Top 10 Bands that Get Mistaken as a Genre They're Not

Lots of bands get mistaken a music genre they're not or never were. Often this can get annoying after a while. These are those bands, if I missed any add them.
The Top Ten
1 Nirvana (Hard Rock) Nirvana was an American grunge band that was formed in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987. Nirvana disbanded after Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994. The drummer of the band, David Grohl, went on to start the Foo-Fighters, an alternative rock band.

The band was comprised of Kurt Cobain (Vocals, Guitar), Dave Grohl (Drums) and Krist Novoselic (Bass). ...read more.

I would like someone to add Radiohead onto this list, as Radiohead are often mistaken as a Britpop band.

They are grunge band.

2 Linkin Park (Metal) Linkin Park is an American alternative rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The current members include Mike Shinoda (vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar), Brad Delson (guitar), Dave "Phoenix" Farrell (bass), Joe Hahn (DJ), and Rob Bourdon (drums). Linkin Park is associated with a mixture of alternative rock, hip hop, and techno. Some of their influences include Nine Inch Nails, Deftones,... read more

It's blantantly obvious that they're rock mixed in with punk, rap, pop, electronic and maybe Country (Sharp Edges) but overall not a metal band.

I will never get why people think Linkin Park is a metal band. I've always found them to be an alternative band.

Chester Bennington said he didn't think of LP as a Metal band to begin with, so case is closed.

3 Three Days Grace (Nu Metal) Three Days Grace is a Canadian post-grunge/alternative rock band formed in Norwood, Ontario in 1992 with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer and backing vocalist Neil Sanderson, and bassist Brad Walst. Their original name was Groundswell until they changed it to their current name in 1997. In 2003, the band's current guitarist Barry Stock was recruited to the band. In 2013 Gontier left the band due to creative differences. He was replaced with Brad's brother Matt Walst.

Their genre is alternative rock and post grunge.

A often big misconception.

They're not even metal.

4 Slayer (Speed Metal) 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.

Guess, what? When you search for best speed metal bands, Slayer are in top 2 or 3. But they've never been a speed metal band.
On the other hand, often Blind Guardian is considered as a thrash metal band. But I have never heard their thrash metal songs. Maybe those were speed metal.
There's a very common mistake choosing between speed and thrash metal.

Speed metal is more of an outdated term to be honest

5 Green Day (Hard Rock) Green Day are an American pop punk/punk rock band formed in East Bay, California in 1987. The members include Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals and guitar), Mike Dirnt (bass), Tré Cool (drums) and Jason White (guitar). Green Day are associated with punk rock, pop punk and alternative rock. Some of their influences include The Ramones, Sex Pistols, NOFX, and Bad Religion. They are best known for their songs like ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’, ‘Basket Case’ and their ‘American Idiot’ & ‘Dookie’ albums. American Idiot sold 6 million copies in the U.S. and won a Grammy Award for "Best Rock Album". Green Day have sold over 75 million records worldwide and have won 5 Grammy Awards. They ...read more.

They are punk and pop punk band.

6 Paramore (Emo) Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro.

Not emo at all in my book. Pop Punk or pop rock is far more accurcate. Now Panic! at the Cringe that's emo...

They are pop rock band.

7 Slayer (Death Metal) 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.

Slayer might've influenced Death Metal but they themselves aren't Death Metal.

See my comment on speed metal.

8 5 Seconds of Summer (Punk) 5 Seconds of Summer are an Australian pop-rock band from Sydney, Australia, that formed in 2011. The group were originally YouTube celebrities, posting videos of themselves covering songs from various artists during 2011 and early 2012. They rose to international fame while touring with One Direction on the Take Me Home Tour.

Pop rock is again far more accurcate. This band isn't Punk and never was. Now Sum 41 that's punk this band on the otherhand is NOT Punk at all.

They are pop rock and pop band. Far from being punk.

9 Korn (Metal) Korn is an American nu-metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band's current lineup includes founding members Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Brian "Head" Welch, and Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, with the addition of Ray Luzier, who replaced the band's original member, David Silveria in 2007. Korn was originally formed by three of the members of the band L.A.P.D. ...read more.

Even Korn themselves said they're not metal.

10 AC/DC (Metal) AC/DC are a Australian hard rock band, formed in November 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, who continued as members until Malcolm's illness and departure in 2014 . They were fronted by Bon Scott until his untimely death due to alcohol poisoning in 1979, after which they hired Brian Johnson to front the band. Commonly referred to as a hard rock or blues rock band.

True this can get annoying after a while...

It's funny. They are hard rock band.

Not even close

The Contenders
11 Rage Against the Machine (Nu Metal) Rage Against the Machine is a rap metal band formed in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk.

Just rap-hard rock
I would not consider them metal

But The Battle Of Los Angeles is a Nu Metal album

12 Three Days Grace (Heavy Metal) Three Days Grace is a Canadian post-grunge/alternative rock band formed in Norwood, Ontario in 1992 with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer and backing vocalist Neil Sanderson, and bassist Brad Walst. Their original name was Groundswell until they changed it to ...read more.

According to YouTube, Three Days Grace is a heavy metal band...

That's so dumb to mistake this band as metal.

