Magnus
Pica Serdica
You know, I've heard rumours of some metal bands actually praising Jesus (or commies, for that matter) but I've always refused to believe them.
The Greatest Metal Song Cup - Part II, Round 2, Matches 76-81
- Thread starter LooseCannon
- Start date
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- Tags
- gmsc
KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
I agree that these are two of BG's weakest songs, but the album as a whole is absolutely killer. Sacred Worlds, Tanelorn, Ride Into Obsession, Curse My Name and A Voice in the Dark are all fantastic. I don't even rate Wheel of Time particularly highly myself.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
Heartwork is a landmark extreme metal album, and the title track is one of the band's most memorable (and popular) tunes. Raging, furious, yet with beauty hiding beneath the surface. I like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" a lot and it's definitely a classic, but it does not belong in this game. Carcass
Danzig
Metallica
Megadeth (even though "Holy Wars" isn't quite as perfect as a lot of people seem to think, it's still a monumental testament of thrash excellence with one of the greatest riffs EVER)
Rush because Knick voted against Emperor.
"Ghost Love Score" is one of my favorite songs period and certainly my favorite Nightwish song. Doesn't matter if you're listen to the Showtime Storytime live version or the original. Floor or Tarja, doesn't matter. It's beautiful, it's epic, it's radiant, and honestly as time goes on I think we'll start seeing it come to be regarded as one of the best metal songs ever. The fandom is already working their magic in the YouTube sphere lol. Anyway Lemmy vote for Nightwish.
Danzig
Metallica
Megadeth (even though "Holy Wars" isn't quite as perfect as a lot of people seem to think, it's still a monumental testament of thrash excellence with one of the greatest riffs EVER)
Rush because Knick voted against Emperor.
"Ghost Love Score" is one of my favorite songs period and certainly my favorite Nightwish song. Doesn't matter if you're listen to the Showtime Storytime live version or the original. Floor or Tarja, doesn't matter. It's beautiful, it's epic, it's radiant, and honestly as time goes on I think we'll start seeing it come to be regarded as one of the best metal songs ever. The fandom is already working their magic in the YouTube sphere lol. Anyway Lemmy vote for Nightwish.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
"Heartwork" has some nice riffage but some annoying trilling, and the vocals are of the annoying non-melodic variety. There are some nice harmonized bits, but some boring rhythmic-focused stuff too. A very mixed bag that would have been a lot better with melodic vocals. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is way overplayed and overrated, but it knows exactly what it wants to do and it does it really effectively. The verses are haunting and atmospheric, building nicely through the pre-chorus before exploding into a huge, catchy chorus. The main riff is actually pretty complicated rhythmically, which wasn't always the case with this style of music; and while the melodic lead in the middle just apes the verse melody, it fits. That final chorus hits like a ton of bricks, too. No contest here. Winner: Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
"Mother" is very simplistic musically, but it's got charisma, and Metal Elvis delivers a pretty captivating performance. Good stuff. "Wheel Of Time" has a pretty cool middle eastern opening, and the vocal production here is noticeably better than on most of the other BG stuff I've heard. The string and horn accompaniment is a little odd, but I think it mostly works. The chorus is solid and the solo section is great, despite the video gamey guitar tone. The extended symphonic instrumental around the halfway mark feels unnecessary, but the song changes gears afterward to mostly justify its second half. Kind of overblown, but congratulations @Shmoolikipod, your nominee works well and has more musical meat on its bones. Winner: Blind Guardian - "Wheel Of Time"
"The Four Horsemen" is a more sedate version of Megadeth's "Mechanix" with half good / half crappy vocals from James Hetfield. The bridge is kind of interesting minus the bad vocals, but the instrumental bits are merely pretty good. I've always felt this song was really overrated, though it's not bad. "Ride On" has a pleasant flute, string, and acoustic guitar opening. The female vocals are nice and have a strong melody. The male vocalist sounds half-drunk during the softer parts, then overly throaty during the heavier bits, but I've heard much worse. The solo is tasteful, and the outro has some really nice harmonic stuff going on between the guitar and bass. Good stuff. Sorry, Kalapoto, but I'm feeling @Perun's nominee a little more here. Winner: Cruachan - "Ride On"
"Holy Wars" is dope AF from its first moment to its last. Killer riffage, super-tight rhythm section, great leads and solos, sweet middle eastern flavor, and great lyrics and delivery from Mustaine. Love the songwriting left turn into the "Punishment Due" part, and the explosion out of the solo into the final fast bit. Excellent song. "The Pursuit Of Vikings" has some pretty cool melodic riffage, but then Cookie Monster comes in. The interlude lapses into a trilling version of the riff which is less interesting, but I like the harmonic interplay between the guitars on the next verse. Pretty good if you ignore the Muppet Show aspects, but sorry @KiDDo, Mr Spammerbotter's nominee just crushed yours like a Lithuanian mayor driving a tank over illegally parked cars. Winner: Megadeth - "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due"
"Children Of The Sea" has a nice acoustic opening with great delivery from Dio. The main riff is less appealing, but I like the assertive bass work during that part, and of course Dio sounds great. The chorus doesn't really take off, though, which is a bummer, and I'm not thrilled with the instrumental interlude, though the solo is nice. Pretty good overall, though only about half of it is great. "Working Man" is far from my favorite Rush track, but it has memorable vocal lines and a reasonably good groove and solos, even if it runs on a bit too long. Its highs certainly aren't as high as its competitor's, but its lows also aren't as low, and it's generally more consistent. Sorry, The MrKalisserdockater, but I slightly prefer the list nominee here. Winner: Rush - "Working Man"
“Ghost Love Score” is from the more pompous latter era of Nightwish, so I like it less than some of their earlier work; but the harmonized choral parts are great, as are many of the solo vocal parts. The instrumental parts are overly indulgent at times, though. Still good stuff overall. "I'm The Doctor" has a simple, peppy groove. Not a fan of Lemmy's voice in the first place, and the layered vocals make him sound worse than usual here. The solos are pretty good, though. I don't know, this all sounds so stock and generic musically that it's hard to have much of an opinion about it. In one ear and out the other. Sorry, @DJ James, but this is an easy call for The MrPisserConfotodocker's nominee. Winner: Nightwish - "Ghost Love Score"
"Mother" is very simplistic musically, but it's got charisma, and Metal Elvis delivers a pretty captivating performance. Good stuff. "Wheel Of Time" has a pretty cool middle eastern opening, and the vocal production here is noticeably better than on most of the other BG stuff I've heard. The string and horn accompaniment is a little odd, but I think it mostly works. The chorus is solid and the solo section is great, despite the video gamey guitar tone. The extended symphonic instrumental around the halfway mark feels unnecessary, but the song changes gears afterward to mostly justify its second half. Kind of overblown, but congratulations @Shmoolikipod, your nominee works well and has more musical meat on its bones. Winner: Blind Guardian - "Wheel Of Time"
"The Four Horsemen" is a more sedate version of Megadeth's "Mechanix" with half good / half crappy vocals from James Hetfield. The bridge is kind of interesting minus the bad vocals, but the instrumental bits are merely pretty good. I've always felt this song was really overrated, though it's not bad. "Ride On" has a pleasant flute, string, and acoustic guitar opening. The female vocals are nice and have a strong melody. The male vocalist sounds half-drunk during the softer parts, then overly throaty during the heavier bits, but I've heard much worse. The solo is tasteful, and the outro has some really nice harmonic stuff going on between the guitar and bass. Good stuff. Sorry, Kalapoto, but I'm feeling @Perun's nominee a little more here. Winner: Cruachan - "Ride On"
"Holy Wars" is dope AF from its first moment to its last. Killer riffage, super-tight rhythm section, great leads and solos, sweet middle eastern flavor, and great lyrics and delivery from Mustaine. Love the songwriting left turn into the "Punishment Due" part, and the explosion out of the solo into the final fast bit. Excellent song. "The Pursuit Of Vikings" has some pretty cool melodic riffage, but then Cookie Monster comes in. The interlude lapses into a trilling version of the riff which is less interesting, but I like the harmonic interplay between the guitars on the next verse. Pretty good if you ignore the Muppet Show aspects, but sorry @KiDDo, Mr Spammerbotter's nominee just crushed yours like a Lithuanian mayor driving a tank over illegally parked cars. Winner: Megadeth - "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due"
"Children Of The Sea" has a nice acoustic opening with great delivery from Dio. The main riff is less appealing, but I like the assertive bass work during that part, and of course Dio sounds great. The chorus doesn't really take off, though, which is a bummer, and I'm not thrilled with the instrumental interlude, though the solo is nice. Pretty good overall, though only about half of it is great. "Working Man" is far from my favorite Rush track, but it has memorable vocal lines and a reasonably good groove and solos, even if it runs on a bit too long. Its highs certainly aren't as high as its competitor's, but its lows also aren't as low, and it's generally more consistent. Sorry, The MrKalisserdockater, but I slightly prefer the list nominee here. Winner: Rush - "Working Man"
“Ghost Love Score” is from the more pompous latter era of Nightwish, so I like it less than some of their earlier work; but the harmonized choral parts are great, as are many of the solo vocal parts. The instrumental parts are overly indulgent at times, though. Still good stuff overall. "I'm The Doctor" has a simple, peppy groove. Not a fan of Lemmy's voice in the first place, and the layered vocals make him sound worse than usual here. The solos are pretty good, though. I don't know, this all sounds so stock and generic musically that it's hard to have much of an opinion about it. In one ear and out the other. Sorry, @DJ James, but this is an easy call for The MrPisserConfotodocker's nominee. Winner: Nightwish - "Ghost Love Score"
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
If you define "latter era" as embracing more of a bombastic, epic, and orchestral sound with pop and groove metal leanings, sure. But this is still a Tarja album and they'd only been around for eight years by the time Once was released. I'd think of Floor's albums as "latter era" personally.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
Yep, that’s how I define it.
Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
Tanelorn, Ride and Voice are great but they feel samey on the album. Sacred Worlds and Curse My Name I agree. The production doesn't help much either, but that's a problem with all their post-Nightfall albums except the latest one...
Magnus
Pica Serdica
TheMercenary
Ancient Mariner
I prefer Tarja's version.
Smells like teen spirit? Smells like a teen's Carcass. Glenn Danzig's mother was not given magical powers by Blind Guardian's wheel of time. Metallica's four horsemen are not going ride on with Cruachan. It's not a matter of the weight. Their horses can carry armies. Their horses can carry cities. Yea, their horses carry all things in due course of time. It's just a matter of appearances. And voting. Amon Amarth's punishment is now due, thanks to Megadeth. The working man is just a child of the sea. Black Sabbath. And finally, the doctor cannot compete against ghost love when it scores for Nightwish.
Part II, Round 1, Matches 97-102
| Group Stage - Round 1 |
| Maiden England Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss | vs. | Y&T - Mean Streak | |
| Popoff 500, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100, Best Music Art 100 @Stardust, @Black Bart, @____no5, @Confeos | Nominators | Popoff 500 | |
| 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | Record | 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | |
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
| Group Stage - Round 1 |
| Rainmaker Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Halen - Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love | vs. | Liquid Tension Experiment - Universal Mind | |
| Popoff 500, Radio EHS 100 @Jer | Nominators | ||
| 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | Record | 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | |
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
| Group Stage - Round 1 |
| Bruce Dickinson Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metallica - Seek and Destroy | vs. | Insomnium - Heart Like a Grave | |
| Popoff 500, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Radio EHS 100, Rate Your Music 100 @____no5 | Nominators | ||
| 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | Record | 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | |
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
| Group Stage - Round 1 |
| The Final Frontier Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name | vs. | Dream Theater - In the Presence of Enemies | |
| Popoff 500, Rolling Stone 100, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Youtube 50 @KiDDo | Nominators | ||
| 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | Record | 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | |
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
| Group Stage - Round 1 |
| Steve Harris Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dio - The Last in Line | vs. | Stratovarius - We Hold the Key | |
| Popoff 500, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100 @LooseCannon | Nominators | ||
| 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | Record | 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | |
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
Last edited:
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
Mean Streak
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (rock classic and classic riff)
Seek And Destroy (classic)
Queen Of The Reich
^I prefer and like their style much more.
The Last In Line vs We Hold The Key is a really interesting matchup. The latter is a classic atmospheric and melodic epic of Stratovarius with a noticeable chorus, calm part and solid solos, but The Last In Line just sounds so epic. The vocals are majestic. If it was another Stratovarius song, I might have my doubts.
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (rock classic and classic riff)
Seek And Destroy (classic)
Queen Of The Reich
^I prefer and like their style much more.
The Last In Line vs We Hold The Key is a really interesting matchup. The latter is a classic atmospheric and melodic epic of Stratovarius with a noticeable chorus, calm part and solid solos, but The Last In Line just sounds so epic. The vocals are majestic. If it was another Stratovarius song, I might have my doubts.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
"Seasons In The Abyss" has a pretty good creepy atmospheric intro, and then some pretty good riffage. Araya offers a semi-melodic, not-entirely-on-key vocal delivery, and the melodic line of it is merely OK. The solos are certainly better than Slayer's typical efforts, but still not great. This is definitely one of the best Slayer songs I've heard, but it's still only pretty good overall. "Mean Streak" has a cool riff and strong vocal melodies. The singer sounds a bit like Sammy Hagar. Strong bridge. The solo is a bit tryhard at first, but gets its sea legs during the more melodic section that follows. Nice ending, good stuff overall. Sorry, StarkDart____Confno5, but I prefer the list nominee here. Winner: Y&T - "Mean Streak"
"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" is the absolute highlight of Van Halen's debut to me. Consistently dark tone, an iconic riff, great melodic lead playing, great dynamics, great vocal lines, and it doesn't even have a guitar solo, per se. Plus it has the awesome lyric "You know you're semi-good-looking...?" in it. "Universal Mind" is bright and gratuitously masturbatory, but there are lots of great leads and memorable sections (love the piano / guitar / synth tradeoff solos) and only a few weaknesses (some discount synth tones and the cheesy carnival outro), and ultimately everything works well together. Great stuff. Given the amount of irrational DLR-era Van Halen hate on this forum, and the almost equally irrational love of anything tangentially Dream Theater related, I'm guessing this match is a foregone conclusion -- but while the LTE song certainly has a lot more complex content in it, and it's a worthy competitor, I'm sorry @Stardust, but I think my nominee is the better song. Winner: Van Halen - "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"
"Search And Destroy" has good-to-great riffs and one of Hetfield's least bad vocal performances on Kill 'Em All, though significant parts of the song feel a bit rote and drawn out. The peppier bridge is good stuff, but it feels pretty disconnected from the rest of the song until it gets into the solo parts, which are strong. Still a very good track overall. "Heart Like A Grave" has a pretty acoustic intro that flows into a nice epic melodic lead...and then Cookie Monster shows up. The harmonized clean vocals are decent, but the extreme stuff sticks out like a sore thumb and just gets in the way of the music. Literally everything else about this song is great, but the Muppet vocals turn it into a clown show. Just imagine how much better it could have been if it were sung instead. Oh well. Sorry, @Night Prowler, but the extreme vocal tax throws this one to @____no5's nominee instead. Winner: Metallica - "Seek And Destroy"
"Killing In The Name" sounds like pretty much every other Rage Against The Machine track -- fat, simplistic, repetitive riffs with leftist rapping. They're consistently good at the one thing that they do, but I can't imagine listening to more than one of their songs in a row, since there are so few musical ideas at play. "In The Presence Of Enemies" does all of the Dream Theatery things for an extra-Dreamy length of time. As usual, they spend a lot of the song doing genuinely interesting things with nice melodies and interesting rhythms, but then they lapse into pure musical masturbation for a while before coming back to their senses. LaBrie is the weak link here again, as expected. He sounds good enough when he sings normally, but when he tries to put on the tough guy pants he sounds silly. Not a fan of either song, but sorry @KiDDo, I think @Shmoolikipod's nominee has more interesting things going on musically. Winner: Dream Theater - "In The Presence Of Enemies"
