Top 20 Hardest Rock Songs to Play on the Guitar

We Carry On welcome to watch Mojo and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 hardest rock songs to play on the guitar [Music] for this list we'll be ranking the most challenging songs for guitars to master we're not only taking into account technical difficulty but also complex orchestrations raw feeling and other elements that Define these complex epics can you play any of these all the way through did they come easy to you or was it a lot of work let us know in the comments number 20 wings of the storm white snake Steve Vai is a legendary Guitar Hero with a laundry list of solo accomplishments he's helped out some bands along the way as well including the iconic hard rock group White Snake VI joined the snake on their 1989 album slip of the tongue and brought with him virtuoso playing that was best put to use on that album's closing track wings of the storm [Music] [Applause] white snakes bluesy Origins are all but forgotten as VI lets it rip right from the song's Speedy opening riff [Music] wings of the storm lets up on the gas long enough for frontman David Coverdale to make his Mark but once the song enters its solo phase forget about it Bai is Off to the Races [Music] number 19. bleed Meshuggah the extreme metal sub genre colloquially known as gent owes much of its root sound to this pioneering Swedish band Meshuggah [Music] the group's complex mathematical style and emphasis on polyrhythms walked so that the free jazz freakout explorations of gent could run [Music] bleed is a great example of meshuggah's style a blistering riff workout that requires an intense control and Mastery of timing [Music] Martin hogstrom's rhythmic ability is unparalleled here on bleed while the melodies created by Co guitarist Frederick thorden doll sound like they're from outer space the Palm muted Madness of Meshuggah isn't for everyone but for many young guitarists bleed served as a fresh sound for a new generation number 18 flying in a blue dream Joe Satriani guitar feedback never sounded so good flying in a blue dream is one of guitar legend Joe satriani's most popular songs and with good reason it's a true stroke of Brilliance if the song's opening feedback sounds otherworldly it's because Satriani is actually manipulating it with melodic intent foreign in a blue dream isn't all smoke and mirrors however because satch lets it rip with some tasty melodic phrasing [Music] the man's tone is perfect the production impeccable and the song is a perfect example of how Joe Satriani brings an inventive and unique perspective to the electric guitar [Music] number 17. freight train Nitro [Applause] if you're looking for subtlety or restraint then look somewhere else or you're likely to get run over by nitro's freight train of hair metal excess time the blistering licks of Michelangelo badio are set on full display here complete with the unforgettable visual of the man's quadruple necked guitar [Music] the main riff and arrangement of freight train actually isn't too complex other than the above average speed but all bets are off once badio gets over and under those four guitar necks foreign section is obscenely fast and over the top but it feels part and parcel with what Nitro is trying to achieve with the song Frey train may be garishly excessive but fans of the musically absurd wouldn't want it any other way number 16 the noon word race the mahavishnu orchestra and Now for Something Completely Different foreign Orchestra or one of the progenitors of jazz Rock a fusion of both genres to create something fresh and exciting in the early 70s inward race is taken from the band's genre defining debut the inner mounting flame and sets on full display the amazing talent of guitarist John McLaughlin [Music] McLaughlin's mellow demeanor on stage stands and stark contrast to his fiery ability as a player as he moves up and down the fretboard of his double-neck guitar [Music] the noon word race allows all of the mahavish new Orchestra members to jam out but it's McLaughlin's interplay with drummer Billy Cobham that truly sends the song into the stratosphere number 15. Master of Puppets Metallica if stranger things has taught us anything it's that a good song truly is timeless Metallica's Master of Puppets earned a new lease on life after it was featured on the show as thousands of new fans took to the interwebs to look up the OG the song is a thrash metal Masterpiece a benchmark for young guitarists playing their trade in garages and rehearsal spaces around the world president studied by Future generations of guitarists in order to discover the secret of the man's Rhythm mastery [Music] pull the legal way s meanwhile the harmony interlude and solo sections prove that Hetfield and bandmate Kirk Hammett are among the finest heavy metal guitar teams in history [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] number 14 speed metal Symphony cacophony because there was this big guitar scene going on and we didn't really like it oh so this was your answer too yes it was our answer to it speaking of guitar Duos cacophony employed two of the best shredders in the business on their full-length debut speed metal Symphony both Jason Becker and Marty Friedman