The 100 Best Heavy Metal Workout Songs of All Time

Off the 1982 album, Number of the Beast, Bruce Dickinson wails as his final hours approach. The desperation. The fear. The impending doom! It's heavy metal workout motivation distilled: something looms; can you prevail?

Motivating lyric: Somebody please tell me that I'm dreaming // It's not easy to stop from screaming

2. Blood and Thunder by Mastodon

Roiling and churning this rendition of Moby Dick by way of guitar-pulverizing is the up-and-down of ambition and depletion all in one.

Motivating lyric: Split your lungs with blood and thunder // When you see the white whale // Break your backs and crack your oars men // If you wish to prevail

3. Angels Holocaust by Iced Earth

Stalwart metalworkers Iced Earth feature a heavens chorus with trudging guitar in an operatic battle hymnal from their 1991 album Night of the Stormrider.

Motivating lyric: Something is drawing me to the other side // Only time will tell my true destiny

4. Cascade of Scars by Noisem

Sheer chaos reigns on this 2015 track that sounds like someone unleashed Cerberus on a Golds Gym.

Motivating lyric: You rip, you cry // Runaway, never today

5. Walk by Pantera

The Dimebag diatribe is, at its pulsating heart, a song about standing your ground and building yourself up, punk.

Motivating lyric: RE // SPECT // WALK

6. Are You Dead Yet? by Children of Bodom

The force of this Finnish groups all-encompassing sound bites down within the first few seconds and doesnt release until breath fades. Pair with noise-canceling headphones and a hoodie for maximum effect.

Motivating lyric: Should I regret or ask myself are you dead yet?

7. Master of Puppets by Metallica

The driving guitar that fuels this 8:35-long powerhouse only lets up for one melodic guitar solo mid-song, a needed respite in a fury. It's heavy metal in all of its glory: triumphant and relentless; epic and tactical. And for a band coming off 1984's Ride the Lightning, a maturation in sound and scope that cracked the boundaries of the entire genre.

Motivating lyric: Just call my name 'cause I'll hear you scream // Master, master!

8. Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel by Behemoth

This monster of a song engulfs you, swallows you whole, and masticates your very being with a big, deep, and unholy sound. All you can do is hold on and hope to survive.

Motivating lyric: Break the bread and crumb by crumb into the Leviathan's den // Nations fall prey // Hail my return

9. Sweating Bullets by Megadeath

Dave Mustaine sneers through five minutes of mirror introspection. Sound familiar?

Motivating lyric: I'm chomping at the bit // I'm sharpening the axe // Here I come again, whoa // Sweating bullets

10. The Last Disease by Nightfell

Full-tilt, unhinged, and unrelenting, this apocalyptic screed surges through your system like The Four Horseman. Is that the sound of someone trying to free themselves from shackles in the background?

Motivating lyric: I am the chosen one

11. Am I Demon by Danzig

1998s self-titled classic offers this rhetorical question, driven by a rapid-heart drumbeat and Glenns battle cry.

Motivating lyric: And this thing mortals fear // Dubbed evil, hungry

12. Any Means Necessary by Hammerfall

Powered, in part, by their feathered coifs, Hammerfall carried the iron gauntlet of Hair Metal with unabashed pride. You, too, may feel the urge to blow-dry in the locker room.

Motivating lyric: Kill by any means necessary // Win by any means necessary // Live by any means necessary // Die by any means necessary

13. Angel of Death by Slayer

The wild-animal drumming, the shotgun-blast vocals, the skin-shredding guitar-theres no metal song more vicious and raw than this now-canonized classic from 1986. Yes, "Raining Blood" (don't worry, it's on the list too) stands tall off the album, but in terms of straight adrenaline-coursing terror, Angel reigns supreme.

Motivating lyric: Praying for the end of // Your wide awake nightmare // Wings of pain, reach out for you // His face of death staring down // Your blood running cold

14. Reduced to the Failure of Prayer by Skeletonwitch

Hailing from Athens, Ohio, this thrash-metal band flexes their muscle and speed on a 2:51 track of bottled lightning.

Motivating lyric: Your life of devotion now useless // Your years of blind faith are but lies

15. Bridgeburner by Mutoid Man

With a guitar line like a SNES boss battle, this 2015 dynamite stick of a song inspires army crawling and rapid-fire footwork.

