The 25 Best Heavy Metal Bands

[Hogan11]

Here's one of two for you Metal guys on here. That idiot Rob O'Connor is at it again.....Man, I have no use for this guy at all.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/lis...vy-metal-bands

FWIW, I stopped reading it after I saw the inclusion of Uriah Heep....unquestionably one of the very worst bands of any genre to ever be successful. Talk about a joke

[Northman]

Yep, this is ridiculous. The only bands that even belong on here are Pantera, Metallica (early era), Judas Priest, Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Dio, And Meshuggah. And even with that only a select few of those would make my top 25.

[Rohirrim]

Why would Hendrix be on that list? And why would he be below AC/DC and Black Sabbath? This guy is a moron.

[Los Broncos]

What do they pay that guy for?

[FADERPROOF]

Not considered metal on his list: Thin Lizzy, Rush, Spinal Tap(I mean seriously), Deep Purple, Aerosmith, and Jimi Hendrix. I'll give him Led Zeppelin because they fit into about any genre possible, but those mentioned above I would put into rock/hard rock category.

so on a list of 25, at least 6 arent even considered to be metal.

and for the record, AC/DC and Kiss are horrible, just an opinion though.

[Los Broncos]

Originally Posted by FADERPROOF

Not considered metal on his list: Thin Lizzy, Rush, Spinal Tap(I mean seriously), Deep Purple, Aerosmith, and Jimi Hendrix. I'll give him Led Zeppelin because they fit into about any genre possible, but those mentioned above I would put into rock/hard rock category.

so on a list of 25, at least 6 arent even considered to be metal.

and for the record, AC/DC and Kiss are horrible, just an opinion though.

Was never a big fan of AC/DC or Kiss either.

[Hogan11]

I loved AC/DC when I was younger...still like them (well, up till Back In Black anyways, don't have much use for Johnson as a vocalist). They always bristled at it in early interviews but I think the notion that they had much more in common with punk's 76 - 80 era (sound and attitude wise) than they had with the hard rock/metal at the time is entirely valid.

[BroncoBuff]

The Top 15 worked for me ... though Deep Purple (and maybe Led Zep) don't really qualify as a "metal" band, and Spinal Tap is a comedy band of course.

Nice to see Robin Trower listed, definitely heavy metal, definitely awesome.



Sabbath, Zeppelin and AC/DC is about right for 1-2-3.

[BroncoBuff]

Originally Posted by FADERPROOF

Not considered metal on his list: Thin Lizzy, Rush, Spinal Tap(I mean seriously), Deep Purple, Aerosmith, and Jimi Hendrix. I'll give him Led Zeppelin because they fit into about any genre possible, but those mentioned above I would put into rock/hard rock category.

Agree mostly, though Rush DOES qualify I think. And Led Zep prolly did enough metal to qualify for this list - at least the portion of their catalog that is metal deserves rakning. E.g., "Four Sticks" was one of the first true thrasher/headbanger tunes I know of that were not Sabbath.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by BroncoBuff

Nice to see Robin Trower listed, definitely heavy metal, definitely awesome.

Please tell me you're just kidding?

Robin Trower is a blues rock guitarist.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by BroncoBuff

Sabbath, Zeppelin and AC/DC is about right for 1-2-3.

Sabbath is definitely in the running for "prototypical metal band."

Zeppelin, on the other hand, is not a metal band. If you were to suggest such a thing to Pagey he would get very upset with you.

The metal bands (those metal bands who were influenced by LZ, that is) took one facet of Zeppelin's music and turned it into a sub-genre.

[alkemical]

Originally Posted by Anubis

Yep, this is ridiculous. The only bands that even belong on here are Pantera, Metallica (early era), Judas Priest, Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Dio, And Meshuggah. And even with that only a select few of those would make my top 25.

No love for sabbath?

[Northman]

Originally Posted by amesj523

No love for sabbath?

I dont mind Sabbath but ive never really considered them metal. They are borderline if anything.

[BroncoBuff]

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

Please tell me you're just kidding?

Robin Trower is a blues rock guitarist.

True. But you can't deny he's metal too. As I mentioned earlier, half these artists are only part-time metal (Aerosmith, Purple, Zep, Hendrix, VH, Tap, G&R, Kiss, Thin Lizzy). Trower actually qualifies as more metal than these bands do ... blues-metal sure, but imo the emphasis on metal. Put it this way: If you advertised a Trower concert anonymously, and said "Blues guitar trio," those who attended would be disappointed - might even ask for their money back. But if you advertised it anonymously as "Metal guitar trio," those who attended would be well satisfied.

'Robin Trower Live' is in my Top 5 rock guitar albums of all-time ... and the Chrysalis vinyl it was pressed on was the best I ever owned, too. Don't let anybody tell you they didn't press higher quality vinyl in Europe

Originally Posted by LABF

Zeppelin, on the other hand, is not a metal band. If you were to suggest such a thing to Pagey he would get very upset with you.

The metal bands (those metal bands who were influenced by LZ, that is) took one facet of Zeppelin's music and turned it into a sub-genre.

I know, I know ... light and shade, drop the bomb. Like I said, at least half the bands on that list are not PURELY heavy metal, but are probably ranked based upon the metal portions of their catalog. 'Four Sticks' is a thrashing headbanger before there even was such a thing ... as opposed to the more plodding metal Sabbath had done for the year or two before Led Zep IV.


Actually, from an historic perspective, HEAVY METAL itself can be pretty accurately traced to an industrial saw accident in the late 60's that lopped off two of Tony Iommi's fingertips. He never would have tuned down a step-and-a-half, and that 'Iron Man' heavy sound might never have been born. Sabbath is unquestionably #1 on any metal list.

