Best Metal Song Tournament (Round 10)

[Diesel 11]

5 Black Sabbath - Headless Cross +1
1 Warlock - All We Are

4 Opeth - Ghost of Perdition +1
2 Summoning - The Rotting Horse On The Deadly Ground

4 Jacobs Dream - Sanctuary +1
2 At Vance - Only Human

4 Rammstein - Mein Herz Brennt +1
2 Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) - Limp Bizkit

I think that "All We Are" is pretty fun cheesy German '80s metal with some pretty strong music and of course Doro's unmistakable voice. "Headless Cross" though, what a discovery that was for me last year. The album is my favorite from Sabbath and the title track to me is their definitive song. I "Heaven and Hell" is a top 5 Sabbath song for me too, but they do two completely different things with a similar groove and I prefer this one. Tony Martin's shrieks!

Summoning was interesting but too repetitive. "Ghost of Perdition" is awesome, shifting through so many different moods and making you ascend into the next realm when you least expect. Also a lot of Tool-ish bits in this track.

I wasn't thrilled by At Vance at first but was gradually won over by the time the solo kicked in. I think the chorus structure is a bit clunky though. Jacobs Dream was better musically IMO, even if the vocalist is a bit of a weak Bruce Dickinson wannabe.

MEIN HERZ BRENNT!
"Rollin'" has a solid hook but this is like pitting a steam shovel against a bucket wheel excavator.

 

[Diesel 11]

Actually I'm open to some Opeth suggestions now! @MrK @Diesel 11

Yeah I would start with Still Life, Blackwater Park, and Ghost Reveries like Knick said. I'm not a superfan of Opeth, I like them in passing, but I did nominate one of their songs because for me it transcends their discography and is one of my favorite metal songs ever. To be continued....

 

[Cat Milk Supreme]

Fuck me, another vote for Headless Cross. I've played it 4 times since my vote and playing it again right now.

It's fine, it's good but it's like all the B Level 80s metal stuff, I can dig it, enjoy it but fuck me it's absolute B grade, like somethin off Lost Boys, good background metal whereas Warlock is upfront 80s metal.

I've no fandom context for Sabbath but my guess that in Sabbath World it's cool to like Headless Cross as opposed to War Pigs. Tell me I'm wrong, bitcheeeeessss

 

[Diesel 11]

It's fine, it's good but it's like all the B Level 80s metal stuff, I can dig it, enjoy it but fuck me it's absolute B grade, like somethin off Lost Boys, good background metal whereas Warlock is upfront 80s metal.

Funny you should say this cuz to me "All We Are" is the definition of B Level '80s metal. It's fun and catchy and dumb. "Headless Cross" is incredibly camp too, but I like it more and I think that Iommi sounds the most fired up since Dio left. The solos across that whole album are the best he ever did.

 

[Cat Milk Supreme]

Funny you should say this cuz to me "All We Are" is the definition of B Level '80s metal. It's fun and catchy and dumb. "Headless Cross" is incredibly camp too, but I like it more and I think that Iommi sounds the most fired up since Dio left. The solos across that whole album are the best he ever did.

I don't even hear Toni in this song. It's just generic to me, no flavour, no Toni Stylee.

I enjoy my 80s. I enjoy my cheese. I enjoy my Sabbath. Headless Cross feels like a totally unnecessary combination of them all.

I still like it but in context of bein a Sabbath song I almost hate it. This is not Black Sabbath. And it's not any kind of greatness.

Warlock is B Level Metal to me when I consider Maiden to be A Level. Literally every other band is a level below Maiden in terms of 80s metal but after Maiden, All We Are is as good as it gets for me.

Well, maybe I Want Out is close.

Anyway, Devil and Daughter off the Headless Cross album is waaaay better than Headless Cross

 

[Vaenyr]

6 Black Sabbath - Headless Cross +1
1 Warlock - All We Are

5 Opeth - Ghost of Perdition +1
2 Summoning - The Rotting Horse On The Deadly Ground

4 Jacobs Dream - Sanctuary
3 At Vance - Only Human +1

5 Rammstein - Mein Herz Brennt +1
2 Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) - Limp Bizkit

Doro is great, but All We Are kinda feels like a generic "80s anthem". It's a cool song to put on the background, but there's not much depth to be honest.
Headless Cross must've been a massive influence for Joey DeMaio, especially for Warriors Of The World, right? lol
I'm a big fan of Tony Martin and I much prefer his and Dio's vocals to Ozzy's. I'm very happy that this song in particular was nominated, and it easily wins this matchup.

