10 Greatest Metal Songs of All Time

[Wästed The Great]

Yeah, differentiating between 'all time great' and 'what is really awesome to me right now' can be difficult.  Along with the order they are in.  Then there is the debate of 'is it really a metal song?'  For instance, I would like to include Highway to Hell, but I think that is known as a 'hard rock' band, rather than metal. 

 

[LooseCannon]

Hallowed Be Thy Name, Master of Puppets, and Paranoid immediately come to mind.  But I would be hard-pressed to pick an important Judas Priest song.

 

[Forostar]

Hmm, perhaps I'd go for Painkiller. That one made a huge impact and has all ingredients.

 

[Wästed The Great]

TEN WASTED SONGS:  MY GREATEST METALISH SONGS THAT I DON'T WANNA DO WITH OUT

Queen: Fat Bottomed Girls
April Wine:  I Like To Rock
Audioslave:  Cochise
Scorpions: Rock You Like A Hurricane
Megadeth:  A Toute Le Monde
Metallica:  Sanitarium (Welcome Home)
AC/DC:  Highway To Hell
Queensryche:  Breaking The Silence
G 'n R:  Welcome To The Jungle
Iron Maiden:  Infinite Dreams


Ok, really, in no particular order, and not so metal... does it hafta be metal?  If so, I'd replace Queen and April Wine with....

Judas Priest:  Grinder
Motorhead:  Eat The Rich

 

[Cornfed Hick]

Ok, here goes: 

Honorable Mention:  Highway to Hell - AC/DC; Creeping Death - Metallica; The Drapery Falls - Opeth; Paschen[fucking]dale - Iron Maiden; And Then There Was Silence - Blind Guardian; Painkiller - Judas Priest; Holy Diver - Dio

10. Disposable Heroes - Metallica  (impossibly fast)
9.  Sober - Tool (I will find a center in you, I will chew it up and leave)
8.  Stargazer - Rainbow (Blackmore and Dio in top form at the same time)
7.  Pure Evil - Iced Earth (Alive in Athens version -- at least half a dozen different awesome riffs)
6.  I - Black Sabbath (I am giant, I'm a monster)
5.  N.I.B. - Black Sabbath (their greatest riff - a song about Satan's girlfriend)
4.  Hallowed Be Thy Name - Iron Maiden (Maiden's magnum opus)
3.  Welcome to the Jungle - Guns 'N' Roses (best -- and most -- American metal song)
2.  Children of the Grave - Black Sabbath (Geezer invents the gallop)
1.  Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Iron Maiden (this song made me love heavy metal)

This is according to my current mood, and will no doubt change by next week...

 

[____no5]

no5's list :

10. Psalm of Lydia -Nevermore, 2005
9. When The Crowds Are Gone -Savatage, 1989
8. Gettysburg -Iced Earth, 2004 -part I, part II, part III
7. Am I Evil -Diamond Head, 1980
6. The Ripper -Judas Priest, 1976
5. Twilight Of The Gods -Bathory, 1991
4. Black Sabbath -Black Sabbath, 1970
3. Hallowed By Thy Name -Iron Maiden, 1982
2. Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy in 8 Parts -Manowar, 1992 -part I, part II, part III, part IV, part V, part VI, part VII, part VIII
1. Black Mass* -Warlord, 1984

_______
*this video comes from the 1983 version (LP Deliver Us), I like better the 1984's one, but here the song is much better
-plus it contains this awesome intro which the 1984 version does not.
A forgotten metal diamond, the essence of mid 80s golden metal era ; ENJOY

 

[Perun]

I have taken the liberty of commenting on all your lists. You are of course free to do the same to mine, which is at the bottom of this post.

Queen: Fat Bottomed Girls
April Wine:  I Like To Rock

As you said, those aren't necessarily "metal" in the strict sense of the word. But still, both great rocking songs.

Audioslave:  Cochise

I never really got into Audioslave. I'm not even sure if I like this song... but an interesting choice nevertheless.

Scorpions: Rock You Like A Hurricane
Megadeth:  A Toute Le Monde
Metallica:  Sanitarium (Welcome Home)
AC/DC:  Highway To Hell
Queensryche:  Breaking The Silence
G 'n R:  Welcome To The Jungle
Iron Maiden:  Infinite Dreams

Can't really say much about these. Great bands, brilliant songs, all and one. The choices for Megadeth, Queensryche and Iron Maiden may be surprising, but well-deserved.

