Metal Snubs: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 8 Worst Omissions

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has a long way to go with its heavy metal inductees.

Exclude proto-metal luminaries like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, and the Rock Hall has inducted only a handful of proper metal acts in its nearly-40-year history: Black Sabbath, Metallica, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne and Iron Maiden.

Thrash metal progenitors like Slayer and Megadeth have never even gotten a nod. Meanwhile, glam metal chart-toppers Motley Crue claim they've been blackballed from the institution.

Why Is the Rock Hall So Behind on Metal Inductees?

Plenty of metal artists have publicly decried the Rock Hall for excluding them, and it's easy to understand their frustration. In recent years, the museum seems more preoccupied with inducting groundbreaking pop and hip-hop artists — worthy additions, no doubt, but perhaps ones that should come after the metal legends who are inexorably linked to rock 'n' roll.

"And glory hallelujah, there's another metal band in now. That's the blessing we've all been waiting for," Rob Halford told Billboard when Judas Priest received their long-overdue induction — via the Musical Excellence Award rather than the performer category — in 2022.

Hopefully their inclusion is not just an attempt to appease metal fans who have criticized the Rock Hall, but a promising sign of things to come.

From '70s speed kings Motorhead to '90s groove-metal mavens Pantera, we outline the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's biggest metal snubs below.