Far Out 40: The angriest heavy metal songs of all time
Although heavy metal has undeniably been linked to some dark events over the years—ranging from church burnings to murder—most of the time, the genre serves as a powerful outlet for its artists and fans. While it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, music is subjective, and there’s far more to metal than the stereotypes perceived by the uninformed masses.
Not only is the genre more multifarious than practically every other rock offshoot under the sun but there must be something about it that keeps people flocking to the likes of Hellfest and Wacken Open Air every year that isn’t to do with Satan or other stereotypical things the mainstream have often been guilty of dismissing it with.
Put it this way, metal usually has a distinct rhythm or groove and a palpable energy, so it’s no wonder sports teams and athletes such as boxers and mixed martial artists walk out to numbers from this area of music. Elsewhere, even the most surprising of ordinary folk have the odd slice of heavy metal in their gym playlist, with it unlocking that extra bit of mental energy needed to reach progressive overload or add another kilometre to their personal best.
A 2015 study by the University of Queensland even revealed there is science behind the positive effects of listening to metal and other “extreme music” such as emo, hardcore, punk, screamo and other subcategories. Instead of rehashing the age-old trope that heaviness causes anger, the findings supported the theory that “extreme music matches and helps to process anger”, offering a different and fascinating look at why heavy metal and adjacent sounds are so resonant for listeners.
Studying 39 regular extreme music listeners, Dr Genevieve Dingle and student Leah Sharman found “the music regulated sadness and enhanced positive emotions,” according to the latter. “When experiencing anger, extreme-music fans liked to listen to music that could match their anger.”
“The music helped them explore the full gamut of emotion they felt, but also left them feeling more active and inspired,” she continued. “Results showed levels of hostility, irritability and stress decreased after music was introduced, and the most significant change reported was the level of inspiration they felt.”
In that vein, Far Out has listed the 40 angriest metal songs we could think of to offer an intense experience and hopefully provide catharsis from whatever pesky emotions readers might be feeling. We’ve included everything from straight-up heavy metal to thrash, grindcore, metalcore, nu-metal and other linked sounds. These angry metal songs are about to make an impact.
Far Out Magazine’s full list of the angriest heavy metal songs:
- Nails – ‘You Will Never Be One Of Us’
- Slipknot – ‘Spit It Out’
- Korn – ‘Clown’
- Deftones – ‘Rickets’
- Slayer – ‘Angel of Death’
- Machine Head – ‘Davidian’
- Cannibal Corpse – ‘I Cum Blood’
- Sepultura – ‘Roots Bloody Roots’
- Merauder – ‘Time Ends’
- God’s Hate – ‘God’s Hate’
- Napalm Death – ‘Silence is Deafening’
- Converge – ‘Concubine’
- Power Trip – ‘Soul Sacrifice’
- Jesus Piece – ‘Oppressor’
- Metallica – ‘Creeping Death’
- Nine Inch Nails – ‘March of the Pigs’
- Ministry – ‘N.W.O’
- Code Orange – ‘Forever’
- Zulu – ‘Straight from Da Tribe of That Moon’
- Limp Bizkit – ‘Break Stuff’
- D.R.I. – ‘Acid Rain’
- Biohazard – Tales from the Hard Side’
- Gates to Hell – ‘Gates to Hell’
- Meshuggah – ‘New Millennium Cyanide Christ’
- Life of Agony – ‘Through and Through’
- Helmet – ‘In the Meantime’
- Devourment – ‘Butcher the Weak’
- Harm’s Way – ‘Become a Machine’
- Godflesh – ‘Like Rats’
- Bolt Thrower – ‘Cenotaph’
- Dying Fetus – ‘Your Treachery Will Die With You’
- God’s Hate – ‘Crown of Power’
- Sepultura – ‘Territory’
- Ingested – ‘Skinned and Fucked’
- Crowbar – ‘Existence is Punishment’
- Kublai Khan TX – ‘Supreme Ruler’
- Speed – ‘Not That Nice’
- Earth Crisis – ‘Total War’
- Vein.fm – ‘Virus://Vibrance’
- Jesus Piece – ‘Punish’
