best heavy metal songs

Playlist Rock Metal 2 | 13 of the best Heavy Metal songs and their stories behind

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If you’re not yet hooked on heavy metal ⛓️, after this rock and metal playlist you will! 13 of the hottest tracks and the stories behind them – time to shake your hair in the wind!

Tunes and Playlists that make you thrill | Trembol

Author |

JC Trembol

Reading Time | 6 min

Listening Time | 50 min

You can also enjoy the first rock metal playlist 🎧 or browse all our playlists

Discover the story behind 13 songs that will make you let your hair down

Rock and metal have a multitude of variants. We have made a compilation of the most outstanding ones with the heavy metal bands that best represent them and their most impressive rock songs. Get to know them in depth 🎸

1. BABYMETAL PA PA YA!!

Metal Galaxy‘ Album | Japan | 2019

  • Reading the title of the song, anyone could think that we are going to talk about fruit 😂 and seeing the young Japanese girls singing it, we would imagine that we were going to listen to some K-Pop, but….
  • …nothing further from the truth, PA PA YA!! is one of the most powerful songs of the Japanese heavy metal band Babymetal, who in this case, teamed up with the Thai rapper F.Hero.
  • The song is the quintessence of the band, fast and powerful rhythms, although in this tune they incorporate a chaotic melody that makes it very special.
  • So, do you think it has something to do with fruit? Funnily enough it does. PA PA YA!! is reminiscent of southern Japan and its festivals that are stuffed with fresh fruit stalls 🥭
  • The video was recorded during the first live performance of the track, held at the Yokohama Arena.

2. PEARL JAM The Fixer

Backspacer‘ Album | USA | 2009

  • The song was composed by Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron, along with vocalist Eddie Vedder. The latter explained that the song talks about the relationship between men and women.

Men, we all think we can fix anything. It’s not necessarily a good thing. In a relationship, a woman will say ‘This is wrong,’ and we’re like, ‘I’ll fix that, don’t worry about it, we can fix it.’

These wonderful people, the woman you’re in a relationship with, they don’t want you to fix it. They just want you to listen to what’s happening: ‘Don’t fix it, I want you to own this with me – feel it.’ This is a reminder song to me, to stop fixing.

  • ‘The Fixer’ was the first track on Pearl Jam’s 9th album, ‘Backspacer‘, released in 2009 exclusively with the Target supermarket chain 🛒
  • It received a 2009 Grammy nomination in the Best Rock Song category, although they ultimately didn’t take home the award.
  • It has always been one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs, you too? Of course, it had to be part of metal music list.

3. BAD RELIGION Punk Rock Song

‘The Gray Race’ Album | USA | 1996

  • This great punk rock song, whose title fits like a glove, has a German version that you will surely like as well. In fact, it was in Germany and Finland where this song was most successful.
  • Bad Religion are one of the pioneers of melodic hardcore, as well as being known for their reflective and socially responsible lyrics.
  • In ‘Punk Rock Song‘ they make a harsh criticism of all those who remain immobile in the face of inequalities in the world.
  • The band was formed in the city of Los Angeles in 1979, when its members were teenagers. Since then, only the vocalist, Greg Graffin, has remained in the band for more than 30 years, recording 20 studio albums 💿

4. H.E.A.T Living On The Run

‘Address The Nation‘ Album | Sweden | 2012

  • The Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T. was funded in Upplands Väsby in 2007, just at the peak of the creation of bands of this genre.
  • Already consolidated in the music scene, their original vocalist, Kenny Leckremo, left and they found themselves in the difficult situation of finding a powerful voice for their 3rd album.
  • At that moment a young man named Erik Grönwall, winner a few years before of the music contest ‘Swedish Idol’, crossed their path, and they instantly fell in love.
  • Erik recorded ‘Living On The Run‘ with H.E.A.T., which became a huge hit and received rave reviews from music experts.
  • What is life, in 2020, after 4 albums with H.E.A.T., Erik left the band and their original vocalist returned, do you think we will see Erik in the band again?

5. A Nothing

Hi-Fi Serious’ Album | Reino Unido | 2002

  • “A” is a British rock band, and it is precisely in the UK where they reached the highest in the charts, up to Top 9️⃣
  • Such was the rise and success of the band that, during the promotion of the single, they were invited to the 2 most important musical events at the time, Top of The Pops and Pepsi Chart Show.
  • Nothing‘ was a turning point in the band’s music. It marked their transition from melodic pop punk to what is known as nu metal, a mixture of genres where metal, hip hop and grunge are integrated.
  • They recorded a live version for the album, ‘Rockin’ Like Dokken’.
  • The song was also included in a video game called V-Rally 3 and in the soundtrack of the anime series ‘Beyblade V-Force‘.

6. PANDA Narcisista por Excelencia (Narcissist par excellence)

Amantes Sunt Amentes‘ Album | Mexico | 2007

  • We get right into rock sung in Spanish with the Mexican group Panda, who now call themselves ‘PXNDX‘.
  • This song, influenced by indie and alternative rock, was released exclusively in Latin America.
  • It talks about the insecurity of a lonely person who accepts that she is unhappy, while trying to hide her fears and pretend she is beautiful to cover up her emotional shortcomings.
  • The track makes direct reference to the theory on narcissistic personality developed by Sigmund Freud 🧠
  • The video is full of irreverent scenes, very much in the group’s style.
  • Thanks to this song, the members of PXNDX received a nomination for the Latin Grammy Awards in the Best Rock Song category.

