Metal Essentials I: Grandfathers of Metal (1970 - 1975) - FINAL ROUND - Zeppelin vs Sabbath

vote for your FAVORITE song in each pair


  • Total voters
    20
  • Poll closed .

Mosh

PM me your Nightwish album rankings!
Staff member
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. :D

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.
 
I'll have to listen to the Blue Oyster Cult album, I haven't heard that one before. I don't think I've heard the Uriah Heep album yet either. I'll try to listen to both of those tonight if I can.
 
Looking forward to this game.
Personally, I would have gone for a slightly different array of albums, but so would anyone, I guess.
 
Round length will depend on participation, I'm fine with leaving them open for up to a week but I haven't really settled on a set length yet.

Personally, I would have gone for a slightly different array of albums, but so would anyone, I guess.
I will be posting album lists in the survivor discussion thread ahead of time for feedback/changes. I did make a few changes before arriving at this list based on some comments here: https://forum.maidenfans.com/threads/survivor-discussion.22968/page-76#post-792040
 
I'm a sporadic poster here, but I'll try and participate.

This first round looks tough already, for me anyhow. I cut my teeth on a couple of these.

One of them is actually the first album I ever bought with my own hard earned lawn mowing money.

Objectivity will have to be a conscious effort.
 
First bracket:

1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975

6 years

Now what?

1976
1977
1978
1979

4 years?

Or

1976
1977
1978
1979
1980

5 years?

Both are less years than first bracket. Conclusion: first bracket can better be 5 years. Unless brackets are 6 years each.
 
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I think it’d be interesting to do ten albums from each year when we get to the ‘80s. The ‘70s are more sparse so we can combine years. But that’s just me...
 
First bracket:

1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975

6 years

Now what?

1976
1977
1978
1979

4 years?

Or

1976
1977
1978
1979
1980

5 years?

Both are less years than first bracket. Conclusion: first bracket can better be 5 years. Unless brackets are 6 years each.
It really just came to quantity of albums. I looked ahead and saw a more crowded field for the second half of the 70s, so 1975 got lumped with the rest. The next game will probably be 4 years since there are a lot more contenders. 1980 by itself has a ton of albums and could be its own game. That one will likely only go up to 1982, but I haven’t gotten that far yet.
 
I don't usually participate but I'm in for this!
Already started on my homework, never heard Secret Treaties and Rainbow (I guess that's Ritchie's Blackmore Rainbow album, yes?)
Anyway @Mosh Sunday has passed in all parts of the world.
And yes, it makes sense for earlier years to have a wider span, I believe span will become much shorter in the 80's.
 
Round 1: Battle of the Guitar Cliches

For many generations of, certain riffs and licks have endured as benchmarks for young rock guitar players. I’m sure many of the guitarists among us remember plucking away at Smoke On the Water, or jamming to Iron Man (almost certainly in the wrong key). For the more advanced players, the guitar/keyboard duel in Highway Star is a technical benchmark and the ending instrumental to War Pigs is a face melter. It’s hard to find two albums that have had a greater impact on rock guitar playing and, since guitar is a key ingredient to Metal, this is where we begin. Our first round is Black Sabbath - Paranoid vs Deep Purple - Machine Head

There is some debate over whether Deep Purple could actually be considered as metal, but what can’t be denied is the level of influence the band and this album had. Many bands that came after cited Deep Purple often in the same sentence as bands like Sabbath. The shredding of Blackmore and Lord is a sound that would be a staple in the more technical strains of Metal. There’s even a hint of Iron Maiden in there. To not include them in this game would be blasphemy of the highest order.

Paranoid is a more straightforward choice. The first Sabbath album had some heavy moments but was still grounded in the band’s blues roots. On Paranoid that sound has been translated into something much heavier, darker, and at times apocalyptic. In some ways Paranoid is the architect of Heavy Metal’s mood. Iommi doesn’t shred like Blackmore but instead offers a much heavier and doomy sound. The lyrics appropriately tell tales of doomsday, mental illness, and the harrowing effects of war.

Both albums are heavily rooted in the blues but take those roots in new directions. They are not just essentials in Metal, but modern music as a whole. Much of the music on here has also had a profound cultural impact. More so than a lot of other metal. But only one can survive. Let the arguments begin!
 
Quite an unfortunate matchup for the Machine Head. Paranoid is just too good. I did give Smoke on the Water a vote though.
 
I’m going to shoot for updates on Friday or Saturday. I am fine with keeping rounds open longer if people need more time though.
 
Some tough choices, also some very easy ones. Paranoid just won, 4 - 3.

Highway Star
Maybe I'm A Leo
Planet Caravan
Iron Man
Smoke on the Water
Hand of Doom
Fairies Wear Boots
 
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