Motivating lyrics: Someday I'll learn // Someday I'll learn // AKA never // Never!

16. Caught in a Mosh by Anthrax

Still as inspired to make your limbs flail, your head bang, and your fists pump as when it was released in 1987.

Motivating lyrics: Learn, to give respect // That others, give to you // AAAAAAAAAAAh, the best you can do

17. Tres Brujas by The Sword

It means three witches in Spanish. Theres sacred smoke. Theres a glowing orb. Theres pure, unadulterated, knuckle-baring metal riffage.

Motivating lyrics: Draw back your arrow and let it fly // May your aim be straight and true

18. Bleed by Meshuggah

For seven minutes you feel as if youve been thrown into a demonic washing machine set to madness cycle. Theres double-kick drumming. There are cymbals smashing. And then theres that near-constant screaming of Jens Kidman. Then its over. Mercifully.

Motivating lyric: Heed, it commands, heed my will // Bleed, it says, bleed you will

19. Superbeast by Rob Zombie

1998s Hellbilly Deluxe brought metal this tromping, stomping ditty that sounds like a cross between a deranged nursery rhyme and a pump-up track played before a monster truck rally.

Motivating lyric: Hey yeah, I'm the one that you wanted // Hey yeah, I'm your superbeast

20. LEnfant Sauvage by Gojira

This band, named after the Japanese name for Godzilla, delivers four-minutes of destruction. Use it as your soundtrack to tail-crushing your way through a metropolis or trying to PR your mile time.

Motivating lyric: What lays inside of us won't last forever // Don't fear to let it out

21. The Dark Side of the Compass by High on Fire

Do you like guitars? Okay good because heres 5:30 of them BLASTED INTO YOUR GREY MATTER.

Motivating lyric: We cant find the direction of now // Compass and Earth are turned upside down

22. The Wizard by Black Sabbath

Ozzy inhabits a mystic on this 1970 deep cut with a surprisingly uplifting message.

Motivating lyric: Evil power disappears // Demons worry when the wizard is near

23. The Parallel Eches by Blut Aus Nord

This French black metal band takes you on a four-plus-minute tour through their doom chamber, which, coincidentally, is also a great name for a squat rack.

Motivating lyric: Saw you through a new set of eyes // Thought we had reached the end of the line

24. Carry On by Manowar

Its 1987. The hair is bigger than the double-neck guitars. And the rally cry of this power metal band is an anthem to close out your workout. Wring out your sweatband.

Motivating lyric: Darkness all around us // We don't close our eyes // No one's gonna ground us // We were burn to fly

25. Red Chaos by Vhl

The metal supergroup unleashes the torment of legions of the undead rising to life. Have you done enough biceps curls to prepare?

Motivating lyric: Let the sea run red with the blood of my enemies // Let the sea run red with the blood of my enemies

26. Lightning Strike by Judas Priest

You didnt forget about the Priest, did you? This 2018 (yes, 2018) opening track off the British bands 18 th studio album reacquainted those with short memories.

Motivating lyric: Come rally 'round this lack of freedom // Our unions rise so go to hell

27. Shift of Dismay by Youth Code

Its a carpe diem call issued by a band of steam punk night crawlers.

Motivating lyric: Bloodshot restless nights, wings now clipped with age // The ghost of promise echoes louder at this tired stage

28. Escape from the Prison Planet by Clutch

The 1995 call for a prison break is also a good way to kick yourself off the couch.

Motivating lyric: Red Rover, Red Rover, Bob Lazar's coming over // So honey clear the airstrip and light up that stove

29. The Seventh Seal by Sumerlands

Sweeping guitars carry you along this 2016 throwback to classic power metal. Fist-pumping resistance is futile.

Motivating lyric: The rain will wash away the tears from their faces // And as the thunder cracked they were gone

30. For Whom The Bell Tolls by Metallica

The distant death knell is soon joined by the harbinger of guitars crawl. Lars plods on drums, stalking you. Your time is coming. Can you outrun it?

Motivating lyric: Blackened roar massive roar fills the crumbling sky // Shattered goal fills his soul with a ruthless cry

31. World War Now by Kreator

The German thrash metal group clobbers you with a chorus that feels like being pelted with shrapnel. Whats a few lat pulldowns after youve survived that?

