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Jul 20, 2016 · Now that you have some insight as to how we ranked the Top 50 Metal Bands of All Time, click through the gallery above to find out where your favorite acts land on our list. Top 100 Hard Rock ...
- Iron Maiden. 27,948 votes. One of the leaders of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, this quintessential band managed to create an enduring legacy through their aggressive, melodic sound, and keen storytelling abilities.
- Black Sabbath. 25,281 votes. Often hailed as the pioneers of heavy metal as a genre, this legendary band introduced darker themes and innovative techniques, such as downtuned guitars, that have become essential elements of the metal sound.
- Metallica. 30,082 votes. Initially labeled as the "biggest underground band in the world," these trailblazers rose to fame thanks to their unique blend of thrash, speed, and progressive metal.
- Judas Priest. 19,807 votes. Hailing from Birmingham, England, this iconic band brought a distinct style and attitude to the world of heavy metal. Their unmistakable sound, characterized by soaring vocals, dual lead guitars, and a penchant for catchy hooks and anthemic choruses, cemented them as one of the genre's most influential and revered acts.
- Iron Maiden
- Metallica
- Judas Priest
- Black Sabbath
- Slayer
- Megadeth
- Rammstein
- Pantera
- Anthrax
- Korn
Needing no introduction, Iron Maiden’s brand of metal is electric, with a voltage that could kill on impact. With exhilarating, breathless guitar chords, they grip listeners by the neck and shake a few times for good measure. Their music retains the power rock elements of the eighties and maintains an unarguable vitality and rhythmic audacity. The ...
Metallica can be single-handedly credited with bringing the genre into the mainstream, and to a stadium audience everywhere. I’ve seen them live, and it is riveting, riotous, deeply moving stuff. You can feel their stage presence from the nosebleed, no lie. Their music features cascading, poignant melodies, and strangely raw and intimate lyrical fl...
One of the original metal anthems “Breaking the Law” comes courtesy of yours truly, British metal kings, Judas Priest. They formed in 1969 and were at the vanguard of a dynamic, vivacious, satisfyingly hostile new moment in music. Their sartorial expressionism was heavy on spikes, leather, occultist trinkets, and glam rock elements. They were not a...
The godfathers of the genre, British greats Black Sabbath were veritable game changers when they began their long careers in the late sixties. Fearlessly dabbling with themes of paganism, countercultural excess, anti-establishment calls to arms, and hermetic insinuations, their music certainly did not go down well among respectable circles. I consi...
Thrash icons Slayer defined in many ways what it meant to be a metal band in the 20th century. They were political vocalists above all, exploring taboo and controversial themes at every turn: genocide, corruption, hypocrisy, terrorism, fascism, and torture, among others. Their modus operandi was to ruffle the feathers of the powers that be with hos...
Megadeth are one of the early pioneers of the genre and a top heavy metal band. They formed in 1983 and transformed what metal meant. Scathing, unapologetic, dirty, and carnal, their music possessed an arrogant sensuality that is damn near inimitable. Along with Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer they are considered one of the “Big Four” of thrash meta...
“Du Hast” has spawned a thousand and one cultural memes. That’s unfortunately the beginning and end of most casual listeners’ understanding of the German metal musicians Rammstein. They are veritable legends, however, and are a fundamental reason people associate gothic metal with Germany. Their sound has a dark vitality, industrial flourishes, and...
Even listeners with a cursory interest in metal know Pantera, the preeminent American groove metal band. Founded in 1981 by brothers Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell (both tragically deceased), the band cast a powerful, inspirational shadow over rhythmic and glam metal during the genre’s resurgence during the mid-nineties. They are best remembered f...
Named after a killer bacteria – how very metal of you, Anthrax. Considered one of the big four of thrash metal, they were founded in NYC in 1981. They’ve sold over ten million albums and have achieved broad commercial success. Their songs make quirky references to cheeky humor and comic books, and they lean wholeheartedly into their bizarre crossov...
California nu metal nineties cult heroes Kornare every basement dwelling slackers favorite band – and I don’t mean that in a negative way. Their music touched a nerve, hitting on themes of alienation, isolation, and apathy and they spoke to the peculiar anxieties that defined the turn of the century. Melodic, with vocals disintegrating into intrica...
- 2 min
- Christopher R. Weingarten,Tom Beaujour,Hank Shteamer,Kim Kelly,Steve Smith,Brittany Spanos,Suzy Exposito,Richard Bienstock,Kory Grow,Dan Epstein,J.D. Considine,Andy Greene,Rob Sheffield,Adrien Begrand,Ian Christe
- Avenged Sevenfold, ‘City of Evil’ (2005) Avenged Sevenfold’s third full-length was an intentional move away from their OC metalcore roots, and yet nothing about it sounded forced or calculated.
- Evanescence, ‘Fallen’ (2003) From the moment the haunting, moody and cinematic “Bring Me to Life” broke into the mainstream via the Daredevil soundtrack, Evanescence became the new face of the gothic metal movement and also one of the biggest bands in the world.
- Sunn O))), ‘Monoliths & Dimensions’ (2009) “I would never claim that Sunn O))) is a jazz band, but I think there are elements of jazz, if it’s not the tone, it’s the theories and the openness,” Sunn O)))’s Greg Anderson told The Wire.
- Gojira, ‘From Mars to Sirius’ (2005) Gojira emerged in the early 2000s – a time dominated by black-metal purists and emo-metal crossover scenesters – with a guts-meets-brains combo of rock, thrash and death metal.
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- Metallica. Metallica - Master Of Puppets (Live) Formed in the early 1980s by Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield, Metallica rose to international fame with their 1986 masterpiece Master Of Puppets.
- Slayer. Slayer - South Of Heaven (Live At The Warfield, San Francisco CA / 12/7/2001) Formed in 1981, Slayer was one of the first major thrash metal bands.
- Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden - The Trooper (Official Video) Few metal bands have been more prolific or influential than British rockers Iron Maiden. Releasing nearly an album per year throughout the 1980s, they established themselves as a premier heavy metal act.
- Black Sabbath. BLACK SABBATH - "Children of the Grave" from The End (Live Video) Often considered one of the first heavy metal bands, Black Sabbath’s 1970 self-titled debut album was a commercial success, though few critics had anything positive to say.
Mar 13, 2023 · The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time, including Black Sabbath, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden.
Mar 12, 2024 · 1. Metallica. Having the word “metal” in its name definitely foreshadows the type of music Metallica creates. As such, they were sometimes called one of the Big Four thrash metal bands. The group, founded by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, is considered one of the bands that have helped to popularize metal.
