Top 10 New Wave of American Heavy Metal Bands

I honestly think that this band is #1 on this list, not A7X, mostly because of a few reasons:

1. They've been around longer, starting in the days they were known as Burn the Priest.
2. Their musicianship as a whole is more complex and not watered down.
3. They just kick ass!

These guys have put out a ton of albums over 20 years, and they haven't budged an inch since their debut as far as heaviness goes! If you don't agree, just listen to Laid to Rest and Redneck. Oh, they also have GROOVE to them, a lot like Pantera!

For those who disagree or don't know Lamb of God, listen to them. They are the kings, boasting songs such as Blacken the Cursed Sun, Laid to Rest, and Vigil. This band is ultimately the best New Wave of American Heavy Metal (and heavy metal) band. Can't argue with that. And if you disagree, we Lamb of God fans wouldn't bother because we're doing fine without you.

They're one of the most popular and influential metal bands today. These guys are very talented musicians and songwriters. They are technical enough to please metal fans while being catchy and melodic enough to sound good to people who aren't metal fans.

A lot of their sound derives from their influences, but they also have their own sound. They experiment and change their genre more often than I change my underwear, and they still sound good with each change - no easy feat. Good riffs, nice dual guitar harmonies, fantastic solos, catchy and beautiful melodies, very good lyrics, and amazing vocals.

Their albums "Waking the Fallen," "City of Evil," and "The Stage" are absolute masterpieces. I listen to many metal and rock bands, especially a lot from this list, and yet A7X still surprises me with how talented they are and how great their music is. One of the best bands of all time in my opinion, easily!

Pantera all the way for number one. They're the only REAL heavy metal band that stuck to their roots and didn't get sucked into all that mainstream stuff that happened in the '90s. They were heavy and stayed heavy. They didn't get lighter with each album.

And I think we can all thank God that Dime stuck by his brother and didn't take the offer from Dave Mustaine to join Megadeth, or else we wouldn't have such a pure American heavy metal band.

1. Pantera
2. Machine Head
3. Lamb of God

There is no way Avenged Sevenfold should be at the top of this list. They are a great band, but it's a bit of a stretch to say they are metal. Pantera was undoubtedly metal, and if anything, they got heavier with each album they released. The guys from A7X have frequently said that Pantera was one of their biggest influences. Pantera started the NWOAHM and will always be the greatest!

By far the most original and creative of all metal bands mentioned in this list. They continue to develop their progressive/sludge-inspired sound and push their music into new territory, whereas most metal bands have failed to evolve since the last decade.

Mastodon continues to experiment and expand the metal genre, refusing to conform to the homogeneity of the current scenes. They are a force to be reckoned with and have yet to displease critics and fans alike.

As the guy below me stated, they are the most original metal band of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal movement. Excellent musicians with incredibly consistent albums. They are by far the best metal band post-2000.

This is bull! How could they be at number four? They were the start of the new wave of heavy metal! There hasn't been any other band as insane as them live, even though the self-titled and Iowa era was way better than the new era (Vol. 3 and All Hope Is Gone). But they are back, alright! The Gray Chapter is their best album yet, in my opinion.

Just a pure American heavy metal band that deserves all the recognition they have received and more. Their live performances, attention-grabbing image, and brutal yet melodic music are all unrivaled. Slipknot is one of the, if not the, most unique bands of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal.

Burn My Eyes and The More Things Change were fantastic and purely heavy albums. Seriously strong stuff from a band that had just begun.

The Burning Red and Supercharger? More experimental but still heavy and solid albums by the band. Through the Ashes of Empires was a return to their older roots, and it was heavy!

But then came The Blackening - an album so fast, so heavy, and so beautiful that it is easily the equivalent of today's Master of Puppets, Among the Living, Rust in Peace, or Reign in Blood.

Not to forget Unto the Locust, an album that doesn't try to rival its predecessor as most bands would. Instead, it simply tries and succeeds to stand by it.

You want the best band in the NWOAHM? This is it! MACHINE HEAD RULE!

P.S. Machine Head should be first, and Pantera should be second... Just saying.

If it wasn't for Korn, none of these bands would exist. Deal with it! Korn is the band that started the new wave of American heavy metal. The vocalist from Korn, Jonathan Davis, was the first person to start singing about emotions. Before, it was just lame lyrics. They were also the first really heavy band with 7-string guitars and 5-string basses. What I love about them is that they don't use ugly solos and they don't scream their guts out.

Undeniably, KoRn was the driving force behind nu metal's rise in the late '90s. On the scene since the start of that decade, they were a startlingly unique underground phenomenon whose grassroots beginnings gave the genre a fresh, DIY edge that had been lost since the rise of mainstream radio rock in the post-grunge era.

The band that will carry the metal torch into the future! This band needs to be on the top because of their last album alone, The Sin and the Sentence. Their unique sound is constantly evolving, and they are an amazing live band that sounds better in person.

Beast band that totally deserves to be in the top 10. It's a pity that it is so underrated. This band makes divine music and is by far the most consistent band from the top 10 list, along with Disturbed, Slipknot, and A7X.

Trivium is one of my favorite heavy metal bands. I like all of their songs and hope to see them in Liverpool. My favorite songs are Wake (The End Is Nigh), In Waves, and At the End of This War.

Disturbed is the best of these metal bands, one of the top 3 metal bands ever, and one of the top 5 bands ever.

Listen to Ten Thousand Fists and Asylum all the way through, and your mind will be blown.

I just can't decide between Disturbed and Korn. I love both bands!

What a band! Ivan Moody, the very best metal vocalist of the decade, would even give James Hetfield a run for his money. Zoltan is a great guitarist! These guys know how to put great songs together. They are true masters of metal. May you long reign! You should be number 1 without a doubt.

Ivan Moody has one of those iconic, instantly recognized voices. He can do guttural, testosterone-laden roars, or he can do clean, baritone melodies.

The band is musically reminiscent of more powerful yet simple bands like Motörhead or Judas Priest. 5FDP for the win!

Great stuff.

Great guitars, and I prefer the singer Jesse Leach.

So take a look at Times Of Grace too, another band of Jesse Leach and Adam Dutkiewicz (guitarist of Killswitch Engage).

There's a very special and unique sound and presence in every song, and it's awesome.

BLS is a band formed out of Ozzy, and they can play just about anything. Their concerts are extreme, and their CDs are excellent ear candy.

Zakk Wylde has to be one of the greatest guitarists in the world.

Zakk is mighty Thor. Greetings from the land of Vikings, Sweden.

They're a good band. They kinda deserve 17 because they are not the most popular. I like their sound, and I love their song Not Falling. And I like any band that is friends with Slipknot.

Mudvayne is my favorite band because they have an incredible sound and extraordinary members.

This band, Lamb of God, and Killswitch Engage are considered the "big three" of NWOAHM. They should be WAY higher than #20! Every album is amazing. They have been on hiatus for a few years and have kind of fallen out of the spotlight, but to be honest, I think out of those three listed above, as good as they are, I enjoy Shadows Fall the most.

The modern-age Metallica. They are the closest to thrash metal in a modern sense. I don't see them as purely metalcore nor thrash. If you need riffs that you can bang your head to, then this is the band. They also have great solos.

All That Remains and Godsmack should be in the top ten. They are two of the best right now.

This is better than Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, and System of a Down combined. Unlike those bands, Dillinger actually possesses some originality, as well as some of the most chaotic music you'll ever hear.