Metal Family Tree

This is a project aimed at making it easy to see who inspired the bands you love or even hate. For this I try not to use any influences that the band don’t claim themselves. There will be a focus on predecessors but successors will be added as they site the band. These trees become more and more interactive as new bands are added, allowing you to click any band that has a tree and jump to it.

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

DevilDriver blend groove metal and melodic death to create something fairly unique. Vocalist Dez Fafara has been the only member in the band since the beginning. Guitarist Jeff Kendrick and drummer John Boecklin were with the band from the beginning till 2014, doing the first six albums. They were replaced with guitarist Neal Tiemann and drummer Austin D'Amond, who are still with the band. Original bassist Jonathan Miller was on the first five albums. Session bassist Chris Towning was on one album before current bassist Diego Ibarra joined. The original lead guitarst Evan Pitts was only on the first ablum before being replaced by Mike Spreitzer who is still with the band making him the most constant member besides Dez.

Hank Williams

Johnny Cash

Waylon Jennings

Pink Floyd are one of the most influential progressive rock bands. Neil named the Dark Side of the Moon album as one that had the biggest influence on him. — Pink Floyd are one of the most influential progressive rock bands. Neil named the *Dark Side of the Moon* album as one that had the biggest influence on him.

Deep Purple are a hugely important hard rock band. Dez said they are one of his favorite bands.

Iggy Pop

Black Sabbath are the Fathers of metal. Dez named them and Ozzy as an influence. Mike named them as a big early influence.

Motorhead are a hugely important hard rock / heavy metal band. Dez said when he first heard them he thought they were the most bad ass punk band he ever heard before he realized they were something beyond punk.

AC/DC are the quintessential hard rock band. Dez said they were a huge influence on him when he was younger, especially Black in Black. — AC/DC are the quintessential hard rock band. Dez said they were a huge influence on him when he was younger, especially *Black in Black.*

Germs were a short lived but influential punk band. Dez named them as an influence.

X were an early LA punk band. Dez named them as a big influence.

Fear were an LA punk band considered important in developing hardcore punk. Dez is named them as important to him.

Dead Kennedys were a punk/hardcore band. Dez named them as one of the punk bands he loves.

The Cure were goth pioneers. Dez is a fan.

Bauhaus wee goth pioneers. Dez names singer Peter Murphy as an influence.

Black Flag were pioneers of hardcore punk. Dez named them as a big influence and are the reason he got into punk

Circle Jerks were another hardcore punk band from Cali. Dez named them as one of the punk bands he loves.

GBH were another early hardcore band. Dez named them as an influence.

The Partisans were British punk band. Dez named them as an influence.

Ozzy has been blessed with incredible and influential guitar players. Dez names Ozzy as an influence. Neil names Diary of a Madman as one the most influential albums on him.

Motley Crue are perhaps the most important glam metal band. Dez first heard them the same day he first heard Black Flags and they were influential.

Depeche Mode were a new wave band. Dez is a fan.

Ministry are pioneers of industrial metal. John names them as an influence.

Metallica are the fathers of thrash. Dez became a huge fan after hearing Ride the Lightning. Metallica were a huge influence on Jeff who was obsessed with them and James in particular. Mike also names them as a huge influence and learned a ton of th… — Metallica are the fathers of thrash. Dez became a huge fan after hearing *Ride the Lightning*. Metallica were a huge influence on Jeff who was obsessed with them and James in particular. Mike also names them as a huge influence and learned a ton of their songs through tab books when he was learning guitar. John named Lars as a main influence on him and Metallica on guitar playing.

Slayer were early on one of the most aggressive thrash bands. John named them as an early influence.

Megadeth are very influential with Dave Mustaine often being considered the inventor of thrash metal. Mike named them as one of his main influences. John also named Megadeth as an early influence.

Love and Rockets formed with members of Bauhaus after they split up. Dez named them as an influence.

Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction are a British hard rock band from the late 80’s. Dez is a huge fan.

Gene Hoglan

Danzig started out as singer in the Misfits before creating a solo band. Dez named him as an influence.

Alice in Chains were grunge pioneers and one of the biggest of the genre. Mike names Jerry Cantrell as a huge influence on him.

Circus of Power were another late 80’s hard rock band. Dez was a big fan.

Primus was an experimental funk metal band. John names drummer Tim Alexander as a major influence.

Pantera are a band that completely changed the world of metal with the creation of groove metal. Mike named them as one of his main influences. Neil named Cowboys From Hell as on of the albums that has influenced him the most. — Pantera are a band that completely changed the world of metal with the creation of groove metal. Mike named them as one of his main influences. Neil named *Cowboys From Hell* as on of the albums that has influenced him the most.

Fear Factor started as a death metal band and moved into an industrial metal direction. John named Raymond Herrera as an influence.

