"Beyond The Realms Of Death" has a very pretty 12-string opening and a pensive verse, with a really effective kick up into a heavy chorus. The verse melody is great, and while the chorus melody doesn't stand out as much, it still gets the job done. Great extended melodic solo through the middle, and a peppier one at the end. Great stuff. "The Skull Beneath The Skin" is one of the highlights of Megadeth's debut album, bursting with undeniable groove and killer riffs. That explosion into the riff with the fast soloing on top slays me every time, and the interlude with the descending riff and ascending fills is great too. This is a tough one with two worthy competitors, and I'd be fine with either one winning; but sorry,
@DJMayes, I'm feeling
@Stardust's nominee a little bit more at the moment.
Winner: Megadeth - "The Skull Beneath The Skin"
"Blackened" has that killer harmonized fade-in and punchy main riff that keeps dancing back and forth around the beat. The verses are strong, as is the chorus, and the "-tion" bridge has a cool groove. The harmonized interlude is great and the first solo's pretty good, but the second series of solos is much better. Great stuff. "The Fifth Extinction" has some nice clean guitar bits and in-your-face synths, and some interesting vocal harmonies, but it sure takes its sweet time to get going. I don't really like the twee pre-chorus(?), but I'm totally down for the synth solos and the string interlude. This song is easily twice as long as it needs to be, and it's certainly not the greatest thing I've ever heard; but it's competent enough. Unfortunately,
@Shmoolikipod, that's nowhere near enough to take down MrSpammerBotter's nominee here.
Winner: Metallica - "Blackened"
"Blackwater Park" is musically a flat-out masterpiece, but with really hideous extreme vocals. "The Battle Rages On" has a surprisingly dark and driving main riff. Not thrilled with the vocals here, and the melodies aren't the best, though the chorus is OK. Great solo and interlude. Ew, minus one point for the synth horns toward the end. Yeah, this is some great guitar work in search of a better song. Sorry,
@Wogmidget, but even with the Muppet tax this is a very easy call for MrShmoodickerPodder 3.666's nominee.
Winner: Opeth - "Blackwater Park"
"Am I Evil?" has a dark and epic opening evoking comparisons to Holst's "Mars, Bringer Of War". Some fast soloing and harmonics give way to a simple but appealing groove. The singer's performance isn't the best, though he hits the notes. The vocal melodies are generally good, though the singer's weird detours detract from them a bit. The solos are pretty strong, and I like how they dabble with neoclassical feel a bit. Good stuff overall, though Metallica's cover is still the superior version. "Death Certificate" is pretty dope complex thrash with expectedly bad non-melodic vocals. The solo section is also refreshingly melodic without losing its edge. Great music with bad vocals, but still not as bad as most extreme metal in that department. These are both pretty good in their own way, but I'm feeling the Diamond Head track a little more.
Winner: Diamond Head - "Am I Evil?"
"Rock Bottom" has an interesting riff and a strong verse, but the chorus is a repetitive dud. The bridge is nice, and the jam through the middle of the song is good with some great soloing. Very good overall, mostly on the strength of the instrumental parts. "Rock Hard Ride Free" has a cool ominous opening, and nice soloing and harmonized guitar passages. The verse is punchy, the pre-chorus is pretty good, and the chorus is big and effective. The reprise of the intro with odd timing is pretty cool too. Very good overall. This one is sort of close, but sorry The Darridunt, I think
@srfc's nominee is a more complete package that sticks harder.
Winner: Judas Priest - "Rock Hard Ride Free"
"Hall Of The Mountain King" has a cool, ominous opening riff with some nice soloing. The verse riff is also cool, but the singer is all over the place rhythmically, and I'm not a fan of the timbre of his voice. The chorus is also kind of a nothingburger. The interlude is interesting, though I could do without the vocal "eh, eh, ehs". Strong soloing, and I like how the backing guitars keep going back and forth between distorted and clean sounds under the solo. OK, the singer is getting super annoying by this point. The queasy clean outro is cool, though. Hmm, this is about half of a great song with a bunch of unfocused bullshit mixed in. Oh well. "The Mirror" has interesting rhythmic play, and it gets a bonus point for using pipe organ. LaBrie trying to sound tough is laughable, the vocal lines are uneven, and I'm not super fond of the nu-metal feel of the rhythm guitars, but the rest of the music is good. Sorry, ____noo5eCannon, but I think the list nominee has the edge here.
Winner: Dream Theater - "The Mirror"
Nevertheless, I don't know, there is something with Carcass I don't like... Maybe the name, maybe the vocals, maybe the music itself. Don't know... 
