It’s that time of year again. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame have announced their annual class of inductees and per usual, people are pissed off. Not me. I never cared for this sham of an institution and neither should you. That said, this list is for all those who do. The nerd who currently runs the Hall of Lame, I mean, Fame, gave some half assed excuse defending Iron Maiden’s exclusion from this year’s induction. He claims there’s no bias against heavy metal, yet the gatekeepers of the “esteemed” Hall are the very ones who slammed these bands via snarky album reviews throughout the 70s and 80s. If that bias didn’t exist, Deep Purple would’ve been inducted upon their first year of eligibility in 1993, not 2016. Alice Cooper would’ve been inducted upon their first year of eligibility in 1994, not 2011. Black Sabbath would’ve been inducted upon their first year of eligibility in 1995, not 2006. You get the idea. In this week’s Top 10, we explore the biggest heavy metal snubs in the history of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. For clarification, each entry will be labeled with amount of albums sold, their first year eligible, and number of nominations (if applicable). If there’s any bands we missed, feel free to let us know in the comments below.
10. Mötley Crüe
Albums Sold: Over 100 million
Eligible Since: 2006
Nominations: 0
Of all the bands on this list, you’d think Mötley Crüe would have the best shot at making it into the Hall of Fame. Between countless album sales, sold out tours, and one of the biggest streaming only movies of all time, they’ve definitely made “the right people” enough money. But for every behind the scenes industry shaker Mötley Crüe has pleased, there’s just as many they’ve pissed off. According to a 2019 interview with Nikki Sixx, the group is banned from the Hall of Fame for “how they acted”. This wouldn’t be the first time their bad boy antics got them into such trouble. Back in 1987, the music video for “You’re All I Need” (remember that one?) was banned from MTV for its “disturbing lyrical and video content”. In reality, Sixx got caught in bed with an MTV exec’s girlfriend. Said exec told Sixx his new video would never get played on their network. Lo and behold, he was correct. It don’t get more rock n’ roll than that.
9. Rainbow
Albums Sold: Over 30 million
Eligible Since: 2000
Nominations: 0
It only took 23 years for Ritchie Blackmore to be recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to heavy metal, hard rock, and progressive rock with Deep Purple. At this rate, will 2023 be the year for Rainbow? I highly doubt it, but even if it is, it shouldn’t have had to taken so long. Though perhaps not as much of a household name as Purple, Rainbow was just as important. Their first three albums, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, Rising, and Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll, laid down the groundwork for all traditional metal to follow, even pioneering the subgenre of power metal. Come the release of 1979’s Down to Earth, they shifted towards a more radio friendly style of hard rock, but managed to become a staple of FM rock radio well into the 80s with hits like “Since You Been Gone”, “Stone Cold”, “I Surrender”, “Street of Dreams”…I could go on. The fact of the matter is, if you were a rock fan alive in the late 70s and early 80s, you’re well aware of Rainbow and their undeniable impact on the scene.
8. Slayer
Albums Sold: Over 20 million
Eligible Since: 2008
Nominations: 0
Slayer is the quintessential extreme metal band. Period. Besides being largely responsible for the development of death metal, no band in the history of metal had achieved such commercial success while being so brutal. Here’s a band that spent nearly 40 years singing about Satan, hell, zombies, war, murder, and the downfall of society…and became an arena headliner while doing so! This feat alone should’ve been a one way ticket into the Hall of Fame. But alas, Slayer stands outside the gates, gazing upon their peers Metallica in envy. NOT. Tom Araya and Kerry King are far too busy counting the millions they made on that two year farewell jaunt to care. I just find it ironic that the Hall has a penchant for inducting so many other Rick Rubin produced acts. You know: Public Enemy, Run-DMC, LL Cool Jay, Jay-Z. Who knows? Maybe Slayer’s time will come sooner than later.
7. Ozzy Osbourne
Albums Sold: Over 100 million
Eligible Since: 2005
Nominations: 0
There is a slight catch to this entry. Osbourne is already a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, albeit with Black Sabbath. That said, his solo career is nothing short of Hall of Fame worthy. Thanks to the business savvy of Ms. Sharon Osbourne née Arden, Ozzy was reinvented from heavy metal has-been to the Prince of Darkness. His over the top antics served as nightmare fuel for just about every middle American parent throughout the 80s. Thanks to a team of brilliant musicians and songwriters, he had some excellent music to back up said antics. As metal fell from the limelight in the 90s, Osbourne only grew bigger, thanks to his blockbuster No More Tears in the first half of the decade, and his eponymous touring festival in the latter half. The 2000s saw the Osbourne empire grow even larger with the groundbreaking Meet the Osbournes reality show. These days, Ozzy is viewed less as a madman and more as a loveable elder statesmen of rock. Considering his ailing condition in recent years, it’d be nice if the Hall of Fame recognized his solo achievements while he’s still with us.
6. Dio
Albums Sold: Over 20 million
Eligible Since: 2008
Nominations: 0
One would think that since Ozzy Osbourne was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a member of Black Sabbath, so would Ronnie James Dio. After all, Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules are two of the most important metal albums of all time, right? Wrong. Apparently, the Hall of Fame knows nothing about Sabbath outside of “Iron Man”, “War Pigs”, and “Paranoid”. Considering Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler were rekindling their personal and creative relationships with Dio around this time, there may have been some internal politics that prevented Dio from walking across that stage, but I digress. Since the Hall can’t retroactively induct Dio with Sabbath, the least they should do is recognize his mega selling solo band. Formed out of the ashes of the Mob Rules era lineup of Sabbath, Dio and drummer Vinny Appice formed Dio as a counterattack towards both Sabbath and original frontman Osbourne. The result was a success. While Sabbath floundered for the rest of the decade, Dio dominated MTV, FM rock radio, and sold out countless arenas, giving the self proclaimed Madman Osbourne a run for his money. Plus, who hasn’t imagined themselves wielding a sword at a cyclops or dragon as “Holy Diver” plays in the background?