Judas Priest:  Grinder
Motorhead:  Eat The Rich

Same comments as to the previous one. Great bands, great songs, unusual but good choices.

Good list, all in all. As you said, rather heavy on 70's/80's stuff, but that's hardly a problem, I think.

Honorable Mention:  Highway to Hell - AC/DC; Creeping Death - Metallica; The Drapery Falls - Opeth; Paschen[fucking]dale - Iron Maiden; And Then There Was Silence - Blind Guardian; Painkiller - Judas Priest; Holy Diver - Dio

That's a lot of honourable mentions, but in my opinion illustrates very well how difficult and essentially futile it is to make "top ten lists".

10. Disposable Heroes - Metallica  (impossibly fast)

A great song, but one that in my opinion suffers a bit from the typical Metallica syndrome- too long without significant changes. It's still alright here, but can get a bit straining now and then.

9.  Sober - Tool (I will find a center in you, I will chew it up and leave)

Never liked Tool, can't comment on this song.

8.  Stargazer - Rainbow (Blackmore and Dio in top form at the same time)

A very wicked song. I noticed a lot of people, mostly metal fans, rate this one highly. I can see why, even though this isn't my favourite Rainbow song.

7.  Pure Evil - Iced Earth (Alive in Athens version -- at least half a dozen different awesome riffs)

Ah yes, this one is an insane thrasher. Absolutely brilliant one.

6.  I - Black Sabbath (I am giant, I'm a monster)

I used to like this one a lot, then started to think it was rather bland... until I heard it live. Now it's a favourite again.

5.  N.I.B. - Black Sabbath (their greatest riff - a song about Satan's girlfriend)

A mate of mine once told me he thinks this song is great, but he's afraid of it. He thinks the riff is very "Satanic", and he's not sure it couldn't possess you. Good comment, isn't it?

4.  Hallowed Be Thy Name - Iron Maiden (Maiden's magnum opus)

No further comment necessary.

3.  Welcome to the Jungle - Guns 'N' Roses (best -- and most -- American metal song)

Very "American" indeed. Great song, great riff, but again, I'm not sure I think this is their best one. Sweet Child O' Mine comes to mind, for instance.

2.  Children of the Grave - Black Sabbath (Geezer invents the gallop)

And here, you could actually believe they were possessed when they played the song. Creepy, scary, wonderful. My favourite Ozzy-era Sabbath song.

1.  Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Iron Maiden (this song made me love heavy metal)

How couldn't it? 13 minutes of pure magnificence, and even after a million times of listening to it, the raiiiin still sends shivers down my spine.

Another good one. Great songs all of them (except the Tool one, but so what). Maybe not too diverse (3 Sabbath songs, 2 Maiden ones), but still good.

10. Psalm of Lydia -Nevermore, 2005

I tried very hard to get into Nevermore, but I really couldn't find anything great about them. I have the album this song is off, but for some reason, each time I listened to them, the more boring it got.

9. When The Crowds Are Gone -Savatage, 1989

This song is a brilliant demonstration of Savatage's excellence. Power Metal at its best.

8. Gettysburg -Iced Earth, 2004

A masterpiece of an epic. I wish Schaffer would have just released this and put away with the rest of The Glorious Burden.

7. Am I Evil -Diamond Head, 1980

Everybody loves this song, and so on, but I think it's overrated. If Metallica hadn't covered it, I guess it would have sailed to obscurity. Not saying that it's a bad song, but I think Diamond Head did better.

6. The Ripper -Judas Priest, 1976

A classic, no doubt about it.

5. Twilight Of The Gods -Bathory, 1991

Pleasantly surprised to see Bathory here, and a great song too.

4. Black Sabbath -Black Sabbath, 1970

Arguably the first metal song.

3. Hallowed By Thy Name -Iron Maiden, 1982

Undisputable.

2. Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy in 8 Parts -Manowar, 1992

Achiles, Agony and Ecstasy in too many Parts. Still a testament to DeMaio's songwriting skills.

1. Black Mass -Warlord, 1984

I don't really see anything special about this one. It's a good song, but still... nothing special in my opinion.


Now, I'm going to toss my list in the ring.

