The Greatest Metal Song Cup - Part II, Round 2, Matches 94-99
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Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
Unfortunately, the only squeal that would qualify for that reference was Araya's in "Angel Of Death"!
Saapanael
Ancient Mariner
I'm a six-string wanker and I'm not afraid to admit that bass is the base of it all.
Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
Man I love Bleed but Angel of Death is Angel of Death.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
This may have been the biggest no-brainer round for me. No time for a write-up, so I'll just say that I find Deliverance to be the strongest track in the round by far - and I've always thought that it was one of Opeth's most overrated songs. Priest's song is good and Slayer's is a classic, while Purp's has that timeless riff. As for the others? I voted for the least bad option.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
Putting some respect on the Bolt Thrower name.
I guess my thing with Burzum is like, I can’t even make out Varg’s lyrics, nor am I a Nazi (in fact I’m very much an avowed opponent of Nazism), so I can appreciate the music of Burzum while not supporting Varg’s beliefs, if that makes sense. At any rate, “Jesu død” is just a fantastic, atsmospheric black metal classic, so this vote is easy.
Priest, duh.
As fun as it is I don’t really feel good about voting for “Smoke on the Water” here, but Purple’s opponents just ain’t shit.
Would vote “Bleed” over many other songs, but not the horrific opening to Slayer’s best album. “Angel of Death” remains just as jaw-dropping today as when I first heard it.
I love “Curse of the Pharaohs”, but “Freezing Moon” is probably the quintessential black metal song and out of respect I gotta vote for Mayhem.
I guess my thing with Burzum is like, I can’t even make out Varg’s lyrics, nor am I a Nazi (in fact I’m very much an avowed opponent of Nazism), so I can appreciate the music of Burzum while not supporting Varg’s beliefs, if that makes sense. At any rate, “Jesu død” is just a fantastic, atsmospheric black metal classic, so this vote is easy.
Priest, duh.
As fun as it is I don’t really feel good about voting for “Smoke on the Water” here, but Purple’s opponents just ain’t shit.
Would vote “Bleed” over many other songs, but not the horrific opening to Slayer’s best album. “Angel of Death” remains just as jaw-dropping today as when I first heard it.
I love “Curse of the Pharaohs”, but “Freezing Moon” is probably the quintessential black metal song and out of respect I gotta vote for Mayhem.
Chaos has been delivered through the eye of terror by Opeth. It says here in Jane's diary that Jesus died. Breaking Benjamin. Kreator cannot get past Judas Priest's sentinel. There's enough smoke on the water to cover up even Holocaust, as Deep Purple wins (it makes sense, this song is about an event in Switzerland). The angel of death has come for Meshuggah and, well, it's a Slayer slaying. It's a Mercyful Fate for Mayhem, which is better than they might have otherwise expected.
Part II, Round 1, Matches 67-72
| Group Stage - Round 1 |
| Virtual XI Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overkill - Elimination | vs. | King Diamond - Eye of the Witch | |
| DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100, Best Music Art 100 | Nominators | ||
| 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | Record | 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | |
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
| Group Stage - Round 1 |
| Seventh Son of a Seventh Son Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manowar - Battle Hymn | vs. | Night Stalker - Children of the Sun | |
| Popoff 500, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100 @Perun | Nominators | ||
| 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | Record | 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | |
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
| Group Stage - Round 1 |
| Sanctuary Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ozzy Osbourne - Over the Mountain | vs. | Septicflesh - Dark Art | |
| Popoff 500, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100, Best Music Art 100 | Nominators | ||
| 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | Record | 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | |
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
| Group Stage - Round 1 |
| Somewhere in Time Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bathory - A Fine Day to Die | vs. | Theatre of Tragedy - Lorelei | |
| Popoff 500, Rolling Stone 100, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100 | Nominators | ||
| 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | Record | 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | |
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
| Group Stage - Round 1 |
| BBC Archives Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slayer - Raining Blood | vs. | Tygers of Pan Tang - Gangland | |
| Popoff 500, Rolling Stone 100, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Radio EHS 100, Rate Your Music 100, VH1 40 @Diesel 11, @KiDDo | Nominators | Popoff 500 | |
| 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | Record | 0-0-0, 0 pts, +0 | |
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
Last edited:
Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
King Diamond's Eye Of The Witch has a massive advantage because of that epic riff with keys and great solos.
Battle Hymn, no contest. It's one of the songs that showcases Manowar's classic style and the vibe remain in time. Intro, verses, chorus, calm part, solo, outro - everything works for the whole experience and potential.
Over The Mountain is a song that works best as an Ozzy song. And the instrumental section with the solo and the keys and the overall guitar work really elevates the song.
