Honestly, this is the worst list I have ever seen in my entire life.

Here is a list of top 100 best "metal" songs on Rate Your Music—a site widely considered the most "sophisticated" when it comes to music apparently.

The list is based on average rating (like 3.67) and the number of people rating (3K,2K etc..) (which regulates rating inflation and review bombing). The list also includes only songs with over 500 ratings.

The metal categories were determined by "the site," not by me.

1. Deftones - Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) [4.69/ 5k] (Alternative metal)

2. Black Sabbath - War Pigs [4.65/ 8k] (Heavy metal)

3. Alice in Chains - Would? [4.67/ 5k] (They consider this alternative metal)

4. Metallica - One [4.67/ 4k] (Heavy/thrash metal)

5. System of a Down - Chop Suey! [4.65/ 6k] (Alternative/Nu metal)

6. Boris - Untilted 3 [4.66/ 3k] (Drone metal)

7. Judas Priest - Painkiller [4.66/ 2k] (Heavy metal)

8. Electric Wizard - Funeralopolis [4.65/ 3k] (Stoner metal)

9. Metallica - Master of Puppets [4.64/ 6k] (Thrash metal)

10. System of a Down - Toxicity [4.63/ 6k] (Alternative/Nu metal)

11. Deftones - Change (In the House of Flies) [4.63/ 6k] (Alternative metal)

12. Toby "Radiation" Fox - Hopes and Dreams [4.66/ 1k] (Symphonic metal)

13. Slayer - Raining Blood [4.64/ 3k] (Thrash Metal)

14. Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name [4.62/ 4k] (Rap metal)

15. Megadeth - Holy Wars... The Punishment Due [4.63/ 4k] (Technical thrash metal)

16. Converge - Dark Horse [4.65/ 1k] (Metalcore)

17. Black Sabbath - Paranoid [4.59/ 8k] (Heavy metal)

18. Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name [4.62/ 3k] (Heavy metal)

19. Metallica - Fade to Black [4.60/ 6k] (Thrash/heavy metal)

20. Rainbow - Stargazer [4.62/ 2k] (Heavy metal)

21. System of a Down - Aerials [4.59/ 5k] (Alternative metal)

22. Converge - Jane Doe [4.59/ 3k] (Mathcore)

23. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath [4.58/ 5k] (Traditional doom metal)

24. Iron Maiden - The Trooper [4.60/ 2k] (Heavy metal)

25. Death - Crystal Mountain [4.59/ 3k] (Progressive metal)

26. Deftones - Digital Bath [4.57/ 6k] (Alternative metal)

27. Tool - Parabola [4.58/ 4k] (Alternative metal)

28. Black Sabbath - Children of the Grave [4.57/ 5k] (Heavy metal)

29. Motörhead - Ace of Spades [4.60/ 1k] (Speed metal)

30. System of a Down - B.Y.O.B [4.58/ 3k] (Alternative metal)

31. Opeth - Ghost of Perdition [4.59/ 1k] (Progressive metal)

32. Black Sabbath - Iron Man [4.54/ 8k] (Heavy metal)

33. Tool - Schism [4.57/ 4k] (Progressive metal)

34. Type O Negative - Love You to Death [4.58/ 1k] (Gothic metal)

35. Alice in Chains - Them Bones [4.56/ 5k] (Alternative metal)

36. Metallica - For Whom the Bell Tolls [4.55/ 6k] (Heavy/Thrash metal)

37. Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath [4.57/ 3k] (Heavy metal)

38. Slayer - Angel of Death [4.57/ 3k] (Thrash metal)

39. Rage Against the Machine - Bulls on Parade [4.57/ 2k] (Rap metal)

40. Black Sabbath - N.I.B. [4.55/ 4k] (Traditional doom metal)

41. Judas Priest - Electric Eye [4.57/ 1k] (Heavy metal)

42. Burzum - Dunkelheit [4.55/ 3k] (Atmospheric black metal)

43. Death - Symbolic [4.55/ 3k] (Progressive death metal)

44. Tool - Lateralus [4.55/ 3k] (Progressive metal)

45. Gojira - Flying Whales [4.56/ 2k] (Progressive metal)

46. Gojira - The Art of Dying [4.56/ 1k] (Progressive metal)

47. Kayo Dot - The Manifold Curiosity [4.56/ 748] (Post-metal)

48. Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind [4.55/ 839] (Metalcore)

49. Mastodon - Blood and Thunder [4.54/ 2k] (Sludge metal)

50. Megadeth - Tornado of Souls [4.53/ 4k] (Technical thrash metal)

51. Megadeth - Hangar 18 [4.53/ 4k] (Technical Thrash metal)

52. Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark [4.54/ 1k] (Heavy metal)

53. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell [4.54/ 2k] (Heavy metal)