This was very hard to make, and I'm not happy with the result. I could make ten or more lists with the "honourary mentions" I have left out, and would be able to present them to you as a list of my "favourite metal songs" without any problems. But since you guys have struggled to post one, I will be fair and do the same.

I tried to put this in order, but I'm not sure about it. At best, I am certain about the top three.

10. Annihilator - Human Insecticide
A very underrated song, I think. One of the best riffs in metal, ever.

9. Slayer - South of Heaven
SLAYAAAR!!! \,,/

8. Angel Witch - Angel Witch
How can you not like this song? Heavy Metal reduced to its very basics, dirty, catchy, wonderful.

7. Amon Amarth - The Hero
One or two months ago, I would have put Pursuit of Vikings here, but this one seems to have overtaken it. I am always in awe when I hear it.

6. Halford - Heart of a Lion
Incredible Priest never finished this one. It easily eclipses their entire discography - and we all know that is saying a lot. Pure, great Heavy Metal, from start to finish.

5. Bruce Dickinson - Road to Hell
It is very hard to pick one Bruce song from the pool... but I guess in the end, this one cuts it. Great riff, great melody, great solo, great lyrics, this one has it all.

4. Iced Earth - A Question of Heaven
Majestic, beautiful, melancholic.

3. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
There are really no words to describe this one. It's already perfect in the studio, but it becomes even better live.

2. Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name
We all know why. Still, it was a tough choice. There is a reason why Maiden is my favourite band, and this reason is that basically, I could include ten Maiden songs in this list and still feel the same way about it. I forced myself to do one song per band, and this is the result.

1. Blaze - Stare at the Sun
This is, in my opinion, the best song ever. It is nothing short of perfect. Perhaps it is not terribly original in its structure and songwriting, but it is simply so good that it doesn't matter.


I guess I would be able to make a top 500 list and still feel bad about leaving some out.

 

[Shadow]

Atheist - "Mother Man"
The finest technical death you'll ever hear.

At the Gates - "Neverwhere"
Unlike a lot of technical/progressive death, this one is also catchy as hell.

Bruce Dickinson - "No Way Out... to be Continued"
Quite possibly the greatest metal song, and it was a b'side. Go figure.

Carcass - "Buried Dreams"
This is the song that got me into death metal. It also has one of the best guitar solos of all time.

Corrosion of Conformity - "Goodbye Windows"
You should all give the Wiseblood album a listen.

Iron Maiden - "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns"
Out of the universe, a strange love is born...

Kyuss - "50 Million Year Trip"
Apparently, Kyuss played "stoner metal". Whatever you call it, it's great music.

Mastodon - "The Wolf Is Loose"
One of the most explosive album openers of all time from one of today's most interesting bands.

Necrophobic - "Awakening..."
An incredible atmosphere. I swear the room gets colder every time I play this. Not that I have much heating to begin with.

Voivod - "Nothingface"
I could pick pretty much any track from the album of the same name, but I think I like this one best.


Why do I get the feeling nobody will do a track-by-track commentary on my list?

 

[Forostar]

Why do I get the feeling nobody will do a track-by-track commentary on my list?

Actually, my heart jumped a couple of times when I saw that Bruce track and the name ATG.

edit: I have 13 songs and can't decide yet which ones have to go.  Argh, this is difficult!

 

[Mega]

Finally Got around to it.
10. Van Halen - Eruption. Call it what you will, It's metal and it's amazing.
9. Motorhead - Ace of Spades. Short and kicking, great song.
8. Metallica - Fade To Black. I wasnt too eager to put metallica on the list but it is an amzing song.
7. Black Sabbath - Iron Man. It's a timeless classic!
6. Bruce Dickinson - Darkside Of Aquarius. Best Dickinson song ever. such an awesome song can't go unnoticed on such a list!
5. Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train. This song always sends shivers down my spine, It's that awesome. The only downside is that it makes me sad because of randy
4. Judas Priest - Painkiller. This songs kicks major ass, to put it gently. Screamed vocals, awesome riffs   and sweep solos. I think it's the best Judas Priest song.
3. Megadeth - Holy Wars. Best thrash song ever, period. Mustaine's solo is also on my top 5 favourite solos of all time.
2. Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name. Need I say more?
1. Iron Maiden - Powerslave. Not only in the top 3 best IM songs ever, but also on the top 3 best metal songs ever. Great sing along chorus, heavy riff, The atmosphere, Some of the best solos ever.

