The 14 Popes Named Leo, Ranked by Historical Impact (with Heavy Metal Subgenres)

On May 8, 2025, the College of Cardinals elected a brand-new pope—a son of Chicago with dual citizenship in Peru, a diploma from Villanova, and a knack for backroom diplomacy sharp enough to make Machiavelli blush. As in the black metal community, where new jobs demand new names, Robert Prevost cast off his civilian identity and reemerged as Pope Leo XIV. And in doing so, he stepped into one of the most storied, volatile, and occasionally unhinged dynasties in papal history: the Leos. This isn’t just a list of men who wore funny hats and swung incense; it’s a lineage of emperors, theologians, dealmakers, and chaos agents—some glorious, others barely worth a footnote. In honour of this new Leo’s arrival, we’re taking a blowtorch to history and ranking every Pope Leo from least to most impactful, assigning each a heavy metal subgenre and a signature album that best captures the vibe, volume, and venom of their reign. Because that’s how we do things around here.

14. Leo XI (r. April 1605 – April 1605) – Technical Death Metal

The Papal Flashbang
Reigned for 27 days, earning him the nickname “Papa Lampo” (Lightning Pope). Elected after the death of Clement VIII, Leo XI dropped dead before his vision even got through the first round of Vatican committee meetings. He was a Medici with plenty of connections, but zero legacy—unless you count his funeral arrangements. His body outlasted his papacy.
Metal subgenre: Technical Death Metal – Virtuosic, incomprehensible, and gone before you could mosh.
Signature platter: Everything Is Fire – Ulcerate.

13. Leo V (r. 903) – Noise Metal

The Phantom Pope
So little is known about Leo V that historians tend to treat him like a Vatican fever dream. He was imprisoned and likely murdered by a usurper — ironically named Christopher—who also wasn’t a legitimate pope. Leo V’s pontificate was swallowed by the pornocracy of the era, a time when Rome was run by bloodlines and bribes. He may not have made a single public statement.
Metal subgenre: Noise Metal – Chaotic, dissonant, almost unlistenable to the devout.
Signature platter: Feedbacker – Boris.

12. Leo VI (r. 928) – Post-Metal

The Forgotten Echo
Leo VI ruled for less than a year in a period of near-total ecclesiastical collapse. The papacy was a political pawn controlled by Roman aristocrats, and Leo VI functioned as little more than a placeholder. We know he died and was buried in St. Peter’s, but little else endures. His reign came and went like a Gregorian chant in the wind.
Metal subgenre: Post-Metal – Ambient, atmospheric, hauntingly absent.
Signature platter: Through Silver in Blood – Neurosis.

11. Leo VII (r. 936–939) – Symphonic Metal

The Papal Collaborator
Leo VII was elevated under the influence of Alberic II of Spoleto, the real power in Rome at the time. While Leo made minor reforms and brokered peace between quarrelling factions, his papacy was effectively neutered by external control. He appointed reformist bishops like Frederick of Mainz, which earned him minor applause in clerical circles. But in the grand scope, he was background music in someone else’s opera.
Metal subgenre: Symphonic Metal – Grand gestures, no real edge.
Signature platter: The Silent Force – Within Temptation.

10. Leo VIII (r. 963–965) – Industrial Metal

The Antipope-Turned-Pope (Maybe)
Initially installed as a puppet by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, Leo VIII’s legitimacy was fiercely debated. He reigned during a chaotic power struggle between emperors and popes, at one point being declared both an antipope and the true pope depending on who was holding the sword. His policies were forgettable, but his very existence shook the authority of the papacy. He died quietly, a ghost in the machine he once served.
Metal subgenre: Industrial Metal – Mechanised, disputed, forged in empire.
Signature platter: Psalm 69 – Ministry.

9. Leo XIV (r. 2025–present) – Groove Metal

The New Blood
Hailing from Chicago and having spent years serving in Peru, Leo XIV is the first American pope, bringing global perspective and progressive energy to the throne of St. Peter. Early signs point to a leader who values peace, social justice, and economic inclusivity. But his reign is just beginning—he could be a reformer, a unifier, or a soft-spoken lion in a fractured church. For now, he brings weight and rhythm to a curia in flux. He appears here not for what he’s done yet, but because he now wears the mitre in a world teetering on war, economic collapse, and cultural fracture—with a church riddled by scandal and clinging to relevance like a drowning man to dogma. Whatever he does—or doesn’t do—will send shockwaves.
Metal subgenre: Groove Metal – Accessible, powerful, and ready to move the masses.
Signature platter: Vulgar Display of Power – Pantera.

