The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has a long way to go with its heavy metal inductees.
Exclude proto-metal luminaries like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, and the Rock Hall has inducted only two proper metal acts in its nearly-40-year history: Black Sabbath and Metallica. New Wave of British Heavy Metal pioneers Judas Priest and Iron Maiden were nominated but passed over in recent years, while thrash-metal progenitors like Slayer and Megadeth have never even gotten a nod. Meanwhile, glam-metal titans Motley Crue claim they’ve been blackballed from the institution.
Plenty of metal artists have publicly decried the Rock Hall for excluding them, and it’s easy to understand their frustration. In recent years, the museum seems more preoccupied with inducting groundbreaking pop and hip-hop artists — worthy additions, no doubt, but perhaps ones that should come after the metal legends who are inexorably linked to rock ‘n’ roll.
From ’70s speed kings Motorhead to ’90s groove-metal mavens Pantera, we outline the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 10 biggest metal snubs below.
Metal Snubs: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 10 Worst Omissions
These are the 10 metal artists that most deserve to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
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