50 Best Rock Songs About Revenge

Iconic Rock Tracks That Channel Payback Energy

There’s a strange calm that hits before payback. The kind that hums under your skin when the smoke clears and you’re still standing, replaying every line, every look. Rock music has always known how to dig into that pulse. The riffs don’t soothe, they taunt. The vocals lean into grit. There’s something satisfying in the noise, the way guitars crash through the tension like a release no apology could give. Some tracks feel like a smirk in motion, some like someone finally saying what should’ve been said months ago.

Revenge in rock isn’t all sharp edges though. Sometimes it hides behind swagger or humor, that kind of grin that says everything without spelling it out. A few of these songs were never meant as payback anthems, but they carry the same spark anyway—the tone, the sting, the pushback. That overlap runs deep through pop, rock, country, and R&B songs, where attitude fills the cracks between pride and regret. It’s the sound of taking something personal and throwing it through an amp until it comes out stronger.

Not all of it burns clean. Some of it aches, some of it celebrates the mess, some of it feels like a joke told through clenched teeth. These tracks hold that volatile mix and let it spill instead of tying it up neatly. Here are the best rock songs for revenge that keep that fire alive long after the moment fades.

1. 'You Oughta Know' by Alanis Morissette

2. 'Screaming for Vengeance' by Judas Priest

3. 'These Boots Are Made for Walkin'' by Nancy Sinatra

4. 'Iron Man' by Black Sabbath

5. 'Since U Been Gone' by Kelly Clarkson

6. 'Your Time Is Gonna Come' by Led Zeppelin

7. 'Revenga' by System of a Down

8. 'Here Comes Revenge' by Metallica

9. 'Vengeance Is Mine' by Alice Cooper

10. 'Sweet Revenge' by Motörhead

11. 'You're So Vain' by Carly Simon

12. 'Strength of the World' by Avenged Sevenfold

13. 'Cryin'' by Aerosmith

14. 'Smile' by Lily Allen

15. 'I'll Get Even' by The Firm

16. 'Rocky Raccoon' by The Beatles

17. 'The Vengeful One' by Disturbed

18. 'One Way Or Another' by Blondie

19. 'Walk' by Pantera

20. 'Welcome Home' by Coheed and Cambria

21. 'Before He Cheats' by Carrie Underwood

22. 'Gives You Hell' by The All-American Rejects

23. 'I Will Survive' by Cake

24. 'Misery Business' by Paramore

25. 'A Boy Named Sue' by Johnny Cash

26. 'Cry Me a River' by Justin Timberlake

27. 'Goodbye Earl' by The Chicks

28. 'Truth' by Godsmack

29. 'Rollin' in the Deep' by Adele

30. 'Dead Flowers' by The Rolling Stones

31. 'Seventy Times 7' by Brand New

32. 'Take a Bow' by Muse

33. 'I Hope You're Happy Now' by Elvis Costello and The Attractions

34. 'The Ghost of You' by My Chemical Romance

35. 'Am I Evil?' by Diamond Head

36. 'Hey Joe' by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

37. 'Blood on the Ground' by Incubus

38. 'The Discipline of Revenge' by The Melvins

39. 'Out of the Black' by Royal Blood

40. 'I Hate Everything About You' by Ugly Kid Joe

41. 'Wake Up Call' by Maroon 5

42. 'Lie Buried with a Vengeance' by Mercyful Fate

43. 'Kiss This' by The Struts

44. 'You've Got Another Thing Comin'' by Judas Priest

45. 'A Dish Best Served Coldly' by Type O Negative

46. 'Bite It, You Scum' by GG Allin

47. 'My Name Is' by Shinedown

48. 'Payback' by Slayer

49. 'You F***ed Up' by Ween

50. 'I Will Kill You' by Cannibal Corpse