The Greatest Metal Song Cup - Part II, Round 3, Matches 55-60

[Mosh]

Only vs Crawling: I went back and forth a bit on this matchup. I like John Bush as a vocalist but don’t find Anthrax’s turn toward post-grunge/groove metal sound very interesting. To me it represents a period of exciting Metal bands largely taking a turn toward a blander more radio friendly sound. On the other hand, Linkin Park is basically a boy band with distorted guitars. I don’t have a lot of time for either, but I can at least appreciate Crawling doing something different for the time.

 

[KidInTheDark666]

I think a lot of folks on this forum haven't heard the more creative material that LP put out later on. This game obviously wouldn't be the right place for that, but maybe some day we'll have a game for non-metal songs too.

 

[Mosh]

I think a lot of folks on this forum haven't heard the more creative material that LP put out later on. This game obviously wouldn't be the right place for that, but maybe some day we'll have a game for non-metal songs too.

LP’s work after Meteora is awful. At least the first two albums had some novelty.

 

[KidInTheDark666]

LP’s work after Meteora is awful. At least the first two albums had some novelty.

Fair enough. Anyway, I think many of the members here would be quite surprised at how different something like A Thousand Suns (2010) sounds compared to the "generic" stuff on HT and Meteora.

 

[Stardust]

I wonder if Firepower and Invincible Shield's reputations would be different had they been released in the 80's. A lot of the praise they get seems to come from how they've been able to write material that can stand up to their classics. I don't necessarily agree - both albums feel a bit hollow to me. They sound distinctly professional and slick, but the songs feel Judas Priest carefully studied greatest hits compilations and fan-made top lists and then came out with songs that would be expertly palatable for a modern audience wanting something that sounds and feels like Judas Priest. I admit I quite like No Surrender, but it also sounds like something the band could have written at any point in the late 70's or early 80's. I want a little more ambition than that. Perhaps not on the level of something like Nostradamus, though.

Rising from Ruins, the song featured here, is a song that I can respect but it's not especially appealing to me. I guess the point I really want to make here is that if I wanted to hear something that reminded me of how good Judas Priest was in their prime...then I'd listen to something from their prime, not these two albums.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

My favorite thing about the people who love the two most recent albums and the people who don't like the newest albums is that they both say the same thing, "it sounds like Judas Priest."

 

[Mosh]

My favorite thing about the people who love the two most recent albums and the people who don't like the newest albums is that they both say the same thing, "it sounds like Judas Priest."

There's a lot of truth to that, although I would say a lot of my criticisms around the new albums is that they don't sound that much like Judas Priest. Firepower comes very close, but the riffing and intricate instrumentation on Invincible Shield feels like an entirely different band at times. Largely because it is.

Angel of Retribution sounds like Judas Priest. Not sure about any album after that.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

There's a lot of truth to that, although I would say a lot of my criticisms around the new albums is that they don't sound that much like Judas Priest. Firepower comes very close, but the riffing and intricate instrumentation on Invincible Shield feels like an entirely different band at times. Largely because it is.

Angel of Retribution sounds like Judas Priest. Not sure about any album after that.

I can agree with that. It is certainly an evolution of their sound that is dominated by Faulkner. Luckily, Faulkner is very good.

 

[Siddharth]

LP’s work after Meteora is awful. At least the first two albums had some novelty.

A drastic shift in style and not Metal but they are definitely good enough. A Thousand Suns is often compared to 'Dark Side Of The Moon' (not my opinion!). Not to mention, The Hunting Party was again back to first two albums style. I just did not get into their last album though.

EDIT: Whenever I see @MrKnickerbocker and @Detective Beauregard voting for different songs in a round, I wonder how the dinner conversations go...

