Top 10 Songwriters of Melodic Metal Songs
I mean metal musicians who write music and not lyrics. Some of them write both but focus on their composing skills (writing music).
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 "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2011. In 2016 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of original members of Deep Purple. He knows how to write a melodic song that is also intricate enough. He knows how to start a song and most importantly, how to finish it. Every note is exactly where it should be. Nothing to add, nothing to remove.
Best examples: Rainbow - Stargazer, A Light In The Black, Gates of Babylon; Deep Purple - Highway Star.
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 heavy metal band Metallica. I know he wrote some really bad songs but lets give him the credits he deserves for the good ones he wrote.
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".
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, bass player, engineer and producer.
He has owned Watersound Studios Inc. since 1994.
At a young age he took some classical and jazz guitar lessons.
Notable songs include Alison Hell, Human Insecticide, The Trend, Ultra-Motion, Detonation. Heavy and melodic, can't get any better.
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. He wrote Hallowed Be Thy Name. This song alone is enough to make me put him in the top 10.
Kai Michael Hansen is a heavy metal guitarist and vocalist. Hansen is the founder, lead guitarist, and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray. He is also the co-founder and former member of German metal band Helloween. Hands down. One of the best in the business - he wrote great songs for Helloween, Gamma Ray.
André Olbrich is a German guitarist, composer and backing vocalist, most known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of power metal band Blind Guardian, in which he serves as one of the main composers with other co-founder Hansi Kürsch. Unique and complex songs yet melodic. Blind Guardian choruses are legendary.
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. One of the most prolific songwriters in metal - he's been writing songs for 2 bands in parallel since circa 1998 (Edguy and Avantasia).
Hansi Kürsch, born Hans Jürgen Kürsch, is the lead singer, lyricist, co-composer and bassist for German power metal band Blind Guardian . Heavily influenced by Freddie Mercury, he creates a huge choir effect by overdubbing his own voice multiple times in complex, overlapping vocal harmonies. He records each vocal track individually because harmonizers and "perfect pitch" programs don't work with his voice due to distortion and the natural double layer effects his vocal cords have .His early technique made use of a more aggressive and harsher, "screaming" technique . ...read more.
He writes together with André Olbrich - they are one of the greatest tandems in metal. Usually Andre suggests a general music idea (riff, melody), then Hansi develops it, adds all details and puts them together to get a great composition finish.
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.
Sole composer for Theocracy, he writes great music.
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. Primal Fear songs are very well written.
Steffen Kummerer (born June 1, 1985) is a German guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He is the leader, main songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist for the progressive technical death metal band Obscura as well as the blackened melodic death metal band Thulcandra.