The opening synths on the Summoning song are kinda funny out of context. Sound like they're from a video game lol
I like the lead guitar playing, even if it has a more rhytmic quality a lot of time. Maybe it works better within the context of the album, but to me it felt like I listened to the same 2 minute song four times in a row. I don't think this song justifies its length.
Ghost Of Perdition wins this easily. Opeth generally checks a lot of boxes about stuff I appreciate. The proggy elements, the changing vibes and tempos, and of course the sheer variety of ideas throughout the song. In direct comparison, here we can see how you can effectively use 10 minutes of music to take the listener on a journey.

First time listening to Jacob's Dream, hadn't ever heard of them before. The music is quite alright, they synths a bit too prominent, though that's something that sets them apart from their contemporaries to some degree, I suppose. I really dislike the vocalist though, he completely ruins the song for me.
First time listening to At Vance as well. The music is relatively simple and even though I normally like choirs a ton, they sound kinda weak here. Or I'm simply not a big fan of this song's chorus. The vocalist has a great voice though and he decides this matchup almost singlehandedly. Not quite true, the solos were nice as well. Side note: This song gives me a bit of Crush 40 (main themes for a bunch of Sonic games) vibes lol

As is usual with Rammstein, the vocals are the weakest parts. I like his higher range, but Till's speaking voice is super annoying to me, especially with the very pronounced, rolled Rs. That said, the song itself is good and wins this matchup.
Limp Bizkit get too much hate. It's mostly because of Fred I guess. I need to see them live at some point, they're supposed to be incredibly fun. Rollin' is okay, and the chorus is catchy. There's not much else to say, it's background music.

 

[The Dissident]

7 Black Sabbath - Headless Cross +1
1 Warlock - All We Are

6 Opeth - Ghost of Perdition +1
2 Summoning - The Rotting Horse On The Deadly Ground

4 Jacobs Dream - Sanctuary
4 At Vance - Only Human +1

6 Rammstein - Mein Herz Brennt +1
2 Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) - Limp Bizkit

 

[Vaenyr]

7 Black Sabbath - Headless Cross +1
1 Warlock - All We Are

6 Opeth - Ghost of Perdition +1
2 Summoning - The Rotting Horse On The Deadly Ground

4 Jacobs Dream - Sanctuary
4 At Vance - Only Human +1

6 Rammstein - Mein Herz Brennt +1
2 Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) - Limp Bizkit

 

[Shmoolikipod]

8 Black Sabbath - Headless Cross +1
1 Warlock - All We Are

7 Opeth - Ghost of Perdition +1
2 Summoning - The Rotting Horse On The Deadly Ground

5 Jacobs Dream - Sanctuary +1
4 At Vance - Only Human

7 Rammstein - Mein Herz Brennt +1
2 Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) - Limp Bizkit

Not a lot to say about the first match, I've never been a fan of either of these. If I'll ever come to like one of them I guess it will be Headless Cross.

Really cool stuff in the Summoning song, good atmosphere and I liked the horns. Unlucky for it to face one of Opeth's classics, it's still an easy choice to make.

When I said I'm "not a fan" of Headless Cross/All We Are, I meant that I find them "meh", which is mostly how I felt while listening to Sanctuary too. There are some nice bits in there but it's not really for me. This isn't how I felt while listening to Only Human, first song of the tournament that I straight up hated, sorry. The guitar at the start almost had me convinced that I'll like it. Nope, overproduced cheesy generic and annoying. This could be a freaking Eurovision entry...

Clean my fucking ears Rammstein. Luckily it's a great song for the task. Rollin' is pretty good too, but its real strength is that it's funny.
Undoubtedly I like Rammstein more though. Comedy or quality? hmmmm...

 

[Siddharth]

Round 6 Winners:

Black Sabbath - Headless Cross (8 Points)
Rammstein - Mein Herz Brennt (7 Points)
Opeth - Ghost of Perdition (7 Points)
Jacobs Dream - Sanctuary (5 Points)

 

[Siddharth]

Round 7: Under The Blood Red Skies!

1. Manowar - Blood Of My Enemies
(Nominated by - @Azas)

Vs.

