Top Ten Softest Metal Bands

The Top Ten
1 Ghost Ghost is a Swedish heavy metal band that was formed in Linköping in 2008. The band consists of five masked instrumentalists known as the Nameless Ghouls, and a demonic anti-pope known as Papa Emeritus. They have released four studio albums, one live album, and two EPs. Each album introduces a new version of Papa Emeritus... read more

They only look scary - music is soft and pretty poppy, most of the songs sound like rock to me.

Their music by comparison to their appearance gives me an ironic feeling...

They aren't metal, but they dress like metal musicians.

2 Queensryche Queensrÿche is an American progressive heavy metal band formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. They released their self titled EP in 1984, but didn’t gain notoriety until the release of their critically acclaimed album Operation: Mindcrime in 1988. As of now, they have one EP, and 15 studio albums.

Not a heavy band, but not the softest.

3 Scorpions Scorpions are a German rock band formed in 1965 in Hanover by Rudolf Schenker. Since the band's inception, its musical style has ranged from hard rock to heavy metal.

There are only a few metal songs and I can only think of one off the top of my head, Sails of Charon

Yes, some of their songs are metal, but even those songs aren't that heavy...

In fact, they don't have many metal songs.

They're more like hard rock.

4 Nightwish Nightwish is a symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and lead singer Tarja Turunen. It's currently formed by Tuomas, Emppu, lead vocalist Floor Jansen, bassist and vocalist Marco Hietala, multiinstrumentist and vocalist Troy Donockley, and drummer Jukka Nevalainen (currently on hiatus and replaced by Kai Hahto).

They have really hard songs, like Devil & the dark deep ocean

I like Nightwish!

5 Within Temptation Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt.

I had to remind myself several times when listening to them that they were considered metal. Really good band though I mean if one of their best known songs is a Kate Bush cover of course I'm gonna like them.

Within Temptation - softest symphonic metal band
Riverside - softest progressive "metal" band
Paradox - softest thrash metal band (thrash rock?)
Draconian - softest doom metal band (doom rock?)
softest death metal band: DarkDamien has a separate list for that

Yes, one of the softest bands. Also very poppy.

Not heavy but good band.

6 Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is a hard rock/pop rock band formed in 1983, which had a streak of successful albums in the late 1980s. The band originally consisted of lead vocalist Jon Bon Jovi, guitarist Ritchie Sambora (left in 2013), bassist Alec John Such (left in 1994), keyboard David Bryan, and drummer Tico Torres. The band's most famous album is Slippery When Wet, released in 1986, and had multiple hit singles such as "You give love a bad name", "Livin' On A Prayer", and "Wanted Dead Or Alive". The band's success continued well into the 1990s and 2000s, and the group still makes music to this day. They have sold around around 83 million albums worldwide.The band's first four albums blended the glam metal ...read more.

Nowhere near metal. Why are they on here, moreover at #2?

Bon Jovi is more rock than metal.

7 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

Linkin Park's not metal at all.

Linkin Park is not metal anymore

8 Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin was an English hard rock band formed in London in 1968 as the New Yardbirds. The group consisted of Robert Plant (Vocal), Jimmy Page (Guitar), John Paul Jones (Bass, Keyboard) and John Bonham (Drums) and was very much the child of Jimmy Page who even financed their first tour. He had tasted some previous success with The [original] Yardbirds and was friendly with some big names in rock. Page states it was Keith Moon of The Who that claimed the band could only go down, like a lead balloon -- thus prompting the iconic name of Led Zeppelin. The band's heavy, guitar-driven sound, rooted in blues and psychedelia on their early albums, has earned them recognition as one of the progenitors ...read more.

Not metal. Actually most of the bands on this list aren't metal.

