Finding the best metal guitar that looks as brutal as it sounds can be challenging. There are a bunch of different heavy metal guitars that shred, but which one is right for you?
You have to ask yourself, do you want an electric guitar with floating trems like Floyd Rose bridges a fixed Tone Pros style bridge. Do you like shred guitars with active pickups vs passive pickups? There are tons of different options, hardware, pickup configurations, and tonewoods to choose from. We go through them all.
We’ve reviewed all the most popular top metal guitars on the market, so you can figure out which one will make your sound scream. Let’s check them out!
Click Below to Compare the Top Heavy Metal Electric Guitars in 2021
Contents
- 1 Click Below to Compare the Top Heavy Metal Electric Guitars in 2021
- 1.1 ESP LTD Snakebyte James Hetfield Signature
- 1.2 Ibanez Prestige RGR5220M
- 1.3 Fender Jim Root Telecaster
- 1.4 ESP LTD KH-602 Kirk Hammett
- 1.5 Fender Jim Root Signature Stratocaster
- 1.6 Jackson RR24 X Series Rhoads
- 1.7 Schecter Hellraiser C-1
- 1.8 Dean Michael Batio MAB1 – Armored Flame
- 1.9 Schecter Synyster Gates Signature
- 1.10 Ibanez S Series Iron Label SIX6FDFM
- 1.11 Charvel Pro-Mod DK Satchel Signature
- 1.12 LTD EC-Black Metal
- 1.13 Dean Razorback Cemetery Gates
- 2 What We Recommend and Why
Here is a list of the best electric guitars for metal music that have heavy tone and a killer look in 2021.
- ESP LTD Snakebyte James Hetfield – Best Heavy Metal Guitar
- Ibanez Prestige RGR5220M
- Fender Jim Root Telecaster – Best Nu Metal Guitar
- ESP LTD KH-602 Kirk Hammett
- Fender Jim Root Signature Stratocaster
- Jackson RR24 X Series Rhoads
- Schecter Hellraiser C-1
- Dean Michael Batio MAB1 – Best Shred Metal Guitar
- Schecter Synyster Gates Signature
- Ibanez S Series Iron Label SIX6FDFM
- Charvel Pro-Mod DK Satchel Signature
- LTD EC-Black Metal
- Dean Razorback Cemetery Gates
ESP LTD Snakebyte James Hetfield Signature
Specs, features, and benefits
The ESP LTD Snakebyte is a James Hetfield signature model, and it was created after his design. The guitar features a mahogany body and neck with ebony fingerboard sporting twenty-two extra jumbo frets. The neck is set into the body.
For guaranteed flawless performance, the guitar has TonePros locking Tom bridge and tailpiece, bone nut, Sperzel locking tuners, and Schaller strap locks. It has two EMG JH SET active pick-ups at the neck and the bridge position, their dedicated Volume control knobs, and a three-way selector switch.
The Snakebyte is available in Snow White and Black Satin finish, both available right and left-handed. It comes with case included in the price.
Pros and Highlights
- Top-notch! – The guitar is built with care and attention to detail. Great instrument, worth its price;
- Awesome Sound! – The two active EMG pick-ups have an amazing tone, both clear and over-driven. Metallica fans, take notes!
- Smooth neck – The neck feels perfect in many different hands – you should try it out!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons, no flaws!
Bottom line
Designed by James Hetfield himself, this is truly an artwork of a guitar. Die-hard Metallica fans will love it, but every guitarist on planet Earth will appreciate the Tone and the playability of this guitar. It is not a cheap one, but it is worth every penny! Awesome axe!
Ibanez Prestige RGR5220M
Specs, features, and benefits
Ibanez Prestige RGR5220M is truly a beast-guitar. It has a body made out of African Mahogany with Ash top, a five-piece Super Wizard HP neck made out of Maple/Wenge with birdseye maple fingerboard featuring twenty-four stainless-steel jumbo frets.