The NWOBHM sound of Tygers Of Pan Tang will always be enjoyable.
Love Bites is one of Def Leppard's best songs, I like it a lot (the vocals and that chorus!), but Rainbow In The Dark is one of the ultimate heavy metal songs. The big classic of Dio! This is one of my all time favorite songs, forever and ever. Every part is timeless.
Battle Hymn, no contest. It's one of the songs that showcases Manowar's classic style and the vibe remain in time. Intro, verses, chorus, calm part, solo, outro - everything works for the whole experience and potential.
Over The Mountain is a song that works best as an Ozzy song. And the instrumental section with the solo and the keys and the overall guitar work really elevates the song.
The NWOBHM sound of Tygers Of Pan Tang will always be enjoyable.
Love Bites is one of Def Leppard's best songs, I like it a lot (the vocals and that chorus!), but Rainbow In The Dark is one of the ultimate heavy metal songs. The big classic of Dio! This is one of my all time favorite songs, forever and ever. Every part is timeless.
srfc
Ancient Mariner
Overkill - Elimination vs. King Diamond - Eye of the Witch
I need to pick up that Overkill album, I only have Under the Influence but this seems in the same vein. Eye of the Witch was good but I wasn't feeling the rhythm of the Mother Russia section Elimination
Manowar - Battle Hymn vs. Night Stalker - Children of the Sun
Night Stalker was alright, Sabbathy, might be interested in checking out more. Battle Hymn is Manowar in a nutshell, great track for the most part but then has, for no reason, a Disney Princess section in the middle of it
Battle Hymn
Ozzy Osbourne - Over the Mountain vs. Septicflesh - Dark Art
Septic Flesh was one of those more modern things I don't understand, is it an extreme band dipping their toe in the mainstream, or has extreme become so normal that everything has extreme elements? Either way, not for me. Over the Mountain kicks ass. Over the Mountain
Bathory - A Fine Day to Die vs. Theatre of Tragedy - Lorelei
A Fine Day to Die was pretty good, great riffs. Checked out Theatre of Tragedy after the last round, decent stuff, not quite rushing out to buy the albums but gave them a follow on Spotify. Lorelei is a great track. Lorelei
Slayer - Raining Blood vs. Tygers of Pan Tang - Gangland
Gangland is great NWOBHM must check out more, Sykes running amok with the solos. But Raining Blood is the original hippie-killer Raining Blood
Dio - Rainbow in the Dark vs. Def Leppard - Love Bites
Love Bites is a brilliant ballad, that started off as a Mutt Lange country track, Leppard bring the big production and vocal harmonies. But again, it's up against a real monster in Rainbow in the Dark, they cant stand up to the vocal power on display from Dio Rainbow in the Dark
I need to pick up that Overkill album, I only have Under the Influence but this seems in the same vein. Eye of the Witch was good but I wasn't feeling the rhythm of the Mother Russia section Elimination
Manowar - Battle Hymn vs. Night Stalker - Children of the Sun
Night Stalker was alright, Sabbathy, might be interested in checking out more. Battle Hymn is Manowar in a nutshell, great track for the most part but then has, for no reason, a Disney Princess section in the middle of it
Battle HymnOzzy Osbourne - Over the Mountain vs. Septicflesh - Dark Art
Septic Flesh was one of those more modern things I don't understand, is it an extreme band dipping their toe in the mainstream, or has extreme become so normal that everything has extreme elements? Either way, not for me. Over the Mountain kicks ass. Over the Mountain
Bathory - A Fine Day to Die vs. Theatre of Tragedy - Lorelei
A Fine Day to Die was pretty good, great riffs. Checked out Theatre of Tragedy after the last round, decent stuff, not quite rushing out to buy the albums but gave them a follow on Spotify. Lorelei is a great track. Lorelei
Slayer - Raining Blood vs. Tygers of Pan Tang - Gangland
Gangland is great NWOBHM must check out more, Sykes running amok with the solos. But Raining Blood is the original hippie-killer Raining Blood
Dio - Rainbow in the Dark vs. Def Leppard - Love Bites
Love Bites is a brilliant ballad, that started off as a Mutt Lange country track, Leppard bring the big production and vocal harmonies. But again, it's up against a real monster in Rainbow in the Dark, they cant stand up to the vocal power on display from Dio Rainbow in the Dark
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
"Elimination" has good riffs and nice bass work, but the vocals are fucking terrible, with the dude sounding like a squealing old crone half the time. The songwriting is also a bit disjointed. The solos are good and the harmonized interlude is pretty good, but this is still kind of a mess overall. "Eye Of The Witch" gets bonus points out of the gate for using synth pipe organ. I love the rhythmic change-ups in the main groove. King Diamond sounds better than usual here, hitting more of a Bee Gees vibe in his higher register. Most of the vocal lines are strong and the solos are great. A really good song overall, and a very easy call for @Magnus's nominee. Winner: King Diamond - "Eye Of The Witch"
