In this blog post, we mention some of the best 80s metal bands that thrust the heavy metal genre to the forefront. They enjoyed mainstream success through sold out arenas and high album sales. Even though most of these bands were plagued by internal feuds, drug addiction, and multiple lineup changes, they still gave fans a mix of raw energy and intricate speed metal compositions that made them the most influential metal bands of all time.
1. Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band that was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. Metallica is one of the most important and most influential metal bands of all time, drafting the blueprint for thrash metal in their earliest days, then pushing the boundaries of mainstream metal and hard rock as they settled into their role as a popular legacy act as the decades went on. The band has won nine Grammy Awards from 23 nominations, and its last six studio albums (beginning with Metallica) have consecutively debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
- Band formation: 1981
- Genres: Heavy metal, Thrash metal, Hard rock, Speed metal
- Best-selling album: The Black Album (1991)
- Spotify monthly listeners: more than 29 million
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Read more:
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- The Black Album: The untold story of the album that changed everything
- Metallica: The Tragic Real-Life Story Of James Hetfield
2. Guns N’ Roses
Guns N’ Roses is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. The lineup, when first signed to Geffen Records in 1986, consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. Guns N’ Roses’ debut album, Appetite for Destruction released in 1987, reached number one on the Billboard 200 a year after its release, on the strength of the top 10 singles “Welcome to the Jungle”, “Paradise City”, and “Sweet Child o’ Mine”, the band’s only single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Band formation: 1985
- Genres: Heavy metal, Hard rock
- Best-selling album: Appetite For Destruction (1987)
- Spotify monthly listeners: more than 25 million
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Read more:
- How Guns N’ Roses Formed Their Classic Lineup
- The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Guns N’ Roses
- Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy: The Most Expensive Album Ever Produced ($13 million)
3. Van Halen
Van Halen was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. Throughout the ’80s, it was impossible not to hear Van Halen’s instrumental technique on records that ranged from the heaviest metal to soft pop. He redefined what the electric guitar could do, developing a blindingly fast technique with a variety of self-taught two-handed tapping, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and effects that mimicked the sounds of machines and animals. The band turned into the most popular American rock & roll band of the late ’70s and early ’80s, and in the process set the template for hard rock and heavy metal for the ’80s. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
- Band formation: 1972
- Genres: Heavy metal, Hard rock, Glam metal, Pop rock
- Best-selling album: Van Halen (self-titled) (1978)
- Spotify monthly listeners: more than 11 million
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Read more:
- Eddie Van Halen: The Joy and Pain of Rock’s Last Guitar Superhero
- 20 Unforgettable Eddie Van Halen Stories
- The Astonishing Techniques That Made Eddie Van Halen A Guitar God
4. Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Birmingham in 1968, by guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, singer Ozzy Osbourne, and drummer Bill Ward. However, during the recording of “Never Say Die!”, Osbourne quit, eventually making his way back into the fold during the final sessions, but in 1979, after touring in support of the album, he was fired from the group for good. Ex-Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio took over. Dio’s powerful voice, as idiosyncratic and iconic as Osbourne’s but with a far more wholesale appeal, proved the perfect fit for Black Sabbath 2.0. Released in 1980, Heaven and Hell was a critical and commercial success, becoming their third-highest-selling LP after Paranoid and Master of Reality.
- Band formation: 1968
- Genres: Heavy metal
- Best-selling album: Paranoid (1970)
- Spotify monthly listeners: more than 10 million
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Read more:
- Why Ozzy Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath
- Ozzy Osbourne’s Tragic Real-Life Story
- The Inside Story of Black Sabbath’s Groundbreaking Debut
- The Death Of Black Sabbath member Randy Rhoads
5. Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden is an English heavy metal band from Leyton in the East End of London. The band were formed in 1975 by bassist Steve Harris, formerly a member of Gypsy’s Kiss and Smiler. Known for such powerful hits as “Run to the Hills, “Two Minutes to Midnight,” and “The Trooper,” and landmark albums like Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind, Powerslave, and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Iron Maiden are one of heavy metal’s most prolific and influential bands.
- Band formation: 1975
- Genres: Heavy metal
- Best-selling album: The Number of the Beast (1982)
- Spotify monthly listeners: more than 8 million
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Read more:
- Ed Force One: Iron Maiden’s History Of Jumbo Jets And Being Piloted by band member Bruce Dickinson
- 32 Hidden References on Iron Maiden’s “Somewhere In Time” Cover
- The day Iron Maiden crashed and played at a Polish wedding
6. Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California on January 17, 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, lead singer Vince Neil and lead guitarist Mick Mars. One of the most notorious and successful bands of the hair metal era, Mötley Crüe burned through the ’80s in a blaze of drugs, debauchery, and platinum hits.
- Band formation: 1981
- Genres: Heavy metal, Glam metal, Hard rock
- Best-selling album: Dr. Feelgood (1989)
- Spotify monthly listeners: more than 8 million
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Read more:
- They Day when Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx died for two minutes
- The Night Hanoi Rocks Drummer Razzle Was Killed in a Car Crash Caused by Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil
- How Mötley Crüe Sobered Up and Hit a New Peak With Best-selling album ‘Dr. Feelgood’
7. Def Leppard
Def Leppard is an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals), and Vivian Campbell (rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals). This is the band’s longest lasting line-up. Emerging in the late ’70s as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Def Leppard gained a following outside of that scene by toning down their heavy riffs and emphasizing melody.
