Welcome to the first installment of Maidenfans Metal Essentials! This new game is an attempt at fusing together the discussions on my old Yearly Metal Project and poll based forum games. The idea is to take some of the most famous and influential Hard Rock and Metal albums and pit their songs against each other in a head to head format. Like Mckindog’s Maidenfans head to head, the results of the individual matches will determine which album is the winner. However, I will also be keeping track of which songs won the most rounds for future research.
As you may have noticed, I mentioned that this is the first installment of the game. The idea is that something like this could potentially springboard other similar games, much like the survivors. These games should be more fast paced and inclusive than the survivors, as they will encompass well known bands/albums rather than diving into the entire discography of a particular band. This will be a great opportunity for members to discover new music without having to commit to a long winded survivor.
With that all being said, the theme of this incarnation of the game will be Grandfathers of Metal. That’s right, it’s time to dust off your old Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath records and put on your best pair of bell bottoms. We’re going to be pitting some of the most influential early Metal albums against each other to see which ones Maidenfans love and which ones are overrated, overplayed, and overexposed.
Album pairings will not be random! Each round will have a unique “theme” that will hopefully spur discussion. This game isn’t going to be about comparing apples to oranges. I hope for some discussion on both the albums themselves in addition to in depth comparisons. The albums themselves have been pruned down to 7 songs, as I needed an equal and odd number of songs on each album. I went about this by removing short instrumentals, interludes, and songs that lost in the first rounds of survivors. I also merged some songs that are sometimes listed together. In the case of two albums, there were no survivors to go off and no obvious “filler” songs that I could remove right off the bat, so I used my own judgment and consulted fans of those bands. My apologies in advance.
These are the albums that will be included:
Black Sabbath - Paranoid, Volume IV
Led Zeppelin - IV
Deep Purple - Machine Head, In Rock
Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties
Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
Rainbow - Rainbow
Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
The full game will be up by Sunday morning west coast USA time.
As you may have noticed, I mentioned that this is the first installment of the game. The idea is that something like this could potentially springboard other similar games, much like the survivors. These games should be more fast paced and inclusive than the survivors, as they will encompass well known bands/albums rather than diving into the entire discography of a particular band. This will be a great opportunity for members to discover new music without having to commit to a long winded survivor.
With that all being said, the theme of this incarnation of the game will be Grandfathers of Metal. That’s right, it’s time to dust off your old Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath records and put on your best pair of bell bottoms. We’re going to be pitting some of the most influential early Metal albums against each other to see which ones Maidenfans love and which ones are overrated, overplayed, and overexposed.
Album pairings will not be random! Each round will have a unique “theme” that will hopefully spur discussion. This game isn’t going to be about comparing apples to oranges. I hope for some discussion on both the albums themselves in addition to in depth comparisons. The albums themselves have been pruned down to 7 songs, as I needed an equal and odd number of songs on each album. I went about this by removing short instrumentals, interludes, and songs that lost in the first rounds of survivors. I also merged some songs that are sometimes listed together. In the case of two albums, there were no survivors to go off and no obvious “filler” songs that I could remove right off the bat, so I used my own judgment and consulted fans of those bands. My apologies in advance.
These are the albums that will be included:
Black Sabbath - Paranoid, Volume IV
Led Zeppelin - IV
Deep Purple - Machine Head, In Rock
Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties
Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
Rainbow - Rainbow
Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
The full game will be up by Sunday morning west coast USA time.
