Recommended hard rock and heavy metal

An introduction to Western heavy metal: the masterpieces that changed the history of metal

music writerKOH-1
Started working as a music writer as a side job while employed at a record shop, and for over 18 years I’ve contributed to music magazines, disc guide books, mooks, and web media. As a writer my main field is Western music, but as a listener for over 35 years, I always try to keep my curiosity alive with the motto “I like what I like.” I have experience playing in bands, where I was a bassist who handled songwriting and composition. Instruments I’ve played include bass, guitar, and piano. I began studying English in my mid-40s and continue to do so today.
Music producer, composer, vocal coach, keyboard playerKei Takahata
From around 1995 to 2000, he built experience as a composer and producer at a major label, then moved to the United States. In Los Angeles, he studied vocalization and singing under top voice trainer Elizabeth Sabine, mastering the so-called Hollywood vocal method she advocated. After returning to Japan, he trained and produced a variety of singers, earning high praise for his direction that maximized the appeal of both the songs and the vocalists. In a collaboration video with Guild’s vocalist ryuichi, he handled keyboard performance, vocal direction, and sound production. (Passed away in 2025)

The heavy metal genre has countless subgenres, and its breadth is so vast that even devoted metal fans often have very different tastes.

Some people say, “I like metal, but death metal is a bit much,” while others are only interested in the extreme side of metal, and some can enjoy any kind of metal.

That diversity is part of what makes it so fascinating.

If you’re just getting into metal, you might not know where to start.

In this article, we’ll introduce some recommended classics and popular tracks for metal beginners!

We hope you enjoy this wide-ranging lineup that not only features staple heavy metal, but also spotlights subgenres that showcase metal’s possibilities.

Introduction to Western heavy metal. Masterpieces that changed metal history (’71–’80)

HeartworkCarcass

Carcass – Heartwork (Official Video)

HeartworkCarcass

A quintessential track by Carcass, a leading extreme metal band known for a heavier sound than earlier metal and songs that are aggressive and high-speed.

It’s the title track from their fourth album, Heartwork, said to have given melodic death metal its legitimacy.

The intro is dramatic, moving from an opening with blast-beat drums and razor-edged guitar riffs into a tear-jerking twin-lead guitar.

Of course it features ferocious death growls, but many listeners will also find themselves absorbed by the band’s superior musicianship and arrangements.

This number shows that death metal is far more than just sheer intensity.

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Hoshino Takashi

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Make me BadKorn

Korn – Make Me Bad (Official Video)

Make me BadKorn

A track by an alternative metal band known for their distinctive, biting sound.

This song also carries their trademark edge, and stands out as a heavy metal classic with its weighty, technical guitars and thick, sludgy bass.

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PapercutLinkin Park

Papercut [Official HD Music Video] – Linkin Park

PapercutLinkin Park

From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, there was a boom in a music genre called nu metal.

Because it sold so extraordinarily well, countless similar bands were mass-produced, and the movement drew plenty of criticism.

Yet in the 2020s, more and more young bands are openly citing nu metal as an influence, and it’s worth emphasizing again that nu metal has firmly taken root as one of the foundational roots of the great tree that is metal.

Among the bands labeled as part of the nu metal wave, Linkin Park achieved massive success by skillfully weaving elements of electronica and hip-hop into tasteful band arrangements and wielding melodies so powerful they shake the heart.

Their impact on the scene was so great that many bands rushed to imitate their sound, and there was some backlash precisely because they became so overwhelmingly popular.

Papercut is the opening track from their debut album Hybrid Theory, released in 2000, which has sold over 30 million copies worldwide.

It’s a quintessential early-era track for them: a heavy sound infused with scratching and synced elements, featuring Mike Shinoda’s razor-sharp rap intertwined with the late Chester Bennington’s emotional melodies and shouts.

Even more than 20 years after its release, giving it another listen proves it’s still unbelievably cool.

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As I DieParadise Lost

Paradise Lost – As I Die | Official Music Video

As I DieParadise Lost

A track by Paradise Lost, renowned as pioneers of genres like death-doom and gothic metal, and more popular on the European continent than in their native UK.

Featured on their third album, Shades of God, this groundbreaking number showcases a metal sound that symbolizes the band’s shift toward a more melodic direction while retaining their death-doom roots.

The arrangement, driven by a heavy beat and intensely distorted guitars, offers a deeply satisfying listening experience that epitomizes gothic metal.

It’s a song that reveals the band’s evolution and is recommended even for listeners who are new to gothic metal.

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Hoshino Takashi

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Radio MagicEARTHSHAKER

Radio Magic

Radio MagicEARTHSHAKER

A song by EARTHSHAKER, a heavy metal band from the Kansai region that was active from 1978 to 1994 and reunited in 1999.

It features heavy, fast-paced guitar riffs and an outstanding sense of freshness that permeates the entire track.

While the band’s sound is arranged in a quintessentially metal style, the catchy lyrics and vocal melodies make it a pop-leaning number that sticks in your head.

The Japanese lyrics also make it easy to listen to, so if you’re new to metal and unsure where to start, this is a track you should definitely try.

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Hoshino Takashi

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