W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children
(Nominated by - @Cat Milk Supreme)

2. Slayer - Raining Blood
(Nominated by - @Diesel 11)

Vs.

Necrodeath - Red As Blood
(Nominated by - @Clairvoyant Parchment)

3. Symphony X - The Odyssey
(Nominated by - @Diesel 11 and @MrK)

Vs.

Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence
(Nominated by - @Vaenyr)

And Then There Was Silence - Remastered 2017

Blind Guardian · A Night at the Opera (Remastered 2017) · Song · 2002

open.spotify.com

4. W.A.S.P. - L.O.V.E. Machine
(Nominated by - @Cat Milk Supreme)

L.O.V.E. Machine

W.A.S.P. · W.A.S.P. · Song · 1984

open.spotify.com

Vs.

Chez Kane - Guilty Of Love
(Nominated by - @Kalata)

Guilty of Love

Chez Kane · Powerzone · Song · 2022

open.spotify.com

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

0 Manowar - Blood Of My Enemies
0 W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children

0 Slayer - Raining Blood
0 Necrodeath - Red As Blood

0 Symphony X - The Odyssey
0 Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence

0 W.A.S.P. - L.O.V.E. Machine
0 Chez Kane - Guilty Of Love

 

[MindRuler]

Symphony X - The Odyssey

Vs.

Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence

 

[MindRuler]

Fun fact: Match 3 of this round is longer than the whole Reign In Blood album.

 

[MindRuler]

1 Manowar - Blood Of My Enemies +1
0 W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children

1 Slayer - Raining Blood +1
0 Necrodeath - Red As Blood

1 Symphony X - The Odyssey +1
0 Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence

0 W.A.S.P. - L.O.V.E. Machine
1 Chez Kane - Guilty Of Love +1

 

[Azas]

2 Manowar - Blood Of My Enemies +1
0 W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children

2 Slayer - Raining Blood +1
0 Necrodeath - Red As Blood

2 Symphony X - The Odyssey +1
0 Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence

2 Chez Kane - Guilty Of Love +1
0 W.A.S.P. - L.O.V.E. Machine

#

The first match: I like both songs, but I voted for my pick, Manowar's “Blood of My Enemies,” because this song gets me going places, whereas W.A.S.P.'s “The Headless Children” is more on the introverted spectrum - more serious and lamenting.

I can't ignore Manowar's call-to-arms message or take no prisoners attitude and that oomph feeling. And those Eric Adams vocals are seriously good.

“Blood of My Enemies” was maybe the first Manowar song I ever heard, back in the '90s, when my cousin brought a cassette to my grandma's house and we all listened to Hail to England. That opening song was seriously good, especially in the vocal department.

#

Necrodeath's song doesn't stand a chance against Slayer's “Raining Blood.” Absolute classic.

#

For this matchup, I had to sell all my belongings and move to a monastery in the mountains just to find the peace and solitude necessary to listen to these two songs. One clocks in at 24 minutes, the other at 14. Holy moly, Joseph!

Symphony X's “The Odyssey” - first time hearing the song. Like I mentioned earlier, prog stuff isn't necessarily my boat. Not that this song is overly technical, at least to my uneducated ears, but it doesn't really try to please you with immediately recognisable hooks or motifs. The band just tells its story, and you either join them for the ride or you don't.

The sound isn't harsh; I'd call it “round” and pleasant. The orchestration, however, doesn't feel entirely real to me, which affects the experience a little. Overall, though, the song is perfectly listenable, and I liked the singer's voice.

Now, what I noticed: the song suddenly grabbed me around the 19-minute mark, when, after the quiet part, the guitar harmony and galloping started. The structure suddenly became much more recognisable and felt like it was finally aimed at me. That's your crescendo! All the intricate, circling and swirling musical stuff was suddenly pushed aside, and I was hooked. So I can say with confidence that I really liked the last four minutes of the song.

Funnily enough, while trying to replay it from the 19-minute mark on YouTube, I noticed that the little graph showed the song was most often listened to or replayed almost exactly from the point where I got hooked - or a little earlier. So I guess my musical taste is pretty average, in a good way, and you could probably use me as a human test subject to determine whether a particular song is going to be a hit or a miss. Ha!

Also, while listening to that repeated, harmonised chorus:

Triumphant, champion of Ithaca
I will right all the wrongs
Let the gods sing my song
Triumphant, champion of Ithaca
Let a new life begin
My journey has come to and end, oh

some of the consonances and melodic lines kept reminding me of another song. It's incredibly unnerving when you can almost identify what it is but can't quite place it. Very uncomfortable.

