Top 10 Most Influential Metal Bands
The top 10 metal bands that most inspired you to (try) to make music or were the biggest inspiration and had the biggest influence on the metal industry.
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.
They created and popularized Heavy Metal. It is idiotic to not have Black Sabbath at #1. Not only were they the first true metal band, they also were the direct inspiration for quite a few major subgenres, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, & Gothic Metal are all inspired by the mighty Sabbath!
Sabbath started metal, They created metal, if it werent for them, Metallica, Lamb of god, Megadeth, Slipknot and Iron maiden wouldn't exist, And what the heck is up with Slipknot, Lamb of god, and system of a down being on this list? They are good yea, But they didn't Influence
Still relevant today. They were one of the co-founders of Heavy Metal. Many lineup changes of the years, but nothing matches the original 4 members: Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward
You look at the roots of metal, it all leads to these. They didn't look up to anyone before they them, they are the creators.

Sabbath was undeniably the first metal band in existence, but Iron Maiden were really the first band to play actual "heavy" metal. What I mean by that is they were the first to play metal like how it's known today
they are one the best metal bands in ALL the metal history, maybe the most influential band with Black Sabbath and Judas Priest.
Lamb of God and Slipknot should not be here because I think they are not influential bands because they are from this times; in my opinion, an influential band is the one who have influented so much bands in metal, like IRON MAIDEN!
Iron Maiden, the best band of the world. Thanks for being 34 years part of my life.
This is one band that can never be beaten it forgotten by any other...
Up the irons

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.
Let's be real, Black Sabbath was really the first metal band, but Metallica is definitely the most well known metal band and by far the most famous and popular with Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Iron Maiden being close behind. If you asked someone what the first band they think of when they think of metal, they will most likely say Metallica
They actually should be number 1 since most of the world today wouldn't even know every band in this list (even Black Sabbath...or any other metal band for that matter) if it wasn't for Metallica.
Even people who don't like metal have heard of Metallica, the same can't be said about most others.
They are good

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.
Leaders of the NWoBHM, without them, metal would die away. Rob Halford set the stage for what being a metal frontman is. Also I believe that having two lead guitars is their idea.
It's getting old seeing Megadeth in the top 10 in every thing that has to do with metal. They are as gay as male cheerleaders. And so are their fans
Should really be above maiden. Black Sabbath at 1 makes sense.
One of the earliest metal bands.

Yeah everybody knows the invention of death metal, but don't undermine their influence on metal as a whole. Albums like Human and Symbolic explored the limits of metal.
When they heard the Possessed demo, chuck said:we should be like these guys. But they influenced Possessed later by Scream Bloody gore.
This guys were the reason of existance of Cannibal Corpse & Children Of Bodom and many others.
Deathcore melodeath would never exist without chuck may he rest in peace

Essentially created the Genre of Thrash and Black Metal and pretty big inspiration for Death Metal. On a side note why is Slipknot number 4.
First band to go extreme and whether you like them or not, you have to admit that was a huge turning point for the genre.
Thrash Metal and Black Metal, all Extreme Metal bands were influenced by this band, from Death to Darkthrone.
Most influencial extreme metal band ever, Thrash Metal, Black Metal & Death Metal would never existed without them.

Not a fan. But their influence on early death metal bands is as significant as Possessed, believe it or not!
P.S. what in the world is Slipknot doing on the list? They were probably the first 'MeTaL' band to set an example on how to be utterly terrible by churning out sonical garbages after garbages.
Major influence over extreme metal subgenres and also cited as influence by many modern metal bands. Definitelly a top10 material.

If this list was 'top metal bands' instead of 'influential metal bands' I would put Pantera at number simply for the fact that their music seems as heavy now as it did when it was released. As legendary as they were, I just don't think the same can be said for bands like Sabbath and Maiden. If it wasn't for Pantera we wouldn't be able to enjoy many of the top metal bands around now, due to Pantera being the frontmen in the charge against the post metal grunge era (Nirvana), when metal was no longer considered 'cool'.
I think Pantera should be at the 5 spot. Pantera invented groove metal, which is the sub-genre that many bands like Slipknot fall into. Slipknot should definitely not be in front of Pantera.
Pantera should be at number as no band were more talented in there sound was different in most songs and were faster and tighter than any other. The true metal gods.
Listen to albums Cowboys from Hell, Far Beyond Driven and The Great Southern Trendkill and you'll know why this band is the best. Pantera Forever m/m/.

