The Greatest Metal Song Cup - Part II, Round 2, Matches 100-105
- Thread starter LooseCannon
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TheMercenary
Ancient Mariner
JudasMyGuide
The resident reactionary recalcitrant
Neither of the songs in the first match is among those I'd like to replay, personally, but the Tygers song is less plodding and has a nice solo - and actually is probably better than the Maiden song of the same name - so Gangland it is.
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On the contrary, I find something salvageable in both of these bands - Immortal are one of the most consistent bands in the original second wave BM wave (along with Darkthrone), whereas Nazgul are really a lot of fun in that cheesy, do-it-yourself-in-the-garage, cheap epicness. Let it be clear here, of course At the Heart of Winter is the (much) better song and it deserves to win and continue in the cup, but as the opposition is losing quite badly, I'm gonna support the amateurish silly fun of Nazgul
(images merely illustrative)
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Two Tarjawish songs against each other, huh. I admit that it's harder than I thought, because I genuinely like the Siren, with all the middle-eastern weirdness, with cool subtle Marco lines and the overall goth vibe.
However, Pharaoh is from my no 2 Nightwish album and kicks so much ass I actualyl had it among my nominations for this cup (though wifey convinced me in the end to not include it, mainly because of the spoken word parts, which are indeed terrible). A complex, yet driving tune, with melodies so wonderful Tuomas couldn't come up with them nowadays even if he tried.
Pharaoh, because I love the song oh so much (despite - once again those fucking spoken word sections).
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I have put off some people here recently, as I've found out I've become a GnR fan over the years - even though I've begun as their staunch detractor. And yet, on those first albums going up to even Illusion 1+2, they don't seem to be able to do anything wrong, really. An incredibly tasty guitarwork, underrated melodic sensibilities, overall swagger, cool rhythmic section... And yet - You Could Be Mine always felt like one of the lesser songs on the UYI double album... and Hysteria, decadent as it is, truly was a lightning in a bottle - you don't get an album so sleazily manipulative, so much betting it all on the chorus card, so terribly produced, yet so irresistible. I feel filthy, used and abused, but I can't help but go with the ultimate power ballading in the form of Love Bites. Let's not dwell on this, okay?
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Now the next match is really easy. I don't have anything against the Archers' song, I like it, despite the overtly modern production sounding a bit grating to my ears, but that's a given with them. But Blind Guardian, man...
You see, I've already written this when talking about my nomination from this very album - besides NIME being quite possibly the pinnacle of BG's work in general - despite it having some idiosyncracies and despite it signalling the shift in their sound they would completely undergo (so I get when people criticise this album as well, because it was a harbinger of sorts), my personal enjoyment of Nightfall has increased thousandfold with the last re-read of The Silmarillion.
I mean,
And I'm sorry, but the already cool and catchy and everything song (I love the intro already, especially those guitar ostinatos after 0:13) becomes something much grander when it becomes an accompaniment to Fingolfin channeling his inner Oromë and riding to challenge the Satan himself.
It must come as no surprise that my vote goes to the Guardian.
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The last match, ugh. Some more Saxon, doing what they do best - an utterly unassuming, gainlessly generic, purportedly proficient, but actually mirthlessly mundane and painstakingly pedestrian NWOBHM shtick, whereas the thousand times more interesting band in the opposition spouts lyrics that fill me with pity and disappointment. And overall sadness.
Anyway, Hell's is the better song, I daresay.
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On the contrary, I find something salvageable in both of these bands - Immortal are one of the most consistent bands in the original second wave BM wave (along with Darkthrone), whereas Nazgul are really a lot of fun in that cheesy, do-it-yourself-in-the-garage, cheap epicness. Let it be clear here, of course At the Heart of Winter is the (much) better song and it deserves to win and continue in the cup, but as the opposition is losing quite badly, I'm gonna support the amateurish silly fun of Nazgul
(images merely illustrative)
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Two Tarjawish songs against each other, huh. I admit that it's harder than I thought, because I genuinely like the Siren, with all the middle-eastern weirdness, with cool subtle Marco lines and the overall goth vibe.
However, Pharaoh is from my no 2 Nightwish album and kicks so much ass I actualyl had it among my nominations for this cup (though wifey convinced me in the end to not include it, mainly because of the spoken word parts, which are indeed terrible). A complex, yet driving tune, with melodies so wonderful Tuomas couldn't come up with them nowadays even if he tried.
Pharaoh, because I love the song oh so much (despite - once again those fucking spoken word sections).
