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What Is Metal Music? Genre, History & Bands

The short answer

Metal is rock music built on heavily distorted guitars, powerful drumming and intense vocals, split into dozens of sub-genres from thrash to djent.

Live genre mix

Genre mix: what Germany streams today

Every day musicpiechart records the genre families behind Spotify's daily charts. The pie is the latest mix; the chart under it shows how that mix moved.

Pop: 30%Hip-Hop & Rap: 23%Alternative & Indie: 19%Electronic & Dance: 9%R&B & Soul: 6%Rock: 5%Other: 8%

What Germany is streaming today

Genre mix of Spotify's daily top 200, by streams, on October 20, 2026 · updated 20 Oct

  • Pop 30%
  • Hip-Hop & Rap 23%
  • Alternative & Indie 19%
  • Electronic & Dance 9%
  • R&B & Soul 6%
  • Rock 5%
  • Other 8%

Genre share over 35 recorded days

September 16 to October 20, 2026. Each band is one genre family's share of the chart's daily streams, stacked to 100%; a missing day leaves a gap.

Stacked area chart of genre-family share of daily streams on the Germany Spotify chart, September 16 to October 20, 2026 Each coloured band is one genre family's share of the chart's daily streams, stacked to 100 percent. Days with no recorded edition leave a gap in every band. Hover a day for its shares; the data table below lists every value. 100% 75% 50% 25% 0% Sep 16 Oct 3 Oct 20 Sep 16, 2026: Pop 24.8%, Hip-Hop & Rap 27.8%, Alternative & Indie 17.5%, Electronic & Dance 9.1%, Rock 6.1%, R&B & Soul 5.0%, Other 9.6% Sep 17, 2026: Pop 25.0%, Hip-Hop & Rap 26.5%, Alternative & Indie 17.7%, Electronic & Dance 9.8%, Rock 6.2%, R&B & Soul 5.3%, Other 9.5% Sep 18, 2026: Pop 21.7%, Hip-Hop & Rap 32.8%, Alternative & Indie 12.6%, Electronic & Dance 8.2%, Rock 5.8%, R&B & Soul 4.0%, Other 14.8% Sep 19, 2026: Pop 24.7%, Hip-Hop & Rap 24.2%, Alternative & Indie 13.5%, Electronic & Dance 8.9%, Rock 6.1%, R&B & Soul 4.4%, Other 18.0% Sep 20, 2026: Pop 23.0%, Hip-Hop & Rap 19.3%, Alternative & Indie 17.8%, Electronic & Dance 7.5%, Rock 6.1%, R&B & Soul 3.9%, Other 22.3% Sep 21, 2026: Pop 22.2%, Hip-Hop & Rap 25.7%, Alternative & Indie 17.6%, Electronic & Dance 8.9%, Rock 5.6%, R&B & Soul 3.5%, Other 16.5% Sep 22, 2026: Pop 24.8%, Hip-Hop & Rap 25.9%, Alternative & Indie 17.4%, Electronic & Dance 9.8%, Rock 5.7%, R&B & Soul 4.6%, Other 11.8% Sep 23, 2026: Pop 25.7%, Hip-Hop & Rap 26.9%, Alternative & Indie 18.3%, Electronic & Dance 9.6%, Rock 6.0%, R&B & Soul 4.3%, Other 9.3% Sep 24, 2026: Pop 28.1%, Hip-Hop & Rap 25.0%, Alternative & Indie 18.1%, Electronic & Dance 9.2%, Rock 6.0%, R&B & Soul 4.3%, Other 9.3% Sep 25, 2026: Pop 33.1%, Hip-Hop & Rap 26.9%, Alternative & Indie 