Many bands of the 60s-70s played heavy blues rock or hard rock, believing it was heavy metal (many metal fans still make this mistake). Deep Purple played hard rock but also metal as we know it now: non-bluesy rock music, mostly based on classical music. For example, "Highway Star" is a metal definition: An entirely non-bluesy song based on Bach-like chord sequences. It's not their first metal song but it's the best.
Later this non-bluesy sound became the most important feature of metal music - Rainbow, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden made it more evident. Metal in general became a genre based on classical music - behind the riffs of Holy Wars and Master of Puppets you can hear classical music. R. Blackmore is a pure genius. "Highway Star" is widely considered as 'early speed metal'. Also a memorable riff, breathtaking technical solo and Gillan's great vocals.
I'm pretty sure most metal bands will cite three main bands as being most inspirational: Sabbath, Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. That being said, Ritchie Blackmore's technical ability was and will always be the best and fastest (just listen to his solo on Highway Star).
They gave birth to the genre, together with Black Sabbath. Ian Gillan created classic metal vocals and Ritchie Blackmore pushed the limits of guitar.
The inventors of heavy metal not influential enough for the top 3? Why so low?

If you listen to bands like Venom, you can clearly hear Motorhead's influence. Arguably most of extreme metal wouldn't exist without them, not even the core-genres would
This is an awful list, as per usual on this site. How is Pantera ahead of Motorhead? What on earth...To me, the top 8 is just unassailable...Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Venom in some order, then Metallica, then Death and Slayer.
Motorhead influenced bands such like Metallica, these guys need to be at the top with Black Sabbath... but lets be honest you can only trust the first Black Sabbath album anyway! Motorhead all the way!
They were the first to fuse hardcore punk's and metal's energy together. Without them, there would be no Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer or any bands that were inspired by them.

They released their debut album “Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good!” in 1985, but became successful after the release of “Peace Sells...But Who’s Buying?” in 1986. ...read more.
I voted for them, because they happened to be exactly tenth on my list.
Dave Mustaine revolutionized metal riffs and heavily inspired the change in Pantera's sound which lead to the rebirth of the most influencial metal band of all time.
I get sore necks and head aches head banging to Megadeth all day!

What, the most influential Black Metal band is not in top ten? This band was responsible for the Norwegian Black Metal scene.
Slipknot higher than Bathory? That's insane...

Whether or not you think Zep is metal, it's certainly the biggest influence to have existed on the genre; nobody played hard rock/"classic metal" until Zep came around. Black Sabbath should be in second, they basically did Zep but a bit heavier with more distorted guitar. But that "metal" sound came from Zep
WHY IS SLIPKNOT ON HERE? They're not even really metal! Every band in the whole list is 5 stars (except Slipknot) so it was really hard to choose. Zeppelin are THE early metal band definition.

Even just in the nu-metal catagory, Slipknot was not that influential. Korn and System of a Down are far more influential, and they are not that really outside the genre.
Slipknot definitely doesn't deserve to be in this top 10 list. How can you put slipknot in front of Pantera?
Slipknot is not a bad band but they don't deserve to be in this list at all.
They are influential not only in metal but other genres as well.


Without Rainbow and Deep Purple, nobody will e-v-e-r understand the process of metal invention and its evolution - in the late 70s Judas Priest and Iron Maiden continued in the direction of Rainbow and Deep Purple (non-bluesy heavy sound, mostly based on classical music). Judas Priest and Iron Maiden didn't sound like the bluesy Led Zep and the bluesy Black Sabbath.
Moreover, in 1977 Roger Glover (Rainbow bassist and ex-Purple bassist) became a producer of Judas Priest to help them. Not many believed in Judas Priest back then and they had no support, money, gigs, etc. So lets talk about influence.
Rainbow perfected the general pattern of metal music and also the speed metal sound, started by Deep Purple. Rainbow also invented at least 3 metal subgenres: power, symphonic, and neo-classical metal.
I'd say this is quite influential.

One of the (or maybe the most) influential band in modern metal. Even outside Djent, you can listen their influence, from hardcore to jazz (Tigran Hamasyan)
The godfathers of Djent. Bleed is one of the most iconic metal songs of all time!
They are more influential than the rest of these bands here, even townsend says that everyone imitates meshuggah in the end
A fearlessly experimental band that took groove metal to zany mathematical heights and helped popularize 7 and 8 string guitars. they also played a massive role in the creation of the modern "djent" "sub-genre".

In terms of being influential, Korn may not have created metal, but they created a major subgenre that dominated the mainstream unlike almost any other subgenre.
They created NU metal, whether you like it or not, it was the biggest subgenre in the late 90s and early 00s. They deserve top10.
There's no nu-metal without Korn. They invented it.
Korn and slipknot should switch places, because if one of them deserves to be that high it's korn


My favorite band, but they were influenced by Pantera and Slayer.
It gives me redneck when I see this in top 11. Holy cow this is better than the others
This must be on top #1
Dudes, you're forgetting the name of the list, it's not best bands it's most influential



I'm surprised that they are this low.
Should be above Death.


The members of the band’s original lineup consisted of John Petrucci (Guitar), John Myung (Bass) and Mike Portnoy (Drums). The band had multiple keyboardists and singers, but as of and since 1991, the band's lead vocalist has been James LaBrie.
The band released their debut album "When Day and Dream Unite" in 1989, but only gained success and notoriety after the release of their second album, "Images and Words" in 1992. ...read more.
They're the Greatest Progressive Metal band. Their musicianship is the best specially if you listen them playing live.