From chorus-friendly rock gods to riff-wielding beasts

Not every metalhead starts in a mosh pit. Some rockers begin their journey with radio-friendly tunes, big choruses, and maybe even a touch of eyeliner – but somewhere along the way, they heard the chug of a down-tuned guitar and thought: “YESS MUN! THIS IS THE WAY.”

Here are 10 rockers who started out in rock, alt, or even pop – then cranked up the distortion, joined the dark side, and never looked back. 🎸🔥

1. Corey Taylor (Slipknot / Stone Sour)

Started with: Stone Sour (alt rock/post-grunge)
Turned full metal with: Slipknot 🖤

Corey’s early Stone Sour days had catchy hooks and emo vibes, but when he donned the mask for Slipknot… BOOM. Iowa was unleashed. The man went from “Bother” to butchering stadiums with guttural roars and flying kegs. He still dabbles in radio rock, but his heart (and throat) is metal AF.

2. Mike Patton (Faith No More / Mr. Bungle)

Started with: Funk-rock weirdness
Went metal with: Mr. Bungle (reunion era) & Dead Cross 🤯

Patton’s always been a wildcard, but his Mr. Bungle revival went thrash-core nuclear. What started as quirky avant-rock morphed into blast beat mayhem and Slayer-tier riffage. The man even makes brutal noise sound… dare we say… lush?

3. Ville Valo (HIM → VV)

Started with: Love Metal (gothic romance rock)
Now leaning into: Doomier, heavier solo work ☠️

The HIM frontman gave us eyeliner anthems like “Join Me In Death,” but his solo work as VV has taken a broodier, Sabbathian turn. There’s more fuzz, more menace, and less heartagram heartache. From goth club to crypt – tidy evolution.

4. Matt Heafy (Trivium)

Started with: Emo/punk projects
Found home in: Metalcore and thrash revival 💀

Before he was melting faces with Trivium, Heafy was noodling around with lighter rock and punk sounds. Then he grew his hair, learned to scream like a banshee, and summoned Ascendancy – one of metalcore’s holy grails.

5. Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance → Doom Patrol Metalhead)

Started with: Emo king of the 2000s
Secretly went: Full Sabbath fanboy ⚡

Okay, so Gerard hasn’t dropped a sludge metal solo album (yet), but in interviews and comic book soundtracks, he’s confessed his deep love for heavy, doomy metal. Even The Umbrella Academy soundtrack had moments that rumbled. Watch this space.

6. Caleb Shomo (Beartooth / ex-Attack Attack!)

Started with: Crabby electronicore (remember “Stick Stickly”? 😅)
Transformed into: Raw, riff-driven metalcore angst monster 🎤

From cringy synth-core to Beartooth’s bare-knuckle brutality, Caleb went from gimmicky breakdowns to emotionally raw, gut-punching metal. He even produces it all himself. Proper job!

7. Ben Bruce (Asking Alexandria)

Started with: Screamo/post-hardcore
Now channels: Classic metal and hard rock 🐍

Ben started in the metalcore Myspace trenches, but over the years he’s helped steer Asking Alexandria into sleeker, classic metal territory, borrowing swagger from Guns N’ Roses and arena juggernauts. No more neon skinny jeans – it’s boots, riffs, and bravado now.

8. Oli Sykes (Bring Me The Horizon)

Started with: Deathcore mayhem
Almost went pop
Then circled back to: Futuristic cyber-metal 🎮

Oli flirted with synth-pop and mainstream chart glory… but Post Human: Survival Horror was a full-blown metal resurrection. He’s now fusing genres like Frankenstein, welding metalcore, industrial, and nu-metal into one unholy beast. It’s like if Slipknot ate The Prodigy.

9. Dave Grohl (Nirvana / Foo Fighters / Probot)

Started with: Grunge royalty
Moonlighted as: Thrash overlord with Probot ⚒️

Dave never ditched rock, but his Probot project was a love letter to metal. Featuring legends like Lemmy, Cronos, and Max Cavalera, it was the most evil thing Grohl’s ever done – and it slapped HARD. Even Queens of the Stone Age started sounding meaner when he jumped in.

10. Avril Lavigne (?!?!)

Started with: Sk8er Pop Punk
Leaning into: Modern metalcore collabs 🎧

Hear us out. Avril’s recent stuff has seen her team up with metalcore screamers and post-hardcore producers. There’s actual double bass drumming and screams on some tracks. It’s like Avril went through a Warped Tour wormhole and came out the other side a bit metal.

Honourable Mentions 🤘

  • Chino Moreno – Deftones were always alt, but that man loves a heavy, detuned groove.
  • Lady Gaga – Yes, Gaga. She did a duet with Metallica, and she nailed it.
  • Machine Gun Kelly – Rapper to rock to sorta-metal… it’s chaotic, but it’s happening.

Final Thoughts, Butt…

Metal isn’t a genre you dip your toe into. You get pulled in like a tidal wave of distortion and end up in a leather jacket at 2am shouting “SLAYERRRRR” at a kebab van.

Whether it’s masks, breakdowns, or doom riffs, these rockers made the switch and never looked back – and we love ’em for it. 🤘

Who else do you reckon went metal and stayed metal? Let us know, mun. We’re always listening (loudly).