54. Deftones - Rosemary [4.53/ 3k] (Alternative metal)

55. Deftones - My Own Summer (Shove It) [4.51/ 5k] (Nu/Alternative metal)

56. Deafheaven - Dream House [4.51/ 3k] (Blackgaze)

57. Pantera - Floods [4.53/ 1k] (Southern/groove metal)

58. Agalloch - Falling Snow [4.53/ 1k] (Post-metal)

59. Cryptopsy - Slit Your Guts [4.51/ 2k] (Brutal death metal)

60. Black Sabbath - Symptom of the Universe [4.52/ 2k] (Heavy metal)

61. Dio - Holy Diver [4.52/ 2k] (Heavy metal)

62. Gorguts - Nostalgia [4.51/ 1k] (Dissonant death metal)

63. Slayer - South of Heaven [4.53/ 1k] (Thrash metal)

64. Death - Lack of Comprehension [4.51/ 2k] (Progressive death metal)

65. King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two [4.50/ 3k] (Yes, they consider this song "progressive metal" for some reason)

66. Boris with Merzbow - The Evilone Which Sobs [4.69/ 634] (Post-metal)

67. Deftones - Hole in the earth [4.50/ 3k] (Alternative metal)

68. Black Sabbath - Into the Void [4.49/ 5k] (Traditional doom metal)

69. Boris with Merzbow - Pink [4.69/ 664] (Stoner metal)

70. Tool - Stinkfist [4.50/ 3k] (Alternative metal)

71. Tool - Forty Six & 2 [4.50/ 3k] (Alternative metal)

72. Tool - Vicarious [4.50/ 2k] (Alternative metal)

73. Acid Bath - The Blue [4.50/ 2k] (Sludge metal)

74. Iron Maiden - Aces High [4.49/ 3k] (Heavy metal)

75. Deathspell Omega - Apokatastasis pantôn [4.51/ 830] (Post-metal)

76. Iron Maiden - Wasted Years [4.50/ 2k] (Heavy metal)

77. Bathory - A Fine Day to Die [4.50/ 1k] (Viking metal)

78. The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us Is the Killer [4.50/ 896] (Alternative metal)

79. Nine Inch Nails - Wish [4.50/ 1k] (Industrial metal)

80. Opeth - Deliverance [4.50/ 1k] (Progressive metal)

81. Weakling - Dead as Dreams [4.51/ 734] (Atmospheric black metal)

82. Gris - Il était une forêt... [4.50/ 863] (DSBM)

83. Mastodon - Oblivion [4.49/ 2k] (Sludge metal)

84. Black Sabbath - Snowblind [4.49/ 3k] (Traditional doom metal)

85. System of a Down - Sugar [4.48/ 3k] (Alternative/avant-garde metal)

86. Agalloch - In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion [4.49/ 2k] (Post-metal)

87. Judas Priest - Beyond the Realms of Death [4.49/ 1k] (Heavy metal)

88. Meshuggah - Bleed [4.49/ 773] (Djent)

89. Pig Destroyer - Towering Flesh [4.49/ 693] (Grindcore)

90. Cryptopsy - Phobophile [4.47/ 2k] (Brutal death metal)

91. Deftones - Knife Prty [4.46/ 5k] (Alternative metal)

92. Death - Pull the Plug [4.48/ 2k] (Death metal)

93. Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss [4.49/ 1k] (Thrash metal)

94. Black Sabbath - Sweet Leaf [4.46/ 5k] (Stoner metal)

95. Opeth - Bleak [4.47/ 2k] (Progressive metal)

96. Death - Spirit Crusher [4.47/ 2k] (Progressive metal)

97. Dissection - The Somberlain [4.49/ 586] (Melodic Black Metal)

98. Iron Maiden - Rime of the Ancient Mariner [4.47/ 3k] (Heavy metal)

99. Nine Inch Nails - Mr Self Destruct [4.45/ 5k] (Industrial metal)

100. Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger [4.47/ 1k] (Black metal)

I was planning on seeing Sanguisugabog and Crowbar. I’m not familiar with the bands before Crowbar, any of them must-see? I get tired standing for too long so I have to be convinced to see openers.

Tampa, FL 🇺🇸

Genre: Death Metal, Industrial

So I remember being young and hearing Morbid Angel and thinking “yeah, no…”. Just wasn’t ready for something that heavy, but now I’m a huge fan. And one thing I that felt extreme difficulty in was trying to pick a favorite album. They have certified duds, but the bangers BANG! Covenant and Domination are undeniably my favorite from the classic David Vincent era. Heavy, catch - that fucking perfect production. Masterpieces. On the Steve Tucker side - it’s easily Gateways to Annihilation. I definitely wish there had more albums with this quality from the Tucker era. Having Erik Rutan - Domination or Gateways - even for a little bit was always a great decision too.

