Heavy Metal · GenresWhat is heavy metal?
Heavy metal (often referred to simply as metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. Today, the original genre is often referred to as classic metal or traditional heavy metal.
About heavy metal
With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness.
From Last.fm, where 90,983 listeners have tagged music as heavy metal.
Artists to start with
Albums to hear first
Nightmare
The Blessed Hellride
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Down to Earth
The Number of the Beast
Defenders of the Faith
Screaming for Vengeance
Opus EponymousHeavy Metal songs
- No More Tears by Ozzy Osbourne
- Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne
- Hail to the King by Avenged Sevenfold
- Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold
- Ace of Spades by Motörhead
- Painkiller by Judas Priest
- Breaking the Law by Judas Priest
- The Stage by Avenged Sevenfold
- Holy Diver by Dio
- Mr. Crowley by Ozzy Osbourne
Heavy Metal on Risocast
Dr. FeelgoodMötley Crüe · 1989
1984 (Remastered)Van Halen · 1984
TrashAlice Cooper · 1989
Shout At The DevilMötley Crüe · 1983
Girls, Girls, Girls (Deluxe Version)Mötley Crüe · 1987
Vol. 4 (2021 Remaster)Black Sabbath · 1972
Hey StoopidAlice Cooper · 1991
Theatre of Pain (Deluxe Version)Mötley Crüe · 1985
Children of the Sea (Live in San Antonio, May 13, 1982) - 2023 RemixBlack Sabbath · 2023
Neighbouring genres
In the metal & heavy family. All genres
death metalblack metaldoom metalalternative metaldeathcoredeath-doombrutal death metalblackened death metalcrossover thrashatmospheric black metalhardcore punkmetalQuestions
- What is heavy metal?
- Heavy metal (often referred to simply as metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. Today, the original genre is often referred to as classic metal or traditional heavy metal. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness.
- Who are the best-known heavy metal artists?
- By Last.fm listening: Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Ghost and Judas Priest.
- What genres are similar to heavy metal?
- On Risocast it sits with death metal, black metal, doom metal, alternative metal, deathcore and death-doom.
Risocast is free. Install it once and it logs everything you play.
Updated 6 October 2026
Risocast HelpA music log that fills itself in. It records the songs you play on your computer and your phone, turns them into your top songs, stats and a public profile, and finds people whose taste overlaps with yours.
Yes. The app and the website are free.
A song counts once half of it has played, or four minutes — whichever comes first. Songs of 30 seconds or less, and videos or podcasts over 20 minutes, never count.
On Windows, anything that shows up in Windows' media controls: Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Deezer, browsers, foobar2000, Windows Media Player and more (VLC, iTunes and MusicBee through their free media-controls plugin). On Android, any music app — it reads the same now-playing info your lock screen shows. You can also connect Spotify or import from Last.fm.
Yes. Plays are counted on your device and sent when you're back online, and the phone app opens without a connection.
It does the same core job — scrobbling, automatically — without plugins per player, and adds taste matching: see who listens like you and how much your taste overlaps.
Your profile and listening are public so people with similar taste can find you, unless you make your profile private (then only your buddies see it); your email never is. Nothing is sold and there are no ads; anonymous usage analytics (Microsoft Clarity, Google Analytics) show what to improve. See the privacy policy for the details.
More in Help, the guides and the privacy policy.
Welcome to Risocast
RisocastYour music, logged. Your people, found.
A small player that sits in your tray, writes down every song you play, and shows you who listens like you.
243 songs logged today
Android is coming to Google Play. Get notified
How logging works
On Windows, Risocast reads the system media controls, so any player counts: Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Deezer, browsers, foobar2000. No plugins.
On Android the app reads what any music app is playing (it's coming to Google Play). Anywhere else, connect Spotify or a Last.fm username.
Taste twins
See how much your taste overlaps with anyone's, and find the people who listen most like you. The match comes from what you both actually play, not a list of favourites.
Open PeopleWeekly Disc and Taste Map
Every week becomes a disc of your top songs. Every record you play goes on a map, grouped by genre.
Real ones, from the maker's own listening.
Download Risocast
Risocast is free for Windows 10 and 11. Android is coming to Google Play; on any other device, use the web app with Spotify or Last.fm.
- Version 4.0.9 · Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) · about 100 MB
- Updates itself: new versions download in the background and install on restart.
- Every installer is published with its SHA-256 checksum on the releases page.
FeaturesGuides
Track music on WindowsLog YouTube MusicApple Music statsFind people like youPlayers that workLog VLCLog foobar2000Log MusicBeeiTunes on WindowsLog DeezerLog TidalLog SoundCloudAmazon MusicWindows Media PlayerSpotify historyTop songs of all timeWhat genre is it?Describe your tasteExport your dataComing from Last.fmCompare