The hardware on the guitar is featuring a Lo-Pro Edge Tremolo bridge and tailpiece, locking nut, and Gotoh tuning machines. It has two Bare Knuckle Brute Force Humbucker pick-ups, with Volume and Tone control knobs, plus a coil tap feature and a three-way selector switch. The coil-tap button is a feature that lets you split the coils, something like a push-pull on the Volume knobs on some guitars, but with eliminated unwanted splitting during your show.
The guitar has a Transparent Fluorescent Green color and is finished with Satin Polyester. It comes with a hardshell case.
Pros and Highlights
- Bare Knuckle Brute Force – The name of the pick-ups say it all – they are aggressive as hell!
- Versatile – The fact that you can split the coils on humbuckers with the coil-tap switch, is making this guitar versatile, and allowing the player to have multiple sound choices.
- Super Wizard HP neck – The neck of the guitar is awesome. Very nice feel, very playable.
It is designed for heavy music riffs and fast and furious guitar solos
Cons and Potential Flaws
- At first, I didn’t like the color – And then I tried the guitar, and I fell in love with it.
- Fluorescent green is now my favorite!
Bottom line
This guitar definitely deserves the “Prestige”-word in its name. It is an amazing guitar! It sounds great; it plays awesome. It is versatile, and it looks beautiful! Great axe!
Fender Jim Root Telecaster
Specs, features, and benefits
The Jim Root Telecaster is a Tele built for metal! How cool is that? If you are into heavy metal, you already know whom Jim Root is, so let’s just dive into the specs of the Jim Root Tele.
The guitar has a body made out of mahogany, and a bolt-on Modern-C shape neck made of maple with an ebony fretboard. It has twenty-two medium jumbo frets. The hardware on the guitar features an Evertune F string-through-body six-saddle hardtail bridge, a synthetic bone nut, and Cast sealed locking tuners.
The Jim Root Telecaster has EMG 60 Humbucker pick-up at the neck position, and EMG 81 Humbucker pick-up at the bridge position, a single Master Volume control knob and a three-way selector switch. It is available in flat white and flat black finish.
Pros and Highlights
- Telecaster and Metal? – It turns out it is a great combination! Well, you won’t find any “twang” sound on this guitar! This is an axe for heavy, heavy music! Just listen to some Jim Root stuff played on this beauty…
- Great sound – EMG 60, EMG 81… Is there anything left unsaid? Oh yeah – they will blow your mind!
- Shredding neck! – The neck on the guitar is built for shredding! Fast licks, smoking hot solos…
This Tele is the most capable Tele ever!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons found folks!
Bottom line
A Tele that can shred! Great neck, amazing tones… Beautiful design… Jim Root definitely knows how to design a great axe. Great guitar!
ESP LTD KH-602 Kirk Hammett
Specs, features, and benefits
If you are a big Metallica fan, you know what this axe is capable of in the right hands.
The ESP LTD KH-602 is a neck-through-body design guitar with a body made out of alder, a three-piece maple neck with thin-U profile and Pau-Ferro fingerboard with twenty-four extra-jumbo frets. It has a Floyd Rose 1000 vibrato bridge, a locking nut, and ESP tuning machines.
The pick-ups on the guitar are signature Kirk Hammett EMG Bone Breaker active humbuckers with a Tone control knob, dedicated Volume control knob for each pick-up, and a three-way selector switch. It comes in a Black finish, and there is a left-handed guitar version available too. The guitar comes with a hardshell case included in the price.
Pros and Highlights
- Neck-through-body construction – This is probably the best kind of construction a metal guitar could have. Solid!
- EMG Bone Breakers – The pick-ups on the guitar are Kirk Hammett signatures. They break bones!
- The playability – Just try this guitar… There is no word to describe the playability of this guitar. Much better than amazing!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No flaws found!
Bottom line
If you are a Metallica fan, this Kirk Hammett signature model will probably satisfy your hunger for a great guitar. It sounds amazing; it plays awesome. The finish is awesome; it looks beautiful. Great instrument! Definitely one of the best Metal axes out there.
Fender Jim Root Signature Stratocaster
Specs, features, and benefits
The Jim Root Signature Fender Stratocaster is another model from Fender that goes up to eleven. The body of the guitar is made out of mahogany, while the Modern “C”-shaped neck is made out of maple with ebony fretboard sporting twenty-two jumbo frets.
