The Teutonic Terror tour is coming to Toronto next Wednesday, featuring Kreator and Accept.  Which got me thinking, who are the top Teutonic Terrors–the 10 best German metal bands?  Unlike, say, picking the top Japanese heavy rock bands or the best female-fronted doom troupes, there are a whole lotta options here.  I’ve even come across a couple Top 10 lists where I haven’t heard of 80 per cent of the entries…  Obviously, Germany is known for producing thrash bands in the 80′s and pumping out power metal today, but are there any German doom bands worthy of inclusion, for instance?  Well, I’ll be revealing my list over the next 10 days.  I’ve tried to keep it balanced while still highlighting the country’s strengths, but in the end, it really all comes down to personal preference.

10. Atlantean Kodex

9. Obscura

8. Tankard

7. Running Wild

6. Blind Guardian

5. Grave Digger

4. Helloween

It’s kinda funny in retrospect that Helloween’s first actual release was a four-way split entitled Death Metal, as their own musical output couldn’t be farther from it.  These power-metal pioneers rose to prominence in the late 80′s with Keeper of the Seven Keys Parts I and II on the backs of lengthy epics like “Halloween” and “Keeper of the Seven Keys,” himself, and are personally responsible for most of the swords and fantasy-metal bands you hear today.  I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether that’s a good thing…