The Greatest Metal Song Cup - Part II, Round 2, Matches 100-105

[Jer]

"Mandatory Suicide" has some pretty good sinister riffage, and the vocals are more melodic than I'm used to from Slayer. The solo sucks as expected, and the songwriting isn't very interesting in general, though the spoken word part with atmospheric guitar was a nice curve ball. "Domination" has more pep, and again the vocals are more melodic than I'm used to from Pantera, though they often miss the note, and the chorus isn't very good. The first melodic interlude is pretty cool (holy shit, did Megadeth steal this part for the opening of "Ashes In Your Mouth"...?!), though the more rhythmic one that follows is less so. Both songs are a bit better than I would normally expect from these bands, though I'm not really fond of either one. In the end I guess I'm leaning a little more toward the Slayer track. Winner: Slayer - "Mandatory Suicide"

"Blood Of The Kings" is over the top in a mostly good but incredibly cheesy way, though I'm not keen on the half-sung vocals in the verses. The melodies are pretty memorable, and while the first part of the solo isn't so hot, the rest of it is quite good. The ridiculously exaggerated, never-ending outro is also ironically cool. The production isn't very good, though. Then we have "Gardens Of The Sinner", which to me is a quintessential Gamma Ray track. Like a good roller coaster it takes a little while to get up to speed, but then goes through some amazing contortions to give you a great ride. The verses build momentum, the chorus is glorious, the solos are stellar, and the spoken word section in the middle blows up into a great stately instrumental that further explodes into an excellent solo and then an even more amazing version of the chorus. No contest here, even taking own-nominee bias into account. Winner: Gamma Ray - "Gardens Of The Sinner"

"When All Is Said" starts off pleasantly doomy, then Mr. Laryngitis shows up on vocals. He's toward the less annoying end of the extreme vocal spectrum, thankfully. The backing music is generally pretty good, if a bit samey. I do like the middle section where the more driving rhythm comes in for a bit, but I'm not sure this song earns its longer runtime. "Suffer The Children" has lively riffage, but unfortunate Cookie Monster vocals, and it devolves into pointless pot banging in the middle. There are some pieces of an interesting song hiding in here, but that's about it. Not a fan of either track, but I'll throw @Magnus a bone here. Winner: Edge Of Sanity - "When All Is Said"

"Fear Of A Blank Planet" has a cool vibe and some neat rhythmic interplay going on, and it builds up nicely in intensity to a memorable chorus. The multi-part instrumental that fills out the back half of the song is great, too. This is the kind of non-masturbatory prog that really connects with me. "2112" is often lauded as a top-tier Rush song, but I've never been a huge fan of it. The overture and "Temples Of Syrinx" parts are indeed excellent, but the remaining two thirds of the track are much more uneven to me, and some of Lee's later vocals are pretty grating. As big of a Rush fan as I am, I still think this is a pretty clear win for @Mosh's nominee. Winner: Porcupine Tree - "Fear Of A Blank Planet"

"Ne Možeš Imati Sve" has some really excellent and unusual thrash riffage along with good vocal melodies and a strong singer. I don't have a clue what they're saying, but this track was a very pleasant surprise. "Hammerhead" is solid traditional thrash, nothing more and nothing less. It's got some cool riffage in the middle and a nice solo. The vocals aren't great, but aren't bad. The chorus is a bit lame, though. Sorry @DJ James, but this is an easy call for @Night Prowler's nominee. Winner: Quasarborn - "Ne Možeš Imati Sve"

"Silurian: Age of Sea Scorpions" has nice atmosphere and more melodic vocals than I expected. There's a queasy progressiveness to the song that I like, though the nonmelodic screaming keeps chewing at the edges of the soundscape like a threat until it finally breaks in and temporarily takes over, which is unfortunate. I do like the tasteful use of cello here, though. "Learning To Live" is peak early Dream Theater, with a little bit of everything that defined their initial sound -- warm vocals from LaBrie, ringing arpeggios, twee synths, overly complicated song structure, Rush worship in the guitar playing, etc.; but I say that with affection. Images And Words is one of the few Dream Theater albums I actually return to on a semi-regular basis, and this song is one of the reasons why. I like it all, but the whole stretch from the solo electric piano bit to the end of the song is especially memorable to me. Sorry, @Night Prowler, but I've got to give this one to @KidInTheDark666's nominee. Winner: Dream Theater - "Learning To Live"

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Dan Swano does both vocal styles there. He also has a hard/prog rock band called Nightingale where he only does clean vocals. Some cool songs:

Didn't know that was Dan Swano! I've listened to Nightingale and it's quite good.

