BNR's 100 Favorite Metal Songs

For no other reason than to promote some metal discussion, I decided to put together a list of my favorite metal songs of all time. Note that this has nothing to do with Internet voting, nor is this an objective list of the "best" metal songs ever recorded. No, these are simply my personal favorites, the songs I've come back to time and time again over the years. Because this is an all-time list, many will come from my favorite periods in metal, with several 70's songs, a lot of NWOBHM and 80's stuff, and not a lot from more recent years. That doesn't mean there isn't great new metal out there, but I personally feel that songs for a list like this have to have stood the test of time. Some are well-known and familiar to all, while others are no doubt quite obscure. Some are legitimately great metal songs in a technical sense, while others are simplistic guilty pleasures that somehow struck a chord. And, no doubt, many songs are from familiar bands but not the expected pick, as in "of all the great songs from band X, that's the one that made this list?". What can I say? These are my all-time favorites.

The order is approximate -- yes, #1 is my all-time favorite song, but after the top 10 or 20 it gets more random, as I'd be hard-pressed to insist that, say, #45 is clearly a better song than #46. Just to keep the list from turning into a Judas Sabbath lovefest, I came up with the arbitrary limitations of no more than 2 songs from any one album and no more than 5 songs from any one band.

Click on the page links to read my commentary and view YouTube clips.

Jump to:  List   1-10   11-20   21-30   31-40   41-50   51-60   61-70   71-80   81-90   91-100  

#1 "Symptom Of The Universe" by Black Sabbath (1975)
#2 "Saints In Hell" by Judas Priest (1978)
#3 "Angel Of Death" by Angel Witch (1980)
#4 "Death Or Glory" by Holocaust (1981)
#5 "Junior's Eyes" by Black Sabbath (1978)
#6 "Black Stone Wielder" by Candlemass (1986)
#7 "Blood Of My Enemies" by Manowar (1984)
#8 "Ace Of Spades" by Motorhead (1980)
#9 "Stagefright" by Witchfynde (1980)
#10 "Hellbender" by Budgie (1980)
#11 "Kids" by EF Band (1981)
#12 "Killers" by Iron Maiden (1981)
#13 "R.I.P." by Witchfinder General (1982)
#14 "Seek And Destroy" by Metallica (1983)
#15 "Y Draig Goch" by Hollenthon (2001)
#16 "The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)" by Judas Priest (1979)
#17 "Defender" by Manowar (1983)
#18 "Wrathchild" by Iron Maiden (1980)
#19 "Circle Of The Tyrants" by Celtic Frost (1985)
#20 "Beyond The Black" by Metal Church (1984)
#21 "Raiders" by Demon Pact (2006)
#22 "Desert Plains" by Judas Priest (1981)
#23 "Each Dawn I Die" by Manowar (1984)
#24 "Buried Alive" by Blitzkrieg (1985)
#25 "Godzilla" by Blue Oyster Cult (1977)
#26 "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" by Black Sabbath (1973)
#27 "The Chase Is Better Than The Catch" by Motorhead (1980)
#28 "Sex With Satan" by Piledriver (1985)
#29 "Sounds Of War" by Accept (1979)
#30 "Tyrants In Distress" by Watchtower (1986)
#31 "Rock Bottom" by UFO (1974)
#32 "Welcome To Hell" by Venom (1981)
#33 "Arabloop" by Kong (1995)
#34 "Monolith Of Infinity" by Nigro Mantia (1984)
#35 "Oceana" by The 3rd And The Mortal (1994)
#36 "Black Messiah" by Nemesis (1982)
#37 "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath (1970)
#38 "The Four Horsemen" by Metallica (1983)
#39 "Don't Burn The Witch" by Venom (1982)
#40 "Cities On Flame" by Blue Oyster Cult (1972)
#41 "Deeds Of Darkness" by Artillery (1998)
#42 "Christbait Rising" by Godflesh (1988)
#43 "The Nightcomers" by Holocaust (1981)
#44 "Sirens" by Savatage (1983)
#45 "Tyrant" by Judas Priest (1976)
#46 "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin (1975)
#47 "Nuclear War" by Voivod (1984)
#48 "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" by AC/DC (1976)
#49 "Pack It Up (And Go)" by UFO (1978)
#50 "Mrs Victoria" by Warlord (1993)
#51 "Atlantis" by Angel Witch (1980)
#52 "In The Grip Of A Tyrefitter's Hand" by Budgie (1973)
#53 "Postmortem" by Slayer (1986)
#54 "Come To The Sabbath" by Mercyful Fate (1984)
#55 "Symphony Of Destruction" by Megadeth (1992)
#56 "Buried Alive" by Legend (1981)
#57 "Cows" by Kong (1990)
#58 "Of The Sun + Moon" by Sacred Blade (1986)
#59 "Lambs To The Slaughter" by Raven (1981)
#60 "Another Piece Of Meat" by Scorpions (1979)
#61 "Hell Bent For Leather" by Judas Priest (1978)
#62 "Why Don't You Kill Me?" by Legend (1982)
#63 "Kill The King" by Masters Of Reality (1988)
#64 "Jerry Was A Race Car Driver" by Primus (1991)
#65 "Brain Scan" by Voivod (1988)
#66 "Wild Catz" by Tygers Of Pan Tang (1980)
#67 "Angel Of Death" by Slayer (1986)
#68 "Silico" by Treponem Pal (1989)
#69 "Weavers Of The Web" by Manilla Road (1985)
#70 "Bastille Day" by Rush (1975)
#71 "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath (1970)
#72 "Psalm 9" by Trouble (1984)
#73 "Am I Evil?" by Diamond Head (1979)
#74 "The Web" by Neurosis (1992)
#75 "Pudding Time" by Primus (1990)
#76 "Morning Glory" by Grotus (1991)
#77 "Capricorn" by Motorhead (1979)
#78 "Die By The Sword" by Slayer (1983)
#79 "Mercenary" by Torch (1982)
#80 "Flyineye" by Dismal Euphony (2001)
#81 "Eleanor Rigby" by Ethel The Frog (1980)
#82 "Faceless" by Madder Mortem (2002)
#83 "Virgin Killer" by Scorpions (1976)
#84 "Toxic Waltz" by Exodus (1989)
#85 "Nobody's Fault" by Aerosmith (1976)
#86 "Guts" by Budgie (1971)
#87 "Whatever That Hurts" by Tiamat (1994)
#88 "This Is Not An Exercise" by Voivod (1987)
#89 "Return To The Praesidium Of Ys" by Bal-Sagoth (1998)
#90 "Earth Mother" by Samson (1981)
#91 "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars" by Blue Oyster Cult (1981)
#92 "Home" by The God Machine (1993)
#93 "Lies/Graverobber" by Mistreater (1981)
#94 "Mainline Riders" by Quartz (1977)
#95 "Sanctuary" by Iron Maiden (1980)
#96 "Walk Without Limbs" by Virgin Black (2001)
#97 "Choices" by Legend (1982)
#98 "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin (1970)
#99 "Heaven's Devils" by Acid (1983)
#100 "Gorgar" by Helloween (1985)

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