To name the top three metal bands you need to start off with the right genre. I could say European Death Metal, which would involve Arch Enemy, Children Of Bodom, or InFlames. Classic Metal has a different sound, softer, less...umm... loud? Black Sabath has this genre, along with Cream and Led Zeppelin. But I will talk about my favorite, The New Wave of American Metal. This has a mixture of every sub-genre in it. Lamb of god, Chimaira and Killswitch Engage are my top three bands.
It's very hard to pick the "top three" bands that I like, I listen to every different genre of music. So picking metal has its perks and downfalls, every song is fast and loud, different in it's own way. You either get incredible guitars and drums, or intense lyrics talking about wars and death. As Lamb Of God puts it, "Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward. Whoever cannot take care of themselves without that law is both. For a wounded man shall say to his assailant, 'If I live, I will kill you. If I die, You are forgiven.' Such is the rule of honour." Most people think that music that screams has no meaning, in my opinion that quote from one of Lamb Of God's songs has a meaning, a very strong one.
Picking the "top three" of anything is very difficult, if you put enough thought in it, you can prove to people that i certain type of music isn't as bad as some people would think.