Machine head is a band rooted in groove metal. John named them as an influence.

Korn are pioneers of Nu-metal. John named David Silvera as a major influence.

Hank Williams III

Gojira are a progressive groove/death band. Mike named them as a newer influence. John Mario Duplantier as a big influence.

Mateus Asato

Dez talks about some of the stuff he grew up with from his parents music collection such as: Steppenwolf, The Doors, Three Dog Night, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Iron Butterfly. He said he then bought a Kiss record before getting into punk and then Motrohead. He says he listens to everything from Satyricon and Emperor to Billie Holiday and is a big fan of outlaw country. He also mentions being a fan of Behemoth and Nile. The only instrument he says he plays is Native American flute and listens to Carlos Nakai.

Evan Pitts played guitar on the first album but I’m unsure of his influences. According to Mike, Evan wrote most of the first album and albums after that became more collaborative.

Mike Def Leppard was the band that made him first want to play guitar but they aren’t a main influence. He said Antichrist Superstar by Marilyn Manson is his favorite album but isn’t an influence on his guitar playing.

Neil started playing guitar after hearing Nirvana on the radio although he says he’s not a big fan anymore.

Bassist Jonathan Miller played on the first 5 albums but I’m unsure of his influences.

Chris Towning played on one album but is a session player, I’m uncertain if he contributed to writing.

Diego Ibarra is the current bassist and played on the two most recent albums but hasn’t contributed to writing as of yet. (Dealing With Demons I is not out at the time of writing this.)

John mentioned “Outside of the metal realm I still listen to a lot of my childhood music: Michael Jackson, Paul Simon, Huey Lewis, and a huge pop 80's catalog to boot. I am a big fan of Mumford and Kings of Leon, Dave Matthews, and that is just the beginning of my outside influences on a major level. Everything from old DJ Shadow to a new band Twisted Tounges, the acts I listed are pretty major, but I keep my ear to the ground.”

Austin has been the drummer since 2015 but I’m unsure of his influences.

More Family Trees

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=eOvyuYW4-c0&feature=emb_logo
https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/devildrivers-dez-fafara-the-10-records-that-changed-my-life-637256
https://www.loudersound.com/features/devildrivers-dez-fafara-answers-your-questions
https://lacrossetribune.com/entertainment/devildriver-singer-dez-fafara-is-one-driven-dude/article_927e2232-ab95-55e0-838c-36640efd49c5.html
https://crypticrock.com/interview-dez-fafara-of-devildriver-coal-chamber/
https://www.metal-rules.com/2007/09/27/devildriver-vocalist-dez-fafara/
http://bravewords.com/news/devildriver-guitarist-jeff-kendrick-i-dabbled-a-little-bit-on-piano-but-nothing-compared-to-guitar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slzp5yskkTo
https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/10-questions-devildrivers-mike-spreitzer-and-neal-tiemann
https://wgrd.com/devildriver-mike-spreitzer-favorite-guitar-riffs/
https://www.antiheromagazine.com/interview-with-mike-spreitzer-from-devildriver/
https://sickdrummermagazine.com/the-drummers/metal-hardcore/john-boecklin-of-devildriver-updates-interview-november-2013/
http://www.metalunderground.com/interviews/details.cfm?newsid=19725
https://www.rocksins.com/2013/03/interview-with-john-boecklin-of-devildriver-16671/
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/sound-vapors-podcast/e/65724912

Metal Family Tree

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Pantera, love them or hate the, they were one of the most game changing bands in metal. With their album Cowboys from Hell in 1990 they reinvented the steel with groove metal. Metal has never been the same since. Prior to that they did several albums that are considered glam by many although musically it wasn’t far off from traditional metal most of the time. Writing has been credited as as a collaborative effort, so we will like at the influences of all members. That won’t be so hard since Pantera kept a consistent line up with the exception of their early years featuring Terry Glaze on vocals before Phil Anselmo which most people are familiar with. At the heart of Pantera were brothers, guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul. Rex Brown joined early on before the release of the first “glam” album.

Stevie Wonder

Merle Haggard

The Rolling Stones were a blues based rock band. As mentioned before, Rex named them as an influence. He says he loves any of their stuff from the late 60’s and early 70’s.

Deep Purple have been a huge influence on many. “Smoke on the Water” was the first song Dime learned and he said it taught him that simple can be awesome.

Led Zeppelin are one of the most important bands in rock history. Vinnie said that Bonham was the greatest drummer. Rex is a huge Zeppelin fan and named John Paul Jones as a huge influence. Phil named Robert Plant as an influence.

Humble Pie were a blues rock / hard rock band. Rex is a big fan.

