Originally published in Metal Hammer magazine (UK) 335 · June 2020
The 50 Greatest Metal Bands Ever As Voted For By You! (excerpt)
Article2 min read
Sick of having office scraps over who the best bands in the world are, we decided to put the question to you – our lovely readers. You didn’t disappoint. The votes flooded in, and we’re proud to present the definitive list of The 50 Greatest Metal Bands Ever. But who was shunned and who made the cut? Read on to find out…
Words: Merlin Alderslade, Eleanor Goodman
50 Killswitch Engage
49 Helloween
48 Nine Inch Nails
47 Trivium
46 Faith No More
45 In Flames
44 Five Finger Death Punch
43 Sepultura
42 Anthrax
41 Within Temptation
40 Mötley Crüe
39 Marilyn Manson
38 Deftones
37 Disturbed
36 Amon Amarth
35 Paradise Lost
34 Sabaton
33 Ghost
32 Type O Negative
31 King Diamond
30 Rage Against
The Machine
29 Linkin Park
28 Nightwish
27 Meshuggah
26 Alice In Chains
25 Mastodon
24 Avenged Sevenfold
23 Korn
22 Guns N’ Roses
21 Lamb Of God
20 Dio
19 Dream Theater
Our Progressive Metal Overlords
The band with the most expansive minds in metal. Whether exploring past life regression therapy or immersing themselves in a world where music is made by machines, Canadian free-thinkers Dream Theater have never been afraid to take a concept and stretch it out to its conclusion. Nor of executing those concepts with the maximum level of precision and technical ability, their widdly solos and drawn-out diversions musical manna from heaven for those who love a bit of heavy prog indulgence. The departure of drummer/mastermind Mike Portnoy in 2010 was a significant bump in their career, but they managed to stay on course, even attracting their first Grammy nomination for the following year’s appropriately named A Dramatic Turn Of Events. While 2019’s Distance Over Time was their most conventional record in years, we wouldn’t count out a return to proggier excursions just yet.
Essential album: Images And Words (1992)