Top 10 Badass Band Names

A genius spark of creativity combined with an intriguing backstory make these band names outright awesome. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Badass Band Names. For this list, we’re taking a look at well-known bands across all genres with names that are both memorable and meaningful. We’re ranking them based on their interesting backstories, unique nature, and overall creativeness. We’re leaving the criteria pool pretty open here folks, so get ready for the best of the best names the world's bands have to offer. #10: Sex Pistols They were controversial. They were chaotic. But damn it, they were the Sex Pistols, and they shook up one hell of a revolution throughout their brief career, all while featuring one of the most deliberated yet celebrated names in music history. Manager Malcolm Mclaren co-owned a boutique shop called SEX, which sold punk clothing and sexual objects so naturally Mclaren decided to incorporate the brand into the band's name. Their two and a half year career saw them rock spontaneous antics, shake the tree, and upset all the apple carts but when you’re called the Sex Pistols, such an unconstrained approach comes with the territory. #9: Slayer Though this band initially battled with heavy metal band S.A. Slayer to win the right to identify themselves as Slayer, we can safely say it was worth the trouble. With Slayer’s overall persona being heavily dependent on themes of the underworld, conjuring up images of blood, weapons, skulls and crosses; this name choice just made sense. While many thought that the band originated as the equally as badass Dragonslayer, these rumors were unfortunately debunked by co-founder Kerry King himself. Despite the myths, the group has been going strong since 1983 and are now among the kings of the heavy metal scene as a result. #8: Daft Punk When rock duo Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter of the band Darlin’ received a not so great review from a British music newspaper labelling their band a bunch of daft punk, they took the criticism on board in an unexpected way. Darlin’ applied the brakes to their rock career, adopting a radical change in genre with a move toward electronic dance music, coinciding with a name change to yes, you guessed it, Daft Punk. With that name arrived complete anonymity in the form of cartoon music videos and robotic helmets, enhancing the duos mysterious and no doubt interesting nature. We think overall that this worked out pretty well for them in the end. #7: Led Zeppelin When Keith Moon and John Entwistle of “The Who” joked about forming a supergroup alongside Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, Moon joked that the end result would go down like a lead balloon- that is, a bomb and a complete waste of time. Page took the term to name his own new band, dropping the A in lead to keep people from saying “leed”. The name also carries a reference to the Hidenberg disaster, which saw a German airship catch fire in 1937, thus conveying the intensity of their music. Sometimes you gotta take the crap people give you and well, just name your band after it! #6: Motörhead When the immortalized Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister was fired from English rock band Hawkwind in 1975, he took with him the last song he’d ever penned for the band as the name for a completely new band. The name of that song you ask? Motörhead of course! Kilmister added an umlaut to the second o in order to add to the stylistic appeal and badass look of the name. There was never any shortage of speed and energy from Lemmy and company, and the intensity of their name sure captures this completely. #5: N.W.A This band had attitude, talent, and one hell of a mission. Eazy E, Dr Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, and MC Ren took the world by storm with their music, unafraid to live up to their name: ‘Niggaz wit Attitudes’. The name initially provoked controversy, though it eventually became an everlasting staple of the rap and hip hop genre. It was aggressive, but it had to be in order to expose prejudicial racial attitudes and exploit their harsh realities through song. They got people's attention, thus making an undying mark on music forever. You don’t mess with N.W.A. #4: Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has said that the name has no literal meaning- it just sounded cool. We totally agree. It sounds cool, it looks cool, and it lends itself nicely to the band's logo on account of that inverted N. It’s bold, stands out and conjures up the persona of an experimental band with an aggression and hardness to their music. The name is also open to interpretation, with some associating it with Freddy Kreuger or even to reference Jesus being crucified using nine-inch spikes. However you see it, it’s dead set a true reflection of the group’s utterly bizarre style. #3: Metallica The story behind Metallica’s band name is somewhat accidental, but hey there’s nothing wrong with that of course! Drummer Lars Ulrich helped friend Ron Quintana to brainstorm and develop a new name for a fanzine. Quintana suggested Metal Mania and Metallica, so Ulrich convinced him Metal Mania was cleeeeearly the better name, and kept Metallica as the name of his new band. After all, how better to define your band by including your genre of music in the band name? Well played Metallica, well played. #2: Rage Against the Machine Zack De La Rocha’s band Inside Out had planned to release a song and album, titled Rage Against the Machine, before disbanding in 1991. La Rocha instead saved the aggressive collection of words for his next project. The group’s name perfectly captures their aggressive form of protest music in line with the hard rock and funk metal genre. Don’t know what the machine symbolises? It’s known to reflect figures of power that abuse their authority to dehumanise others. It’s a strong message and powerful name all in one, man. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Dead Kennedys Queens of the Stone Age Iron Maiden Killswitch Engage The Who Pink Floyd #1: Guns N’ Roses Would you expect anything less from guys named Axl, Slash, Izzy, Duff, and... Steven? When hard rock bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose combined into one, their names were fused together to form none other than Guns N’ Roses. The name is edgy and perfectly conveys the tattoo covered, skull bearing, hard-core style of the band. Guns command your attention with their sound, while the roses keep you staring, pinpointing exactly what this band were- an iconic group of badasses who left an everlasting mark on the hard rock genre. Do you agree with our list? What’s your favourite band name? For more entertaining top tens published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.