The 38 Greatest Heavy Metal Bands (2025)

Since it was established in the early 1970s, Heavy metal has long stood out as one of the most popularized alternative cultures in contemporary music. Throughout the genre’s existence there has been a countless number of sub-genres created under the heavy metal umbrella, and today that number has only continued to grow with the innovation and experimentation from modern metal bands. Provided the overarching metal genre is so vast and everchaging, it’s always been a difficult task to pinpoint what the genre’s most iconic and greatest bands are. However, there are certainly a handful of acts that nearly all metal fans can agree upon that have shaped the genre into what it is today. Many of these band have either pioneered entire sub-genres on their own, or they’ve gone as far as to establish the sonic and musical tropes used throughout the vast majority of the metal genre.

Top Metal Bands

This list of iconic metal bands was created with the entire history of the heavy metal genre in mind, which began when Black Sabbath released their debut studio album in 1970. While it’s impossible to include all metal sub-genres in this type of list, the sub-genres that are most prominent and influential across metal today were considered with priority. As far as bands go, with the exception of a couple acts that blur the lines between rock and metal, every band on this list is unquestionably a metal band first and foremost, regardless of whether they appeal to other neighboring genres of metal music (i.e. hardcore, punk, rock). Furthermore, every act on this list has released one or more landmark albums throughout their career.

That being said, the following bands have made the most significant impact in the metal genre, and a number of these bands are among the genre’s most famous and revered bands.

38. Carcass

Along with their fellow U.K. peers Napalm Death, Carcass played a pivotal role in expanding the extreme metal genre in the early ‘90s but with a notably more melodic presence. The band intertwined groovy blues riffs with the sheer aggression of death metal and grindcore, which helped to lay the foundations for melodic death metal in the mid ‘90s.

In more recent years, Carcass has been recognized for their critically acclaimed comeback albums Surgical Steel (2013) and Torn Arteries (2021), which fully embraced the band’s sensational riffs and comically gruesome lyrics.

37. At The Gates

As the godfathers of melodic death metal, At The Gates paved the path for one of modern metal’s most prominent and influential sub-genres — melodic death metal, aka “melodeath.”

Slaughter of the Soul, the Swedish outfit’s 1995 magnum opus sparked their multi-decade career, and it has since cemented them as one of the most important extreme metal outfits in heavy music.

36. Exodus

To put it simply, without Exodus many of metal’s most popularized bands would not exist like they do today, namely thrash acts Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. Exodus were at the forefront of the Bay Area thrash metal scene in the early 80s, which embraced brutally fast riffs, crazed vocals and violent crowd behaviors like moshing and stage diving. Exodus garnered a formidable reputation through sheer sonic force which has since been continued through the band’s recent works, and most notably by guitarist Gary Holt.

While Exodus don’t share the same popularity of the many hugely successful bands they’ve influenced, many recognize Exodus as an important thrash metal band, and for being the band Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett co-founded prior to joining Metallica in 1983.

35. Behemoth

Standing as quite possibly the most successful extreme metal band that’s bears elements of Norwegian black metal, Behemoth have pushed the boundaries of sonic extremity with albums Demigod (2004) and their magnum opus The Satanist (2014).

Since then the Polish band has dominated the modern extreme metal scene, and their amalgamative take on the black and death metal sub-genres has lead to countless innovations within extreme music today.

34. Napalm Death

The British extreme metal outfit Napalm Death not only helped establish the grindcore sub-genre, but they’re one of the most influential and iconic band’s in extreme music. Their 1987 debut Scum is still hailed as one of the most important metal albums for having an unprecedented and frantically chaotic approach to metal songwriting, while embracing song structures often heard in hardcore and punk music.

Napalm Death is also credited with helping pioneer the “blast beat” — a drum groove that’s utilized throughout modern metal and extreme hardcore music.

33. Kyuss

The Palm Desert metal outfit Kyuss is best known for kickstarting the desert rock and stoner metal scenes of the early ‘90s. While the band had a rather short-lived career, during its active years Kyuss produced some of the most beloved stoner metal records of the decade with albums Wretch (1991), Blues for the Red Sun (1992) and Welcome to Sky Valley (1994). After the band split up in 1995, Kyuss guitarist Josh Homme would go on to form the world renowned rock act, Queens of the Stone Age.

