10 Of The Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists Ever

The heavy metal genre has long separated itself from other genres of music, not only for its extreme artistic expression, but for having a profound display of virtuosity and technical prowess with its instrumentalists, namely its guitarists. If it weren’t for heavy metal, the electric guitar’s reputation within pop-culture simply would not be what it is today. Some of the best rock bands feature visceral riffs, shredding solos and a litany of revolutionary guitar techniques that were established within the heavy metal genre have pushed the boundaries of what’s sonically possible on the rock guitar, and they’ve helped make the guitar one of the most respected and popularized instruments in contemporary music.

Top Metal Guitarists

As it relates to who should be considered heavy metal’s greatest guitarists, a number of aspects need to be taken into account. The innovation, influence and musical legacy brought by each of these guitarists is arguably what’s made them the most formidable and iconic guitarists in the heavy metal genre. While these three aspects were the primary factors taken into account when constructing this list, the famous songs and solos penned by these guitarist were no less important in determining their placement.

It’s important to note that when dealing with the heavy metal genre, often some of the most popular bands in metal have a pair of guitarists. For this list, if a pair of guitarists from a given band has achieved more together in the form of influence and popularity, then the two guitarists are listed together in a single ranking. However, there are bands where one guitarists simply outshines the other in terms of prowess, musical achievements and contributions, so for these acts only the one guitarist will be ranked.

Lastly, guitar soloist or “shredders” will not be included in this list, meaning guitarists from the likes of Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen and Paul Gilbert will not be included. While these and other likeminded guitarists exemplify an unequivocal virtuosity on the guitar and they might even fit the main criteria of this list, this list is focused on guitar players who got their reputation from playing in bands, not solo projects.

That being said, the following guitarists have sculpted the soundscape of heavy music and are the most revered, influential and innovative guitarists in the entire heavy metal genre.

10. John Petrucci

Bringing an unparalleled variety of techniques, dynamics and music theory concepts to metal guitar, John Pretucci’s work in the progressive metal titans Dream Theater has made him the face of progressive metal guitar. His solos in songs “Under a Glass Moon,” “Constant Motion” and “Fatal Tragedy” offer a taste of his capabilities and the nuance he brings to metal guitar playing. Even outside of Dream Theater, Pretucci’s teachings as a guitar wizard have touched nearly every corner of the metal genre, specifically with his iconic instructional guitar DVD, Rock Discipline.

Today Petrucci is still actively performing in both Dream Theater and his own solo project, and his stature amongst metal musicians is one that’s wholly unique and highly respected.

9. Tosin Abasi

As far as modern metal guitarists go, there are few players who’ve singlehandedly carved out an entire sub-genre and popularized new playing styles like Tosin Abasi. Making a name for himself with his pioneering “Djent” progressive metal band, Animals As Leaders, Abasi’s percussive and groovy playing style has inspired thousands of aspiring guitarists to not only take up the guitar but adopt his technical approach to the instrument. Much of Abasi’s playing amalgamates funky grooves that are often heard on the electric bass but with the clean and shreddy lead playing of modern metal guitarists.

This combination of styles has made for some of the most infectiously hooky and heavy instrumental tracks like Animals As Leaders’ “Physical Education,” “Cafo” and “Monomyth.”

8. Chuck Schuldiner

Extreme music, more specifically the death metal sub-genre, would cease to exist without the musical brilliance of Chuck Schuldiner. As the primary songwriter, guitarist and vocalist of one of the most renowned death metal bands, Death, Schuldiner took metal to further extremes in the late ‘80s up until the late ‘90s. Within metal, there are few musicians who’ve shown such a profound prowess for technical and melodic guitar playing, all while playing music as extreme as death metal.

Chuck Schuldiner was the epitome of this, and his unequivocal brilliance heard through songs “Symbolic,” “Lack of Comprehension” and the instrumental masterpiece “Voice of the Soul” carries his legacy and further cements him as one of the most influential metal guitarists. Unfortunately Schuldiner’s life ended far too early at the age of 34, after he lost his battle with cancer in 2001.

7. Synyster Gates

As one of the most popularized metal outfits to come out of the 2000s, it’s no coincidence that Avenged Sevenfold have the most virtuosic guitarist of any modern metal band. Brian Elwin Haner Jr., who’s better known for his stage name Synyster Gates, has one of the most versatile approaches to guitar playing of any metal guitarists. Elements of gypsy jazz, fusion and groove metal are ingredients often found in Gates’s playing and his solos in hits “Bat Country,” “Hail to the King” and the band’s latest epic, “Nobody.”

Simply put, for the last two decades Synyster Gates has elevated the standard for what exceptional modern metal guitar playing looks and sounds like, and if Avenged Sevenfold’s latest record proves anything it’s that Gates isn’t slowing down any time soon.