It has strings-through-body hardtail bridge, synthetic bone nut, and Fender Deluxe Cast sealed locking tuning machines. The electronics on this guitar are featuring two humbuckers, EMG 60 at the neck and EMG 81 at the bridge position, Master Volume control knob, and a three-way selector switch. It comes in a hardshell case.
Pros and Highlights
- Jim Root – He is one of those guys who know what he is doing. The design of this guitar is outstanding! A Strat for Metal? Really? How cool is that?
- Great sound – This guitar works great for metal, but it also sounds great with rock music. Great for guitarists that play both styles. The EMG’s are great pick-ups, noise-free, not-too-hot and not-too-bright… Just right!
- Beautiful neck – You are probably familiar with Strat necks. But a Strat neck made for metal/heavy rock is really something special. Made of maple, with ebony fretboard and jumbo frets… Smooth!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons! – The guitar works as advertised – beautifully!
Bottom line
If you are a big Strat fan, and you want to play some heavy guitar music, Jim Root has designed the perfect guitar for you! Thank you, Jim Root! The Fender Jim Root Stratocaster has an amazing body and neck, very playable, and the two EMG’s are god damn amazing sounding! Great guitar!
Jackson RR24 X Series Rhoads
Specs, features, and benefits
If you are familiar with the name Randy Rhoads, and we believe you are because it would be weird if you are not and you are still reading this list, you’ll know how big a legend he is, and what kind of guitar he played. This guitar was built for speed licks and heavy riffing.
The Jackson RR24 X Series guitar sports a neck-through-body construction with a body made out of basswood, and neck made out of maple with graphite reinforcement. The neck features a rosewood fingerboard with twenty-four jumbo frets.
The hardware on the guitar sports a Floyd Rose Special double-locking bridge, and F.R. special locking nut, and Jackson Die-Cast Sealed tuning machines. It has two humbucking pick-ups placed at the neck and the bridge position, Seymour Duncan AHB-1n and Seymour Duncan AHB-1b. Both pick-ups have their own Volume control. There is one Tone control, and of course, the three-way blade switch.
Pros and Highlights
- Neck-through-body construction – Allowing you to have a big sustain!
- Seymour Duncan pick-ups! – If you are an experienced guitar-nerd, you’ll know what kind of quality you are dealing with when you read the Seymour Duncan name on your pick-ups.
And then you hear the sound through your amp – and you are blown away! Amazing sound! - Plays beautifully – For fast and virtuosic guitar solos you need a guitar just like this one –
Reliable and solid, low action, smooth feel neck, and a lot of practice of course!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
This guitar is a true masterpiece in guitar-building art. It is a beast! The construction of the body and the neck, the wood choice, the hardware, the electronics – together they make the best of a guitar. It is ready to blow minds on stage and in the recording studio!
Schecter Hellraiser C-1
Specs, features, and benefits
Schecter is a company that is well-known in the metalhead guitarist community for its high-quality axes, which are designed to kill!
The Schecter Hellraiser C-1 has a mahogany body with quilted maple on top, and a three-piece maple neck with Thin “C” profile, and a rosewood fingerboard twenty-four extra-jumbo frets. It has a string-through-body TonePros T3BT TOM bridge, Graph Tech XL Black Tusq nut, and Schecter locking tuners. It has two active humbucking pick-ups, EMG 81TW at the bridge position and EMG 89R at the neck position. It has controls for Volume for each pick-up, with Push/Pull feature for splitting the coils, Tone control knob, and a three-way selector switch.
Pros and Highlights
- Great value for the money – An amazing guitar, great for live playing and for recording for an affordable price!
- Fast neck – Built for speed!
- Great Tone! – The Hellraiser is versatile enough so it can satisfy many different tone tastes.
It sounds great with every configuration.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- It might need a setup right out of the box – If you are not experienced enough to make it on your own, just take it to your local luthier, he will do the job for you, it will not cost you a fortune…
Bottom line
The Hellraiser C-1 by Schecter is a great guitar. It sounds awesome; it is built for shredding and heavy riffs. It has a very nice, soft neck, and high-quality EMG pick-ups. Great guitar.