32. Dream Theater

The New England progressive metal outfit Dream Theater is one of—if not the most—popularized pure progressive act in metal. Forming in the late ‘80s after meeting at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Dream Theater has since established a gargantuan cult following through their plethora of critically acclaimed records including 1992’s Images and Words and 1999’s Metropolis, Pt: 2 Scenes From a Memory, which showcase their unyieldingly intricate and epic heavy progressive songwriting.

While the band’s approach to songwriting doesn’t exactly lend itself to mainstream outlets, Dream Theater has managed to flourish in the rock and metal scenes by being one of the most eclectic and uncompromising acts around.

31. Nightwish

By amalgamating operatic vocals and symphonic elements with powerful metal instrumentals and choruses, Nightwish has managed to standout among other hugely popular contemporary metal bands. Since the late ‘90s, the Finnish band has dominated the power metal and symphonic metal sub-genres, and they’ve cultivated a huge following across the globe from their critical acclaimed albums Once (2004), Dark Passion Play (2007), Imaginaerum (2011) and Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015).

These days, there are a plethora of metal acts that incorporate symphonic and operatic elements in their music, and much of that is a direct result of Nightwish’s influence and widespread popularity.

30. King Diamond

After establishing Mercyful Fate in the early ‘80s, Danish vocalist Kim Bendix Petersen would go on to launch his next massively successful musical project, King Diamond. Since the mid ‘80s, King Diamond has become synonymous for its intricate instrumentals and most notably Petersen’s outlandishly brilliant countertenor vocal range. King Diamond is easily one of the most iconic European metal artists from the 1980s, and they’ve influenced metal acts ranging from Metallica to extreme metal outfits like Cradle of Filth.

29. Danzig

After seeing massive success fronting the Misfits and then Samhain, Glen Danzig’s musical career took a turn with the launch of his solo band, Danzig. Danzig wields a significantly different musical style than Glen Danzig’s prior bands, with more of an emphasis on Elvis-like melodic singing, groovy metal riffs and satanic imagery.

While Danzig has released a number of records throughout the last three decades, nothing quite holds a candle to the band’s first two albums, 1988’s Danzig and 1990’s Danzig II: Lucifage, two records that firmly established Danzig as one of the most respected metal acts of all time.

28. Converge

The New England outfit Converge are known as the pioneers of the metalcore genre — the widely popular metal style heard throughout modern metal that amalgamates elements of hardcore and metal. Converge started experimenting with combining hardcore and metal in the early ‘90s, but they would go on to perfect it in 2001 with their seminal LP Jane Doe. To this day Jane Doe is largely regarded as the album that kickstarted the metalcore sub-genre into becoming the face of modern metal.

While the band’s influence and contributions to heavy and extreme music are greater than their popularity, Converge has one of the most loyal cult followings in the hardcore and metal communities.

27. Cannibal Corpse

The Floridian death metal band Cannibal Corpse is by and large the face of the death metal sub-genre, and they have been ever since they broke out into scene in the early ‘90s. While their appearance in the hit ‘90s comedy film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective certainly put them under a wider global spotlight, the band’s ferocious songwriting and often comically vile lyrics have lended them to becoming one of metal’s most notorious and celebrated bands.

Despite their extreme and provocative music being less than radio friendly, Cannibal Corpse’s influence has stretched to some of metal’s most popularized bands including colossal acts like Slipknot and Gojira.

26. Anthrax

Widely known as being a part of metal’s Big Four (along with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth), the New York thrash kings played an essential role in being the lead ambassadors for the east coast’s thrash metal scene in the early ‘80s. With albums Spreading The Disease (1985) and Among The Living (1987), Anthrax quickly became one the most revered and popularized metal bands throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s. However, in 1991 Anthrax would revolutionize metal music after collaborating with hip-hop legends Public Enemy and helping reinvent their single, “Bring The Noise.”

Since then Anthrax are largely respected not only for their contributions to thrash metal, but for helping pioneer crossovers genres that would later grow into full on sub-genres like Nu metal and rap rock.

