An introduction to Western heavy metal: the masterpieces that changed the history of metal

Mr. CrowleyOzzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne – Mr Crowley

A song by Ozzy Osbourne, known in Japan by the nickname “Emperor of Metal,” and famed for performances that blend the metal genre with diabolical theatrics.

Featured on his first solo album, Blizzard of Ozz, the track boasts a superb classical arrangement that moves from a majestic opening into a tight, band-driven guitar sound.

The contrast between the heavy ensemble and the emotive, weeping guitar truly epitomizes Ozzy Osbourne’s signature sound.

It’s a metal number that likely had a profound influence on later metal sounds and performances, including gothic metal.

Pull Me UnderDream Theater

Pull Me Under

A track by Dream Theater that could be considered synonymous with progressive metal, a fusion of progressive rock and metal.

From the dramatic opening to the arrangement that moves into complex, odd-time beats, its level of completion makes it easy to accept as a pioneering song that presented new possibilities for metal.

Moreover, the high level of musicianship supporting the high-quality composition creates accessibility that keeps it from being merely convoluted—an innovation in itself.

It’s a metal tune for those who find simple metal numbers no longer satisfying, one you’ll want to listen to over and over again.

Rose Of SharynKillswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage – Rose Of Sharyn [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

In terms of the revival of heavy metal since the 2000s, the rise of metalcore—rooted in hardcore yet openly drawing from traditional heavy metal and sublimating those influences into its own sound—was undeniably significant.

Heavily inspired by Scandinavian melodic death metal, many bands emerged that fused hardcore-born aggression with metal’s stylistic flair and employed a technique of switching between brutal death growls and clean, melodic singing.

Among them, Massachusetts’ Killswitch Engage stands out as the quintessential example and one of the most commercially successful.

The band originally formed as an offshoot of hardcore groups like Overcast and Aftershock, and it’s worth noting that other popular metalcore bands such as Shadows Fall and All That Remains also sprang from that scene.

Rose of Sharyn, from their breakout third album The End of Heartache released in 2004, is one of their signature tracks and a live staple.

The band’s airtight ensemble—bolstered by overwhelming musicianship that casually weaves in odd meters—and the searing death vocals alongside soulful, bittersweet melodic passages delivered by their second vocalist, Black singer Howard Jones, still sound absolutely phenomenal nearly twenty years on.

As an aside, it’s also fascinating from a music history perspective that Killswitch Engage’s sound was, in a sense, reimported back into the melodic death metal acts that influenced them in the first place.

Dr. FeelgoodMötley Crüe

Mötley Crüe – Dr. Feelgood (Official Music Video)

Known as a prime example of stadium rock—characterized by flashy, large-scale live shows and strong commercial appeal—and as a representative band of L.

A.

metal, Mötley Crüe’s song stands out.

It’s the title track of their fifth album, Dr.

Feelgood, created after all the members got clean from drugs, and it reached No.

6 on the U.

S.

singles chart, making it one of the band’s signature songs.

The arrangement, built on a heavy sound paired with poppy melodies and chord progressions, brims with the kind of accessibility that truly symbolizes the L.

A.

metal genre.

It’s a metal classic that rock fans who are hesitant about metal should try as an entry point.

Never DieYngwie Malmsteen

Yngwie Malmsteen – Never Die (Live Gorgeous Version!!!)

A track by Yngwie Malmsteen, known as a guitarist who spearheaded the neoclassical boom with his innovative sound that boldly mixes classical elements into metal and his virtuoso technique.

It’s the opening number of his seventh album, “The Seventh Sign,” and many listeners will likely be blown away by his trademark lightning-fast picking and the sheer vocal power of Mike Vescera.

Even with a decidedly metal beat driven by double bass drums, the classically inspired arrangement, built on beautiful melodies, brims with a uniqueness that countless musicians have tried to imitate but have never been able to recreate.

Spit It OutSlipknot

Slipknot – Spit It Out [OFFICIAL VIDEO] [HD]

In the late 1990s—the chaotic end-of-the-century era—the last aberration it produced was Slipknot.

Debuting on a major label in 1999, amid the nu-metal boom spearheaded by Korn and propelled to massive success by Limp Bizkit, Slipknot were initially dismissed as a gimmick thanks to their matching cover masks and jumpsuits.

Yet their undeniable musicianship, which welded together an overwhelmingly intense sound, and their live performances—several times more aggressive than their studio recordings—quickly made waves in Japan, catapulting them to the top in one fell swoop.

I’ll refrain from delving into their tumultuous band history thereafter, but considering the surge of deathcore acts in the 2020s that seem influenced by their sound, I’m confident Slipknot’s reputation will only continue to grow.

The track featured here is Spit It Out, an early classic and a live staple that sends the audience into a frenzy.

Strongly infused with rap-metal elements, it fuses razor-sharp, off-kilter riffs with scratching in a blistering collision; alongside distinctly era-typical Slipknot rhythmic patterns and an irresistibly catchy chorus, it’s the kind of killer tune that makes you realize anew how they managed their meteoric rise.

As an aside, the music video for this song parodies the classic film The Shining, showcasing the jet-black humor that defined early Slipknot’s visuals.

Take This LifeIn Flames

In Flames – Take This Life (Official Music Video)

Among the bands that infused the brutality of death metal with the aesthetic stylings of traditional heavy metal to create what would later be called melodic death metal, one of the most famous names in the Nordic melodeath scene is surely Sweden’s In Flames.

The style of melodeath they pioneered in the 1990s—known and beloved in Japan as the Gothenburg sound—went on to powerfully inspire American hardcore bands in the 2000s, sparking the so-called metalcore boom, a development that is highly significant in the broader history of heavy metal.

With that context in mind, I’d like to introduce Take This Life, the opening track from their 2006 masterpiece Come Clarity, a work born as In Flames themselves moved closer to modern metalcore, shifting from their traditional melodeath approach toward alternative metal.

It’s a classic that combines their early aggression with distinctly Nordic melodicism, fluid interweaving guitars, and modern heaviness.

The album’s release on the prestigious Ferret Music label—home to many American punk-affiliated bands—also helped the group break through in the U.

S.

, making this track a catalyst for their stateside success.

That unique sense of melancholy so adored by American bands is, after all, something quintessentially Scandinavian.