The Greatest Metal Song Cup - Part II, Round 2, Matches 88-93

[Shmoolikipod]

Always thought Damage Inc. is overrated. FFF was decent enough.

WASP aren't particularly for me, but 80% of the reason why I'm okay with Return of the Sentinel are because of The Sentinel itself.

Wake Up Dead has awesome guitars. Shame that Mustaine sings like an ass but that's the price with Megadave. Chemical Warfare was actually good too.

These two Def Leppard songs weren't at all as good as the previous ones. Actually they were shit. Mr. Scary was cool.

Liked UFO, but Won't Get Fooled Again is pretty awesome.

Exodus.

Also, we have our first (?) --------- vote. Congrats @el diablo !

 

[Jer]

"We shocked the world!"

 

[LooseCannon]

Megadeth is too damaged by Metallica to continue. KK's Priest has the worst outing of any band yet, with only a solitary vote, being simply crushed by WASP. Slayer's wmd onslaught wasn't enough to stop them from waking up dead against Megadeth. Dokken splits the vote and wins, upsetting two of Def Leppard's heavy hitters. The Who outsmarts UFO, and Megadeth says last words over Exodus.

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Part 1, Round 12, Matches 67-72​

Play In Round​	​ Match 67​	Trios Match​	Match 67​	The Book of Souls Division​
Ratt - Lay It Down	vs.​	Tesla - Modern Day Cowboy​	vs.​	Lixx - Red Alert​
Popoff 500​	Nominators​	Popoff 500​	Nominators​	@DJ James​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Play In Round	Match 68​	Be Quick or Be Dead Division​
Epica - Sancta Terra	vs.​	Avantasia - The Seven Angels​
@Wogmidget	Nominators​	@Poto​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Play In Round	Match 69​	Be Quick or Be Dead Division​
Primordial - Heathen Tribes	vs.​	Ensiferum - Treacherous Gods​
@Perun	Nominators​	@Poto​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Play In Round	Match 70​	Be Quick or Be Dead Division​
Metallica - The Unforgiven	vs.​	Municipal Waste - Slime and Punishment​
Youtube 50	Nominators​	@DJ James​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Play In Round	Match 71​	The Book of Souls Division​
Devin Townsend Project - The Mighty Masturbator	vs.​	Symphony X - Through the Looking Glass​
@Shmoolikipod	Nominators​	@Shmoolikipod​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Play In Round	Match 72​	Andy Taylor Division​
Nevermore - Dreaming Neon Black	vs.​	Symphony X - Rediscovery, Pt II​
Popoff 500	Nominators​	@Stardust​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

 

[Shmoolikipod]

Play In Round	Match 71​	The Book of Souls Division​
Devin Townsend Project - The Mighty Masturbator	vs.​	Symphony X - Through the Looking Glass​
@Shmoolikipod	Nominators​	@Shmoolikipod​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Well that's just lovely!

 

[Mosh]

I don't mind some Ratt once in a while, although the vocalist is pretty difficult to stomach. Lay It Down has a decent riff and hook, but that's pretty much all the song does. After the third or fourth repeat of the chorus, I find myself losing interest pretty fast. Modern Day Cowboy is one of my favorite glam tracks. Awesome riffing and actual good vocals. Tesla is one of the underrated gems of the hair era. Definitely one of those bands that had the songwriting prowess and riffage of a great 70s hard rock band that got lumped in with the hair acts. Unlike bands that just fully embraced that image, I don't hear a whole lot of glitter in these Tesla tracks. They stayed pretty heavy throughout their career and the music/production isn't nearly as polished as a lot of their contemporaries. The guitar playing is flashy enough but also tasty enough. Great stuff! Hadn't heard Lixx before but wasn't that impressed. The riffing is decent but the vocals are really weak. Low in the mix and also just not a great voice in general. The gang vocals are hilarious, they sound about as bored singing it as I do listening to it! Tesla takes this one easily.