25. Meshuggah

Standing as quite possibly the heaviest band to ever exist, Meshuggah’s unmistakable hypnotic “djent” grooves are delightfully heavy just as they are omnipresent throughout modern metal. Since the mid-’90s, the Swedish outfit has been hailed as the godfathers of the djent metal sub-genre — a take on progressive metal that’s better known for it’s unrelentingly heavy and low-tuned intricate guitar riffs. With albums Destroy Erase Improve (1995), ObZen (2008) and Koloss (2012) Meshuggah has time and again proven they’re the sub-genre’s rightful champion.

More recently the band’s sound has garnered a strong cult following within metal that’s even extended to viral mainstream bands like Sleep Token, and Spiritbox.

24. Machine Head

The riff powerhouse that is Machine Head has produced some of the most hard-hitting songs in metal ever since they dropped their 1994 LP, Burn My Eyes. The band’s lead songwriter and frontman Rob Flynn has taken Machine Head to a variety of unique sonic planes throughout its career, however, the band’s legacy is largely so revered for producing the masterclass records Burn My Eyes (1994), The Blackening (2007) and Unto The Locust (2011).

While Machine Head’s influence is widespread throughout modern metal, the Oakland, California, band has cultivated a massive fanbase within Europe’s metal scene, and one that even rivals some of the genre’s biggest and most established bands.

23. Lamb of God

Among a select few bands, Richmond, Virginia’s Lamb of God are one of the most formidable metal bands to come out of the early 2000s. With albums As The Palaces Burn (2003), Ashes of the Wake (2004) and Sacrament (2006) Lamb of God has cultivated one of the most respected legacies among bands from the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal sub-genre.

The band’s unrelenting groove and thrash metal aesthetics coupled with a very unique punk attitude has garnered them praise across all aisles of heavy and extreme music. Lately Lamb of God have been performing to sold out arena’s across the globe as one of the genre’s latest and greatest arena headlining acts.

22. Mastodon

Sonically, Mastodon has always been one of modern metal’s most outlandishly brilliant acts. The Atlanta, Georgia based band has long been known for marrying progressive and blues rock elements with sludge and melodic metal tropes, which has helped the band produce some of the most celebrated progressive concept metal albums of the century with 2004’s Leviathan and 2009’s Crack the Skye.

Instrumentally and lyrically Mastodon have always been in a league of their own, and despite not conforming to scenes or sonic trends of a given decade the band has seemingly grown into a colossal force in recent years.

21. Sepultura

The Brazilian thrash metal band may just be one of heavy music’s most successful bands in the way that they’ve single handedly influenced a plethora of scenes and sub-genres, even ones outside of metal. Brothers Max and Igor Cavalera were pioneers when it came to bringing thrash metal to new and more interesting territories, particularly on albums Schizophrenia (1987), Beneath the Remains (1989) and Arise (1991) which would pave the path for the death metal sub-genre and greatly influenced the hardcore scene’s crossover thrash sound.

Furthermore, on their ‘90s albums Chaos A.D. (1993) and Roots (1996), Sepultura reinvented itself with groove metal elements that would later lead take off and establish the late ‘90s and early 2000s Nu metal scene.

20. Type O Negative

Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, Type O Negative have long been regarded as the quintessential goth metal band for their unique blend of Sabbath-like riffs with goth inspired melodies, all while having a dark satirical approach to their lyrics, courtesy of frontman Peter Steele. Throughout the ‘90s the band would establish itself as a formidable metal act with albums October Rust (1996) and World Coming Down (1999), and through their widespread acclaim, they would even go on to earn their label, Roadrunner Records, its first platinum selling album with 1994’s Bloody Kisses.

While the band ended in 2010 after the death of Peter Steele, Type O Negative is still one of the most beloved bands in all of metal and heavy music, and their sonic footprint is present throughout much of modern rock and metal.

19. Motörhead

Throughout the band’s existence Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister has been praised as one of the most iconic and influential frontmen in heavy metal music. While Lemmy famously would introduce Motörhead as a “rock n’ roll” band, the act’s exhilarating fast riffs and dangerously loud live shows were nothing like typical rock, but instead were precursors to early speed metal — Metallica, Slayer, Sepultura and a plethora of acts from the ‘80s cite Motörhead as a direct influence to their sound.