"The Last In Line" opens with a smooth clean groove and a pleasant vocal, which soon goes heavy and synthy. The verse vocal line is strong, and Dio sounds great as expected. The pre-chorus is less appealing, and the chorus unfortunately doesn't have much going on aside from the backing synths. Strong solo, though. This feels like half of a really good song, but it needed more time in the oven. "We Hold The Key" has a suitably epic opening and a nice acoustic verse. I really like the way it blossoms into the heavy stuff. The chorus is solid, and it almost has an early Queensrÿche feel through this part. The singer's accent is noticeable, but not derailing. Some nice vocal melodies in the bridge and strong soloing. I like the extended return to the acoustic feel, though the bargain basement synths at the end of it aren't the best. Very good overall. Sorry, @LooseCannon, but this is a pretty straightforward call for @JudasMyGuide's nominee. Winner: Stratovarius - "We Hold The Key"
"Queen Of The Reich" opens with some nice ringing chords and a big swelling scream before kicking into some dope-ass uptempo riffage. The verse vocal line is good, then builds really nicely through the pre-chorus into the big wail on the chorus. Love the bridge (with the lyric I always mishear as "a victim of bestiality"!), and the harmonized solo almost has a Somewhere In Time feel to it, but a couple of years earlier. This song is a great showcase for a very young Geoff Tate, it's catchy, and it never loses any momentum. Great stuff. "Bad Company" has a nice melancholy verse with a memorable vocal. The chorus is noticeably weaker, though it comes together better toward the end. Good solo. No real contest here, though. Winner: Queensrÿche - "Queen Of The Reich"
"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" is the absolute highlight of Van Halen's debut to me. Consistently dark tone, an iconic riff, great melodic lead playing, great dynamics, great vocal lines, and it doesn't even have a guitar solo, per se. Plus it has the awesome lyric "You know you're semi-good-looking...?" in it. "Universal Mind" is bright and gratuitously masturbatory, but there are lots of great leads and memorable sections (love the piano / guitar / synth tradeoff solos) and only a few weaknesses (some discount synth tones and the cheesy carnival outro), and ultimately everything works well together. Great stuff. Given the amount of irrational DLR-era Van Halen hate on this forum, and the almost equally irrational love of anything tangentially Dream Theater related, I'm guessing this match is a foregone conclusion -- but while the LTE song certainly has a lot more complex content in it, and it's a worthy competitor, I'm sorry @Stardust, but I think my nominee is the better song. Winner: Van Halen - "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"
"Search And Destroy" has good-to-great riffs and one of Hetfield's least bad vocal performances on Kill 'Em All, though significant parts of the song feel a bit rote and drawn out. The peppier bridge is good stuff, but it feels pretty disconnected from the rest of the song until it gets into the solo parts, which are strong. Still a very good track overall. "Heart Like A Grave" has a pretty acoustic intro that flows into a nice epic melodic lead...and then Cookie Monster shows up. The harmonized clean vocals are decent, but the extreme stuff sticks out like a sore thumb and just gets in the way of the music. Literally everything else about this song is great, but the Muppet vocals turn it into a clown show. Just imagine how much better it could have been if it were sung instead. Oh well. Sorry, @Night Prowler, but the extreme vocal tax throws this one to @____no5's nominee instead. Winner: Metallica - "Seek And Destroy"
