@Spambot is right that "Postmortem" is better when it flows straight into "Raining Blood", but even on its own this is a classic Slayer track from their best album.
Reign in Blood is also the only Slayer record where I think Tom Araya kills it on the vocals. A lot of times he sounds slightly bored, but even on a mid-tempo track like this he's incredibly focused. The riffing and guitar sound on this whole album is like crack to me, it's so good, and then there are some awesome moments throughout as well, like, "Fatality, reality, await the final CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaalll!" So fucking good. Never fails to get me headbanging.
Then on the other side we have one of Sepultura's classics, another track that is absolutely killer in the guitar department, especially when that slower, chugging riff comes in during a lull in the drumming around the three minute mark or so. Super good. Definitely a classic for a reason. I think ultimately I still enjoy
Slayer more, so I'll give them my vote here, but this is a really strong matchup and I'll be a little sad for whichever one loses.
Listening to "Battle Cry" makes it clear just how insane it is that Halford sounds as good as he does on
Firepower. How did he manage to scale back the years after this record, where he sounds... really lost? Those high notes are really weak. It's not a bad song but it plods more than it should. I'm going with
Grand Magus here because they were more consistent, had some good moments, and the singer is pretty good. Nothing mindblowing but it's solid heavy metal.
@JudasMyGuide if Nightwish wasn't winning this match handily I wouldn't be doing this, but I'm actually going to give
Rhapsody the vote here. Now, I was totally going to go into this 19 minute song ready with quips about Italians at the ready. My only prior experience with Rhapsody is "Emerald Sword" and I do not have fond memories about that song, especially vocally. So seeing that this was 19 minutes in length I was fully prepared for the dumbest shit I'd ever heard in my life. I have to retroactively apologize for doubting you because this song is more than worthy of being here. Okay, after the ten minute mark it starts to lose itself, with all the spoken word stuff and whatnot - a lot of that could've been cut down (unless it works better when listening to the album as a whole). But those first ten minutes? Fucking fire. What the hell.
I mean it feels more like Symphony X than I was expecting from a more typical power metal band. There's a lot of proggy nods thrown in, I love how the guitar and keys mesh together; I also wasn't expecting Fabio Lione to actually sound even half-way decent, but he's actually got it together on this track. Some of the vocals feel like Russell Allen (only I still can't understand a goddamn thing he says). The fucking choirs out of nowhere??? GARGOYLES. GARGOYLES. GARGOYLES. It's so dumb but it works so well and it adds such a dark addition to it. I could totally see myself coming back to this, maybe even checking out the whole album. That's some great power metal music.
Again, I wouldn't vote for them if Nightwish wasn't going to take this anyway - I think "Passion and the Opera" is super underrated and is one of Tarja's definitive performances in the band. The playful verses, the majestic chorus, and then the vocal run at the end is just so fucking good. I still think she's the best Nightwish singer. And Emppu's guitarwork just sounds so good, running underneath the orchestral tinges and keyboard flurries like a locomotive. It's a great song and an awesome submission from
@Jer . But since Rhapsody is losing and they really impressed me, out of solidarity since a lot of people just wrote the song off for its self-indulgences, I will be voting for it. Another really, really good matchup here.
And another super strong matchup! Paradise Lost do doom with some really beautiful tinges and I need to get into them more.
@srfc is absolutely right that Tiamat sounds like they're doing their own take on Morbid Angel's "God of Emptiness", I knew it sounded familiar. I really liked both these tracks for different reasons, but vocally Tiamat are certainly weaker and there are melodies that stick out more from "True Belief".
Paradise Lost.
Goddamn, what is it with this incredibly good matchups this round? Pairing off a classic rock staple like "Rock and Roll" against a raging grunge monster like "Them Bones" is wild but both these songs are so good. I haven't actively wanted to listen to "Rock and Roll" in ages because, yeah, it's just a silly '50s tribute from the biggest rock band of the '70s and the radio overplays this one a lot. But I really, really forgot just how good this song is. Everyone on here is giving 110%. Bonham is flying on the drum kit. Jones is absolutely driving the song's backbone. Page is gliding with ease, especially in the solo. And Plant is fully dialed-in and focus without his usual over-the-top noises. The whole thing feels like a labor of love and it's no wonder that it's such a beloved song. Every year my local classic rock station polls its listeners to compile their Top 500 list for Memorial Day weekend, and this one is almost always in the top 10 or floating nearby. "Rock and Roll" really is one of the ultimate rock and roll songs, because it's incredibly tight and incredibly fun at the same time.
Okay, now that I've given my full support to Led Zeppelin, I will go ahead and vote for
"Them Bones" anyway because it's still the better song and also,
actually is metal. Love both these tunes for different reasons but I still think the choice here is obvious.
Helmet really remind me of early,
Opiate-era Tool with a bit less prog and not-as-good vocals. It's not bad. Ended pretty suddenly. "Blackbird" is a beast of a song though. The guitar is super engaging; the vocals are incredible. That long held note at the end is utterly insane.
@Ariana has always been the Myles Kennedy stan of the board and based on this track alone I totally get it. Beautiful melodies. Maybe I need to listen to
Alter Bridge more...
