Becoming a meme is the best way to promote your band. Just ask Pentagram, whose Spotify numbers quadrupled after Bobby Liebling’s epic stare became a TikTok phenomenon.
These 10 metal songs launched memes that would altar the popularity of these bands forever, and in one case, may have single-handedly reunited a nü-metal favorite.
Is BrBr Deng the greatest metal meme of all time? It’s either that or “WTF is up Dennys?!” However, this is the only metal meme so powerful that it basically caused a band to reunite. With this simple onomatopoeia of Ryan Martinie’s bass, the world was reminded of how awesome Mudvayne’s “Dig” was. Now the boys are killing it on the road.
Where would Botchamania be without “I am the table!”? In 2011, Metallica and Lou Reed released one of the worst albums of all time — Lulu. Among this absolute mess is “The View,” which cursed James Hetfield with Lou Reed-written lyrics like “I am the root” and “I am the tablet.” But it’s “I am the table” that inspired millions of shitposters to Photoshop Hetfield as a damn table.
Bobby Liebling became so popular as a meme that he’s now getting mobbed by kids wherever he goes. During a concert where Pentagram performed “The Ghoul” live, Liebling simply stared into the void while a fan blew his hair back. The result was absolute magic.
Shitshart my fart. Vince Neil deserved every ounce of this, to be honest. The Mötley Crüe singer was such a terrible performer in the mid-2010s that he basically created his own Creed Shreds video. Thus, ‘Vince Neil Sounds Like Bob Dylan’ was born.
Few metal memes have seen the longevity of crabcore. Originating all the way back in 2007, the first crabcore meme is attributed to Blessthefall, but it was Attack Attack! and their 2009 video for “Stick Stickly” that blew this meme into the stratosphere. Ten years later and Nik Nocturnal essentially built an empire on this meme.
This is such an old meme you probably forgot it ever happened. DragonForce’s “Through the Fire and Flames” is essentially the final boss of Guitar Hero, and its extreme difficulty turned the song into a massive meme in 2008. This meme also coincided with the early days of YouTube, with fans creating “Through the Fire and Flames” videos with LEGO, Mario Paint and on toy guitars.
Legend has it, Mike Muir is still begging for his Pepsi. From the legendary video for Suicidal Tendencies’ “Institutionalized,” the line, “All I wanted was a Pepsi” became a meme decades after its initial release. In 2012, fans began creating awareness campaigns for Muir’s institutionalization (along with his Pepsi desires) and it’s been a meme ever since.
Another early YouTube-era entry, Internet dwellers just couldn’t stop using Drowning Pool’s “Bodies” for memes in the late 2000s and onward. Basically any anime or Simpsons yelling scene was edited with Dave Williams’ iconic scream, while others put the nü-metal song over videos of Sunday megachurch sermons.
Suicide Silence’s rebrand as a Deftones-y alt-metal band was not well received. Though fans seemed to love the “tee-hee” memes that came from Eddie Hermida’s vocal performance on “Doris.” Jared Dines really hammered this one home with his reaction to “Doris,” hamming up the “tee-hee” noise in the funniest possible way.
We can thank “Infestation” for the Harm’s Way running man meme! In a now-legendary performance filmed by hate5six, jacked Harm’s Way vocalist James Pligge pulled off a stage move that captivated the Internet for years. The memes basically edited themselves.
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