When it comes to heavy metal, fans have very different (and usually very strong) opinions about all the different metal sub-genres. Some bands are straight up heavy metal, others are hair metal. Some are speed metal, still others are thrash metal. Then there’s black metal, death metal, nu metal…the list goes on.
Still, many of the most bestselling metal albums from over the years fall into the plain old heavy category. And as Ranker found when readers voted on the “top metal album of all time,” it seems the most iconic records from that group are still just as popular as ever.
Dio’s 1983 debut album Holy Diver kicked off the top 10 picks on the list, which was singer Ronnie James Dio‘s first album after his stint in Black Sabbath. Another album from 1983, Iron Maiden’s Piece of Mind, took the #9 spot — no surprise considering it went platinum in the U.K. and North America. Interestingly (since Piece of Mind was Iron Maiden’s fourth studio album), the same band’s fifth studio album, Powerslave (1984), was ranked just above at #8.
Black Sabbath made their first appearance on the list at #7 with their third studio album, Master of Reality (1971), while Megadeth made their only showing at #6 with Rust in Peace (1990).
Black Sabbath returned to nab both the 5th and 4th spots with their 1970 eponymous debut album and their second studio album, Paranoid (1970), respectively. Metallica achieved a similar feat when they took the next two consecutive spots with Ride the Lightning (1984) at #3 and Master of Puppets (1986) at #2.
At the absolute top of the list was Iron Maiden again, this time with their 1982 classic The Number of the Beast. It’s a notable album for a variety of reasons; not only did it see the debut of vocalist Bruce Dickinson and the final appearance of drummer Clive Burr, it also features such iconic hits as the title track and “Run to the Hills.” The Number of the Beast was the band’s first album to hit #1 on the U.K. charts and break the Billboard top 40.
What do you think? Does Number of the Beast deserve the “top metal song of all time” crown?