Not very familiar with Epica but I dug Sancta Terra quite a bit. Similar to Nightwish but a little less riffing and a little more anthemic cheesy choruses. As expected, the vocals are the main event but the little orchestral interludes are really cool as well. The male gang vocals at the end are hilarious. Will definitely be checking out more of this though. I've enjoyed the other Avantasia in this game and am happy to hear some more, 14 minutes though! Given that this is the start of The Metal Opera Part 2 I imagine The Seven Angels has more to offer if you are familiar with the plot/themes from the previous album, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit out of context. The different vocalists thing is fun although some of the vocalists are overdoing it big time (and sometimes go out of tune as a result). The lyrics are very goofy, but I suppose that's part of it. The main chorus has this "We Are the World but it's metal" thing going on. I dig the orchestral stuff in the middle. The epic choral section that follows is awesome. The keys bit that starts around 10:40 is cool as well, although the piano/vocal bit that precedes it doesn't really fit IMO.
Overall I have a pretty positive impression of this song and Avantasia in general and will definitely be checking out more. It's very melodic, very epic, and stays engaging throughout the entire runtime. My biggest criticism is that it's not the most coherent epic I've heard, particularly past the orchestral interlude. I understand that they're probably introducing/reintroducing themes that appear elsewhere on this album and the previous one, but out of context, it's a bit all over the place. I'm going to give it to The Seven Angels by a hair though just because it was more memorable and overall more interesting and melodic than Sancta Terra, which I also enjoyed.

 

[LooseCannon]

Well that's just lovely!

Look at is as a guarantee that one song is getting through.

 

[Saapanael]

KK's Priest has the worst outing of any band yet, with only a solitary vote, being simply crushed by WASP.

Why not stung by WASP?

 

[Mosh]

Heathen Tribes is great. Folky, epic, melodic, and relentlessly heavy. The call and response of vocals and guitars on top of the droning acoustic guitars and tribal drums create such a foreboding mood. The lyrical content isn't too verbose - it's simple but poetic and gets the point across. It's a nice change of pace after the previous round's songs that were about as subtle as a chainsaw. I love the slow burn of the song, keeps things moving and it builds to an epic as fuck climax. Treacherous Gods takes a slightly different approach by going full on epic right off the bat. Great riffing throughout this song and I love the in your face production particularly with the drums. The high melodicism and Maiden styled riffing mixed with extreme vocals is a great combination. It just all works together. Both of these songs are incredible and it's a very challenging choice. I'm giving it to Treacherous Gods mainly because I can't resist the great riffs and melodies that persist throughout the entire song. Heathen Tribes has a subtlety that I really appreciate though and either of these would be worthy of going far in this game. Honestly it's a shame that these two are pitted against each other when they are much more worthy than a lot of the other muck that has shown up so far.

Not a fan of The Unforgiven. I don't mind that Metallica decided to go commercial, they were clearly good at it and it worked out well for them but I just really don't like the songs from The Black Album. I find them to be really plodding and uninteresting and I think Hetfield's voice is annoying on tracks like The Unforgiven. I also think the production style on this track is just not great. The thin sounding guitars and reverb soaked leads just make it lose a lot of its grit. I imagine a lot of that is intentional, but it all results in a track that embodies everything I don't like about later Metallica. Slime and Punishment wins by default, but I will take humorous thrash metal with great riffing over plodding Metallica any day of the week.