But I remembered! That exact chorus reminded me of Rainbow's “Street of Dreams.” I don't know why. Is there actually any resemblance between the two, or is my brain just making connections again?

I relistened to the song starting around 20:10, and the guitar playing there also reminded me of “Street of Dreams.”

Blind Guardian's “And Then There Was Silence” is obviously 10 minutes shorter and felt maybe a little less proggy. I can listen to this kind of music, although I don't listen to Blind Guardian much, if at all. The main culprit is that I'm not a fan of Hansi Kürsch's voice. I don't really consider him a strong vocalist, and in this song I mostly perceived his singing as some form of yelling. Controlled yelling, but still yelling. Ha.

Also, the song's production felt very crowded compared with the Symphony X track, where the instruments and vocals felt much more prominent and separate. In the more intense parts of the Blind Guardian song, everything seemed to blur together into one big wall of sound. Too much of everything - and on top of that (or in between), Hansi is yelling.

It's listenable, of course. I'm just expressing my impression and explaining why I voted for the Symphony X song. Basically, those last five minutes made the decision for me. Ha!

Hmm... at least Blind Guardian's cover art is much more in line with my overall preferences than Symphony X's.

#

In the last match, I voted for Chez Kane because the second part of the song is, to me, a perfect example of why guitar music is the greatest. I'm a simple man - most of the time I don't need super-technical guitar wizardry. Just give me some harmonies and that feeling of longing on a universal scale, and I'm yours. Great, great, great.

 

[MrK]

3 Manowar - Blood Of My Enemies +1
0 W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children

3 Slayer - Raining Blood +1
0 Necrodeath - Red As Blood

3 Symphony X - The Odyssey +1
0 Blind Guardian - And Then There Was Silence

3 Chez Kane - Guilty Of Love +1
0 W.A.S.P. - L.O.V.E. Machine

• I do not like Manowar and this song is no exception, but the chorus is actually catchy. I do not like WASP and this song is no exception. Show me a 6 minute song with a 2 minute intro and I'll show you a song I don't like. Cool riff at the end, but fuck Blackie Lawless.
• I also don't like Slayer, but Raining Blood is a classic. This Necrodeath song is just ripping off Raining Blood, right? Like, surely this comparison is the most hilarious yet.
• I like Blind Guardian. But, come on, we're talking about The Odyssey here. It's easily the best Symphony X song of all time and probably the best prog metal song of all time, too. Easy win.
• I have never heard of Chez Kane before, but I appreciate the 80s pastiche she proffers here. The song is way too long, but the guitar playing is solid enough. I shall once again reiterate: fuck Blackie Lawless.

 

[MindRuler]

0 W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children
0 W.A.S.P. - L.O.V.E. Machine

 

[Diesel 11]

I do not like Manowar and this song is no exception, but the chorus is actually catchy. I do not like WASP and this song is no exception. Show me a 6 minute song with a 2 minute intro and I'll show you a song I don't like. Cool riff at the end, but fuck Blackie Lawless.

Oh you’re fuckin playing fuckin games today what the fuck

 

[Diesel 11]

One more boring ass Manowar song in a “greatest metal songs” game. One more example of why I don’t understand y’all glazing Eric Adams. Over “Headless Children”, with great riffs and a dynamic structure?? AND BY THE WAY, catchier than Manoplod. What war are they men of, the dickless winter? Brothers of metal, let’s stand in a circle and do the hoo-ha hubba hubba yarn yarn blimbajim. Get fucking real. W.A.S.P. aren’t perfect but put em against Manowar and you’d see some England hailers get fucked by a beast. SHIT!

 

[Cat Milk Supreme]

One more boring ass Manowar song in a “greatest metal songs” game. One more example of why I don’t understand y’all glazing Eric Adams. Over “Headless Children”, with great riffs and a dynamic structure?? AND BY THE WAY, catchier than Manoplod. What war are they men of, the dickless winter? Brothers of metal, let’s stand in a circle and do the hoo-ha hubba hubba yarn yarn blimbajim. Get fucking real. W.A.S.P. aren’t perfect but put em against Manowar and you’d see some England hailers get fucked by a beast. SHIT!

Fucking preach!