14 Awesome Metal Love Songs (That Aren’t Ballads!)

For all of his chest-thumping machismo, Philip Anselmo always presented a shred of sensitivity and on Pantera‘s Vulgar Display of Power, he welcomed listeners into his love-torn mind. “This Love” finds the singer embattled, struggling to process his emotions and unsure if he’s been hurt, or if he caused the pain to both parties himself.

“I’d been the tempting one / Stole her from herself / This gift in pain / Her pain was life / And sometimes I feel so sorry / I regret this the hurting of you / But you make me so unhappy / I’d take my life and leave love with you“

Even Black Sabbath felt the temptation to use love as a lyrical device on their ominous, haunting debut. While the true meaning of the title of “N.I.B.” remains veiled, what is for certain is that it is a love song about the devil. And there’s a little devil in everyone, right?

“Now I have you with me, under my power / Our love grows stronger now with every hour / Look into my eyes, you’ll see who I am / My name is Lucifer, please take my hand“

For all of the unrequited love and misery expressed in HIM‘s lyrics, we forget that those awful feelings had to stem from something that was once positive. It’s on “Right Here in My Arms” that the leather-tongued Ville Valle and his crew give us a feel-good rocker that works perfectly on V-Day.

“She is smiling like heaven is down on earth / Sun is shining so bright on her / And all her wishes have finally come true / And her heart is weeping / This happiness is killing her“

It took 30 years into their professional career for Iron Maiden to finally write a love song. Of course, the song takes place as the end of days threatens the world; in the song, a couple make a suicide pact, preparing their fallout shelter for the inevitable moment. The star-crossed lovers took their poison a little too early, unaware that the world didn’t end after all.

“When they found them, had their arms wrapped around each other / Their tins of poison laying near by their clothes / The day they both mistook an earthquake for the fallout / Just another when the wild wind blows“

Ram it Down was another one of Judas Priest‘s experimental albums, coming on the heels of the synth-charged Turbo. It displayed some heavier moments, but was still laser-focused on beat-driven anthems and while “Love Zone” wasn’t a smash success, it does the job here. Rob Halford’s searing highs discharge hot and horny lines about the nighttime’s street merchants with skin for sale.

“Been awake all night, can’t get no sleep / I need a steel blue heart walkin’ down the street / With your razor nails, and your painted smile / You’re gonna get richer, I gotta get wild“

We know what you’re thinking: “Is Pig Destroyer really appropriate for Valentine’s Day?” This track recounts the “Girl in the Slayer Jacket” giving someone their first kiss in seventh grade, but after the opening lines, it all goes south, describing the girl’s eventual suicide and how Slayer nearly took the blame. But it was a beautiful relationship… while it lasted.

“Her parents / Tried to sue Slayer / They blamed her boyfriend and PCP / But the truth is her eyes / Had been dead since she was five / She just hadn’t disposed of her body“

What list of love would be complete without the presence of the scathingly sarcastic, charmingly witty, blackhearted romantic Peter Steele? On “Love You to Death,” the hulking Type O Negative frontman deployed verbal “Caution: Wet Floor” signs as his baritone croon pined for a lifetime of submission and worship.

“I beg to serve, your wish is my law / Now close those eyes and let me love you to death / Shall I prove I mean what I’m saying, begging / I say the beast inside me’s gonna get ya, get ya, get…“

Life on the road can lead to endless opportunities to find love… or lust. Mainly lust. But, who knows how many meant-to-be moments were ruined by tour bus load out times and the other various hurdles of international dating? On this Animal Magnetism track, the Scorpions are wary of starry-eyed lovers who profess their feelings, knowing that they’re bound to encounter the same thing at each tour stop.

“I look in your eyes, I really think you’re fooling me / You’re pretty and nice, it doesn’t matter don’t you see / I’m falling in love, it happens to me every day / I’m falling in love, love just seems to slip away“

From the band who authored “Animal (Fuck Like a Beast) comes “L.O.V.E. Machine,” a less egregious but still reprehensible track all about carnality. Make no mistake, this song is more about hot and wild lovin’ than pure, inseparable love, but when things are going steady and the bloodflow increases, W.A.S.P. have the soundtrack to your night.

“Lady have you known me / The perfect love machine / I’m Virgo, my Leo’s rising, Venus made me king / That trail of broken hearts / They all belong to me / Magic runs through my fingers / One touch you’ll see“

Throughout their career, Amorphis have maintained close lyrical ties to the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, giving authority to their folk-tinged melodies. “House of Sleep,” an empowering track, opens with a few heartwarming lines that should hit any partner right in the heart.

“I will never sleep alone (never without you) / Whatever you say to me / I already know / If I said something to you / You would take those words / There’s so much power in those words“

This is a song that was probably written in under 10 minutes. There’s no lip-biting sexiness, no toe-curling double-entendres, just straight up lovestruck emotions from Ratt. Is there anything more innocent than catching a flash of someone and swelling with affection? For all of glam’s debaucherous days, this one kept it nice and PG.

“You take the midnight subway train / You’re callin’ all the shots / You’re struck by lightning / You’re in love“

Yeah, the band who wrote “Sisterfucker” actually managed to conjure something genuine and touching on the lyrical front. “Ruptured Heart Theory,” on paper, isn’t the most amorous, but in Eyehategod‘s world this is practically a Michael Bolton jam. Heartache drives the song, but in a longing way and for a caustic New Orleans sludge group, that’s just the only way they know how to show it.

“That’s the game we’re playing goes on and on / I never say: You go my way / My life is full of hurt and pain / But this time I’ll do it fine / I’m standing here beside you near / Please hold me tight for just one night / Baby look at me, I’m for… / Baby can’t you see, believe in me“

For touring musicians, shacking up in a cozy bed at home is rarely an option. Bunks on buses and even the occasional bathroom have played host to raucous romps and for Edguy, they’re content with dying in a plane crash as long as *cough* a certain landing strip is in sight. “Lavatory Love Machine” is where the German group join that infamous Mile High Club and provide an unforgiving title to their participant.

“Now if I gotta die / I’ll have been stiff and smiling till the crash / Let them know I’ve been alive / ‘Till I made my final splash“

“In Love” defies “Until death do us part,” as one lover refuses to let the reaper put an end to their relationship. Devoted or deranged? You decide.

“You lie so nice in front of me / As I brought you from your grave / You lost some skin and a lot of weight / But still you look sexy in your new shape“