Top 10 best songs that don't have guitar solos




We all know I insufferably give metal artists shit for abandoning guitar solos.  Exceptions to the rule as J-Dawg says.  If I should have to wonder if your band does solos or not, you're doing it wrong.  But every purple moon a song comes along that is so Mr. Perfect that I give it a pass.  Below are 10 songs that I feel are acceptable in this regard.  There will be more of a bias towards the 70s and 80s because that was when the solo-less song was the exception.


10. Castle Rat- Cry For Me

They don't all have to be from the 70s, but strangely enough Castle Rat has the most 70's aesthetic out of any recent bands.  Solid Iommi like solos adorn the album, but this tense, dark ballad with it's needle sharp hook is bereft of any lead.  Concerning, but it's so strong that it works.  (but please don't make too much of a habit of it).


9. Pantera- Slaughtered

As many God-tier riffs as Dimebag has laid to tape, when you think of him maniacally abusing whammy bar and fretboard leads like a drunken step dad (usually while drunk).  The back half of Far Beyond Driven he seemed to just not be into shredding for whatever reason, and out of that bunch, this is the best.  Especially with its nightmarish breakdown, which actually seems to go up in bpm! 



8. Judas Priest- Saints In Hell

I almost wanted to but "Breaking the Law" here, but they would begin to put solos in the song around the Defenders of the Faith  tour, including a version on their second live album Priest....Live!  So that can't really count.  This Stained Class deep cut on the other hand features more of a spacy bridge riff followed by one of the earliest thrash riffs put to tape while Rob Halford shrieks in French.  Because he can.  Fuck you.



7. Frozen Crown- I Am The Wind

I give Federico a pass here because there's maybe one other song in Frozen Crown's catalog that doesn't have a solo, "Across The Sea" and.....no.  But the rest of the time, he arguably has too many solo spots (Thalia only ever had one solo between the first two albums).



6. Nightwish- Passion & The Opera

Gets a pass for beginning with the most killer gnarly riff KK nor Glenn never wrote, and a highly original and unique vocal performance from Tarja.  Also, Oceanborn.



5. Black Sabbath- The Writ

The finest John Michael Osbourne vocal performance laid to tape.  Goes through a variety of moods and emotions.  Ghost Love Score wishes it was this poignant.



4. Motorhead- On Your Feet Or On Your Knees

Unquestionably the best opener since "Ace of Spades" (on their finest album Bastards).  Punkish in nature, but Motorhead always had those types of tracks, and those tracks always had solos (if not bass solos).  Lemmy comes to terms that humans suck and let's loose in a way that's aggressive, but classy.



3. Blind Guardian- The Bard's Song (In The Forest)

This could be the most controversial entry on the list because, strictly speaking, it isn't even a metal or rock song.  It's an acoustic medieval ballad.  Not the first of which Blind Guardian would compose, but said original, "Lord of the Rings" did have a guitar solo, and drums.  This is just acoustic guitars, vocals, and however many people are at the venue (or festival) screaming along with it at the top of their voices.  There is an guitar interlude of sorts, but a solo?  No.



2. Cannibal Corpse- Hammer Smashed Face

One of two songs that could rightfully be considered the greatest death metal song of all-time (the other being "Chapel of Ghouls" which has solos out the ass, I'll let you determine which one I like more).  Cannibal is actually a band that doesn't solo more than they do, but I can make exception for them just because of how violent the rhythm work is.



1. Led Zeppelin- Kashmir

The king of kings.  Not only does this feature Pageys Godliest of god tier riffs, it manages to be just about 9 minutes, every second entertaining.  Frequently cited as Zeppelin's finest accomplishment (I go back and forth between this and "Since I've Been Loving You" myself), this song EARNS its no-solo.




Honorary mentions: Napalm Death- You Suffer, Celtic Frost- A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh, Black Sabbath- Cornucopia, Pantera- Use My Third Arm, most Second Wave black metal songs.


Am I the only one that thinks its systematic racism that guitar music chose to kill guitar solos rather than copy Tom Morello like they did Eddie Van Halen?

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