Black Sabbath are the fathers of metal. Tony was a big influence on Dime and Sabbath is one of the reasons he waned to play in the first place. Rex also names them as an influence and actually is a big fan of the Never Say Die! album. He said when i… — Black Sabbath are the fathers of metal. Tony was a big influence on Dime and Sabbath is one of the reasons he waned to play in the first place. Rex also names them as an influence and actually is a big fan of the *Never Say Die!* album. He said when it comes to metal bass playing Geezer was is influence. Phil named them as an influence as well huge influence on him, both with Ozzy and Dio.

David Allen Coe

UFO was a huge influence on many bands with Michael Shenker on guitar. Dime named them as an influence.

ZZ top were a three piece Texas Blues Rock band. Dime said he was never a bluesy player but was exposed to ZZ Top growing up and they had an influence on him. Rex also names them as a big influence.

Aerosmith a blues based American Hard Rock band. Rex named them as an influence.

Kiss were one of the biggest American hard rock bands. They were a huge influence on Dime and Ace was one of the reasons Dime wanted to play guitar. They were also huge for Vinnie and the band that made him want to play. Alive was the first album he… — Kiss were one of the biggest American hard rock bands. They were a huge influence on Dime and Ace was one of the reasons Dime wanted to play guitar. They were also huge for Vinnie and the band that made him want to play. *Alive* was the first album he bought. Rex also names them as an influence but isn’t a fan of their more radio songs.

The metal gods, Judas Priest. They are one of Dime’s influences he said not only were Glenn and K.K. great lead players but knew how to be band oriented musicians which is something he strived to be in Pantera. Vinnie named Painkiller and British Steel as the most metal albums. Phil said in high school he practiced along to Halford on Unleashed in the East every day. He he dropped that style of singing because he thought it had been done to death and wanted to incorporate other influences.

Rush were a progressive hard rock band. Vinnie said despite it not showing in his playing, he is a huge Neil Peart fan.

AC/DC are the quintessential hard rock band. Angus was a big influence on Dime.

Pat Travers Bad was blues rock band. Vinnie said that Dime would wear out their live album. Vinnie said he flipped after hearing Tommy Aldridge with Pat Travers.

Motorhead were a hugely influential hard rock / heavy metal band. Phil named Lemmy as an influence.

Van Halen were a hugely important band. Eddie was a big influence on Dime and likewise Alex was a huge influence on Vinnie. Phil named David Lee Roth as an influence.

The most influential NWOBHM band, Iron Maiden. Dime was a huge fan of Dave and Adrian. Phil names Paul Di’Anno as an influence as well.

Before Def Leppard went on to play terrible pop metal they were killer NWOBHM band. Dime was influenced by their original guitarist Pete WIllis. Rex was also a fan.

Ozzy was blessed with some incredible guitar players. Randy was a big influence on Dime. One of the things he picked up from him was how to double track the leads. Vinnie was also influenced by Ozzy’s band naming Tommy Aldrige as one of his favorite… — Ozzy was blessed with some incredible guitar players. Randy was a big influence on Dime. One of the things he picked up from him was how to double track the leads. Vinnie was also influenced by Ozzy’s band naming Tommy Aldrige as one of his favorite drummers.

Black Flag were hardcore punk pioneers and one of the biggest of the scene. Phil named them as an influence.

Venom were a huge influence on death, black, and even thrash metal. Phil said first hearing Venom had a big impact on him.

Mercyful Fate had a big impact on many bands. Phil was a huge fan both for their complex songs and King Diamond’s unique vocals.

Metallica are the fathers of Thrash Metal. They were a big influence on Dime and Vinnie. He loved Kirk’s leads and said that James was the god of chugging riffs. Phil names them as an influence.

Slayer are one of the most aggressive thrash bands of their time. Slayer were and influence on both Dime and Vinnie. Dime said they taught him how to play with guts and aggression. Phil says Slayer was very important to Pantera. He said at one time Kerry King came down to jam with Pantera and showed dime how he was riffing. Phil said this had a big impact and Pantera wouldn’t have been the same without that moment.

Agnostic Front were a hoardcore punk / cross over thrash band. Phil say they had a huge impact on him after seeing them open for Motorhead.

Hell Hammer were an influential band for extreme styles of metal. Phil is a huge fan.

Carnivore are best known as the band Peter Steel was in before Type 0. They sounded very much like Venom. Phil named them as an influence.

Celtic Frost formed after the disbandment of Hell Hammer. They are also very important for extreme metal styles. Phil is a huge fan.

Cryptic Slaughter were a crossover thrash band. Phil named them as an influence.

Sheer Terror were a hardcore punk / cross over band that were important for pushing hardcore into a heavier sound. Phil named them as an influence.

Soundgarden were pioneers of grunge. Rex is a big fan… I think he’s also thankful that the grunge scene came along so he didn’t have to dress glam anymore. Vinnie also said that Chris Cornell was one of Dime’s favorite singers.

Another pioneer of grunge, Alice in Chains. Phil named Layne Staley as an influence.