 

[srfc]

Kyuss - Green Machine vs. Black Sabbath - The Mob Rules
I enjoyed Green Machine but it's an imitation of Sabbath and I'm not going to vote for it against the real thing, and it's a worse song anyway The Mob Rules

Savatage - Power of the Night vs. Helloween - The Dark Ride
Indifferent towards both tracks here, they were fine to listen to, but I don't think either would be troubling the upper echelons of this competition. Giving Helloween the vote as, while not as good as the couple of decent songs they have, it was substantially better than the bulk of their material The Dark Ride

Alice in Chains - Man in the Box vs. Judas Priest - Rising From Ruins
I'm not sure if I ever listened to all of Man in the Box, certainly I'm well aware of the main hook, the sections I'm not familiar with were pretty good. In the same way that I think that if a hair metal band wrote this track (and loads of them tried to in the 90s) it would be dismissed by the people who championed grunge, I think I have a similar bias in that I probably had the urge to vote against the grunge band when I saw the match up, but I'm going to vote for it, it's just a decent Rock N Roll track, whereas while Rising from Ruin is a good Priest track, they have many, many more that are better. There's some bands like Priest/Metallica etc. that will have 20+ legitimate contenders, but it's going too far to be including their very deep cuts too. Man in the Box

Mastodon - Blood and Thunder vs. Enforcer - Undying Evil
I've never really heard Mastodon on album, outside of the odd track that appears in these games, and the seem decent enough, but I'm always put off checking them further as I saw them live twice and they were pretty shit both times, this track was pretty solid, and I liked the Maiden-esque middle eight. Enforcer aren't exactly reinventing the wheel but this was pretty enjoyable. Undying Evil

Anthrax - Only vs. Linkin Park - Crawling
Crawling is a memorable enough hit, significantly better than their peers, but still ultimately from that genre that dare not speak it's name, and therefore not of interest to me. Only was out when I was getting into music and I used to have the video taped off the TV, so I've fond memories, it's a great track. Only

Within Temptation - Ice Queen vs. Nazareth - Hair of the Dog
Within Temptation was a solid enough track with some good melodies and generally toned down the off putting theatrics that some of these type of bands have, but the vocalist had a bit of a windy voice and not certain the key was helping her. Hair of the Dog, great riff, great hook, best non-Frampton talk box solo. Hair of the Dog

 

[Spambot]

Match 118 - Black Sabbath
Guitars from Kyuss sounds like they're from 90s, vocals sound like they're from 80s and drums sound like they're recorded with potato. Interesting. Unfortunately, it was up against only good song from second Dio Sabbath album.

Match 119 - Helloween
A bit of blasphemy, I've always prefer Andi Deris' vocals, even over those older Kiske/Hansen tracks. Nothing speacial about Dark Ride, but the vocal melody in verses (or was that bridge) is enough to gather a win.

Match 120 - Alice in Chains
I'm not surprised there's a Firepower song in GMAC, but I'm surprised there's not Invicible Shield one. It doesn't even matter that it didn't came out when GMAC started, somebody should have nominated Sons of Thunder or something like that. "What a great title, I bet it'll have heavy riff, there must be a great solo, I can already hear Halford nailing the chorus". The good thing is, once the GMAC is done, we will have a complete list of all Judas Priest songs ranked.

Match 121 - Mastodon
I'm not crazy about "Blood and Thunder" as most of people who listen to Mastodon do. But it'll still do.

Match 122 - Anthrax
One of the rare Anthrax songs from Bush era which I knew right away. Fun fact (that's neither fun nor fact) - although I like Hybrid Theory, I've always disliked Crawling, from the first day it came out as a single. But I bet there were people who were screaming the chorus into somebody's ear on a sleepovers. I bet they did that and thought "This won't come back to me. Karma doesn't exist. No way this song will hunt me back in 20 years in some tournament on some forum where this song will beat some song that I actually like. Yeah, what are the chances?!"

Match 123 - Nazareth
Within Temptation is OK, but I always laugh how distressed the guy in Nazareth sounds when he enters the song. "Heart-breaker! Soul-shaker!" I believe him. Talk box is also a plus. Paul di Anno covering it is a minus.

 

[Edington]

if a hair metal band wrote this track (and loads of them tried to in the 90s) it would be dismissed by the people who championed grunge

Technically a hair metal band did write this track Alice's name came from Layne Staley's old hair metal band, there's a fair bit of hair influence still lingering on the Facelift album.

 

[Kalata]

I wonder if Firepower and Invincible Shield's reputations would be different had they been released in the 80's.

I think so. The structures are not that different, if at all. The albums, while different to their classic approach (almost every album since 2005), are filled with their ''usual''/most wanted style (Painkiller, DOFT, SFV). And that's always been Priest's approach since the late 70's, more or less. It shouldn't be a surprise. Nostradamus is an exception. They no longer want to be diverse.