"Killing In The Name" sounds like pretty much every other Rage Against The Machine track -- fat, simplistic, repetitive riffs with leftist rapping. They're consistently good at the one thing that they do, but I can't imagine listening to more than one of their songs in a row, since there are so few musical ideas at play. "In The Presence Of Enemies" does all of the Dream Theatery things for an extra-Dreamy length of time. As usual, they spend a lot of the song doing genuinely interesting things with nice melodies and interesting rhythms, but then they lapse into pure musical masturbation for a while before coming back to their senses. LaBrie is the weak link here again, as expected. He sounds good enough when he sings normally, but when he tries to put on the tough guy pants he sounds silly. Not a fan of either song, but sorry @KiDDo, I think @Shmoolikipod's nominee has more interesting things going on musically. Winner: Dream Theater - "In The Presence Of Enemies"
"The Last In Line" opens with a smooth clean groove and a pleasant vocal, which soon goes heavy and synthy. The verse vocal line is strong, and Dio sounds great as expected. The pre-chorus is less appealing, and the chorus unfortunately doesn't have much going on aside from the backing synths. Strong solo, though. This feels like half of a really good song, but it needed more time in the oven. "We Hold The Key" has a suitably epic opening and a nice acoustic verse. I really like the way it blossoms into the heavy stuff. The chorus is solid, and it almost has an early Queensrÿche feel through this part. The singer's accent is noticeable, but not derailing. Some nice vocal melodies in the bridge and strong soloing. I like the extended return to the acoustic feel, though the bargain basement synths at the end of it aren't the best. Very good overall. Sorry, @LooseCannon, but this is a pretty straightforward call for @JudasMyGuide's nominee. Winner: Stratovarius - "We Hold The Key"
"Queen Of The Reich" opens with some nice ringing chords and a big swelling scream before kicking into some dope-ass uptempo riffage. The verse vocal line is good, then builds really nicely through the pre-chorus into the big wail on the chorus. Love the bridge (with the lyric I always mishear as "a victim of bestiality"!), and the harmonized solo almost has a Somewhere In Time feel to it, but a couple of years earlier. This song is a great showcase for a very young Geoff Tate, it's catchy, and it never loses any momentum. Great stuff. "Bad Company" has a nice melancholy verse with a memorable vocal. The chorus is noticeably weaker, though it comes together better toward the end. Good solo. No real contest here, though. Winner: Queensrÿche - "Queen Of The Reich"
Y&T isn't terrible but Seasons in the Abyss is a masterpiece. Essential thrash over generic arena rock all day long.
Ain't Talkin 'Bout Love probably deserves to win this, although there are probably 10 other Van Halen songs from the first four albums alone that I would rather see here. Anyway, I went with Universal Mind mostly cause I just love that riff. Eddie would be proud.
Seek and Destroy obviously.
Thought I was tossing a pity vote to In the Presence of Enemies, turns out the result is pretty silly so far. Rage actually deserves to win this, it's a great track with an awesome riff/groove. The "fuck you I won't do what you tell me" buildup is probably the band's finest moment. Anyway, I voted for Dream Theater out of my own biases for the band. I have to say the Systematic Chaos album as a whole has grown on me quite a bit, particularly this song (partially from seeing Part 1 performed live a few years ago). I just love the heaviness throughout and it gets insanely technical at times. The "Slaughter of the Damned" section has some of DT's best riffing. I've also come to really enjoy the cheese factor of the lyrics. I will not fight for you DARK MASTER!
Last in Line is one of my favorite Dio tracks. Generally prefer it to a lot of the stuff off Holy Diver and one of my preferred Dio "hits."
lol Queen of the Reich.
Ain't Talkin 'Bout Love probably deserves to win this, although there are probably 10 other Van Halen songs from the first four albums alone that I would rather see here. Anyway, I went with Universal Mind mostly cause I just love that riff. Eddie would be proud.
