How Many Of These Heavy Metal Music Legends Can You Name?

By: Randy Lawson
overlay
Getty Images
As legend has it: Some of today’s leading music is derived from the heavy metal greats. The music industry is packed with hard rock, thrash and nu metal. Between solo artists, bands and one-shot groups, there’s a lot of information out there.

If we’re dealing with heavy metal legends, we want to test your wits. Listening to heavy metal is one thing—but understanding its roots, bands and culture is another. It’s important to know your hair metal from your grindcore. For some metal enthusiasts, AC/DC might be the ultimate band. For others, it could be Black Sabbath.

A lot has changed in the past 40 years. Grindcore gigs have come and gone. Meanwhile, non-metalheads have ground away at the otherwise impenetrable wall surrounding the genre. Heavy metal might’ve been birthed in 1970—by Black Sabbath, themselves—but the genre has changed a lot. In the past, heavy metal was about a minimalist form, complexity and rhythm. Over time, other artists contributed to the genre’s complexity and power.

Sure, we’ve had our New Wave. We’ve also witnessed a heavy metal identity crisis—examining the clash between hair metal and thrash metal. By the early 1990s, heavy metal reached a crossroads. New artists experimented with commercially palatable music. Metallica and Megadeth entered the picture. Then, the Grunge movement started. This extreme diversion featured Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains.

While heavy metal might’ve taken a back seat in mainstream culture for a little while, it eventually rose again. In the 2000s, artists like In Flames redefined heavy metal with heavier—albeit melodic—tones. As old fans flocked to new, heavy-hitting metal artists, new metal enthusiasts came out of the woodworks. Heavy metal has since sustained itself as a worldwide phenomenon—regardless of the mainstream’s support.

Today, heavy metal is more diverse than ever, contributing to new music advancements across multiple genres. While the many sub-genres of heavy metal have numerous technical and nuanced differences, the overarching genre is backed by 40 years of development, care and a love of music. Heavy metal isn’t slowing down any time soon.

Below, we’ve created a list depicting top heavy metal legends. Can you guess which band is which? Whether you’re a long-time heavy metal fan or not, we feel this game is great for genre-lovers. Check out our lineup, and see if you’ve got the grit to nail down the “who’s who” of heavy metal.