"Battle Hymn" has a nice clean intro and eventually breaks into a pleasant stately groove. The vocal lines are OK. The "Kill! Kill!" bit is pretty silly, and the entire song is drenched in cheese. The clean bridge doesn't really fit the song, but it's fine, I guess. The outro is ridiculously overblown. An OK song overall. "Children Of The Sun" has a nice atmospheric intro that runs on a bit too long, but it breaks into a pleasantly thick melodic groove. The vocal melodies are good, and though the accent is pretty noticeable, it doesn't really get in the way. There are only a couple of musical ideas in this track, and they're stretched almost to the breaking point -- but it's still enjoyable for what it is, and sorry @Perun, but I think @____no5's nominee does just enough to eke out a win here. Winner: Nightstalker - "Children Of The Sun"
"Over The Mountain" has a pretty good riff and pretty good vocal lines. I like the busy drumming on the pre-chorus. The chorus feels a bit wimpy, but the interlude and solo sections that follow are quite good. Rhoads' embellishments throughout the song are also nice. Didn't blow me away or anything, but this is good stuff. "Dark Art" has a wonderfully creepy piano intro that bursts into a bombastic, sinister groove. This unfortunately twists into more of a queasy robotic rhythm with weird orchestration and Cookie Monster vocals. The clean vocals are more palatable, but aren't very refined. Then we go full movie soundtrack with the Cookie Monster stuff and I almost feel like I'm listening to an Anette-era Nightwish album while someone aggressively gargles next to me. Well, that was definitely different, but sorry @Night Prowler, your nominee can't really compete here. Winner: Ozzy Osbourne - "Over The Mountain"
"A Fine Day To Die" has a nice atmospheric intro with some battlefield sound effects. I really like the deeply reverbed, almost Gregorian chant-like verses here. Then we suddenly go heavy with some odd-rhythm riffage before settling into a complex groove. A scream and some trilling, and then we get a cool head-bobbing groove. Not a fan of the screamy vocals, and the song feels like it's expended all of its ideas by the five minute mark, but at least the solo is great. OK, the extended reprise of the intro is pretty cool, as is the second solo. Y'know, if the production were better, and the vocalist wasn't so screamy, and they trimmed a little fat, this would be great. But as it stands it's still very good. "Lorelei" has a nice driving melodic groove that opens up into an equally nice atmospheric verse. I don't know what's going on with the spoken word vocals for most of the verse, and the goth chorus with the low male vocals and high pixie female vocals sounded a bit icky at first, but I warmed up to it pretty quickly. Good song overall, but sorry @MindRuler, I think the list nominee is superior here. Winner: Bathory - "A Fine Day To Die"
"Raining Blood" starts off, not surprisingly, raining blood. Pretty dope opening riffs with some nice harmonization on the first one. I'm less enamored of the fast-paced bit before the verse, and the verse itself has typical "meh" non-melodic vocals. That first half of the riff in the break between the verses is great, as is the interlude at the halfway mark. The chorus kinda sucks, and the noise that passes for a solo fully sucks. The quick cut to rain sounds is weird, as is dragging out the rain for nearly a minute afterward. Well, that pretty much checked all the boxes for Slayer -- dope riffs, terrible solos, questionable vocals. Still pretty good overall, I suppose. "Gangland" has good energy and a solid main riff. I'm not thrilled with the singer, but he gets the job done. The vocal melodies are OK, but nothing particularly memorable. The solos are pretty sweet. A solidly good song, certainly better than the Maiden song of the same name. Slayer definitely wins the riff battle here, but sorry KiDDiesel 5.5, I think the list nominee is the better song. Winner: Tygers Of Pan Tang - "Gangland"
"Rainbow In The Dark" has an iconic riff + synth combo (and the riff clearly inspired Dokken's "Into The Fire"). Dio sounds fantastic here, and his vocal lines are all great. The solo's a little try-hard, but still pretty great. Obviously a great song overall. "Love Bites" is an excellent power ballad with lots of atmosphere and great vocal melodies. Love all the color work on the guitar, too. It's very sweet, but I wouldn't call it saccharine myself. Not much to fault here, really. The Def Leppard track is certainly the more polished of the two, and it feels like every second of it is necessary, while you kind of notice the repetition in the Dio song. Both tracks are worthy, but I've got to go with Leppard here. Winner: Def Leppard - "Love Bites"