 

[Diesel 11]

Hell Is Where The Heart Is

Am I missing something here? The poll says the Edge of Sanity song is “When All Is Said”.

 

[Night Prowler]

YouTube link is the correct one, Spotify leads to a different song.

 

[LooseCannon]

Am I missing something here? The poll says the Edge of Sanity song is “When All Is Said”.

This has been fixed

 

[KidInTheDark666]

It's another great round.

Domination is a strong Pantera song, but Mandatory Suicide is up there with Slayer's best, so it wins easily.

I haven't listened to a lot of Manowar, but Blood of the Kings kicked some serious ass. Probably my favorite new song so far in the game. It's a shame that it had to face Garden of the Sinners though...

The third pairing is a very difficult one. Both songs are pretty decent while a bit out of my wheelhouse. I think I'm voting for Suffer the Children since it seems to be the underdog here.

Despite several tries over the years, I've been unable to get fully into 2112. I probably liked it a bit more this time around, but I still have issues with it, especially with Geddy's vocals. Fear of a Blank Planet was another new song to me, and what a breath of fresh air it was! Such a cool atmospheric tune that doesn't overstay its welcome, unlike its opponent.

Overkill are one of my favorite thrashers outside the big 4, and Hammerhead is probably the strongest song on their classic debut album. Ne Mozes Imati Sve is a surprisingly catchy and all-around great song. This is one of the more difficult votes so far, and with a heavy heart, I vote for Hammerhead. Still, Quasarborn definitely deserves some further listening from me after this.

Silurian: Age of Sea Scorpions is a solid prog piece, but just inferior to Learning to Live on every level. I would like to imagine that people find it one of my better nominations.

 

[The Sentient]

If I had to guess, very little of that stuff will be hard rock. Going by the GMAC, the hard rock albums were almost never successful at going deep. We're primarily metal fans here. There's definitely one or two members for whom Iron Maiden is their "heaviest" band, but most go pretty wide. The group stage ought to do for it.

That said, there is a *lot* of hard rock in the prelim rounds, moreso than any other genre. This is primarily due to the Popoff 500 list, of which maybe 200 songs were hard rock.

You’re defining me certainly there. There were a few heavier bands than Maiden on my list but most were more rock than metal. This competition (which seems like it will be amazing) will give us a good guide of the musical demographic of the forum, and I suspect that later on it will be the more heavy but mainstream metal which comes out on top (sorry - don’t know it’s niche genre name).

Ive thrown a few in which will raise a few eyebrows for their inclusion in a ‘metal’ competition, but it’ll be good to see the views of Maiden fans on those , even if they get ripped to shreds.

 

[DJMayes]

Match 13 - Pantera - Domination

This could've been literally any Slayer song I've ever heard and Pantera would've won. I will be the first to say I simply don't understand the love for them (or, indeed, most thrash metal).

Match 14 - Gamma Ray - Gardens of the Sinner

I didn't mind either song. I went with Gamma Ray because the vocals felt much clearer to me than in the Manowar song.

Match 15 - Napalm Death - Suffer the Children

I didn't like either song, but I especially don't have the patience for whatever the other song was doing. Lesser of two evils here.

Match 16 - Rush - 2112

Pleasantly surprised by Porcupine Tree; I'd not listened to them before and this was a pretty enjoyable song! 2112 is a hard matchup though, that song is fantastic.

Match 17 - Quazarborn - Ne Mozes Imati Sve

Pleasantly surprised by the chorus in this one. I probably won't revisit it but enjoyed it more than most thrash I've listened to before.

Match 18 - Dream Theater - Learning To Live

I quite liked the other song but I'm a big DT fan.

