Iron Maiden voted Greatest Metal Band of All Time ahead of Metallica
Planet Rock listeners vote in their thousands
Last updated 29th Apr 2022
Iron Maiden have been voted the Greatest Metal Band of All Time by listeners of Planet Rock.
The Rocks is Planet Rock’s yearly celebration of the greatest rock music in Britain and around the globe, and each year thousands of votes are cast for various awards including Best British Band, Best International Band, Best New Band, Best Album and Single of the Year.
This year we’ve introduced four new fan-voted honours - Stateside Award for best Americana album, Blues Power Award for best blues record, Best Live Venue, and the Greatest Metal Band of All Time in association with our sister station Kerrang! Radio.
All the winners were announced in a ceremony broadcast live on Planet Rock’s YouTube channel last night (28th April), and hosted by Wyatt and Sam Hughes at The Asylum venue in Birmingham.
Check out the full winners list below!
The hotly contested Greatest Metal Band of All Time category was an open vote - meaning fans could pick whoever they like - and it saw English music legends Iron Maiden triumph ahead of San Francisco metal giants Metallica.
Heavy metal torchbearers Black Sabbath were named third Greatest Metal Band of All Time at The Rocks, while bands including Judas Priest, Motörhead, Pantera, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax all picked up a substantial amount of votes in the category.
Bruce Dickinson (in)famously said in an interview a number of years ago that “Iron Maiden are better than Metallica”, and he told Rolling Stone in 2017 that the comments were “a really good windup.”
“We have a great relationship with Metallica,” Dickinson said. “It wasn't aimed at Metallica. It was aimed at the rest of the world to say, 'We're back and we mean it. We mean it so much that we're going to say something pretty outrageous, so why don't you come to the show and find out. We dare you.'
“It's throwing down the gauntlet, and I'm the lead singer. It's my job. It's what I do.”
He continued: “So is it arrogant? Uh, yeah. You're the lead singer of Iron Maiden, and you're going to be arrogant every now and again, because it kind of goes with the territory, yeah.
“Mick Jagger, is he arrogant? Yeah, probably – it's Mick Jagger, for f---'s sake. Do I make a distinction between me walking down the street and me onstage with Iron Maiden? Yeah.”
Elsewhere at The Rocks, Iron Maiden also scooped the Best British Band honour, and the East London sextet were previously crowned The Greatest Live Act of All Time at The Rocks in 2021.
The Rocks 2022 full winners list:
Best British Band
Iron Maiden – WINNER
When Rivers Meet – 2nd place
Massive Wagons – 3rd place
Best International Band
Foo Fighters – WINNER
Ghost - 2nd place
Black Stone Cherry - 3rd place
Best Album
When Rivers Meet: 'Saving Grace' – WINNER
Iron Maiden: 'Senjutsu' – 2nd place
The Wildhearts: '21st Century Love Songs' – 3rd place
Best New Band
Florence Black – WINNER
Elles Bailey – 2nd place
Mason Hill – 3rd place
Stateside Award
Myles Kennedy: 'The Ides of March' – WINNER
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss: 'Raise the Roof' – 2nd place
Blackberry Smoke: 'You Hear Georgia' – 3rd place
Blues Power Award
When Rivers Meet: 'Saving Grace' – WINNER
Joe Bonamassa: 'Time Clocks' – 2nd place
Beth Hart: 'A Tribute To Led Zeppelin' – 3rd place
Greatest Metal Band of All Time
Iron Maiden – WINNER
Metallica – 2nd place
Black Sabbath – 3rd place
Best Live Venue
Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool – WINNER
Trillians, Newcastle - 2nd place
Fuel Rock Club, Cardiff - 3rd place
Single of the Year
Foo Fighters: 'Love Dies Young' – WINNER
Florence Black: 'Sun & Moon' – 2nd place
Iron Maiden: 'The Writing on the Wall' – 3rd place
The Rocks Honours Award
Ann Wilson – WINNER
The Rocks previous winners:
You can also check out all the winners from the past four years below: