Top Ten Most Influential Alternative Metal Bands

This is a countdown of the most influential alternative metal bands. Any genre of alternative metal is acceptable (Progressive, Industrial, Nu-Metal, ETC.) I'm excluding post-grunge and hard rock bands such as Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace.
The Top Ten
1 Tool Tool is an American alternative metal/progressive metal band, that was formed in 1990. ...read more.
2 Helmet Helmet is an American alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989. Founded by vocalist and lead guitarist Page Hamilton, Helmet has had numerous lineup changes, and Hamilton has been the only constant member.
3 Deftones Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California. The band, which was founded in 1988, consists of Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter, Frank Delgado, Abe Cunningham and Sergio Vega. They have released a total of 9 studio albums. Some of their most popular songs are Change (in the House of the Flies), Passenger, Bored, Minerva, Rocket Skates, Back to School (Mini Maggit), Beauty School, Diamond Eyes, Hole in the Earth, Mein, Digital Bath, and etc.
4 Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock band, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio.
5 Korn 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 ...read more.
6 Faith No More Faith No More is an American alternative metal band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on their current moniker in 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man.
7 Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American nu-metal/rap metal/rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 1994. Their lineup consists of Fred Durst, Sam Rivers, John Otto, and Wes Borland. They're mostly known for their singles like Break Stuff, My Way, My Generation, Nookie, Eat You Alive, Rollin', and Take a Look Around... read more
8 Ministry Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer and only original member Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a new wave synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the mid-1980s. In late 1990s and after that, Ministry have explored other metal genres, most notably ...read more.
9 Alice In Chains Alice in Chains is an American grunge/alternative metal band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley.
10 Static-X Static-X formed in Los Angeles in 1994. The band had many lineup changes, but the main vocalist and guitarist throughout has been frontman Wayne Static. Other well-known members of Static-X include Tony Campos (bassist), Ken Jay (drummer), and Koichi Fukuda (guitarist). The final lineup of Static-X ...read more.
The Contenders
11 Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Chris Chaney.
12 Prong
13 System of a Down System of a Down, formed in 1994, is an Armenian-American alternative metal group from Glendale, California. The band name is sometimes shortened to System or SOAD. They've always been a very political band since their inception. Often being against genocide and war most notably in songs like: Pluck, ...read more.
14 Linkin Park 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
15 Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American grunge/alternative metal band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Chris Cornell died on May 17th, 2017.
16 Coal Chamber Coal Chamber was a nu-metal band formed in Los Angeles, CA, in 1993. The current members of Coal Chamber are Dez Fafara (Vocals), Nadja Peulen (Bass), Meegs Rascón (Guitar), and Mike Cox (Drums). Former members of the band include Rayna Foss, Chela Rhea Harper, and John Thor. Coal Chamber is typically ...read more.
17 Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. Stylistically, the band's music is a creative fusion influenced by heavy metal, punk rock, funk, jazz, hip hop and alternative rock.
18 Cold Cold is an American post-grunge, alternative metal, and rock band formed in 1996 in Jacksonville, Florida. With two gold albums, Cold has sold over one million records in the US alone. In 2003, they had a massive hit in the form of Stupid Girl, which was written by Rivers Cuomo. They have gone on to release six studio albums during their career, releasing their latest known effort, The Things We Can't... read more
19 Dope
20 Pantera Pantera was an American heavy metal band formed in 1981 by guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul. The band started out as a glam metal act in the 1980s with little success. After discarding their original lead vocalist and enlisting Phil Anselmo, the band signed a major record deal with Warner Music Group via Atco Records. Around this time, Pantera underwent a major change in their musical... read more
21 White Zombie White Zombie was an American heavy metal band that formed in 1985. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band, and was known for its later heavy metal-oriented sound.
22 Drowning Pool Drowning Pool is an American Nu-Metal band formed in Dallas, Texas in 1996. The band was named after the film The Drowning Pool.
23 Mudvayne Mudvayne was an American nu-metal/alternative metal band that was formed in Peoria, Illinois, in 1996. Originally from Bloomington, Illinois, they are known for their sonic experimentation, innovative album art, face and body paint, masks, and uniforms.
24 Primus Primus is an American funk metal band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Tim Alexander. Les Claypool is regarded as one of the best bassists of all time for his slap-bass ability in notable songs like "My Name Is Mud", ...read more.
25 Melvins The Melvins are an American sludge metal band that formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. They usually perform as a trio, but in recent years have performed as a four piece with two drummers.
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