10 heavy metal bands that Erick Rowan has represented on WWE SmackDown Live

Since making a surprise return at Royal Rumble 2019 and aligning himself with "The New" Daniel Bryan, heavy metal t-shirts have become a standard in Erick Rowan's wardrobe.

The former SmackDown Tag-Team Champion even came out wearing a Cannibal Corpse T-shirt on this week's episode of SmackDown to confront his former partner Daniel Bryan with whom he has seemingly ended his friendship.

Although his alliance with Bryan might have come to an end, we hope that Erick Rowan will continue to show his support for hard rock and heavy metal by keeping them as a part of his in-ring gear. Here, we take a look at 10 metal bands that The Big Red has represented on his T-shirt at WWE SmackDown Live.

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#1 Alestorm

Originally from Perth, Scotland, Alestorm terms their music as "True Scottish Pirate Metal". Their lineup currently consists of Christopher Bowes on keyboards and vocals, bassist Gareth Murdock, drummer Peter Alcorn, guitarist Mate Bodor and Elliot Vernon on backing vocals.

The band originally started as a power metal band in 2007 but after the song "Heavy Metal Pirates" brought them widespread attention, they adopted a Pirate gimmick and settled on a more folk metal inspired music with lyrical themes that revolve around pirates, drinking and going on adventures in search of lost treasures.

Fans of their music have often considered that 80s German metal band Running Wild might have been their inspiration but this was refuted by the band's frontman Christopher Bowes.

In the video below you can see Rowan wearing a T-shirt of Alestorm on the episode in which the then WWE Champion Daniel Bryan unveiled his eco-friendly title.

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#2 Amon Amarth

Amon Amarth is a Swedish melodic death metal band formed in 1992 that takes its name from the Sindarin (a fictional Elvish language) word for Mount Doom present in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth lore.

The band currently comprises of lead guitarist Olavi Mikkonen, vocalist Johan Hegg, bassist Ted Lundstrom, rhythm guitarist Johan Soderberg, and drummer Jocke Wallgren. Their lyrics mostly deal with Vikings and Norse mythology and this is a reason why they have often been termed as Viking metal, although the band prefers to be known as a melodic death metal outfit.

Here you can see Erick Rowan wearing a tee of the said band on the February 5 episode of SmackDown Live.

#3 Korpiklaani

Formed in 1993 as Shamaani Duo who later changed their name in 2003, Korpiklaani is a folk metal band from Lahti, Finland whose name roughly translates to "Clan of the Wilderness".

The band is well known for its unconventional use of violin and accordion in their later albums. They usually write songs that talk about mythical stories in Finnish folklore, nature, and drinking.

The band has gone through many changes in their roster and is currently comprised of vocalist and guitarist Jonne Jarvela, drummer Matti 'Matson' Johansson, guitarist Kalle 'Cane' Savijarvi, bassist Jarkko Aaltonen, violinist Tuomas Rounakari and accordionist Sami Perttula.

Erick Rowan wearing a Korpiklaani tee on the February 12 episode of SmackDown and assisting Daniel Bryan in his match against Kingston.

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#4 Ensiferum

Ensiferum is a Finnish melodic folk metal band from Helsinki. Formed in 1995, the band was initially a three-piece outfit which comprised of guitarist Markus Toivonen, bassist Sauli Savolainen, and drummer Kimmo Miettinen.

They started as a cover band and a year later persuaded Jari Maenpaa to join as vocalist and second guitarist. The band name is Latin for "sword-bearing" or "sword-bearer". Their music mostly deals with tales of Nordic fantasy, legends, and mythical battles. The band is known for its frequent use of acoustic guitars at the intros of their songs.

In the video below, you can see Erick Rowan in a T-shirt of Ensiferum on an episode of SmackDown Live.

#5 Behemoth

Behemoth is a Polish extreme metal band from Gdansk formed in 1991. The band was known as Baphomet up until 1991 but Nergal and Baal Ravenlock soon changed the name to Behemoth when they realized there were far too many bands with the same name.

The band currently consists of frontman and vocalist Nergal, drummer Inferno and bassist Orion. In their initial days, Nergal and his crew used to play a traditional style of black metal and their songs dealt with themes of Paganism but soon changed to that of Satanic and Thelemic themes with lyrics written by their lead vocalist Nergal and Krzysztof Azarewicz.

The band is renowned for maintaining their signature style of music characterized by Inferno's unorthodox drum work and multi-faceted vocals. However, the band has been the topic of much controversy because of their Satanic themes.

