“What’s This Song Called?” Five Metal Hits Rediscovered on TikTok
The Viral Phenomenon That's Reshaping Metal's Future
How the Algorithm Reshaped Metal’s Landscape
One of the most striking transformations in the music industry since 2020 has been the way TikTok has lowered the barriers to metal music. Gen Z is encountering metal through the simple question “What’s this song called?”, injecting fresh energy into the entire genre.
The reason metal succeeds on a 15-second video platform is crystal clear. Metal’s signature dramatic dynamics—the shift from whisper-quiet intros to explosive choruses, those devastating breakdowns—sync perfectly with TikTok’s transition editing style. And on TikTok, younger listeners have increasingly reframed metal’s aggression as an aesthetic rather than a threat, reinterpreting it on their own terms.
What’s particularly striking is how metal’s macho image is being dismantled. Female creators dance adorably to the most savage metal tracks, or ironically label them “girly pop.” It’s a shift that both breaks down genre boundaries and proves that metal no longer belongs to any single demographic.
For this feature, we’ve selected five tracks that took off on TikTok after 2020, achieving fresh hits, chart comebacks, and new certifications. We’ll explore how each became a meme, why they captured Gen Z’s hearts, and what impact they had on the bands themselves.
1. Ghost – Mary on a Cross: When a Satanic Band Becomes Sacred
The Unexpected Rediscovery
Swedish band Ghost had built a solid foundation in the metal scene with their distinctive concept: vocalist Papa Emeritus in papal robes and anonymous instrumentalists known as the Nameless Ghouls. “Mary on a Cross,” the B-side to A-side “Kiss the Go-Goat” on their 2019 EP Seven Inches of Satanic Panic, was a fan favorite from the start but never broke through to the mainstream.
The turnaround came in summer 2022. When Netflix’s Stranger Things Season 4 dropped, interest in ’80s metal surged. The show featured Metallica’s “Master of Puppets,” but TikTok users had other plans, anointing Ghost’s “Mary on a Cross” as the series’ unofficial anthem.
The Slowed + Reverb Magic
A TikTok user paired a Slowed + Reverb version of the track with Stranger Things character edits. The decelerated tempo and added reverb amplified the song’s already dreamy vibe, evoking ’60s psychedelic pop. It suited the show’s retro aesthetic well, and users began soundtracking everything from pet videos to daily vlogs to anime edits with it.
The fascinating part? Many new listeners had no idea who Ghost was; they were simply drawn in by the melody. Some mistook it for vintage pop or even a church hymn. The chorus, “Mary on a, Mary on a cross,” carries a resemblance to “marijuana” that longtime fans had noticed for years, and the lyrics contain sexual innuendo as well.
Rewriting Band History
The viral explosion delivered stunning results. “Mary on a Cross” debuted at No. 90 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 2022, marking Ghost’s first-ever Hot 100 entry. In the UK, it peaked at No. 28—the band’s highest chart position ever. The track earned RIAA Platinum certification in September 2023, establishing itself as one of metal’s most successful singles.
Band leader Tobias Forge learned about the phenomenon through his daughter. The band went on to record and release their own official “Slowed + Reverb” version, matching the style that had taken off on TikTok.
The extreme contrast between Satanic imagery and beautiful melody was part of the appeal, pulling new listeners past the single and into the band’s back catalog.
2. Bad Omens – Just Pretend: When Satire Goes Platinum
A Masterpiece Born from Irony
Virginia metalcore act Bad Omens’ “Just Pretend” stands as the most ironic success story in modern metal. Vocalist Noah Sebastian revealed in interviews that the track was written to prove how easy it was to write a “butt-rock” style song, deliberately employing exaggerated vocal delivery in the demo.
Paradoxically, that “satire” became a genuine masterpiece that captured hearts. The 2022 album cut from The Death of Peace of Mind began circulating on TikTok in an entirely different context.
