The 100 best metal songs of the 90s

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By ( Metal Hammer ) last updated

90s metal provided some of the world's finest songs: here we count down the definitive list of the best rock and metal songs from the 1990s

30. Ministry – Jesus Built My Hotrod (Psalm 69: The Way To Succeed And The Way to Suck Eggs, 1992)

A surprise hit for Ministry back in 1991, the popularity of which has rightly endured, this track is a defiant, breakneck industrial punk metal stomper, which relishes in ostentatious, devil-may-care anarchy and features Butthole Surfers frontman Gibby Haynes on vocals.

29. Guns N’ Roses – You Could Be Mine (Use Your Illusion II, 1991)

Written at the same time as Appetite For Destruction, You Could Be Mine could have easily fitted on Guns N' Roses' debut album, but instead surfaced as the theme to Terminator 2. It's a furious, typically incendiary slice of GN'R sleaze based around one of Slash's greasier riffs, and "With your bitch slap rappin' and your cocaine tongue you get nothin' done" is one of Axl's finest lines.

28. At The Gates – Slaughter Of The Soul (Slaughter Of The Soul, 1995)

Go! yelled Tomas Lindberg, kicking off a song and a sound that changed everything. As the title track from the Swede’s seminal record, it helped lay the blueprint for melodic death metal, and basically everything else you love.

27. Pearl Jam – Alive (Ten, 1991)

Pearl Jam announced themselves to the world with this, their debut single in the summer of 1991. And what an introduction it was – a hugely memorable riff coupled with Eddie Vedder’s distinctive vocals thrust grunge into the spotlight… and things would never be the same again.

26. Rage Against The Machine – Bulls On Parade (Evil Empire, 1996)

BAND PICK: Briton Bond from Wage War

"To this day, I don't think I've heard a more angry song. There are a lot of bands out there that try write angry music, but I think Rage had the perfect formula for what was going on at that time. I don't think we'll see another band like this for a long time."

25. The Prodigy – Firestarter (The Fat Of The Land, 1997)

It's was the video of Keith Flint dancing like a tic-driven lunatic in an abandoned tunnel that made the band stars, but Firestarter also proved that "dance" acts were as capable of rocking as anyone, and The Prodigy turned out to be a devastating live act.

24. Soundgarden – Jesus Christ Pose (Badmotorfinger, 1991)

While Black Hole Sun might take most of the plaudits as Soundgarden’s finest, let’s not forget this monumental slab of grunge from 1991. The fat bass backs up the chaotic guitars before frontman Chris Cornell takes the song by the scruff of the neck and lets rip in spectacular style. Utterly ferocious.

23. Rob Zombie – Dragula (Hellbilly Deluxe, 1998)

If Harley Davidsons could play guitar, this is the song they would write. An ode to the drag racer from The Munsters (because of course it is), Zombie speeds down Route 666 at 100mph, dragging your lifeless body behind him. Revving the bollocks off his engine, the headbanging chugs and metallic grinds make this a stand-out within ‘90s industrial.

22. Body Count – Cop Killer (Body Count, 1992)

"I'd like to take a pig out into the parking lot," intones Ice-T during the intro to Cop Killer, "and shoot him in the motherfuckin' face." Did we mention this was a controversial release? The music – a fairly generic brand of hardcore thrash enhanced by the occasional gunshot – didn't break any boundaries, but the band's fury was palpable and only matched by the reaction. A glorious moment.

21. Korn – Freak On A Leash (Follow The Leader, 1998)

Don’t pretend that you don’t know all the words to Jonathan Davis’ scatting. The song that cemented Korn’s legacy as a band who don’t just write angsty aural attacks but they can write anthems. And it’s probably the best example of the Bakersfield boys’ guitar/bass trade-off when it comes to writing bouncing yet uncomfortable melodies.

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