 

[Confeos]

"Mandatory Suicide" is not top-tier Slayer, but it's up against Pantera and the ever-annoying Phil Anselmo, so it's tough. I like the solo in "Domination", but I'd still rather listen to "Mandatory Suicide" again, so Slayer it is.

The second round is very close too. I love both bands, probably Gamma Ray a bit more, but I've always felt the chorus in "Gardens of the Sinner" was a bit underwhelming. "Blood of the Kings" is just gloriously epic and cheesy. Yeah, I'm voting for Manowar here - sue me.

Edge of Sanity is completely new to me. The vocals could be better, but "When All is Said" certainly has a nice, haunting feel to it that I really dig. "Suffer the Children" is just stock, uninspired death metal. Easy win for Edge of Sanity.

I've tried getting into to Porcupine Tree a few times, but so far it's not been a success. "Fear of a Blank Planet" ends up being another failed attempt. I have the same issue that I have with Opeth - I can listen to their songs, acknowledge that they're talented musicians and songwriters, and still be incredibly bored all the way through. Maybe it's just their brand of prog that does nothing for me, because on the other hand I'm blown away by Rush time and again. Sure, it's not really metal, but I'd dare say the "Overture"-part of "2112" alone is better than the entirety of "Fear of a Blank Planet". TLDR: I'm voting for Rush.

Quasarborn surprised me in a good way. I couldn't help feeling a bit lost not understanding what the lyrics are about, but the music alone was good enough anyway that I'll happily vote for them over Overkill - "Hammerhead" is a plain, run-of-the-mill thrash song without anything special going for it. Quasarborn.

...and @LooseCannon, sorry man, but I didn't nominate The Ocean. I have been meaning to check them out for some time, though - on paper they'd definitely seem like a band I would listen to. I guess I enjoyed this track, but it did feel a bit pretentious to me, so I wasn't blown away - might look at some of their other stuff later. "Learning to Live" is neither Dream Theater's best song, nor even the best song from Images, but it's still the superior tune here. Dream Theater.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Am I missing something here? The poll says the Edge of Sanity song is “When All Is Said”.

YouTube link is the correct one, Spotify leads to a different song.

This has been fixed

Whoops! Spotify has now been updated, too.

Regardless, I'm sure I'll like this song better than Napalm Death

 

[MindRuler]

Never been a huge Slayer fan but South Of Heaven was one of the albums I enjoyed the most. The Pantera song is not really my thing although the Annihilatorish part at the end sounds cool. Slayer ...but it was close.

I don´t care for either ManOwaR or Gamma Ray.
The first song isn´t one of their best and the chorus of this Gamma Ray song is abit silly. Also I can´t stand Kai´s vocals. Gamma Ray

Edge Of Sanity or Napalm Death? Do I really have to choose? Edge Of Sanity for being abit bearable than the other one. And for the doomy atmosphere but it´s like choosing between dry bread and a moulded biscuit here.

I´m quite a big Rush fanatic but mostly their 80´s period. 2112 is a great song but only the first parts and last parts. The middle section is quite forgettable. I once had Lightbulb Sun from Porcupine Tree and that was...ok. But this song! Waw! It´s like a revelation and it´s weird I didn´t listen to this masterpiece of a song earlier. Porcupine Tree!

Overkill is ok but I have a strong "Heard this done better by other bands" feeling and it doesn´t go away. Never heard of Quasarborn but I dig it alot! Surprised there are clean vocals which is always an extra star in my book.

The Ocean should be my thing but isn´t.
Learning To Live is an excellent song of an excellent album. No contest here: Dream Theater!

 

[LooseCannon]

...and @LooseCannon, sorry man, but I didn't nominate The Ocean.

goddamnit, I fixed it

 

[srfc]

Slayer - Mandatory Suicide vs. Pantera - Domination
Domination is a good Pantera track, the second best off that album but not better than Mandatory Suicide

Manowar - Blood of the Kings vs. Gamma Ray - Gardens of the Sinner
I've about 4 or 5 Manowar albums, I think the first album and this one are about all you need, and even then you can't take them too seriously, certainly not as seriously as they take themselves This track isn't anywhere near their worst but it certainly wouldn't be a track that should be representing them in such a prestigious contest! This Gamma Ray track isn't as good as either of their two that featured already, it's a bit more power metal by numbers, especially the chorus which has the same melody as pretty much every power metal chorus. I like the change for the solo but the gear change chorus at the end removed any doubt as to whether I was going to vote for Manowar or not Blood of the Kings