Earnest Emotion Wins
On TikTok, “Just Pretend” was interpreted not as parody but as pure emotion. The chorus, “I can wait for you at the bottom / I can stay away if you want me to,” carries an aching melody and vulnerable lyrics. It became the perfect soundtrack for unrequited love, breakups, and tragic romance.
Text-based story videos set to the song’s climax became common, along with fan edits of fictional tragic couples and movie characters. The earnest emotion Sebastian had originally been poking fun at turned out to be exactly what resonated.
From Clubs to Arenas
“Just Pretend” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and topped Alternative Airplay as well. After earning Gold certification in July 2023, the track achieved Platinum status in April 2024, becoming the band’s first million-selling single.
The success reshaped Bad Omens’ trajectory. A metalcore band playing small clubs suddenly found themselves headlining arenas. They leaned into the momentum, producing a high-quality music video that amplified the phenomenon.
Backlash was inevitable. A divide opened up between longtime metalcore fans and the new TikTok crowd, with online debate over whether the genre was being watered down. But Noah Sebastian took it in stride: “A song that was written to poke fun at how easy it is to make radio rock is now No. 1 on the radio rock charts. It’s the most ironic full-circle moment this band will probably ever have.”
On TikTok, the “Just Pretend” comment sections filled with people admitting the song got them anyway, cliché or not.
3. Sleep Token – The Summoning: The Birth of Baby-Making Metal
Anonymity and Mysticism
UK band Sleep Token erected significant barriers to entry with their masked anonymity and elaborate mythology about worshipping an ancient deity called Sleep. Vocalist Vessel maintains complete secrecy, framing all music as ritual offerings to this god. The concept cultivated a devoted cult following but struggled to break through to wider audiences.
Their January 2023 single “The Summoning” changed everything. The track possesses one of metal’s most distinctive structures. The opening section delivers crushingly heavy, technical progressive metal, then around the five-minute mark, it pivots 180 degrees into sensual funk and R&B.
Sexiness as the Unexpected Hook
TikTok users obsessed over that funk section. The track earned the nickname “baby-making metal,” described alternately as “strip club music” or “sensual metal.” These were descriptors rarely if ever applied to metal before.
It gained explosive traction among Baldur’s Gate 3 fans on TikTok. When fans began pairing it with edits of the game’s popular character Astarion, it became a go-to soundtrack for a distinct aesthetic often labeled “monster romance.” The band’s masked anonymity fit right into this fantasy.
The comments under these videos captured a familiar arc: viewers drawn in by the funk section who came away newly won over by the screaming intro as well. For many listeners new to metal, Sleep Token became their entry point into the genre.
From Cult Following to Major League Numbers
“The Summoning” hit No. 1 on Spotify’s Viral 50 Global chart in February 2023. Sleep Token’s monthly listeners went from under 300,000 to over a million within weeks, and the track has since surpassed 300 million streams.
A Spinefarm-signed band with an esoteric concept was suddenly competing with pop stars. They played a run of major European festivals in 2023, headlining Radar Festival among them.
Pure death metal was unlikely to reach a mainstream gaming audience on its own; the funk and R&B elements built that bridge. The masks and anonymity fed the curiosity, spawning secondary content speculating about the band’s true identity.
4. Slipknot – Custer, 2014
The Heaviest Song, The Cutest Meme
Iowa’s nine-piece nu-metal institution Slipknot is renowned for grotesque masks and brutally aggressive sound. “Custer” from their 2014 album .5: The Gray Chapter contains violently explicit lyrics and triggers savage headbanging and mosh pits at live shows.
Yet from mid-2022 through 2023’s peak, TikTok trends consumed the track in a radically different way. Female creators began dancing the ’90s Macarena or twerking to the song’s punishing beat.
Girly Pop: Ironic Reclamation
Even more fascinating was their video captions: “Slipknot is so girly pop.” Girly pop: internet slang for ultra-feminine, bubbly pop aesthetics, applied to Slipknot, metal’s polar opposite.
