You are currently viewing 27 Easy Metal Songs on Guitar for Beginners (with tabs)

Last Updated on December 1, 2023 by Justin Thomas

Metal songs can sometimes be pretty simple, but at the same time really rewarding to learn. In case you’re just starting out and love this genre but still feel like most of the stuff is challenging, here are some easy metal songs for beginners.

Who crafted this post:

David Slavkovic Profile picture

Author: David Slavkovic

David has been playing guitar since 1998, his main focus back then was hard rock and metal. With years, his music tastes evolved and he eventually started appreciating all musical styles. Although officially an agricultural engineer, David began writing for Ultimate Guitar in 2017 where he’s currently working as a senior editor.

photo reveals owner of guitaristnextdoor.com

Editing & Research: Teemu Suomala

I first grabbed the guitar in 2009. I started this website in January 2020 because I couldn’t do window installation anymore due to my health problems. I love guitars and have played dozens and dozens of different guitars through different amps and pedals over the years, and also, building a website interested me, so I decided to just go for it! I got lucky and managed to get awesome people to help me with my website.

I also got lucky because I have you visiting my website right now. Thank you. I do all this for you guys. If you have any recommendations, tips, or feedback, just leave a comment, I would love to chat with you. I have also been fortunate to produce content for several large guitar websites, such as SongsterrMusicnotesGuitarGuitar, and Ultimate Guitar.

I spend my spare time exercising and hanging out with my wife and crazy dog (I guess that went the right way…).


How to Use This Post

Scroll down and select your favorites.

If you click:

  • the video image, you can listen to the song. 
  • the ”interactive tab”, you will be directed to Songsterr where you can learn the song using the interactive tab(this is my favorite way of learning new songs)
  • the ’’tab’’, you will find tabs for that song (if you don’t know how to read tabs, check this guide).
  • the ‘’chords’’, you will be directed to the page where you can learn chords for that song

Most of the chords and tabs are provided through trusted ”Songsterr” or ”ultimate-guitar.com”.

In the info boxes you can see:

  • Rating for ”how easy are the riffs?”
  • Rating for ”how easy are the solos?”
  • Rating for how easy the song is overall when we look at both riffs and solos

Without further to do, here are:

Top 27 Easy Metal Songs on Guitar for Beginners

YouTube video

Black Sabbath – Iron Man  (1970) (songs from Black Sabbath are pretty easy)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

Classic metal-masterpiece that has crunchy but easy riffs. In the solo, things speed up a little but are far from hard.

4.3

YouTube video

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (1970)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

The doom-laden main riff of Black Sabbath’s eponymous song was enough to completely change rock music forever. It also features a few other easy riffs, as well as a simple solo.

4

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YouTube video

Black Sabbath – Paranoid (1970)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

Written as a filler, “Paranoid” became Sabbath’s biggest song. It consists of a few simple riffs and one brief solo. It’s also known for its use of palm muting.

3.8

YouTube video

Judas Priest – Breaking the Law (1980)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

This hit consists of few simple riffs and a couple 1-3 note licks that come close to a real solo.

4.8

YouTube video

Judas Priest – You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ (1982)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

“You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” is another great example by Judas Priest. It features a steady tempo and power chord riffs, making it really easy for a beginner to learn.

3.5

YouTube video

Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train (1980)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

Hiring Randy Rhoads was one of Ozzy Osbourne’s best decisions. After all, he did write most of the music for Ozzy’s first single and his biggest hit song, “Crazy Train.”

Riffs are pretty simple and 90% of the solo and licks are too. But especially the final alternate picking section of the solo requires some serious practice.

2.8

YouTube video

Diamond Head – Am I Evil (1980)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

Even with its relatively fast tempo, the good-sounding riffs of am I evil are simple. Solo can sound super hard, but the tapping parts of it are actually surprisingly easy to master.

3.8

YouTube video

Dio – Holy Diver  (1983) 

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

Ronnie James Dio managed to change metal music with his simple yet really effective song “Holy Diver.” Even to this day, it remains one of the essential metal songs that everyone needs to know.

3.5

YouTube video

Metallica – Seek and Destroy (1982)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

“Seek and Destroy” has one of the catchiest main riffs. What’s more, Metallica also added some other interesting parts and changes, all of which aren’t that challenging to learn.


3

YouTube video

Metallica – For Whom the Bell Tolls (1984)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

Song based on the novel of one of the greatest writers of all time, Ernest Hemingway. And the best part? This song sounds amazing and is easy to play!

4

YouTube video

Megadeth – Symphony of Destruction (1992)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

“Symphony of Destruction” is well-known for its simple and heavy main riff. Overall the riffs are easy. But the solo ranks among the hardest of the songs featured on this post.

2.5

YouTube video

Iron Maiden – Wrathchild(1981)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

Coming from the band’s Paul Di’Anno era, Iron Maiden cemented their place in metal with “Wrathchild.” The song consists of rather simple riffs and also has a simple structure.

2.3

YouTube video

Iron Maiden – The Trooper (1983)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

Of course, “The Trooper” is another one of Maiden’s simple songs that you should check out. It will help you learn new picking and fretting hand techniques.

