Best Decades for Metal Music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 60s and the early 70s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. Since its creation, metal has divided into many subgenres.

Do you think metal isn't the same as it was before? Or is better now?
The Top Ten
1 1980s

I wouldn't vote for anything other than the '80s when it comes to metal music. The most memorable and amazing metal songs were written in this decade.

Let's see... We've got Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Black Sabbath was still pretty strong. Thrash Metal became huge, starting with Metallica, then Slayer and Anthrax followed. Megadeth was formed after Dave Mustaine left Metallica. More bands like Exodus, Testament, and Overkill were also formed. AC/DC remained strong in the 80s, even without Bon Scott, releasing good songs like "Back in Black" and "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)." Dio was another heavy metal band formed in the 80s, and Mercyful Fate had some pretty good hits like "Evil", "Curse of the Pharaohs", and pretty much any other Mercyful Fate song that was included in Metallica's cover named after the same band. So, many good bands were formed in the 80s, and others from the 70s remained strong.

The 1980s was also the point where Metallica and Guns N' Roses were at their best, with great hits like "Master of Puppets," "Fade to Black," "Seek and Destroy," and "One." Guns N' Roses had their album, "Appetite for Destruction," full of good songs. Other notable songs include Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law," Iron Maiden's "Hallowed be thy Name," Megadeth's "Peace Sells," and Slayer's "Raining Blood."

This proves that the 1980s was the best decade for heavy metal. The worst is probably the 2010s.

2 1990s

Bad decade for Iron Maiden and Metallica but great for a lot of bands like Pantera, Death, or Sepultura.

It was a decade for new metal eras like the alternative subgenres: Grunge, Industrial, Sludge, Nu...

People always say this was a bad decade for metal, but it was also when many Melodic Death Metal bands were formed, and that is my favorite genre.

One good thing about this decade was that Rob Halford finally came out as gay. It must have been hard for him to keep it a secret after all those years.

3 1970s

Best decade for intelligent music and skilled musicians. Prog Rock was a beast! Symphonic, Canterbury, RPI... Sadly, keyboards were used for crappy pop in the 80s.

'90s? '60s?!? Just no. Metal started in 1970 with Black Sabbath and continued with great bands like Judas Priest and Rainbow.

4 2000s

You got Opeth, Agalloch, Mastodon, Tool, System of a Down, Gojira, Slipknot, Machine Head, Meshuggah, Mercenary, Saturnus, Nevermore, Rammstein, and Porcupine Tree all peaking.

On top of that, you have great albums from Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Halford, Pantera, Blaze Bayley, Deftones, and Helloween.

Opeth, Tool, and Mastodon were all in their prime and are arguably the most creative metal bands to date.

5 2010s

A lot of progressive bands reigned in the 2010s. Ihsahn, Vektor, Mastodon, Opeth, and many more bands. Classic bands also released some really good material, such as Kreator with Phantom Antichrist and Gods of Violence. Anthrax released Worship Music and For All Kings. Amazing music. It's just unfortunate that metal doesn't really get the media attention like in previous decades.

The 80s were when a lot of the best bands came out, including Judas Priest, Megadeth, and my favorite, Iron Maiden. However, there was still a lot of crappy glam metal that overall destroyed the genre. Now most of those bands are gone, and what is left is the good stuff.

6 1960s
7 2020s
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