How to learn metal guitar: the beginner-to-solid path
Don't start with sweeps. Go in this order: hold the pick → quiet power chords → even muted 8ths → upstrokes you can hear → land a pentatonic phrase on the root → one real riff clean with a click. Each stage has a test. If you fail it, stay there. Moving on to the next song doesn't count as passing.
Clean and in time beats "almost the song" every time. Each stage below lists what to practice, how to know you've passed, what it looks like when you're stuck, and what to hold off on for now. That last part matters as much as the rest.
Stage 1: Holding the pick, sitting and standing
Practice: ten minutes of open-string downstrokes, with a grip that doesn't turn your thumb white. Keep your shoulder down.
You've passed when: the pick stays put, nothing hurts, and you can look away from your hands without the stroke changing size.
You're stuck if: the pick spins every bar, or your shoulder creeps up when you "try harder". Fix the grip and stroke size before chords. See alternate picking.
Hold off on: songs, gain, sweeps and tapping.
Stage 2: Power chords
Practice: root and fifth on strings 6 and 5, then on 5 and 4. Move slowly between two shapes.
You've passed when: the strings you're not playing stay silent for four bars at 70 BPM. Here's what a power chord is, with tab.
You're stuck if: the string next to your fifth rings out under gain. That's a muting problem showing up early. Stay on two-note shapes until they're quiet.
Hold off on: full barre chords. Metal can wait on those.
Stage 3: Palm muting
Practice: muted 8ths on the open low string at 70 BPM. Then add one open, unmuted hit per bar.
You've passed when: eight 8ths in a row are all the same length, and your palm goes back to exactly the same spot after the open hit. See palm muting.
You're stuck if: hits get shorter as you tense up, or the open hit leaves noise behind. Don't "fix" it with more distortion. See why chugs sound muddy.
Hold off on: fast 16th chugs and long downpicked songs. That's downpicking endurance, and it comes after this test.
Stage 4: Alternate picking, 8ths then 16ths
Practice: one string, then two neighboring strings. Your upstrokes have to be real notes.
You've passed when: you record 16ths at a modest tempo and you can hear every upstroke. If the change between two strings falls apart, use the string-crossing drill instead of cranking the metronome.
You're stuck if: downstrokes are loud and upstrokes are ghosts. That's not a speed problem.
Hold off on: sweep arpeggios. They hide this gap.
Stage 5: Pentatonic with a destination
Practice: one minor pentatonic box over a recorded E5 or A5 loop.
You've passed when: four phrases in a row end on the root because you meant them to, not because you happened to wander there. See targeting and metal scales.
You're stuck if: every run ends on the highest note of the box. Stay here. Don't start collecting modes.
Hold off on: learning every harmonic minor shape. Add one new color note later.
Stage 6: One real song section
Practice: four to eight bars of a real riff, slower than the record, with a click.
You've passed when: you get three clean passes at your practice tempo, then again at +4 BPM. Plan the session with session design.
You're stuck if: you can only play the riff at full speed and fall apart at 80%. Loop the bar that breaks. That's the work.
Hold off on: the whole album, or a solo you can't land.
How this fits into a week
Most days, work on your current stage only, plus a song fragment once you've passed stage 3. Days off are fine. Short, frequent sessions beat one long weekend grind. See massed vs distributed practice and how often to practice.