Metal guitar chords: everything you need to know including progressions, charts, and songs.

Like most genres, you want to start from the foundations, so today I’ll teach you all about metal chords.

Whether you’re into heavy metal, black metal, or death metal, mastering the chords will allow you to start writing your own metal songs and give you the theory and skills to play better riffs sooner.

From beginner metal guitar chords to power chords to Metallica chords, I’ll give you examples of each so you can play like a rockstar.

In this article, I’ll take you through…

• Must-know foundational chords
• Common metal chord progressions
• A little bit of metal music theory
• And a whole lot more…

I love metal! Hopefully, by the end of this article, you’ll love it a little more too. 

Let’s crank up that amp and get into the good stuff.

What makes a chord “metal”?

To get that beast-like metal guitar tone you need to use distortion. 

And like any beast, it needs to be handled with care.

• You can’t play just any chord with a metal tone
• More complex chords sound too muddy
• There are a few simple rules to follow for powerful metal chords

Of course, like many rules in music, they can be broken (given the right context).

A brief interval

Certain intervals tend to clash more we call this dissonance, and when you distort your guitar tone, this dissonance is magnified.

So how do we know which intervals sound strong with a metal tone?

There are three types of intervals:

Perfectly consonant: Unison, perfect 4th, perfect 5th, and the octave

Imperfectly consonant: Major 3rd, minor 3rd, major 6th, and minor 6th

Dissonant: Major 2nd, minor 2nd, major 7th, minor 7th, and the tritone (aka flat 5th).

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Don’t worry about memorizing this information, I just wanted to make you aware that some intervals are a little less cooperative.

Okay, let’s look at some heavy metal guitar chords and see if our newfound knowledge illuminates the darkness.

Essential heavy metal chords for beginners and intermediates

The chords below aren’t metal-exclusive, they can be found in many genres – but these are the shapes we need to complete our metal puzzle.

I’m going to run through what I consider the most metal-specific chords. 

If you can master these, you’ll be ready to make some heads bang🤘

Metal power chords

Straight in with the big guns! 

In my opinion, nothing beats the simplicity and raw… well, POWER of the humble power chord.

The #1 essential building block for heavy metal music.

This two-note chord or ‘dyad’ consists of only the root and the 5th.

There are also a few variations if you want to change it up a bit.

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Adding the octave: Slide your pinky under your ring finger on the D string to add the octave to create the full heavy metal power chord, creating a fuller sound.

Adding the fifth below: Place your index finger on the fifth fret of the low E string to add the fifth underneath the root, producing an extra chunky, heavy sound.

Okay that’s the easy metal chords out of the way, let’s keep going.

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Minor chords

We know that minor chords are the moody sibling of the bright and cheerful major chords.

Naturally, that darker mood is right at home in metal, and minor chords are favored for that reason.

Again, with distortion three-note guitar chords can get a little muddy, so you may want to roll back the gain a little – but not too much! 

Who wants metal without distortion?

Diminished chords

Here’s another little piece of metal theory. Diminished chords are basically minor chords with the 5th interval lowered by a half step – AKA flattened (b).

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Also known as the tritone, the flattened 5th interval is considered by many to be the most dissonant interval – so use with caution! ⚠️

The clashy diminished make them the ultimate black metal guitar chords.

Here’s a “tritone power chord”, try switching between these two for a dark, thrashy sound.

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That ‘devil's interval’ sounds pretty menacing, huh? 

Dyads

Dyads are two-note shapes that work perfectly in metal. 

Why? 

Because the less complex a chord, the better it sounds under heavy distortion.

Try out these different dyad shapes on the A string and D string.

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If you have a second guitarist you can use each to play a note from a dyad riff and create some serious heavy metal harmonies à la Iron Maiden.

Depending on what feel you’re going for you can use major dyads, minor dyads, or even the tritone… if you dare.

Suspended chords

If you want to add a little more melodic movement to your metal chord progressions, suspended chords are a great way to do it.