A lot of the praise they get seems to come from how they've been able to write material that can stand up to their classics. I don't necessarily agree - both albums feel a bit hollow to me. They sound distinctly professional and slick, but the songs feel Judas Priest carefully studied greatest hits compilations and fan-made top lists and then came out with songs that would be expertly palatable for a modern audience wanting something that sounds and feels like Judas Priest.

I can agree about Invincible Shield. Some songs sound generic, especially compared to some of their 80's material

Rising from Ruins, the song featured here, is a song that I can respect but it's not especially appealing to me. I guess the point I really want to make here is that if I wanted to hear something that reminded me of how good Judas Priest was in their prime...then I'd listen to something from their prime, not these two albums.

Isn't the point of the game to vote which song you like better in the pair, not because you think some of this band's classics should/will go to the finals?

 

[Shmoolikipod]

The Mob Rules is a lot more sophisticated and has the better solo and singer, but I'll throw a bone to Kyuss, they have a sweet tone and catchy chorus.

I'm trying hard to drown my irrational hatred for Savatage and their quirks. This song is good and has a clear sound, even if the chords and drumming are too uncanny for me. I never thought The Dark Ride is perfect, but the reality is that I come back to it very often. No-brainer.

Man in the Box has an infectious vibing riff. I'm not a fan of the verse vocal lines, but maybe those drawn out notes work well to not distract from the guitar. The chorus is better. Rising from Ruins is a powerhouse. Nothing here is particularly novel, but the songwriting and playing is extremely good, and that's true to pretty much the entirety of Firepower. Yeah I guess Man in the Box is more seminal but I like Priest more.

How about a song that is both a classic and a monster in its own right? One of the greatest choruses and bridges in metal. Undying Evil is a fantastic dish of NWOBHM. Love the solos and energy. Singer is great if hard to get used to. Very fresh but there's no contest here, Mastodon.

Very noisy, I like it. The verse riff is unexpected but it works. Wait no, not unexpected, unpredictable, Thanks Bush. The chorus is very memorable and the instrumental section is good. Awesome drumming. Singing on top of the final chorus is wholly unnecessary though. Crawling isn't terrible, just not my cup of tea. Only.

Ice Queen takes its sweet time to start, but it turns out to be a very strong symphonic song. It's relatively airy and the vocals work well on top of it. Is this Nazareth song here because of the cowbell or the riff? Damn good song. Then we get 40 seconds of talk box because we really needed an additional instrument for the outro and we don't want to do it like Anthrax where it comes out of nowhere. Fuck you now you're not getting my vote.

 

[Jer]

"Green Machine" is centered around a decent but very repetitive riff. The vox are OK, but the melodies aren't particularly memorable and the chorus doesn't take off. The jammy instrumental part is very Sabbathy, but doesn't otherwise stand out in any way. The one compliment I can offer is that the song has good momentum, but the rest of it is pretty tepid. "The Mob Rules" has an infectious riff and rhythm through the verse. Dio sounds really good, as expected. The verse vocal melody is strong, but the pre-chorus and especially the chorus don't work as well. Very good solos, though. A mixed bag, but pretty good overall, and that's enough to take this match. Winner: Black Sabbath - "The Mob Rules"

"Power Of The Night" has an unnecessarily long intro with very dated synth atmospherics, but once it gets going the riffs and solos are very good and the vocals are pretty good, minus the high wailing. The verse vocal lines are more memorable than the chorus for sure. The lyrics are dopey, but that doesn't bother me too much for this kind of song. Good stuff overall. "The Dark Ride" starts off on the wrong foot with carnival music (yes, I understand it's thematically appropriate), but the stately harmonized guitars that follow it up are much better. The verse is pretty strong, but the half-whispered pre-chorus is iffy, and the chorus melody is unfortunately mediocre. There are also some bad phrasing choices peppered throughout the lyrics. The trilled guitar interlude just treads water, but the slower vocal bridge is quite nice and tastefully synth orchestrated. The spoken word bridge that follows isn't so hot, but the acoustic interlude and solos are great, as is the final vocal section. The second half of this song is great, and has higher highs than anything its competitor has to offer; but it also has a very rough first half. I could go either way on this one, but congratulations @Poto, I'll break in the direction of the MaidenFans nomination here. Winner: Helloween - "The Dark Ride"

