Moines, Iowa in 1996. The band is best known as one of the pioneers of the New Wave of American Alternative Metal during the late 1990s - 2000s and are distinguishable by the band's clothing choices, consisting of black/red jumpsuits and horror inspired... read more
Warfaze is a Bangladeshi hard rock band.Line Up:
Palash Noor (vocal)
Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal (Lead guitar),
Sheikh Monirul Alam Tipu (drums and percussion)
Samir Hafiz (Guitar),
Shams Mansoor Ghani (keyboards and vocals)
Naim Haque Roger (bass) .
Multiple changes have taken... read more
Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal 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 guitarist during the middle years.
Jewel also joined the band as a lead guitarist. In Moharaj, the band again had two lead guitarists. Oni Hasan also joined as a lead guitarist and contributed to rhythm guitar.
After the departure of Oni Hasan, Samir Hafiz joined the band as a lead guitarist.
So, except for a few years, they mostly had dual lead guitarists.
Saxon are an English heavy metal band formed in 1976, in South Yorkshire. As one of the leaders of the new wave of British heavy metal, they had eight UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including four UK Top 10 albums and two Top 5 albums.