10 Greatest Metal Songs of All Time

Quetzalcoatlus said:
Now, regarding death or black metal, is a tough one, to can answer you'll need to know -which I don't-
other genres that have been influenced either from black or death.
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Don't get hung up on an example. The point is that whoever compiles the list will have to make a lot of subjective choices about what is important and what is not. Influence simply isn't an objective standard.

You have to see it as a tree with many branches.
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When a genre becomes sufficiently large, it resembles a net more than a tree.
 
A list of the most "influential" or "popular" (I realize they aren't synonymous) metal songs might be easier to do, as it would be a bit more objective -- you could look at record sales, for example.  In that regard, one could make a stronger case for, say, AC/DC's Back in Black (did it make anyone's list??) than Hallowed Be Thy Name, as the former is the title track of the biggest selling metal album ever.  Plus, I don't think anyone could seriously debate whether "Iron Man" belongs on a "most influential" list.  But "Greatest" implies an element of artistic quality, which is largely if not completely subjective.  A lot of people included obscure titles that clearly aren't "great" in the sense that they are seminal, canonical examples of the genre, even though they might be great songs, and fun for those of us who are unfamiliar with those songs to check out -- thanks to whoever suggested Halford's Heart of a Lion, I liked that.  I, and seemingly SMX as well as others, combined personal taste with an understanding of the historical or artistic importance of a particular song in creating their lists.  So, I left more obscure favorites off my Top 10. 
 
cornfedhick said:
A list of the most "influential" or "popular" (I realize they aren't synonymous) metal songs might be easier to do, as it would be a bit more objective -- you could look at record sales, for example.
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Hmm, several forum users searching the internet in order to compile a top 10 of the best (or greatest ;) ) record sales? Nah, that would be a contest, which hasn't much to do with personal choice.

cornfedhick said:
A lot of people included obscure titles that clearly aren't "great" in the sense that they are seminal, canonical examples of the genre, even though they might be great songs, and fun for those of us who are unfamiliar with those songs to check out -- thanks to whoever suggested Halford's Heart of a Lion, I liked that.  I, and seemingly SMX as well as others, combined personal taste with an understanding of the historical or artistic importance of a particular song in creating their lists.  So, I left more obscure favorites off my Top 10. 
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Did any of you realize it's also possible that some of us know more (obscure) metal acts than others. That can also be a reason to have more variety in a Top 10.
 
Not criticizing the lesser-known choices -- good to learn these new (to me) bands and songs.  Plus, otherwise we'd all have lists that resemble the Digital Dream Door list, which is still the most definitive "professional" list I've seen. 
 
Well, since SMX was talking about it on the IM Survivor Thread, I decided to come here. :)

10. Children of the Sea - Black Sabbath.
    One of my first songs, this track on the H&H CD is nothing short of perfect. AND it inspired CotD, so that's pretty cool.
9. Dreamer Deceiver - Judas Priest.
    Despite what Rob Halford says, this song HAS to be about being on drugs or something. Anyhow, I just love the vocals and the guitar on this always gets stuck in my head. The lyrics are freakishly obscure, but I love them still.
8. Paschendale - Iron Maiden
    Yeah.
7. Sinner - Judas Priest.
    First Priest song. :D One of the best songs from the early Priest years, Sinner is just awesome. I love watching KK do his solo. He gets so excited. XD
6. She-Wolf - Megadeth
    The Rude Awakening version is just amazing.
5. When the Sun Rose Again - Alice in Chains.
    The best song off their new, perfect album.
4. Darkside of Aquarius - Bruce Dickinson.
    The best Bruce Dickinson song of all-time, next to Book of Thel. But I just like DoA more.
3. Metal Meltdown - Judas Priest.
    I actually like it more than Painkiller. Just listen to the intro.
2. The Nomad - Iron Maiden.
    VERY underrated and one of the best songs I've ever heard. Why it didn't make the top ten Maiden songs puzzles me.
1. Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Iron Maiden.
    Yeah.

Not much variety, but whatever. XD

Honourable mentions (just a bunch of Bruce Dickinson songs):
Navigate the Seas of the Sun
Kill Devil Hill
No Way Out... Continued
Tears of the Dragon
Taking the Queen
Omega

I didn't put Rush, Queen or Zeppelin on the list because I don't think they count, do they? Since it's a metal list?
 