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7. ENFORCER From Beyond

‘From Beyond’ Album | Sweden | 2015

  • Enforcer is a Swedish heavy metal band that released ‘From Beyond‘ on their 10th anniversary.
  • The track is more mature than their previous songs, as well as melodic and catchy.
  • About this work, bassist Tobias Lindqvist said:

‘From Beyond’ is our most varied album so far. It contains the heaviest and fastest songs we ever done and the most complex song structures as well. It is a kind of melancholic album, a bit more melodic than Death By Fire (2013) but still as fast.

 

  • This was the first album where the vocalist, Olof Wikstrand, also became the guitarist of the band 🎸
  • Moreover, with this work they return to the purest and most classic essence of 80’s metal music.

8. FEUERSCHWANZ Das Elfte Gebot (The eleventh commandment)

Das Elfte Gebot‘ Album | Germany | 2020

  • Feuerschwanz is a German band representing the best metal rock.
  • On ‘Das Elfte Gebot (The Eleventh Commandment)‘ the band remains faithful to their folk metal sound, which is their hallmark.
  • Although the album is full of catchy and fast songs, ‘Das Elfte Gebot‘ is the most melodious track, inviting you to live life to the fullest.
  • Although the band’s name means ‘Tail of Fire 🔥’, they didn’t choose it for its meaning, but because it is the surname of their founder, Hauptmann Feuerschwanz, who is also vocalist and guitarist.
  • If you like the band, you should know that they have the habit of releasing a new album every 2 years, so, stay tuned 😉

9. GARY MOORE Over The Hills and Far Away

‘Wild Frontier‘ Album | UK | 1987

  • We go one step ahead with this list of metal music getting to ‘Over The Hills and Far Away‘ by Gary Moore, a classic of the genre.
  • The song was written by the Northern Irish guitarist himself, an expert in blues rock and hard rock, and released on the album ‘Wild Frontier‘ as the first single.
  • In the track, Moore talks about a prisoner who longs to be free, although it is said that it could be a metaphor for the political situation that Northern Ireland was going through in the early twentieth century.
  • It was quite successful at the time of its release, reaching number 20 on the UK Singles Chart in the UK and reaching position 24 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks in the US.
  • Over The Hills and Far Away‘ has been adapted by several bands. Our favorite is  Nightwish‘s version, but the Swedish band Thyrfing‘s version is also quite remarkable.

10. LACUNA COIL Apocalypse

‘Black Anima’ Album | Italy | 2019

  • We continue with the best heavy metal bands with Lacuna Coil, the Italian formation originated in 1994.
  • After more than 20 years in the music scene and consolidated as one of the most influential bands of gothic metal, they returned to the fray after 3 years of rest with ‘Black Anima‘, their twelfth studio work, where ‘Apocalypse‘ is framed.
  • Led by vocalist Cristina Scabbia, it was recorded live in the summer of 2020.
  • Andrea Ferro, male vocalist of the band, explained:

Apocalypse is usually a huge concept involving destruction or a way of looking at how the world ends.

In our vision, there is no big apocalypse, only small infinities. Ignorance, complacency, selfishness can only bring apocalypse.

11. THE RASMUS In The Shadows

‘Pahat Pojat’ Album | Finland | 2003

  • If we talk about rock we could not miss in our list In the Shadows‘, a great song by the Finnish alternative rock band The Rasmus.
  • The song was a real hit, in fact, the band received two platinum albums thanks to this single, which sold more than 1 million copies in Europe, Australia and New Zealand 🦘
  • It also won numerous awards such as Best Nordic Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2003.
  • The track features 4 versions of its music video, the so-called ‘The Finnish (Bandit) Version’, ‘The European (Crow) Version’, ‘The American (Mirror) Version’ and the simplified version of the video.
  • By the way, you can find ‘In The Shadowsin the game ‘Guitar Hero: World Tour’, how many times have I thought I was a guitarist playing the chords of the song on my console!

12. SYSTEM OF A DOWN Toxicity

Toxicity‘ Album | USA | 2001

  • We approach the end of our rock and metal list with ‘Toxicity’, a legendary song by System of a Down.
  • The metal-style album and its singles were a huge success, as it was much more carefully crafted than the group’s debut album. Not only did the quality of the sound improve, but also the band composed multiple songs until they reached the 14 that made up the album in the end.
  • As for the meaning of the song, written by Serj Tankian, vocalist of the band, it talks about people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder 😲
  • It’s a unique track, which got me hooked on rock and metal forever.

13. NICKELBACK Gotta Be Somebody

‘Dark Horse’ Album | Canada | 2008

  • Gotta Be Somebody‘ was Nickelback’s first hit song, debuting at #10 on the Hot 100 chart.
  • The song talks about that relentless and arduous search for a perfect better half 🍊, which according to the band is waiting for us somewhere.
  • Regarding its composition, the band’s founder and vocalist, Chad Kroeger, said: 

I had the chorus, and we recorded it, actually, when Mutt went home to go spend some time with his son. Before he came back, I played him this chorus over the phone, and he was like, ‘Oh, I want to get working on that song as soon as we get back to the studio!

  • If the song was successful, its music video was no less so, and the band took home three Canadian Music Video Awards in 2009 for Best Video, Best Rock Video and Best Post Production.
  • It is the culmination for 13 hardcore songs that, if you are not already, are bound to turn you into a Heavy Metal and Rock fan.

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Tell us, did you like them, which is your favorite? 😍

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