- Band formation: 1977
- Genres: Heavy metal, Glam metal, Hard rock, Arena rock, Pop rock
- Best-selling album: Hysteria (1987)
- Spotify monthly listeners: more than 7 million
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Read more:
- Def Leppard’s Rick Allen On The 1984 Corvette Accident That Took His Arm
- Guinness Book Of World Records: How Def Leppard played 3 gigs on 3 continents in 24 hours to set a world record
8. Deep Purple
Deep Purple is an English hard rock band that formed in Hertfordshire in 1968. Along with Cream, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin, they defined hard rock and early heavy metal. The classic lineup of Blackmore, Gillan, Lord, Glover, and Paice reunited Deep Purple in 1984 for a new album, the platinum smash Perfect Strangers. The House of Blue Light followed three years later, but as past tensions resurfaced, Gillan again exited in mid-1989. Nonetheless, Deep Purple are still regarded as pioneers of the popular music genre of heavy metal.
- Band formation: 1968
- Genres: Heavy metal, Hard rock
- Best-selling album: Machine Head (1972)
- Spotify monthly listeners: more than 6 million
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Read more:
- Deep Purple’s 14 Member Lineup Changes: A Complete Guide
- Guinness World Records: Deep Purple among world’s ‘Loudest Bands’
- Deep Purple: The Conflict between Ritchie Blackmore and Ian Gillan
9. Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson. Megadeth became one of the most acclaimed and successful thrash metal outfits of their era and beyond. Part of the “big four” of the genre along with Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer, the group expanded on the typical metal blueprint by speeding up the tempos and putting an emphasis on lightning-fast technical guitar skills. Megadeth also won its first Grammy Award in 2017 for the song “Dystopia” in the Best Metal Performance category.
- Band formation: 1983
- Genres: Heavy metal, Thrash metal, Speed metal
- Best-selling album: Countdown to Extinction (1992)
- Spotify monthly listeners: more than 5 million
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Read more:
- Why Slayer Guitarist Kerry King Quit Megadeth In ’84 After Just 5 Shows
- How Dave Mustaine Nearly Never Played Guitar Again After A Bizarre Arm Accident
- An illustrated history of Megadeth’s Vic Rattlehead
10. Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band from Long Island, New York, United States popularized in comedic music videos on the television channel MTV in the 80s. A product of New York City’s early ’70s glam rock scene, Twisted Sister were eager students of the New York Dolls, with Kiss’s theatrics, Slade’s pop acumen, and the shock rock of Alice Cooper tossed in for good measure. Twisted Sister’s first two albums, Under the Blade (1982) and You Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll (1983), were critically well received and earned the band underground popularity.
- Band formation: 1973
- Genres: Heavy metal, Glam metal, Hard rock
- Best-selling album: Stay Hungry (1984)
- Spotify monthly listeners: more than 4 million
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Read more:
- 12 Outrageous Facts About Twisted Sister
- Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider on Destroying Disco, Why Lemmy Was an ‘Angel’
11. Judas Priest
Judas Priest is an English heavy metal band formed in West Bromwich in 1969. One of the most influential heavy metal groups of all time, Judas Priest emerged at the dawn of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Judas Priest set the pace for the genre from 1975 until 1985 with iconic albums like British Steel (1980), Screaming for Vengeance (1982), and Defenders of the Faith (1984) and helped lay the groundwork for speed and death metal.
- Band formation: 1969
- Genres: Heavy metal
- Best-selling album: Screaming for Vengeance (1982)
- Spotify monthly listeners: more than 4 million
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Read more:
- Two Boys, a Judas Priest Album, and a Tragic Suicide Incident
- The time when ‘The Simpsons’ called Judas Priest “death metal,” then corrected themselves
- ‘Confess’ Memoir: How Judas Priest’s Rob Halford Hid Who He Was
12. Motörhead
Motörhead was an English heavy metal band formed in June 1975 by bassist, singer, and songwriter Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, who was the sole constant member, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. The band are often considered a precursor to the new wave of British heavy metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 70s and early 80s. The albums Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades and, particularly, the live album No Sleep ’til Hammersmith cemented Motörhead’s reputation as a top-tier rock band.
- Band formation: 1975
- Genres: Heavy metal, Rock and roll, Hard rock, Speed metal
- Best-selling album: No Sleep ’til Hammersmith (1981)
- Spotify monthly listeners: more than 4 million
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Read more:
- The Album That Inspired Thrash: Motörhead – ‘Ace Of Spades’
- How Motörhead’s “The Game” became Triple H’s WWE theme song
13. Slayer
Slayer was an American metal band from Huntington Park, California. Formed by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo, and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya, Slayer’s extremely fast and aggressive musical style made them one of the 1980s “Big Four” bands of the thrash metal style, alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax.
- Band formation: 1981
- Genres: Thrash metal
- Best-selling album: Seasons in the Abyss(1990)
- Spotify monthly listeners: over 3 million
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Read more:
- How Slayer were blamed for a teen murder
- Why Slayer’s 9/11 Song “Jihad” Caused Controversy
- Slayer’s ‘Reign In Blood’: The epic oral history of thrash’s greatest album
14. Anthrax
Anthrax is an American, New York City-based thrash metal band, who released their first full-length album in 1984. Nearly as much as Metallica and Megadeth, Anthrax were responsible for the emergence of speed and thrash metal. Combining the speed and fury of hardcore punk with the prominent guitars and vocals of heavy metal, they helped create a new subgenre of heavy metal on their early albums. They were most notable for combining metal with rap and hardcore music early on.
- Band formation: 1981
- Genres: Heavy metal, Thrash metal, Speed metal, Groove metal, Alternative metal
- Best-selling album: Sound of White Noise (1993)
- Spotify monthly listeners: over 1 million
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Read more:
- Keep It In The Family: The Roller-Coaster Story Of Anthrax
- How Anthrax’s ‘Worship Music’ Almost Didn’t Happen
- Music Interview: Scott Ian Lives And Breathes Metal
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