So Deconstruction is a GOAT album. The winding nature of the songs, the way it builds up and the performances from Devin, his band, and the various guests make this one of the essential Metal albums of the 21st century. With that being said, the way it was constructed makes it really hard to take these songs out of context. For those who don't know, the entire album is made up of tiny song fragments that are stitched together in a stream-of-consciousness style. It rarely goes back to previous material, although there are various lyrical and musical references to other songs on not just this album but other Devin Townsend albums. It all coalesces on The Mighty Masturbator which is supposed to be a bit of a parody of the side long prog metal epics of bands like Dream Theater and, well, Symphony X. The album is really meant to be listened to as a whole and the dividers from song to song are really arbitrary as any given "song" could easily be 10 different tracks. As I imagine is the case with the Avantasia song, The Mighty Masturbator loses a lot of context when taken at face value and I imagine a lot of folks are going to hear this and have no idea what to make of it. It's abrasive and super all over the place. It's hard to pin point single spots of the song because there's so much going on, and I'm not even sure if it really qualifies as a song anyway, but I love Greg Puciato's cameo that happens around the 9 minute mark. Love the way it builds in intensity and manic energy. All I'm going to say is that the Deconstruction album is a masterpiece and really takes a lot of listens to sink in but is worth the attention. This game is really the wrong venue for it though. I would have nominated something like Planet of the Apes or Juular for a more accessible choice, or something from a different album altogether.

Through the Looking Glass is kind of the opposite, despite being the sort of thing that Devin is making fun of. Symphony X has plenty of epic tracks, but I feel that epics has never been their main focus. Most of their songs are usually pretty tightly written and filled with great riffs, melodies, and flow really well. This song is a pretty good example of that despite a longer runtime. Lots of great musical themes that reprise throughout the song and Russell's literary lyric and vocal performance comfortably guide us through the winding sections. Symphony X does a great job at adapting literary content for their songs and this is a great example. Not quoting the text verbatim in a rapping format but actually creating some cool melodies and interesting ways of illustrating the written material. The main theme that reprises throughout the track is great and I love all the different ways it is presented. The song doesn't meander too much but the sudden part changes don't feel too incoherent. Michael Romeo shreds as usual. Lots of great keys-focused parts that I find are sorely missing from Symphony X's recent material. They also really make you wait for the chorus which I think is awesome. If I had to level any criticisms, I think the song overstays its welcome by maybe a minute or so. The guitar/keys solo tradeoff that happens toward the end feels unnecessary and causes the song to meander when everything felt compact up to that point. It's a minor flaw in an otherwise close-to-perfect song though. It's a difficult choice because I love both songs and both artists, but it really has to be Symphony X. I expect this to be a bit of a blowout actually.

Nevermore is one of those groups I've always been aware of but never actually spent time with. I'm not sure what I was expecting with this song, but I thought Dreaming Neon Black was awful. The vocals were extremely grating, especially when he went into that Ripper-style slow vibrato whining tone. The second vocalist came out of nowhere and their voices did not blend at all. The song felt very monotonous without any memorable melodies or riffs. Just completely unremarkable at best and annoying at worst. Really can't see the appeal there.

Rediscovery Part II takes it almost by default. I'm noticing a trend in this round with epic songs from larger concept albums being nominated out of context and this is another one. Like Mighty Masturbator and the Avantasia track (I assume) this song has a lot of moving parts that feel pretty disconnected out of context. Part of the satisfaction I get from hearing Rediscovery is the payoff of hearing all the revisited themes and lyrical concepts that appeared earlier in the album. A great closer for an epic album listening experience. Unlike Through the Looking Glass which works as its own compact track, Rediscovery is clearly meant to be a wrap-up track for the rest of the album. It's awesome in context of the album but it's a song I hardly ever go out of my way for by itself. All that aside though, it has some fantastic riffing and some epic choruses. The ending is grandiose and so much fun. Nice integration of the orchestral sounds as well. You can hear glimpses of what they would do with The Odyssey. I would love to see Symphony X bust out the entire album some day but I'm sure it'll never happen.

 

[Shmoolikipod]

Look at is as a guarantee that one song is getting through.

It's less that and more that Through the Looking Glass got a spot on my list at the very last moment, and now it's totally going to slaughter a top 5 song... Damn SX and that gorgeous chorus! I should've stuck with Helloween's Kill It

 

[Night Prowler]

Lay It Down vs. Modern Day Cowboy vs. Red Alert - All 3 songs are awful. Went with Ratt as it was the catchiest. The last song in particular has awful production.

