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!

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
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
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
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
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
In this series of song lessons, Mike Olekshy will teach you "Awake", by Godsmack. Mike will tune you into the gear and tones here, then get straight into the intro and chorus riff. Mike will then get into the other various riffs, followed by the bridge and bridge modulation. Next up is the wah solo, and we'll take it out with a performance and a jam along.
Published: 02/29/2012 Upgrade
In this tutorial, Mike Olekshy will teach you the heavy metal song "I Stand Alone", as made famous by Godsmack. Mike will talk about the gear and tone, then get into the single-note riff that is a centerpiece of the tune. Then we'll look at the verses and chorus, the bridge, the short but sweet solo. To finish off, we'll look at a riff variation, then put it all together in a final play along performance.
Published: 08/04/2011 Upgrade
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
In this song tutorial, Douglas Showlater will be teachng all the parts to "Word Up", as made famous in a cover version by Korn. Douglas will take you through the song intro, the verse guitars, the chorus guitars, and the bridge guitars too, then show you the simple solo. We'll end with a play along, then mute the guitar so you can jam along by yourself.
Published: 04/14/2011 Upgrade
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
Mike will show you the 2 guitar layers in this song. Guitar 1 plays harmonics that outline the chord progression, while Guitar 2 is a heavy crunch guitar that plays some dropped D style riffs in the arrangement.
Published: 11/14/2018 Upgrade
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
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
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
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