I tried to only put one Maiden song, I really triedXD

Honorable mention: Dr. Feelgood. It's the only MC song I enjoy, but it's a really awesome song.

 

[LooseCannon]

Megadeth - Hanger 18
  -for me, this song represents the apex of thrash, and is on the playlist of any metalhead anywhere.  It's a perfect US-style metal song.

Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
  -the best Black Sabbath song, and important in signifying a major change in the feel of metal from the 1970s to the 1980s.

Metallica - One
  -completely important in the popular evolution of metal; many modern metal artists cite this very good song as a big influence on them.  Definitive of the "late 80s" sound of metal.

Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth
  -a lot of people who follow mainstream metal say that without Accident of Birth, the 90s metal scene would have been very boring indeed.  Certainly it's an excellent piece of music

Iced Earth - A Question of Heaven
  -if you want to hear a perfect metal song, this is one of the ones to listen to.  Really similar to a "metal ballad" in a lot of ways.

Blaze - Stare at the Sun
  -not particularly well known, but to those in the know, widely considered one of the best metal songs of all time.

Judas Priest - You've Got Another Thing Comin'
  -major US radio hit, and influential in the rise of metal in the 1980s.

Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
  -see above.

Black Sabbath - Paranoid
  -the first major metal "hit".  Paranoid remains the only Black Sabbath song to chart in the top 10, and was the first big metal song to be heard by most people.  As such, it deserves to be considered one of the greatest metal songs of all time.

Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name
  -if Paranoid is considered the first big metal song, then Hallowed is the greatest metal song.  Perhaps it was not a radio hit, but it came from an album that was incredibly wide-spread and the song is recognized by pretty much every artist who came after as a huge influence.  What is perhaps unbelievable about this unbelievably good song is that many Maiden fans will tell you that it's not the best Maiden song.

 

[Wästed The Great]

Now, this has started to become a really interesting discussion.  I could have all or any of the above songs on my list-- and a few to listen to over again.

@Per, I think Audioslave takes a certain taste.  If you didn't like either Soundgarden or RATM, its quite unlikely anyone would like Audioslave (IMO). 

@LC, Hanger 18 was one that I almost chose....

My list was difficult, cause there are many better metal songs, but I picked the ones that I listen to most often... the old 'stuck on a desert island' type of thing.

 

[Forostar]

My pick:

10. Gates of Ishtar (SWE) – “Dawn of Flames” (1997)
Gates of Ishtar must be the most obscure band of this shortlist. After three albums the band called it quits in 1998, so I can imagine that not many people know them anymore. I find their music an interesting blend of Gothenburg metal (with some influences of At The Gates, but way less complicated), and black metal. Penetrating screams, fast riffing and hypnotic drumming. On top there’s some really good catchy melodies, probably the strongest point of this band. In this song there’s a nice piano interval, dragging the listener into the agonizing atmosphere.

9. Iced Earth (USA) – “Travel in Stygian” (1991)
This was a close call with “Dante’s Inferno”. This time “Travel..” wins because I am really into those boneslashing riffs. There’s still enough atmosphere and the overall power of this track deserves imo the title “best metal song ever created outside of Europe".

8. Gorefest (NL) – “The Glorious Dead” (1992)
Pure luck got me into this band, and consequently into death metal. Back in the summer of 1994 some friends asked me to go with them to some university party (I wasn’t even studying at that university!) where many bands played. This band happened to be one of them … and they totally blew me away! The drumming patterns were so awesome that I suddenly could admire music with grunts! This song is an absolute classic, to be found on one of the finest albums (False) in the history of death metal.

7. Iron Savior (GER) – “Riding on Fire” (1997)
Again I admire the drums in this one. Very tight, very fast, Thomen “The Omen” Stauch plays one of his very best performances. But there’s more. Piet Sielck has recorded some of the coolest guitar harmonies, and there’s a certain edge in his solos that I appreciate. Fasten your seatbelts for this one.

6. Bruce Dickinson (UK) – “The Breeding House” (1994)
Shadow chose a Dickinson B-side, I choose a Dickinson B-side. I still remember the day that I heard the CD-single of “Tears of the Dragon” for the first time. No way I expected that b-sides could be as strong as these two! I like Shadow’s pick almost as much as this one, but “The Breeding House” has some nice melodic guitar lines that rock! I also like the “nasty” interval with the “Come to see the carnival, come to witness fear…” lyric. I never understood why these tracks didn’t land on Balls to Picasso.

