What BPM is metal?
The most common tempo for metal is 120 to 130 BPM. Across 40,070 metal songs with verified tempo in the TempoTunes library, the median is 130 BPM and half of all songs fall between 109 and 150 BPM.
Metal is often felt in double time: a song that measures 120 BPM can drive like 240 when the kick drums run sixteenth notes. Fast thrash and hardcore show up at the 160 to 200 BPM end of the chart.
- Most common
- 120 to 130BPM
- Median
- 130BPM
- Songs
- 40,070verified tempo
Metal songs across the tempo scale
Songs per 10 BPM. Orange marks the busiest stretch.
Metal is spread wide. Even its busiest stretch, 120 to 130 BPM, holds only 16% of the songs, so you can find metal at almost any pace.
One caution when you read any tempo chart: the same groove can be counted at half or double time, so a metal song at 130 BPM can also read as 65 BPM. That is why many genres show a second, smaller hump.
The busiest metal tempos
Steady metal: 90 to 120 BPM
12,586 metal songs at this pace: head-nod grooves and walking pace.
Guilty All the Same
LINKIN PARK
100 BPM
All Within My Hands
Metallica
112 BPM (2007)
My World
Guns N' Roses
92 BPM (1991)
Listen With Nicko! Part IV
Iron Maiden
112 BPM (1990)
Tomorrow's Dream
Black Sabbath
111 BPM
Built for War
Megadeth
118 BPM (2013)
Toxicity
System Of A Down
119 BPM
10's
Pantera
111 BPM (1996)
Drive metal: 120 to 150 BPM
14,936 metal songs at this pace: dance-floor and workout energy.
No Roads Left
LINKIN PARK
120 BPM (2007)
Enter Sandman
Metallica
126 BPM (1991)
Patience
Guns N' Roses
123 BPM
Wasting Love
Iron Maiden
129 BPM
Lord of This World
Black Sabbath
135 BPM
Violent Pornography
System Of A Down
144 BPM
Trust
Megadeth
135 BPM (2004)
Suicide Note, Pt. I
Pantera
123 BPM (1996)
Fast metal: 150 to 200 BPM
10,580 metal songs at this pace: running cadence and full-sprint songs.
Ppr:kut
LINKIN PARK
150 BPM (2000)
Custard Pie
Metallica
172 BPM (2000)
Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!
Megadeth
178 BPM
You Could Be Mine
Guns N' Roses
163 BPM
The Invisible Man
Helloween
180 BPM (2005)
Die With Your Boots On
Iron Maiden
172 BPM
Hypnotize
System Of A Down
155 BPM
Itsári
Sepultura
178 BPM (1996)
Other genres by BPM
Build a metal playlist at your pace in seconds
Set the tempo, pick genres and artists, and TempoTunes builds the playlist from 2 million tracks with verified BPM. Save it to Apple Music, Tidal, or YouTube Music (Spotify once we reach 250k monthly listeners). Playlists that match your Pace.