Top 10 Heaviest Melodic Metal Bands!

Before we get into this list there has to be some sort of definition of what metal is.  To me, heavy metal is very distorted, overdriven guitars (whatever the tone may be), banging bass, thunderous drums (whatever the tempo or style) and commanding vocals (melodic or not).  I’ve met a lot of people who think that if the front man of the band doesn’t sound like Phil Anselmo then it’s not metal.  I’ve met folks who think that if song doesn’t have a tempo of at least 170 bpm then it’s not metal.  Usually the argument lays in the former.  I remember when I was working at a record store in my hometown call The House of Sight and Sound.  At the time I was super into Megadeth.  Someone asked my who my favorite metal band was to which I replied ‘Megadeth.’  Then the guy goes, ‘No, like, metal.  Your favorite metal band.  Megadeth isn’t really metal.’  I was just stunned.  Sure they’re not as heavy as the Cannibal Corpse shirt he was sporting but it’s still fucking metal!  Heavy metal can be melodic and still be metal!  With that in mind, here are the top ten heaviest melodic metal bands.

10.  Judas Priest

Yes, there are times in the Priest’s career that aren’t particularly heavy (‘British Steel’, ‘Point of Entry’ and ‘Turbo’).  But there’s a ton of really unmatched melodic metal in this bands storied discography.  I’m talking ‘Ram it Down’, ‘Painkiller’, ‘Screaming for Vengeance’ and yes even though it doesn’t have the metal got Rob Halford on vocals, ‘Jugulator’.  ‘Jugulator’ is fucking heavy yo.  Not nearly as strong as the Halford offerings.  But you can’t deny that it’s one of the heaviest melodic albums ever done.  So is their 1990 masterpiece ‘Painkiller’ which many consider to be one of the purest metal albums of all time.  It certainly is a time capsule record.  The title track races with double pedal speed and a guitar tone that peels paint off the walls.  A definitive example of how metal can be just as heavy with an actual singer.

9.  Black Sabbath

No melodic metal list would be complete without the Sabs.  It’s just a fact of life.  Released in 1970, the title track to the self titled debut album is still one of the heaviest pieces of music ever written.  And it still proves to this day that speed does not equal heavy.  The band established a signature sound with the album that has been kept up over the decades.  Despite having five singers, four drummers and three bass players.  Of course, death metal and distorted vocals wouldn’t be around for years to come.  But that just solidifies the heavy elements even more.  They didn’t have anything to compare off of.  They just were and are a heavy ass band.

8.  Dream Theater

I’ve met a lot of people who’ve said that Dream Theater isn’t metal.  That is complete bull!  Dream Theater was the band that introduced me to heavier forms of metal.  At the time I was into funk/hair metal if you will and Dream Theater came into my life.  All of a sudden I’m buying a ton of thrash records.  Song’s like ‘The Glass Prison’, ‘The Mirror/Lie’, ‘Home’, ‘Beyond This Life’, ‘The Dark Eternal Night’, ‘Panic Attack’ and the entire ‘Train of Thought’ album introduced a world of metal that could be extreme but not alienating due to radical vocals.  Yes, they are a prog band as well and there are many ballad moments.  But for the most part, this is a very heavy melodic metal band.  Even just listening to their more accessible songs like ‘Pull Me Under’ have a real thick heaviness to them.  Dream Theater knew that they had to have some real heavy elements in order to compete with others in the 90’s.  And it shows big time.

7.  Mastodon

So far so prog.  Mastodon are one of the hottest bands out right now.  Not just in the metal community either.  And as most fans know this band wasn’t always melodic.  They have three albums with some pretty rough vocals if I do say so myself.  The music on albums like ‘Remission’ and ‘Leviathan’ is top notch.  But the growl death metal style vocals always takes me out of the album.  Not that I don’t like some bands that do have that style of vox.  It just didn’t seem to work for Mastodon.  Eventually the band figured it out and since 2008 have released four unbelievable melodic metal records.  Without sacrificing their heaviness.  Really an impressive feat.  The opening seconds on their first melodic track ‘Oblivion’ on ‘Crack the Skye’ raises hairs all over the body.  And it’s not just heavy in sound.  It’s heavy in mood too.  ‘Crack the Skye’ is so depressing and Mastodon does such a great job of capturing that in the musical progression that you really need to be in a mood for it.  On the next three records they got a little less dark but still never deviated from their original vision.  Just an incredible band.  They’ll be in history books.

6.  Korn

Bring in the seven string, down tuned guitars!  Is there anything but?  Korn, like the band above, actually started out as a death metal band.  Of course this is before they even got signed so there’s very little documented sources of that sound.  Eventually Johnathan Davis started writing melody lines and incorporated his unique melodic singing with seven string guitars, heavy slapping bass and tints of hip hop and scat.  What ended up happening was the creation of a sound that went on to become Nu Metal.  I mean, you listen to that first Korn record and it’s just a powerhouse of raw, brutal energy.  But they never cross into the death metal world.  Honestly, the band hasn’t really topped the perfection of that first record.  No one had heard anything like that before.  And of course, as they became more and more popular, more and more bands copied them until it became a fad.  But none of those bands touched the heaviness of Korn.