Rowan wearing a shirt of Behemoth.

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#6 Kreator

Kreator (pronounced as creator) is one of the most legendary thrash metal acts of all time. Kreator along with Destruction, Sodom, and Tankard is regarded as the 'Big Four of Teutonic/German Thrash Metal'.

Hailing from Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the band was formed in 1984 by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Mille Petrozza after going through various other reincarnations and line-up changes.

The band's lyrical content usually focuses on themes of death, evil, politics/anti-fascism, and rebellion. The band used to play a much more complex form of thrash metal in their earlier albums such as Pleasure To Kill and Extreme Aggression but focused on a more melodic sound on subsequent albums such as Violent Revolution and Phantom Antichrist.

The band is usually credited with pioneering the genres of death metal and black metal on their album Pleasure To Kill. The aforementioned album and its title track also appear on the German web TV series 'Dark'.

Rowan wearing a T-shirt of Kreator on the March 19 episode.

#7 Children of Bodom

Children of Bodom is a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. The group formed in 1983 as Inearthed and later changed their name to Children of Bodom to get out from a record deal with a smaller label. The group got their name from an infamous, unsolved murder that took place in Finland at Lake Bodom in 1960.

The murders became a part of urban legend in Finland, and the sole survivor of that incident, Nils Gustafsson is said to have claimed that the Grim Reaper was responsible. Most Children of Bodom albums feature at least one song directly inspired by the Lake Bodom murders, and the Grim Reaper became an unofficial band mascot and has appeared on all of their album covers till now.

The group currently comprises of Lead guitarist and vocalist Alexi Laiho, keyboardist Janne Wirman, bassist Henkka T. Blacksmith, drummer Jaska Raatikainen and rhythm guitarist Daniel Freyberg.

In the video below you can see Erick Rowan wearing a t-shirt which represents Children of Bodom's 2019 album Hexed.

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#8 Tyr

Tyr is a progressive/folk metal band from the Faroe Islands. According to the Prose Edda, Tyr is both a title for Old Norse Gods in general and the name of the god of war in Norse religion. As you can guess from the name, their lyrical matter revolves mostly around Norse mythology, Paganism, Viking lore, and history.

The band was formed in 1998 by guitarist and vocalist Heri Joensen and his old bandmate, Kari Streymoy. The band currently consists of frontman Heri Joensen, bassist and backing vocalist Gunnar Thomsen, drummer Tadeusz Rieckmann and guitarist Attila Voros.

According to Joensen, Tyr's objective is to break down the genre barriers in heavy metal music as he believes that barriers and labels are one of the many reasons that prejudice people. This is why the band declares their music as anti-racist.

Below is a clip in which you can see the Big Red wearing a Tyr T-shirt.

#9 Corrosion of Conformity

Corrosion of Conformity (also known as C.O.C.) is a heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. The band started as a punk band in 1982 when the band members were in their teens and released some demos.

On their full-length releases, the band opted for a crossover/thrash oriented sound and later became a heavy metal band while incorporating elements of Southern rock and blues in their music.

The band has gone through many line-up changes with guitarist Woody Weatherman remaining as the sole original member. Weatherman, founding bassist Mike Dean, founding drummer Reed Mullin, and vocalist and rhythm guitarist Pepper Keenan are widely regarded as its original line-up.

The band currently consists of bassist Mike Dean, drummer Reed Mullin, lead guitarist Woody Weatherman, and guitarist Pepper Keenan. Their lyrical subject deals with themes of politics, society, and people.

Rowan wearing a T-shirt of the band on the June 18 episode of SmackDown Live.

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#10 Cannibal Corpse

Cannibal Corpse is a death metal band from Buffalo, New York credited with being one of the most influential and commercially successful bands in the genre and helping put death metal in the mainstream music scene.

Formed in 1988 by bassist Alex Webster, and vocalist and lyricist Chris Barnes, who would leave the band in 1995 and go on to form another death metal band named Six Feet Under, the band has undergone many line-up changes and currently comprises of Alex Webster, drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz, rhythm guitarist Rob Barrett, lead guitarist Pat O'Brien and vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher.

Alex Webster came up with the name for the band and describes a Cannibal Corpse as "an undead corpse that's going to eat you". Due to the grotesque nature of their album artworks which often depicts gory and NSFW scenes and lyrics that revolve around cannibalism, zombies horror fiction and torture, the band has often been banned from performing in several countries.

In the video, you can see Rowan wearing a t-shirt of the said band on the recent episode of SmackDown Live.