Top 10 American Metal Musicians of Italian Descent

The Top Ten
1 Ronnie James Dio - Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona; July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010) was an American heavy metal singer, songwriter and musician. He fronted and/or founded numerous groups including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell. He is credited with popularizing the "metal horns" hand gesture in metal culture and is known for his medieval themed lyrics. Dio possessed a powerful versatile vocal range capable of singing both hard rock and lighter ballads; according to Rainbow/Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore upon hearing him sing, "I felt shivers down my spine." Dio sold over 47 million albums throughout his career. He died from stomach cancer in 2010 at the age of 67.

Born Ronald James Padavona
His stage name - Dio - is the Italian word for God

2 Mike Mangini - Dream Theater, Annihilator Mike Mangini is an American drummer. Since 2010, he has been a member of progressive metal band Dream Theater, following the departure of founding drummer Mike Portnoy.

Wiki article about him says nothing about his origin but his family name sounded very Italian to me.
Because I wasn't sure, I did a small research and found this on the internet:
Mangini Family Crest, Coat Of Arms and Name History.
So, I was right - Mangini family name comes from a noble family in Tuscany, Italy.

Here's the most amazing part:
"The surname Mangini is a name for a person who was equally adept and skilled in the use of both hands".
It's derived from the Italian word 'mancino', which means one who is ambidextrous.

WOW, Mike Mangini is one of the ambidextrous drummers!

3 Mike Portnoy - Dream Theater Michael Portnoy is an American drummer primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and a co-founder of the progressive metal/rock band Dream Theater. Known for his technical skill as a drummer, Portnoy has won 30 awards from the Modern Drummer magazine.

He's on the Wiki list of Italian-American entertainers / musicians, so I guess it's true.

Yes, you're right - 3 people from Dream Theater! Keep reading, you'll see 3 people from Anthrax, too.
LOL, I knew these bands were founded by the Italian Mafia :-)

4 John Petrucci - Dream Theater John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist, composer and producer. He is best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Compared to his level of skill, John Petrucci is relatively unknown in the modern music industry.

Again, Wiki article about him doesn't mention anything about his ancestry but Petrucci sounds very Italian. It sounds like Bellucci and Monica Bellucci is Italian for sure.

Petrucci, yes. Very itallian. John Myung is Korean as well... Just gonna throw that in there.

5 Phil Anselmo - Pantera, Down Philip Hansen "Phil" Anselmo is an American musician who is best known as the former lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Pantera. He currently is the vocalist of heavy metal bands Down and Superjoint Ritual.

Philip Hansen Anselmo - he is of Danish, Italian and French heritage.
I guess the Italian part is Anselmo.
Hansen is Germanic, so this is the Danish part.
Philip could be anything but can be French, too.

6 Charlie Benante - Anthrax
7 Steve DiGiorgio Steve Di Giorgio is an American musician of Italian descent. Di Giorgio has played bass guitar in many heavy metal and death metal bands.
8 Joey Belladonna - Anthrax Joey Belladonna is the American Thrash Metal singer, best known for leading the band Anthrax. He also sings and drums for the cover band Chief Big Way.

Born Joseph Bellardini.
Belladonna is part Italian American and part Native American (from modern-day Canada) on his mother's side (who is Iroquois).

9 Vinny Appice - Dio, Black Sabbath Vincent Samson Appice is an American rock drummer of Italian descent and the younger brother of drummer Carmine Appice. He is best known for his work with the bands Dio, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and Big Noize.

Drummer for legendary bands

10 Frank Bello - Anthrax Francis Charles Joseph "Frank" Bello is an Italian-American musician who plays bass guitar for the thrash metal band Anthrax.

Born Frank Joey Bello - bass guitar

The Contenders
11 Ralph Santolla - Obituary, Deicide, Death, Iced Earth

Guitarist.
Ralph is very proud of his Italian heritage and he plays guitars by Jackson and Ibanez with the Italian flag painted on them.
Bands - Obituary, Iced Earth, Death, Deicide, Memorain, Sebastian Bach.

12 Glenn Danzig - Danzig Glenn Danzig is an American singer, songwriter, and musician from Lodi, New Jersey. He is the founder of the bands Misfits, Samhain and Danzig. He owns the Evilive record label as well as Verotik, an adult-oriented comic book publishing company.

Born Glenn Allen Anzalone in New Jersey, to a family of Italian, German, and Scottish heritage.
Songs - Mother, How the gods kill, Black hell

13 Joey DeMaio - Manowar Joey DeMaio is an American bass player and main songwriter for the heavy metal band Manowar which he founded in 1980. He is also the founder and CEO of Magic Circle Music.

Bassist, main songwriter and one of the founding members of Manowar.

14 Greg Puciato - The Dillinger Escape Plan, Killer Be Killed
15 Max Cavalera Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera is a Brazillian singer, guitarist, and songwriter who currently plays in heavy metal bands Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, and Killer Be Killed.
16 Igor Cavalera Igor Graziano Cavalera is a Brazilian musician. He is best known as the former drummer for Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura, which he co-founded with his brother Max in 1984. Max left the band in 1996, and Cavalera himself would depart ten years later, making him the last original member of Sepultura to leave the band.

Sepultura, Cavalera Conspiracy

17 Nikki Sixx - Mötley Crüe Nikki Sixx is an American musician, songwriter, radio host, and photographer, best known as the co-founder, bassist, and primary songwriter of the band Mötley Crüe.
18 Porco Dio
19 Lemmy Kilmister Ian Fraser Kilmister, known as Lemmy, was an English musician, singer and songwriter who founded and fronted the rock band Motörhead. He was a bassist and a singer known for his raspy voice. He died in 2015 from cancer and other health problems.
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