Throughout the years, we've seen plenty of music-inspired sneaker collabs that have released. While hip-hop and rap artists, like Travis Scott and Kanye West, are typically the genres primarily associated with sneaker collabs, there have also been a handful of memorable sneaker collabs inspired by punk, rock, and metal.
Ahead of the Grammy Awards this weekend, we put together a list of the 10 best punk, rock, and metal-inspired sneakers throughout the years. The list includes a good mixture of recent and classic styles, including the Korn x Adidas Campus from 2023 and Grateful Dead x Oregon x Nike Air Max 90, to the sought-after Deftones x Nike Dunk High from 2003.
It’s also worth mentioning we’ve limited this list to sneakers that released at retail, were sampled for production, or at least distributed to friends and family of the bands. That means one-of-one PE pairs or other extremely limited versions, like the black, white, and yellow Air Jordan 1 High that was made for Shinedown’s guitarist Zach Myers in 2018 or Eric Clapton’s custom Nike Air Presto were left off. Without further ado, here’s our list of the 10 best rock and metal sneaker collabs of all time, and be sure to vote for your favorite in the poll below.
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10.Grateful Dead x Oregon x Nike Air Max 90
Year: 2025
The Grateful Dead is the only band that has more than one sneaker collaboration on this list, and deservedly so. Its trio of Nike SB Dunks from 2020 is the more hyped project between the collaborators, but their most recent Air Max 90 collab with Oregon is easily the better sneaker of the group. This pair references the band’s historic shows at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, OR, during the ‘90s, and captures that era with tie-dye and chenille details. —Victor Deng
9.Korn x Adidas Campus 00s
Year: 2023
Using the Adidas Campus for KoRn’s Adidas collaboration felt like a no-brainer. The Korn x adidas Campus 00s perfectly captures the style and nostalgia of the nu-metal era, which carried influence across skate, style, and street culture. These are also spaces the Campus silhouette has long been tied to. The execution on the collab is simple, but the details add the right amount of nostalgia. Co-branded hits on the tongue and a muted black colorway give the shoe a vintage feel, and the special edition pairs included a guitar pick. It’s not a loud or overdesigned sneaker, but it’s a release that resonates with both sneakerheads and rock fans— a reminder of how good it feels when two worlds collide, and an easy choice for one of the best rock and metal sneaker collabs. —Douglas Jase
8.Bad Brains x Supreme x Vans Sk8-Hi
Year: 2009
Even without knowing much about the punk rock band Bad Brains, its Vans Sk8-Hi collab with Supreme from 2009 was a solid sneaker project. The collab featured three colorways that were each inspired by the band’s self-titled first album from 1982, which donned hues from the cover. In addition to the embroidered details on the side panels and heel of the satin and suede upper, Bad Brains’ signature lightning bolt logo is also featured on the tongue. —Victor Deng
7.Liam Gallagher x Adidas LG SPZL
Year: 2019
Oasis and Adidas—they just go together, like fish and chips, pie and mash, or lager and football. Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher reunited last year and they got their own Adidas collection out of it. But my personal favorite Oasis x Adidas sneaker comes before that. It’s the 2019 collaboration with frontman Liam Gallagher on the LG1. There’s an LG2 now too, which broke records for the Confimed app, but the LG1 is so cool to me. It’s a flat-soled Adidas trainer, all white with a milky sole, and Liam’s face on the tongue. They were made for his “Why Me? Why Not?” album and are a mix of the Padiham trainer from the SPZL line. There’s a deeper thread of the LG2 and its inspiration, but these are just great with gold writing on the side of the buttery suede upper. I wore these in Malaysia and will never forget it. —Matt Welty
6.Head Automatica x Nike Air Force 1 High
Year: Unreleased
As someone who isn’t big into rock music, the “Head Automatica” Air Force 1s are awesome. The sneaker was produced in the mid-2000s and was only distributed amongst the friends and family of the rock band. Rumored to be limited to less than 50 pairs, the “Head Automatica” Air Force 1 sports a simple brown and white upper, paired with a pink-colored tongue and black Swoosh on the sides. The band’s name is also written in its signature font on the ankle straps. —Victor Deng