In fact ... without that milli-second of negligence with that saw, where would heavy metal be? Would it even be? It's the Butterfly Effect ... that milli-second mistake on that saw IS the Butterfly Effect.

[alkemical]

Originally Posted by Anubis

I dont mind Sabbath but ive never really considered them metal. They are borderline if anything.

For the era though? I mean, dude - they made it all about the RIFF.... lol

[Northman]

Originally Posted by amesj523

For the era though? I mean, dude - they made it all about the RIFF.... lol

Depends. Even at best i would of considered them Doom Rock or Doom Metal but they lean more to the Rock side. I consider Ozzy's solo work and Dio era Sabbath to be more "metal" oriented. The irony of all of this is that around the same time that Sabbath existed so did Judas Priest.

Thats what i find kind of funny about how some people would classify heavy metal. Rock was influenced by blues music and likewise metal was influenced by rock and punk music. But im not about to say that BB King is the same as Led Zeppelin or that the Sex Pistols are a metal band. Im just not. So just because certain rock bands influenced a whole other culture doesnt mean that they themselves are a part of that culture. This guy in his article doesnt really give a real criteria for how he ranks his list. His biggest arguement is that no band of today sounds better than the bands that influenced metal to begin with.

I seriously doubt that this guy really took any time to research or study any other bands in the metal genre. I could almost understand it if he had stayed at his angle of "inspirational" bands such as Sabbath, Zeppelin, and Rush. But then he brings in Meshuggah, Pantera, and Slayer and 2 out of those 3 were not innovators in the metal genre at all. Its like he just picked names out of a hat and went with it. Furthermore, just because a band influenced another does not qualify that band to be the top 25 of anything. Despite Sabbath's influence on the genre and even if one would consider them a metal band they are not the top of the class when it comes to a heavy metal band. They get voted in on lists all the time because of their influence and legacy, not actual body of work.

[BroncoBuff]

I dunno, Anubis ... Black Sabbath pretty much invented the metal sound I think. And satan-inspired dark side metal themes. And they never had strings or acoustic guitars or any of that either. Maybe you're too young...

[BroncoBuff]

Originally Posted by Anubis

The irony of all of this is that around the same time that Sabbath existed so did Judas Priest.

Priest's first album was four years after Sabbath's.

I think M-TV listed Judas Priest #2 metal band of all-time, behind #1 Black Sabbath.

[Northman]

Originally Posted by BroncoBuff

I dunno, Anubis ... Black Sabbath pretty much invented the metal sound I think. And satan-inspired dark side metal themes. And they never had strings or acoustic guitars or any of that either. Maybe you're too young...

Like i said, they did influence heavy metal. But they are more of a rock band than a metal band. But you would not be the only one nor the last one to consider them a metal band. I just have my personal criteria of how i rate a metal band vs a rock band.

[alkemical]

Originally Posted by Anubis

Depends. Even at best i would of considered them Doom Rock or Doom Metal but they lean more to the Rock side. I consider Ozzy's solo work and Dio era Sabbath to be more "metal" oriented. The irony of all of this is that around the same time that Sabbath existed so did Judas Priest.

Thats what i find kind of funny about how some people would classify heavy metal. Rock was influenced by blues music and likewise metal was influenced by rock and punk music. But im not about to say that BB King is the same as Led Zeppelin or that the Sex Pistols are a metal band. Im just not. So just because certain rock bands influenced a whole other culture doesnt mean that they themselves are a part of that culture. This guy in his article doesnt really give a real criteria for how he ranks his list. His biggest arguement is that no band of today sounds better than the bands that influenced metal to begin with.

I seriously doubt that this guy really took any time to research or study any other bands in the metal genre. I could almost understand it if he had stayed at his angle of "inspirational" bands such as Sabbath, Zeppelin, and Rush. But then he brings in Meshuggah, Pantera, and Slayer and 2 out of those 3 were not innovators in the metal genre at all. Its like he just picked names out of a hat and went with it. Furthermore, just because a band influenced another does not qualify that band to be the top 25 of anything. Despite Sabbath's influence on the genre and even if one would consider them a metal band they are not the top of the class when it comes to a heavy metal band. They get voted in on lists all the time because of their influence and legacy, not actual body of work.

I understand your point....

I still think they rock though.

[Northman]

Originally Posted by BroncoBuff

Priest's first album was four years after Sabbath's.

I think M-TV listed Judas Priest #2 metal band of all-time, behind #1 Black Sabbath.

Judas Priest released their first major release in 74' and Sabbath released their first album in 70'. But Judas Priest had been releasing demos since 70' up until their first legit release. Sabbath had one demo in 69' but that was it until the release of the self titled in 70'.

[Northman]

Originally Posted by amesj523

I understand your point....

I still think they rock though.

Dont get me wrong, they are good.

[alkemical]

Originally Posted by Anubis

Dont get me wrong, they are good.

Billy Ward is one of my fav. drummers of all time.

[Northman]

Originally Posted by amesj523

Billy Ward is one of my fav. drummers of all time.

Yea, ive always liked Neil Pert or Mike Portnoy but Ward was pretty damn good. Saw Sabbath at one of the Ozzfests a few years ago and it was a great show.

[alkemical]

Originally Posted by Anubis

Yea, ive always liked Neil Pert or Mike Portnoy but Ward was pretty damn good. Saw Sabbath at one of the Ozzfests a few years ago and it was a great show.

He's so good man. He does these little things that just add up. Snow-blind is a good one to check out.... (Out of hard rock/metal - i like all kinds - i grew up on punk - it's what keeps me young)