will feature on our list later but this early tag team exercise drops neoclassical guitar Arrangements into the thrash world with results that made Metal fans stand up and take notice the title track of speed metal symphony is tightly orchestrated with lead choices that are surprisingly melodic but always played with intensity and precision [Applause] it's gloriously indulgent with a nothing succeeds like excess approach [Music] number 13. Sultans of Swing Dire Straits looking for a pallet cleanser after the Riff Inferno that was cacophony [Music] how about the smooth and subtle style of Dire Straits and their genius guitarist mark knoppler Muffler's call and response approach to Sultans of Swing makes his guitar cry and sing like the song's lyrics [Music] this is Jazzy Soulful rock with intelligence behind it but also an accessibility that helped make it a radio staple [Music] additionally not fleur's finger picking style gives Sultans of Swing a personal feel that makes it incredibly difficult to anyone else to truly make it their own [Music] number 12. hanneman Rodrigo e Gabriella Rodrigo e Gabriella's Hanuman is dedicated to the unequivocal guitar icon Carlos Santana and it shows [Music] the Duo's dedication to Ingenuity and resistance to classification is on Full display here taking the Santana Fusion of Latin rhythms and Jazz Rock to a new level Hahnemann is a piece of percussive Brilliance a dizzying array of furious Flamenco flourishes and dexterous fretboard gymnastics that's difficult to replicate [Music] the Gabriella is a Rainer Rock without the arena and an impressive way to show how many disparate genres can come together to create musical magic number 11. Willie The Pimp Frank Zappa Frank Zappa was a musical madman a conductor of chaos that dabbled in nearly every genre imaginable while creating some of the most challenging albums ever pressed to wax [Music] Willie The Pimp is one of Zappa's defining Tunes after leaving the Mothers of Invention a song that starts off innocuous enough with a simple blues rock Stomp [Music] once the idiosyncratic vocals of Captain beefheart Fade Away however it's Frank's turn to let loose with one of his defining solos like so much of Zappa's other work Willie The Pimp is the sum of its creative parts [Music] sugarcane Harris's violin duels with Frank's guitar Max Bennett's bass pumps away and John garan's drumming drives it all home it's one of a kind stuff foreign [Music] number 10 eruption Van Halen it was the tapping exercise that rocked the world one that inspired generations of guitarists to pick up the instrument [Music] and by Van Halen and it still kicks ass today the amount of influence Eddie Van Halen had upon nearly every hard rock guitarist in his wake is immeasurable but what's perhaps less discussed is his knowledge of classical Theory and technique foreign was fast and precise sure but eruption is also remarkably well composed the sort of instrumental that's flashy but also memorable there's a hookiness here that's Way Beyond Your Average Shred Fest a testament to just how formative Eddie Van Halen was at his six-stringed weapon number nine act 2 scene 7 1 the dance of Eternity Dream Theater [Music] the collective technical abilities of Dream Theater are Beyond reproach and have for years stymied musicians who try to map out the Prague metal bands approach [Music] the test that stumped them all from the band's Six Degrees of inner turbulence record was confounding indeed but the dance of Eternity may be even more insane foreign this movement is taken from Metropolis part two scenes from a memory a conceptual release that's been hailed as one of the greatest guitar albums of all time by Guitar World magazine it's easy to see why too as John Petrucci combines Savage rhythmic chops with sweet picked arpeggios and instrumental interplay to annihilate the senses number eight Perpetual burn Jason Becker we will Jam the story of Jason Becker is one of both tragedy and Triumph the guitar icon may be currently battling ALS also known as motor neuron disease but he continues to compose just not in the same way [Music] still Perpetual burn remains a high point of Becker's discography a step up from his cacophony collaboration mentioned earlier and a benchmark for neoclassical shred guitar [Music] the title track is up there with anything released by contemporaries like ingve Malmsteen more on him later as Becker sweeps up and down the fretboard with arpeggiated runs that Boggle the mind [Music] this is true guitar focused compositional skill at its highest level number seven technical difficulties Racer X we're truly hammering down on the gas pedal from here on out folks spotlighting some of the fiercest and fastest guitar players in the world foreign Paul Gilbert definitely belongs in that category although he's been able to Branch out into traditional hard rock with projects like Mr Big [Music] newcomers to his work would be advised to consider Racer X as Gilbert's shred machine a vehicle for some of his most impressive licks technical difficulties isn't all show a no-go however as Gilbert balances his heavy Rhythm chops and harmonized lead with a thrashing traditional metal base it's more than enough and just shy of too much a rip