Seek and Destroy obviously.
Thought I was tossing a pity vote to In the Presence of Enemies, turns out the result is pretty silly so far. Rage actually deserves to win this, it's a great track with an awesome riff/groove. The "fuck you I won't do what you tell me" buildup is probably the band's finest moment. Anyway, I voted for Dream Theater out of my own biases for the band. I have to say the Systematic Chaos album as a whole has grown on me quite a bit, particularly this song (partially from seeing Part 1 performed live a few years ago). I just love the heaviness throughout and it gets insanely technical at times. The "Slaughter of the Damned" section has some of DT's best riffing. I've also come to really enjoy the cheese factor of the lyrics. I will not fight for you DARK MASTER!
Last in Line is one of my favorite Dio tracks. Generally prefer it to a lot of the stuff off Holy Diver and one of my preferred Dio "hits."
lol Queen of the Reich.
Confeos
Game time started.
Slayer. Y&T's song is fine, but very forgettable.
Van Halen. "Ain't Talking 'Bout Love" has one my favourite guitar riffs ever; Liquid Tension Experiment bore the hell out of me.
Insomnium. A fantastic piece of melodic death metal with great atmospherics. I really don't care for anything off of Metallica's debut.
Dream Theater. Systematic Chaos is my favourite Dream Theater album, and "In the Presence of Enemies" (Part 1) is probably my number 1 pick. Rage Against the Machine well and truly suck.
Dio. Come on, it's fucking "The Last in Line" - even if I don't rate his solo material as high as Sabbath or Rainbow, it's still a masterpiece. The music in "We Hold the Key" is decent, but the singer sounds out of tune most of the time.
Queensrÿche. Much like the first match, Bad Company is fine, but nothing more than that.
Van Halen. "Ain't Talking 'Bout Love" has one my favourite guitar riffs ever; Liquid Tension Experiment bore the hell out of me.
Insomnium. A fantastic piece of melodic death metal with great atmospherics. I really don't care for anything off of Metallica's debut.
Dream Theater. Systematic Chaos is my favourite Dream Theater album, and "In the Presence of Enemies" (Part 1) is probably my number 1 pick. Rage Against the Machine well and truly suck.
Dio. Come on, it's fucking "The Last in Line" - even if I don't rate his solo material as high as Sabbath or Rainbow, it's still a masterpiece. The music in "We Hold the Key" is decent, but the singer sounds out of tune most of the time.
Queensrÿche. Much like the first match, Bad Company is fine, but nothing more than that.
It was The Mercenary, and she voted twice in Dio/Stratovarius, which I can only assume was meant to suggest an inability to choose.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Mean Streak is a completely solid hybrid of metal and AOR. It’s catchy, well-performed, and fun for sure. I’m no big Slayer fan, but Seasons In The Abyss is their finest song. It is just a perfectly dark and spooky mid-tempo metal tune. None of the usual awful Slayerisms are present, everyone sounds good, and the composition itself is pretty mature for Slayer. Even the solos aren’t absolute horseshit! Only like 75% horseshit! Seasons In The Abyss takes this easily.
#NoVanHalen continues. It doesn’t take much to get me to vote for a Petrucci + Portnoy composition, but pitting one against Van Halen is a surefire way to sway me towards LTE.
Seek And Destroy is easily one of the best songs on KEA, but as I’ve said before: that’s not a super high bar. It’s a fine song with a cool riff that gets real old, real quick. I like it enough, but the song goes on for far too long. Heart Like a Grave is less memorable, but far more musically dense and emotional. Ultimately, I probably prefer Metallica here simply due to exposure bias, but Insomnium earn my vote for the sheer beauty and angst of their track (also I have no doubt they’re about to get slaughtered here).
I’m in a very similar boat as @Mosh for the fourth match. Rage Against the Machine had a special magic that I cannot deny. I absolutely love a ton of their music and I think they have an incredibly worthy competitor here. Their ability to hammer the shit out of a great riff and never have it feel stale is special. Killing In The Name Of slays from the moment the intro drops. However, my Dream Theater bias simply cannot vote against a double dose of heavy prog and one of the bands darkest tunes. Dark master, let’s go.
