*don't see this anywhere else in recent history*
Which metal band has the best name?

To this day, and I say this despite learning a multitude of seriously kick ass extreme metal band names which might be loads of times better, I've always seen 'Saint Vitus' as a bard-arse name.
And why can't Black Sabbath be included? To my ears, all the other bands out there are trying to replicate the sheer brilliance of this one. Black Sabbath. What more needs to be said? You don't even have to hear any of their music to realize where this band is coming from.
But I see my pick (save Sabbath) as purely kick-starter.

Demolition Hammer, Razor and Slayer!

Kreator just always sounded metal as fuck to me, also fitting of their sound. So I guess I'll go with that. Also, even though I am not a big fan (but do like them), I also like the name Insomnium somehow. It just sounds kind of mysterious and in a way also gloomy, fitting their sound pretty well.

My alltime favorite would probably be Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus

Simple but effective names are where it's at for me. Ghoul, Atheist, and Incantation are cool as all can be in my opinion. Twilightning's was also pretty darn clever.
Props to Metallica, too. Theirs is just a name that's fun to say.

Cauldron Black Ram
7000 Dying Rats
I don't like either of these bands but I think there names are awesome.

i think immolation is a very powerful name and fits the band well
there's a lot of those short poignant ones, like slayer, anthrax, sentenced, carnage, pestilence etc.

also, while no amount of explaining will fully translate the meaning, as a finn i find mokoma to be a great name

as for two parters, i quite like napalm death, morbid angel and in flames

and while not metal (as per the topic), i gotta give props to bad religion

I still maintain that every band that Wino has ever been in has a badass name. Saint Vitus, Spirit Carvan, Shrinebuilder, The Hidden Hand. Even The Obsessed and Premonition 13 sound awesome!

I saw a band a few weeks ago called Nuklear Goat. It never fails to raise a chuckle out of me.

saint vitus doesn't work particularly well for finns since "vitus" as a slang word ("vitussa" is the full finnish word) translates as "in fuck"

Flagitious Idiosyncrasy in the Dilapidation, anybody?

Burzum. I've not listened to the band in a month or two properly, but the name is unbelievably fun to say.

Also Electric Wizard... "Electric" is already a good word, but add Wizard, and you've recipe for verbal-funzies.

Deicide!

Impaled Nazarene is pretty cool. Both in sound and meaning.

I can't help but think that Metallica have one of the best names in the genre. They're not really worthy of the name now, but during their early years, that name told someone exactly what to expect when they listened to their music. It's the perfect thrash metal band name.

I also want to say My Dying Bride is the perfect name for that band. It may sound cheesy to someone not familiar with them, but being a fan since the 90s I can say it has fit their music and imagery perfectly over the band's entire history.

Godflesh has always been one of my favourite band names. It just sounds so fucking heavy.

Also, Fearless Iranians From Hell, no explanation required.

A lot of my personal favorites have already been mentioned, but you gotta say,

Megadeth is pretty cool. I know the meaning of Megadeth now, but when I was a few years younger I would always say a really crazy-like death (Like being run over by a train or something) was a 'megadeth'.

Deiphago, nuff said, I also think Mortician has the "simple but effective" vote for me, wait no, Venom wins that.
Although when you get into biblical quotes or religious stuff I shit my pants, Gnaw their Tongues, Satanic Warmaster, Behemoth, Sodom, shit just match's metal perfectly.
I'm gonna go ahead and throw Motorhead and Destroyer 666 at this too, not only do their names look like ungodly kickass as patch's but the names, despite having very little to no real description of the music, perfectly conjure up what your gonna hear.
Oh but I think the one that wins out right for me... Dragged into Sunlight.

Endless Dismal Moan.. It's just so fucking creepy and you know what you're getting into when you hear it. Hellhammer is another favorite, a perfect name for doom/black metal.

Immortal
Trouble
Death Angel

Wastelander.

