Rock On Metal Heads

So since I've had a lot of time on my hands at work I've just been writing tons of stuff for this blog, and one of my favorite things to write is just stupid lists. So, here's another one and this time I have made a list of Rock N' Roll/Heavy Metal Icons. Once again, this is my list and is not official.

1. Led Zeppelin - Besides Black Sabbath, they're probably the most influential band in heavy music. All 4 members were geniuses in their own right. They Rocked and Rolled.
2. Ozzy - Those 4 letters are all I need. You know who I'm talking about. I left off Black Sabbath and used only Ozzy because Black Sabbath weren't as great after Ozzy left and Ozzy's solo material was (and still is for the most part) just amazing. Plus he gave us Randy Rhodes and Zakk Wylde.
3. Steven Tyler & Joe Perry (Aerosmith) - Their drug fueled love for music and hatred for each other in the 70's made Aerosmith what it was. They took what the Stones did and made it trashy. Sex, Drugs, and Rock N' Roll before it was cool.
4. Sex Pistols - They were the filth and the fury. Without them no one would have given a shit about punk rock.
5. Metallica - A pioneer of thrash and simply one of the greatest metal bands ever. EVER! But then they went "mainstream". Whatever, they were creative. One thing this world has taught us is that we all need to evolve. Evolution, great idea. That's what they did.
6. Motley Crue - If Glam and Rock N' Roll had a kid, and Satan & Heavy Metal had a kid, then both of those kids had a baby, it would be Motley Crue. Truly a periodic table of R N' R elements. Sex, Drugs, Rock N' Roll, Excessive. That says it all.
7. Judas Priest - One of the greatest bands to come out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. 2 lead guitar players K.K. Downing & Glen Tipton were (are) sonic twins and Rob Halford bringing the black leather, studs, and spikes which became the uniform for heavy metal was perfect.
8. Guns N' Roses - What can I say about GN'R that hasn't already been said? An indestructible force that could only be destroyed by the band themselves. A combination of all the previous bands mentioned, but with a bad boy edge that hasn't been seen or copied since.
9. Pantera - A Power Groove unlike no other. A clownishly bad ass front man, one of the most prolific guitar players EVER, and a rhythm section to back them up. A complete package, plus one of the only bands that got progressively harder with each album.
10. Marilyn Manson - Controversial? Yes. Preached rebellion? Yes. But not really just rebellion, he challenged. He challenged you to think about whether what you believe in was what you believed, or was it what you were made to believe in. He challenged whether you were on individual or a follower, something that hit home with me when I was younger. But I will admit, that now he is a little passe.

Honorable mention....

• Les Paul - Not the guitar, but the man. Because if it weren't for the man, there would be no guitar. And the Les Paul guitar is probably the most iconic Rock guitar ever. Plus he made it to last weeks list and I didn't want to over do it.
• Iron Maiden - They get an honorable mention because I had to cut either them or Priest. Well, personally, without Judas Priest I don't think there would have been a need for Iron Maiden. But Iron Maiden really helped solidify the genre that Judas Priest ushered in.
• Ramones - If you don't know who they are, then the rest of this section was probably like Greek to you. So Gabba Gabba Hey!! Do some research, you'll thank yourself.