1 Five Finger Death Punch
Five Finger Death Punch, often shortened to Five Finger or Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Formed in 2005, the band's name comes from the kung fu movie The Five Fingers of Death. They do all of the generic wannabe tough guy things multiplied by a thousand. From their mundane riffs, overdramatic vocals, and really bad songs throughout. How anyone can tolerate this band, let alone like them, is a mystery to me.
They made ONE good song. ONE. Now they're not just "tough," but their ego is up there.
Now this at #1 I completely agree with.
2 Godsmack
Godsmack is an American alternative metal/hard rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin.
3 Saliva
Saliva is an American hard rock band that was formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1996. Saliva released their self-titled debut album on August 26, 1997, through Rockingchair Records. This record label is owned and operated by Mark Yoshida, who recorded and produced the release at his studio, Rockingchair... read more "Click Click Boom" and "Badass" are average generic wannabe tough guy songs. Not good ones either, but once again that's not surprising. Not as bad as others in the pack, but not that interesting either.
One of the most generic rock bands I've ever heard. Nothing interesting from any of the band members either.
4 Disturbed
Disturbed is an American alternative metal/nu-metal/hard rock band from Chicago, Illinois. The band comprises vocalist David Draiman, bassist John Moyer, guitarist Dan Donegan, and drummer Mike Wengren. They are known for songs like "Down With the Sickness" and "Stricken". I remember that during art class in high school, there was this guy who always put on Disturbed songs. The teacher let us play whatever music we wanted on the speakers. The guy really looked like he felt he was the toughest man in the room. It just looked pathetic, to be honest.
They may not be as bad as FFDP, but that doesn't make them good either. "Guarded," although one of their few tolerable songs, is a generic wannabe tough guy song. Don't get me started on "Down With the Sickness," another wannabe tough guy song that screams pathetic.
5 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... read more This list wouldn't be complete without one of the pioneers of generic wannabe tough guy music. Fred Durst comes off as corny more than intimidating, in all honesty. "Break Stuff" is your typical generic wannabe tough guy song, and a really bad one at that.
If there was a list of Wannabe Tough Guy Musicians or Rappers, he would be at the top.
The favorite band for every Kyle, especially the ones from the 2000s.
6 Avenged Sevenfold
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)... read more
7 Bullet for My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh metalcore band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matthew Tuck (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Michael Paget (lead guitar, backing vocals), Michael Thomas (drums) and Jamie Mathias (bass guitar). Former members include Nick Crandle and Jason James;... read more
8 Attila
Attila is an American metalcore band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2005. Frontman Chris Fronzak started the band in high school and, not wanting to use typical death metal terms, adopted the name from Attila the Hun, which he came across in a book.
9 Theory Of A Deadman
Theory of a Deadman is a Canadian post-grunge band. Formed in 2001, the band is currently signed to Roadrunner Records as well as 604 Records. They were discovered by Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger. Theory of a Deadman has gone on to release eight studio albums. Their most well-known songs include... read more They try to sound badass but really aren't. It doesn't help that they're misogynist either. "No Way Out," "Crutch," and more are some of their several wannabe tough guy songs. It's kind of ironic how soft they made their music lately.
10 Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse is a American death metal band from Buffalo, New York, formed in 1988. The band is known for their graphic album covers, explicitly violent lyrics and song titles like "I C** Blood" The group got into mainstream after performing the song "Hammer Smashed Face" in the 1994 film Ace Ventura:... read more Their lyrics scream "wannabe tough guy band."
The Contenders
11 Emmure
Emmure is an American metalcore band formed in 2003. Originally based in New Fairfield, Connecticut, but now residing in Queens, New York, the group has a total of seven releases, with their first public release being a 2006 EP entitled The Complete Guide to Needlework.
12 Hinder
Hinder is an American post-grunge/hard rock band from Oklahoma. The band was formed in 2001 by drummer Cody Hanson, lead singer Austin Winkler, and guitarist Joe "Blower" Garvey.
13 Slipknot
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... read more I've really grown out of this band lately. It's not hard to see why either. They come off as a diet-sounding Slayer with lots of generic wannabe tough guy elements thrown into the mix. Wait and Bleed is one of the biggest examples that comes to mind.
14 Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin is an American alternative metal band formed in 1999. The band's members changed between 2010 and 2014, with the exception of Ben Burnley (vocals). The ex-members included Chad Szeliga (drums), Aaron Fink (guitar), and Mark Klepaski (bass)... read more They try to pull it off but fail. With songs like "You Fight Me," "Lights Out," and others, it's really bad wannabe tough guy music. Benjamin Burnley tries to be intimidating but really isn't. He comes off as corny and hard to take seriously.
They sound like every other Hard Alternative band ever.
15 Trapt
Trapt is an American post-grunge band that formed in Los Gatos, California, in 1995. They are best known for their 2002 single "Headstrong". The one-hit wonder behind "Headstrong," generic wannabe tough guy music at its worst. It doesn't help that the singer comes off as bland either. Not an impressive band, to say the least. But any wannabe tough guy band isn't impressive.
16 Hollywood Undead
Hollywood Undead is an American rap rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States. They released their debut album, Swan Songs, on September 2, 2008, and their live CD/DVD Desperate Measures, on November 10, 2009. Their second studio album, American Tragedy, was released April 5, 2011. All of... read more
17 Volbeat
Volbeat are a Danish heavy metal band formed in Copenhagen in 2001. They play a fusion of rock and roll, heavy metal and rockabilly.
18 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... read more
19 Shinedown
Shinedown is an American hard rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 and founded by members Brent Smith, Brad Stewart, Jasin Todd, and Barry Kerch.
20 My Darkest Days
My Darkest Days was a Canadian rock band based in Peterborough, Ontario consisting of lead singer Matt Walst, bassist Brendan McMillan, drummer Doug Oliver, and keyboardist Reid Henry. Matt Walst left the band in 2013 to become the lead singer of Three Days Grace. Their last album that came out was... read more
21 Six Feet Under
Six Feet Under is an American death metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed in 1993. The band consist of four members: founding vocalist Chris Barnes, longtime guitarist Steve Swanson, current bassist Jeff Hughell and recent drummer Marco Pitruzzella.
22 Blood on the Dance Floor
Blood on the Dance Floor was an American electronic music group from Orlando, Florida, originally consisting of Dahvie Vanity and several other members over time. The group formed in 2006, with former members including Jayy Von Monroe (2009–2016) and Garrett Ecstasy (2009), all of whom provided vocals... read more They look like if the Joker had an emo phase.
23 Metallica
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"... read more
24 Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian post-grunge band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta, Canada. The band is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adair.
25 Papa Roach
Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California. Formed in 1993, their first major-label release was the triple-platinum album Infest.