Modern Metal

Okay, time to turn it up to 11! Metal was born from overly distorted rock music, and characterized by complicated riffs and guitar solos. Some say that The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" was the origin of metal, but the songs on this list are a far cry from anything the fab four recorded. Get familiar with sweeps, tapping, and every other little guitar trick you can think of because to play these tracks, require a bit of experience and a ton of discipline. Check them out below!

Artist / Title / Progress
Difficulty / style
Avenged Sevenfold image
Unholy Confessions Avenged Sevenfold

In this tutorial we are going to take a look at how to play "Unholy Confessions" as made famous by Avenged Sevenfold. This modern metal song features a ton of great rhythm guitar playing along with lots of cool stuff you can play with another guitar player. We'll look at the chord movement, the great rhythm playing and breaks, the use of octaves, and the riffing and licks. The track is a little tricky to play so make sure you are plenty warmed up before you get going, and pay special close attention to some of the cool guitar harmonies that take place.

Published: 04/13/2010 Upgrade
Avenged Sevenfold image
Bat Country Avenged Sevenfold

In this tutorial I will teach you "Bat Country", by Avenged Sevenfold. After the introduction, we will take a look at gear and tone before diving into the intro riffs. We will learn all the great riffs that make up the verses and the choruses, as well as the crazy guitar solo and the harmonized guitar duel. In between, a clean/acoustic interlude lets you breathe for a bit. The outro features even more harmonized riffs to keep things new and interesting all the way to the end.

Published: 07/24/2014 Upgrade
Disturbed image
Stupify Disturbed

In this series of seven lessons, Lee Wanner will lay out the parts to the song "Stupify", performed by Disturbed. Lee will tune you in to the tones and tuning, then teach the details on the intro/chorus section. Up next will be the part for the verses, then the part for the bridge section. Lee will take you through the outro of the tune, then put it all together in a final full performance.

Published: 09/15/2011 Upgrade
Disturbed image
Prayer Disturbed

In this series of song lessons, Lee Wanner will teach you "Prayer", by Disturbed. Lee will briefly go over the song elements and the tines and tuning, then plunge into the intro riff. That is followed by the verse riff; the pre-chorus and chorus parts are up next. There's a post-chorus that Lee will break down; then an alt chorus with a simple lead, and the bridge. We close with the play along performance, and a jam along.

Published: 08/08/2012 Upgrade
Dream Theater image
Pull Me Under Dream Theater

In these 20 lessons, Michael Elsner will dig up all the details for the prog rock song "Pull Me Under", recorded and performed by Dream Theater. Michael will talk about the chords you need to know, the three verse variations, the various pre-chorus and chorus elements, the progression under the keyboard solo, the guitar solo, the extra parts in the song, the song outro, then some final thoughts. Then it's time to play it through!

Published: 11/14/2011 Upgrade
Killswitch Engage image
My Curse Killswitch Engage

Get ready to learn some a very cool metal song with lots of great chords and licks, "My Curse", as made famous by Killswitch Engage. This driving number has many elements that we'll learn in this tutorial: the tone, form, picking techniques, dynamics, low C tuning, the jazz-inspired chords, fast 16 note triplets, and more. Time to engage!

Published: 03/28/2011 Upgrade
Korn image
Got The Life Korn

In this series of lessons, Lee Wanner will take you through the metal song "Got The Life", recorded by Korn and released in 1998. There's two guitars in this one. Lee will talk about the gear and tone, then break down the intro/chorus octave part and underlying power chords. Then Lee will pick apart the verse and bridge sections and teach the creative use of harmonics with effects. We'll draw it to a close with a full performance play-along.

Published: 09/22/2011 Upgrade
Megadeth image
Crush 'Em Megadeth

In this series, we'll walk through the basic elements of this Megadeth tune: the verse hooks, pre-chorus, chorus, power chords, and solo, and then put it together in a playalong. Oh yes, and we'll crush the solo, too. Get ready.

Published: 02/16/2010 Upgrade
Megadeth image
How The Story Ends Megadeth

In this set of 16 lessons, Ben Lindholm guides you through all the parts to the metal song "How The Story Ends", as made famous by Megadeth. Ben talks about the gear and tone, and then guides you through the numerous riffs that make up this complicated song. Ben will break down the incredibly advanced guitar solo in three parts. He'll also take a look at the acoustic classical guitar part in the song, and break down the bridge of the tune too. The story will end with a full performance play-along.

Published: 08/30/2011 Upgrade
Pantera image
I'm Broken Pantera

In this set of lessons, Lee Wanner will be teaching you "I'm Broken", by Pantera. Lee will get you started with an overview and the gear, tones, and tuning. Then it's off to the similar intro and chorus riffs, and the time signature twists in the verse. Lee will then break down the pre-chorus and bridge sections, then get into Dime's solo. We'll end with a full performance play along, then mute the guitars so you can jam along.

Published: 08/22/2012 Upgrade
Pantera image
Walk Pantera

In this song tutorial you'll be learning "Walk", as made famous by Pantera. Lee will talk about the tuning and the tone, then teach the intro and chorus riff to the song. Then he'll dive into the verse and pre-chorus, followed by the solo. You'll play along in a final full performance.

Published: 09/15/2011 Upgrade
Pantera image
Cowboys From Hell Pantera

In this series of lessons, Lee Wanner will teach you "Cowboys From Hell", by Pantera. Lee will introduce the song, then talk a bit about the gear and tones; then launch into the intro riffing. The we'll look at the chorus, the verse, and the pre-chorus. Next up is the rhythm under the solo, followed by the solo itself. Then Lee will break down the bridge before we do a play along, a single guitar performance, and a jam along.

Published: 03/06/2013 Upgrade
Slipknot image
Wait and Bleed Slipknot

In this set of metal song lessons, Lee Wanner will teach you "Wait and Bleed", as made famous by Slipknot. Lee will give you an overview of the song, then talk about the gear and tones. The first breakdown will be on the chorus, which also acts as the intro. The Lee will get into the verse riffs, followed by the bridge riffs. Then it's time for a play along performance, and we'll take it out with a jam along to the backing track.

Published: 08/15/2012 Upgrade
Slipknot image
Before I Forget Slipknot

In this metal song tutorial, Lee Wanner will lay out all the parts in "Before I Forget", as made famous by Slipknot. Lee will give an overview and look at the tuning and tones, then teach the intro riff. He'll follow that with the verse part, then the pre-chorus parts. Next in line are the chorus parts, then the guitars in the bridge. To finish, you'll play along through the song with Lee, then take over in the jam along.

Published: 07/26/2012 Upgrade
Slipknot image
(Sic) Slipknot

In this metal song tutorial, Lee Wanner will teach you "(Sic)", as made famous by Slipknot. Lee will give you a brief overview of the song, then talk about the dropped B tuning and tones. This song has an atypical structure and is all about rhythm riffs, so Lee will start with the intro riff, then the "pre-verse" riff. We'll follow that up with the verse and "post-verse" riff, then break down the bridge; after which we'll look at the chorus, and the outro riffs. We'll do a play along performance, then you take over in the jam along.

Published: 09/12/2012 Upgrade