BLACK SABBATH, JUDAS PRIEST And METALLICA Are 'Greatest Heavy Metal Bands Of All Time'

July 14, 2006

An MTV panel of heavy metal "experts," consisting of "nine die-hard, longtime fans," recently came together to compile a list of the "Greatest Heavy Metal Bands of All Time." "In part one [of the process], we reached out to the most passionate and knowledgable metal fans working at MTV and asked them to send us their individual picks for the 10 greatest, with the only criteria being 'whatever greatness means to you,' " MTV.com's Jon Wiederhorn explains. "Some feel that the influence a band had on others is the most important factor in judging greatness; others say the strength of the albums is the primary concern; and some believe the power of a band's live performance is the ultimate measure. We did not care what each participants criteria was; we only asked them to vote from their hearts.

"Once we had all the lists, we did a little math. Every time a band was ranked #1 by someone, it received 10 points; #2 rankings received 9 points, and so on. When the points were added up, we had a list that represented the collective wisdom of the voters ... in theory, anyway.

"In part two, we gathered everyone together, showed them the results, and asked them to either stand by it, or change it as they saw fit, the only rule being that a majority had to vote in favor of every change. The discussion and debate over the rankings is what you see in the Overdrive show."

Read more at MTV.com.

"Top 10 Greatest Heavy Metal Bands Of All Time," according to MTV.com's panel of "experts":

01. BLACK SABBATH
02. JUDAS PRIEST
03. METALLICA
04. IRON MAIDEN
05. PANTERA
06. SLAYER
07. AC/DC
08. MOTÖRHEAD
09. KISS
10. MÖTLEY CRÜE

Metal's honorable mentions:

ALICE IN CHAINS
ANTHRAX
FAITH NO MORE
IN FLAMES
MEGADETH
MERCYFUL FATE
MINISTRY
SEPULTURA
SYSTEM OF A DOWN
TOOL
VAN HALEN
VENOM

Voting Members:

Jem Aswad - senior editor, MTV News
Dana Bove - producer, MTV Radio
Nova Calise - Chelsea Television Studios
Roger Coletti - senior director, MTV Networks Radio
Rick Ernst - supervising producer, MTV2
Jennifer Guyre - metal programmer, Urge
Chris Harris - reporter, MTV News
Jamey Jasta - host, "Headbangers' Ball"
Robert Mancini - editorial director, MTV News
John Ostrosky - host, VH1's "Talking Metal at Rock Honors" podcast
Rodrigo Perez - producer, MTV News
Alexander Smith - managing editor, MTV News
Jon Wiederhorn - freelance writer, MTV News

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