Edge of Sanity - When All is Said vs. Napalm Death - Suffer the Children
I know neither track in this round and never even heard of Edge of Sanity. Verse sections are alright bar the vocals, but melodic section is good, it's not that far removed over all from what I might listen to, i.e. I can see a path leading from Vol. 4 to this, but the vocals are the dealbreaker. Was hoping for a 2 second song from Napalm Death Song is actually much more thrashy than I was expecting, vocals the killer again for me, if Tom Araya was singing this I might check out more, blast beat part is a bit shit but the section in between that sounds like the end of Postmortem is great. The end kind of trails off though. Hard to know who to vote with on this one, When All is Said more solid but Suffer the Children had more good parts (and more shit parts) Suffer the Children

Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet vs. Rush - 2112
Never listened to Porcupine Tree outside of the GMAC, this track is better than I remember from that game. I like the fact that main body of this is a catchy track which makes the prog sections more enjoyable over all. Saying that, it has no hope against 2112, although I feel like being controversial for controversial's sake and say that Overture and Temples of Syrinx are all the song really needs, and the lyrics are Ayn Rand guff. 2112

Quasarborn - Ne Mozes Imati Sve vs. Overkill - Hammerhead
Quasarborn is reminiscent of later Exodus i.e. modern production on more old school riffs, with a more traditional metal vocalist and some H style guitar melody in the chorus. This is real good. I like Overkill but only have a couple of albums, and not this one, the main riff is reminiscent of the contemporary Anthrax's Aftershock, not sure which came first, also the lyrics have been done a thousand times before too i.e Whiplash, Bonded by Blood etc. Going with Quasarborn because Overkill have better than this track (although my review seems harsher than it should, it's a good track) Ne Mozes Imati Sve

The Ocean - Silurian: Age of Sea Scorpions vs. Dream Theater - Learning to Live
The Ocean is ok a bit over produced for my tastes, I don't really have anything to gripe about with it nor is there anything that grips me either. The shouty vocal was short enough that it wasn't a deal breaker and it provided the necessary contrast (i.e. if you shout everything then you shout nothing), the breakdown section after it is good too. I'm going to refer to the next band as DT throughout this game as it was winding people up in the last game when I spelled their name correctly, and I don't want to wind people up, nor do I want to purposely spell a word wrong*. I actually have this album and a couple of others but never got into them bar listening to the one with Pull Me Under a few times, this is actually decent enough, the guitar has great tone and riffs, the keys are terrible though. Overall it could do with being a bit more human sounding, if you compare the outro to this to say Hell on Earth or The Thin Line that's what I mean by more human sounding. Learning to Live

*Edit, I realise the name is spelled incorrectly in the bold paragraph heading but I copied and pasted that!

 

[srfc]

although I feel like being controversial for controversial's sake and say that Overture and Temples of Syrinx are all the song really needs

I thought I was being controversial but after reading the other replies it seems that @Jer and @MindRuler are on the same page

 

[Diesel 11]

These past two rounds have been super enjoyable listens. Not every song is a winner, but the highlights definitely knock it out of the park!

"Mandatory Suicide" is a solid Slayer song that doesn't really go anywhere. "Domination" isn't the best Pantera song, but the riffs are great and that whole back end with the spiky guitar solo is super cool, so Pantera it is.

Manowar vs Gamma Ray was a surprisingly close matchup, because both of these songs have solid moments while also not being my cup of tea. "Blood of the Kings" has its charms, the vocals are pretty bad, the outro is like half the song; "Garden of the Sinner" has its charms, it's pretty stock power metal with a cool interlude... I guess Gamma Ray's is stronger, but I could honestly go either way. I just don't really care about these two.

Now we're finally getting somewhere! I've heard that Edgy of Sanity's Crimson is a classic extreme metal record, but I never actually listened to them till today. As a fan of extreme doom this was fucking awesome. The vocals are great, the slow riffs are fantastic, there's a slight progressive lean that's cool, fantastic from start to finish. I'm a little sad for Napalm Death, too, because "Suffer the Children" is the best song I've heard from them so far, but this is really no contest. Edge of Sanity, easy. For those in the know ( @Magnus @Night Prowler ): Do they always have this sound, or do they usually go more towards typical death metal?

