Music
Greatest Metal Bands
25 of the most influential metal bands ever — from the genre's founders Black Sabbath and Judas Priest to modern titans like Rammstein and System of a Down.
metalbandsmusicrockheavy metal
25 of 25 rows
Band↕ | Country↕ | Formed↕ | Subgenre↕ | Signature Song↕ | Frontman↕ | Studio Albums↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Sabbath | UK | 1,968 | Heavy Metal (founders) | Iron Man | Ozzy Osbourne | 19 |
| Metallica | USA | 1,981 | Thrash Metal | Master of Puppets | James Hetfield | 11 |
| Iron Maiden | UK | 1,975 | Heavy Metal / NWOBHM | The Trooper | Bruce Dickinson | 17 |
| Slayer | USA | 1,981 | Thrash Metal | Raining Blood | Tom Araya | 12 |
| Megadeth | USA | 1,983 | Thrash Metal | Peace Sells | Dave Mustaine | 16 |
| Pantera | USA | 1,981 | Groove Metal | Walk | Phil Anselmo | 9 |
| Tool | USA | 1,990 | Progressive Metal / Art Metal | Schism | Maynard James Keenan | 5 |
| System of a Down | USA/Armenia | 1,994 | Alternative Metal / Nu-Metal | Chop Suey! | Serj Tankian | 5 |
| Rammstein | Germany | 1,994 | Industrial Metal / Neue Deutsche Harte | Du Hast | Till Lindemann | 7 |
| Judas Priest | UK | 1,969 | Heavy Metal | Painkiller | Rob Halford | 18 |
| Motorhead | UK | 1,975 | Heavy Metal / Punk | Ace of Spades | Lemmy Kilmister | 22 |
| Dream Theater | USA | 1,985 | Progressive Metal | Pull Me Under | James LaBrie | 15 |
| Avenged Sevenfold | USA | 1,999 | Heavy Metal / Hard Rock | Bat Country | M. Shadows | 8 |
| Slipknot | USA | 1,995 | Nu-Metal / Alternative Metal | Psychosocial | Corey Taylor | 7 |
| Korn | USA | 1,993 | Nu-Metal / Alt Metal | Freak on a Leash | Jonathan Davis | 14 |
| Disturbed | USA | 1,994 | Nu-Metal / Heavy Metal | Down with the Sickness | David Draiman | 8 |
| Mastodon | USA | 2,000 | Progressive Sludge Metal | Blood and Thunder | Multiple vocalists | 9 |
| Lamb of God | USA | 1,994 | Groove Metal / Metalcore | Redneck | Randy Blythe | 9 |
| Sepultura | Brazil | 1,984 | Thrash/Death Metal | Roots Bloody Roots | Max Cavalera (former) | 16 |
| Nightwish | Finland | 1,996 | Symphonic Metal / Power Metal | Nemo | Floor Jansen | 9 |
| Within Temptation | Netherlands | 1,996 | Gothic / Symphonic Metal | Ice Queen | Sharon den Adel | 8 |
| Anthrax | USA | 1,981 | Thrash Metal | I Am the Law | Joey Belladonna | 11 |
| Five Finger Death Punch | USA | 2,005 | Groove Metal / Heavy Metal | Wrong Side of Heaven | Ivan Moody | 9 |
| Trivium | USA | 1,999 | Metalcore / Heavy Metal | In Waves | Matt Heafy | 10 |
| Bring Me the Horizon | UK | 2,004 | Metalcore / Alternative Metal / Pop Rock | Can You Feel My Heart | Oli Sykes | 7 |
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