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I have put off some people here recently, as I've found out I've become a GnR fan over the years - even though I've begun as their staunch detractor. And yet, on those first albums going up to even Illusion 1+2, they don't seem to be able to do anything wrong, really. An incredibly tasty guitarwork, underrated melodic sensibilities, overall swagger, cool rhythmic section... And yet - You Could Be Mine always felt like one of the lesser songs on the UYI double album... and Hysteria, decadent as it is, truly was a lightning in a bottle - you don't get an album so sleazily manipulative, so much betting it all on the chorus card, so terribly produced, yet so irresistible. I feel filthy, used and abused, but I can't help but go with the ultimate power ballading in the form of Love Bites. Let's not dwell on this, okay?
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Now the next match is really easy. I don't have anything against the Archers' song, I like it, despite the overtly modern production sounding a bit grating to my ears, but that's a given with them. But Blind Guardian, man...
You see, I've already written this when talking about my nomination from this very album - besides NIME being quite possibly the pinnacle of BG's work in general - despite it having some idiosyncracies and despite it signalling the shift in their sound they would completely undergo (so I get when people criticise this album as well, because it was a harbinger of sorts), my personal enjoyment of Nightfall has increased thousandfold with the last re-read of The Silmarillion.
I mean,
And I'm sorry, but the already cool and catchy and everything song (I love the intro already, especially those guitar ostinatos after 0:13) becomes something much grander when it becomes an accompaniment to Fingolfin channeling his inner Oromë and riding to challenge the Satan himself.
It must come as no surprise that my vote goes to the Guardian.
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The last match, ugh. Some more Saxon, doing what they do best - an utterly unassuming, gainlessly generic, purportedly proficient, but actually mirthlessly mundane and painstakingly pedestrian NWOBHM shtick, whereas the thousand times more interesting band in the opposition spouts lyrics that fill me with pity and disappointment. And overall sadness.
Anyway, Hell's is the better song, I daresay.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
Man, Saxon suck. Tygers.
Nazgul was definitely interesting, those vocals are barely even there so I'm surprised that Jer didn't vote for it. Immortal's "At the Heart of Winter" is way better though, a black metal masterpiece.
So when I decided on which Nightwish song to nominate I knew straight away that it shouldn't be my favorite, "Ghost Love Score", because I'd seen LC mention it getting several nominations already. I'd rather dig a little deeper so that more from them could be included in the game. My mind immediately went back to the material on Once, though, and I had a few different options in front of me. "Dead Gardens" is the ultimate Nightwish deep cut, a song that is likely in my Top 10 but would likely not crack anyone else's Top 100. So that was out. I also really wanted to include a song that Marko stars on, so "Dark Chest of Wonders" was out. That left "Planet Hell" and "The Siren", and I opted for the latter because its melodies and textures are so fucking good. Emppu has a scorching riff, Tarja's ethereal vocals make her the perfect siren, and Marko is the perfect sailor, fighting between lust and logic. It's such a good song, I love it so much.
But dammit, then LC had to go and pair it against "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion", the climactic mini-epic on Oceanborn. That whole album has risen massively for me since I first got into the band, and this song in particular went from one of my least favorites to a stand-out masterpiece. The dark and brooding intro, building with Tapio Wilska's ominous spoken word pieces; the flurry of keys and stomping drums in winterous mad-trimony; the fucking rager of a riff; the powerful chorus; everything about this song is so much more intense yet melodic, and Nightwish, as much as I love them, never recaptured the fucking magic of this album. They've found new magic elsewhere, in places arguably even better, but Oceanborn is the absolute best power metal album for my taste and "Pharaoh" is one of the best songs in the genre.
I hate this match, I hate myself, I hate LC, and I hate Widget too, but I gotta vote for "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion". Now get away from me! Take heed to thyself and see my face no more!
I'm quite partial to GNR, and "You Could Be Mine" is a strong song although I think it doesn't quite shine as well as it should on the studio recording. I'm ALSO quite partial to Hysteria, and frankly "Love Bites" is fucking PERFECT from beginning to end. One of the greatest power ballads of the '80s and the only song in this whole round I could not stop myself from singing along to. Def Leppard, so, so easy.
"Apex" suffers from overly sterile production which at first glance gives you the impression of one of those YouTube bands whose music videos used to play as ads before I bought Premium. But looking past that, this song is awesome, the first Unleash the Archers song that really connected with me. Maybe I do have to check out the full album now. Blind Guardian is Blind Guardian. There's just so much happening all at once and it's hard for me to follow along with them. Maybe next year I'll be kicking myself for saying this, but so be it.