13.1%, Electronic & Dance 9.9%, Rock 5.1%, R&B & Soul 3.9%, Other 8.0% Sep 26, 2026: Pop 33.6%, Hip-Hop & Rap 20.6%, Alternative & Indie 14.1%, Electronic & Dance 9.9%, Rock 7.0%, R&B & Soul 5.2%, Other 9.7% Sep 27, 2026: Pop 32.9%, Hip-Hop & Rap 19.0%, Alternative & Indie 18.5%, Electronic & Dance 9.3%, Rock 6.5%, R&B & Soul 4.8%, Other 9.0% Sep 28, 2026: Pop 30.6%, Hip-Hop & Rap 23.9%, Alternative & Indie 17.8%, Electronic & Dance 9.1%, Rock 6.0%, R&B & Soul 3.8%, Other 8.9% Sep 29, 2026: Pop 31.3%, Hip-Hop & Rap 23.2%, Alternative & Indie 18.3%, Electronic & Dance 9.0%, Rock 6.0%, R&B & Soul 3.5%, Other 8.6% Sep 30, 2026: Pop 30.6%, Hip-Hop & Rap 24.4%, Alternative & Indie 16.5%, Electronic & Dance 9.2%, Rock 5.7%, R&B & Soul 4.2%, Other 9.2% Oct 1, 2026: Pop 31.0%, Hip-Hop & Rap 23.0%, Alternative & Indie 17.7%, Electronic & Dance 8.8%, Rock 5.8%, R&B & Soul 4.7%, Other 9.0% Oct 2, 2026: Pop 29.4%, Hip-Hop & Rap 30.7%, Alternative & Indie 13.4%, Electronic & Dance 7.9%, Rock 5.3%, R&B & Soul 4.5%, Other 8.8% Oct 3, 2026: Pop 32.0%, Hip-Hop & Rap 21.7%, Alternative & Indie 15.8%, Electronic & Dance 8.7%, Rock 7.1%, R&B & Soul 5.0%, Other 9.7% Oct 4, 2026: Pop 30.6%, Hip-Hop & Rap 21.4%, Alternative & Indie 18.6%, Electronic & Dance 8.1%, Rock 5.8%, R&B & Soul 5.3%, Other 10.4% Oct 5, 2026: Pop 29.6%, Hip-Hop & Rap 24.3%, Alternative & Indie 18.2%, Electronic & Dance 8.2%, Rock 5.7%, R&B & Soul 5.0%, Other 9.0% Oct 6, 2026: Pop 29.6%, Hip-Hop & Rap 23.2%, Alternative & Indie 18.7%, Electronic & Dance 8.6%, Rock 5.3%, R&B & Soul 5.4%, Other 9.1% Oct 7, 2026: Pop 30.3%, Hip-Hop & Rap 23.2%, Alternative & Indie 18.1%, Electronic & Dance 8.3%, Rock 5.3%, R&B & Soul 5.5%, Other 9.3% Oct 8, 2026: Pop 30.0%, Hip-Hop & Rap 22.8%, Alternative & Indie 19.3%, Electronic & Dance 8.1%, Rock 6.3%, R&B & Soul 5.4%, Other 8.2% Oct 9, 2026: Pop 28.5%, Hip-Hop & Rap 29.0%, Alternative & Indie 16.9%, Electronic & Dance 8.3%, Rock 5.4%, R&B & Soul 4.8%, Other 7.1% Oct 10, 2026: Pop 31.1%, Hip-Hop & Rap 23.2%, Alternative & Indie 17.3%, Electronic & Dance 8.1%, Rock 6.0%, R&B & Soul 5.6%, Other 8.7% Oct 11, 2026: Pop 30.1%, Hip-Hop & Rap 20.5%, Alternative & Indie 22.0%, Electronic & Dance 8.0%, Rock 6.2%, R&B & Soul 5.4%, Other 7.8% Oct 12, 2026: Pop 27.8%, Hip-Hop & Rap 26.0%, Alternative & Indie 18.8%, Electronic & Dance 8.3%, Rock 5.7%, R&B & Soul 5.2%, Other 8.0% Oct 13, 2026: Pop 28.0%, Hip-Hop & Rap 25.6%, Alternative & Indie 19.3%, Electronic & Dance 8.3%, Rock 5.4%, R&B & Soul 5.4%, Other 8.0% Oct 14, 2026: Pop 28.8%, Hip-Hop & Rap 25.8%, Alternative & Indie 18.2%, Electronic & Dance 8.4%, Rock 5.4%, R&B & Soul 5.3%, Other 8.1% Oct 15, 2026: Pop 29.8%, Hip-Hop & Rap 24.9%, Alternative & Indie 18.1%, Electronic & Dance 8.7%, Rock 5.4%, R&B & Soul 5.4%, Other 7.7% Oct 16, 2026: Pop 28.1%, Hip-Hop & Rap 31.1%, Alternative & Indie 14.6%, Electronic & Dance 8.9%, Rock 5.3%, R&B & Soul 4.7%, Other 7.4% Oct 17, 2026: Pop 33.1%, Hip-Hop & Rap 21.5%, Alternative & Indie 17.2%, Electronic & Dance 9.0%, Rock 5.5%, R&B & Soul 6.2%, Other 7.4% Oct 18, 2026: Pop 30.9%, Hip-Hop & Rap 20.0%, Alternative & Indie 21.4%, Electronic & Dance 8.3%, Rock 6.8%, R&B & Soul 4.9%, Other 7.8% Oct 19, 2026: Pop 31.0%, Hip-Hop & Rap 23.5%, Alternative & Indie 19.0%, Electronic & Dance 8.0%, Rock 5.5%, R&B & Soul 4.9%, Other 8.0% Oct 20, 2026: Pop 30.5%, Hip-Hop & Rap 23.0%, Alternative & Indie 18.8%, Electronic & Dance 8.6%, Rock 5.3%, R&B & Soul 5.5%, Other 8.4%
  • Pop 30.5% · +5.6 pts
  • Hip-Hop & Rap 23.0% · -4.8 pts
  • Alternative & Indie 18.8% · +1.3 pts
  • Electronic & Dance 8.6% · -0.6 pts
  • Rock 5.3% · -0.8 pts
  • R&B & Soul 5.5% · +0.5 pts
  • Other 8.4% · -1.2 pts
Genre-share data table
Genre-family share of daily streams, by day
Day PopHip-Hop & RapAlternative & IndieElectronic & DanceRockR&B & SoulOther
Oct 20, 2026 30.5%23.0%18.8%8.6%5.3%5.5%8.4%
Oct 19, 2026 31.0%23.5%19.0%8.0%5.5%4.9%8.0%
Oct 18, 2026 30.9%20.0%21.4%8.3%6.8%4.9%7.8%
Oct 17, 2026 33.1%21.5%17.2%9.0%5.5%6.2%7.4%
Oct 16, 2026 28.1%31.1%14.6%8.9%5.3%4.7%7.4%
Oct 15, 2026 29.8%24.9%18.1%8.7%5.4%5.4%7.7%
Oct 14, 2026 28.8%25.8%18.2%8.4%5.4%5.3%8.1%
Oct 13, 2026 28.0%25.6%19.3%8.3%5.4%5.4%8.0%
Oct 12, 2026 27.8%26.0%18.8%8.3%5.7%5.2%8.0%
Oct 11, 2026 30.1%20.5%22.0%8.0%6.2%5.4%7.8%
Oct 10, 2026 31.1%23.2%17.3%8.1%6.0%5.6%8.7%
Oct 9, 2026 28.5%29.0%16.9%8.3%5.4%4.8%7.1%
Oct 8, 2026 30.0%22.8%19.3%8.1%6.3%5.4%8.2%
Oct 7, 2026 30.3%23.2%18.1%8.3%5.3%5.5%9.3%
Oct 6, 2026 29.6%23.2%18.7%8.6%5.3%5.4%9.1%
Oct 5, 2026 29.6%24.3%18.2%8.2%5.7%5.0%9.0%
Oct 4, 2026 30.6%21.4%18.6%8.1%5.8%5.3%10.4%
Oct 3, 2026 32.0%21.7%15.8%8.7%7.1%5.0%9.7%
Oct 2, 2026 29.4%30.7%13.4%7.9%5.3%4.5%8.8%
Oct 1, 2026 31.0%23.0%17.7%8.8%5.8%4.7%9.0%
Sep 30, 2026 30.6%24.4%16.5%9.2%5.7%4.2%9.2%
Sep 29, 2026 31.3%23.2%18.3%9.0%6.0%3.5%8.6%
Sep 28, 2026 30.6%23.9%17.8%9.1%6.0%3.8%8.9%
Sep 27, 2026 32.9%19.0%18.5%9.3%6.5%4.8%9.0%
Sep 26, 2026 33.6%20.6%14.1%9.9%7.0%5.2%9.7%
Sep 25, 2026 33.1%26.9%13.1%9.9%5.1%3.9%8.0%
Sep 24, 2026 28.1%25.0%18.1%9.2%6.0%4.3%9.3%
Sep 23, 2026 25.7%26.9%18.3%9.6%6.0%4.3%9.3%
Sep 22, 2026 24.8%25.9%17.4%9.8%5.7%4.6%11.8%
Sep 21, 2026 22.2%25.7%17.6%8.9%5.6%3.5%16.5%
Sep 20, 2026 23.0%19.3%17.8%7.5%6.1%3.9%22.3%
Sep 19, 2026 24.7%24.2%13.5%8.9%6.1%4.4%18.0%
Sep 18, 2026 21.7%32.8%12.6%8.2%5.8%4.0%14.8%
Sep 17, 2026 25.0%26.5%17.7%9.8%6.2%5.3%9.5%
Sep 16, 2026 24.8%27.8%17.5%9.1%6.1%5.0%9.6%