Righteous Pigs were a death/grind band. Phil named them as an influence.

King’s X were a hard rock / progressive metal band. Dime said he loved King’s X

Anal Cunt area grindcore band (no surprise there). Phil named Seth Putnam as an influence.

Eyehategod are one of the biggest Sludge metal bands. Phil named Mike Williams as an influence.

Suffocation are an important death metal band being how they are seen as the pioneers of brutal death. Phil named Frank Mullen as an influence.

Dime said he was listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd as a kid before discovering Van Halen and Black Sabbath.

Dime would have his dad show him how to play songs when he was young. His dad would show him multiple ways to play songs.

Vinnie got his drumming star in school and loved playing on the drum line.

Vinnie said Appetite For Destruction was a great album but didn’t name Guns ‘n’ Roses as an influence. He says he’s a huge fan of Enigma and that after touring and listening to slayer, they are good to relax to. Vinnie said he was blown away by Tommy Lee’s double bass drumming on “Live Wire” but he gives more credit to Tommy Aldrige for him wanting to play double bass himself. On another note, I’ve seen it stated Vinnie was influenced by Mikkey Dee, but I have dug for conformations and can’t find any. Nothing I could find supports this.

Vinnie and Rex met in high school jazz band. Vinnie said neither of them was that interested in jazz and would jam to “2112” together.

Rex said he listens to “all kids of crazy shit, from Sinatra to Slayer. His older sister gave him all her Beatles and Rolling Stones records, his parents listened to swing and his grandmother played piano for movies which he said he got boogie from. Rex played the tuba in school and said it wasn’t a big leap to bass but was already playing guitar since he was 9.

Phil talks about some bands he listened to as a kid such as: The Beatles, Kiss, Peter Frampton, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin. When asked about asked to name greatest singers he names Halford and Dio.

Phil is a big fan of early black metal bands such as Dark Throne, early Immortal and Emperor. Hell Hammer and Celtic Frost are his favorites though.

Terry Glaze was the original vocalist on most of the early Pantera albums. and contributed to the writing. I’m uncertain of his influences.

Bands influenced by Pantera!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

The Metal Gods themselves inspired Pantera who later inspired them to play in a more modern style.

Venom are the original extreme metal band. Later drummer Antton would be influenced by Pantera.

Bay Area heavy metal who would later be influenced by Dime.

Kerry named Dime as one of his more modern influences.

Finnish metal blending melodic death with other influences like that of Pantera.

One of the most popular New Wave Thrash bands.

Pantera Albums Ranked

Sources:

https://www.guitarworld.com/gw-archive/dimebag-darrell-discusses-his-roots-gear-and-pantera-1994-guitar-world-interview
https://www.guitarworld.com/magazine/prime-cuts-dimebag-darrell-chooses-his-12-favorite-tunes-1993-guitar-world-feature
https://www.loudersound.com/features/dimeradio-dimebag-darrells-top-tracks-as-chosen-by-vinnie-paul
https://www.revolvermag.com/music/dimebag-darrell-final-interview-pantera-and-damageplans-guitar-hero
https://www.loudersound.com/features/vinnie-paul-the-10-records-that-changed-my-life
http://www.drumlessons.com/drummers/vinnie-paul/
https://www.moderndrummer.com/2018/06/vinnie-paul-the-king-of-thrash-metal-drumming/
http://blabbermouth.herokuapp.com/news/vinnie-paul-a-lot-of-newer-metal-drummers-play-too-much/
https://www.musicradar.com/news/rex-brown-the-10-records-that-changed-my-life
https://www.guitarworld.com/features/interview-former-pantera-and-down-bassist-rex-brown-talks-gear-influences-and-kill-devil-hill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIHIQSZHy0Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=363&v=6X1zH9rNEYM&feature=emb_logo
https://web.archive.org/web/20130725031555/http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/phil-anselmo-only-a-fool-would-leave-out-black-sabbath/
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/pantera-phil-anselmo-beatles-kiss-influences/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_4nKosG0ZM
https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/phil-anselmo-picks-five-essential-metal-albums-580808
http://rockandrollgarage.com/phil-anselmo-says-who-is-the-best-vocalist-of-all-time-in-his-opinion/
https://performermag.com/new-music-and-video/interviews-and-features/exclusive-interview-with-phil-anselmo-and-jimmy-bower-of-down/
https://search.blabbermouth.net/news/philip-anselmo-sometimes-it-feels-good-to-be-miserable/

DevilDriver Family Tree

Metal Family Tree

Hank Williams

Johnny Cash

Waylon Jennings

Iggy Pop

Gene Hoglan

Hank Williams III

Mateus Asato

Pantera Family Tree

Metal Family Tree

Stevie Wonder

Merle Haggard

David Allen Coe

Bands influenced by Pantera!