Originally published in Metal Hammer magazine (UK) 388 · July 2024
The 100 Songs That Changed Our World
Article3 min read
From metal’s original earthquaking anthems to the modern classics that are pushing things forward, this is the soundtrack to a musical revolution that has lasted 50 years and counting
01 Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
02 Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song
03 Kiss – Rock And Roll All Nite
04 Rainbow – Stargazer
05 Van Halen – Eruption
06 Judas Priest – Exciter
07 Motörhead – Overkill
08 Killing Joke – Wardance
09 Saxon – Wheels Of Steel
10 Bad Brains – Pay To Cum
11 Iron Maiden – Running Free
12 Discharge – Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing
13 Girlschool – Emergency
14 Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train
15 Black Flag – Rise Above
16 Suicidal Tendencies – Institutionalized
17 Mötley Crüe – Shout At The Devil
18 Mercyful Fate – Evil
19 Venom – Black Metal
20 Metallica – Hit The Lights
21 Saint Vitus – Burial At Sea
22 Hellhammer – Triumph Of Death
23 W.A.S.P. – Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)
24 Celtic Frost – Circle Of The Tyrants
25 Possessed – Death Metal
26 Candlemass – Solitude
27 Megadeth – Peace Sells
28 Slayer – Angel Of Death
29 Napalm Death – Scum
30 Voivod – Killing Technology
31 Anthrax – I’m The Man
32 Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine
33 Living Colour – Cult Of Personality
34 Helloween – Eagle Fly Free
35 Bathory – A Fine Day To Die
36 Ministry – Stigmata
37 Jane’s Addiction – Been Caught Stealing
38 Sepultura – Inner Self
39 Morbid Angel – Chapel Of Ghouls
40 Faith No More – Epic
41 Nine Inch Nails – Head Like A Hole
42 Godflesh – Like Rats
43 Alice In Chains – Man In The Box
44 Body Count – Cop Killer
45 Paradise – Lost Gothic
46 Pantera – Cowboys From Hell
47 Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
48 Skyclad – The Widdershins Jig
49 Sleep – Dragonaut
50 Neurosis – To Crawl Under One’s Skin
51 Helmet – In The Meantime
52 Kyuss – Green Machine
53 Dream Theater – Pull Me Under (Images And Words, 1992)
Dream Theater weren’t the first prog metal band, but they were the one that shaped the jagged, thrashing noise that 80s outliers such as Voivod and Watchtower had pioneered into something more approachable. Where 1989’s Metallica-meets-Rush debut album When Dream And Day Unite had been a false start, follow-up Images And Words – featuring new singer James LaBrie – had its eye on the big prize. ‘Pull Me Under’ was their breakout – an eight-minute prog metal powerhouse that balanced supreme-level musical chops with nailed-on commercial sensibility (and a lyric apparently inspired by Hamlet). It may have lacked the edge of the bands that came before it, and the ones that followed, but it remains a key staging post in the development of prog metal – one that marked out the genre’s boundary lines for those that came after.
—DE
54 Rage Against The Machine – Killing In The Name
55 Emperor – I Am The Black Wizards
56 Type O Negative – Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)
57 Cynic – Veil Of Maya
58 Entombed – Eyemaster
59 Korn – Blind
60 Carcass – Heartwork
61 Mayhem – Freezing Moon
62 Machine Head – Davidian
63 At The Gates – Slaughter Of The Soul
64 Tool – Stinkfist
65 The Prodigy – Firestarter
66 Dimmu Borgir – In Death’s Embrace
67 Rammstein – Du Hast
68 Refused – New Noise
69 Deftones – My Own Summer (Shove It)
70 Slipknot – Wait And Bleed
71 The Dillinger Escape Plan – 43% Burnt
72 Limp Bizkit – Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle)
73 Electric Wizard – Funeralopolis
74 Within Temptation – Ice Queen
75 Linkin Park – One Step Closer
76 Opeth – The Drapery Falls
77 Converge – Concubine
78 System Of A Down – Chop Suey!
79 Mastodon – March Of The Fire Ants
80 Killswitch Engage – My Last Serenade
81 Evanescence – Bring Me To Life
82 Arch Enemy – We Will Rise
83 Avenged Sevenfold – Unholy Confessions
84 Nightwish – Nemo
85 Trivium – Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr
86 Alcest – Le Secret
87 Bullet For My Valentine – 4 Words (To Choke Upon)
88 Dragonforce – Through The Fire And Flames
89 TesseracT – Concealing Fate
90 Meshuggah – Bleed
91 The Devil’s Blood – River Of Gold
92 Watain – Malfeitor
93 Bring Me The Horizon – Shadow Moses
94 Wardruna – Helvegen
95 Babymetal – Gimme Chocolate!!