who needs lyrics when you've got killer
guitars welcome to watchmojo.com and
today we're counting down our picks for
the top ten hard rock and heavy metal
instrumental songs for this list we
focused on hard rock and heavy metal
instrumental songs that are guitar
centric and limited it to one track per
artist
number 10 Transylvania by Iron Maiden
some Iron Maiden fans may be inclined to
point to killer's Genghis Khan as the
band's standout instrumental
but it's Transylvania that does the
trick for us
written and composed by Steve Harris the
song appeared on her eponymous debut and
remains an epic testament to Iron
Maiden's musicianship
number nine the call of cthulhu
by Metallica
both Master of Puppets Orion and ride
the Lightning's the call of the to lope
are frequently named as fan favorites
when it comes to Metallica instrumentals
and with licks like this it's no wonder
it's not easy to pick a winner Orion
showcases late bassist Cliff Burton's
wizardry while the Call of Cthulhu
displays James Hetfield's and Kirk
Hammett virtuosity
but since the focus of this list is
guitar playing it's the latter that
takes the case
number eight mr. scary by docken
found on Dawkins fourth studio record
mr. scary is an instrumental gem by
George Lynch and Jeff Pilson
the back for the attack track doesn't
only capture the band's musical artistry
but it also showcases Lynch's
high-energy guitar skills
number seven technical difficulties by
Racer X
the title cut to racer X's third studio
album show Paul Gilbert had no technical
difficulties flaunting some of his
finest guitar work in the studio
evolving from a song off is a 1994
instructional guitar video it's fast
intense and oh so Gilbert
number six black star by Yngwie
Malmsteen
while fans and critics may cite Icarus
is dream sweet opus four or far beyond
the Sun as some of its greatest works
we're going with the harder darker black
star by meshing classical music with
hard rock licks Malmsteen truly gives us
neoclassical metal at its best
thanks to his outstanding abilities and
rapid-fire technique he also paved the
way for the subgenres explosion in the
1980s
number five suits air by Buckethead
with over fifty albums under his bucket
and masks this shredder has offered the
music world scores of remarkable
instrumental pieces while some fans
might prefer enter the chickens
nottingham lace
it's the slow build-up and awesome outro
a crime slug scenes soothsayer it gets
the nod because it's just divine
number four Mabel's fatal fable by Jason
Becker
before being stricken with Lou Gehrig's
disease Jason Becker left a neoclassical
metal legacy that included his work with
Marty Friedman on cacophony and a myriad
of solo projects with notable tracks
being altitudes and perpetual burned
despite releasing new music after his
diagnosis its Mabel's fatal fable off
Becker's debut that lands here for its
sheer epicness and being an incredible
example of his shredding skills
number three the extremists by Joe
Satriani
often hailed is one of the most
successful and respected solo guitarists
ever Joe Satriani could make this list
thanks to any number of tracks surfing
with the alien in particular comes to
mind
but it's the title track off one of his
most popular albums
that's the standout for us even with the
presence of other instruments Satriani's
mastery of the guitar shines through
number two eruption by Van Halen
it was with this guitar solo that Eddie
Van Halen really got us after bursting
onto the scene in 1978 with his band's
self-titled debut the guitarist
introduced us to his famous tapping
technique on eruption
the song has since become part of his
live solo act and remains one of the
most respected solos and instrumental
tracks ever
number one for the love of God by Steve
Vai
though erotic nightmares is often
pointed to as the greatest riff on vies
epic passion and warfare effort it's for
the love of god that's a bi masterpiece
it's one of the greatest most melodic
soulful guitar pieces ever and that's
why it tops our list here let him show
you
do you agree with our list what's your
favorite hard rock or heavy metal
instrumental track be sure to subscribe
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top tens