exercise that's designed to give your hands a workout [Music] number six multo arpeggiosa ingvae Malmsteen what can we say about Sweden's biggest most popular guitar export ingve Malmsteen The Man's work is shoes subtlety in favor of the most in your face hot-blooded shred guitar this side of Stockholm [Music] Malmsteen has certainly released albums full of catchy hit single material but molto arpeggiosa isn't one of them instead diving head first into a daring exercise in excess [Music] the song often mislabeled as arpeggios from hell is sort of a look what I can do schtick that ingve does best a face melt of an instrumental that barely sounds of this Earth [Applause] it's relentlessly fast and complex stuff the sort of guitar playing that can only come from the hands of a master good luck number five La Villa stranchado an exercise in self-indulgence rush we have to give it up to rush for at least admitting what they were up to back on 1978's La Villa strangiato [Music] the song is given the subtitle an exercise in self-indulgence but we love the end results [Music] [Applause] [Music] Rush has always thrived on the group dynamic between drummer Neil Peart basis Getty Lee and guitarist Alex liveson but it's life sin that takes a step forward here on La Villa strangiato the song's multiple movements evoke moods that feel unique to life since Deft hand on the guitar a mixture of fiery aggression and more laid-back Moody sections [Applause] it's definitely something your average guitarist is going to find extremely difficult to replicate [Music] [Applause] number four tornado of souls Mega Death Mega Death fans will likely point to the early 90s lineup of Marty Friedman on lead guitar is one of the band's absolute best [Music] it's difficult to argue against especially when there's evidence like tornado of souls on the table [Music] not only is this thrash metal Masterpiece composed with enough Artistry to hang in the Louvre it's also hyper aggressive to a fault [Music] the riffing is tight and measured with an intense demand for rhythm while the solo sections are something truly out of this world [Music] Friedman and band leader Dave Mustaine are absolutely on fire throughout the entirety of the track [Music] number three Cliffs of Dover Eric Johnson [Applause] [Laughter] Eric Johnson is one of those guitarists that can play just about anything from the heaviest of blues rock with his early group Mariani to the smash hit that was Johnson's instrumental Cliffs of Dover there's a smoothness to Johnson's playing that hits the listener like lightning in a bottle while the song's ear War Melody feels truly inspired thank you Cliffs of Dover is melodic and sprawling with moments of electricity foreign and others that feel almost Fulk inspired in their vulnerability it's guitar playing at perhaps its most cinematic and a song that has gone on to Define Eric Johnson's career [Applause] number two kefo animals as leaders we don't feel like we're exaggerating when we say the guitarist tosin Abbasi from Animals As Leaders is truly on another level kfo practically sounds like it's from outer space so maddening is the level of skill set on display [Music] it feels almost as if a boss's Talent has been bestowed upon him from another world because only in that Dimension could any other guitarist handle kfo to completion [Music] the rhythmic prowess alone is some of the best the Gent genre has to offer while tosin's fretboard sounds as if it's going to catch fire as he runs up and down without Mercy needless to say it's not easy to keep up before we continue be sure to subscribe to our Channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos you have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them if you're on your phone make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications number one through the fire and flames Dragon Force [Applause] you know you've achieved something special when one of your songs appears in nearly every guitar focused video game out there Through the Fire and Flames capture the imaginations of many when it debuted on inhuman Rampage the third album from England's power metal Heroes Dragon Force the harmonized leads of Sam totman and Herman Lee are so quick and process sounding that they recall chiptune music from video games but that's really the entire point through the fire and Flame sounds inhuman yet strangely satisfying it's the sort of Guitar Hero theatrics that only come around once in a generation did you enjoy this video check out these other clips from WatchMojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos

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Keywords: Music, Rock, cliffs of dover, guitar, guitar solo, hardest, hardest rock songs guitar, hardest rock songs to learn, hardest rock songs to play, hardest songs guitar, list, master of puppets, metal music, mojo, rock and roll, rock music, songs, sultans of swing, top 10, watch mojo, watchmojo, wings of the storm, watchmojo music, guitar songs, Hardest metal songs to play on guitar, Hardest songs to play on guitar, watchmojo guitar, watch mojo music, hardest guitar song

Id: rn6uiqJ1Rzk

Length: 24min 59sec (1499 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 29 2022