8. Leo X (r. 1513–1521) – Glam Metal

The Medici Showman
A patron of the arts and a party-hardened Medici, Leo X lived like the Renaissance was his personal afterparty. He helped fund Raphael, expanded the Vatican Library, and threw festivals that made Burning Man look like a bake sale. But he also greenlit the sale of indulgences, excommunicated Martin Luther, and inadvertently detonated the Protestant Reformation. Beautiful, decadent, and wildly reckless.
Metal subgenre: Glam Metal – All flash, gold, and bad decisions.
Signature platter: Look What the Cat Dragged In – Poison.

7. Leo XII (r. 1823–1829) – Black Metal

The Gothic Inquisitor
A reactionary’s reactionary, Leo XII railed against modernity with the enthusiasm of a man baptised in vinegar. He cracked down on Jews, Protestants, and Enlightenment ideas, and shut down Rome’s theatres for being too worldly. Some appreciated his “moral renewal” campaign, but most saw it as a regression to medieval paranoia. He died painfully of stomach cancer—one final curse from a God he preached with fire and brimstone.
Metal subgenre: Black Metal – Bleak, aggressive, anti-modern.
Signature platter: A Blaze in the Northern Sky – Darkthrone.

6. Leo II (r. 682–683) – Folk Metal

The Harmoniser
Leo II reigned only 10 months but made surprisingly deft moves in smoothing over the theological fallout from the Third Council of Constantinople. Fluent in Greek and known for his musicality, Leo clarified contentious Christological statements and healed East-West rifts, if only briefly. He also tried to clean up corruption in the Roman clergy. He died suddenly, possibly poisoned, a soft voice silenced too soon.
Metal subgenre: Folk Metal – Melodic diplomacy with ancient overtones.
Signature platter: Slania – Eluveitie.

5. Leo IV (r. 847–855) – Doom Metal

The Wall Builder
When Saracen raiders torched parts of Rome, Leo IV didn’t wring his hands—he grabbed bricks. He built the Leonine Wall, fortified the Vatican, and essentially redrew the city’s holy boundaries. Stern but steady, he focused on resilience and restoration, strengthening both the Church’s defenses and its global prestige. He died with his work largely complete and the city more secure than when he found it.
Metal subgenre: Doom Metal – Heavy, unhurried, and built to last.
Signature platter: Epicus Doomicus Metallicus – Candlemass.

4. Leo IX (r. 1049–1054) – Thrash Metal

The Holy Hammer
Leo IX stormed into power and immediately launched a war on clerical corruption and simony. He was the face of the Church reform movement, traveling across Europe and enforcing discipline like a divine enforcer with a bishop’s staff. Unfortunately, he also laid the groundwork for the East-West Schism, which officially ruptured Christianity. He died shortly after the split, leaving behind a Church both stronger and more divided.
Metal subgenre: Thrash Metal – Fierce, reforming, and historically volatile.
Signature platter: Rust in Peace – Megadeth.

3. Leo III (r. 795–816) – Power Metal

The Emperor Maker
Leo III barely survived an assassination attempt but bounced back with imperial flair. On Christmas Day, 800 AD, he crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor, fusing Church and state in a holy spectacle that changed Europe forever. Critics say he was a pawn of Frankish power, but Leo III knew how to survive—and how to seize a mythic moment. He died in peace, having orchestrated one of the boldest political plays in papal history.
Metal subgenre: Power Metal – Majestic, dramatic, laced with mythic fire.
Signature platter: Glory to the Brave – HammerFall.

2. Leo XIII (r. 1878–1903) – Progressive Metal

The Papal Philosopher-King
Leo XIII lived well into his 90s and ruled for 25 years, crafting the modern intellectual backbone of Catholic social teaching. Rerum Novarum addressed workers' rights, capitalism, socialism, and Church responsibility in a fast-industrialising world. He engaged science, philosophy, and secular thought with unflappable courage, all while keeping the Church relevant. Leo XIII was the rare pope who managed to preach from the past while seeing into the future.
Metal subgenre: Progressive Metal – Visionary, complex, and intellectually towering.
Signature platter: Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory – Dream Theater.

1. Leo I “The Great” (r. 440–461) – Death Metal

The Original Theological Destroyer
Leo I didn’t just rule—he defined the office. He stared down Attila the Hun, shamed the Vandals, and hammered out the Tome of Leo, which became foundational at the Council of Chalcedon. He invented papal authority in the face of collapsing Roman civilisation. He died in his bed as the most powerful pope the Church had ever known—and perhaps still has.
Metal subgenre: Death Metal – Uncompromising, foundational, and devastating in doctrine.
Signature platter: Altars of Madness – Morbid Angel.

FINAL BENEDICTION:
The Popes Leo were not all created equal. Some built walls, some lit fires, some were glorified footnotes with names that barely echo through the nave. But together, they form the ultimate Metal Church Festival—14 stages of papal chaos, sanctity, and distortion. And in this holy inferno, history shreds.