5. Thin Lizzy
Albums Sold: Over 10 million
Eligible Since: 1996
Nominations: 1
I’m sure at least one of you are getting ready to comment something along the lines of, “Thin Lizzy isn’t a metal band.” Now before you do so, ask yourself this: What’s the bigger indiscretion? Thin Lizzy being labeled a metal band OR their exclusion from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Compared to the other bands on this list, Lizzy’s sales figures pale in comparison. But what they lack in record sales and household status, they make up for in impact and influence. What other band can take credit for influencing artists within the realms of heavy metal, hard rock, punk, alternative, and singer/songwriter? Perhaps The Beatles and that’s about it. When it came to songwriting, Phil Lynott beat Bob Dylan and Van Morrison at their own game, and had a damn good time doing so. His all leather uniform and signature Fender bass oozed an unparalleled cool. Who am I kidding? Thin Lizzy is TOO cool for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! The same losers who think Foo Fighters are important enough to be inducted upon their first year of eligibility couldn’t handle the grooves of “Waiting for an Alibi”.
4. Scorpions
Albums Sold: Over 110 million
Eligible Since: 1997
Nominations: 0
The name of the institution is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The key word is “Fame”. Let’s assume for argument’s sake that Rainbow and Thin Lizzy aren’t “famous” enough within the mainstream to warrant induction. Okay. So how do you explain the exclusion of Scorpions, a band that has sold OVER 110 MILLION ALBUMS. As if this wasn’t enough to make them a shoe in, they continue to sell out stadiums worldwide to this day. The 25,000 capacity arena shows they play here in the States are “intimate” by comparison. And Scorpions don’t have hits. No. They have anthems: “Rock You Like a Hurricane”, “Still Loving You”, “Big City Nights”, “No One Like You”. Hell, “Wind of Change” is one of the best selling singles of all time. Now that it’s been established that Scorpions are a full fledged commercial metal juggernaut (as if we didn’t know so already), let’s look at the influence side of things. Their 80s output, enjoyable as it is, brings little to the table creatively. But their 70s output influenced scores of metal bands to come, thanks to the six string heroics of Uli Jon Roth. There’s nothing I’d love more than to see this faithful Hendrix disciple melt the faces of the suit and tie clad Hall of Fame audience with a ripping rendition of “We’ll Burn the Sky”.
3. Iron Maiden
Albums Sold: Over 100 million
Eligible Since: 2005
Nominations: 1
Hooray! Iron Maiden, or as the voters know them as, the band with the spooky t shirts, was finally nominated for the Hall of Fame this year! Sure they didn’t make it in (there’s always next year), but we as a metal community should be over the moon that they were even considered for such an honor. Is my sarcasm showing at all? Longtime frontman Bruce Dickinson has slammed the Hall as “a complete load of bollocks ran by sanctimonious bloody Americans”. You know, as opposed to the un-sanctimonious bloody Americans who have bought Maiden’s albums and shirts and packed their gigs year in and year out. I love you Bruce, but this small group of narrowminded twits does NOT represent the lot of us! Funny enough, despite having zero hit singles and little to no radio airplay, Maiden continues to outsell most of the acts inducted into the Hall. Much like with Scorpions, maybe they ought to reevaluate the “Fame” part of the institution.
2. Motörhead
Albums Sold: Over 15 million albums
Eligible Since: 2002
Nominations: 1
Don’t you just love it when the Hall waits until key members of a band are dead before considering them for induction? It’s the same thing when overnight, fair weather fans come out of the woodwork, proclaiming their “love” for said dead artist via social media. In the case of Motörhead, not just one classic member is dead, but the entire damn lineup is. Way to go Rock Hall. We could’ve seen Lemmy, Fast Eddie, and Philthy Animal blaze through a quick set of “Ace of Spades”, “Overkill”, and “Bomber” one last time while being recognized by their peers, but no. We can’t have nice things. The one time they were nominated, fans had to make a stink just to get longtime members Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee on the ballot. Despite their exclusion being a mistake of their own doing, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame took it like a bunch of crybabies and chose not to induct Motörhead at all. They instead opted to induct Whitney Houston, whose signature blend of punk and metal paved the way for countless bands that followed (sarcasm intensifies).
- Judas Priest
Albums Sold: Over 50 million albums
Eligible Since: 1999
Nominations: 2
Somebody help me out with this one. Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, and Def Leppard have all been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Good for them. By no means would I question their influence and success within the world of hard rock and heavy metal music. But how could you induct those bands without inducting Judas Priest, a band whom none of the bands listed would exist without, first? Black Sabbath may have invented metal, but Judas Priest perfected it. They established a common sound, look, and ethos that has been ground zero for all heavy metal since. They are arguably the first metal band who stood proudly and proclaimed, “We are a heavy metal band.” And for an institution that seems to pride themselves on being more “progressive” (socially, not musically) with each subsequent class, it’s astonishing that they have yet to recognize the accomplishments of Rob Halford: a gay man in a straight world. In the heart of the AIDS crisis, Halford belted out the sexually charged lyrics of “Jawbreaker”, “Eat Me Alive”, and “Grinder” to hordes of denim and leather clad maniacs…the same maniacs who very well may have thrown him to the wolves had they known the true meaning of his lyrics. If that isn’t bravery, I don’t know what is. So yeah, fuck the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Judas Priest will continue to fight you under “Blood Red Skies”, silly induction ceremony or not.
Honorable Mentions
- Blue Öyster Cult
- Megadeth
- Mercyful Fate
- UFO
- Uriah Heep