Albums Overkill (1979) and Ace of Spades (1980) are still widely revered for producing the gritty and groundbreaking heavy metal hits like “Ace of Spades,” “(We Are) The Road Crew” and “Overkill” — the very first song to feature metal’s most common rhythm trope, double bass. Sadly, Lemmy passed away in 2015, but his legacy lives on through the countless rock and metal acts that Motörhead continue to influence.

18. Death

Throughout their career, Death proved that there’s more to extreme music than just provocative, gruesome lyrics and blistering fast instrumentals. Lead songwriter Chuck Schuldiner was simply a master of metal songwriting both from an instrumental and lyrical standpoint. Between the band’s earlier records Spiritual Healing (1990) and Human (1991), to their final albums Symbolic (1995) and The Sound of Perseverance (1998), the vast majority of Death’s discography is timeless and exudes a prowess of extreme metal songwriting unlike any other band.

Tragically Schuldiner passed away in 2001 after losing his battle with cancer, which resulted in the end of Death, however the band’s legacy continues to thrive in extreme music today given how influential their music remains.

17. Dio

Whenever the discussion of iconic metal vocalists is brought up, Ronnie James Dio is usually at the start and end of these types of conversions. While he was already established in the rock scene after performing alongside Richie Blackmoore in Rainbow, Dio would earn his stripes and renown status as a metal vocalist after joining Black Sabbath in 1980 and then later launching his solo career in 1983.

With albums Holy Diver (1983) and The Last In Line (1984), Dio would go on to cement himself as one of the most talented metal vocalists and lyricist in the genre. Despite passing away in 2010 after losing his battle with cancer, to this day Dio is still regarded as one of if not the greatest metal vocalist of all time.

16. Megadeth

After parting ways with Metallica in the early ‘80s, guitarist Dave Mustaine would go on to form one of metal’s most significant thrash bands with Megadeth. Throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s, Megadeth elevated the already technically demanding sub-genre to even more intricate and thought provoking new territories with albums Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? (1986), Rust In Peace (1990) and Countdown To Extinction (1992).

As a part of thrash metal’s Big Four, Megadeth are often hailed as one of the most influential metal acts to come out of the 1980s, and today the band’s work is routinely celebrated amongst longtime fans and newer generations that are just discovering the thrash icons.

15. Gojira

The French extreme metal outfit Gojira is without a doubt one of the most respected and influential modern metal bands. With albums From Mars to Sirius (2005) and The way of all flesh (2008) alone, Gojira has garnered some of the most praise of any metal band from the 2000s. Not to mention Gojira’s more recent albums Magma (2016) and Fortitude (2021), which have established them as a household name and even earned them multiple Grammy nominations.

More recently however, Gojira made history by becoming the first ever metal band to perform at the Olympics during the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony, further cementing them as one of the genre’s most renowned bands.

14. Korn

After spearheading the Nu metal movement in the mid ‘90s and early 2000s, Korn changed metal music forever. With Albums Korn (1994), Life is Peachy (1996) and Follow The Leader (1998) the Bakersfield, California outfit amalgamated the heavy low-tuned guitars of groove metal with their own alternative melancholic melodies, which often revolved around disturbing lyrical themes and imagery.

Since then, Korn has gone on to produce one of the most widely recognized sounds in metal music, and today the band has only gotten bigger with the resurgence of Nu metal and other like-minded bands.

13. Rammstein

The pyromanic industrial metal that the German outfit Rammstein has forged has brought them worldwide attention and established them as one of most significant touring acts around. While Rammstein’s satirically coated industrial metal may not be the most thought-provoking or genre-bending music, after witnessing the band’s spectacular live show, it puts into perspective just how important Rammstein is to the metal genre.

Hits like“Du Hast” (1997), “Deutschland” (2019) and “Sonne” (2001) go from being enjoyable industrial tunes to becoming some of the greatest anthems to ever grace the genre. And provided that the band predominately writes their music in German, Rammstein continue to prove that masterfully crafted music resonates with listeners regardless of any language barriers.

12. Deftones

Coming out of the Nu metal scene of the late ‘90s, Deftones quickly established themselves for the unique alternative and uncanny melodic elements that they brought to heavy songwriting. While the Sacramento, California band has long stood as one of heavy music’s most revered and celebrated acts, their timeless albums Around The Fur (1997) and White Pony (2000) are routinely being discovered by younger generations and helping further propel Deftones into new and unprecedented levels of popularity.

