The Metal Bands on ‘Rolling Stone’ 21st Century Rock Songs List

Rolling Stone has recently published their list of the 200 Greatest Rock Songs of the 21st Century So Far, but the list runs a little eclectic managing to pull even some metal acts into the conversation.

Since metal often gets overlooked, especially some of the more extreme stuff that doesn’t get radio airplay, we thought we’d share some of the choices that made their final cut.

In total, we’ve got 15 metal acts that appear on the list. So let’s see who got featured.

Which Metal Bands Made Rolling Stone’s Best Rock Songs of the 21st Century List?

• No. 189: Baroness, “Isak” (2007, Red Album)

Baroness – Red Album

• No. 187: Slipknot, “People = Shit” (2001, Iowa)

slipknot, iowa

• No. 161: Metallica, “Spit Out the Bone” (2016, Hardwired … To Self-Destruct)

metallica hardwired to self destruct

• No. 149: Meshuggah, “Bleed” (2008, obZen)

meshuggah obzen album cover

• No. 140: Arch Enemy, “We Will Rise” (2003, Anthems of Rebellion)

Arch Enemy – Anthems of Rebellion

• No. 125: Gojira, “Flying Whales” (2005, From Mars to Sirius)

GOJIRA – From Mars to Sirius

• No. 109: Black Sabbath, “God Is Dead?” (2013, 13)

Black Sabbath – 13 (Deluxe Edition)

• No. 94: Opeth, “Deliverance” (2002, Deliverance)

Opeth – Deliverance

• No. 91: Tool, “The Grudge” (2001, Lateralus)

tool lateralus cover

• No. 78: Jesu, “Star” (2006, Silver EP)

Jesu – Silver – EP

• No. 67: Converge, “Concubine” (2001, Jane Doe)

converge jane doe album cover

• No. 60: Mastodon, “Blood and Thunder” (2004, Leviathan)

Mastodon – Leviathan

• No. 47: Deftones, “Change (In the House of Flies)” (2000, White Pony)

deftones white pony album cover

• No. 40: Slayer, “Disciple” (2001, God Hates Us All)

Slayer – God Hates Us All

• No. 37: System of a Down, “Chop Suey!” (2001, Toxicity)

system of a down toxicity album art

What Else Is on Rolling Stone‘s List of the Greatest 21st Century Rock Songs?

That’s quite the broad range, going from some of the more extreme sounds of Meshuggah to metal that found at home at radio such as Deftones or System of a Down.

As stated before, the Rolling Stone list offers quite a bit of diversity under what is considered rock. The Foo Fighters fell just outside the Top 10 with their 2002 song “Times Like These” at No. 11. Paramore’s 2007 smash hit “That’s What You Get” made the cut right behind the Foos.

READ MORE: See Loudwire’s Picks for the Best Metal Songs From 2000-2025

The list leans heavily into the alt-rock and indie worlds, where bands such Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Radiohead and The White Stripes help populate the Top 10. There are even a few detours into rap (Jay-Z), country and Americana (Taylor Swift and Wilco) and pop-rock (Olivia Rodrigo).

The Top 3 songs on the list are: The Killers, “Mr. Brightside” (No. 3), The White Stripes, “Seven Nation Army” (No. 2) and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Maps” (No. 1).

The full list of the 21st Century’s 200 Greatest Rock Songs, complete with descriptions of each song and artist, can be found via Rolling Stone.

So what do you think? Is there anything you would’ve added? Let us know in the comments.

And while you’re at it, check out Loudwire’s picks for the best metal songs of the 2010s in the gallery below.