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Divine (2024)
Featured Heavy Metal Album
Agamemnon (2025)
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Featured Power Metal Album
Sunset on the Golden Age (2017)
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Browse World Metal Bands
85 bands found
Machine Heed bring a riff-heavy approach to modern metal that draws from the groove and thrash traditions of their namesake's sonic territory. The band delivers crushing live performances built on tight, aggressive instrumentation and a no-frills attitude toward heavy music.
Founded by Dave Mustaine after his acrimonious firing from Metallica, Megadeth channeled that rage into some of thrash metal's most technically brilliant and politically charged music. 'Rust in Peace' and 'Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?' are cornerstones of the genre, showcasing Mustaine's razor-sharp riffing, sardonic wit, and complex arrangements that elevated thrash beyond brute force. As one of the Big Four of thrash metal, Megadeth have sold over 38 million records and remain a vital force in heavy music after four decades.
Metal Church emerged from the Pacific Northwest in the early 1980s as one of thrash and power metal's most distinctive voices, with David Wayne's piercing vocals on their self-titled debut and 'The Dark' establishing them as peers of Metallica and Megadeth. The band's revolving lineup over the decades — including stints with Mike Howe, whose return on 'XI' was celebrated before his tragic passing — has never diminished their commitment to riff-driven, uncompromising heavy metal.
Night Demon is a traditional heavy metal band formed in Ventura, California in 2011 by vocalist and bassist Jarvis Leatherby and guitarist Brent Woodward, placing themselves squarely in the resurgence of classic NWOBHM-influenced metal that defined the early 2010s underground. Their debut Curse of the Damned (2015) on Century Media and its follow-up Darkness Remains (2017) earned the band a reputation for tightly crafted, hook-driven metal with a strong live presence. The band released their third studio album Outsider in 2023.
Nocny Kochanek formed in Warsaw in 2012 and became one of Poland's most recognizable contemporary heavy metal bands by combining classic metal musicianship with deliberately humorous Polish-language lyrics. The band grew out of musicians connected to the earlier project Night Mistress, but Nocny Kochanek shifted the focus toward a more playful identity while keeping the guitars, vocals, and arrangements firmly rooted in traditional heavy metal and hard rock. Their debut album Hewi Metal arrived in 2015 and set the template: galloping riffs, high-register vocals, twin-guitar melodies, and comic storytelling that affectionately exaggerates metal culture, nightlife, drinking, romance, and everyday absurdity. Zdrajcy metalu in 2017 broadened their audience with songs such as "Zdrajca metalu," while Randka w Ciemnosc, Stosunki Miedzynarodowe, and O Jeden Most Za Daleko continued refining the band's mix of strong musicianship and self-aware theatrical humor. Nocny Kochanek's appeal rests on that contrast. The songs are funny, but they are played with the craft and force of a serious heavy metal band, making the joke land without reducing the music to novelty.
Nocturnal Rites is a Swedish power metal band from Umeå, formed in 1990 under the name Necronomic as a death metal outfit before gradually shifting toward melodic power metal across their early releases. Their first album In a Time of Blood and Fire (1995) signaled the transition, and they developed into a respected melodic power metal act across nine studio albums, including Grand Illusion (2006) and The 8th Sin (2007). The band entered an indefinite hiatus in 2018, returning only for a final studio album, Phoenix (2017), before going quiet.
Ol Drake is the guitarist and vocalist of British thrash metal band Evile, who launched a solo project under his own name in 2013 following a temporary departure from the group. His debut solo album Old Rake (2015), released on Earache Records, is an all-instrumental collection spanning thrash, neoclassical shred, and classic rock, featuring guest appearances from Gary Holt (Exodus/Slayer), James Murphy (Death/Testament), and Josh Middleton (Sylosis), with drums by Mike Heller. Drake has since returned to Evile as frontman, but Old Rake stands as a showcase of his range outside the band's signature aggression.
Byron Bay, Australia's Parkway Drive transformed from a ferocious metalcore band into one of heavy music's biggest global headliners, with Winston McCall's commanding stage presence anchoring their evolution from the breakneck fury of 'Killing with a Smile' to the arena-rock grandeur of 'Ire' and 'Reverence.' Their pyrotechnic-laden live shows at festivals like Wacken have become the stuff of legend, setting a new standard for metalcore production values. Parkway Drive's journey from the Australian underground to stadiums worldwide represents one of the most remarkable ascents in 21st-century heavy music.
Portrait are a Swedish heavy metal band formed in 2005 in Kristianstad, Skåne, building their sound on the twin pillars of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and classic occult heavy metal. Signed to Metal Blade Records, the band has released six studio albums, from their self-titled 2008 debut through the 17th-century concept album The Host in 2024, maintaining a consistent focus on dark, riff-driven songwriting and dramatic, operatic vocals throughout.
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World Metal Index indexes hundreds of World heavy metal bands across every subgenre — death metal, black metal, thrash metal, doom metal, metalcore, hardcore punk, grindcore, sludge, stoner metal, and more. Browse heavy metal bands by genre, city, or state.
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Yes — browse World hardcore punk bands alongside heavy metal bands. We cover hardcore punk, crust punk, D-beat, grindcore, metalcore, and all heavy music subgenres.
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World Metal Index is an index of World heavy metal bands — death metal, black metal, thrash metal, doom metal, metalcore, hardcore punk, and all heavy music. Browse bands by genre, find metal concerts near you, and discover the World metal scene.