Now for the toughest match-up thus far - "2112" vs "Fear of a Blank Planet". Ughhhhhh... I was super impressed with this Porcupine Tree song. It seemed to start off on shaky grounds (very Opeth-y intro innit), but once it found its step it was just fantastic. And the lengthy instrumental could've gone on forever and I wouldn't have cared. But then, Rush's 20 minute masterwork. Okay. My only real criticism of this song is the moments of silence between sections. Otherwise it's pretty much perfect. This is one of those songs where I just completely lose myself in given the right mood, and today I was in the right fucking mood. The rhythms, the story, Geddy's voice even, it's all just masterfully crafted to near perfection. This, to me, is the positive way to interpret Rand, to celebrate your artistic individualism (and thank god they removed that corny ass macho ending to Anthem, it sucks). I'm gonna vote Porcupine Tree because I think Rush will win this match, but I really could've gone for either, this was a heavy vote.

And now for two songs I really don't care about. On the one hand, Serbian anime thrash. It's too happy sounding for me. On the other hand, old school stereotype thrash. I guess Overkill is more up my alley, but honestly these two should both be eliminated by the stronger songs in the other match ups.

And finally, another solid showing for prog. The Ocean started off great, didn't quite get where I was hoping they would, but it was enjoyable. The vocals, both clean and harsh, are just alright, not too special. Dream Theater, meanwhile, is Dream Theater. It's not as good as "Metropolis" from the same album, but it's a solid song. It goes on for too long in certain parts, and doesn't quite grab me till the instrumental section, but man some of those passages are super good. I wish the drums and synths didn't sound like shit though. Also wish they had a different singer. Also wish I was listening to Symphony X instead. But it's a good song! Just not a great one. I'm going for the underdog in The Ocean, but Dream Theater definitely has the higher highs.

 

[JudasMyGuide]

Man, this has been a frustrating round all around.

I had my biggest thrash period some 8 years ago or so, when I devoured everything from the subgenre left and right, before I left it for greener pastures, keeping the prog-thrash bands (like Toxik, Heathen and such) in rotation but soon leaving even those. Even back then, I just couldn't get the general Slayer adoration everywhere. When I was in a mood for the brutal thrash sub-sub-genre, there were much better bands to scratch that particular itch, primarily the Teutonic thrash bands (to the extent I'd take the most mid Kreator album over the best Slayer albums any day of the week), but also Morbid Saint, early Sepultura, Sarcófago and others. But even then I admit that probably the only Slayer album I actually like is South of Heaven. Mandatory Suicide has the cool haunting descending riff, a good groove going and despite the somewhat annoying outro, it is genuinely one of the songs I'd go back to and replay. Which may be because of all their discography, this track reminds me the most of Anthrax ( ).
On the other hand, while I thought I would "grow out of it", the older I am, the more I vibe with the redneckish, dudebro testosterone poisoning of Pantera. Anselmo is an obnoxious knobhead, true - though he also can do better, like on Cemetery Gates - but it kinda fits the "lift you up, you nerd, push your head down the bog, beat you up and imprison you in a locker" aesthetics which I find strangely endearing, when the music's up to snuff, at least. Don't know why. Just wish the production (the guitar tone, the flatness of the sound) didn't sound like shite, especially on this album.
But the main problem is - although I like Cowboys from Hell - it is more varied than Vulgar and less lackadaisical than Driven - Domination is kind of a drag, honestly. I like it when it's fast and the solos, but the monotone staccato riff gets annoying after a while and the whole last minute and a half or what is just an exercise in testing my patience. Slow, plodding... "what if Opeth's Deliverence outro actually sucked?". I agree that most of these drawbacks are all the more pronounced on the album, coming after Gates, which is slow and possibly the best track on the record, so this song feels worse by comparison, but still.
I reluctantly vote for Slayer, which is something you won't see me doing often.

