My vote is Axel Rudi Pell, he just kept doing what he wanted to and put out some smoking albums.

Yngwie

Yngwie Malmsteen or AC/DC

Hell, AC/DC have been ignoring trends since 1974

Axel like mentioned, and anything out of Germany really. Stuff like 'Land of the Free', 'Black Hand Inn', 'Black in Mind', all sitting right there in the 94-95 timeline, and those bands had releases a couple years before too. Man come to think of it I have tons of stuff I love from the 90's. It's so hilarious/irritating how when you read anything remotely mainstream they trumpet how some entire genre of music just simply didn't exist during that decade, and then when Guitar Hero came out, it suddenly started existing again, like it's in history books. There is more to the world than the US..

Me.

AC/DC was the first that comes to mind, but I'll post an original answer. How 'bout this guy...

adding names: Iced Earth, Stratovarius

Like OCI hinted at, probably most acts outside of the United States at that time didn't bother getting caught up in whatever was popular stateside. Lazy Americans are more prone to follow trends.

most death metal went on unaffected. Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, etc.

Amorphis

DIO

Good choices. I pick Pell because he kept making a style that was pretty derided in th 90's. AC/DC and Motorhead are what I call working man's rock and there always seems room at the table for it. Running Wild and Gama Ray are good choices.

I love grunge

Slayer anyone?

PANTERA

When Nirvana got huge Pantera made Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven.

AIC is metal in my book!

Mercyful Fate, Fates Warning (they did change their style, but the whole new progressive approach had nothing to do with grunge), Iron Maiden etc. etc.

Without going into the whole disertation on the whole "grunge killed metal" nonsense--I think most metalheads didn't care about grunge being around because it may have changed what MTV played or what record complanies pushed on the public, but metal has always been 'underground' and was always very much alive. (refer to mid-90's releases from fear factory, napalm death, gamma ray, multiple death metal bands, testament, iced earth, etc.)
I wouldn't say grunge had 'taken over' other than in the ways I stated above. Grunge had popularity but not quality (imo--I know this can be argued)-and metal remained. Look at what happened to metalcore (on a smaller scale. A few bands remain and some have incorporated more trad or thrash metal into their music). Another style will come along but metal will always remain. You can't destroy integrity.Even if you don't like metal, the truth is: the majority is played due to the love of the music alone.
Sorry if this post is out of place. Now back to work........

Id say Metalheads in general even then didnt give a flying foo fudge about MTV back in the day, I know I didnt and at that time I was more into Metal.

But I agree with Manny I'd say AC/DC

Biff. I don't think he knows to this day who Mudhoney was.

Hey, I like MUDHONEY.