Metallica have been the most popular metal band by Google search for the last three years, according to results from an internet firm that maps such statistics.

And since 2007, when tabulation began, Metallica have battled just two other artists for that No. 1 spot. A clip showing the stats in an animated graph bears that out.

Watch the video down toward the bottom of this page.

The two bands who have at times overtaken Metallica to become the most searched metal band have been Linkin Park and Van Halen. But Motley Crue, Slipknot and Iron Maiden have come close, often taking up the second slot on the time-elapsed graph.

READ MORE: We Answered Some of the Most Searched Questions About Metallica on the Internet

Linkin Park started as the No. 1 most searched metal band in 2007 before Metallica took over the mantle later that year, as the chart dynamically displays. Metallica held it until Linkin Park regained it in 2009. Metallica then maintained the No. 2 position behind them.

Linkin Park
Linkin Park (Ethan Miller, Getty Images)
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In 2014, Metallica overtook the top slot until Linkin Park made a brief return in 2017, again being outdistanced by Metallica later that year. Linkin Park stayed at No. 2 behind Metallica until Motley Crue took No. 2 in 2019. Linkin Park recaptured No. 2 later that year before Van Halen made a run for No. 1 in 2019.

But Metallica was back at No. 1 by 2020. As of 2022, Iron Maiden (No. 2) and Slipknot (No. 3) are between Metallica (No. 1) and Linkin Park (No. 4).

Some of the stats seem to align with times of note for the rising artist, although that may not explain all of it. For example, Van Halen's rise in 2019 corresponds with the news of the reunited band's demise a year before Eddie Van Halen's death in 2020.

The graph video, posted last year on YouTube, was created by the music charts and data analytics company Chartex. It is called a "platform for all data related to the musical world from the most popular streaming and social media sites" on its YouTube page.

Chartex aims to "provide an all-in-one platform for all your curiosities regarding the music industry, from the historical timeline of music to the evolution of all the diverse musical genres and the rise and fall of the most famous artists in the musical sphere," it says.

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