These lists are usually always a waste of space, as it often compiles only the most popular of songs. For the heck of it, my list would look like this:

10 Paschendale- Iron Maiden (Dance Of Death, 2003)
9 Holy Wars... The Punishment Due- Megadeth (Rust In Peace, 1990)
8 Master Of Puppets- Metallica (Master Of Puppets, 1986)
7 Rainbow in the Dark- Dio (Holy Diver, 1983)
6 Creeping Death- Metallica (Ride The Lightning, 1984)
5 Peace Sells- Megadeth (Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? 1986)
4 Hallowed Be Thy Name- Iron Maiden (Number Of The Beast, 1982)
3 Tornado of Souls- Megadeth (Rust In Peace, 1990)
2 War Pigs- Black Sabbath (Paranoid, 1970)
1 Powerslave- Iron Maiden (Powerslave, 1984)


Now I bet there are few of you agreeing with this list. I doubt there's anyone who agrees that Powerslave is the greatest metal song of all time, but that is how I feel. No spot for Iron Man, because I prefer War Pigs. Some may disagree, but again it's personal preference (Iron Man is also an excellent song). Tornado of Souls IMO is easlily a top 10 song, yet never recieves the credit it deserves. And finally, I included Rainbow In The Dark despite many people preferring Holy Diver. So you see, personal preference count a lot in these lists. Am I saying everybody should accept these as the greatest 10 metal songs of all time? No. Am I saying that these are in MY opinion the greatest metal songs of all time? Yes. Heck, I could have made a top 100 and still there would have been a thousand deserving songs narrowly missing out ;)
And if I were to do a top 20, then from 20-11 my list would look like this:

20 Iron Man- Black Sabbath (Paranoid, 1970)
19 Victim Of Changes- Judas Priest (Sad Wings of Destiny, 1976)
18 Call of Ktulu- Metallica (Ride The Lightning, 1984)
17 Stranger In A Strange Land- Iron Maiden (Somewhere In Time, 1987)
16 Battery- Metallica (Master Of Puppets, 1986)
15 Good Mourning Black Friday- Megadeth (Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?, 1986)
14 Crazy Train- Ozzy Ozbourne (Blizzard Of Ozz, 1980)
13 Raining Blood- Slayer (Reign In Blood, 1986)
12 The Trooper- Iron Maiden (Piece Of Mind, 1983)
11 Painkiller- Judas Priest (Painkiller, 1990)

Again this represents my own personal opinion- a mixture of 'popular' or 'obvious' choices and a few 'non obvious' songs from 'obvious bands'.
 
Forostar said:
:cheers:

Love it as well. That album is my favourite Priest album of the 70s.
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Same here. But I'm a little biased since it was my first one.
lordantwarrior said:
19 Victim Of Changes- Judas Preist (Sad Wings of Destiny, 1976)
11 Painkiller- Judas Preist (Painkiller, 1990)
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I don't want to sound like a jerk, but it was gonna drive me nuts: Judas Priest. XD
 
Moonchild33 said:
Same here. But I'm a little biased since it was my first one.
I don't want to sound like a jerk, but it was gonna drive me nuts: Judas Priest. XD
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Oops :blush:

How I can get such a simple word wrong TWICE, yet spell Paschendale and Ktulu right in the same paragraph is beyond me! :lol:

Corrected anyhow.
 
lordantwarrior said:
10 Paschendale- Iron Maiden (Dance Of Death, 2003)
9 Holy Wars... The Punishment Due- Megadeth (Rust In Peace, 1990)
8 Master Of Puppets- Metallica (Master Of Puppets, 1986)
7 Rainbow in the Dark- Dio (Holy Diver, 1983)
6 Creeping Death- Metallica (Ride The Lightning, 1984)
5 Peace Sells- Megadeth (Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? 1986)
4 Hallowed Be Thy Name- Iron Maiden (Number Of The Beast, 1982)
3 Tornado of Souls- Megadeth (Rust In Peace, 1990)
2 War Pigs- Black Sabbath (Paranoid, 1970)
1 Powerslave- Iron Maiden (Powerslave, 1984)


Now I bet there are few of you agreeing with this list.
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Actually, many people here would agree with that list - at least to the extent of saying that it does contain many of the greatest metal songs.

The evidence: 6 of those 10 have already been mentioned (Hallowed by 7 people, Paschendale by 3).

You have more Megadeth songs than most people, and you're the first one to mention a Dio song. Aside from those minor differences, your list is actually typical for this forum. :bigsmile:


Edit:
Since I have the first 10 lists copied to my computer (for the upcoming Best Metal Song Survivor), I decided to compile some concrete stats...

All 10 people named at least one Iron Maiden song. 5 people listed multiple Maiden songs. 7 people named Hallowed.

Number of people who named at least one song by the band:
7: Black Sabbath
6: Metallica, Iced Earth
5: Judas Priest
4: Megadeth

Plus 3 for Blaze, but that one is a little fishy. It's me, LC and Perun putting Stare At The Sun on our lists. Which has roots in the depths of murky chatroom lore. You must survive an NP-war to understand.
 
1. Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name
2. Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains The Same
3. Dio - The Last In Line
4. Bruce Dickinson - Jerusalem
5. Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven
6. Black Sabbath - War Pigs
7. Iron Maiden - Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
8. Judas Priest - Living After Midnight
9. Metallica - One
10. Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'N' Roll
 
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