5.  King’s X

No band mixes heavy and melody like King’s X!  The only reason they aren’t number one on the list is because they also explore alternative sounds with albums like ‘Ear Candy’.  But records like their self titled album, ‘Faith, Hope, Love’ and ‘Dogman’ are absolute masterpieces of melodic heavy metal.  Song’s like ‘The World Around Me’, ‘Talk to You’, ‘I Can’t Help It’, ‘Black the Sky’ and ‘Don’t Care’ combine such an unusual cocktail of elements that no other band has dared go down their sonic road.  It’s really hard to imagine that just three guys can make the sound that they do.  But they do it.  And they do it live too.  And will leave you breathless.  There isn’t much more to say about this band.  They’re my favorite group and I think the music will speak for itself.

4.  Fates Warning

Fates Warning, although not nearly as well known as Dream Theater or Mastodon, really invented the modern melodic metal sound.  Yes, the deviate a touch with two records ‘Paralles’ and ‘Inside Out’, when they were trying to be a more progressive rock band than metal.  But for the most part, these guys set the table for all kind of acts to follow.  Albums like ‘Spectre Within’, ‘No Exit’ and more recently ‘Darkness in a Different Light’ and ‘Theories of Flight’ are eponymous melodic heavy metal.  ‘No Exit’ particularly stands out.  It’s basically Slayer with Geddy Lee singing.  It’s a radical sound.  That and their city of origin Hartford, CT contributed greatly to the lack of commercial success.  Either way, guitarist Jim Matheos’ vision has grown and remained strong throughout the years.  Influencing hundreds of bands to follow.  Such as Dream Theater and Mastodon.  Like most innovators, they were way ahead of their time.

3.  Nevermore

One of famed guitarist Jeff Loomis’ many projects.  Nevermore are one of the most underrated bands of the past 20 years.  Giving rise to another guitar great Chris Broderick.  They take the heavy guitar tone to the extreme.  They have excellent melodies with clear diction.  Lyrics and words can make or break a song.  Nevermore seems to understand this.  No matter how heavy it gets, it’s always melodic.  You can hear every word clearly which makes it easy for more layers of meaning withing their music.  ‘Dead Heart, In a Dead World’ is one of the true masterpieces of melodic heavy metal.  And it’s a shame that not many people know about it.  It was released in 2000 which is arguably one of the worst years in terms of heavy metals popularity.  With the exception of Disturbed of course.  Either way, Nevermore should have broken a long time ago.  Their music hits a satisfying spot in the soul.  That combined with lyrics that seem more relevant than ever are enough to make the band number three on the list.

2.  Prong

Melodic or not, it doesn’t get much heavier than Prong.  The bands major label debut ‘Beg to Differ’ brought a whole new light into the world of heavy metal.  In many ways Prong is the band that led to groups like Korn which then led to the Nu Metal revolution.  But Prong were never a band to be tied down to any specific form of heavy metal.  There are times where the group isn’t melodic.  But since the bands impressive comeback album ‘Carved into Stone’ main anchor man Tommy Victor has been really killing the melodic element.  And the group has been getting heavier and heavier since without letting go of the new melodic direction.  The newest album ‘Zero Days’ is an excellent example of just how heavy melodic metal can be.  Although it’s not quite as strong as their 2014 epic ‘Ruining Lives’ but it shows just how heavy guitars can go even with melodic vocals.  I must say though, it doesn’t get much better than ‘Ruining Lives’.  That is just a phenomenal record.  That breakdown on ‘Windows Shut’ puts the band at number two.

1.  Anthrax

And the heaviest melodic metal band goes to Anthrax!  I don’t feel like I really need to defend this one too much.  They’re heavier than Metallica and Megadeth and also much more melodic than Slayer.  Their singer Joey Belladonna comes more out the Steve Perry singing style than metal, giving the group a sound that really makes them stand out among their peers.  Tracks like ‘Time’, ‘Be All, End All’, ‘Caught in a Mosh’, ‘Indians’, ‘Skeletons in the Closet’ and countless others ensure that this band is the number one melodic metal band.  They’re one of the heaviest bands to exist.  Yet, they have this old-school way of writing songs that hearkens back to the 70’s.  An element their peers don’t really share.  And their still doing it.  2016’s ‘For All Kings’ is one of the best records the band has ever done.  Always intense, never compromising and always melodic.  Unfortunately, while they are members of the big four, they don’t ever get the headlining credit they deserve.  They’re always third or fourth to last to play at festivals.  A lot of times they’re the best band on the roster too.  They are a punishing live band that I would never want to follow.  Hats off to Anthrax!

Obviously there’s more than 10 melodic heavy metal bands.  Who do you think are the heaviest of the singers?  Comment and share below.

 

 

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