Artist	Song
Mastodon	Iron Tusk
from Leviathan (2004)
Machine Head	Halo
from The Blackening (2007)
System of a Down	Sugar
from System of a Down (1998)
Slipknot	Wait and Bleed
from Slipknot (2007)
Lamb of God	Walk With Me In Hell
from Sacrament (2006)
Fear Factory	Powershifter
from Mechanize (2010)
Dragonforce	Through the Fire and Flames
from Inhuman Rampage (2007)
Trivium	Pull Harder On the Strings of Your Martyr
from Ascendancy (2007)
Bolt Thrower	When Cannons Fade
from Those Once Loyal (2005)
Kreator	Enemy of God
from Enemy of God (2006)
Municipal Waste	The Art of Partying
from The Art of Partying (2007)
Toxic Holocaust	City of a Million Graves
from An Overdose of Death... (2008)
Onslaught	Destroyer of Worlds
from Killing Peace (2007)
Skeletonwitch	Crushed Beyond Dust
from Breathing the Fire (2009)
Evile	Plague to End All Plagues
from Infected Nations (2009)
Warbringer	Forgotten Dead
from Waking Into Nightmares (2009)
Panic	Blackfeather Shake
from Epidemic (1991)
Dekapitator	The Storm Before the Calm
from The Storm Before the Calm (2007)
Merciless Death	Tombs of the Dead
from Realm of Terror (2008)
Avenger of Blood	Sadistic Inquisitor
from Death Brigade (2007)
Fueled By Fire	Thrash Is Back
from Spread the Fire (2007)
Viking	Man of Straw
from Man of Straw (1989)
HeXeN	Blast Radius
from State of Insurgency (2008)
Bonded By Blood	Immortal Life
from Thrashing Like a Maniac (2008)

Comment:

If shredding is an art form — and you better believe it is — Metallica is the Picasso of modern metal, having changed [i]everything[/i] with crackling chords, hellish howls, atomic bomb basslines, and drums that simply don't quit 'til you're out cold . . . or at the very least, carrying the flame-thrower that the group first lit more than two decades ago. From Municipal Waste ("The Art of Partying") to Toxic Holocaust ("City of a Million Graves"), thrash metal's new school brings a 21st-century bent to Metallica's Daytona 500 days, right down to the rubber-burning riffs and ripped jeans. If anyone's got the firework-finale skills to actually become the Next Metallica, it's Mastodon, a guitar-slinging gang of maniacs that's as uncompromising as Lars and co.; play a few seconds of "Iron Tusk" and experience the oxygen being sucked out of the room. The same goes for the metal-militia movements of "Halo," the mountain-scaling sludge of "Freya," and the unholy hooks of "Walk With Me In Hell" — sucker-punch songs that helped Machine Head, the Sword, and Lamb of God land a Metallica tour or two. Who's next? How about Trivium or Dragonforce? Considering Kirk Hammett's a fan of both — and the godfather of everyone else — you never know . . .

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