11. System of a Down

The quirky, often social politically charged metal of System of a Down has long stood as a testament for metal music being a genre with no boundaries, and over 25 years later SOAD is still one of the most forward-thinking and wholly unique bands around. While the group formed in Los Angeles, the members of SOAD are of Armenian heritage, which they make a point to highlight sonically and lyrically throughout their music, with the topic of the Armenian genocide among other social issues being an important theme in a number of the band’s hit songs.

Today albums Toxicity (2001), Steal This Album! (2002), Mezmerize (2005) and Hypnotize (2005) stand as some of the most forward-thinking albums in metal, and despite System of a Down not actively recording new music or touring in today’s scene, the band is held in such high regard for their artistic achievements in the early 2000s, all of which still resonate across the genre and with their global fanbase today.

10. Avenged Sevenfold

Hailing from Huntington Beach, California, Avenged Sevenfold are easily one of metal’s most popularized and critically acclaimed modern bands. The five-piece have garnered a formidable reputation for their outlandish combination of punk, progressive rock and groove metal elements, all of which are present throughout the bands discography, and most celebrated records such as Waking The Fallen (2003), City of Evil (2005) and Avenged Sevenfold (2007).

Furthermore, in recent years Avenged Sevenfold have shown they’re not only here to just cater to their already massive fanbase, but instead they wish to challenge the average rock and metal listener with music that pushes boundaries and doesn’t regurgitate the same expected tropes. The band showcased this on their latest studio LP Life Is But A Dream…(2023), further proving why Avenged Sevenfold is and will continue to be held in such high regard in the metal community.

9. TOOL

When it comes to writing hard-hitting and emotive progressive music, TOOL are in a league of their own. Forming in Los Angeles in the late ‘80s, TOOL saw success early on in their career after the release of their grungy debut LP Undertow in 1990, and since then nearly every one of the band’s studio albums have gone on to become sensational multiplatinum hits.

Compared to most contemporary pop, TOOL’s music might present itself like it’s some kind of challenging math equation, and despite not having any mainstream appeal, TOOL’s thought provoking and unparalleled progressive metal is continually cherished by millions of passionate fans across the globe.

8. Slayer

Without Slayer, a vast majority of metal and heavy music’s most popularized bands would never exist. That is to say, Slayer’s impact is one that still resonates across all spectrums of extreme music to this day. Unlike the other bands in metal’s Big Four, who respectably chose to evolve over the course of their legacy, Slayer stood firm in their quest to deliver all-out brutal thrash metal throughout their career, and in doing so they’ve managed cultivate one of the most diehard fanbases in contemporary music.

Albums Reign In Blood (1986), South Of Heaven (1988) and Seasons In The Abyss (1990) are all quintessential thrash albums, but more importantly they’ve helped to establish Slayer as the godfathers of thrash metal and extreme music altogether.

7. Slipknot

There’s not been a band that’s graced the heavy music scene this century that has brought with it the same level of hype and excitement that Slipknot had in the late ‘90s. Since 1999, the nine-piece Iowan metal outfit has gone on to become a global sensation from their exhilarating live theatrics, unrelentingly heavy songwriting and brilliant musicianship.

Having produced seven studio albums with records Slipknot (1999), Iowa (2001) and Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) (2004) being three of the most acclaimed metal albums of the last 30 years, Slipknot’s status in contemporary metal is second to none and the band’s influence continues to be one of the most far reaching in the entire genre.

6. Ozzy Osbourne

If there’s one musician who’s long been synonymous with the metal genre, it’s the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne. After an incredibly successful career fronting the pioneering British metal outfit Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne saw new levels of success after launching his own solo career in 1980. With prodigal guitarist Randy Rhoads by his side, Ozzy Osbourne’s early albums Blizzard Of Oz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1981) saw immediate critical success, and today hits like “Crazy Train,” “Over The Mountain” and “Flying High Again” are still some of most celebrated and popularized metal anthems.

After Randy Rhodes’ tragic death in 1982, Osbourne’s solo career would forever change. However, later guitarists Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde would take the singer’s career to new heights and wholly unique sonic territories.

5. Judas Preist

Without question, Judas Priest is the most uncompromisingly pure adrenalized metal act to come out of the mid-‘70s New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Throughout the late ‘70s and up until the early ‘90s, the U.K. act dominated the metal scene with their riveting guitars solos, two ton riffs and audaciously talented vocalist Rob Halford.

With albums British Steel (1980), Screaming For Vengeance (1982), Defenders of the Faith (1984) and Painkiller (1990), Judas Priest have one of the most well rounded and respected legacies in heavy metal, and nearly 50 years later Judas Priest is still putting out some of the most catchy and hard-hitting metal in the genre with albums Firepower (2018) and recently Invincible Shield (2024).

4. Pantera

Outside of Metallica and Slayer, it’s hard to put a finger on any other metal act from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s that have had as significant of an impact on the genre as Pantera has. Nearly every popularized band to come out of the metal and heavy music genres since the mid-’90s has in some way been influenced by the infectious riffs and powerful grooves of the Texas metal outfit. The Abbott brothers, Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, along with vocalist Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown, crafted one of the most influential and uncompromising sounds in metal. With albums Cowboys From Hell (1990), Vulgar Display of Power (1992), Far Beyond Driven (1994) and The Great Southern Trendkill (1996) Pantera has produced one of most celebrated and beloved legacies in the genre.

While guitarist Dimebag Darrell was tragically murdered on stage in 2004 and drummer Vinnie Paul passed away in 2018, Pantera has since reunited between members Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown, who are actively touring with the band and celebrating the legacy of Abbott brothers and Pantera.

3. Iron Maiden

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal in the early 1980s brought with it some of the most influential and significant bands in heavy metal, and Iron Maiden is no exception. Besides one or two other acts, to date there’s still no other metal band that wields the same global popularity as Iron Maiden. The U.K. outfit has long dominated the metal genre with its signature galloping riffs, dueling guitars solos and anthemic choruses, all of which are now tropes found in metal music as a result of Iron Maiden’s massive influence.

While the band only just released it’s 17th studio album in 2021, Iron Maiden’s discography throughout the 1980s is unmatched with albums The Number of the Beast (1982), Piece of Mind (1983), Powerslave (1984) and Somewhere in Time (1986) being landmark records in heavy metal.

2. Black Sabbath

Quite simply, metal music would not exist if it wasn’t for the Birmingham legends, Black Sabbath. After taking blues and early rock music to darker and more aggressive sonic territory, Black Sabbath invented heavy metal music with their pioneering and master-crafted albums throughout the 1970s. Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), Masters of Reality (1971), Vol. 4 (1972), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) and Sabotage (1975), the band’s first six albums, are some of most influential records in all of metal and they’ve single handedly paved the path for every band and sub-genre under the metal umbrella.

Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward will forever be held in such high regard not only because their musical works are some of the finest of any metal band, but without Black Sabbath none of the bands on this list would exist.

1. Metallica

If there’s one band that’s had both an astronomically massive impact on metal and heavy music, and is also the single biggest band in the heavy metal genre, it’s Metallica. Getting their start in 1981 in Los Angels before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area thrash scene, Metallica’s career throughout the 1980s is extremely highly regarded for their masterfully crafted and genre-bending thrash records, namely Ride the Lightning (1984), Master of Puppets and …And Justice for All (1988), all of which are still some of the most critically acclaimed and celebrated albums in heavy metal.

However, following the ‘80s, Metallica’s career took off to unprecedented new heights with the release of 1991’s Metallica, otherwise known as the “The Black Album.” Not only did this album propel Metallica into becoming the biggest metal band on the face of the earth, but it reinforced the argument that Metallica were unequivocally the greatest metal band of all time. To date, no other metal band has achieved the same popularity and widespread critical acclaim as Metallica. While the band’s musical output following the Black Album doesn’t come close to the sonic masterpieces they wrote in their first 10 years as a band, Metallica’s achievements are so far and above any other metal act that it would be seen as controversial to not consider them as a part of heavy metal’s Mount Rushmore. As long as metal music continues to exists, Metallica have and always will be one of the greatest metal bands of all time.

Bottom Line

While it will always be difficult to answer who are among the greatest heavy metal bands of all time, the question should always look to what bands have had the most significant and widespread impact on the genre. With that in mind, these bands have garnered some of the highest critical praise and popularity within metal, and furthermore many of these acts have played a pivotal in shaping the genre into what it is today.