In honor of Revolver's Golden Gods awards I have decided to throw together a list of some of the best in heavy metal.  Horns up!

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Heavy metal, it runs through my veins.  I think I knew I was a metal head the first time I heard Iron Man blast out of the radio when I was a kid.  What was this crazy music?  The singer was loud and rude, the guitars were so evil sounding it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.  I heard Toni Iommi hit those opeing notes and never looked back.  From there I discovered the other greats.  Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Deep Purple.  I took in all of it.  After that I transitioned into thrash where Metallica and Anthrax rocked my face off.  Just listen to Deathrider and try not to bang your head.  So I have decided to put together a list of some of heavy metals greatest.

10. Anthrax
One of the Big 4 of thrash metal Anthrax played faster than any band.  The Joey Belladonna era is arguably the band at its best.  Songs like Madhouse, Caught in a Mosh, I am the Law, Indians and Keep it in the Family are some of the most aggressive in the genre.  That is why Anthrax totally deserves the number 10 spot on my list.

9. Lamb of God
These guys are an absolute beast.  They have one of the best drummers in metal right now in Chris Adler.  I not a big fan of the "metal growling" but for some reason I can over look it when it comes to these guys.  They are scary sounding and isn't that what metal is all about?  I remember getting all kinds of looks when I would crank Ashes of the Wake.

8. Pantera
One of the best heavy metal bands of the 90's.  An aggressive front man in Phil Anselmo, Dime Bag Darrell on guitar, his brother Vinnie Paul on drums and Rex laying down the groove on bass.  They say everything in Texas is bigger, and Pantera was HUGE.  To bad bad we lost Dime back in 2004 and the rest of the guys don't really get along.  They did leave us some awesome tunes though.

7. Motorhead
Need I say more than Lemmy is God?  They are hands down the god fathers of thrash metal. They played faster than anyone at the time and Lemmy had the perfect vocals.  Rock and roll got a real treat when they released Ace of Spades in 1980.  Clearly their finest work.

6. Slayer
I'll be honest, Slayer has always scared the hell out of me.  I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of them backstage at the American Carnage tour and they were way cool.  Kerry King is one of the best guitarists in metal to this day and Dave Lombardo may be the best metal drummer of all time.

5. Megadeth
I have seen Megadeth multiple times and I have to say they are one of the best live bands still touring in the heavy metal genre.  Plus seeing Dave Mustain shred is always a welcomed treat in my book.

4. Judas Priest
They have probably the best metal singer of all time in Rob Halford. They are one of the godfathers of heavy metal.  The metal gods!  They are goign out on one final tour this year so if you can catch them make sure to do so because it is a once in a lifetime thing to see Priest tear up the stage.

3. Metallica
The most successful band to coem out of the 80's thrash scene Metallica has been rocking for over 20 years and just keeps getting louder.  They are in the studio trying to top 2008's Death Magnetic, which will be hard to do since it is arguably their best release since the Black Album.  Personally my favorite is Master of Puppets, that album just kicks ass.

2. Iron Maiden
I know most of you probably want to kill me for putting Maiden above Metallica but as a metal purist these guys are traditionally the best.  Bruce Dickinson is one of my favorite front men of all time plus they way they play is insane.  The thing I love most about Maiden is that they have never changed.  They are pure metal and stayed that way.

1. Black Sabbath
The most influencial hard rock and heavy metal band of all time next to Led Zeppelin.  Sabbath created metal from the very place they were raised.  Steel factories across Birmingham, England gave them the crafted sound. Toni Iommi even lost his finger in a factory accident which contributed to that droning guitar sound we are use to.  They have some of the most evil sounding music to this day.  I dare you to turn the lights off and crank up the song Black Sabbath and tell me you don't feel like you're opening a portal to hell.

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