The Last In Line, like Children of the Sea, is a tour de force that showcases every aspect of Dio’s singing and songwriting ability. He welcomes us in with dulcet tones and a beautiful clean guitar section before unleashing pure fire with one vocal note and some wacky keyboards. It’s such a powerhouse moment. The song just keeps getting better from there with stellar start-stop verses that pair Viv’s neat guitar flourishes with Dio’s vocals to a level of perfection not heard by many bands. I don’t know if there’s another Dio track where the instrumental so perfectly compliments, plays off of, and fuels the vocal lines like it does here. Viv also has an incredible guitar solo that focuses more on melody than a lot of his playing. Dio’s James Brown-esque ending improvisations are simply the best, especially when we end up being (shock! awe!) the first in line! Just a pitch perfect classic metal tune. We Hold The Key is…something. The keyboards sound like they’re missing the beat, the high register vocals are painful, but at least the guitar lead in the middle sounds like the music from Doom? Anyway, absolutely no contest, Dio all the way.
Oh hey, speaking of annoying high registers, it’s my least favorite Geoff! Actually, I’ve never known a Geoff that I liked. Anyway, this song is as annoying as most TateRyche. Bad Company, though decidedly not metal, is a great rock song with killer dynamics and an great vocal performance. I will vote for any Paul Rodgers 1000x over any Tate.
#NoVanHalen continues. It doesn’t take much to get me to vote for a Petrucci + Portnoy composition, but pitting one against Van Halen is a surefire way to sway me towards LTE.
Seek And Destroy is easily one of the best songs on KEA, but as I’ve said before: that’s not a super high bar. It’s a fine song with a cool riff that gets real old, real quick. I like it enough, but the song goes on for far too long. Heart Like a Grave is less memorable, but far more musically dense and emotional. Ultimately, I probably prefer Metallica here simply due to exposure bias, but Insomnium earn my vote for the sheer beauty and angst of their track (also I have no doubt they’re about to get slaughtered here).
I’m in a very similar boat as @Mosh for the fourth match. Rage Against the Machine had a special magic that I cannot deny. I absolutely love a ton of their music and I think they have an incredibly worthy competitor here. Their ability to hammer the shit out of a great riff and never have it feel stale is special. Killing In The Name Of slays from the moment the intro drops. However, my Dream Theater bias simply cannot vote against a double dose of heavy prog and one of the bands darkest tunes. Dark master, let’s go.
The Last In Line, like Children of the Sea, is a tour de force that showcases every aspect of Dio’s singing and songwriting ability. He welcomes us in with dulcet tones and a beautiful clean guitar section before unleashing pure fire with one vocal note and some wacky keyboards. It’s such a powerhouse moment. The song just keeps getting better from there with stellar start-stop verses that pair Viv’s neat guitar flourishes with Dio’s vocals to a level of perfection not heard by many bands. I don’t know if there’s another Dio track where the instrumental so perfectly compliments, plays off of, and fuels the vocal lines like it does here. Viv also has an incredible guitar solo that focuses more on melody than a lot of his playing. Dio’s James Brown-esque ending improvisations are simply the best, especially when we end up being (shock! awe!) the first in line! Just a pitch perfect classic metal tune. We Hold The Key is…something. The keyboards sound like they’re missing the beat, the high register vocals are painful, but at least the guitar lead in the middle sounds like the music from Doom? Anyway, absolutely no contest, Dio all the way.
Oh hey, speaking of annoying high registers, it’s my least favorite Geoff! Actually, I’ve never known a Geoff that I liked. Anyway, this song is as annoying as most TateRyche. Bad Company, though decidedly not metal, is a great rock song with killer dynamics and an great vocal performance. I will vote for any Paul Rodgers 1000x over any Tate.