HEAVY DUTY: 10 metal bands top list for guitar groups most likely to make listeners’ ears bleed

By Alex Templeton

10.Korn is considered to be the creators of nu metal and are known for their down-tuned, seven-stringed guitars, unique bass tone and dark lyrics. The main reason for it being number 10 is that only a small amount of their songs have a super heavy feel. Songs like “Daddy” and “Pretty” have lyrics more heavy than most other bands on this list because they are real and not a horror fantasy.

9. Black Sabbath is arguably the first metal band to exist, so that is the main reason it is on this list. When they first came out, they were the heaviest thing around, and that caused a lot of controversy. From their use of the Devil’s tritone to the use of heavy distortion, they have laid the groundwork for heavy metal today.

8. Electric Wizard basically took the Black Sabbath formula, slowed down the riffs, down tuned the guitars and added even more distortion. They are considered by many to be one of the heaviest doom metal bands today. While I don’t find them that heavy, I still enjoy them a lot, so I had to put them on this list.

7. Slayer I could not make a top 10 heaviest bands list without talking about Slayer. These thrash metal giants are arguably the heaviest out of the big thrash four, which also includes Anthrax, Megadeth and Metallica, but none of these bands even come close to Slayer in heaviness, from the drill sergeant-like vocals to the guitar solos that sound like screams of the damned.

6. Origin is a technical death metal band that can be as heavy as uranium while still having a huge amount of technical skill. They are extremely fast, but they also play in odd time signatures, which even makes them more impressive. Most of their music is a wall of pure heavy aggression, so that is why they are on this list.

5. Mayhem are considered to be one of the most influential black metal bands to date. However, the music they make is not the only reason they are on this list. The main reason they are here is because of what they have done. From making a necklace from the bones of a fellow bandmate who committed suicide to burning down multiple churches, they are probably the most metal band on this list.

4. Devourment is slam metal band and is considered to be on the forefront of slam metal in general. A slam is a slow heavy riff with extremely fast drums and vocals that sounds like someone gargling their entrails. Now imagine that with all of the songs they produce. I don’t think I can really put into words why they are heavy, so you will have to look it up yourself to fully understand.

3. Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is a band some of you may have seen in the movie Ace Ventura. However, besides that, they have accomplished a ton of feats, one of those being the number one selling death metal band in history. They are also extremely infamous for their grotesque lyrics and album art, not to mention that they have one of the best metal bassists in history.

2. Meshuggah are the godfathers of djent, which is a certain sound you get with a guitar by extreme down tuning and palm muting. They have some of the most complex polyrhythms in music today, or history for that matter. From guitars tuned to the same octave of a bass and haunting solos, they are easily one of the heaviest bands out there. They also are releasing a new album on Oct. 7, so look out for that.

1. Cattle Decapitation is a deathgrind band known for extremely fast drums and a wide array of vocal styles. They have an extremely diverse and heavy sound. The reason they are number one on this list is quite simple. They use dynamics to the fullest. See, most of the bands on this list are always a non stop train of heaviness. While at first this is cool, after a while it all feels the same. Cattle Decapitation knows this, so they fully use dynamics to make themselves different than anyone out there.