Hell is better. Saxon, once again, suck.
Nazgul was definitely interesting, those vocals are barely even there so I'm surprised that Jer didn't vote for it. Immortal's "At the Heart of Winter" is way better though, a black metal masterpiece.
So when I decided on which Nightwish song to nominate I knew straight away that it shouldn't be my favorite, "Ghost Love Score", because I'd seen LC mention it getting several nominations already. I'd rather dig a little deeper so that more from them could be included in the game. My mind immediately went back to the material on Once, though, and I had a few different options in front of me. "Dead Gardens" is the ultimate Nightwish deep cut, a song that is likely in my Top 10 but would likely not crack anyone else's Top 100. So that was out. I also really wanted to include a song that Marko stars on, so "Dark Chest of Wonders" was out. That left "Planet Hell" and "The Siren", and I opted for the latter because its melodies and textures are so fucking good. Emppu has a scorching riff, Tarja's ethereal vocals make her the perfect siren, and Marko is the perfect sailor, fighting between lust and logic. It's such a good song, I love it so much.
But dammit, then LC had to go and pair it against "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion", the climactic mini-epic on Oceanborn. That whole album has risen massively for me since I first got into the band, and this song in particular went from one of my least favorites to a stand-out masterpiece. The dark and brooding intro, building with Tapio Wilska's ominous spoken word pieces; the flurry of keys and stomping drums in winterous mad-trimony; the fucking rager of a riff; the powerful chorus; everything about this song is so much more intense yet melodic, and Nightwish, as much as I love them, never recaptured the fucking magic of this album. They've found new magic elsewhere, in places arguably even better, but Oceanborn is the absolute best power metal album for my taste and "Pharaoh" is one of the best songs in the genre.
I hate this match, I hate myself, I hate LC, and I hate Widget too, but I gotta vote for "The Pharaoh Sails to Orion". Now get away from me! Take heed to thyself and see my face no more!
I'm quite partial to GNR, and "You Could Be Mine" is a strong song although I think it doesn't quite shine as well as it should on the studio recording. I'm ALSO quite partial to Hysteria, and frankly "Love Bites" is fucking PERFECT from beginning to end. One of the greatest power ballads of the '80s and the only song in this whole round I could not stop myself from singing along to. Def Leppard, so, so easy.
"Apex" suffers from overly sterile production which at first glance gives you the impression of one of those YouTube bands whose music videos used to play as ads before I bought Premium. But looking past that, this song is awesome, the first Unleash the Archers song that really connected with me. Maybe I do have to check out the full album now. Blind Guardian is Blind Guardian. There's just so much happening all at once and it's hard for me to follow along with them. Maybe next year I'll be kicking myself for saying this, but so be it.
Hell is better. Saxon, once again, suck.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Gangland is radly fun and way better than Maiden’s song. Denim and Leather is so lame.
Nazgûl sound like black metal Nightwish on literally all of the drugs. Immortal have far more epicness and musical ability, and a more cohesive song, despite the terrible vocals.
Both Nightwish songs are filler, but one of them has Marko.
Love Bites is super lame, but also catchy and kinda dark. You Could Be Mine has a cool intro, but is otherwise just another GnR song.
Time Stands Still remains a great, catchy track that sounds like harmonized demons spinning in circles with prancing minstrels and comes from a cornerstone album in classic power metal. Apex is a new classic off of an absolute cornerstone of modern metal. What Unleash The Archers bring to the table on this song (and the rest of this album and its successor) cannot be understated: perfectly crafted and performed traditional heavy metal with amazing melodic vocals, twin guitar harmonies for days, and epic song structures. I don’t know how any fan of Iron Maiden couldn’t love this band. I love this band. I adore this song.
The Eagle Has Landed is incredibly longwinded, but solid enough hard blues rock. Hell has decent music and absolutely obnoxious vocals.
Nazgûl sound like black metal Nightwish on literally all of the drugs. Immortal have far more epicness and musical ability, and a more cohesive song, despite the terrible vocals.
Both Nightwish songs are filler, but one of them has Marko.
Love Bites is super lame, but also catchy and kinda dark. You Could Be Mine has a cool intro, but is otherwise just another GnR song.