Motivating lyric: See the pain // Hear the cries // Seeds of hate // Sowed by lies // Darkest times // Hold your ground

32. Deadly Sinners by 3 Inches of Blood

From the first second, youre on the front lines of an epic battle thrusting forward to the enemy with an unquenchable bloodthirst. Onward! ONWARD!

Motivating lyric: Kill the tyrants endless conquest // With no mercy, straight for his heart // Blood lust will overtake anger and violence // Without warning, lightning strikes in the dark

33. Wildlife by Converge

Sung like a desperate protest song through a rusted megaphone, this punk-infused spitfire of a song leaves you sucking for air.

Motivating lyric: Under constant pressure, diamonds in the rough // Only way to light is fighting through the dirt

34. Valley of the Damned by DragonForce

The London power metal band released this seven-minute epic in 2003. It soars with angelic choirs, tireless kick drumming, and a duo of guitar solos that push ever harder and faster. This is 80s hair metal reborn, a phoenix now equipped with dexterity and precision. Even listening to this song without so much as doing a few knee raises will leave you exhausted.

Motivating lyric: Be strong ride on, carry on through the war // Come along carry on, living for ever more

35. Ace of Spades by Motrhead

Give it to em Lemmy.

Motivating lyric: The pleasure is to play, makes no difference what you say

36. Laser Enforcer by Slough Feg

This sharp song off the 2014 Digital Resistance is charged with tight drumming and precision guitar solos. Pair it with stadium steps for full effect.

Motivating lyric: This is the animal inside // Resistance is always pacified

37. Deceiver of the Gods by Amon Amarth

Titans of Swedish modern metal, Amon Amarth are speed demons. Their sound, displayed on full effect in this 2013 track, is a treadmill on the highest setting. Keep up or face the pain.

Motivating lyric: But I'm of different blood // I will overthrow the throne

38. Metal on Metal by Anvil

Forever a heavy metal bands heavy metal band, Anvil helped forged the genre with this 1982 classic. Its best played to the backdrop of clanging 45k plates.

Motivating lyric: Metal on metal // It's what I crave

39. Palace of Lepers by At the Gates

Modern Swedish death metal in all its rage-igniting glory. Quick, find something heavy to lift!

Motivating lyric: Chants reverberate // Through these halls // The corridors of doom

40. Raining Blood by Slayer

The mounting storm in the first thirty seconds opens to a torrent of riffs and hail of drums. By the time the deluge finishes, youve created a puddle of sweat around you.

Motivating lyric: Fall into me, the sky's crimson tears // Abolish the rules made of stone

41. Yesterday Dont Mean Shit by Pantera

Pantera always possessed a brute-force delivery that makes you feel intimidated and empowered all at once. This 2000 track from Reinventing the Steel spells it out: Yesterday don't mean shit. Because tomorrow is the day you will have to face. Pull yourself up. No excuses. No whining. Get at it.

Motivating lyric: Don't hold your breath for the turn around

42. Emerald Sword by Rhapsody of Fire

Turbo-charged fantasy power metal-with a strings section! Don your battle armor, knight, and prepare for the fight of your life.

Motivating lyric: Only a warrior with a clear heart // Could have the honor to be kissed by the sun

43. Blaze of Bodies by Ossuarium

This 2019 stomp-and-clomp feels like a giant with a death wish will stop at nothing to chase you down and tear you limb from limb. Good motivation for a nighttime run.

Motivating lyric: [unintelligible roaring]

44. Push It by Static-X

Late 90s industrial metal birthed this swift kick in the ass of a song. Feed it into the background of your last bench press set. Do not confuse it with the Salt-N-Pepa hit.

Motivating lyric: Yeah, you push it // Yeah, you push it

45. Honeycomb by Deafheaven

The American post-metal quintet fills your soul with so much sound youll feel youre about to self-immolate. Honeycomb is eleven minutes of unrestrained pandemonium perfect for an end-of-workout finisher for the truly masochistic.

Motivating lyric: The people keep fighting for rest

46. Take My Bones Away by Baroness

From their 2012 Yellow & Green double album, this rolling heavy metal chant feels like blood pumping under stress and strain.