Being obsessed with power metal, I'm in the weird place where I should probably like Manowar much more than I do and yet I respect them much more than I should. Here you have a band that's technically quite proficient - especially Adams and DeMaio, but also Ross the Boss when he was still in the band - and has a really good ear for melody, that intentionally tries to get itself pigeonholed into these ultimate representants of cheese and cretinism. And I actually like power metal for its naïveté, it's just I'm more in it for the Faërie, not the pseudo-Conan the Barbarian. Mostly.
I guess they might be actually the outlier here, as their "wimps and poseurs" attitude doesn't just cross into self-parody, but actually goes even further, so it kinda reverts back and starts being almost cool again. (Though I guess I could do without their practice of "picking" girls from the audience and taking them backstage - do they still do that?). And before they turned into a complete self-parody even musically (meaning pre- cca 2007), they released some prime stuff as well. Kings of Metal belongs into this "Golden era" - some might say it's the last good album before the slop, though I personally love Triumph as well - and all I said above counts - this song is an example of their strengths, including the immediate catchiness and the overal well-wroughtness of it all.
But again, the outro is annoying. It fucks the song up less than the outro to Black Wind, Fire and Steel (mainly because the switch is less jarring here and it's shorter - relatively to the song proper), but why do they have to do this shit? It was annoying enough on Kiss' Black Diamond already.
From what I gather on the internet, Power Plant had this rather weird shelf life - I have seen just as many people considering it the possible pinnacle of Gamma Ray's (and Hansen's) career and just as many decrying it as the main example of the band's generally uneven output. I am somewhere in the middle - and Send Me a Sign is a song I genuinely love, even though it's not-even-veiled rewrite of I Want Out - but Gardens of the Sinner is one of the tracks I could probably live without. It is absolutely fine on its own, it gives me proper nostalgic feels, but it is more or less in the category of "my background ambience power metal playlists for when I'm playing Diablo."
So although the style of Gamma Ray is overall more preferable, I'll once again go against my usual instincts and pick Manowar.

Edge of Sanity are "the other big Sweden prog-death originators apart from Opeth" and I respect them for that, though to me Swanö feels a bit like the "jack of all trades, master of none" archetype - he is really competent in everything he does, the man has huge talent, he's insanely productive - just look at this, for crying out loud! - but to me the difference between him and Akerfeldt is obvious. Swanö, for all his great aspects, always felt to me a bit like a session musician and archivist, not necessarily a bloke with vision. Or, well, a bloke with vision (he fathered at least one sub-genre after all), but without the true... let's call it "charisma". Kinda reminds me of Todd Rundgren in that regard.
But let's talk about the song at hand. When All Is Said is actually really nice - it's mostly atmospheric death/doom, which I something I definitely appreciate (and the outro is funny) and it made me want to go and replay the whole album, but to nitpick a bit, I don't personally like the Swedish death metal buzzsaw guitar sound in these doomy tracks - I find it a bit grating - and although I'm no growling afficionado, I find some growls more appealing than others and Swano's are... not. Too much bubbly rasp or whatever you'd call it. Still, a cool song with tons of atmosphere.
Napalm Death always reminded me of these death/grind equivalents of Anthrax / Tankard - despite their lyrics and themes being much more dour and serious, musically they feel like the ultimate "fun" band at the extreme end of the spectrum to me. And that's my opinion on this track as well - I find it enjoyable, though not really memorable, also, though Mick Harris is a legendary figure in the extreme circles, I do not find his drumming particularly inspiring. Another example of a perfectly fine song, but one I don't see the reason to have in a greatest metal song cup (though honestly - spoiler alert - that is the case for most of the tracks in this round). I'll go with the more outstanding track and vote for Edge of Sanity.