13 Green Day (Emo) Green Day are an American pop punk/punk rock band formed in East Bay, California in 1987. The members include Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals and guitar), Mike Dirnt (bass), Tré Cool (drums) and Jason White (guitar). Green Day are associated with punk rock, pop punk and alternative rock. Some of their influences include The Ramones, Sex Pistols, NOFX, and Bad Religion. They are best known for their songs like ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’, ‘Basket Case’ and their ‘American Idiot’ & ‘Dookie’ albums. American Idiot sold 6 million copies in the U.S. and won a Grammy Award for "Best Rock Album". Green Day have sold over 75 million records worldwide and have won 5 Grammy Awards. They ...read more.

Agreed they're pop punk/ alternative not Emo.

14 Foo Fighters (Grunge) Foo Fighters are an American alternative rock band, formed in Seattle in 1994. The band was founded by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl after the death of Kurt Cobain and the dissolution of his previous band. The band consists of Dave Grohl (lead vocalist, rhythm guitar, main songwriter), Pat Smear (rhythm guitar), Nate Mendel (bass), Taylor Hawkins (drums, backing vocals), Chris Shiflett (lead guitar, backing vocals) and the most recent addition, Rami Jaffee (keyboards). Former members include William Goldsmith (drummer) and Franz Stahl (guitarist). ...read more.

Post- Grunge is what they are in all honesty.

15 Venom (Black Metal)

Venom was never black metal. Just because they coined the term "Black Metal" many idiotic metalheads still falsely believe that they invented the genre. It all started with Bathory's "Under the Sign of the Black Mark" - the first real Black Metal album, which gave birth to an entirely fresh genre with it's distinct sound, image, and atmosphere. The low-fi production was actually a result of them not having enough finances to purchase quality instruments (glad to know). A few years later, bunch of Norwegian bands picked up on this sound and added the ideological aspect into it.

16 Metallica (Heavy Metal) 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.

Always was and always will be a thrash metal band. Just because there was a few heavy songs from the Black Album doesn't make them a heavy metal band.

Black Album was heavy metal, first four were thrash, and Load/Reload were hard rock

Actually if you search and looks at wikipedia, it says heavy/trash metal.

17 Imagine Dragons (Alternative) Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Provo, Utah, and are now based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. Imagine Dragons' lineup consists of lead vocalist Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their single "It's Time", followed by their award-winning debut studio album Night Visions (2012), which resulted in the chart-topping singles "Radioactive" and "Demons". Rolling Stone named "Radioactive", which holds the record for most weeks charted on the Billboard Hot 100, the "biggest rock hit of the year".

Too poppy to even be considered alternative electronic pop or pop rock is more accurcate.

They're alternative pop though.

18 Avenged Sevenfold (Metal) 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).

Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan (Drums), their most notable drummer, passed away in 2009, being temporarily replaced by Mike Portnoy, who was replaced by Arin Ilejay, who was finally replaced with Brooks Wackerman. A common phrase for fans "foREVer" was created after the Rev's death in his remembrance. ...read more.

Well, yes and no
Originally metalcore
Now a blend between hard rock and heavy metal

Not a metal band and never was a metal band plain and simple.

Garbage, and I wish they didn't waste their talent on this

19 Dead by Sunrise (Nu Metal) Dead by Sunrise was an American rock supergroup formed in 2005 by Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington. The band also consisted of Amir Derakh, Ryan Shuck, Brandon Belsky, Elias Andra, and Anthony "Fu" Valcic from Julien-K and Orgy.

Alternative rock is more accurcate they have no nu metal elements or even rap elements at all so stop calling them nu metal.

20 Avenged Sevenfold (Alternative Rock) 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).

Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan (Drums), their most notable drummer, passed away in 2009, being temporarily replaced by Mike Portnoy, who was replaced by Arin Ilejay, who was finally replaced with Brooks Wackerman. A common phrase for fans "foREVer" was created after the Rev's death in his remembrance. ...read more.

Why do some people call this band Alternative, it's Heavy Metal/Hard Rock.

They are alternative though.

21 Coldplay (Pop) Coldplay are a British pop rock band formed in 1996. The band consists of Chris Martin (lead vocalist and pianist), Jonny Buckland (lead guitarist), Guy Berryman (bassist) and Will Champion (drummer and backing vocalist). Manager Phil Harvey is often considered an unofficial fifth member. The band renamed themselves "Coldplay" in 1998. Before making their debut album, they recorded and released three EPs: Safety in 1998, Brothers & Sisters as a single in 1999, and The Blue Room in the same year. The Blue Room was their first release on a major label, after signing to Parlophone. ...read more.

They are pop that's just a fact.

22 Iron Maiden (Power Metal) Iron Maiden are an English Heavy Metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. The most critically acclaimed period for the band was from 1983-1989. With vocalist Bruce Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, lead guitarist Dave Murray, rhythm guitarist Adrian ...read more.
23 Slipknot (Death Metal) Slipknot is an American metal band formed in Des Moines, Iowa in 1996. The band is best known as one of the pioneers of the New Wave of American Alternative Metal during the late 1990s - 2000s and are distinguishable by the band's clothing choices, consisting of black/red jumpsuits and horror inspired masks. ...read more.
24 One Direction (Rock) One Direction (commonly abbreviated as 1D) were a British-Irish pop boy band based in London, composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously, Zayn Malik until his departure from the band on 25 March 2015. The group signed with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records ...read more.
25 Black Veil Brides (Emo) Black Veil Brides is an American rock band currently consisting of Andy Biersack (vocals), Jinxx (guitar), Jake Pitts (guitar), Christian Coma (drums) and Ashley Purdy (bass), that formed in 2006 in Ohio. ...read more.
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