Motivating lyric: Take my bones away // Take my bones away

47. Du Hast by Rammstein

The German pyromaniacs scorched the U.S. with this commanding industrial metal track back in 1997. The firepower still stands.

Motivating lyric: [something in German]

48. Pillars of Sand by Vektor

Theres a life-threatening urgency to Vektors calls throughout this five-minute wonder. Its the thrash metal equivalent of a madman aiming a six-shooter at your toes and screaming Dance! Dance!

Motivating lyric: Time is a clock on the wall we command // And its hands made from pillars of sand

49. Over the Wall by Testament

The 80s trash metal band at their best, Chuck Billy sneering through verses and caterwauling commands.

Motivating lyric: The search will not stop // And hounds will not rest

50. Tired Climb by Kylsea

What starts as a plodding drumbeat builds into a upward surge of power and determination-the perfect soundtrack to hill climbs and pyramid sets.

Motivating lyric: We tread a long time // On occasion, on the line // Swaying, weighing // Straying from this tired climb

51. Hunting for Your Dream by Galneryus

The Japanese metal band throws you from the heavens in the first few seconds and then documents your descent, with swirling guitar and spiraling vocals, until the last cymbals crashes.

Motivating lyric: Hunting for your dream!

52. Miserable Failure by Iron Reagan

Dont take this song as a knock on your athletic ability. Take it as an ode to that final rep on that final set-the point of failure-and all of its seemingly insurmountable glory.

Motivating lyric: Miserable failure until I die

53. Outlive Them All by Visigoth

Theres a lift-your-sword-to-the-heavens-in-victory feeling shot through this entire 2018 five-minute-plus epic by a band from, of all places, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Motivating lyric: I'll outlast the moon and the sun // Fear my highland steel

54. Painkiller by Judas Priest

"Breaking the Law" was a bigger hit for the band, but it doesn't contain the same vigor and awe of this 1990 track. And the message is clear to anyone who has every struggled through the challenge of a brutal workout: To grow stronger, you must push through.

Motivating lyric: Flying high on rapture // Stronger free and brave

55. Welcome to the Spaceship, Motherfucker by Oozing Wound

Who says metal cant have a sense of humor?

Motivating lyric: See you later, alligator // Channel the master mind // No more faker doppelganger // No more false child of mine

56. Piles of Little Arms by Morbid Angel

American death metal old-timers returned in 2017 with this scorched-earth opener to the album Kingdoms Disdained. Use the song title as inspiration for more pushups.

Motivating lyric: Prayers that will save your soul

57. Euthanasia by Pissgrave

Its a torrent of sound that may make your ears bleed, but will also most certainly power you through your last crucial deadlift set. Your call.

Motivating lyric: [your guess is as good as mine]

58. Melancholia by Tribulation

If Dracula found a passion for Olympic lifting, hed pipe this 2015 track by the Swedish heavy metal stalwarts into his castle muscle dungeon.

Motivating lyric: I'll venture far // I'll reach down to my soul tonight

59. Hammer Smashed Face by Cannibal Corpse

Admittedly, the shock-metal band isnt for everyone, but even the squeamish can harness the energy of the hollow drumming and berating guitar of this 1992 opener to the album Tomb of the Mutilated. This is metal at its most gruesome, but also most invigorating.

Motivating lyric: Brutality becomes my appetite

60. Trial of Perturbation by Noisem

The Baltimore metalcore band hits peak fury on this 2015 tirade of noise. Press play. Unleash hell.

Motivating lyric: Staring in the mirror tragically different // Aggression stalks into a once untouched spine

61. Paranoid by Black Sabbath

Even the lead guitar sounds insane on this 1970 heavy metal standard. Ozzy's madness sounds all too similar to the inner dialogue that occurs within any distance runner or powerlifter: Why am I doing this?

Motivating lyric: All day long I think of things but nothing seems to satisfy // Think I'll lose my mind if I don't find something to pacify

62. Long Road, No Turns by Daughters

The backbeat to this 2018 horrorshow makes you feel as if youre on poorly maintained carnival ride and the carnie at the operating levers just took a handful of something questionable.

Motivating lyric: Don't look to me // Under the weight of // Your shouldered cross

63. Sugar by System of a Down

No one quite knew what to think when Serj Tankian twisted the metal genre to his particular brand of kookiness in the 90s, but this jump-up-and-down gem from 1998 still holds the fun factor.

