33 Best Drop-A Songs

“Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up” by Them Crooked Vultures

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Josh Homme is known for his grimy stoner-rock riffs and that gift extends to Them Crooked Vultures. Paired with Dave Grohl’s penchant for off-time swing while playing the genre, the 2 are a heavenly match. 

This is especially evident in the song, Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up. There’s some odd timing here but it’s relatively straightforward riff-rock all the way through. 

One thing to note here is that this song doesn’t use the traditional Drop-A tuning configuration. Rather, only the guitar’s lowest string is tuned to A, with the rest in E Standard. 

There’s a fair chance that you might have some difficulties keeping your guitar in tune while playing this song. Strings of a higher gauge will likely help remedy this outside of getting a professional setup.

“Crack The Skye” by Mastodon

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Mastodon became one of the greatest metal bands of our time with their 2006 release, Blood Mountain. The album was acclaimed among a wide swath of music critics and fans alike.

Topping their efforts on Blood Mountain was no small feat, but 2009’s Crack The Skye comes close. At the very least, the album sees the band continuing to deliver on their established formulas that proved so successful. 

The album’s title track, Crack The Skye, is very much a blend of prog-metal, stoner-rock, and some psychedelia. In other words, this song will give you plenty of fun, little progressions to learn and play through.

“Another Life” by Motionless In White

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Scranton, Pennsylvania isn’t only home to The Office’s fictional business, Dunder Mifflin. The popular metalcore group, Motionless In White also hails from the home of paper sales. 

Their track, Another Life, leans more on the side of radio-friendliness with its accessible metalcore sound. The beginning of the track almost seems to take inspiration from something Linkin Park might do. 

This is by no means a metalcore track that will crush your bones in brutality. It’s actually quite melodic and almost borders on sounding like some emo music. 

“Resentment” by A Day To Remember

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Some people hold resentment toward A Day To Remember for making hardcore music full of pop elements. The band pioneered this unlikely combination, which found other bands adopting the sound for themselves. 

And, while the industry might have an issue with sound homogeny, A Day To Remember isn’t necessarily to blame. Rather, the group probably should be praised for blazing a trail that was, at one time, unique. 

The song, Resentment, will give you a good taste of how A Day To Remember blends metalcore and pop. There is a prominent synthesizer that plays an important role, which almost makes the song too radio-friendly. 

“Bones” by Make Them Suffer

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Are you a fan of groove metal tracks that incorporate infectious rhythms in the foundation of their composition? Make Them Suffer’s Bones will have you reminiscing Pantera’s Cowboys From Hell for a few minutes.

The main riff is ridiculously catchy, but it’s going to take some time to execute it cleanly and properly. Overall, this song is all over the place, going from that Panera-inspired sound to a radio-friendly choir sing-along outro. 

“No Pity For A Coward” by Suicide Silence

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You can’t have even a modicum of cowardice in you if you attempt to learn No Pity For A Coward. This Suicide Silence track is classic deathcore at its finest, coming from the band’s debut album. 

Much of the song will have you chugging along on some intense rhythmic patterns. Toward the end, you better make sure that your melodic sweep technique is down pat. 

If you were in a band around 2006, this song will take you back to those glory days. This is the kind of music that was to be found in every small town across America. 

“Jekyll And Hyde” by Five Finger Death Punch

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If you’re like me, you probably think Five Finger Death Punch is fairly lame. They are the epitome of radio-friendly rock fused with modern metal music elements.

With that being said, you have to admit that their track, Jekyll And Hyde, has a unique backstory. The entire track uses an actual voicemail message as the lyrical basis of the song. 

For a band that writes music for widespread accessibility, this is a move that serious art rockers would employ. Maybe Five Finger Death Punch isn’t as lame as we think they are.

“Lithium” by Evanescence

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Evanescence changed the radio-friendly alternative rock scene in the early 2000s. They emerged with a winning music formula no doubt aided by Amy Lee’s powerful voice.

Their song, Lithium, is not a Nirvana cover like you would initially think. Instead, this is a power ballad from the band’s groundbreaking 2nd album. 

In this song, you’ll primarily be playing a supporting role with some simple (but effective) power chords. You can emulate the piano’s arpeggiation if you want to dial up the difficulty a few notches. 

“Leaders” by Katatonia

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If you listen to Swedish prog metal, there’s a fair chance that you’re familiar with the name Katatonia. This band has been a relatively steady enigma in the metal world since the early 2000s. 

Their song, Leaders, takes a musical approach that almost sounds very similar to Tool’s work on Lateralus. The riffs are somewhat easy but rely on a repeating hammer-on/pull-off that could be difficult for some. 

“Death Becomes You” by Sunn O)))

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Sunn O))) is probably the most unique band to be featured in this entire article. Many of the groups featured here fall into similar categories and use the same musical tropes and foundations. 

This group chooses to unleash their sonic assault by means of heavy droning and experimentation. In fact, seeing this band live is perhaps the best way to experience their massive sound.

If you have a massive stack of amplifiers with some heavy distortion, consider learning Death Becomes You. The song uses simple 1-finger power chords though the entirety of the song. 

“The Incident” by Porcupine Tree

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Porcupine Tree might be one of the most underrated prog metal bands of all time. The band has had an illustrious career full of acclaimed hits but is nowhere near being a mainstream radio act.

Of course, that’s likely by design, as anyone who is familiar with the genre likely knows the band’s name. They exist in that sweet spot where they are extremely famous but known at the same time. 

For some time, the last album fans were left with was The Incident. The album’s title track is an excellent prog metal song to learn if you’re an absolute beginner. 

This song almost has industrial electronic elements similar to that of Nine Inch Nails.