Sancta Terra vs. The Seven Angels - Don't like this Epica era and I like The Seven Angels even if it's a bit too long for its own good.

Heathen Tribes vs. Treacherous Gods - I did a double-check to see if I nominated these songs... Probably the best match in the game so far. Could really go either way. Asked ChatGPT for a random choice and it chose Heathen Tribes, so that one gets my vote.

The Unforgiven vs. Slime & Punishment - Easy vote for The Unforgiven as I can't stand Municipal Waste.

The Mighty Masturbator vs. Through The Looking Glass - I like Deconstruction, but this song goes way too far in randomness... Through The Looking Glass is awesome on the other hand. And it also comes from SX's best album.

And lastly: Dreaming Neon Black vs. Rediscovery - Shoot me but I can't get into V at all. I like Evolution (The Grand Design) but nothing else from the album works for me. Dreaming Neon Black is the only Nevermore album I like and this song is its crowning achievement. I might've written about this before, but this is a crazy coincidence:

The album's narrative is drawn from Warrel Dane's personal experience. Patricia Candace Walsh, one of Dane's former girlfriends, severed contact after joining a religious group, leaving Dane with haunting nightmares of her crying out as she drowned. Unbeknownst to Dane, Walsh and her husband, Douglas Zyskowski, were victims of serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades, murdered in January 1990 while hitchhiking to a religious workshop in Georgia. Rhoades confessed to these crimes in 2012, while the album was released in 1999. The female vocals on the title track are performed by Christine Rhoades.

What are the odds that the serial killer and the vocalist, portraying Dane's victim in the song, share the same last name?

 

[Diesel 11]

Shoot me but I can't get into V at all.

Sure thing.

 

[Mosh]

Banned Diesel for inciting violence.

 

[Stardust]

Hey, is this the first time one of my nominations has appeared in the game?

 

[MindRuler]

The weakest link in Ratt are the vocals but they have the strongest song here although Modern Day Cowboy has the better solo´s! Never heard of Lixx, it was pretty meh.

The Epica song was great but the Avantasia one is just huuuge!

Both bands in the next match aren´t exactly on my wishlist to checking out. Ensiferum was more enyoable to my ears.

Listening to Municipal Waste was a waste of time, so I dub thee Unforgiven.

Twice Symphony X not even a contest!

 

[Kalata]

The first matchup is a cool glam metal battle, but Tesla's vocalist wins it for me.
A long Avantasia song is always enjoyable and interesting, so it gets my vote.
The Unforgiven is one of the best metal ballads of all time.
Both Symphony X's songs are (at least) interesting with different parts, so I vote for them.

 

[LooseCannon]

Hey, is this the first time one of my nominations has appeared in the game?

Correct.

 

[Confeos]

I could do without either of the three songs in the first match. "Modern Day Cowboy" is the most mediocre, while "Lay It Down" at least has a decent riff, but Ratt kinda sounds exactly like every other glam band out there. I'm voting for Ratt for a marginally more interesting song.

You know why Nightwish became bigger than any other symphonic-female-fronted-metal-band? Tuomas Holopainen knows (knew?) how to write fucking good songs. Listening to Epica, there's really nothing wrong with "Sancta Terra", but I just don't find it memorable at all (and Simone Simons' voice isn't nearly as good or iconic as Tarja's). On the other hand, while I'm still not quite sold on Avantasia, "The Seven Angels" just feels more coherent, and there are some really good bits in there. Avantasia.

I like the overall vibe of "Heathen Tribes", but the song comes across as a bit of a mess, to be honest. The idea is good; the execution could be a lot better. I could still see myself checking out more of Primordial, though. In this match, "Treacherous Gods" just wins me over with its superior melodies and riffs. Ensiferum.

The Black Album is probably always gonna divide a few folks, but I think "The Unforgiven" is one of the best songs on it - the reversed quiet-verse-heavy-chorus has always worked for me, and Kirk even delivers a nice solo. In any case, it wins by default against "Slime and Punishment", which features the absolute worst vocals in the game so far (and King Diamond is in the game, so that's saying something). Metallica.

