Two Metal Acts Made Billboard’s 50 Best Rock Bands List

Billboard has published their list of the 50 Best Rock Bands and two of the most legendary metal acts have actually made the cut.

The selection came from a panel of the publication’s own writers, but as they note in the introduction, “We tried to keep the focus on true bands, so we didn’t include vocal groups (who don’t play the majority of their own instruments) — or bands who mostly fell in back of their top-billed frontperson — but we weren’t overly fussy in defining ‘rock’ from there.”

That would seemingly explain the presence of two metal acts in a rock list. So which metal acts made the cut?

What Metal Acts Made Billboard‘s 50 Best Rock Bands List?

Coming in at No. 12 is a modern act that many would consider the biggest metal band in the world. They’ve also managed to transcend genre and are frequently mentioned among the biggest bands in the world. We’re talking about Metallica.

“From their virtuosic, breakneck beginnings as speed thrashers in the ’80s to the decidedly more mainstream and melodic turn they took in the ’90s to the orchestral blending of genres of later years, they’ve done it all, lived it all and rocked it all,” state Billboard.

They later add, “It may be impossible to find another band that so transcended genre and geography to become such a truly global phenomenon without abandoning their niche-metal roots, while remaining a force to be reckoned with.”

The other metal act on the Billboard Rock Bands list is Black Sabbath, who placed at No. 9 on the list. “In a biblical sense, one can divide rock history into two periods: before Black Sabbath, and after. Emerging from Birmingham like a creature from a Lovecraft story, the band brought menacing heaviness to popular music, making everything else around it sound effectively twee,” shared Billboard of Sabbath.

Only One 21st Century Act Made Billboard‘s 50 Best Rock Bands List

There was one other interesting note from 50 Best Rock Bands list. Only one act that debuted in the 21st Century made the final cut, though The White Stripes just missed out by releasing their debut record in 1999.

READ MORE: The 25 Best Rock Albums of the Last 25 Years

It was Paramore as the lone band from the last quarter century to make the cut. “Anchored by Hayley Williams’ soaring, remarkable malleable pipes, Paramore has spent the last two decades bending the worlds of rock and pop to their whim. Whether they’re resolving intra-band conflict through sly songwriting or blending the gospel influences of its Franklin, Tenn. roots into Hot 100 top 10 hits (2014’s ‘Ain’t It Fun’), Paramore is for the people,” state Billboard.

Who Else Made the Cut?

While Billboard shared that they weren’t “fussy” with what fell under the rock banner, there are plenty of acts that engage in the heavier side of rock, whether it be early icons such as Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones or ’90s era favorites Rage Against the Machine and Nirvana.

You can see the full list and who ranked where via Billboard.