Motivating lyric: You know that every time I try to go // Where I really want to be // It's already where I am // 'Cause I'm already there

64. Transfiguration by Inter Arma

The inspirational lyrics to this song from 2016s Paradise Gallows would make for an excellent yoga meditation, if black metal yoga were a thing.

Motivating lyric: Transfigure! // At Earth's behest // Transfigure! // The Earth commands

65. War Eternal by Arch Enemy

The Swedish metal supergroup could fill a stadium with the all-encompassing sound of this combat anthem.

Motivating lyric: So many times its a matter of degrees // From being up on your luck to down on your knees

66. Seek & Destroy by Metallica

Off 1983s Kill Em All, the metal mavens imbue seven minutes with the fight-or-flight schizophrenia of being hunted. Deploy it when you feel your resolve slackening.

Motivating lyric: There is no escape and that's for sure

67. Deluminate by Full of Hell

Full warning: This song sneaks up on you fast, pulls a chain around your throat, and doesnt let go until you cry for mercy or fall to the floor, crumpled and gasping for breath.

Motivating lyric: Will Cain cradle Abel?! // Sudden death!!!!

68. The Beginning and the End by ISIS

This unsung metalcore band pulled influences from electronica and ambient music, creating tapestries within the heavy metal genre. This 2012 death march plods and trods, punctuated with fits of frenzy. Fun workout: Whenever the guitar kicks itself into a fury, sprint. Then slow when the pace of the song does.

Motivating lyric: This is what he'd always known // The promise of greater beyond the water's final horizon

69. Executioners Tax (Swing of the Ax) by Power Trip

You can practically hear the spittle fly from the mouth Riley Gales vocals as he pushes himself over the heaviness of the rhythm guitar.

Motivating lyric: Go on and look at you // Today is your lucky day // The executioner's here, and he's ready to make you pay

70. Run to the Hills by Iron Maiden

Listen to the man.

Motivating lyric: Run to the hills/ Run for your life

71. Born to Be Epic by Equilibrium

Theres so much youre not expecting to happen during the course of this 4:04-long paean from this German folk metal band. Theres no use spoiling it.

Motivating lyric: No mission too hard // No challenge too big // Because I was born // Born to be epic

72. Only for the Weak by In Flames

Quit on your last set? Heres your penance.

Motivating lyric: No need for sympathy, the misery that is me // No need for sympathy, it's only for the weak

73. Revel in Flesh by Entombed

This raw 1990 cut from Left Hand Path is tortured and gruesome and prime for dumbbell chest presses.

Motivating lyric: As your eyes are filled with horror // I lift up the corpse on the bench

74. The Torture Fields by Pig Destroyer

AKA the rows and rows of treadmills.

Motivating lyric: The sweet // Tension and release

75. Unsilent Death by Nails

Theres no stopping in this 2:43 train-wreck of flayed guitar strings, perforated drum kits, and strained vocal chords. Because if you stop, you fail.

Motivating lyric: The fight will never end // I've paid in pain and abuse.

76. Immortal Rites by Morbid Angel

The 1989 track sounds as if it was recorded in the bellows of a ghost ship, the kick drum reverberating throughout the haunted hull. What fate befalls you if you decide to slow?

Motivating lyric: Cast your spells upon our lives // So that we may receive // The gift of immortality

77. Spirit Crusher by Death

The entirety of 1998s The Sound of Perseverance shakes with a hunger for power.

Motivating lyric: Stay strong and hold on tight // Spirit Crusher

78. Deathhammer by Asphyx

Your new name for a dumbbell.

Motivating lyric: We summon thou bastards to rage

79. Overkill by Motrhead

The guitars on this 1979 flail with a certain panic that makes you feel like the fiery tongue of some great hellbeast is licking at your heals. Run for your life.

Motivating lyric: Know your body's made to move, ya feel it in your guts // Rock 'n' roll ain't worth the name if it don't make ya strut

80. Bring Me Darkness by Black Tusk

You quickly lose control in this song and never regain it, tumbling and fumbling for some kind of balance. Hit play and then see how long you can hold a plank, forearms up on a Swiss ball.