6. Adrian Smith & Dave Murray

Dave Murray’s and Adrian Smith’s dueling guitar harmonies, galloping riffs and epic guitar solos have influenced nearly every significant band to come out of the metal genre since the mid ‘80s. As the primary guitarists for Iron Maiden, Murray and Smith helped to popularize anthemic lead guitar playing, which has consequently become a staple in metal music for the last 40-plus years. Songs “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” “The Trooper” and “Wasted Years” showcase Murray’s and Smith’s technical prowess, but also their knack for writing melodically powerful guitar leads.

Iron Maiden are considered one of the two bands from the early ‘80s who’ve had such a drastic impact on the sound and presentation of the guitar in metal music that their influence, both sonically and visually, still runs deep to this day.

5. KK Downing & Glen Tipton

Judas Priest stood next to fellow UK metal metal pioneers Iron Maiden in delivering an onslaught of dueling guitar leads and rapid fire riffs throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s. However, Judas Priest’s approach has always been one with far more grit and attitude, and a notably louder presence in the mix. Guitarists KK Downing and Glen Tipton embody metal music, both in appearance and through their lead guitar playing, which showcases their innovative infatuation for pentatonic licks and leads that commands any sonic space they’re given.

Epics “TheHellion/Electric Eye,” “Painkiller” and “The Sentinel” exemplify what Downing and Tipton bring to Judas Priest in the form of gripping solos and riffs so heavy they paved the path for bands like Metallica and Pantera to run on.

4. Randy Rhoads

Few guitarist in contemporary music have made such a monumental impact over such short a period of time like Randy Rhodes has. Getting his start as the guitarist/co-founder for the hard rock outfit Quiet Riot, Rhodes’ career would take off after joining Ozzy Osbourne’s band as lead guitarist. Hits “Crazy Train,” “Mr. Crowley” and “Over the Mountain” are still some of the most celebrated anthems not only in Osbourne’s catalogue, but in the heavy metal genre at large.

Unfortunately Rhodes’s life was taken far too soon after he died in a plane crash in 1982, only two years after joining Ozzy Osbourne. However, with albums Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary of a Madman Randy Rhodes’s legacy has become one of the most respected and influential of any guitarist in the metal genre.

3. James Hetfield & Kirk Hammett

Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield showcase two of the most important qualities that make up superb metal songwriter — air-tight rhythm playing and intricate yet memorable guitar leads. The former comes from James Hetfield, whereas the latter is Kirk Hammett, and together these guitarists have crafted some of the most masterful epics in the entire genre. “Master of Puppets” alone is a perfect example of Hetfield’s monstrously heavy riff writing and Hammett’s beautifully intricate lead writing. From a guitar standpoint much of Metallica’s influences come from early Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, and in many ways these acts walked so Metallica could run.

There’s are a number of reasons as to why Metallica are the biggest metal band in the world, but for the most part it all comes down to their songs and more specifically Hetfield’s and Hammett’s approach to the guitar.

2. Dimebag Darrell

Wielding some of the tightest rhythm playing along with some the most otherworldly lead playing that has ever graced heavy music, Pantera guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott is undoubtedly one of the most talented and influential heavy metal guitarists. As the sole guitarist and one of the primary songwriters in Pantera, Dimebag brought a new level to heavy songwriting and shreddy guitar playing throughout the ‘90s and early 2000s. Infusing his love for blues, KISS, Van Halen and Slayer, songs like “Floods,” “Walk” and “I’m Broken” helped to pioneer the drop-tuned groovey guitar style that the vast majority of modern metal scene has sworn by.

While his life and music career saw a tragic end after he was murdered on stage in 2004, Dimebag’s legacy still remains one of the most revered and respected in the heavy metal community.

1. Tonni Iommi

“The godfather of heavy metal,” Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi is without question the greatest metal guitarist of all time. There would simply be no metal without Iommi’s monumental riffs, beastly tone, and more importantly his revolutionary approach to the guitar. Songs “War Pigs,” “Paranoid” and “Iron Man” certainly feature an unparalleled display of metal guitar riff writing, mainly for their ability to maintain a mainstream sensibility throughout all these years. However, Iommi’s true prowess and virtuosity is heard on the deeper Sabbath cuts, specifically songs “Symptom of the Universe,” “Snow Blind” and “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.”

Iommi’s sonic brilliance speaks for itself, and the fact the vast majority of the metal scene has remained unwavering in their admiration for him not only cements him as the godfather of metal, but it further establishes him as the greatest heavy metal guitarist of all time.

Bottom Line

The above guitarists have not only shaped the sound and look of the heavy metal genre for the last five decades, but their musical works and virtuosity on the instrument continues to lend itself to new generations of aspiring metal guitarists. While there might be some guitarists out there who can play faster or tighter than these players, no other metal guitar players can stand next to the legacies and musical catalogue that these icons have built.