The 25 Best Metal Bands of All Time, #2: Iron Maiden
MetalSucks recently polled more than a hundred of metal’s most revered musicians, critics, journalists, artists, publicists, and industry insiders to find out which 25 bands represent the very BEST in the history of metal. Today we continue our countdown with England’s…
Iron Maiden
86 Votes
1,635 Points
Look, anyone who’s been following our 25 Best Metal Bands of All Time list knows it, and so do we: a lot of the bands that the panel ended of voting in are old. Whether that’s because of longevity, influence, quality of material or people simply voting for their favorite bands, that’s anyone’s guess. Probably some combination of all of the above. Would we have liked to see some younger blood on here? (in addition to a few solid “young”(er) choices like Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death and Lamb of God?) Of course. But there’s no arguing that all the chosen bands don’t deserve to be included: they’re all fucking awesome!
Here is something else you are not allowed to disagree with: of all the supposedly “old” bands on this list, Iron Maiden seem the youngest. You could point to the power of Iron Maiden’s scintillating live shows (more on that in a bit), but to focus on that would be to understate the real reason Maiden are so great and worthy of the #2 spot here (if not higher!).
More than any other “old” band included in our countdown, Iron Maiden’s new music continues not only to excite and hit the mark, but to push forward. Iron Maiden have never been content to look backward, and they’re somehow still challenging themselves musically some 30+ years after their inception, unafraid to take risks where other bands of their generation seem to have no problem whatsoever writing the same album over and over again. 2010’s The Final Frontier was a resounding success in that regard; no, Maiden didn’t get all jazz-fusion on us, but they took their Iron Maiden-ness and upped it to the next level, expanding in whatever sonic direction they damn well please. And they totally nailed it!
Further proof that Maiden’s new material stands up against their “classics:” the band’s 2010 arena tour for which they drew the setlist almost entirely from material released in the past ten years, starting with 2000’s Brave New World. For starters, what other band of their generation would attempt such a thing?? What other band even has enough quality “new” material to try? And what other band could pull it off with resounding success??
There’s also the band’s visual presentation — from their outsize stage setups, to their liner notes, to their iconic mascot Eddie — that’s always served to further the ethos and identity of Iron Maiden. Maiden, together with longtime artist Derek Riggs, pretty much wrote the book on establishing a visual identity for a band through artwork.
Let’s take it back to the top, though, and talk about Maiden’s spectacular live shows, such an important part of the band’s identity. Second to none! Puts all other metal bands their age to shame! Puts all other metal bands, period, to shame! To see an Iron Maiden performance is to have an all-encompassing EXPERIENCE, one that you’ll never forget. Proof that outsize arena shows can be fun, too. Some of that has to do with Bruce Dickinson’s youthful exuberance, but that’s only one part of the absolutely magnificent whole. No one does live metal better!
Up the irons!
THE LIST SO FAR:
#3 — Slayer (85 Votes, 1,571 Points)
#4 — Metallica (84 Votes, 1,486 Points)
#5 — Pantera (65 Votes, 1,052 Points)
#6 — Judas Priest (61 Votes, 997 Points)
#7 — Megadeth (64 Votes, 913 Points)
#8 — Death (57 Votes, 778 Points)
#9 — Motorhead (42 Votes, 622 Points)
#10 – Carcass (42 Votes, 516 Points)
#11 – Cannibal Corpse (40 Votes, 510 Points)
#12 – Anthrax (42 Votes, 497 Points)
#13 – Sepultura (41 Votes, 444 Points)
#14 – Dio (33 Votes, 433 Points)
#15 – Mercyful Fate (31 Votes, 419 Points)
#16 – Morbid Angel (33 Votes, 406 Points)
#17 – Meshuggah (32 Votes, 377 Points)
#18 – Opeth (30 Votes, 364 Points)
#19 – Testament (33 Votes, 347 Points)
