10 Legendary Rock Bands That Made Metal Albums

Throughout their history, Van Halen have never been considered that far away from heavy metal in the first place. Though their proper title should probably just be hard rock, the intensity that they put into every note that they played was enough to at least put them in good graces with the metalheads. They did have a wild side though, and we got the more off the rails side of the band just as the '80s were starting.

Before the synths of 1984 upset the more hardened rockers in the crowd, Fair Warning is the kind of record that shows you the most authentic version of Eddie Van Halen, deconstructing his guitar and making some of the most outlandish riffs of his entire career. Though not many of the songs made it into the band's live set outside of the colossal Unchained, most of this record has the kind of dark energy that metal was getting into at the time, like the wild tempo of Sinner's Swing or Eddie tapping on the fretboard to create absolute chaos on the intro to Mean Street.

Even when they actually bring out the synthesizers for an interlude, Sunday Afternoon in the Park is still ominous as hell, almost giving us a hint at just what this keyboard can do when it's not pumping out the hits. Van Halen may have been a hit factory back in the day, but this is the record that feels like Eddie locking himself in the studio and getting in tune with the darker side of his sound.