5.Grateful Dead x Nike SB Dunk Low
Year: 2020
Personally I’d rather have the Grateful Dead Air Max 90s over the SB Dunks. But the SB Dunks were way bigger of a deal, so they make it here. The Grateful Dead is actually a really good band and their music isn’t as weird as people make it out to be, so give it a listen. With that said, sadly, most people in today’s generation know the seminal ‘60s band more from their merch and bears logo than the music. Nike made three different SB Dunks to resemble the caricatures: one yellow, one blue, one orange. Orange is the coolest and the rarest—not just because it’s rare though, but because it was only available through FTC, a skate shop that’s a cornerstone of Bay Area skateboarding. I really don’t like furry sneakers, though, so yeah, these aren’t for me on that accord. But everything else is great. —Matt Welty
4.Dinosaur Jr. x Nike SB Dunk High
Year: 2007
The Dinosaur Jr. x Nike SB Dunk High is a notable sneaker even without knowing the story of the band or its music, because—just look at this thing. It’s a completely silver high top with purple trim, so attention came with or without an understanding of its theme. J Mascis, the band’s founding member, guitarist, vocalist, and figurehead, designed the sneaker with inspiration coming from the giant boots worn by 1970s glam rockers. In addition to the flashy colorway, it features the band’s logo on the left medial side, and mascot on the right. The sneaker released in the “Black Box” era of SB, which was still in the heyday of the Nike sub-label’s original run, where it was an instant hit—despite many fans never actually hearing the influential alternative rock band’s music. —Zac Dubasik
3.Melvins x Nike SB Dunk High
Year: 2005
When the Melvins x Nike SB Dunk Highs dropped in 2005, the band hadn’t released an album in three years, and was arguably a decade past the peak of its popularity. But this is Nike SB we’re talking about, and the band’s alterna-metal-meets-proto-grunge sound was long popular amongst skaters and widely credited as an influence by bands across multiple genres. So, rather than feeling like a project that came too late, it felt more like the skate community finally giving flowers to the soundtrack of many of its videos in the decade that preceded the collab. As for the sneakers, the designs align with the band’s sludgy sound and aesthetics, and featured the Chinese symbol for “blood,” according to Nike. The project could have been a fitting tribute to an important chapter in music history, but the Melvins had other ideas. That was hardly the end—the Melvins have kept on touring and recording all this time, most recently dropping their 28th studio album in 2025. Regardless of where in their long career this project came, it’s undoubtedly one of the best rock or metal sneaker collabs of all time. —Zac Dubasik
2.Iron Maiden x Nike SB Dunk High
Year: Unreleased
What’s one good way for a band to have a long and successful career? Don’t break up. Iron Maiden has been at it, recording and touring, for over 50 years. The heavy metal pioneers are not only one of the most musically influential bands in the history of the genre, their imagery also helped set the tone for decades of stage shows and merch to come. Nike SB honored the legends in a rare way on this Dunk High SB, allowing the iconic Swoosh logo to be transparent, displaying the band’s mascot, Eddie, from behind. The sneaker never hit production, and remains a sample for friends and family, but that hasn’t kept it from being one of the most sought-after rock and metal sneaker collabs of all time. —Zac Dubasik
1.Deftones x Nike Dunk High
Year: Unreleased
Any time you have a conversation about the best metal-inspired sneakers ever, the Deftones x Nike Dunk High will certainly come up in the discussion. The sneaker was produced in 2003 to celebrate the release of the rock band’s self-titled fourth album, which dropped in May that year. Only around 40 pairs are said to have been made and given out to friends and family of the band, which is why they’ve been listed for upwards of $44,000 on the resale market. The sneaker itself sports a pretty traditional two-tone color scheme, with a green and black upper, while “Deftones” is stamped on the heel counters. To this day, this is still one of the most sought-after sneaker collabs ever, and not only by sneakerheads who are actually fans of the band. —Victor Deng