Time Stands Still remains a great, catchy track that sounds like harmonized demons spinning in circles with prancing minstrels and comes from a cornerstone album in classic power metal. Apex is a new classic off of an absolute cornerstone of modern metal. What Unleash The Archers bring to the table on this song (and the rest of this album and its successor) cannot be understated: perfectly crafted and performed traditional heavy metal with amazing melodic vocals, twin guitar harmonies for days, and epic song structures. I don’t know how any fan of Iron Maiden couldn’t love this band. I love this band. I adore this song.
The Eagle Has Landed is incredibly longwinded, but solid enough hard blues rock. Hell has decent music and absolutely obnoxious vocals.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
No time for a write-up, but I went with Tygers, Immortal, Siren, Def Leppard, Unleash the Archers (I don’t get the fascination with Blind Guardian), and Hell. That Hell song was so hilariously over dramatic that I had no choice but to vote for it. “Satan! I bow!” Lol.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
What.
Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
Gangland. Saxon had me falling asleep.
Okay, Nazgul fucking caught me off guard.
That was stupid! I feel obligated to vote for it, not crazy about Immortal anyway.
I'm not here for bombastic Nightwish. The Siren.
Love Bites.
So much for NiME being my favourite album for the last year... Like Thorn, I love Time Stands Still but it's not the Apex of that album. The majority of it? Fuck yes. The chorus? Maybe live. But sometimes a war starts 4 days before the show, you know? And, Apex rules pretty hard. It's close.
Okay, Nazgul fucking caught me off guard.
That was stupid! I feel obligated to vote for it, not crazy about Immortal anyway.I'm not here for bombastic Nightwish. The Siren.
Love Bites.
So much for NiME being my favourite album for the last year... Like Thorn, I love Time Stands Still but it's not the Apex of that album. The majority of it? Fuck yes. The chorus? Maybe live. But sometimes a war starts 4 days before the show, you know? And, Apex rules pretty hard. It's close.
Sold. Yes it's really good. Not sitting through 7 more minutes of Saxon.
Tygers of Pan Tang is very NWOBHM. That's some raw, fast, aggressive riffing. The vocals aren't particularly skilled, but that never stopped a NWOBHM band before and it won't now. It's not a particularly great song, but it does have my head bobbing throughout. Denim and Leather is a Saxon classic, and it is surprisingly bland on the album. The lyrical content is so fucking cheesy here, and possibly in the bad way. Honestly, it sounds better live, where Saxon makes it a staple of their song. Anyway. It's Tygers of Pan Tang.
Nazgul was such a weird combination of styles. Some of the music was pretty decent, if silly, and then it sounds like someone found the "low-fi black metal" button and pressed it midway through the song. I can't say this is good, I can't even say that I like it. Immortal definitely has a sprinkle of gouda upon it, and some sad belching vocals, but at least I can tell where the words end, and the music is fun. Definitely Immortal.
As a longtime fan of Pharaoh, I was surprised how much I enjoyed The Siren. Nightwish isn't a band where I've found full discography dives to be rewarding before, so I tend to stick to the "greatest hits", as it were, but this song was pretty good. I'll toss it a vote. Nightwish.
Love Bites is not a song I love from Def Leppard, emblematic of their greatest success and the parts of their career I dislike the most. I saw it live and was thoroughly unimpressed, as well. You Could Be Mine is just as gross in terms of lyrical content, if not grosser, but at least I feel I bop along more to it, as much as I truly detest Axl Rose. GNR.
Man, that LC is an asshole, pitting two of my songs up against one another. No wonder nobody likes that guy. I picked Time Stands Still as a nod to Nightfall, which is a power metal classic, and one I doubted other people would nominate. It was one of the first BG songs that caught me up, and still gets my pulse going today. That said, Apex is the bookend of one of my favourite albums ever. It's a cleanly produced twin guitar sound without too many gimmicks other than just being excellent musicians. It whips live, too. No contest here, I'd vote for Apex over almost every song in this tournament.
The Eagle Has Landed stinks out loud. Saxon is not the band to turn an incredible human achievement into an interesting song. I can imagine they were trying to represent the vast emptiness of space with their vast emptiness of creativity and interest here, and boy, they succeeded at that. That Hell song may not have the apex of talent, but it's at least interesting. Hell.
Nazgul was such a weird combination of styles. Some of the music was pretty decent, if silly, and then it sounds like someone found the "low-fi black metal" button and pressed it midway through the song. I can't say this is good, I can't even say that I like it. Immortal definitely has a sprinkle of gouda upon it, and some sad belching vocals, but at least I can tell where the words end, and the music is fun. Definitely Immortal.