5. Scar Symmetry (SWE) – “Deviate from the Form” (2006)
Probably my favourite “younger band”. This track is terribly catchy and full of excellent vocal lines and solos. Underneath all this, the dynamic rhythm pulsates with unbelievable precision. Impossible to sit still with this one.

4. Helloween – (GER) “Victim of Fate” (1985)
Helloween was the first aggressive music I learned to appreciate. Particularly their old era was very raw. This band really have set a trend when it comes to melodic and fast music, and it all comes together in this magnificent track. The final minutes show Helloween’s significant trademark and its influence on many bands to come.

3. Soilwork – (SWE) “The Chainheart Machine” (2000)
Simply the best metal song of the last twenty years. Can intensity combine better with such musical skills and solos of such awesomeness? No. To quote a famous 25 year old from Nova Scotia:  End of story !


2. Judas Priest (UK) – “Painkiller” (1990)
The most powerful Priest track, containing every inch of metal that I like. I particularly like the Glenn Tipton solo with KK Downing’s roaring rhythm guitar accompanying him on the left audio channel. One of Halford’s best performances and Scott Travis brings it all to the highest level possible.

1. Iron Maiden (UK) – “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (1984)
I guess I have said enough about this song in the past. One big epic adventure full of magic moments…  “… then down in falls comes the raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiinnnnnnnnn”

 

[Mega]

Wow, some of these lists are really surprising.
Tech death and some hardcore thrash, I though some of you were into "lighter" stuff.
Can't say I'll put any of these songs on a top 2000 list, but that's the point of it all.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Don't put too much emphasis on these.

Top 10 Metal songs:

1. Passchendale 
2. Hallowed Be Thy Name
3. Infinite Dreams
4. My Last Words - Megadeth
5. In My Darkest Hour - Megadeth
6. Take No Prisoners - Megadeth
7. Creeping Death - Metallica
8. Battery - Metallica
9. Fearies Wear Boots - Black Sabbath
10. Into the Pit - Testament

 

[____no5]

This topic turned to a really interesting one 

I took some first ever listens or some re-listens (after many years) following member's suggestions.
The most anticipated listen was Perun's Staring At The Sun

Here is my commentary :

Foro' choice :

# 3 Soilwork - The Chainheart Machine, first listen ever : 9/10 

# 4 Helloween-Victim of Fate, re-listen after many years : 8/10 -Good, but an overall top 10 ?  Especially that's taken out of a record that contains the giant of How Many Tears.......

# 5 Scar Symmetry - Deviate From The Form, first listen ever : 10/10 -Excellent 

# 6 Bruce Dickinson-The Breeding House, first listen ever : 9/10 -Very nice song, has some Maiden elements, with more updated production

# 7 Iron Savior - Riding on Fire, first listen ever : 9/10 -Very Nice one !! 

# 8 Gorefest - The Glorious Dead, first listen ever : ooops, death is ok sometimes, but I don't really like this one 

# 10 Gates Of Ishtar - Dawn Of Flames, first listen ever : 7.5/10 -Even if it's not my style, I can appreciate it 

-----------------------

Perun's choice :

# 1 Blaze - Stare at the Sun, first listen ever : 8.5/10 -Surely a very nice song, I was expecting something huge 

# 3 Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell, re-listen after many years : 10/10 -Very strange, so many years to listen to it, but it's like this song is 'inside me', like Hallowed Be Thy Name and some other great tunes ...A great moment!!

# 6 Rob Halford - Heart Of A Lion, first listen ever : 8/10 -Very catchy

# 10 Annihilator - Human Insecticide, re-listen after many years : 10/10 -A nice surprise to see it here  I won't say it underrated, the whole record is just perfect

-----------------------

Shadow's choice :

# 10 Voivod - Nothingface, re-listen after many years : 6.5/10 -I found it better that years ago, but...

# 9 Necrophobic - Awakening..., first listen ever : 6/10

# 7 Kyuss - 50 Million Year Trip , first listen ever : 9/10 -great one!!

# 5 Corrosion of Conformity - Goodbye Windows, first listen ever : 9.5/10 -What year it was this one?? Genius! 

# 3 Bruce Dickinson - No way out... To be continued, first listen ever : 8.5/10 -Thanks for this Shadow 

# 2 At the Gates - Neverwhere, first listen ever : 8/10 -even if it's not my style, it has something very beautiful

# 1 Atheist - Mother Man, re-listen after many years : 6/10 -yet better that 20 years before, when I gave the vinyl to a friend... for free

