The best metal band?

[MasterShakezula]

I've listened to a couple songs offa Bathory's first album, and it's pretty rockin' stuff. 

Also, early Sodom, Destruction, and Kreator are about as kvult as thrash metal can get. 

[Dark Castle]

Agent Orange 

[zxlkho]

You forgot Enslaved and Alcest (if you count them)

Don't know how I forgot Enslaved, lol
haven't really listened to Alcest though.

Alcest is like black metal mixed with shoegaze and post-rock. It's really great stuff.

[Dark Castle]

You forgot Enslaved and Alcest (if you count them)

Don't know how I forgot Enslaved, lol
haven't really listened to Alcest though.

Alcest is like black metal mixed with shoegaze and post-rock. It's really great stuff.

Sounds good
another band to add
Tombs, so fucking gooooooood

[Fluffy Lothario]

To be honest, I'm so lukewarm on metal as a genre nowadays, I don't even want to name a band.

My favourites would be:
Black Sabbath
Rage Against the Machine
Opeth
Machine Head
Tool

Why Iron Maiden get so much love in the metal community, I'll never know. A lot of their stuff is as bad as power metal, and the little I can stomach, I can only enjoy by approaching it almost like a well-executed parody of good metal.

[Jirpo]

Iron Maiden's recent stuff is amazing IMO. AMOLAD and BNW are my two favourite albums, closely followed by Powerslave, POM and TFF.

[black_biff_stadler]

Avenged Sevenfold:

heaviness? check.
speed? check.
melody? check.
quality lyrics? check.
virtuosity? check.
fantastic riffs? check.
innovation? check.
Syn? check.

Fix'd.

Also I should give Strapping Young Lad an honorable mention. Bands that are done for really can't compete but fuck they were awesome.

Also Opeth has forfeited their metalness  with Heritage.

Never defile my posts with such drivel. And to say "fixed"?! One, it wasn't broken, and two, you've just totalled it and my insurance was liability only cuz I'm broke right now. Thanks for nothin'. 

[Jirpo]

Syn? check.

lol