@Shane Morey

Whether it’s a weekday morning or Saturday night, get going with this personalized mix of upbeat music. Refreshed every Monday.

Songs to help you relax and unwind. Updated every Sunday.

Discover new music from artists we think you'll like. Refreshed every Friday.

If thrash severed heavy metal’s roots in hard rock, then groove metal succeeded in stitching them back together. Exhorder, Sepultura, and Machine Head all played critical roles in the music’s early development, but Pantera deserve the biggest shout-out. When the Texans’ landmark fifth album, <I>Cowboys From Hell</I>, landed in 1990, it represented a startlingly fresh sound, one marrying thrash’s vile aggression with hard rock’s thick, midtempo rhythms. Key to the album’s success was Dimebag Darrell, whose pugnacious riffs and taut solos connected the dots between Metallica, ZZ Top, and Van Halen. Groove metal’s impact certainly has been vast. Its heavy emphasis on rhythm informed both nu-metal’s start/stop syncopation and metalcore’s roiling breakdowns. Another crucial path for its influence has come via Lamb of God, who in the 21st century unleashed a throttling attack that helped build bridges between groove metal, death metal, and hardcore punk.

To call Black Sabbath's reach long is a gross understatement. On “The Trooper,” Iron Maiden transform their lumbering pummel into a galloping war cry laced with ornate fretwork; Black Flag's “My War” fuses a similar feel to hardcore punk's chaotic rage. One of their most faithful disciples is Kyuss, whose stoner-rock anthem “Green Machine” is a love letter to Tony Iommi's smoke-shrouded riffs.

Punishing riffs, high-octane choruses, and Rob Halford's operatic vocals made Judas Priest heroes to unflinching headbangers the world over. Molten metal outfits like Grim Reaper, Goatwhore, and Halloween were all inspired by the legendary group's sonic assaults. But you can also hear Priest in the weighty prog of Queensrÿche, and in the massive attack of stars like Metallica and Megadeth.

Anthrax's muscular riffs led to the development of several subgenres, including death metal, metalcore, and nu-metal. Their all-consuming energy gave life to the bands on this playlist, who used a catalog of explosive rhythms and fast/slow breakdowns to construct new machines of finely tuned musical destruction.