traditional heavy metal artists
65 published traditional heavy metal artists, led by Queen, Aerosmith and Ozzy Osbourne.
At a glance
65 published traditional heavy metal artists; 417 studio albums have verified cover art.
- Published artists3 tier 1 · 15 tier 2 · 47 tier 3
- 65
- Release groups
- 3,484
- Studio albums
- 451
- Albums with cover artverified Cover Art Archive
- 417
- Timeline events
- 1,024
- Monthly listenerssum across artists
- 113.1M
- Claimed salessum of stored claims; implausible values excluded
- 450M
- Average career spanfirst to last dated release
- 35.4 years
- Full biographies
- 59
- Biography words
- 233,942
When they started
Debut decade from each artist's earliest dated release. Most debuts fell in the 1980s (18 artists).
| Decade | Artists |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 2 |
| 1970s | 16 |
| 1980s | 18 |
| 1990s | 6 |
| 2000s | 8 |
| 2010s | 5 |
| 2020s | 1 |
Where they come from
Countries with the most traditional heavy metal artists. United Kingdom leads with 28.
Often paired with
Genres that share artists with traditional heavy metal. The most shared is hard rock, with 40 artists in both.
Covers from traditional heavy metal
417 studio albums have verified cover art. The 12 shown come from the most famous artists.
Leaders
Queen has the most release groups (400); Deep Purple the longest career (58 years); Ozzy Osbourne the most awards (16).
Most prolific
| Artist | release groups |
|---|---|
| Queen | 400 |
| Iron Maiden | 339 |
| Deep Purple | 296 |
| Judas Priest | 261 |
| Aerosmith | 231 |
Longest careers
first to last dated release
| Artist | years |
|---|---|
| Deep Purple | 58 |
| Steppenwolf | 56 |
| Thin Lizzy | 56 |
| Judas Priest | 55 |
| Blue Öyster Cult | 54 |
Most decorated
| Artist | awards |
|---|---|
| Ozzy Osbourne | 16 |
| Queen | 12 |
| Alice Cooper | 8 |
| Doro Pesch | 6 |
| Aerosmith | 2 |
Most famous traditional heavy metal artists
Queen
United Kingdom · Group · 1970–present
rock music, hard rock, pop rock, glam rock, progressive rock, art rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music
51.6M listeners · 190 wikis
Aerosmith
United States · Group · 1969–present
hard rock, rock and roll, blues rock, glam rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music
30M listeners · 84 wikis
Ozzy Osbourne
United Kingdom · Person · born 1948
hard rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music, glam metal, shock rock, doom metal
15.3M listeners · 106 wikis
Iron Maiden
United Kingdom · Group · 1975–present
traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music, new wave of British heavy metal
9.2M listeners · 107 wikis
Deep Purple
United Kingdom · Group · 1968–present
hard rock, psychedelic rock, classic rock, progressive rock, traditional heavy metal
7M listeners · 88 wikis
Freddie Mercury
United Kingdom · Person · born 1946
hard rock, rock and roll, classic rock, disco, pop rock, glam rock, progressive rock, traditional heavy metal, classical crossover, neoclassicism
176 wikis
James Hetfield
United States · Person · born 1963
rock music, hard rock, traditional heavy metal, thrash metal
90 wikis
Alice Cooper
United States · Person · born 1948
rock music, hard rock, classic rock, glam rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music, glam metal, shock rock, garage rock
83 wikis
Judas Priest
United Kingdom · Group · 1969–present
traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music
82 wikis
Jon Bon Jovi
United States · Person · born 1962
rock music, country music, soft rock, traditional heavy metal, glam metal, emo
77 wikis
Bruce Dickinson
United Kingdom · Person · born 1958
traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music
70 wikis
Slash
United Kingdom · Person · born 1965
hard rock, blues rock, traditional heavy metal, glam metal
66 wikis
More traditional heavy metal artists
Showing 1–53 of 53 artists
Ronnie James Dio
United States · Person · born 1942
hard rock, blues rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music
74 wikis · Tier 2
Eddie Van Halen
Kingdom of the Netherlands · Person · born 1955
hard rock, traditional heavy metal
62 wikis · Tier 2
Lemmy
United Kingdom · Person · born 1945
rock music, hard rock, rock and roll, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music, space rock, speed metal
69 wikis · Tier 2
Ritchie Blackmore
United Kingdom · Person · born 1945
rock music, hard rock, blues rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music, new age music, Celtic music, medieval folk rock, neo-classical metal
56 wikis · Tier 3
David Coverdale
United Kingdom · Person · born 1951
rock music, blues rock, traditional heavy metal, glam metal
55 wikis · Tier 3
Ian Gillan
United Kingdom · Person · born 1945
rock music, hard rock, blues rock, progressive rock, traditional heavy metal
55 wikis · Tier 3
Steve Harris
United Kingdom · Person · born 1956
traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music, electronica
54 wikis · Tier 3
Gary Moore
United Kingdom · Person · born 1952
rock music, hard rock, blues rock, blues, progressive rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music, jazz fusion
61 wikis · Tier 2
Tarja Turunen
Finland · Person · born 1977
traditional heavy metal, glam metal, classical music, operatic pop, power metal, symphonic metal
58 wikis · Tier 3
Rob Halford
United Kingdom · Person · born 1951
traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music
48 wikis · Tier 3
Jason Newsted
United States · Person · born 1963
hard rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music, thrash metal, progressive metal
46 wikis · Tier 3
Tom Morello
United States · Person · born 1964
hard rock, folk music, traditional heavy metal, electronic dance music, funk metal, alternative metal, nu metal, rap metal, hardcore punk, crossover
44 wikis · Tier 3
Thin Lizzy
Ireland · Group · 1969–1984
hard rock, blues rock, traditional heavy metal
44 wikis · Tier 2
Joe Perry
United States · Person · born 1950
hard rock, blues rock, blues, traditional heavy metal
43 wikis · Tier 3
Eric Burdon
United Kingdom · Person · born 1941
rock music, hard rock, rock and roll, blues rock, psychedelic rock, rhythm and blues, blues, traditional heavy metal, jazz fusion, funk rock, Latin rock
41 wikis · Tier 3
Steppenwolf
United States · Group · 1967–present
hard rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music, acid rock
38 wikis · Tier 3
Steven Adler
United States · Person · born 1965
hard rock, traditional heavy metal
37 wikis · Tier 3
Rainbow
United Kingdom · Group · 1975–present
hard rock, traditional heavy metal, album-oriented rock, neo-classical metal, power metal
46 wikis · Tier 3
Geddy Lee
Canada · Person · born 1953
rock music, hard rock, progressive rock, traditional heavy metal
34 wikis · Tier 3
Clive Burr
United Kingdom · Person · born 1957
traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music
32 wikis · Tier 2
Blue Öyster Cult
United States · Group · 1967–present
hard rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music, acid rock, occult rock
41 wikis · Tier 3
Ian Hill
United Kingdom · Person · born 1952
traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music
30 wikis · Tier 3
Nazareth
United Kingdom · Group · 1968–present
hard rock, traditional heavy metal
39 wikis · Tier 3
Doro Pesch
Germany · Person · born 1964
traditional heavy metal
38 wikis · Tier 3
Joey Kramer
United States · Person · born 1950
hard rock, blues rock, blues, traditional heavy metal
29 wikis · Tier 3
Rick Allen
United Kingdom · Person · born 1963
hard rock, traditional heavy metal, glam metal
29 wikis · Tier 3
Joe Elliott
United Kingdom · Person · born 1959
hard rock, traditional heavy metal
28 wikis · Tier 3
Blaze Bayley
United Kingdom · Person · born 1963
hard rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music
28 wikis · Tier 3
Poppy
United States · Person · born 1995
rock music, pop music, traditional heavy metal, electropop, industrial music, metalcore, pop metal
34 wikis · Tier 3
Phil Collen
United Kingdom · Person · born 1957
hard rock, traditional heavy metal, glam metal
24 wikis · Tier 3
Joey Tempest
Sweden · Person · born 1963
rock music, hard rock, country rock, glam rock, traditional heavy metal
30 wikis · Tier 3
Jeordie White
United States · Person · born 1971
traditional heavy metal, alternative rock, alternative metal, industrial metal, industrial rock
29 wikis · Tier 3
Udo Dirkschneider
Germany · Person · born 1952
traditional heavy metal
28 wikis · Tier 3
Budgie
United Kingdom · Group · 1967–present
hard rock, traditional heavy metal
21 wikis · Tier 3
Neil Murray
United Kingdom · Person · born 1950
hard rock, blues rock, traditional heavy metal, jazz fusion
21 wikis · Tier 3
Biff Byford
United Kingdom · Person · born 1951
hard rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music
20 wikis · Tier 3
Mark Tornillo
United States · Person · born 1954
traditional heavy metal
17 wikis · Tier 3
Spinal Tap
United States · Group · 1964–present
hard rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music, comedy rock
16 wikis · Tier 3
Jag Panzer
United States · Group · 1981–present
traditional heavy metal, thrash metal
15 wikis · Tier 3
Pretty Maids
Denmark · Group · 1981–present
hard rock, traditional heavy metal, speed metal, power metal
15 wikis · Tier 3
Crush 40
Japan · Group · 1998–present
hard rock, pop rock, glam rock, traditional heavy metal, alternative metal, glam metal, video game music, Japanese rock
14 wikis · Tier 3
Unisonic
Germany · Group · 2009–present
traditional heavy metal
13 wikis · Tier 3
Sinner
Germany · Group · 1982–present
hard rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music
12 wikis · Tier 3
Electric Sun
Germany · Group · 1978–present
hard rock, traditional heavy metal, neo-classical metal
10 wikis · Tier 3
Black Obelisk
Russia · Group · 1986–present
hard rock, traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music, thrash metal, funk metal, speed metal, groove metal
10 wikis · Tier 3
Korroziya Metalla
Russia · Group · 1982–present
traditional heavy metal, funk metal, industrial metal, speed metal, crossover thrash, grindcore, death metal
9 wikis · Tier 3
Hevisaurus
Finland · Group · 2009–present
traditional heavy metal, children's music
9 wikis · Tier 3
Ostrogoth
Belgium · Group · 1980–present
traditional heavy metal
6 wikis · Tier 3
Malice
United States · Group · 1980–present
traditional heavy metal, heavy metal music
5 wikis · Tier 3
Killer
Belgium · Group · 1980–present
traditional heavy metal
3 wikis · Tier 3
Savage
United Kingdom · Group · 1976–present
traditional heavy metal
3 wikis · Tier 3
Trooper
Romania · Group · 1995–present
traditional heavy metal
3 wikis · Tier 3
Trance
Germany · Group · 1977–present
traditional heavy metal
2 wikis · Tier 3