Heh, and now let's raise some hell and ask for some hatred. I must be the only prog-head and prog-metal-head to hate Rush with a passion. If I were to name one band that's ridiculously overrated, there you have it. It's the combination of everything, really, the worst thing are lyrics and Lee's vocals and the overall air of self-satisfaction, the lack of quality control and the fact they managed to convince so many people their synth-era is actually good, but I'll try not to be too negative here. There's a lot of Americans here who - IMHO - tend to be the origin of the overratedness and weirdly protective of the band, after all.
2112. The first song I heard by them intentionally, on my own, after hearing Fly by Night and Driven (yes, really) on the radio.
My first gut reaction would be - please, rock musicians everywhere, just stop doing dystopian concepts. Especially about how individualism and "rog muuuuzag" are outlawed. Seriously, it's been done before already and it's only getting stupider and stupider each time. Yes, I realise 2112 is actually among the first of those I mentioned, but that doesn't make the concept good.
(Also, as someone who was also once enamoured by Ayn Rand, I'd like to add that anyone such inclined is eo ipso a terrible person, but let's speak well of the dead and also I digress)
Otherwise, I agree with what has been said already - it would be absolutely enough to keep just the overture and the Syrinx part, the rest is unnecessary (and here I am otherwise loving 20 minute tracks - I nominated several myself). Other than that, it's just... Rush. Lee's vocals are a form of aural torture hitherto undreamt of, Lifeson is a fine bloke for the atmospherics (being the "texture" guitarist in an innovative power-trio band with technical drummer and obnoxious high-pitched vocalist, he kinda reminds me of Andy Summers ), Peart is good (the best musician in the band, definitely), but he's no Bruford, the riffs are cool, I admit.
Now, Porcupine Tree had the opposite trajectory for me. Unlike Rush (with whom I was enamoured with for a while until I overdosed rather quickly), I had a hard time getting into Wilson's prozac music. It was primarily a band of my wife's (although it was me who helped her to discover them) and I was mostly aware and interested in them tangentially, as a fan of Dream Theater, Opeth, prog in general. It took a while to actually fall in love with these unassuming blokes - and at first I couldn't remember anything but the Brit-pop albums Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun, the latter of which I'm still ridiculously partial towards - and it wasn't until about last year when it clicked. Still, even before then, Fear of a Blank Planet was the exception - that one worked for me almost immediately and it was one of their first proggier songs I learned to recognise. A cool groove, some energy indeed, memorable melodies, appropriately heavy, the vocal-melody-Wilsonisms are catchy in a not-cheesy way, the technical aspects of the band are on display here, definitely. Also, the lyrics/concept is much more appealing.
I'm not sure if I've ever talked about Neil Postman's comparison of Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World he wrote in his Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (1985) - I suspect I did, and that I had a conversation with Perun about it.
But in brief, it is here

Spoiler: The full quote

"What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions." In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us."

In that regard, I'm definitely more of a Huxley-bro than an Orwell-stan. It is only fitting, then, if even if I swallow all my distate for Rush and try to approach this truly sine ira et studio, I vote for Porcupine Tree.



Hey, another thrash match! Quasarborn, where were you 8 years ago? I think I definitely would have been a fan then. This particular song has this unusual combination of being really technical thrash for the meat of the song, but then it gets into this modern melodicism that almost remind me of ... Visual Kei? And I don't mean that negatively, absolutely not. Also, I find it cool they sing in Serbian, that's a language I don't hear very often in metal.
Hammerhead then represents the "classic sound" - man, I haven't heard Feel the Fire for so long, since it's not on Spotify, at least not here - and it's also a complete banger, possibly the best song off that album. Overkill are overall really underappreciated - for a band with such longevity and consistency, they should be talked about more, IMHO. Could have been a part of Big 4 over both Megadeth and Slayer, for all I'm concerned.
Overall, this is probably the best match of this round, with both songs being really great, but I'll go with the underdog and vote for the untrivial sound of Quasarborn.

The last match is tough. DT are among my favourite bands, in fact it is one of "our" bands with wifey (along with Opeth) and some others... and once again I must be the fucking contrarian, sorry. I dislike Images production (especially the sound of the drums and keys) and, like, half of the album I never liked and the other half I've overplayed already (including this very song). Yep, I'm primarily a fan of their 00's output (+ the one album previous and after - SFAM and ADTOE).
On the other hand, The Ocean Collective I haven't listened to much (and I probably should have) and their mood, production, overall attitude feel more like my current preferences. Learning to Live is probably tighter and it has the nostalgic boost for me, but seeing as the Ocean Collective is currently losing in such a brutal landslide, I'll vote for The Ocean Collective.