Dean Michael Batio MAB1 – Armored Flame
Specs, features, and benefits
Michael Angelo Batio conquered the guitar world in the eighties, and since then he is known as one of the best, fastest guitar virtuoso in the world.
The body of the guitar is made out of Alder, and a bolt-on Maple neck that sports Ebony fretboard with twenty-four jumbo frets.
The hardware on the guitar features a Floyd Rose Tremolo 1000 bridge, locking nut, and Grover tuning machines. The pick-ups on the guitar are set in an H/S/H configuration, EMG85 at the bridge, EMG SA at the middle, and EMG81 at the neck position. It has a five-way selector switch, and Master Volume and Master Tone control knobs.
Pros and Highlights
- Aggressive! – Speed kills! Michael Angelo Batio is one of the fastest players ever. The neck of the guitar is built for his preferences.
- Versatile! – The H/S/H configuration is a great feature. It provides the player with a big palette of different sounds.
- Great build-quality – This guitar is built like a tank! Great attention to detail, high-quality components!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons! – The guitar plays, sounds, and looks incredibly good!
Bottom line
If you are a Michael Angelo Batio fan, or you just want a guitar that is able to take the fastest licks from your fingers, the Dean MAB1 is a great choice. The guitar simply screams quality and it is definitely one of the best metal guitars ever!
Schecter Synyster Gates Signature
Specs, features, and benefits
The Schecter Synyster Custom is a guitar that will take you on a metal ride in seconds! The guitar has a body made out of mahogany, and a set-in three-piece mahogany neck with a Thin “C” profile sporting an ebony fingerboard with twenty-four extra-jumbo frets.
It has a Floyd Rose 1000 bridge and nut, and Grover tuners. It has two pick-ups, Seymour Duncan Invader Syn TB-8 Chrome at the bridge position, and Seymour Duncan Invader Syn SH-8N Chrome at the neck position. It has a Master Volume control knob, and Master Tone control knob with Push/Pull feature, and three-way selector switch.
Pros and Highlights
- Awesome design – Not only it looks awesome, the Schecter Synyster Custom feels great and is very reliable – never goes out of tune!
- Great sound! – The Seymour Duncans on this guitar are working wonders!
- Thin “C” neck, ebony fretboard, twenty-four jumbo frets – Built for shredding!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
The Schecter Synyster is definitely a guitar worth trying. If you are a guitarist on the heavy side of music, you must try out this one. It is built with great attention to detail, plays awesome, and sounds great!
Ibanez S Series Iron Label SIX6FDFM
Specs, features, and benefits
The Ibanez Iron Label SIX6FDFM is an axe that was built for speed! Metal as it can get!
The body of the guitar is made out of mahogany and then topped with flamed-maple, while the neck is a three-piece maple/bubinga made, featuring ebony fingerboard with twenty-four jumbo frets. The hardware on the guitar is in black color and features Ibanez Gibraltar Standard II bridge, and Gotoh MG-T locking tuners on the reversed headstock.
It has two DiMarzio Fusion Edge pick-ups, Master Volume control knob, three-way selector switch, and a small coil-tap switch. The guitar is available in Blues Space Burst, and Purple Space Burst finish.
Pros and Highlights
- Capable of many genres – From blues to the heaviest forms of metal, this axe is capable of many different genres, not only metal!
- Great sound – The pick-ups on this guitar sound incredible! DiMarzio is a big name in the world of the pick-ups…
- Great neck – The neck feels very smooth, and the ebony fretboard allows you to go all the way through with amazing speed!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons, no flaws!
Bottom line
If you are looking for a great axe, that is solid in every way, you should definitely try out the Ibanez Iron Label SIX6FDFM. The guitar looks, plays, and sounds great. It is also pretty affordable compared with guitars of similar quality. Great guitar! Great value for the money!
Charvel Pro-Mod DK Satchel Signature
Specs, features, and benefits
If you are a Steel Panther fan, Charvel’s Satchel signature guitar is definitely what you should try out. The guitar sports a design based on a Jackson Dinky, the Satchel has a top-notch construction and high-quality hardware and electronic.