Pop leads the genre mix on Germany's Spotify daily chart with 30.5% of the day's streams (5.4M plays), ahead of Hip-Hop & Rap at 23.0% and Alternative & Indie at 18.8% on October 20, 2026. Across the 35 recorded days from September 16 to October 20, 2026, Pop gained the most share, up 5.6 points to 30.5% of streams, while Hip-Hop & Rap slipped the most, down 4.8 points to 23.0%. Metal sits in the Metal family, which holds 3.1% of that chart's streams (-1.3 pts over the window). Shares are stream-weighted: every play of a song on Germany's Spotify daily chart counts once, credited to its lead artist's genre family. Every song that Spotify can classify counts; every family outside the biggest six is grouped with them as Other. The figures come from spotify-top.com's daily charts, recorded once a day by Music Pie Chart.

Top Metal artists on Spotify

Artists in our catalogue tagged with this genre, ranked by Spotify popularity.

  1. Metallica

  2. System Of A Down

  3. Slipknot

  4. Avenged Sevenfold

  5. Bring Me The Horizon

  6. Rammstein

  7. Korn

  8. Disturbed

Metal: 62%Rock: 31%Alternative & Indie: 8%
62%Metal

Beyond Metal

What else do Metal artists play?

The other genre families Metal's top artists on Spotify are tagged with.

  • Metal 62%
  • Rock 31%
  • Alternative & Indie 8%

Everything about Metal

What Is Considered Metal Music?

Metal is a rock music genre known for its intense guitar riffs, thunderous drumming, and lyrics that can send chills down your spine. Metal knows no boundaries and thrives on pushing the limits of sonic intensity. It's all about unleashing raw energy, passion, and the freedom to express your wildest emotions.

What Defines Metal Music?

Face-melting guitar solos, earth-shattering bass-lines, and vocals that can go from a soothing whisper to a guttural roar in seconds. That's what defines Metal music - a relentless sonic force that refuses to be tamed.

Some Of The Best Metal Music Bands:

  • Metallica: The pioneers of Metal, with iconic songs like "Enter Sandman" and "Master of Puppets".

  • Iron Maiden: Known for their epic anthems like "The Trooper" and "Fear of the Dark".

  • Black Sabbath, with timeless classics like "Paranoid" and "War Pigs".

  • Slayer: Known for their lightning-fast guitar riffs and brutal lyrics with songs like "Angel of Death" and "Raining Blood".

What Is The Big 4 Metal Music?

The "Big Four" in Metal music refers to the four most influential bands in the subgenre of Thrash Metal, including

  • Metallica

  • Megadeth

  • Slayer

  • Anthrax.

The Most Popular Metal Music Artists:

  • Ozzy Osbourne / Black Sabbath

  • Metallica

  • Judas Priest

  • Slayer

  • Iron Maiden.

Related genres

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