"Battle Hymn" has a nice clean intro and eventually breaks into a pleasant stately groove. The vocal lines are OK. The "Kill! Kill!" bit is pretty silly, and the entire song is drenched in cheese. The clean bridge doesn't really fit the song, but it's fine, I guess. The outro is ridiculously overblown. An OK song overall. "Children Of The Sun" has a nice atmospheric intro that runs on a bit too long, but it breaks into a pleasantly thick melodic groove. The vocal melodies are good, and though the accent is pretty noticeable, it doesn't really get in the way. There are only a couple of musical ideas in this track, and they're stretched almost to the breaking point -- but it's still enjoyable for what it is, and sorry @Perun, but I think @____no5's nominee does just enough to eke out a win here. Winner: Nightstalker - "Children Of The Sun"
"Over The Mountain" has a pretty good riff and pretty good vocal lines. I like the busy drumming on the pre-chorus. The chorus feels a bit wimpy, but the interlude and solo sections that follow are quite good. Rhoads' embellishments throughout the song are also nice. Didn't blow me away or anything, but this is good stuff. "Dark Art" has a wonderfully creepy piano intro that bursts into a bombastic, sinister groove. This unfortunately twists into more of a queasy robotic rhythm with weird orchestration and Cookie Monster vocals. The clean vocals are more palatable, but aren't very refined. Then we go full movie soundtrack with the Cookie Monster stuff and I almost feel like I'm listening to an Anette-era Nightwish album while someone aggressively gargles next to me. Well, that was definitely different, but sorry @Night Prowler, your nominee can't really compete here. Winner: Ozzy Osbourne - "Over The Mountain"
"A Fine Day To Die" has a nice atmospheric intro with some battlefield sound effects. I really like the deeply reverbed, almost Gregorian chant-like verses here. Then we suddenly go heavy with some odd-rhythm riffage before settling into a complex groove. A scream and some trilling, and then we get a cool head-bobbing groove. Not a fan of the screamy vocals, and the song feels like it's expended all of its ideas by the five minute mark, but at least the solo is great. OK, the extended reprise of the intro is pretty cool, as is the second solo. Y'know, if the production were better, and the vocalist wasn't so screamy, and they trimmed a little fat, this would be great. But as it stands it's still very good. "Lorelei" has a nice driving melodic groove that opens up into an equally nice atmospheric verse. I don't know what's going on with the spoken word vocals for most of the verse, and the goth chorus with the low male vocals and high pixie female vocals sounded a bit icky at first, but I warmed up to it pretty quickly. Good song overall, but sorry @MindRuler, I think the list nominee is superior here. Winner: Bathory - "A Fine Day To Die"
"Raining Blood" starts off, not surprisingly, raining blood. Pretty dope opening riffs with some nice harmonization on the first one. I'm less enamored of the fast-paced bit before the verse, and the verse itself has typical "meh" non-melodic vocals. That first half of the riff in the break between the verses is great, as is the interlude at the halfway mark. The chorus kinda sucks, and the noise that passes for a solo fully sucks. The quick cut to rain sounds is weird, as is dragging out the rain for nearly a minute afterward. Well, that pretty much checked all the boxes for Slayer -- dope riffs, terrible solos, questionable vocals. Still pretty good overall, I suppose. "Gangland" has good energy and a solid main riff. I'm not thrilled with the singer, but he gets the job done. The vocal melodies are OK, but nothing particularly memorable. The solos are pretty sweet. A solidly good song, certainly better than the Maiden song of the same name. Slayer definitely wins the riff battle here, but sorry KiDDiesel 5.5, I think the list nominee is the better song. Winner: Tygers Of Pan Tang - "Gangland"
"Rainbow In The Dark" has an iconic riff + synth combo (and the riff clearly inspired Dokken's "Into The Fire"). Dio sounds fantastic here, and his vocal lines are all great. The solo's a little try-hard, but still pretty great. Obviously a great song overall. "Love Bites" is an excellent power ballad with lots of atmosphere and great vocal melodies. Love all the color work on the guitar, too. It's very sweet, but I wouldn't call it saccharine myself. Not much to fault here, really. The Def Leppard track is certainly the more polished of the two, and it feels like every second of it is necessary, while you kind of notice the repetition in the Dio song. Both tracks are worthy, but I've got to go with Leppard here. Winner: Def Leppard - "Love Bites"
Magnus
Pica Serdica
My point exactly.
Whatever Varg's confused beliefs might be, Burzum is not NSBM (or it wouldn't have been allowed in this game at all in the first place), lyrics have nothing to do with NS, and I find the music fantastic indeed, early albums at least.