-----------------------

GK's choice :

# 10 Testament-Into the pit, re-listen after many years : 8.5/10

# 4 Megadeth - My Last Words, re-listen after many years : 10/10 -A classic

# 3 Iron Maiden -Infinite Dreams, re-listen after many years one year : 10/10 -Nice to see it here  I took the opportunity to listen it again -The best Harris' lyrics in years

-----------------------

LC's choice :

# 10 Megadeth - Hangar 18, re-listen after many years : 10/10 -I agree 100% with LC's comments!!

# 4 Judas Priest - You've Got Another Thing Comin', re-listen after many years : 8.5/10 -I'm not a big fan of it, yet a tight one

-----------------------

Mega's choice :

# 10 Van Halen - Eruption, re-listen after many years : 10/10 -The invention of taping.... Good choice for this list 

-----------------------

CFH's choice :

# 9 Tool - Sober, re-listen after many years : 10/10

# 8 Stargazer - Rainbow -less than a year  , but I would like to hear it again 10/10 -I didn't put it one my list cause I don't consider it metal exactly. If it was on the list it would have been probably #1

# 2 Black Sabbath - Children Of The Grave, re-listen after many years : 10/10 -probably the most important Sabbath song ever

-----------------------

Wasted's choice :

# 10 Queen - Fat Bottomed Girls, re-listen after many years : 10/10 -I had totally forgotten this one, wow very heavy riff 

# 9 April Wine - I Like To Rock, re-listen after many years : 8.5/10 -

# 3 Queensryche - Breaking The Silence, re-listen after many years : 9.5/10 -

-----------------------
Conclusion : Thanks you all guys, I had 2 beautiful hours by listening all these 

ps : Where is SMX ?

 

[SinisterMinisterX]

ps : Where is SMX ?

Right here...

---

Van Halen - Eruption, re-listen after many years : 10/10 -The invention of taping.... Good choice for this list 

First off, it's tapping with 2 p's. Taping with one p is an entirely different word: it mean to tape, usually meaning to record something.

Much more importantly: Van Halen did not invent tapping. The first to record it was Steve Hackett of Genesis, on the 1971 album Nursery Cryme (listen to the guitar solo in "The Musical Box"). Van Halen has explicity stated he took the technique from Hackett.

Hackett came up with tapping as a way to double Tony Banks' piano licks. But he still wasn't first - only the first to get it on tape. There were eyewitness reports that in his last few live shows before his tragic death, Jimi Hendrix had discovered tapping.


Now, I haven't looked too closely at the lists posted here yet. I've seen a lot of "expected" choices, and some unexpected ones. So I'll work on my own list, and then comment on the other ones here.

 

[Shadow]

Shadow's choice :

# 10 ...

In case you didn't notice, my list was alphabetical, so your numbering is somewhat misleading.

---

# 5 Corrosion of Conformity -
Goodbye Windows, first listen ever : 9.5/10 -What year it was this one?? Genius! 

1996.

 

[SinisterMinisterX]

My apologies to the scores of worthy candidates that didn't make my list...

(In approximate order of release.)

Black Sabbath, "Iron Man"
First of all, the iconic guitar riff alone puts it on this list. Beyond that, it's a great early metal song for other reasons: lyrics about a revenge-seeking cyborg. (Or at least that's how I see it.) Several great guitar riffs, not just the main one. A good variety of melodies, and just as important: a good balance between slow & heavy vs. fast & frenzied.

Judas Priest, "Sinner"
Judas Priest laid much of the foundation for heavy metal - perhaps more than any other band, even Sabbath. Minor key riffs, violent lyrics, screamed vocals, dual solos, interesting (non-solo) instrumental sections. "Sinner" is a song that has it all. The real problem with Priest is that they had so many songs that could make this list ... The Ripper, Electric Eye, Painkiller, and maybe a dozen more ... so picking out the one signature Priest song is almost impossible. The main reason I've selected "Sinner" is that I've read KK Downing's website, and he thinks it's the signature Priest song. I can't disagree, so that's enough for me.