At first, it can sound super-hard, but its fast riffs are easier to master than most think…

2.5

YouTube video

Iron Maiden – Wasted years (1986)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

Solos with Maiden’s songs are always a bit tricky, but the riffs of the Wasted Years are easy to learn but sound just amazing!

2.8

YouTube video

Mötorhead – Ace of Spades (1980)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

From start to finish, “Ace of Spades” is a straightforward metal piece. And this is not uncommon for most of Mötorhead’s catalog.

3.3

YouTube video

Pantera – Walk (1992)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

While their songs are usually faster and more challenging, Pantera’s “Walk” is rather simple and will teach you to use proper bending. Of course, we would exclude the solo here, since it’s a bit too complex to learn quickly.

3

YouTube video

Tool – Sober (1993)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

While most of Tool’s stuff is more complex and difficult to learn, “Sober” from their debut full-length “Undertow” is a pretty simple one. With it, you’ll see what can be done with the drop D tuning.

4.8

YouTube video

Tool – Lateralus (2000)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

This long-form masterpiece by Tool is both worth the listen and easy to learn. Sure it can take some time to master a song this long, but gladly there is nothing too complex to learn.

4.8

YouTube video

Sepultura – Refuse/Resist (1993)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

If you’re up for some really heavy stuff, but still want to keep things simple, then go with Sepultura’s classic “Refuse/Resist.”

2.8

YouTube video

System of a Down – Toxicity  (2001)   

How Easy Are The Riffs?

Summary

Like most of the SOAD’s songs, Toxicity doesn’t include solo. But this song really packs a punch of easy riffs that are full of energy. This song uses Drop C tuning.

4

YouTube video

System of a Down – Aerials ( 2001)

How Easy Are The Riffs?

Summary

The best thing about learning System of a Down’s “Aerials” is the clean part that repeats throughout the song. It will teach you proper economy picking technique.

4.5

YouTube video

System of a Down – Lonely Day (2005)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

Another great beginner song by System of a Down is “Lonely Day.” It’s a simple ballad that can also be performed on an acoustic guitar.

3.5

YouTube video

Mastodon – Crystal Skull (2006)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

This song has perhaps the hardest riffs to master from this list, but especially the main riff is something really rewarding to learn. And not too hard either.

2.3

YouTube video

Five Finger Death Punch – Bad Company (2009) 

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

This modern metal ballad is easy enough to get started with but hard enough to keep things interesting and rewarding.

3.5

YouTube video

Avenged Sevenfold – Unholy Confessions (2003)

How Easy Are The Riffs?

Summary

And going to the band’s earlier days, “Unholy Confessions” was a nice blend of metal and metalcore. What’s more, the song isn’t that hard to learn if you’re a beginner or intermediate player.

3.5

YouTube video

Avenged Sevenfold – This Means War (2013)

How Easy Are The Riffs?
How Easy Are The Solos?

Summary

Avenged Sevenfold is one of the rare modern metal bands that pushed the boundaries. However, they kept things simpler and straightforward in a piece like “This Means War.” Nonetheless, it’s still an awesome track.

2.8

YouTube video

Machine Head – Is There Anybody Out There? (2016)

How Easy Are The Riffs?

Summary

A song that was shaped by controversial comments made by former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo doesn’t include a solo at all but has riffs that even beginners can master.

4

How to Learn Hard Songs? – 3 Simple Steps

Although it’s a good idea to learn some easy songs at first so that you can maintain your motivation…but it’s an even better idea to always try to improve your skills.

That’s why you probably should learn some harder songs, riffs, and solos too!

 The hardest parts for me are usually fast chord shifts and super fast and complex guitar solos. If I find myself struggling with some songs, I usually do this:

  1. learn to play the song correctly at a very slow speed
  2. speed up the playing with small steps
  3. practice the hard parts more than others

These steps have helped me to learn many hard songs, riffs, and solos. The time period spent practicing varies, but eventually, songs start to sound right at the correct speed. That’s how real skills are developed, with practice, practice, and practice. But the end goal is worth all the hard work.

The #1 Guitar Practice Mistake When Learning Songs

Please, check this short video so that you can avoid the #1 practice mistake many of us make when starting playing:

YouTube video


These articles help you achieve nice metal tones!


Conclusion

Metal is usually not the recommended genre for beginners, but you should definitely play the music you love. The songs that we mentioned are some of the easiest ones that you can find.

However, it’s always a good idea that you cover some basic things about the guitar ASAP. This post will help you with that: How to Play Guitar? Get Started Fast and Free!

Also, if you want more easy songs to master, check this post out: 70 Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners from Every Genre (With Tabs and Chords).


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David Slavkovic

David has been playing guitar since 1998, David’s main focus back then was hard rock and metal. With years, his music tastes evolved and he eventually started appreciating all musical styles. Although officially an agricultural engineer, David began writing for Ultimate Guitar in 2017 where he’s currently working as a senior editor. Expertise: electric guitars, guitar amplifiers, music theory, the guitar industry, metal, and rock. You can connect with David on LinkedIn or just email him.

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