Most Extreme Metal Bands

The Top Ten
1 Anaal Nathrakh Anaal Nathrakh are a British extreme metal band formed in 1999 in Birmingham, England. They are currently signed to Metal Blade Records.

Not the best (one of my favorites, but not the best), but definitely one if the heaviest bands on the planet. Try out "The Codex Necro," their debut album, or "Castigation and Betrayal," the closer track off "Hell is Empty, and All the Devils are Here."

2 Infant Annihilator Infant Annihilator are an English/American deathcore band based in Hull, East Yorkshire. The band was formed in 2012 by drummer Aaron Kitcher and guitarist Eddie Pickard.

Very hard. I don't care if they this music is "tongue in cheek", it really strikes a chord if taken in the context "if satan were REALLY evil, what would he be be up to" Their second album is a masterpiece of extreme tech metal and I can't wait to see what this incarnation of the style evolves into...

3 Infernal War Infernal War is a Polish black metal band formed in Częstochowa in 1997. The band is known for their extreme anti-christian and WWII lyrics, leading them to be mislabeled as a NSBM band. Critics describe the band as "brutal black metal."
4 Cattle Decapitation Cattle Decapitation is an American Deathgrind band from San Diego, California formed in 1996. Cattle Decapitation's songs protest the mistreatment and consumption of animals, the abuse of the environment and touch subjects such as misanthropy and genocide of the human race. Much of their music is based ...read more.
5 Deicide Deicide is an American death metal band formed in 1987 by bassist and vocalist Glen Benton and drummer Steve Asheim. They are known for their blasphemous and satanic lyrics which have resulted in bans, lawsuits and criticisms from religious groups and the public. Frontman Glen Benton is also known for ...read more.
6 Dark Funeral Dark Funeral is a Swedish black metal band from Stockholm Sweden, founded by guitarists Blackmoon and Lord Ahriman in 1993. They emerged during the second wave of black metal.
7 Strapping Young Lad Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing. By 1997, he had recruited permanent members; ...read more.
8 Iperyt
9 Gorgoroth Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. Formed in 1992 by Infernus, the band is named after the dead plateau of evil and darkness in the land of Mordor (a fictional location in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings).

They are just too extreme. Guys get real. Would cannibal corpse impale goats'heads and crucify girls' corpses at the concerts?

10 Portal Portal is an Australian extreme metal band whose style is an unorthodox fusion of death metal, black metal, dark ambient and experimental music.
The Contenders
11 Mayhem Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, regarded as one of the pioneers of the Norwegian black metal scene. The band is also known for the infamous events surrounding them including the 1991 suicide of vocalist Dead (in which former guitarist Euronymous took pictures of Dead's ...read more.

It was their singer, not their drummer. Also their guitarist was murdered by the session bassist.

12 Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is a American death metal band from Buffalo, New York, formed in 1988. The band is known for their graphic album covers, explicitly violent lyrics and song titles like "I C** Blood" The group got into mainstream after performing the song "Hammer Smashed Face" in the 1994 film Ace Ventura: ...read more.

Listen to Tomb of the Mutilated, Hammer Smashed Face, and I C** Blood. So extreme it was banned in Germany.

No band did more to expose our style of music to the masses in my opinion.

13 The Berzerker
14 Behemoth Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground.

Blackened death metal at its finest, they define that genre and they never back off, in poland Nergal is probably one of the most underrated musicians as in poland he is hated by the catholic government and people act like blind sheep following the government whereas internationally behemoth have got a legendary status in the metal scene, he simply doesn't care about barriers. Hail BEHEMOTH!

15 Teitanblood

One of the best bands of BBM. Compared to them, Slayer sound like Scorpions...

16 Sadistik Exekution

Let's take the story of extreme metal from the beginning (as I lived it and not read it):
The first incarnation of extreme metal was Venom.After them Slayer took the lead of extremity and heaviness, Morbid Angel (for a short time) and then Cannibal Corpse.
And then? SADISTIK EXEKUTION were definitely more extreme but they were... Australians.

17 Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. They rose to fame with their 1986 album Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the big four of thrash metal bands, the others being Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax. ...read more.

Violence death and satanism is depicted throughout the tenure of this band

18 Rotting Christ Rotting Christ is a Greek extreme metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene.
19 1349 1349 is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1997. The band's name comes from the year the Black Death reached Norway.
20 Venom Venom are an English extreme metal band formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the new wave of British heavy metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal—are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general.
21 Dragged into Sunlight

Obscure blackened death/doom band.
Very extreme and very heavy.

22 Beheaded Beheaded is a Death metal band from Malta. They were formed in 1991, by singer Marcel Scalpello, guitarist David Bugeja, and drummer Chris Brincat.
23 Black Witchery
24 Meshuggah Meshuggah is a Swedish progressive metal band from Umeå, formed in 1987. They are often considered the fathers or founders of the djent metal sub genre due to their use of downtuned guitars. They are also known for their song “Bleed”, which is known for its extremely complicated instrumentation, ...read more.
25 Vader Vader is a Polish death metal band from Olsztyn. Formed in 1983, the group was founded by then-bassist Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek and guitarist Zbigniew "Vika" Wróblewski. Starting as a heavy metal group, Vader eventually went to thrash, speed, and then in the late 1980s became a death metal band. The ...read more.
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