50 Best Rock Songs About Karma and Revenge
Rock Tracks That Hit the Sweet Spot of Karma and Payback
There’s a kind of rush that hits when the tables finally turn. Not a loud, triumphant kind, but the slow-burn satisfaction that creeps up when the universe starts to even things out. You can feel it in the riff before the chorus, the tension in a voice that’s already seen too much. These tracks live in that pocket between fury and calm, the space where anger starts to sound almost righteous. Some of them go for blood, others settle for a smirk. Either way, they hum with the same energy—the one that kicks in when payback starts to feel like fate.
It’s not all straightforward vengeance anthems. Some tracks circle the feeling sideways, slipping into reflection or irony instead of going for the throat. A few might not be literally tied to the theme, but the tone fits so cleanly you can’t help tagging them to it. You can hear the echo of karmic balance in the snarl of guitars, the steady pulse of drums like a reckoning keeping time. These songs don’t moralize. They hit that edge between chaos and closure, where the payoff doesn’t need to be fair to feel good.
There’s something magnetic about the way rock handles this kind of tension. It’s louder, grimier, less graceful than the pop, rock, country, and R&B songs that try to reason with the universe. Here, it’s all in the crash of sound and the bitter grin that follows. These are tracks for when things snap into place, even if it’s not in your favor. Here are the best rock songs tied to karma and revenge.
Top 10 Karma and Revenge Rock Songs
1. 'You Oughta Know' by Alanis Morissette
2. 'Bad Blood' by Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar
3. 'Before He Cheats' by Carrie Underwood
4. 'One Way or Another' by Blondie
5. 'I Hate Everything About You' by Ugly Kid Joe
6. 'Since U Been Gone' by Kelly Clarkson
7. 'Dead Flowers' by The Rolling Stones
8. 'I Fought the Law' by The Clash
9. 'Welcome Home' by Coheed and Cambria
10. 'The Man Who Sold the World' by David Bowie
Hard Rock Songs That Deal with Revenge #11 to 20
11. 'You're So Vain' by Carly Simon
12. 'Sweet Revenge' by Motörhead
13. 'Screaming for Vengeance' by Judas Priest
14. 'Vengeance Is Mine' by Alice Cooper
15. 'Revenga' by System of a Down
16. 'Here Comes Revenge' by Metallica
17. 'Iron Man' by Black Sabbath
18. 'Strength of the World' by Avenged Sevenfold
19. 'Hey Joe' by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
20. 'Break Stuff' by Limp Bizkit
Classic Rock Songs About Karma and Its Consequences #21 to 30
21. 'You Got It' by Jeff Lynne
22. 'Rolling in the Deep' by Adele
23. 'Rocky Raccoon' by The Beatles
24. 'These Boots Are Made for Walkin'' by Nancy Sinatra
25. 'Bust Your Windows' by Jazmine Sullivan
26. 'I Shot the Sheriff' by Bob Marley and the Wailers
27. 'You Fucked Up' by Ween
28. 'Ty Cobb' by Soundgarden
29. 'Hit Me with Your Best Shot' by Pat Benatar
30. 'The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll' by Bob Dylan
Alternative Rock Songs About Payback and Justice #31 to 40
31. 'The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get' by Morrissey
32. 'The Curse of Millhaven' by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
33. 'Payback' by Slayer
34. 'I Don't Wanna Live Forever' by Zayn and Taylor Swift
35. 'Dirt' by Alice in Chains
36. 'Five Minutes Alone' by Pantera
37. 'The Unforgiven' by Metallica
38. 'My Life' by Billy Joel
39. 'Walk' by Pantera
40. 'Bad Girlfriend' by Theory of a Deadman
Grunge and Metal Songs That Capture Revenge Feelings #41 to 50
41. 'Where Is My Mind?' by Pixies
42. 'Black Hole Sun' by Soundgarden
43. 'The Chain' by Fleetwood Mac
44. 'Exile' by Taylor Swift featuring Bon Iver
45. 'Suck A Caribou's Ass' by Wesley Willis
46. 'I Know You're Cheating' by The Pretty Reckless
47. 'The Way I Am' by Eminem
48. 'Killing in the Name' by Rage Against the Machine
49. 'Goodbye Earl' by The Chicks
50. 'White Liar' by Miranda Lambert
© 2025 Carson McQueen
