The Best Rock & Metal Walkup Songs of All Time

Rock and metal invented walkup music. Before hip hop took over MLB charts in the late 2000s, rock was the default — Hells Bells, Enter Sandman, Welcome to the Jungle, Crazy Train. These songs are so deeply tied to baseball that you can't hear the opening of Enter Sandman without picturing Mariano jogging in.

Here are the greatest rock and metal walkup songs of all time, the ones still working in 2026, and how to pick yours.

Top 25 rock & metal walkup songs (all-time)

#	Song	Artist
1	Enter Sandman	Metallica
2	Hells Bells	AC/DC
3	Thunderstruck	AC/DC
4	Welcome to the Jungle	Guns N' Roses
5	Crazy Train	Ozzy Osbourne
6	Back in Black	AC/DC
7	We Will Rock You	Queen
8	For Whom the Bell Tolls	Metallica
9	Whole Lotta Love	Led Zeppelin
10	Eye of the Tiger	Survivor
11	Sweet Home Alabama	Lynyrd Skynyrd
12	Bodies	Drowning Pool
13	Bulls on Parade	Rage Against the Machine
14	Killing in the Name	Rage Against the Machine
15	Sympathy for the Devil	The Rolling Stones
16	Born to Run	Bruce Springsteen
17	Iron Man	Black Sabbath
18	Highway to Hell	AC/DC
19	The Boys Are Back in Town	Thin Lizzy
20	Bleed It Out	Linkin Park
21	In the End	Linkin Park
22	Believer	Imagine Dragons
23	Black Betty	Ram Jam
24	Sail	AWOLNATION
25	Can't Stop	Red Hot Chili Peppers

♪ Tap the heart to save a song to your shortlist. Run a team's music? Walkup Pro plays every player's walk-up at the field, trimmed to the perfect 15 seconds. Free for up to 3 players. Have Apple Music? Connect it to play full songs.

Rock walk-up songs MLB players use right now

This part is not a hand-picked list. These are the rock walk-ups currently confirmed on major-league rosters, pulled from every team's official walk-up page and re-checked every night. Rock accounts for 22.5% of the 720 MLB walk-ups we could classify by genre — 162 players. Here are 30 of them.

Player	Song	Team
Carlos RodónPitcher	Rooster (2022 Remaster)Alice In Chains · 1992 · 4 players	Yankees
Garrett CrochetPitcher	Rooster (2022 Remaster)Alice In Chains · 1992 · 4 players	Red Sox
Hunter StrattonPitcher	StrangleholdTed Nugent · 1975 · 4 players	Padres
Jacob MeltonOutfielder	Rooster (2022 Remaster)Alice In Chains · 1992 · 4 players	Rays
Mick AbelPitcher	Rooster (2022 Remaster)Alice In Chains · 1992 · 4 players	Twins
Ryan O'HearnRight Fielder	StrangleholdTed Nugent · 1975 · 4 players	Pirates
Trey GibsonPitcher	StrangleholdTed Nugent · 1975 · 4 players	Orioles
Brent RookerDesignated Hitter	Edge of SeventeenStevie Nicks · 1981 · 3 players	Athletics
Dillon DinglerCatcher	Edge of SeventeenStevie Nicks · 1981 · 3 players	Tigers
Justin BruihlPitcher	Kickstart My HeartMötley Crüe · 1989 · 3 players	Cardinals
Lucas GiolitoPitcher	Kickstart My HeartMötley Crüe · 1989 · 3 players	Padres
Shane BazPitcher	RoosterAlice In Chains · 1992 · 3 players	Orioles
Tyler HeinemanCatcher	Edge of SeventeenStevie Nicks · 1981 · 3 players	Angels
Tyler MahlePitcher	RoosterAlice In Chains · 1992 · 3 players	Braves
Zack WheelerPitcher	RoosterAlice in Chains · 1992 · 3 players	Phillies
Aaron CivalePitcher	Black BettyRam Jam · 1977 · 2 players	Cubs
Andrew MorrisPitcher	Smells Like Teen SpiritNirvana · 1991 · 2 players	Twins
Andrew NardiPitcher	EverlongFoo Fighters · 1997 · 2 players	Marlins
Brady SingerPitcher	Waiting for the ThunderBlackberry Smoke · 2016 · 2 players	Reds
Bryce MillerPitcher	Bury My BonesWhiskey Myers · 2019 · 2 players	Mariners
Cade WinquestPitcher	HolidayGreen Day · 2004 · 2 players	Cardinals
Carson KellyCatcher	Take Me Home TonightEddie Money · 1986 · 2 players	Cubs
Colby ThomasRight Fielder	Money for NothingDire Straits · 1985 · 2 players	Phillies
David PetersonPitcher	Simple ManLynyrd Skynyrd · 1973 · 2 players	Cubs
Drew RomPitcher	HolidayGreen Day · 2004 · 2 players	Athletics
Dustin MayPitcher	Back In BlackAC/DC · 1980 · 2 players	Brewers
Dylan DoddPitcher	Lonely Is The Night - Remastered 2010Billy Squier · 1981 · 2 players	Braves
Hayden SengerCatcher	Hold the LineTOTO · 1978 · 2 players	Mets
Jacob deGromPitcher	Simple ManLynyrd Skynyrd · 1973 · 2 players	Rangers
Jacob WilsonShortstop	Take Me Home TonightEddie Money · 1986 · 2 players	Athletics

