Last week ROLLING STONE magazine asked their readers to vote for their favorite metal bands. As predicted, they got tons of feedback. No poll they’ve ever conducted has racked up so many votes. You metal fans are a devoted bunch. The results of these readers’ polls are sometimes thrown off when the fanbase of a certain group mobilizes and stuffs the ballot box. We have little doubt that Dream Theater would have ranked high on this list no matter what, but the group tweeted the voting link to all their fans. Bear that in mind when you see how high they ranked. If the Bay City Rollers fans had done that, we simply would have yanked all the votes, but Dream Theater are an amazing metal band and we are going with the results as they stand. No other ranking should shock many people, unless you don’t see Led Zeppelin as a metal band. The line between hard rock and metal is murky at times, so we’re going to let that stand as well. Feel free to flame away in the comments, but remember that they were merely counting your votes here.

By Andy Greene
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/readers-poll-the-top-10-metal-bands-of-all-time-20111102#ixzz1g98STqTr

My knee jerk reaction to this poll was, DREAM THEATER #2, you’ve got to be kidding! After some reflection, my thoughts are, DREAM THEATER #2, bullshit!

DREAM THEATER should never be ranked above BLACK SABBATH, and no other band should either. Nor should they be ranked ahead of IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH, or PANTERA. Ranking them ahead of those supremely influential metal bands is sacrilege!

Now that I’ve vented, I have to keep in mind that DREAM THEATER tweeted this contest to all of their followers so the list is tainted. Not ROLLING STONE’S fault although I am still removing them from HEAVY METAL MESSENGER’S TOP TEN METAL BANDS LIST.

Two other problems with this list:

1. LED ZEPPELIN ARE NOT METAL! Neither is AC/DC, they are the #1 and #2 HARD ROCK bands of all-time. At least folks didn’t vote AC/DC to this list.

2. TOOL does not belong on this list either. Not influential or popular enough to be in this mix. The same can be said for DREAM THEATER. While both bands are excellent and great musicians and songwriters they have not changed the face of metal with their music nor have they reached the level of reverence of the other bands on this list.

Suitable replacements for LED ZEPPELIN, DREAM THEATER, and TOOL are:

MOTORHEAD

DIO

ANTHRAX

“The Top 10 Metal Bands Of All Time,” according to readers of Rolling Stone magazine and HEAVY METAL MESSENGER:

ROLLING STONE READERS:      HEAVY METAL MESSENGER:

01. METALLICA                      01. BLACK SABBATH
02. DREAM THEATER        02. JUDAS PRIEST
03. BLACK SABBATH           03. IRON MAIDEN
04. IRON MAIDEN                  04. MEGADETH
05. SLAYER                                  05. DIO
06. MEGADETH                        06. METALLICA
07. JUDAS PRIEST                  07. ANTHRAX
08. LED ZEPPELIN                 08. PANTERA
09. PANTERA                             09. MOTORHEAD
10. TOOL                                        10. SLAYER

Regarding the No. 1 choice, METALLICA, Rolling Stone writes, “METALLICA fans love to complain. They complained when the band made a video for ‘One’ in 1989. They complained two years later when they scored a giant crossover hit with ‘Enter Sandman’. They really went nuts a few years later when they cut their hair, put a photo of blood and semen on their album cover and recorded with Marianne Faithfull. They complained when the band waged war against Napster, and again in 2003 when they made the drums sound all crazy on ‘St. Anger’. 2008’s ‘Death Magnetic’ was supposed to be a return to form, but fans complained about Rick Rubin‘s ultra-compressed mix of the album. How does the band respond to that? They record an album with Lou Reed that most of their hardcore fans are guaranteed to hate. The band has always done exactly what they felt like doing, and it’s no coincidence they still pack stadiums all over the world. They must have been doing something right all of these years.”

My take on the ROLIING STONE READERS #1 choice, yes, METALLICA are the biggest selling, most successful, metal band ever but that does not make them the best, just the most popular. The best should be the most influential with the best music and the best lineage, no one can ever replace BLACK SABBATH. They are the most influential, have the best catalog of music and are the SEED.  Just listen to the music again and tell me I am wrong.

As for the others on the list in place of ZEPPELIN, TOOL, AND DREAM THEATER, try to tell me that the BIG FOUR don’t belong. If MEGADETH, METALLICA, and SLAYER belong, so does ANTHRAX. If those four belong, then their greatest influence, MOTORHEAD, belongs too. Tell me differently.

Now for DIO. Is he unquestionably one of the best, if not the best metal vocalist ever? Combine that with the unbelievable catalog of music from MAY1983 to JULY1987, a four year span of great metal music that rivals anyone in metal history:

HOLY DIVER

STAND UP AND SHOUT

STRAIGHT THROUGH THE HEART

RAINBOW IN THE DARK

WE ROCK

THE LAST IN LINE

MYSTERY

KING OF ROCK AND ROLL

ROCK AND ROLL CHILDREN

SACRED HEART

HUNGRY FOR HEAVEN

DREAM EVIL

ALL THE FOOLS SAILED AWAY

NAKED IN THE RAIN

I COULD HAVE BEEN A DREAMER

Fifteen tracks of metal masterworks and YES they were a band especially the first two albums and on through the first four.

Have what you think is a better list? Prove it by posting it in the comments section.

Published by rbtaleman

Heavy metal (fiend/friend?) Writer, frustrat(or), frustrat(ee), decorated U.S. Navy veteran, Husband(twice), father(three times), grandfather(of seven), FM radio veteran, Concertgoer, music collector, muscle car aficianado. Grown up since five. Child since 45. View all posts by rbtaleman