Play through the metal guitar tabs below. 

This 80s-style riff moves between an E major, and suspended 4th chord.

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Remember to alternate between the chord and the low E root note.

If you want more 80s metal goodness, check out this 80s metal guitar course. 

Drop tunings for metal

The quintessential heavy metal guitar tunings.

Drop tunings are a favorite among groove, doom, and stoner metal subgenres. One of my old bands played exclusively in drop C.

This type of alternate tuning allows you to play a power chord with a single finger!

It’s the perfect power chord alternative if you want to play fast changes… or are just too lazy for regular shape.

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Before you can play this shape, we have to twist a tuning peg. 

Don’t worry – it’s relatively painless.

“Drop” just means you’ve dropped the 6th string down.

• You need to detune the lowest string down a whole step
• So if you’re in standard tuning, the low E gets tuned down to a D
• If you want to get reaaaally low, you can detune all your strings down further step for drop C

Note: When detuning, things can get pretty flappy, so you may need to buy heavier gauge strings to increase the tension.

Read my article on alternate tunings for more info.

Metal chug technique

It’s not just the chords you play, it’s how you play them!

This metal chords article wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention THE CHUG.

Watch metal maestro Myrone demonstrate exactly how to perfect the palm-muting chug technique.

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Check out our Metal Learning Pathway for more awesome lessons, technique demos, playthrough jam tracks, and plenty of heavy metal tabs!

6 essential types of metal guitar chord progressions

There are very few rules when it comes to metal progressions.

It can go from a simple three-chord blues-type progression, all the way to mindbending math metal. 

Let’s look at some of the quintessential kinds of metal progressions from this versatile genre.

Power chord progressions

It’s no secret that power chords are at the core of rock and metal. 

Here are heavy metal legends Iron Maiden to show what can be done with a handful of power chords.

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So how can you make these kinds of progressions yourself?

I’ve got you – here’s my very own, no-brainer, metal chord progression generator!

1. Make the power chord shape with your hand
2. Slam it down anywhere on the fretboard
3. Move it around until you find a sequence that sounds killer.

If you’re just starting out, your writing process really doesn’t need to be complicated than that.

Okay, that’s the brute-force method out of the way – let’s look at something a little more… calculated.

Complex time signatures and polyrhythms

Math metal gained its name from essentially being rooted in patterns and numbers.

• Often an entire riff can be played using only one note or chord, the magic comes from the rhythm.
• The real trick is to make an odd time signature feel groovy. 

Meshuggah are considered the godfathers of this style, but there are plenty of other bands that have taken “djent” and math metal in interesting directions.

Tosin Abasi is a progressive metal guitar legend and his band, Animals As Leaders are a great example of this type of music – check them out.

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Chromatic metal progressions

Chromatic progressions are a staple in extreme metal subgenres like thrash metal, death metal, and grindcore. 

These progressions use half-step intervals to create a sense of relentless tension and dissonance.

The tritone is also a powerful ally in the fight for brutal riffs. 

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Modal interchange progressions

For those who want to push music theory to its limit, prog metal, power metal, and experimental metal could be for you – it’s basically jazz for metalheads.

• Modal interchange is when you borrow chords from outside the mode or key.
• This creates a real sense of surprise in your compositions.
• It also allows for some unique melodic ideas.

Listen to this track and try to predict what chords are coming next – good luck!

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Doom metal drone progressions

Drone notes and open string progressions are commonly used in doom metal, black metal, and some post-metal. 

• These progressions rely on sustained notes or open strings to create a dense, immersive sound. 
• The use of droning notes can make even simple progressions sound massive and foreboding.

If you’ve never explored this genre before – I warn you to brace yourself – it’s an acquired taste.

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Drop tuning metal progressions

If you want to get that low-down, beefy sound, drop tunings are the way to do it.

I’ve already talked about the the benefits of using drop tunings, so let’s hear them in action with the ever-fun, ever-interesting, Killswitch Engage.

The tuning for My Curse is C G C F A C. 

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