Top 10 Metallica Songs with the Best Guitar Solos
Metallica has built a career on thunderous riffs, aggressive energy, and, of course, some of the most face-melting guitar solos in metal history. Whether you're drawn to lightning-fast shredding, emotive bends, or intricate harmonies, their catalog has it all. Kirk Hammett, with his signature wah-drenched leads, and James Hetfield, whose rhythm playing alone could rival most lead guitarists, have crafted solos that leave you either air-guitaring like a maniac or staring into the distance, fully lost in the music.This list is all about the solos that make your fingers twitch just thinking about playing them, the ones that inspired generations of guitarists to pick up an axe, and the ones that never fail to get a reaction. Now it's your turn to decide which deserve the top spots. Cast your vote, debate in the comments, and see how your favorites stack up.
This solo has some soul in it, and I mean the outro solo - that is badass, all of it. This solo was the one I decided to master this year on guitar, and boy, is it a great solo. By far one of Kirk Hammett's best solos. This is my favorite Metallica solo of all time, and it truly shows.
One is definitely the fastest and craziest solo Hammett has ever done, but Fade to Black, especially the intro and outro, has the most soul. Fade to Black hands down has the best solos of Metallica. They have the most soul of all solos and are still the most badass solos in metal to this day.
Tapping, sliding, bending? What else could you beg for? Also, who could forget the speed of the solo and the departure from Kirk's somewhat repetitive pentatonic solos?
The very best, just great. Kirk at his best moments. Plus, those lyrics are superb.
One got inspired by Fade to Black. I know because I know how to play One and Fade to Black on guitar.
This is in my top 5 solos of all time. This is to Metallica as Tornado is to Megadeth, or Painkiller is to Priest, or Eruption is to Van Halen. Kirk is in no way the greatest guitarist of all time, or even in the top 100, but this solo is epic!
By far the best solo Kirk has ever done. It starts off with a short tapping section, then goes to a very melodic section, and then to all-out shredding. One of Metallica's most underrated solos and songs.
Pure eargasm from the first note to the last. And just when Kirk hits the highest note on his axe and you think it's over, he comes back with an even wilder section. This really feels like riding the lightning. Seriously.
The first solo is better than the second in this because it sounds cooler than the hardcore second one and it's easier to play. I love everything that Metallica does, though.
Most of Kirk's solos are extremely similar. This is one of the usual. Nothing special.
I really like James' first solo better than the one that Kirk plays.
In my opinion, this is the best solo made by Kirk... ever. It seems like a wave coming slowly, and suddenly it just grows through very well-constructed scales, and just becomes a monster. I know it is not the fastest or the heaviest solo from Metallica, but for me, it is the most perfect one.
An incredibly fitting solo for a great, hard-hitting song. Just perfect.
Best of them all. Hits you like a freight train. Truly flawless!
A very balanced solo that deserves more recognition. Slow parts, fast parts, it all comes together here.
This guitar solo is a lot harder to play correctly than One, Master of Puppets, Nothing Else Matters, or Enter Sandman.
I think Blackened has the best solo. Even the slow part of it is fast!
An incredible melodic, tempo-surfing solo that not only strikes fear into the listener but also defines the terror with an outstanding solo outro and follow-up. This should be in the top 3, with the only solo I can honestly think of topping it being One.
A legendary solo, it should easily be in the top 3, especially for the moment when Kirk Hammett just bursts into the solo.
Not one, not two, but three solos, each better than the last one. Fast and rhythmic, yet melodic. Top stuff.
This solo is amazing, and I am happy it is by James, not Kirk. I was a long time thinking about whether to vote for this or Fade to Black, just to beat One at the top. Gosh, I hate the One solo. There are no emotions in it, just spasmic finger movements.
Who said Metallica can't be intricate? This song is so amazing, and this solo is a fantastic way to top it off.
You know it's Metallica when one of the best solos of the band is played by the rhythm guitarist.
This song, in my humblest of opinions, not only has the best solos, but I think it is their best guitar track in general. When you listen to the solos, they are of face-melting quality but also remain well within the boundaries of the music.
Kirk Hammett even said himself this was the craziest song and solo he had ever written. They rarely play this live because of how intense it is. THIS, my friends, is Metallica at their very best.
Kirk Hammett said in an interview that Dyers Eve is the craziest song they have ever written. They won't write another one like it because it was too intense.
It has so much to it and it is fast and, at the same time, epic. Fade to Black has the slowest and easiest solos ever. Also, Damage Inc, One, and Welcome Home (Sanitarium) are good.
This may not be his fastest or most technical solo, because that is Dyers Eve. But this solo is more underrated and is better composed than any of his others.
Not my favorite solo, but this solo is what pushes this song into being one of the best of all time.
The Newcomers
I don't seriously know why people are voting for Fade to Black's outro solo. I don't see anything special in that. I like Fade to Black's intro solo more. But Battery's solo is kicking some ass in my opinion.
Amazing solo. Not only one of the most technically challenging, but it also flows amazingly with the song. While the song itself may not be the best, the solo itself puts it up in my Top Ten Metallica songs.
It is the best solo of all time. It is not too short and really fast played. I hope some other people think the same about this song as I do.
I have Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, and Pantera on my iPod. This is the only song that actually gives me goosebumps when I listen to it.
Excuse me, why is this not even in the top ten? Top 5 is understandable. But not even top ten is just sad. The crunchy intro followed by Kirk's solo one is so ghostly.
The interlude, with all the bends and harmony, is melodic heaven. Kirk's solo two is simple, yet very effective and flowing. Cliff's bass solo is among the best bass solos ever created. Solo three is the DEFINITION of shredding, and the rhythm guitar from James nearly had me in tears. Please have these legendary solos AT LEAST in the top 10.
This song is just epic. The way it changes all the time sounds awesome too!
I think this song is super, super, super underrated. It sounds a lot like Megadeth's Black Friday (so, in other words, badass) with a solo that sounds like the precursor to that of One. Definitely one of my favorites from MoP and Metallica in general.
"Fade to Black" and "Ride the Lightning" had historic and influential solos, but their thrashiest and hardest to play is by far "Damage Inc."
This is my favorite solo of all time. Should be higher.
One of my favorite Metallica solos easily. Maybe not top 10, but definitely not 39. This kicks ass and goes on and on. It's different from most of their solos, which is partly why it's so cool. It's far down on the track listing, so maybe a lot of people haven't heard it, I guess.
The harmonized solo is amazing, definitely up there as one of the best solos to me.
This is a hell of an underrated song/solo, one of their best. And of course, thanks to Mustaine on this composition. The guy's a guitar genius. Wish that Kirk could drive solos as well as Mustaine can. Fortunately, there's Megadeth for that.
I wish people realized how great this solo is. Sadly, it's overshadowed by Master of Puppets and One, etc. To me, this solo is the best, no contest!
The main solo and ending solo are just amazing. My stomach drops every time I listen to it.
Why is that song at 22? For me, it's the best song from Metallica. Every true fan loves that song!
Why is this so low on the list? It's Metallica's fastest and heaviest riff. It deserves to be number 1.
I agree this has one of the greatest solos ever. But I vote for this song because this solo is too good to remain just at 20th place. It's very underrated.
It begins slow but works its way up to my favorite guitar solo of all time. It just makes you want to go crazy.
Can't beat this song ever. One of the most profound guitar solos ever.
Best Metallica guitar solo. It starts slow then goes crazy. Perfect.