I don't care if whatever Devin Townsend is doing is supposed to be ironic or a parody, I could not stomach the entire 16 minutes of "The Mighty Masturbator". It's just too weird. "Through the Looking Glass" is not the best Symphony X song in this round, but there's absolutely no contest here. Symphony X.

I have a soft spot for Warrel Dane's vocals, and "Dreaming Neon Black" is one of Nevermore's strongest songs, so I would have been fully prepared to vote for it against a lot of other songs. But "Rediscovery, Part II" just grabs you right from the beginning - blistering good riffs, melodies and great performances all around. I would love to see Nevermore progress, but I just can't vote against Symphony X.

 

[JudasMyGuide]

I still don't feel well, so I'll be brief once again.


The first match is pretty meh all around, I guess Ratt are at the same time the most ridiculous and the catchiest, i. e. the least average.

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The Divine Conspiracy was my first acquaintance with Epica and I recall Sancta Terra being one of the highlights. I love how the pre-chorus clashes harmonically with the meat of the song (the main riff is B harmonic minor, isn't it?), it is one of the more memorable tracks in their early career and I would probably vote for it under other circumstances... but until this update, I honestly thought I nominated Avantasia's Seven Angels myself - I had it in my nominations and I scratched it relatively late before submission.

I'll just copy this from the Now Playing thread

I wonder not only what resident power-metal afficionados (@KidInTheDark666 ) think of this - it was, along with the first part, among my first power metal albums ever (mainly because it was recently released then.... fuck, I feel old), but I'm talking more about how Tobias thinks that the first two Avantasia albums are bad and not really expressing his true vision and about how I think that's bollocks and that he's being absolutely silly and mainly just self-conscious, because he knows he won't write a thing like this ever again... I mean, just recently on Reddit I saw it was enough for someone to just write the first line and everyone participated

WE ARE THE SEVEN
JUDGEMENT OF HEAVEN
WHY DON'T WE KNOW
WE ARE THE ANGELS
IT'S REVELATION

Eh, *coughs*, sorry, back to business.

I'm also interested in what the resident Steinman afficionados (well, I guess that's mainly just @Diesel 11 ), think of this, mainly the part from 8:55 onwards, which truly sounds like it came straight from Bat out of Hell.

P. S. - the singers are Tobias Sammet, Michael Kiske, Kai Hansen, Andre Matos, Timo Tolkki, David DeFeis, Rob Rock and Oliver Hartmann, which just makes me feel overwhelmed with nostalgia all over again.

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I kinda knew it must have been Perun who nominated a song from To the Nameless Dead (though I perhaps would have expected As the Rome Burns being the pick). That said, I also love Ensiferum. As far as I'm concerned, both bands should be here, since Primordial are the ones losing at the moment, I'll go with them.

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I kinda like Municipal Waste, but this is not even a fair contest. Overplayed as the Unforgiven might be, I probably like it even more nowadays than back in the day. The "heavy verse - soft chorus" is a cool touch, the melody is unforgettable. Also, "so I dub thee 'Unforgiven'" is a surprisingly highbrow turn of the phrase from James "brain-pain-insane/reason-season/Invisible kid, never see what he did, got stuck where he hid, fallen through the grid" Hetfield.

I mean, you should be more highbrow than a country song, shoudln't you?

"It's centrifugal motion
It's perpetual bliss
It's that pivotal moment
It's subliminal"

Anyway, Tullica.

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I like Symphony X, but Devin deserves more love. Seriously? NO VOTES?

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I can make it up to them in the last match. Symph X.

 

[Diesel 11]

@JudasMyGuide I’ll go into more detail later but the Steinman Aficionados of Forum Dot MaidenFans Dot Com enjoyed “The Seven Angels”. Although we have to say that it’s for other reasons than sounding like Steinman, which we did not really pick up on.