Heavy metal has been incorporated into the soundtrack of multiple different industries. Sports stadiums have been known to blast ‘Enter Sandman’ and ‘The Trooper’ to get fans and players riled up at tense moments. Even the History Channel opted to headline Suffocation for its series on medieval Europe, titled ‘The Dark Ages’.

Clearly, metal has its place in pop culture, but few industries have successfully handled the tone behind metal-like video games. In fact, gamers of all stripes have preferred bass-and-drum heavy music. In some cases, like with Mass Effect, fans took to creating their own metal renditions when developers failed to incorporate heavier songs. 

One musician created a ‘metal interpretation’ of Leviathan from Mass Effect, but there have been more than a few fan renditions of popular songs from the series. Many were hopeful the progressive, symphonic soundtracks would begin to incorporate distorted guitars and strong vocals, but it never panned out—and maybe for the best.

Mass Effect 3 became known for having one of the most disappointing video game endings of any modern series, alongside titles like Halo and Batman: Arkham. Though a metal soundtrack likely wouldn’t have saved the series, hardcore music has helped define other games in terms of setting.

Some video game developers even developed characters and storylines around the genre. Three games, in particular, won’t be forgotten any time soon among metal fans.
 
Third Place: Holy Diver (1989)

Only four years after Nintendo released Super Mario Bros, the Japanese gaming group Irem released Holy Diver for the Famicon console. The story itself is metal: it’s the year 666 and the Demon King of the Underground Dark Empire is here to destroy everything held dear.

Characters named Ozzy, Ronnie, Randy, and Zakk must battle against the Black Slayer to bring light back into the world and save the Crimson Emperor’s kingdom. There’s no metal soundtrack to this Irem production, but the game embodies the spirit of metal.

The story and setting reflect the early innovators of the genre, from Slayer to King Crimson and Ozzy Osbourne to Ronnie James. Unfortunately for metal fans in the 80s, Holy Diver was released exclusively in Japan.
 

 
Second Place: Brütal Legend (2009)

Brütal Legend usually rises to the top of metal-influenced video games. When looking strictly at the game’s soundtrack, there’s little debate that the Double Fine studio hit it out of the park. However, it’s worth mentioning that the gameplay itself is an uninspired combination of strategic combat and adventure elements.

Even so, metal fans won’t be hard-pressed to find plenty of reasons to stick with Brütal Legend. Characters are derived from real-life icons like Rob Halford, Tim Curry, Ozzy, and even Jack Black (used as a lead protagonist).

The game’s soundtrack features a long list of 75 iconic bands that round out the project by incorporating cult groups. Some of the best tracks from the game are ‘Deadly Sinners’ by 3 Inches of Blood, ‘Cry of the Banshee’ by Brocas Helm, and ‘Her Ghost in the Fog’ by Cradle of Filth.
 
First Place: DOOM (1993 & 2006)

Once again, DOOM earns extra points for not just having a metal-influenced soundtrack, but for incorporating the core tenants of the metal movement into the game. This first-person shooter was dark, intense, and full of sick guitar riffs. The music was produced by Robert Prince, who managed to make players feel like they were entering the gates of Hell. 

The soundtrack sounds like a mashup of Metallica and Pantera. It’s gruesome, garish, and somehow fits seamlessly into the original MS-DOS console that DOOM was launched on. As mentioned above, nearly all facets of DOOM’s production felt carefully designed with metalheads in mind.

The 2016 reboot isn’t too shabby either; Mick Gordon’s reboot of Robert Prince’s soundtrack is somehow even darker and more atmospheric, relying on synth and power-chords. The game itself benefits from advances in technology, but the soundtrack saw Gordon win the award for Best Music at the 2016 Game Awards.