As a longtime fan of Pharaoh, I was surprised how much I enjoyed The Siren. Nightwish isn't a band where I've found full discography dives to be rewarding before, so I tend to stick to the "greatest hits", as it were, but this song was pretty good. I'll toss it a vote. Nightwish.
Love Bites is not a song I love from Def Leppard, emblematic of their greatest success and the parts of their career I dislike the most. I saw it live and was thoroughly unimpressed, as well. You Could Be Mine is just as gross in terms of lyrical content, if not grosser, but at least I feel I bop along more to it, as much as I truly detest Axl Rose. GNR.
Man, that LC is an asshole, pitting two of my songs up against one another. No wonder nobody likes that guy. I picked Time Stands Still as a nod to Nightfall, which is a power metal classic, and one I doubted other people would nominate. It was one of the first BG songs that caught me up, and still gets my pulse going today. That said, Apex is the bookend of one of my favourite albums ever. It's a cleanly produced twin guitar sound without too many gimmicks other than just being excellent musicians. It whips live, too. No contest here, I'd vote for Apex over almost every song in this tournament.
The Eagle Has Landed stinks out loud. Saxon is not the band to turn an incredible human achievement into an interesting song. I can imagine they were trying to represent the vast emptiness of space with their vast emptiness of creativity and interest here, and boy, they succeeded at that. That Hell song may not have the apex of talent, but it's at least interesting. Hell.
srfc
Ancient Mariner
Tygers of Pan Tang - Gangland vs. Saxon - Denim and Leather
Gangland is a good NWOBHM track and I mean to check out more of them, as there's a couple of tracks on compilations I have that are great. Solo is brilliant which I assume it's Sykes playing it, sounds like him anyway. Denim and Leather has a classic riff, and it's the sort of generic and cliched subject matter that Saxon do real well, because there's a certain sincerity to how they do it, there's no cynicism in them. Denim and Leather
Nazgul - Elficidium vs. Immortal - At the Heart of Winter
This Nazgul track starts of like the Seven Dwarfs covering I Will Survive and then somehow gets even worse. At the Heart of Winter is probably the best black metal track that's been in the game. Ok, the frog vocals are an issue, but the rest of the black metalisms (tremolo picking, ott drumming) are tasteful and serve the song well. At the Heart of Winter
Nightwish - The Siren vs. Nightwish - The Pharaoh Sails to Orion
In the Nightwish-off, the first track was much more up my alley. Both tracks were decent enough, but not anything that would have me checking out their entire back catalogue afterwards. The Siren
Def Leppard - Love Bites vs. Guns N' Roses - You Could Be Mine
Love Bites was originally a Mutt Lange country track, let's face it, you could easily hear Shania Twain do a version of this, but Leppard do a decent job of turning it into a Power Ballad, with great vocals on the chorus. You Could Be Mine is one of my favourite GNR tracks, what a great build up, and groove when it kicks in. I take Jer's point about it's ubiquity on MTV back in the day, I still hear in my head "hasta la vista, baby" from the music video every time I listen to it. You Could Be Mine
Blind Guardian - Time Stands Still vs. Unleash the Archers - Apex
Blind Guardian track was a bit in that no mans land where it didn't have too much of the excesses of Power Metal, but it had enough to wind me up the wrong way. Unleash the Archers is a good bit better, with a hint of reunion era Maiden to it. Vocal is very good. One of the chord changes in the quiet sections remind me of Kiss From a Rose Apex
Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed vs. Hell - Blasphemy and the Master
The Eagle has Landed is another great Saxon track, love the build up intro. Coincidentally, I actually saw Hell open for Saxon. For anyone who is unaware of the back story to Hell, they were basically a band from the tail end of the NWOBHM who were causing a bit of a stir but never got to release an album as they signed with a record company who promptly went bust, and the band then fell apart. Sadly, their main guitarist/singer took his own life not long after this. The band had been a huge influence on Sabbat, and 20 years later Andy Sneap bumped into some of the other original members of Hell, and basically suggested using his position in the industry to produce and get that album that should have come out in the 80s finally out. The idea was the Martin Walkyier would sing on it and Sneap would play the guitar parts. It turned out that Walkyier didn't work out as he had too much of a distinctive voice that it was just sounding like a Martin Walkyier project. The original Hell guitarist's brother came to the studio to record some spoken word parts for the record, as he was a TV actor, and gave it a go singing. The OTT acting style of the singing really adds to the Hammer horror style of the lyrics, and there's also quite a bit of amateur dramatics to the live show as well, not too dissimilar to Bruce getting in character live. The album Human Remains is brilliant, and Blasphemy and the Master is not only the best track from it but also a good representation of the bands idiosyncrasies. Blasphemy and the Master