Sounds post-apocalytic and is simple and easy to say. Also has a bleak feel to it, just like the music.

(Poetry) Crimson Moonlight: It evokes an image that is both eerie and meaningful. Perfectly fits the music.

(Humor) Fleshgod Apocalypse: I don't know what the fuck that means, but it's just so whacky and serious at the same time. Like goofing off during a zombie attack.

(Meaning) Waylander: Simple, direct, and specifically applicable to the band.

Slabdragger. Great name for a sludge/doom band.

The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza

I've always thought Dragged into Sunlight sounded appropriately eerie, and is very much fitting of the type of music they play.

The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza is an awesome name given the image that it conjures up.

In all seriousness, I'd have to go with Exodus because the name could be taken to mean "departure". As someone who had (to my shame) gotten into thrash metal because of Metallica, finding out about Exodus and listening to their songs was definitely a "departure" for me when I first started listening to them.

Black Sabbath is just an absolutely perfect name as well.

Bal-Sagoth. It sounds epic and regal, just like the band's music. Plus it's from a cool short story.

Bestial Warlust. Another perfectly fitting name that is just badass.

Speedwolf is another.

I'd have to say Judas Priest. But Mercyful Fate, Motörhead, Slayer and Black Sabbath are just about perfect as well.

Armored Saint, soooo fucking metal. I really like Battlecross too, something about "something christian + something metal" (doesn't have to be offensive or blasphemous even) I guess.
Sonata Arctica is perfect for what they do, you hear the name of the band and you already know how they sound.

I usually like simple, one word names like Slayer,Mayhem, Death..... Those types of names all have dwindled(been taken) of course.....

Ares Kingdom
for the funny: GoatPenis

Maximum Oversatan - They sound exactly like their name too. Their demo's artwork fits the theme too. If you ever wondered how much Satan is too much Satan, then you should find out.

Candlemass, definitely. Just sounds mysterious, mystical, and ancient. I've always liked Watchtower too. Black Sabbath is an obvious pick, and it's fitting that the first heavy metal band ever got dibs on it. Fates Warning is also a cool band name, but I don't know if part of the reason is that I love them so much.

Slayer and Voice of Destruction: two fitting names for thrash metal.

In general, names from Lord of the Rings sound nice: Gorgoroth, Burzum, Morgoth, Cirith Ungol, etc..

Pantera. Panthers are pretty badass.

Other favorites are: Converge, Celtic Frost/Triptykon, Neurosis, The Dillinger Escape Plan, A Pale Horse Named Death, Ghost Brigade, LSD and the Search for God, Skeletonwitch, etc.

I'm not the biggest God Dethroned fan (only seriously enjoy their last two records), but I always believed their name to be one of the most badass around. I mean, just say it out loud. No, not that way. Say it with conviction. There, it feels mighty, doesn't it?

Another one I really like is Deep Purple. It rolls off the tongue, and it conjures cool psychodelic imagery, which is curiously far from the band's brand of proggy, rather scorching hard rock. Oh, and Thiestru mentioned Fates Warning, and while it's indeed a really cool name, it always bothered me in the sense that I just think an apostrophe should go between the "e" and the "s". Yes, I know bands can spell their names in any way they please, but Fates Warning's name simply seems off to me.

even though I dont really like them, cradle of filth always sounded awesome, if they just called themselves "The filth" and played terrible power violence/punk they would have been even better.

Syphilitic Vaginas. Syphilitic Vaginas is a good name. Syphilitic Vaginas is a great name, especially for the music they play.

You should listen to Syphilitic Vaginas.

My vote goes to Slayer. I think Exodus is a good one, too, short but sweet.

napalm death, slayer, carcass, blood duster, skuldom [nz band] mastodon puny human all sound cool to me
slayer is probably my favourite sounding though that and sadistik exekution
sometimes i feel like a cool name is wasted on a band that just aren't heavy/good enough for their name