9 Van Halen Van Halen was an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. From 1974 until 1985, the band consisted of guitarist Eddie Van Halen, vocalist David Lee Roth, drummer Alex Van Halen, and bassist Michael Anthony.
10 Katatonia Katatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band has released nine studio albums spanning the course of three decades, and their tenth studio album, The Fall of Hearts was released on May 20, 2016.
The Contenders
11 Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band from Boston, Massachusetts. The band was formed in 1985 under the name of "Majesty", only to change its name to Dream Theater later. ...read more.
12 Beyond the Black Beyond the Black is a German symphonic metal band from Mannheim originally consisting of Jennifer Haben (vocals), Nils Lesser (guitar), Christopher Hummels (guitar, vocals), Tobias Derer (drums), Erwin Schmidt (bass) and Michael Hauser (keyboard). As of August 2016, the members parted ways, with Haben planning on continuing the project with a new band whose member have not yet been confirmed. Formed one year earlier, their 2015 debut album “Songs of Love and Death” was a sleeper hit in their home country, with the band appearing as guest stars in several shows and festivals. One year later, their second album “Lost in Forever” was released and met with similar success. ...read more.

Most of their songs are basically pop with some guitar riffs and symphonic orchestration. Poppy and cheesy as hell.

13 Rhapsody of Fire Rhapsody of Fire is an Italian symphonic power metal band created by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, widely seen as a pioneer of the symphonic power metal subgenre.
14 Staind Staind was a post-grunge/alternative metal band formed in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1995. ...read more.
15 Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English progressive rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. The band began essentially as a solo project for Wilson, who created all of the band's music.
16 Avantasia Avantasia is a German supergroup rock opera project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist of the band Edguy.

Yes, they are very soft. Some songs are even poppy.

17 HIM HIM was a Finnish gothic rock band from Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo and bassist Mikko "Mige" Paananen under the name His Infernal Majesty, the band broke up in 1993, before being reformed in 1995 by Valo and guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström.

Pretty soft and not metal

18 Poison Poison is an American glam and hard rock band that achieved great commercial success in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.

Not only the softest metal band (it's not actually metal), but also the softest hard rock band.

19 Rainbow Rainbow are a British rock band led by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from 1975 to 1984 and 1993 to 1997. They were originally established with Ronnie James Dio as the lead singer and lyricist. Rainbow were ranked No. 90 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. The band has sold over 28 million albums worldwide. The band's early work primarily featured mystical lyrics with a neoclassical metal style.

Yes. Except for Stargazer, A Light in the Black and Kill the King, they're pretty soft.

They were very heavy for the 70s but not for current generations of metal fans.

20 Stratovarius Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band that formed in 1984. Since their formation, they have released 16 studio albums, 4 DVD and 3 live albums.

Yes, they are very soft and even poppy.

21 Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were a Heavy Metal band formed in Birmingham, England in 1968 by guitarist and songwriter Tony Iommi, singer John "Ozzy" Osbourne, bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward.

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.

Everybody's so excited about how heavy their guitar sound was, but no one realizes how cheesy they were with Ozzy's vocals...

22 Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is a American post-grunge/alternative metal/rock band formed in 1998. The bands members all changed in the time between 2010 to 2014, with the exception of Ben Burnley (Vocals). The Ex-Members included Chad Szeliga (Drums), Aaron Fink (Guitar) and Mark Klepaspi (Bass). The band is one of the most well-known bands of its genre and is associated with its electronic sounds in their songs and overall technicality. After the release of their second album "We Are Not Alone", the band gained a lot success in Europe and Asia.

This isn't metal.

23 Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg, Northern Germany. The band is a pioneering force in the power metal genre, and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I and Part II, are considered masterpieces of the genre.

Yes, Kiske era was softer, but Hansen era was pretty heavy. Dunno much about Deris...

24 Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy Metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. The most critically acclaimed period for the band was from 1983-1989. With vocalist Bruce Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, lead guitarist Dave Murray, rhythm guitarist Adrian Smith, and drummer Nicko McBrain. Smith left the band in 1989 and was replaced by Janick Gers. But returned in 1999, and now the band has three guitar players. ...read more.

They're not soft and not heavy. They're in the middle.

25 Demon Hunter Demon Hunter is an American Christian metal band from Seattle, Washington, started in 2000 by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. Although the brothers created the band together, only Ryan remains, since Don left the band to take care of his family.
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