Metal The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands  

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List Rules Heavy Metal bands only. No other subgenres of metal

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Creating some of the best metal songs of 2018, the greatest heavy metal bands include some of the most iconic names in music. Bands like Judas Priest and Black Sabbath paved the way for many of today's biggest acts. They're bigger than just heavy metal -- they're among the best rock bands/artists of all time. Which one is the best? That's up to you to decide with your votes. Vote up the good heavy metal bands you love the most, and vote down any that you just don't like. Also, feel free to add any heavy metal bands that might be missing from the list, and rerank the choices in the order you believe is the best!

Not surprisingly, some incredibly well-known heavy metal bands top this list, including Metallica, Pantera, Iron Maiden and Megadeth. Some newer bands are also included. Tool and Korn, for example, formed in the 1990s. Sadly, some of these bands don't include all of the original members (Alice in Chains, for example), but that doesn't mean they're forgotten, not popular, or not worth including.

Which heavy metal band is the best? Be sure to vote and don't forget to rerank this list your way, too.

list ordered by

1
11,109 6,490
Metallica is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, Metallica

2
10,140 3,915
Black Sabbath is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Paranoid, Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell

3
11,716 4,288
Iron Maiden is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
The Number of the Beast, Iron Maiden, Powerslave

4
7,423 3,959
Judas Priest is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
British Steel, Screaming for Vengeance, Hell Bent for Leather

5
6,824 4,190
Megadeth is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Rust in Peace, Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?, Youthanasia

6
7,471 3,632
Pantera is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Vulgar Display of Power, Cowboys From Hell, Far Beyond Driven

7
5,831 3,566
Motörhead is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
shisu added Ace of Spades, 1916, No Remorse

8
6,432 3,344
Ozzy Osbourne is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Blizzard of Ozz, Diary of a Madman, The Ultimate Sin

9
7,098 4,028
AC/DC is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Back in Black, Highway to Hell, Let There Be Rock

10
6,587 3,379
Slayer is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, Seasons in the Abyss

11
5,883 3,010
Dio is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Holy Diver, The Last in Line, Sacred Heart

12
6,300 3,079
Led Zeppelin is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
gamedemon24 added Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin II

13
6,285 4,745
Slipknot is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Slipknot, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), Iowa

14
4,888 3,441
Tool is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Ænima, Lateralus, 10

15
5,323 3,794
System of a Down is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Toxicity, Hypnotize, Mezmerize

16
3,865 3,526
Deep Purple is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Machine Head, Live in Japan, Deep Purple in Rock

17
4,780 4,188
Guns N' Roses is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Appetite for Destruction, G N' R Lies, Use Your Illusion I

18
4,095 3,276
Alice in Chains is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Dirt, Alice in Chains, Facelift

19
3,599 3,808
Scorpions is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Blackout, Love at First Sting, Animal Magnetism

20
3,529 3,275
Anthrax is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Among the Living, Fistful of Metal, Spreading the Disease

21
3,643 2,579
Alice Cooper is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Welcome to My Nightmare, Hey Stoopid, Brutal Planet

22
3,880 3,580
Disturbed is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Ten Thousand Fists, Believe, The Sickness

23
3,462 2,818
Van Halen is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Van Halen, 1984, Diver Down

24
4,170 3,452
Rammstein is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
Sehnsucht, Rosenrot, Mutter

25
3,659 3,269
Mötley Crüe is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands
shisu added Girls Girls Girls, Shout at the Devil, Dr. Feelgood