"Man In The Box" was massively overplayed in its day, to the point where I'd eventually change the channel anytime it came on -- but after falling in love with Dirt, I went back and spent some quality time with Facelift and found it to be a really great album in its own right, including this track. The talkboxed moaning and moody verses blow up into a huge chorus that really sells the song, and the multi-part solo with some bluesy kick is also really good. Great stuff overall. "Rising From Ruins" is perhaps my favorite song from Firepower, with a great epic feel, nice dynamics, strong riffs, great solos, and great melodies. Love the little mandolin bit they slipped in there, too. Great song, great nomination. Both tracks are worthy, and this one is actually pretty close, with the AIC song having a stronger chorus, but Priest's track being a little stronger in the other areas, and probably a bit stronger overall. Congratulations, @Kalata. Winner: Judas Priest - "Rising From Ruins"

"Blood And Thunder" brings a pretty strong riff and a nice busy instrumental section, but the shouty non-melodic vocals are a boat anchor around the song's neck. No sir, don't like it. "Undying Evil" has peppy guitar work out of the gate. The singer is whiny but capable, and the vocal melodies are strong, though the lyrics are a bit incoherent. The harmonized lead breaks are nice, but a bit too brief. Two thumbs up on the neoclassical interlude and solo, though, and the traditional solos that follow are also great. At first I felt like this was thin but enjoyable, but the instrumental section finally sold me on the song. Sorry, @Mosh, but this is the easiest of calls for @Perun's nominee. Winner: Enforcer - "Undying Evil"

"Only" chugs in a way that effectively builds tension at times, but the rhythm playing isn't anything particularly special. Bush sounds reasonably good, and the vocals through the verse and pre-chorus are decent, but the chorus doesn't really take off in the way the band seems to think it does, probably because the melody drops down to something lifeless after the second "only" pushed to higher notes than the first. Good solo. Ew, the layered choruses at the end with "crucified, sacrificed" on top sound pretty terrible, and Bush's performance on those is really weak. This one definitely needed more time in the oven. "Crawling" epitomizes the early Linkin Park sound that made them popular. Soft accent tones, heavy nu-metal guitars, alternately soft and screamy melodic vocals, and lighter-touch rapping. The screamy parts feel a little forced at times, and the chorus isn't one of their best, but this is still a very good song overall, especially when everything comes together for the dueling verse/chorus bit at the end. Sorry, @MrKnickerbocker, but your nominee is completely outclassed here. Winner: Linkin Park - "Crawling"

"Ice Queen" has a pretentious synth string and piano intro (and outro), and the synth horns that follow are always a no-no. The singer's voice is way too high and thin for my taste, though the vocal melodies are pretty good overall. These synths sound pretty low rent and cheesy throughout (though not quite sinking to Symphony X depths), and the guitars never do anything interesting. No sir, don't like it. Ah, "Hair Of The Dog". Gotta love that riff and the copious cowbell. The verse is so-so, the pre-chorus is a little better, and the chorus is catchy and perhaps unintentionally hilarious. Yes, voice box solo FTW! Greater than the sum of its parts, this one's an infectious head-bobber for sure -- and sorry, @KidInTheDark666, but now you're messing with a son of a bitch, and that's way more than enough for the list nominee to take this match. Winner - Nazareth - "Hair Of The Dog"

 

[____no5]

Kyuss - Green Machine vs Black Sabbath - The Mob Rules --> In all fairness Green Machine is a great song, but there's no contest against Mob Rules.
Savatage - Power of the Night vs Helloween - The Dark Ride --> Savatage is a Top5 metal band for me and I have a soft spot for Power of the Night album and song, so... (it is considered a weak album by the fans, but still). Dark Ride is great song too, just not my cup of tea. Great later Halloween I must admit.
Alice in Chains - Man in the Box vs Judas Priest - Rising From Ruins --> Not sure why Man in the Box is even here. There are so many great songs by Alice in Chains, oh well. Rising is ok. There are better in this album.
Mastodon - Blood and Thunder vs Enforcer - Undying Evil --> Blood and Thunder is such a classic. Undying Evil is good but breaks no new ground.
Anthrax - Only vs Linkin Park - Crawling --> I was curious what Knicker's choice would sound like, it's a great song.
Within Temptation - Ice Queen vs Nazareth - Hair of the Dog --> Hair of the Dog is a classic but I'll go with the member's choice.