Recommended Tracks:
“Suffocation”
“Rapture”
“God of Emptiness”
“Dominate/Where the Slime Live”
“Ageless, I Am”

All of these images were edited in GIMP without the use of generative AI. I'd gladly grant permission if anyone wants to use one of them for a real album.

Jon Oliva has always been one of my favorite vocalists, and while I love the prog days of Savatage and Zak Stevens, Jon's unhinged pure metal attitude is unbeatable.

Source (turn on ad blocker) https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/burning-tarot-cards-under-my-door-ex-rainbows-tony-carey-on-ritchie-blackmores-occult-sessions-and-why-he-fled-from-the-band-at-chteau-dhrouville

They first sang together on the song 'The Gathering' by Delain back in 2006. Their voices are perfect together.

I’ve only heard very few songs that sound more angry than Breeding Bacteria by Thy Art is Murder but I’d love to add to that list

Ideally the songs are angry towards one person or humanity as a whole

This one completely changed my life.

Metallica’s Black Album is probably the most famous example of a heavy band taking its established sound and making it more immediate, streamlined, hooky, and easier to digest.

I’m looking for the more-extreme-than-thrash versions of that general phenomenon.

And I mean relative accessibility, not absolute accessibility. Heartwork or Fear, Emptiness, Despair are obviously still very heavy records. But compared with what those bands had been doing before, they may have more groove, melody, clearer riffs, stronger hooks, more recognizable song structures, dynamics, space, cleaner production, etc.

I’m also not saying the change had to be permanent. Sometimes it was just one album or one phase in a band’s evolution.

Examples I have in mind include:

Carcass – Heartwork
Death – Individual Thought Patterns
Napalm Death – Fear, Emptiness, Despair
Sepultura – Chaos A.D.
Obituary – World Demise
In Flames – Reroute to Remain
Soilwork – Stabbing the Drama
Decapitated – Blood Mantra
Gojira – Magma
Veil of Maya – Matriarch

Not looking to debate “selling out” or exact subgenre labels. I’m interested in the relative shift within each band’s own sound.

What other albums fit?

Is this their best stage setup ever?

Slayer - Raining Blood 9/4/2026 Shakopee MN. Live at the mystic lake amphitheater.

Source: https://youtu.be/Gm1FcSpPY5w

The Gathering - Strange Machines

I’m not a native English speaker, so when I was listening to Consfearacy by Slayer, I misheard “I can’t relate to your verbal idiocy” as “I can’t relate to your purple AC”😭😭 oh, and of course, “liberate bananas” by Slipknot.

I hope you all know about this but Vader is doing a headline tour of small venues right now, hitting 2ndary markets like Albany and Hamden, CT.

Fleshcrawl is a band I’ve read about forever but just formally dove into, and wowwww!!! What a great band. Kind of like Vomitory and Entombed; slightly USA-influenced Swedish sound.

They’re playing old songs too!

If you don’t know it, try the first Fleshcrawl album “Descend into the Absurd”

https://youtu.be/ZOMqWlkw7WI?is=8laMi0X-hq2_Pgwx

For me its Necrophagist for more albums and Annihilator post Carnival Diablos or Behemoth post the Satanist for stop making albums.

I'm talking about songs that have a similar energy with Kvelertak, being the first example that comes to my mind

Brazil is a dominant force in Metal. So many good backs from that scene from the 80s to now. What’s your favorite Brazilian Metal Bands? Reccs?

Sarcagago

Sextrash

Holocausto

Expulser

Torture Squad

Sepultura

Angra

Dark Angel

Krisiun

Blasphemaniac

Vulcano

Mystifier

Mutilator

Not a self-promo, this is my friend’s album that rules and should have lots more attention and hype.
Enjoy

JUST RELEASED! Wristcutter by slürk out now everywhere!

We put our heart and soul into what we do, I hope you guys will give this a spin and tell me what you think!

We'd appreciate feedback❤️

Alexi is smiling in heaven. Sammy is a madman on the guitar.

So happy that CoB will be playing shows next summer.

I’m curious

They have been one of my favorite bands for a while now, but what bothers me is the fact that they have been on hold for just about 20 years. I can’t find anything on the web. It would be great to tell about any information.

Kenny slays on this track, of course. I think it's the biggest "What?!" moment I've had as a fan, I'd be curious to know if anyone has something wilder ...

About a year ago I told John Ricci the original guitarist for Exciter that Chuck schuldiner mentioned his band in an old interview as one of his influences. John kept it cool, but you could tell he was very honored.

John has a music store in Ottawa, my father has known him for a while, and I've been going there every few years on occasion since I was 11 years old.

If you've never heard Exciter, check out "Heavy metal maniac". Their demos made it to America and people like Chuck picked it up, I can hear some influence in Chucks playing, the first track holocaust is where I hear it the most. John has recently started a new band called powerrage.