Ozzy Osbourne, "I Don't Know"
Long before he was a punchline, he was the motherfucking Elvis of Heavy Metal. And with all due respect to his many guitarists including Iommi, Ozzy never had a better guitarist than Randy Rhodes. Further, I think this song is one of the best-written and most memorable songs Ozzy ever recorded. It's a tight call between this one and "Crazy Train" ... Train may even be a more perfect song, but I think I Don't Know is more metal.

Iron Maiden, "Hallowed Be Thy Name"
Of course Maiden's signature song has to make the list, because those signature elements of Maiden's style have been used by nearly every band since. I listed them above for Priest, except that Maiden has better lyrics. But on every front (riffs, vocals, dual guitars, prog influence) Maiden broke all-new ground, showing true originality beyond improving on the ideas of Priest. And Maiden brought two more metal standards to the table: the gallop and the C-D-Em progression. Sure, Maiden didn't invent them, but they did them so perfectly that any other band using those ideas sounds like imitators. And this song contains some of Maiden's best on every one of those fronts.

Metallica, "Master Of Puppets"
Since this is the song that broke thrash into the mainstream (for metal fans, that is), it has become definitive for that genre. Jagged guitar riffs. Shifting time sigs. Lyrics about real life, not sci-fi or fantasy. A mellow bit in the middle to give just enough variety of mood. Insane guitar solo. All of Metallica's best ingredients in one song. Not the only time they accomplished that, but I think it's the most important one historically.

Slayer, "Angel Of Death"
The other definitive thrash song. There was a time when this was the most brutal song on the planet (and that time may still be now!). From the opening guitar riff and that scream, this song never lets up for a millisecond. Even when the tempo slows in the middle of the song, it never gets mellow. But when they wrote this song, Slayer knew what so many "extreme metal" bands have forgotten: brutality must be tempered with great melodies, or it becomes as meaningless as hitting someone with a large stick. And like the two above, this song has immense historical importance, being the song that introduced many people to extreme metal.

Iced Earth, "Pure Evil"
The definitive version of this one is AiA. There's a lot of great IE songs, but this one is unadulterated excitement throughout.

Blaze, "Stare At The Sun"
It's like Blaze took every good idea in metal from 1970 to 2000 and put it all into one song. Freaky always used to call this one "eargasm" and I couldn't agree more.

Dream Theater, "The Glass Prison"
Dream Theater has become the biggest of the prog-metal bands. The genre has grown as their success has grown. And I have to put them in my list, because they're my 2nd favorite band after Maiden. This is (in my opinion) only the 6th-best DT song, but it's the best DT song which is pure metal from start to finish. Killer riffs nonstop from start to finish, a complex structure, and of course DT's top-notch virtuosity.

Say it with me brother: PASCHENFUCKINGDALE

 

[Forostar]

I took some first ever listens or some re-listens (after many years) following member's suggestions.
.....

Conclusion : Thanks you all guys, I had 2 beautiful hours by listening all these 

I find that actually pretty cool that you show this much interest and took all that time! Thumbs up for no_5! 

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# 8 Gorefest - The Glorious Dead, first listen ever : ooops, death is ok sometimes, but I don't really like this one 

You don't have to watch these next tracks (after some many hours of listening ), of course, but I think I should have added a live song. Can you believe it, a death metal band bringing out a live album (The Eindhoven Insanity, after only two studio albums? Reason: the magic gig.

Check out the impact on the huge crowd. Great energy.

Gorefest - Confessions of a Serial Killer (live @ Dynamo, 1993)

Gorefest - Reality - When You Die (live @ Dynamo, 1993)

Judas Priest, "Sinner"
Judas Priest laid much of the foundation for heavy metal - perhaps more than any other band, even Sabbath. Minor key riffs, violent lyrics, screamed vocals, dual solos, interesting (non-solo) instrumental sections. "Sinner" is a song that has it all. The real problem with Priest is that they had so many songs that could make this list ... The Ripper, Electric Eye, Painkiller, and maybe a dozen more ... so picking out the one signature Priest song is almost impossible. The main reason I've selected "Sinner" is that I've read KK Downing's website, and he thinks it's the signature Priest song. I can't disagree, so that's enough for me.

Probably my favourite Priest song from the 70s!