| 100% | MOTORHEAD | 9 | Metal band led by Lemmy Kilmister, with hit songs like "Ace of Spades" and "Born to Raise Hell" |
| 47% | BLACKSABBATH | 12 | Metal band led by Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi, with hit songs like "Paranoid" and "Iron Man": 2 wds. |
| 34% | IRON | 4 | ___ Maiden, a hugely popular metal band with hits like "Fear of the Dark" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" |
| 30% | METALLICA | 9 | One of the greatest metal bands of all time with hits like "Enter Sandman" and "Nothing Else Matters" |
| 29% | POWERSLAVE | 10 | 5th album by 40a, with songs like "2 Minutes to Midnight" and "Aces High" |
| 29% | POKERFACE | 9 | Hit song by 43-Across with the lyrics "Love Game intuition play the cards with spades to start" (2 wds.) |
| 28% | IRONMAIDEN | 10 | 1980s heavy metal band fronted by Bruce Dickinson, with the hit "Flight of Icarus": 2 wds. |
| 27% | DIRESTRAITS | 11 | Music group with siblings as members with hit songs like "Sultans of Swing" and "Money for Nothing": 2 wds. |
| 27% | DEEP | 4 | ___ Purple, a band considered to be among the pioneers of metal and hard rock with hits like "Smoke on the Water" |
| 27% | CHEAPTRICK | 10 | *Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band with the hits "The Flame" and "I Want You to Want Me" |
| 27% | WHO | 3 | The ___, an English band with hit songs like "My Generation" and "I Can See For Miles" |
| 27% | RATT | 4 | Heavy-metal band with the hit albums "Out of the Cellar" and "Infestation" |
| 27% | CALMDOWN | 8 | 2022 Afrobeats song by Rema with a hit Selena Gomez remix and a title that says to relax: 2 wds. |
| 26% | ABBA | 4 | Popular Swedish group with hit songs like "Dancing Queen" and "Mamma Mia" |
| 26% | WAR | 3 | "___ Pigs," a hit song by metal band Black Sabbath |
| 26% | HANSON | 6 | Band of brothers with hit song MMMBop |
| 26% | ELO | 3 | Band led by Jeff Lynne that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |
| 26% | MONSTERMASH | 11 | Novelty song (and #1 hit) with the lyric "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?" ... and an apt description of the puzzle's theme |
| 26% | ACDC | 4 | Australian band with hits like "Back in Black" and "Hell's Bells" |
| 26% | MOTORHEAD | 9 | "Ace of Spades" band with a "metal umlaut" over an O in its name |
| 25% | BLUR | 4 | A rock band with hits like "Song 2" and "Coffee & TV" |
| 25% | LETSGROOVE | 10 | Top 20 song by the band whose name includes the first words of the answers to 18-Across, 26-Across, and 35-Across (2 wds.) |
| 25% | HAVANA | 6 | Hit song by Camila Cabello that shares its title with the capital of Cuba |
| 25% | ACDC | 4 | Australian rock band with the song "Highway to Hell" whose name is an abbreviation referring to types of electricity |
| 25% | DIO | 3 | Metal band led by Ronnie James ___ |
| 25% | CRUE | 4 | Motley ___, a heavy metal band with members like Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee |
| 25% | MANINTHEMIRROR | 14 | 1988 hit song by 45-Across with the lyrics "If you want to make the world a better place / Take a look at yourself, and then make a change" (4 wds.) |
| 25% | TINA | 4 | ___ Turner, former member of the duo with Ike who is known for her solo hits like "What's Love Got To Do with It" and "Private Dancer" |
| 25% | THECARPENTERS | 13 | Music group with siblings as members with hit songs like "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun": 2 wds. |
| 24% | IRON | 4 | ___ Maiden, '80s English rock band with hit songs such as "Fear of the Dark" and "The Book of Souls" |