Metallica have emerged as the most popular metal band in Ireland to judge by their showing in the chart of the one hundred best metal tracks of all time as chosen by the readers of Hot Press and the listeners to 2FM’s increasingly popular Metal Show.

Not only did Metallica scoop the number one spot with ‘Enter Sandman’ and the second place with ‘One’, but they also showed at number ten with ‘Fade To Black’ and had six other entries in the Top 100, making it an astonishing total of eight tracks in the top ton.

Seven of the one hundred tracks were from Irish bands, including three showings for Thin Lizzy (‘Emerald’, ‘Suicide’ and ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’) and one placing each for Mama’s Boys, Therapy?, Kerbdog and My Little Funhouse.

When we originally embarked on this project way back in June, one of the main concerns was that the list might be totally dominated by current acts, but it transpired that votes were fairly well divided over the years. Votes poured in for tracks by bands who played a seminal role in the birth and early development of metal, including Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Our thanks to Metal Show producer Marcus Connaughton and the show’s presenter John Kenny for their tireless checking and re-checking of the mountain of votes. We are also indepted to Music Maker, EMI Records, the Virgin Megastore and the Sound Cellar for putting up the rather attractive array of prizes, the winners of which we will announce in due course.

THE TOP ONE HUNDRED

1 Metallica Enter Sandman

2 Metallica One

3 Black Sabbath Paranoid

4 Faith No More Epic

5 Megadeth Symphony of Destruction

6 Led Zeppelin Stairway To Heaven

7 SLAYER Angel Of Death

8 Iron Maiden Fear of the Dark

9 Ministry Psalm 69

10 Metallica Fade to Black

11 AC/DC Whole Lotta Rosie

12 Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit

13 Whitesnake Fool for your Lovin’

14 Guns N’ Roses Patience

15 Metallica And Justice For All

16 Sex Pistols Anarchy in the UK

18 METALLICA Creeping Death

17 Iron Maiden The Trooper

19 Guns N Roses Sweet Child of Mine

20 Megadeth Holy Wars

21 Iron Maiden Number of the Beast

22 Pantera Mouth for War

23 Mama’s Boys Needle in the Groove

24 Joe Satriani Surfing With The Alien

25 Metallica The Unforgiven

26 Lynryd Skynryd Freebird

27 Deep Purple Smoke on the Water

28 Therapy? Screamager

29 Ozzy Osborne Changes

30 Thin Lizzy Suicide

31 Metallica For Whom the Bell Tolls

32 Led Zeppelin Rock n Roll

33 Pearl Jam Even Flow

34 Steve Vai For the Love of God

35 Anthrax Only

36 Suicidal Tendencies Lights, Camera, Revolution

37 Rainbow Since You’ve Been Gone

38 Alice Cooper Schools Out

39 Rage Against The Machine Freedom

(In the name of)

40 Led Zeppelin Trampled Underfoot

41 Jimi Hendrix Foxy Lady

42 Sepultra Beneath The Remains

43 Guns N’ Roses You Could Be Mine

44 Thin Lizzy Boys Are Back In Town

45 Slayer South of Heaven

46 AC/DC Back In Black

47 WASP The Real Me

48 Kerbdog Earthworks

49 Skyclad A Promised Broken Land

50 Black Sabbath Black Sabbath

51 Megadeth Hanger 18

52 Decide Carnage in the Temple of the Damned

53 Jimi Hendrix Voodoo Chile

54 Judas Priest Screaming for Vengence

55 Rainbow Can’t Happen Here

56 Deep Purple Highway Star

57 COC Vote with a Bullet

58 Metallica Sad But True

59 Led Zeppelin Whole Lotta Love

60 Pantera Walk

61 Iron Maiden Run To The Hills

62 Rush Spirit of Radio

63 Pearl Jam Jeremy

64 Aerosmith Love In An Elevator

65 Queen Bohemian Rhapsody

66 Skid Row Slave To The Grind

67 Def Leppard Animal

68 Kiss God Gave Rock n Roll To You

69 Black Sabbath War Pigs

70 Alice In Chains Dem Bones

71 Soundgarden Rusty Garden

72 Metallica Eye Of The Beholder

73 Dismember Skin Father

74 Gorefest Get A Life

75 Sepultra Territory

76 Judas Priest Wild Nights, Hot and Crazy Days

77 Pro Pain Pound For Pound

78 Iron Maiden Can I Play With Madness

79 Motley Crue Smokin In The Boys Room

80 Skid Row Youth Gone Wild

81 Black Crowes Remedy

82 My Little Funhouse Wishing Well

83 L7 Everglade

84 Bathory Call From The Grave

85 Thin Lizzy Emerald

86 Golden Earring Radar Love

87 Megadeth Black Friday

88 Deep Purple Speed King

89 Poison Unskinny Bop

90 AC/DC Thunderstruck

91 Anthrax Parasite

92 Stone Temple Pilots Sex Type Thing

93 Gun Higher Ground

94 Bad Company Can’t Get Enough

95 Iron Maiden The Evil That Men Do

96 Bon Jovi Bed of Roses

97 Ministry Jesus Built My Hotrod

98 AC/DC You Shook Me All Night Long

99 Motorhead Ace of Spades

100 Hawkwind Silver Machine