Best heavy metal bands (all time)

Metallica is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California. Metallica was formed in 1981 when vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield responded to an advertisement posted by drummer Lars Ulrich in a local newspaper. The...

Van Halen is an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. From 1974 until 1985, the band comprised guitarist Eddie Van Halen, vocalist David Lee Roth, drummer Alex Van Halen, and bassist Michael Anthony...

Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Matt Cameron became the band's full-time drummer in 19...

Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968.

Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968 in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee; guitarist and backing vocalist Alex Lifeson; and dr...

Scorpions are a German rock band founded in 1965 in Hanover by Rudolf Schenker.

Black Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968, by guitarist and main songwriter Tony Iommi, bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler, singer Ozzy Osbourne, and drummer Bill Ward. The band have since experienc...

Dio was an American heavy metal band formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio, after he left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath member, drummer Vinny Appice...

Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matthew Tuck (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Michael Paget (lead guitar, backing vocals), Michael Thomas (drums) and Jamie M...

Megadeth is an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1983 by guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson, shortly after Mustaine's dismissal from Metallica...

Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in September 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray. After several line-up changes in their early years, the band sett...

Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney and bass...

Guns N' Roses are an American hard rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1985. The classic lineup, as signed to Geffen Records in 1986, consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist D...

Kiss (often styled as KISS) is an American hard rock band formed in New York City in January 1973 by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.

Pain of Salvation is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band led by Daniel Gildenlöw, who is the band's main songwriter, lyricist, guitarist, and vocalist. Pain of Salvation's sound is characterised by riff-oriented guitar work, a b...

Judas Priest is a British heavy metal band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1970. The band has sold over 45 million albums to date.

Whitesnake are a rock band, formed in England in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's 1987 self-titled album was their most commercially successful worldwide, and contained tw...

Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist and vocalist Phil Lynott, met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them...

Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, east London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris.

King Crimson are a progressive rock band.

Anthrax is an American thrash metal band from New York City, formed in 1981 by guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker.

Misfits are an American punk rock band.

Motörhead are an English rock band formed in June 1975 by bassist, singer, and songwriter Ian Fraser Kilmister, professionally known by his stage name Lemmy, who has remained the sole constant member.

Dokken is an American metal band formed in 1979. They split up in 1989 but reformed four years later. The group accumulated numerous charting singles and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. The band was nominated for a...

The Darkness are a British rock band from Lowestoft, Suffolk, formed in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins (lead vocals, guitar), his brother Dan Hawkins (guitar, backing vocals), Frankie Poullain (bass, backing vocals) and...

The Cult are a British hard rock band formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in the UK in the mid-1980s as a post-punk/gothic rock band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the US in...

Ratt is an American heavy metal band. Their albums have been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA.

Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Savage (bassist, backing vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, bac...

UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band that was formed in 1969.

Aerosmith is an American rock band. The band was formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970. Guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, originally in a band together called the Jam Band, met up with vocalist/pianist/harmonicist St...

Stone Sour is an American rock band formed in Des Moines, Iowa in 1992, performing for five years, before disbanding in 1997. They reunited in 2000 and since 2006, the group has consisted of Corey Taylor (lead vocals), Josh Rand (...

Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from Long Island, New York. Twisted Sister's most well-known hits include "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock".

Avenged Sevenfold (sometimes abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocal...

Voivod is a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière, Québec.

Creed is an American rock band, formed in 1993 in Tallahassee, Florida. The band's best-known line-up consists of lead vocalist Scott Stapp, guitarist and vocalist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Phillips...

Mötley Crüe is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California on January 17, 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by guitarist Mick Mars, and vocalist Vince Neil...

Cinderella is an American glam metal and hard rock band from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band emerged in the mid-1980s with a series of multi-platinum albums and hit singles whose music videos received heavy MTV...

Nickelback is a Canadian rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. The band is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Danie...

Kittie (stylized as KiTTiE) are a Canadian heavy metal band formed in London, Ontario in 1996.

White Zombie was an American heavy metal band that formed in 1985. The group officially disbanded in 1998.

Alter Bridge is an American rock band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 2004. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Myles Kennedy, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Sc...

Godsmack is an American alternative metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon...

Warrant is an American glam metal band formed in 1984 in Hollywood, California, that experienced success from 1989 to 1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million.

Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great commercial success in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Poison has sold over 45 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone...

Sevendust is an American alternative metal band from Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and guitarist...

Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band, best known for their hit singles "Metal Health" and "Cum on Feel the Noize". The band was founded in 1973, by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni under the name Mach 1. They t...

W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982 by Blackie Lawless, who is the only remaining original member of the band. They emerged from the same Los Angeles scene that spawned Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, Dokken, Ratt, Qui...