♪ Tap the heart to save a song to your shortlist. Run a team's music? Walkup Pro plays every player's walk-up at the field, trimmed to the perfect 15 seconds. Free for up to 3 players. Have Apple Music? Connect it to play full songs.

The big four rock walkup songs

Four songs sit above all others. If you only need to know four rock walkup songs, these are them.

Enter Sandman — Metallica

The most iconic walkup/entrance song in baseball history thanks to Mariano Rivera. The slow, tense build into the riff is perfect for a long bullpen-to-mound walk. Still gets played at every level of baseball, from Little League to MLB.

Hells Bells — AC/DC

Trevor Hoffman's signature. The tolling bell that opens the song is one of the most recognizable sounds in baseball. Even 25+ years later, no one has stolen this song's place in walkup canon.

Thunderstruck — AC/DC

The most-used rock walkup song across all levels in 2026. Ranks #1 across MLB and youth combined because the opening guitar attack hits in literally one second. No build, just impact.

Welcome to the Jungle — Guns N' Roses

Slash's opening riff is walkup gold. The song works for hitters, pitchers, and closers — Ryan Helsley uses it for the Cardinals in 2026.

Rock walkups by subgenre

Classic rock

The 70s-80s catalog that's been walkup music for 40+ years.

• Sweet Home Alabama — Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Whole Lotta Love — Led Zeppelin
• Sympathy for the Devil — The Rolling Stones
• The Boys Are Back in Town — Thin Lizzy
• Born to Run — Bruce Springsteen

Hair metal & 80s arena rock

Built for crowd response. Hair metal songs were already designed for stadiums.

• Welcome to the Jungle — Guns N' Roses
• Crazy Train — Ozzy Osbourne
• Eye of the Tiger — Survivor
• We Will Rock You — Queen
• Highway to Hell — AC/DC

Heavy metal

For pitchers, closers, and power hitters who want to set a tone.

• Enter Sandman — Metallica
• For Whom the Bell Tolls — Metallica
• Iron Man — Black Sabbath
• Bodies — Drowning Pool
• Master of Puppets — Metallica

Modern rock (2000s-2020s)

Newer guitar-driven walkup picks that hit just as hard.

• Believer — Imagine Dragons
• Bleed It Out — Linkin Park
• In the End — Linkin Park
• Sail — AWOLNATION
• Can't Stop — Red Hot Chili Peppers

Rage / aggressive rock

For when you want the song itself to feel like a fight.

• Bulls on Parade — Rage Against the Machine
• Killing in the Name — Rage Against the Machine
• Bodies — Drowning Pool
• Black Betty — Ram Jam
• Bleed It Out — Linkin Park

What makes rock work as walkup music

• Iconic opening riffs. Rock songwriting is built around the riff. Walkups need instant recognition, and rock delivers it in 2 seconds flat.
• Stadium energy baked in. Most of these songs were already designed for arena crowds. They translate to a baseball stadium without any adjustment.
• Crowd familiarity. Every fan over 30 knows Thunderstruck. The crowd reacts immediately. That's a huge edge over newer picks.
• Longevity. A rock walkup song doesn't go out of style in a season. You can ride Enter Sandman for a decade.

Setting up rock walkup songs for your team

Rock walkups often have iconic intros that you'll want to play in full — Hells Bells' tolling bell, Enter Sandman's slow build. Walkup Pro lets you set custom trim points so you can start the song from the exact riff or build that hits, and end it on a peak as the player steps in. Free for up to 3 players.

For more genre picks, see country walkup songs and hip hop walkup songs.