[2026] Practice Songs for Metal Beginners: Learn the Basics of Metal Guitar!
You’ve gotten into metal and picked up the guitar, but as you’d expect, so many songs demand advanced techniques—and you’re getting bored of running the same practice licks over and over.
If you’re a guitarist who wants to break out of the beginner stage, this article introduces classic tracks that are relatively easy to play while letting you savor the essence of metal! Even if fully nailing every part is tough, just learning the simple riffs can be really satisfying, and small breakthroughs often lead to big results.
From timeless staples and the hard rock that laid the foundation of metal to 2000s-and-beyond metalcore, make these iconic riffs your own!
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[2026] Practice Songs for Metal Beginners: Learn the Basics of Metal Guitar! (1–10)
Whole Lotta LoveLed Zeppelin
A British band that laid the groundwork for hard rock, Led Zeppelin’s song.
Its heavyweight intro riff is so famous that anyone who starts playing guitar will want to copy it.
This phrase, built from just five notes, is simple yet lets you feel metal’s distinctive groove, making it perfect for learning guitar fundamentals.
The lyrics shout a straightforward, primal passion to express all the love one has to the other person, and that energy fuses brilliantly with the sound.
The track appears on the album Led Zeppelin II and was also released as a single in November 1969 in the United States and elsewhere.
A cover version became the theme for the UK show Top of the Pops, and at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Jimmy Page himself performed it.
If you can master this riff, it will surely lead to a great sense of accomplishment and confidence.
Crazy TrainOzzy Osbourne
A song by Ozzy Osbourne, known in Japan as the “Emperor of Metal,” a singer who had a massive impact on the scene.
Released in 1980, this single from his solo debut album “Blizzard of Ozz,” which remains hugely popular to this day, has become synonymous with both Ozzy Osbourne and the prodigiously talented, gone-too-soon guitarist Randy Rhoads.
The famous main riff built on a minor scale and his explosively unique guitar solo are truly gems of performance.
Many people were likely inspired by this guitar work and tried to copy it.
To be honest, the guitar solo in this song is difficult for beginners to tackle, but even just practicing the main riff at a slower speed makes for a great study piece to break out of the beginner stage!
Tears Don’t FallBullet For My Valentine
A song by Bullet For My Valentine, the hugely popular Welsh band that stands as a defining presence of the 2000s metalcore scene.
This track features a superbly dramatic progression where beautiful melodies sung with clean vocals intersect with fierce, throat-grabbing shouts.
While deeply wounded by betrayal yet refusing to shed tears, the resolve to turn anger into strength and stand firm is expressed through a sound that skillfully shifts between calm and intensity.
Included on their 2005 debut album “The Poison,” it won “Best Single” at the 2006 Kerrang! Awards.
Aside from the guitar solo, elements like the main clean-tone and well-muted arpeggios, power-chord backing, and riffs that function like a second melody are relatively approachable in terms of technique within their catalog, making it great practice for dynamics—so give it a try.
[2026] Practice Songs for Metal Beginners: Learn the Basics of Metal Guitar! (11–20)
Square HammerGHOST
It’s a signature Ghost track where a demonic worldview and a poppy melody are brilliantly fused.
Despite its theme of pledging allegiance to the devil by one’s own will, the synth riff is insanely catchy—you can’t get it out of your head after one listen! The guitar relies mainly on power chords, letting you savor the essence of metal just by driving an easy-to-remember riff.
Released as a single from the EP “Popestar” in September 2016, the song went on to top Billboard’s rock charts in January 2017.
It was even chosen as the official theme for the WWE NXT wrestling event.
There aren’t any complex solos, but that simplicity makes precise timing crucial.
It’s a perfect number for anyone looking to build solid riff work—the foundation of metal.
ToxicitySystem Of A Down
A quintessential System of a Down track with a powerful structure that tears from arpeggios slicing through the silence straight into heavy, irregular riffs.
Released in September 2001, it appears on the acclaimed album Toxicity, which debuted at No.
1 on the U.S.
charts.
The guitar work is mostly power chords and not particularly demanding technically, and because the time signature shifts rapidly throughout the song, it’s perfect for players who are comfortable with basic riffs to sharpen their sense of rhythm.
It’s an ideal chance to internalize a groove different from a simple 8-beat.
Savor the joy of recreating on your own guitar this profound sound world—one that seems to sonically depict the chaos of modern society.
SoberTool
It might take quite a bit of courage to introduce a TOOL song as beginner-friendly, but with this early-career classic, many people should be able to give it a shot.
Its hallmark is the repeatedly appearing, heavy, undulating guitar riff, and just playing this simple phrase lets you savor the essence of metal.
The song wrestles with the painful theme of breaking free from dependency, and if you pay attention to the dynamics between the quiet and intense sections as you play, the urgency of its worldview really comes through.
Released as a single from the album Undertow in May 1993, it features a striking video that even won a Billboard Music Video Award.
I think it’s a perfect track for practicing how to create a heavy groove with a simple riff!
WalkPantera
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Pantera changed the history of metal, and among their songs I’d like to focus on “Walk” here.
Even at a slow tempo, Dimebag Darrell’s razor-sharp, precise sense of rhythm never loses its edge—simply impeccable.
He cuts the sound cleanly exactly where it should stop, and hits right on the perfect timing where it should ring.
This riff executes those seemingly basic principles at an ultra-high level.
Be sure to listen and try playing it yourself.