This is correct. NSBM is definitely not something in which I am interested in examining the artistic merits.
Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
Vocal lines in Elimination hugely reminiscent of Among the Living. Not great. Eye of the Witch is much more interesting and somehow harder.
We had a good streak of no Manowar going.
Well this song is pretty good. I like the bigger production of Night Stalker but it isn't metal.
Dark Arts is huge and memorable, just how I like. It earwormed me for a bit when it last appeared. Over the Mountain is more good Ozzy.
A Fine Day to Die, though I dig the goth sound in Lorelei.
Crazy how intense Raining Blood still is. I'm one of those who can barely discern one Reign in Blood song from another but this is one hell of a closer. Gangland is good do not take this out of context but it has no chance.
Dio.
We had a good streak of no Manowar going.
Well this song is pretty good. I like the bigger production of Night Stalker but it isn't metal.Dark Arts is huge and memorable, just how I like. It earwormed me for a bit when it last appeared. Over the Mountain is more good Ozzy.
A Fine Day to Die, though I dig the goth sound in Lorelei.
Crazy how intense Raining Blood still is. I'm one of those who can barely discern one Reign in Blood song from another but this is one hell of a closer. Gangland is good do not take this out of context but it has no chance.
Dio.
Siddharth
Long Distance Trooper
Remember guys, each round gets badass as we proceed further.
Battle of Ballads - Round 4: Matches 13-16
Round 1 over and the winners are: Angra - Make Believe Ozzy Osbourne - Life Won't Wait Testament - Trail Of Tears Skid Row - 18 And Life Round 2 is up guys! Please do vote.
forum.maidenfans.com
Confeos
Game time started.
"Elimination" has great guitarwork, but also very shitty vocals. The same can usually be said about anything that involves King Diamond, but "Eye of the Witch" is actually guite good, especially since he sounds tolerable most of the time. Since it's the only song of his I can honestly say I like through and through, I'm voting King Diamond.
I'm not a fan of Manowar's debut, but "Battle Hymn" itself is a fantastic tune. The only somewhat weak part is the chorus, but it takes nothing away from the overall enjoyment. And speaking of enjoyment, "Children of the Sun" is also quite good, but the pacing could be better, and some parts are a bit iffy. Overall, an easy vote for Manowar.
"Over the Mountain" is not Ozzy's best song, not by a long shot. I'm surprised it's here, to be honest, as I find it bland and mostly forgettable. The dynamics and great interplay between clean and harsh vocals of "Dark Art" alone are enough to win this match. Septicflesh.
I love Bathory; "A Fine Day to Die" lands somewhere in the middle of the black metal of their early albums, and the epicness of their later output. It's not quite up there with their best work, but it's close. Meanwhile, "Lorelai" has decent music, but I can't take those vocals seriously. Horrible stuff. Another easy vote, this time for Bathory.
"Gangland" is fun, straightforward NWOBHM with a blistering John Sykes solo, but once "Raining Blood"'s iconic riff kicks in, the contest is basically over, even if I don't revere it as much as others may do. Anyway, Slayer.
Sorry, but I think "Love Bites" is absolutely terrible. Dio wins by default (but still has the better song here anyway).
I'm not a fan of Manowar's debut, but "Battle Hymn" itself is a fantastic tune. The only somewhat weak part is the chorus, but it takes nothing away from the overall enjoyment. And speaking of enjoyment, "Children of the Sun" is also quite good, but the pacing could be better, and some parts are a bit iffy. Overall, an easy vote for Manowar.
"Over the Mountain" is not Ozzy's best song, not by a long shot. I'm surprised it's here, to be honest, as I find it bland and mostly forgettable. The dynamics and great interplay between clean and harsh vocals of "Dark Art" alone are enough to win this match. Septicflesh.
I love Bathory; "A Fine Day to Die" lands somewhere in the middle of the black metal of their early albums, and the epicness of their later output. It's not quite up there with their best work, but it's close. Meanwhile, "Lorelai" has decent music, but I can't take those vocals seriously. Horrible stuff. Another easy vote, this time for Bathory.
"Gangland" is fun, straightforward NWOBHM with a blistering John Sykes solo, but once "Raining Blood"'s iconic riff kicks in, the contest is basically over, even if I don't revere it as much as others may do. Anyway, Slayer.
Sorry, but I think "Love Bites" is absolutely terrible. Dio wins by default (but still has the better song here anyway).
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
I’m a little late to the party, but what’s NSBM?
KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
Nazi black metal basically.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
That’s a good party to be late to. Better to not show up at all.