The body of the guitar is made out of Alder, while the bolt-on neck is made out of maple with graphite reinforcements and maple fingerboard on top with twenty-two jumbo frets. It has a Floyd Rose Double Locking Tremolo bridge, Floyd Rose locking nut, and Charvel Sealed Die-cast tuning heads.
The pick-ups on the guitar are two Fishman Fluence Classic humbuckers, set at the neck and the bridge position. It has a Master Volume control knob with Push/Pull feature, that adds versatility to the sound of the pick-ups, and of course, a three-way selector switch.
Pros and Highlights
- Great sound! – Those Fishman Fluence Classic are sounding incredible. Both clear and on high-gain!
- Playability – Low action as it can get, smooth feel, rounded at the nut position – very playable!
- Light-weight – This guitar is perfect for all night gigs!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons! – The Charvel Satchel is an amazing guitar!
Bottom line
The finish, the playability, the sound, the high-quality built… This guitar is amazing! Great for glam rockers, and basically for everybody that wants to rock the big stage arenas with style!
LTD EC-Black Metal
Specs, features, and benefits
The body of the guitar is made out of mahogany, while the neck is three-piece mahogany made with a Macassar Ebony fingerboard sporting twenty-four extra-jumbo frets.
The bridge on the guitar is a TonePros Locking Tune-o-Matic one, and it has LTD locking tuners on the headstock for keeping the strings in tune.
LTD EC-Black Metal has only one pick up, it is the Seymour Duncan Black Winter humbucker, which provides you with a tone of aggressive byte, and for controls, it has one Master Volume control knob. No bells and whistles; just plug & chug!
Pros and Highlights
- Great sound! – This axe sounds amazing!
- No bells and whistles – One pick-up, one Volume control, amazing fretboard, great tones – just plug & chug!
- Affordable – This guitar is pretty affordable having in mind the quality you will get. This axe could easily compete with three times pricier ones.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
This is a great and simple metal-machine. You can still get a lot of different tones with different picking places and techniques. Also, a lot of metal guitar players don’t even use the neck pick-up, so this is just no-nonsense guitar for some of the players. Great guitar!
Dean Razorback Cemetery Gates
Specs, features, and benefits
The Dean Razorback Cemetery Gates screams METAL! The Dean Razorback Cemetery Gates has a body and neck made out of mahogany. The neck is set into the body, and it has Pau-Ferro fingerboard with twenty-two jumbo frets.
It has a licensed Floyd Rose Special tremolo bridge, Floyd Rose R3 nut, and Grover tuning machines. The pick-ups on the guitar are Seymour Duncan Dimebucker at the bridge position and DMT Series DimeTime humbucker at the neck position. It has Volume control knobs for each pick-up, and a Master Tone control tone, and a three-way selector switch.
The finish on the guitar is truly an amazing one, featuring cool Dimebag-inspired graphics, and Cemetery Gates lyrics. This makes every Pantera fan crave for this mean metal-machine. It comes with a hardshell case included in the price too!
Pros and Highlights
- Dimebag Darrel – This guitar is made as a signature model for the legendary Dimebag Darrel with all of his preferences, so yeah, it screams attention to detail!
- Great sound – The pick-ups on the Razorback Cemetery Gates are just amazing! Try them out!
- The playability of it – is just amazing… So smooth…
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Heavy-weight – Start working out, or you’ll have problems fully enjoying the brutal tones and the smooth neck of this beast!
Bottom line
If you are a metal fan, you know what Dimebag Darrell means in the metal world. The Cemetery Gates Razorback by Dean is a killing metal-machine with amazing sound and smooth neck. Great instrument! A little bit pricey, but worth the money – that’s for sure!
What We Recommend and Why
We recommend the Fender Jim Root Stratocaster. Why? Because it is very reliable and solid guitar, that can be played in many genres and styles and will suit a lot of players. It sounds amazing, and it plays awesome. Great design, built like a tank, great for live playing, great for recording. Great instrument, and great metal guitar!