Heavy metal music may have originated in England and now spans every corner of the globe, but American bands have played a major role in dictating the evolution of the genre. In the '70s, those contributions tended to pale in comparison to the aforementioned Brits, but the '80s turned the tide with the rise of American thrash metal. And the ensuing decades have added further candidates to a long list of outstanding U.S. metal acts.

We hereby celebrate their achievements with our picks for the 10 Best U.S. Metal Bands in the gallery at the top of the page!

10 Greatest U.K. Metal Bands

10 Greatest Swedish Metal Bands