Motivating lyric: Scream if you want to // It's time to die

81. Neuroprison by Jesus Piece

This song sounds like when someone tells you to do 10 more burpees after you thought you were finished doing burpees.

Motivating lyric: Down to the second I am trapped in this prison

82. O Father O Satan O Sun! by Behemoth

The closer on 2014s The Satanist is a seven-minute plunge through all nine circles of hell, demonic chorus and all.

Motivating lyric: I'm most complete yet so undone

83. Slaughter of the Soul by At the Gates

An undercurrent of zealotry runs through this 1995 thrash metal screed. Its as if youve suddenly found yourself under the direction of a homicidal spin class instructor.

Motivating lyric: There won't be another dawn // We will reap as we have sown

84. Forward! by Anaal Nathrakh

No, the world is not ending around you. Though you may have to lift your headphones to confirm this as youre subjected to everything from an EMP explosion to a shotgun reloading to creepy childs voice-all within just three furious minutes.

Motivating lyric: Forward! // No place for cowards, up and over

85. Kings of Metal by Manowar

The 1988 horns-thrower embraces self-reference in a sing-along classic.

Motivating lyric: They want to keep us down // But they can't last // When we get up we're gonna kick your ass

86. The Changeling Prince by Thou

Pay close attention, and youll notice some real prose happening in this American sludge metals 2018 vignette. Itll at least take your mind off the sweat in your eyes.

Motivating lyric: As the short sighted ne'er do wells proselytize

87. Electric by Boris

Call them shoegaze metal, but this Japanese band can SHRED when they decided to. Drop this 1:45 grenade into your playlist and embrace the explosiveness.

88. Cambrian II: Eternal Recurrence by The Ocean

German intellectual progressive metal-and if that doesnt hook you, the 1:05 vocal roar will.

Motivating lyric: Fellow man! // Your whole life, like a sandglass

89. Fast Worms by Intronaut

Intronaut is so kind as to allow you some room to breathe with a little light jazz on this 2015 track of The Direction of Last Things.

Motivating lyric: Like so many arms and legs // The lifeless, limbless body returns

90. Subterranea by Tribulation

The eerie piano that introduces this dirge offers a nice start to any particularly threatening workout. The song, after all, is about being buried.

Motivating lyric: It brought us here to this shadowy place // Where there's naught to do, but pray

91. Homesick by Rosetta

This steam engine of a song starts off the tracks slow, but then quickly careens out of control. Perfect for pushups till failure.

Motivating lyric: So just one more // Just one more go // Inspire in me the desire in me // To never go home

92. Stranded by Gojira

A piercing guitar shriek bookends this unsettling 2016 contribution from the French modern metal titans.

Motivating lyric: Leave the moment alone // Leave the moment alone

93. Mjd by Kvelertak

Its the song barbarians would paint their chests to as they prepared for plunder. Itll suit you during 500-meter row too.

Motivating lyric: [you figure it out]

94. Filth Chisel by Oozing Wound

Youll feel banged up after nearly three-minutes of this thrash metal rager. In a good way.

Motivating lyric: [screaming screaming screeeeeeaaammm]

95. The Traces We Leave by Harakiri for the Sky

Dont let the unassuming name fool you. The capacity of this Austrian black metal band is not to be underestimated, especially on this expansive 2016 track.

Motivating lyric: It's hard to wake up from a nightmare, when your'e not even asleep

96. Prehistoric Dog by Red Fang

Pure, guitar-driven metal fun about dangerous mutts from outer space.

Motivating lyric: We're walking tall // If we walk at all

97. The Doorway by Neurosis

This California band comes with punk rock roots, which show here through the spit-flying vocals and snare drum snaps.

Motivating lyric: To burrow my way through death and flesh

98. Crusher Destroyer by Mastodon

The 2002 song is less polished than the bands newer sound, but theres a different kind of shine to heard within the 2002 opener to Remission.

Motivating lyric: Burn your game plan

99. The Black Sheep by Kataklysm

Canadian death metal is real.

Motivating lyric: Your face to the ground // Dont make a sound // How does it feel to be losing your crown?

100. One More Rep by Austrian Death Machine

You made it to the end. You deserve this.

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The 100 Best Heavy Metal Workout Songs of All Time

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