The band sitting pretty vacantly at #91 on the Gears of Rock’s Top 100 Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Bands of All-Time Countdown is a widely known pioneering punk rock group from the UK. So, what the $&*! are the Sex Pistols doing on this list? The combined speed and grit of punk is a massive influence across the spectrum from early thrash to modern extreme metal, whether those bands care to admit it or not. If you give the Sex Pistols a good listen, you’ll hear it in a big way. In fact, you can hear it in many of the early hard rocking punk bands, which is why you will see two more further up this countdown. The Sex Pistols continue to be a highly influential band and they released just one studio album. Their best songs include “Anarchy in the U.K.,” “Bodies,” “Pretty Vacant,” “God Save the Queen,” and “Holidays in the Sun.”

Best Song: “God Save the Queen” (1977)

Best/Only Album: “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols” (1977)

Best Tour: Never Mind the Bollocks US Tour 1977

Most Valuable Band Member: Johnny Rotten – Vocals

Fun Facts: 1. Infamous bassist Sid Vicious didn’t play bass on “Never Mind the Bollocks.” 2. He learned to play bass in only one night after listening to the Ramones’ debut album continuously. 3. And of course there was that whole murder-suicide thing.

Top 100 Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Bands of All-Time – 2013 Edition