#20 – At The Gates (28 Votes, 331 Points)
#21 – AC/DC (17 Votes, 313 Points)
#22 – Celtic Frost (24 Votes, 310 Points)
#23 – Ozzy Osbourne (21 Votes, 290 Points)
#24 – Napalm Death (22 Votes, 278 Points)
#25 – Lamb of God (29 Votes, 277 Points)
VIDEO CONTENT PRESENTED BY QELLO CONCERTS:
THE ILLUSTRIOUS PANEL OF VOTERS:
Chris Alfano – East of the Wall, Gear Gods
Paul Allender – White Empress, ex-Cradle of Filth
Rob Arnold – The Elite, ex-Chimaira, ex-Six Feet Under
Alan Averill (aka A.A. Nemtheanga) – Primordial
Chuck B.B. – Artist
Matt Bachand – Shadows Fall
Micke Berg – Below
Chuck Billy – Testament
Randy Blythe – Lamb of God
Paul Booth – Last Rites Tattoo and Art Gallery
Jake Bowen – Periphery
Terry Butler – Obituary
Liz Ciavarella-Brenner – Publicist, Earsplit PR
Blake Charlton – Ramming Speed
Richard Christy – Charred Walls of the Damned, ex-Death, ex-Iced Earth, ex-Control Denied, The Howard Stern Show
Monte Conner – President, Nuclear Blast Entertainment
Bruce Corbitt – Rigor Mortis, Warbeast
Doc Coyle – ex-God Forbid
Sergeant D. – MetalSucks, Stuff You Will Hate
Topon Das – Fuck the Facts, Merdarahta
Anso DF – MetalSucks
Peter Dolving – Rosvo, ex-The Haunted
Ryan J. Downey – Superhero Artist Management
Sacha Dunable – Intronaut, Bereft, Dunable Guitars
Vince Edwards – Head of Publicity, Metal Blade Records
Excretakano – MetalSucks
Exmortus
Extreme Management Group
D.X. Ferris – Slayer Scholar
Ryan Fleming – Black Table
Jon Freeman – Publicist, Freeman Promotions
Matthew Friesen – Culted
Ville Friman – Insomnium
Mike Gitter – Senior Director of A&R, Razor & Tie
Frank Godla – Metal Injection, Meek is Murder
Mike Greene – Director of Digital Marketing, Razor & Tie
Shane Handel – Set and Setting
Jeff Hodak – Head of Sales, Razor & Tie
Terence Hannum – Locrian
John Hoffman – Weekend Nachos
Mark Hunter – ex-Chimaira
Don Jamieson – That Metal Show
Daniel Jansson – Culted
John Jarvis – Pig Destroyer, Fulgora
Gaz Jennings – Death Penalty, ex-Cathedral
Patrik Jensen – The Haunted
Rick Jimenez – Extinction A.D.
Kassa – Below
Mirai Kawashima – Sigh
“Grim” Kim Kelly – MetalSucks
Zeena Koda
Erik Kluiber – Gypsyhawk
Eyal Levi – Unstoppable Killing Machine, Dååth
Jason Lekberg – IKILLYA
Adam Lindmark – Morbus Chron
Ryan Lipynsky – Serpentine Path, Unearthly Trance, The Howling Wind
Jonah Livingston – Ramming Speed
Bob Lugowe – Director of Promotions/Marketing, Relapse Records, Brutal Panda Records
James Malone – Arsis, Necromancing the Stone
Jose Mangin – Director of Music Programming, Sirius XM Liquid Metal
Bobby Mansfield – 16
Misha Mansoor – Periphery
Morgan McGrath – Live Nation
Mike “Gunface” McKenzie – The Red Chord, Stomach Earth, Nightkin
Vince Neilstein – MetalSucks
Eventansvarig Biostaden Nyköping – Below
Chris Ojeda – Byzantine
Casey Orr – Rigor Mortis, Warbeast
Rob Pasbani – Metal Injection
Anders Persson – Portrait
Chris Pervelis – Internal Bleeding
Karim Peter – Artist Relations, IndieMerchandising
Raphael Pinsker – Booking Agent, 3Thirteen Entertainment Group
Polar
Markus “Rabapagan” – Metsatöll
Josh Rand – Stone Sour
Emperor Rhombus – MetalSucks
Gus Rios – Gruesome
Tobias Rosén – Noctum
Axl Rosenberg – MetalSucks
Travis Ryan – Cattle Decapitation, Murder Construct, Nader Sadek
Saturn
Marc Schapiro, Branch Marketing Collective
Zach Shaw – The Syndicate
Patrick Sheridan – Fit For An Autopsy
Alex Skolnick – Testament
Brian Slagel – Chairman/CEO, Metal Blade Records
Mark Solotroff – Anatomy of Habit, Bloodlust!, BLOODYMINDED
Steve “Zetro” Souza – Exodus, Hatriot
Kevin Stewart-Panko – Decibel, MetalSucks
Black String – Vampire
Jason Suecof – Audiohammer Studios
Bram Teitelman – Metal Insider
Nick Tieder – No Jacket Required Marketing, Indegoot
Tone Deaf Touring
Aaron Turner – Old Man Gloom, ex-ISIS, Hydra Head Records
Brody Uttley – Rivers of Nihil
George Vallee – Head of Publicity, Street Smart Marketing
Dirk Verbeuren – Soilwork, Bent Sea, Scarve
Jens Vestergren – Below
Jake Wade – Columns
Kelly Walsh – Publicist, Prosthetic Records
Mike Wohlberg – The Fat Kid Illustration
Wookubus – The PRP
Zodiac
