Top Ten Bands that are on the Borderline Between Hard Rock and Heavy Metal

The Top Ten
1 Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical approach changed over the years. Originally formed as a progressive rock band, the band shifted to a heavier sound in 1970. Deep Purple, together with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, have been referred to as the "unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid-seventies". They were listed in the 1975 Guinness Book of World Records as "the globe's loudest band" for a 1972 concert at London's Rainbow Theatre, and have sold over 100 million albums worldwide. ...read more.

Yes, the classic band that had both metal and hard rock songs. Highway Star and Burn are metal songs. Smoke On the Water is hard rock.

Hard Rock band with lot of metal songs.

2 Rainbow Rainbow are a British rock band led by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from 1975 to 1984 and 1993 to 1997. They were originally established with Ronnie James Dio as the lead singer and lyricist. Rainbow were ranked No. 90 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. The band has sold over 28 million albums worldwide. The band's early work primarily featured mystical lyrics with a neoclassical metal style.

Yes, both metal and hard rock songs.

3 Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were a Heavy Metal band formed in Birmingham, England in 1968 by guitarist and songwriter Tony Iommi, singer John "Ozzy" Osbourne, bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward.

The band became mainstream after improving after their debut album got panned. In 1978, Osbourne was fired and replaced with former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Who went to release 2 albums before leaving in 1983, only for Osbourne to return in 1992. ...read more.

Yes, most of the songs in their discography aren't metal, especially albums from the 70s. They played several non-metal genres, including hard rock.

4 Judas Priest Judas Priest are a British heavy metal band that formed in Birmingham, England, in 1969. They are often referred to as one of the greatest metal bands of all time, and are even commonly called “The Metal Gods”, after one of the songs on their 1980 album “British Steel”.

They are known for several of their hit songs, which include “Painkiller”, “Breaking The Law”, You’ve Got Another Thing Coming”, and “Turbo Lover”.
Their original lineup consisted of Al Atkins (vocals), K.K. Downing (lead/rhythm guitar), Ian Hill (bass), and John Ellis (drums). Atkins never recorded on any Judas Priest releases, but contributed to several songs. ...read more.

Actually, lot of their songs are hard rock and not metal... their 1986 released album (Turbo) is 100% hard rock. And their '70s albums weren't 100% metal, too.

Their 2018 album happened to be very good but again, half of the songs are hard rock. Not saying it's something bad.

5 Scorpions Scorpions are a German rock band formed in 1965 in Hanover by Rudolf Schenker. Since the band's inception, its musical style has ranged from hard rock to heavy metal.

In the 70s they made some great songs that were close to the type of metal played at the time. In the 80s they embraced a mainstream music style - mostly hard rock but also pop rock.

6 Accept Accept is a German heavy metal band from the town of Solingen, originally assembled by former vocalist Udo Dirkschneider, guitarist Wolf Hoffmann and bassist Peter Baltes.

They started in the 70s but even to this day most of their songs sound like a mix of metal and hard rock. A very good band overall.

7 Saxon Saxon are an English heavy metal band formed in 1976, in South Yorkshire. As one of the leaders of the new wave of British heavy metal, they had eight UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including four UK Top 10 albums and two Top 5 albums.
8 W.A.S.P. W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982 by Blackie Lawless, who is the only remaining original member of the band.
9 Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based in Long Island, New York.
10 Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English hard rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement.

Only their debut album had 2-3 metal songs.

The Contenders
11 Queensrÿche Queensrÿche is an American progressive heavy metal band formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. They released their self titled EP in 1984, but didn’t gain notoriety until the release of their critically acclaimed album Operation: Mindcrime in 1988. As of now, they ...read more.
12 Metallica Metallica is an American Heavy/Thrash Metal band formed in 1981. The original lineup was James Hetfield (Vocalist and Rhythm guitarist), Dave Mustaine (Lead Guitar), Lars Ulrich (Drums), Ron McGovney (Bassist). The group came into mainstream from their Self-Titled album and the hit single "Enter Sandman".

With their first two albums, Kill 'Em All and Ride The Lightning reaching underground success, their third effort, Master of Puppets has since become one of the most important heavy metal albums ever, as it became the first thrash metal album to be certified platinum. The title track has since become the band's most played song live. ...read more.
13 Sister Sin Sister Sin was an "old-school metal" band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band released four full-length albums, with the most recent Black Lotus released October 27, 2014. Sister Sin toured in Europe and North America with bands such as Slayer, King Diamond, Lordi and In This Moment before splitting in ...read more.
14 Motorhead Motörhead were an English heavy metal band formed in June 1975 by bassist, singer, and songwriter Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister, who was the sole constant member; guitarist and songwriter Larry Wallis; and drummer Lucas Fox. The band's harsh vocals and fast paced tempos helped inspire speed metal and thrash metal.

I would say they are more on the borderline between hard rock, rock N roll and punk. There isn't much metal in their songs, if any.

15 Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band. The band was founded in 1973, by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni under the name Mach 1. They then changed the name to Little Women, before settling on Quiet Riot in May 1975. The band's name was inspired by a conversation with Rick Parfitt of ...read more.
16 Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band, that was formed 1999 in California. Their longest lineup of members was M. Shadows (Vocals), Synyster Gates (Lead Guitar), Zacky Vengeance (Rhythm Guitar), Johnny Christ (Bass Guitar), and The Rev (Drums). ...read more.
17 Disturbed Disturbed is an American alternative metal/nu-metal/hard rock band from Chicago, Illinois. The band comprises vocalist David Draiman, bassist John Moyer, guitarist Dan Donegan, and drummer Mike Wengren. They are known for songs like "Down With the Sickness" and "Stricken".
18 Motley Crue Mötley Crüe is an American metal band formed in Los Angeles, California on January 17, 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, lead vocalist Vince Neil and lead guitarist Mick Mars.
19 UFO UFO are an English rock band that was formed in 1969. They became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the new wave of British heavy metal.
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