Top Ten Classic Metal Songs with the Best Vocals

The Top Ten
1 Hallowed Be Thy Name - Iron Maiden

Bruce Dickinson proves, once again, that he has one of the best voices in music history with this song off Number of the Beast.

If you want real music, listen to some alternative music like Halsey or something else. I am not a huge fan of that song at all.

So overrated

2 Painkiller - Judas Priest

Rob's screams on this track are just legendary.

3 Kill the King - Rainbow

MIND-BLOWING performance from Ronnie James Dio. One of the all-time best vocal performances EVER recorded.

Amazing. RIP Ronnie James Dio.

4 Victim of Changes - Judas Priest

Insane vocals for sure and a great song but I don't think this song is metal. Just saying. This isn't a problem because Halford has many great metal performances to choose from.

Whiskey women don't you know that you are driving me inSANE!

The last part when he screams VICTIM OF CHANGE!

5 Gates of Babylon - Rainbow

Ronnie James Dio has one of the best voices in metal, as this song proves.

6 Child in Time - Deep Purple

Especially the screaming part

7 Stargazer - Rainbow

This is Dio's greatest performance. Should even be above Gates of Babylon

8 Wish You Were Dead - Overkill

Bobby Blitz's high note is one of the best ever in the song. That alone gets Wish You Were Dead a spot on the list.

9 The Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden

That might be the single greatest metal scream ever

You know why this song is on the list.

10 My Last Sunrise - Demons & Wizards

If some of you don't know this song you should listen to it NOW. I don't wanna describe the vocals - this vocal performance should be heard. Vocals are from Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian.

The Contenders
11 Rainbow in the Dark - Dio

I think this is one of the best vocals from Dio, if not his best.

12 Angel of Death - Slayer

The face-melting opener to Slayer's landmark 1986 album Reign in Blood has one of Tom Araya's signature screams right at the beginning to set the tone for this amazing song, with an amazing vocal performance.

Me and my friend sent a voicemail to someone with the scream in this song
It was so much fun

13 Cemetery Gates - Pantera
14 Beyond the Realms of Death - Judas Priest
15 One - Metallica
16 Thorn - Blind Guardian
17 A Question of Heaven - Iced Earth

@Aragorn98 - you are right about 30+ years but I'm not sure the author meant this definition of "classic".
I personally understood "classic metal" as traditional heavy metal (metal that isn't extreme, isn't prog, etc.)
But I think that most of the voters had no any definition in mind (neither yours nor mine) - people just voted for songs they like.

Shouldn't be on here. This came out in 1996 which was 22 years ago (a classic has to be 30 years or older).

18 Wheel of Time - Blind Guardian
19 Aces High - Iron Maiden
20 And Then There Was Silence - Blind Guardian
21 Dante's Inferno - Iced Earth
22 Caught Somewhere in Time - Iron Maiden

This is my favorite Bruce Dickinson performance. And there are a lot to choose from

23 Falling Off the Edge of the World - Black Sabbath

Not my favorite Dio vocals but still very good. I believe our visitor worked in the music business for 50 years but he hates metal so much that all his comments on metal are unreliable. He says Dio sounds like Robert Plant on a bad day but here’s a professional analysis of this Dio performance - it was written by a vocal coach (classical) from NY, who isn’t a metal fan and didn’t know the song/singer:
“This is a very fine singer. His voice is so naturally resonant - he reminds me of Freddie Mercury. He performs with perfect legato, clear diction, and a consistent, organic vibrancy. He arranges his resonance space to create a shallow snarl without setting up any resistance for his breath. You can tell how healthy his delivery is from the way he moves in and out of brief moments of harmony with the other tracks with impeccable intonation”.

24 Paranoid - Black Sabbath
25 A Touch of Evil - Judas Priest
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