Fuck, I didn't like this round and I didn't like what I felt I had to vote for in the end. The songs that should really progress further are the four in the last two matches, Blank Planet and whatever else would be the sixth.

 

[Spambot]

Match 13 - Slayer: Mandatory Suicide
Even if I don't listen to Pantera, I always forget some cool parts in the songs. Just lately I rediscovered Floods and it made me wonder, "Is it possible to pull two of the most beautiful guitar solos between this slug of a song?" Still... Maybe this is how Araya usually Araya announces this song, or maybe it was one time, but this is how it went when I saw them in Italy in 2008.

Tom Araya: Do you wanna die?
Audience: Yeaah!
Tom Araya: I said: DO YOU WANNA DIE?!?!?!?!
Auidence: YEAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!
Tom Araya: What do you wanna die? What the fu** is wrong with you?
Auidence: [silence]
Tom Araya: Well, OK. If you wanna die, I know a way. MANDATORY SUICIDE!!!!!

Match 14 - Gamma Ray: Garden of the Sinners
When "Blood of the Kings" started, I was surprised by its cool intro, and at one moment I was afraid I might even vote for Manowar. Luckily, Manowar went Manowar after that, and all the doubts were gone. Nobody's perfect, and I might make a mistake one day and vote for Manowar. But today is not that day. Also, that Gamma Ray song has a nice chorus.

Match 15 - Edge of Sanity: When All is Said
I guess this is how Napalm Death sounds, and it's no wonder I never paid them any mind. It's not that it's bad; it's just boring to my ears. Edge of Sanity on the other hand - now there's emotion in that song. There are even a couple of melodic hooks I really liked. To be honest, I was surprised @Magnus would nominate something like this; I expected something more lo-fi. Or is Magnus surprised that I voted for his song? We'll never know...

Match 16 - Porcupine Tree: Fear of a Blank Planet
Steven Wilson solo work never clicked with me, and I guess I've listened to the wrong Porcupine Tree records because I really liked that. I liked it so much that I actually bookmarked it. But then I started listening to 2112 and remembering how good it sounds, and it made me ... NO! I'm stopping this right now. Everything I consider not "trve metal" I'm shooting down right away. You have to pit Rush, Pink Floyd and similar artist against some of the cheesiest metal songs to make me vote for them. And this Porcupine Tree song is not it.

Match 17 - Overkill: Hammerhead
Quasarborn ain't as bad as I expected, but I've heard too many bands like this in the Balkans. It's like each member tried too hard, but still, the song feels disjointed somehow. Maybe if I heard the whole album, this one would sound different. And trash metal is trash metal. And I like trash metal (most of it).

Match 18 - The Ocean: Silurian
I'm not really a fan of pre-Rudess Dream Theater and this song is one of the reasons why. The synth sounds to gimmicky, and there are so many quick changes in so little time and a good connection between them. Even if there are great parts, the whole song itself doesn't make for an enjoyable listen. The Ocean, on the other hand, is quite opposite. It just keeps on building and keeps on giving.

 

[Shmoolikipod]

Domination is just way cooler than the Slayer song.

Tossup in the second matchup, I'm well acquainted and love Gardens of the Sinner but Blood of the Kings was surprisingly good as well. Went with my Gamma Ray bias...

No contest between the awesome doom song from Edge of Sanity and a mostly forgettable Napalm Death track.

2112 has some great parts and some I was never very fond of (Discovery), while Fear of a Blank Planet was great throughout. Also a tossup but going with Porcupine Tree.

Going with the newer and more technical Quasarborn song. Hammerhead is good but not quite my cup of tea.

My #1 regret with my nominations is not putting anything from the incredible Pelagial in my list, so do check it out if you liked The Ocean! I didn't like this particular song as much, and I'm not very big on Learning to Live but it's still a great classic DT song.

 

[JudasMyGuide]

The only match I really care about is the fourth one (Anything But Rush, really) and it's really close. Really, really close. I'm almost hopeful.
Hey, Wilsoners! Where are you? @Mosh come vote for the song you nominated, you silly bugger!

 

[MindRuler]

@JudasMyGuide can I play the devil´s advocate here? I´m sure you tried some Rush albums (or maybe all?) through the years? I know we both love prog and progmetal, just curious.