This transcended mere meme status, functioning as a cultural statement. It mocked the stereotype that “metal belongs to men,” showing cute, feminine-presenting creators enjoying the most savage music. Gen Z women decontextualized metal’s aggression, transforming it from threat to playful tool.
Derivative memes followed: cat paws bouncing to the beat, everyday scenes dramatically soundtracked by “Custer.” Videos tagged with the song racked up over 140 million views on TikTok.
Generational Culture Clash
The phenomenon sparked sharp cultural friction within metal fandom, splitting Reddit and TikTok comment sections between fans embracing the trend and longtime listeners baffled by the sight of Macarena dances set to one of the band’s heaviest tracks.
Ultimately, “Custer” climbed back onto Slipknot’s most-streamed tracks on Spotify nine years post-release, drawing renewed attention alongside longtime staples like “Psychosocial” and “Duality.” Despite gatekeeping debates, the trend brought a wave of new listeners, many of them young women, into the band’s orbit.
On TikTok, rage and violence stopped being messages to take seriously and became aesthetic devices to enjoy however users chose.
5. Pierce The Veil – King for a Day: Y2K Nostalgia and the Emo Revival
A Hit That Jumped a Decade
California post-hardcore band Pierce The Veil’s “King for a Day” was already a scene hit when released as the lead single from 2012’s Collide with the Sky. Featuring Sleeping with Sirens vocalist Kellin Quinn, the track delivers blistering tempo, soaring vocals, and explosive emotional choruses.
Yet in 2022, a full decade after release, TikTok gave it a second life. Dramatic before-and-after transitions became the dominant format, with creators cutting from ordinary looks into full emo styling as the song’s crescendos hit. The timing lined up with a broader Y2K and early-2000s emo revival, as Gen Z embraced skinny jeans, heavy eyeliner, and dramatic hairstyles as retro fashion.
The Perfect Soundtrack for Transition Challenges
The song’s structure was tailor-made for this format: a quiet build that explodes into drums and guitar riffs, giving creators the perfect cue for a dramatic snap-cut.
This transcended fashion flexing, becoming a form of cultural play: proudly displaying or romanticizing what had been considered “cringe history.” Millennials who lived the emo era felt nostalgic; Gen Z who missed it embraced it as fresh and fascinating. The #EmoTok hashtag flooded with countless videos.
Unbelievable Chart Comeback
Ten years post-release, “King for a Day” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hard Rock Streaming chart in August 2022. Originally certified Gold in 2014, it achieved Platinum in 2019, 2x Platinum in June 2024, and 3x Platinum (three million units) in August 2025—solidifying its status as a multi-platinum hit.
Pierce The Veil enthusiastically welcomed new fans. The band released their 2023 album The Jaws of Life and returned to active touring, with the TikTok-driven resurgence helping introduce the record to a younger audience.
A generational split showed up in the comments, but the more common thread was kids discovering the music their parents grew up on.
A decade-old song was suddenly everywhere again, rediscovered by a generation that hadn’t been born for its first run.
What Comes After Gatekeeping?
These five tracks share an obvious pattern. TikTok’s algorithm surfaced each one outside its original context, and that shift in context ultimately created new career inflection points for their bands.
Metal scenes historically suffered from notorious gatekeeping. To be a “true fan” required knowing a band’s entire discography, debating album superiority with academic rigor. On TikTok, those rules simply don’t apply. When users discover something they love in a 15-second clip, they claim it without hesitation.
“What’s this song called?” is no longer an expression of ignorance. It’s Gen Z’s active signal of taste exploration, the beginning of fluid genre-crossing music consumption.
Metal bands are embracing this shift. Ghost officially released their own Slowed + Reverb version. Bad Omens elevated TikTok memes into high-quality music videos. Sleep Token found ways to engage new fans while maintaining their anonymity.
This shift in the 2020s comes down to flexibility over genre purity, aggressive adoption of visual media, and above all, openness to fans enjoying music however they want.
TikTok’s 15 seconds are reshaping metal’s future. And that future is far more colorful, inclusive, and unpredictable than we ever imagined.