Gangland is a good NWOBHM track and I mean to check out more of them, as there's a couple of tracks on compilations I have that are great. Solo is brilliant which I assume it's Sykes playing it, sounds like him anyway. Denim and Leather has a classic riff, and it's the sort of generic and cliched subject matter that Saxon do real well, because there's a certain sincerity to how they do it, there's no cynicism in them. Denim and Leather
Nazgul - Elficidium vs. Immortal - At the Heart of Winter
This Nazgul track starts of like the Seven Dwarfs covering I Will Survive and then somehow gets even worse. At the Heart of Winter is probably the best black metal track that's been in the game. Ok, the frog vocals are an issue, but the rest of the black metalisms (tremolo picking, ott drumming) are tasteful and serve the song well. At the Heart of Winter
Nightwish - The Siren vs. Nightwish - The Pharaoh Sails to Orion
In the Nightwish-off, the first track was much more up my alley. Both tracks were decent enough, but not anything that would have me checking out their entire back catalogue afterwards. The Siren
Def Leppard - Love Bites vs. Guns N' Roses - You Could Be Mine
Love Bites was originally a Mutt Lange country track, let's face it, you could easily hear Shania Twain do a version of this, but Leppard do a decent job of turning it into a Power Ballad, with great vocals on the chorus. You Could Be Mine is one of my favourite GNR tracks, what a great build up, and groove when it kicks in. I take Jer's point about it's ubiquity on MTV back in the day, I still hear in my head "hasta la vista, baby" from the music video every time I listen to it. You Could Be Mine
Blind Guardian - Time Stands Still vs. Unleash the Archers - Apex
Blind Guardian track was a bit in that no mans land where it didn't have too much of the excesses of Power Metal, but it had enough to wind me up the wrong way. Unleash the Archers is a good bit better, with a hint of reunion era Maiden to it. Vocal is very good. One of the chord changes in the quiet sections remind me of Kiss From a Rose Apex
Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed vs. Hell - Blasphemy and the Master
The Eagle has Landed is another great Saxon track, love the build up intro. Coincidentally, I actually saw Hell open for Saxon. For anyone who is unaware of the back story to Hell, they were basically a band from the tail end of the NWOBHM who were causing a bit of a stir but never got to release an album as they signed with a record company who promptly went bust, and the band then fell apart. Sadly, their main guitarist/singer took his own life not long after this. The band had been a huge influence on Sabbat, and 20 years later Andy Sneap bumped into some of the other original members of Hell, and basically suggested using his position in the industry to produce and get that album that should have come out in the 80s finally out. The idea was the Martin Walkyier would sing on it and Sneap would play the guitar parts. It turned out that Walkyier didn't work out as he had too much of a distinctive voice that it was just sounding like a Martin Walkyier project. The original Hell guitarist's brother came to the studio to record some spoken word parts for the record, as he was a TV actor, and gave it a go singing. The OTT acting style of the singing really adds to the Hammer horror style of the lyrics, and there's also quite a bit of amateur dramatics to the live show as well, not too dissimilar to Bruce getting in character live. The album Human Remains is brilliant, and Blasphemy and the Master is not only the best track from it but also a good representation of the bands idiosyncrasies. Blasphemy and the Master
The backstory on Hell was really interesting. Thanks for sharing!
We have a tie, is there a hero out there?
It's not closed yet!
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
APEX. It's closed now!
JudasMyGuide
The resident reactionary recalcitrant
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KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
Yeah, just in case, Blind Guardian.
Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Sure, but now, since he still hasn't called it, Unleash the Archers.
So, the rules say:
5) In the case of a tie, I will call for kicks - the first person to respond will pick the winner. I traditionally don't vote until near the end to break ties if needed, but if I vote to create a tie or if someone squeaks in after me, it might be called for.
Kicking before the call cannot, thus, count.
Therefore, I will now call for kicks for Blind Guardian vs Unleash the Archer. Someone break the tie!
5) In the case of a tie, I will call for kicks - the first person to respond will pick the winner. I traditionally don't vote until near the end to break ties if needed, but if I vote to create a tie or if someone squeaks in after me, it might be called for.
Kicking before the call cannot, thus, count.
Therefore, I will now call for kicks for Blind Guardian vs Unleash the Archer. Someone break the tie!