Dee Snider's Commemorative Metal Playlist

This week, MTV2's metal sanctuary Headbangers Ball is celebrating its 20th anniversary. To mark this momentous occasion, we caught up with Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, former host of Heavy Metal Mania -- the Ball's first incarnation in the '80s -- to talk about his top 15 metal songs. We'll let him tell you all about it:

"Top 15 Metal Songs? This is an impossible task. Why only 15? And how do I chose from the decades of great metal that I've lived through, loved and still love? This needs to be broken down into decades, then categories. Deep cuts and hits. THIS SUCKS!

"Alright, I've chosen these songs because of the effect they had on my favorite music. The fact that my list ends in 1985 doesn't mean I don't love a lot of the metal that's come out since then. I LOVE METAL. Don't know what my parents did to me when I was little to f*ck me up ... but I'm glad they did! Here are 15 metal songs that mattered and in my view effected the metal world more than others. I know they're mostly hits -- that's why they reached and affected the masses."

[Click the "Continue Reading..." link to listen to a playlist featuring the music discussed in this post.]

Blue Cheer, "Summer Time Blues"
"In my book, the first full blown Heavy Metal song. These guys were ahead of their time ... and out of their minds!"

Mountain, "Mississippi Queen"
"Leslie West didn't even realize he was hastening the demise of the Woodstock Nation ... but thank God he did!"

Led Zeppelin, "Whole Lotta Love"
"Defining metal in the '70s and for years to come, this song opened my eyes and the eyes of millions of others to what our future would be ... and it was heavy!!!"

Deep Purple, "Highway Star"
"And speaking of defining metal, these guys took us all to school and taught us that metal and speed went hand in hand. And what a f*ck*ng amazing guitar solo!"

Black Sabbath, "Black Sabbath"
"And speaking of defining metal, this song started a style of metal and a sound that is still strong today. First time I heard this one, I was actually scared. Changed my life forever. And to think, they were trying to be a jazz/blues band. Thank God they sucked!"

Alice Cooper, "School's Out"
"This one came out the year I graduated high school. Paved the way for hair metal, glam metal, sleaze metal ... and attitude for days!"

Montrose, "Rock the Nation"
"The lead track off of one of the most influential metal albums of all time. Though this record never even broke the top 100 on the charts, over the years it has sold more than four million copies! The general public has no idea just how many musicians this band and album inspired."

Rainbow, "Stargazer"
"This song is referred to by many as 'TGHMSE'  which means 'The Greatest Heavy Metal Song Ever.' It is. Not to mention one of the most dramatic and longest. Ronnie James Dio's voice can pierce chainmail ... I'm pretty sure he actually does it toward the end of the song."

Judas Priest, "Hellbent for Leather"
"The beginning of the new sound of heavy metal. The speed, the heaviness, the attitude ... and the title had "hell" and "leather" in it. What more could you ask for?"

AC/DC, "Highway to Hell"
"Heavy metal redefined ... and they weren't even a heavy metal band. They showed us all that it didn't have to be complicated to be metallic. And man did they/do they rock! Btw -- am I the only one who thought the Hobbits at the end of the third Lord of the Rings looked like AC/DC?"

Motörhead, "Ace of Spades"
"Holy crap! This song is so blistering and intense from beginning to end, non-metal fans have to hang on for dear life just to listen! Again, as metal was being redefined in the late '70s, early '80s, this was one of the new definitions. Aggressive, blistering, unrelenting, unremorseful ... Motörhead!"

Saxon, "Denim and Leather"
"One of those songs I wish I had written myself. A metal anthem and battle cry for the ages, this one inspired heavy metal kids the world over ... before there was a 'We're Not Gonna Take It' to do the job."

Quiet Riot, "Metal Health"
"I don't want to hear any sh*t about Quiet Riot not deserving to be on this list. This song (followed of course by their cover of Slade's 'Cum on Feel the Noize') smashed the doors of radio and television resistance to metal down and opened them wide for all the rest of us to storm through. It's a great song .. .and it still holds up. Kevin Dubrow. .. R.I.P. You did good, brother."

Iron Maiden, "Run to the Hills"
"And running screaming through those smashed down doors, the one and only Iron Maiden! I'm proud to have stood shoulder to shoulder with these guys back in the day, and happy to see they are one of the only old school metal bands still being really appreciated now. This song launched a million baby metal bands and it's effect is still being felt today."

Twisted Sister, "Burn in Hell"
"I couldn't leave my own band off the list could I? If there's anything I'm unhappy about with my band's place in heavy metal history, it's that we are remembered by many as a hair band. WE WERE THE FIRST HAIR BAND! The genre didn't exist before we arrived. Having started in 1976, we predate them all (with the exception of our West Coast counterparts Quiet Riot). But when we came out, there was no hair-metal scene. We were just an oddball metal band, in the trenches and touring with the likes of Motörhead, Maiden, Saxon, Metallica and all the other bands in the New Wave of Heavy Metal hitting in the early '80s. We're remembered for our anthems, but this song is a prime example of our very metal side. And that's why they called us Twisted F*CK*N' Sister!"