 

[LooseCannon]

Other than one song in the No Tea Vicar LC Fucked Up Division, this set of matches means that every single song has entered the game.

The mob has broken the green machine for Black Sabbath. If you want the power of the night, you need Helloween's dark ride. Sounds like the man in the box is rising from ruins, as Alice in Chains wins. Mastodon has crushed undying evil with blood and thunder. Only crawling won't do it. Anthrax. Hair of the dog isn't a cure for Within Temptation's ice queen.

---

Part II, Round 2, Matches 124-129​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 124​	Live After Death Division​
MC5 - Kick Out the Jams	vs.​	Rudra - Avidya Nivrtti​
Popoff 500, Radio EHS 100	Nominators​	@Perun​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 125​	The Red and the Black Division​
Deep Purple - Burn	vs.​	Rammstein - Sonne​
Popoff 500 @Stardust	Nominators​	@Poto​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 126​	Only the Good Die Young Division​
Mötley Crüe - Live Wire	vs.​	Extreme - Play With Me​
Popoff 500, VH1 40	Nominators​	@Stardust​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 127​	Thunderstick Division​
AC/DC - Highway to Hell	vs.​	Mercyful Fate - A Dangerous Meeting​
Popoff 500, Radio EHS 100	Nominators​	Popoff 500 @srfc​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 128​	Where the Wild Wind Blows Division​
Slayer - War Ensemble	vs.​	Linkin Park - Papercut​
Popoff 500, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100	Nominators​	Youtube 50​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 129​	More Tea Vicar Division​
Running Wild - Conquistadors	vs.​	Sabaton - Rise of Evil​
@Wogmidget	Nominators​	@Wogmidget​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

 

[Wogmidget]

Bastard

 

[Kalata]

Purple's Burn. Easy. One of the all time rock songs.
Extreme's Play With Me has a really cool solo. Live Wire has a great riff.
A Dangerous Meeting's music is good, but the vocals... and I mean, Highway To Hell!
Sabaton's Rise Of Evil has an epic vibe and riff, but I wouldn't call it a song I like. Running Wild's Conquistadors is great with that bass intro, galloping tempo and drumming.

 

[srfc]

MC5 - Kick Out the Jams vs. Rudra - Avidya Nivrtti
Kick Out the Jams is ok and short enough not to wear out it's welcome, Rudra was much better sounding than a lot of this type of music is, but it's not really my thing. Kick Out the Jams

Deep Purple - Burn vs. Rammstein - Sonne
Burn is without doubt the best Purple track that wasn't by the classic line up in their heyday. Sonne was decent enough with a memorable riff and chorus Burn

Mötley Crüe - Live Wire vs. Extreme - Play With Me
Play With Me was alright but pretty derivative of Van Halen, Live Wire is great Live Wire

AC/DC - Highway to Hell vs. Mercyful Fate - A Dangerous Meeting
I think Melissa sounds a lot better than Don't Break the Oath, especially the buzzy guitar sound being a negative for DBTO, but a Dangerous Meeting is just a great collection of riffs with a menacing edge. I know people find the King hard to take, but it's worth checking out their stuff, if not for anything else, how they subvert the standard verse/chorus/verse/chorus formula without you realising they aren't using that formula. I've been trying to vote in a fair is fair manner though, so no way I can say it's better than Highway to Hell. Highway to Hell

Slayer - War Ensemble vs. Linkin Park - Papercut
Another Linkin Park song that's following the exact same blueprint as all their other hits, still, as I say in every other round, it's clearly a good bit better than what their peers were up to. War Ensemble is just one of Slayer's very best, a Lombardo masterclass War Ensemble

Running Wild - Conquistadors vs. Sabaton - Rise of Evil
Sabaton wasn't great, the groove was a fairly standard Heaven and Hell/Stranger in a Strange Land style, and there wasn't any sort of hook that stood out enough for me to remember now only a few mins after listening to it. Running Wild are that rare thing from the cliche Euro metal scene in that they write good songs and have edge. Anyone enjoying this track can do a lot worse than trying to pick up that double CD hits collection that the Youtube video is from, usually available at a reasonable enough price. Conquistadors