10 of the Hardest Metal Songs to Sing
The hardest metal songs to sing are quite varied because there is a lot of diversity in the genre. From Bruce Dickinson to the likes of Tarja Turunen and Devin Townsend, the genre has a lot of different types of singers. And that can lead to a lot of difficult songs to sing.
There are a lot of amazing metal tracks out there that are also very difficult to sing, and this is a testament to all of those vocalists’ abilities. In that regard, here are ten of the hardest metal songs to sing, ranked in no particular order.
1. Nightwish – Stargazers
Finnish singer Tarja Turunen has built a very successful career, first with Nightwish and later as a solo artist, due to her amazing operatic vocals. The combination of her singing style with a metal sound has something that helped with Nightwish’s early success and cemented her as one of the most popular singers of the genre.
However, that doesn’t mean that Tarja didn’t face problems as a vocalist. Nightwish’s second album, 1998’s “Oceaborn,” was a watershed moment for the band in terms of success, but it also featured the song “Stargazers,” which Tarja has mentioned is extremely difficult to sing.
The band’s official biography, 2006’s “Once Upon A Nightwish,” written by Mape Ollila, has statements from all the members of the group, and Tarja confirms that she had a hard time recording this song. Her reasoning was the use of extremely high notes across the track, particularly during the chorus, making it one of the hardest metal songs to sing.
2. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
It is one of the most famous songs of all time and also a cultural behemoth. Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” is probably the reason most people know this band, as it has reached a whole new level in the zeitgeist. It is also an extremely difficult song to sing.
The reasons for this song being so hard to sing are down to the singing style and the arrangements. Freddie Mercury, as most people know by now, is a legendary vocalist with a wide range and is at full display in this song, covering different styles of music as well.
However, the biggest reason “Bohemian Rhapsody” is so difficult to sing is the arrangements. The operatic portion of the song has multiple voice tracks that make it nearly impossible to perform live without a choir to back the singer. This was shown in multiple Queen concerts where they had to rely on the studio voices to deliver that portion of the song.
3. Judas Priest – Painkiller
“Painkiller”’s reputation as one of the hardest metal songs to sing is well-known at this point. Judas Priest made a massive comeback in 1990 with the release of the album of the same name, and the title track served as a great opener for what was to come.
Vocalist Rob Halford built a legacy as one of the greatest metal singers because of his amazing range, and here is at full display. Halford reaches several high notes during the song that are very hard to perform live, with even the singer not being able to do it at his prime.
The number of high notes and screeching vocals makes “Painkiller” one of the hardest metal songs to sing and one of the most memorable.
4. Deep Purple – Child in Time
Vocalist Ian Gillan is known for his high notes and ability to scream, with “Child in Time” being arguably the song he is most known for. And it makes sense, considering that it shows the singer’s entire repertoire.
Part of what makes Deep Purple’s “Child in Time” one of the hardest metal songs to sing is the range that Gillan had to display. The calmer portions of the track require a softer, very precise approach, while the high-note screaming parts are the most challenging.
The song has become a Deep Purple classic and is no small measure thanks to Gillan’s vocal performance.
5. Pantera – Cemetery Gates
Phil Anselmo, the legendary Pantera vocalist, has built a legacy for his harsher vocals, but his early days with the band were different. Anselmo had a much cleaner vocal style, reminiscent of Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, and his performance in “Cemetery Gates” proves that.
The vocalist has also gone on record during his appearance in That Metal Show several years ago, saying that this is one of the most difficult songs he ever sang. He also mentioned that it wasn’t the high notes at the end of the song but rather the final part of the chorus.
Be that as it may, it is one of the hardest metal songs to sing because of the range, the different singing styles, and making it flow with ease. It’s part of the reason why Anselmo has gotten so much praise for his performance here. He has even gone on record saying he cannot sing this song anymore.
6. Queensryche – Take Hold of the Flame
An interesting thing about this song is how it has obtained a second life in recent years. Queensryche performed in Japan in 1984, and a live version of “Take Hold of the Flame” went viral because of several YouTubers reacting to this performance. It’s fitting, considering the quality of the song and vocalist Geoff Tate‘s performance.
Tate has become famous in the metal world because of his range and operatic vocals, and that is at full display here. The song begins with softer vocals, and then the singer explodes with some of the best and most difficult high notes of his career. This is particularly notorious in a live setting because his voice pierces through the heavy riffs of the band.
7. King Diamond – Abigail
The truth is that most King Diamond songs could fit on this list. He has built a career of combining harsher vocals with falsetto, resulting in a very unique style. And that is particularly clear in what is considered his best album, 1987’s “Abigail.”
Any song from this album could have made it on this list, but the reason the title track is here is because of the vocal delivery. King Diamond manages to switch from a lower range to falsetto in an instant, which is something that is extremely difficult and has even managed to do it in a live setting.
8. Rainbow – Stargarzer
It seems that having “Stargazer” in the song’s title makes it difficult to sing. Be that as it may, vocalist Ronnie James Dio, along with guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and the rest of Rainbow, crafted one of the hardest metal songs to sing and also built a legacy as one of the finest out there.
What makes the song so challenging is how Dio is constantly singing high across the track, which is a trademark element of his. However, this song maintains this approach throughout its duration, making it extremely difficult for a lot of people to sing when covering it. It’s no wonder that is regarded as one of Ronnie‘s finest performances in his entire career.
9. Blind Guardian – And Then There Were None
This Blind Guardian album not only has the same title as the Queen record, but this song, “And Then There Were None,” also holds a very strong similarity to “Bohemian Rhapsody.” That is mainly down to the arrangements and the band’s constant evolution.
Each Blind Guardian record since the early 90s pushed them more and more to an epic sound, and this album is the culmination of that approach. This also included a lot of overproduction, with “And Then There Were None” having a lot of voiceovers, dubs, multiple layers of sound, and whatnot. It is one of the most ambitious songs in the band’s entire catalog and very difficult to perform live.
10. Iron Maiden – Aces High
A song so difficult to sing that Bruce Dickinson has never fully managed to replicate his studio performance. This is shown in multiple Iron Maiden concerts where he has to lower his range a bit because he can’t reach those sharp notes. It is also worth pointing out that the 1984 “Powerslave” album was the era where Dickinson sang his highest notes with the band and “Aces High” is a good example of that.
The track itself has the classic Iron Maiden approach of Steve Harris’s galloping bass and the fast pace, but it’s Dickinson‘s vocal delivery that sells the song. He sings at a higher range than usual, which is something that is extremely difficult to deliver and that reaches a peak with the scream at the end of the track. It’s a classic of the band and the metal genre as a whole, and the vocal performance has a lot to do with that.
