The Greatest Metal Song Cup - Part II, Round 3, Matches 61-66

[Confeos]

How can you not love "I Am a Viking" and its pure, delicious cheese? I hear a lot of Manowar, and surprisingly, a bit of Candlemass too in some of the riffs and the vocal delivery. "Dragon Lady" has a decent chorus, but isn't nearly as fun, suffers from bad production and a questionable vocal performance. Yngwie.

Overkill sounds a bit like Pantera. Pretty average stuff, and very forgettable. When I first heard Ride the Lightning many years ago, I initially disliked "Fight Fire With Fire", but it has grown on me, and I don't consider it the worst song on the album at all. The verses are dumb, but the riffing is just brutal. Easy, Metallica takes this one.

I think The Ultimate Sin is a great, underrated Ozzy album. "Shot in the Dark" is decent and somewhat iconic, but not quite the best song on the record. Neither is "Die Young", for that matter, but it has great dynamics, riffs and a fantastic Dio performance, nonetheless, and that's enough to make me vote for Black Sabbath here.

Limp Bizkit is so, so terrible. I can't believe I actually gave this a full listen in the name of fairness. "Papercut", while not my favourite from Linkin Park, outclasses it in every possible way.

Between "Chemi-Kill" and "Deliver Us to Evil", I think I like the latter just a little bit better, but neither song is good, to be honest. Two examples of why I would never consider Exodus in the same league as the big four. Deliver Us to Evil.

Objectively, "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "You're in Love" sounds quite similar. Subjectively, I absolutely despise Mötley Crüe, so Ratt takes this one by default.

 

[LooseCannon]

Here's my hot take for the round: the Youtube 50 is better than the Popoff 500. While the bands on the YouTube 50 are trash, at least it captures the most well known and acclaimed material from those bands, which is partially what lists like these are supposed to guage. The Popoff 500 is filled to the brim with filler deep cuts from the 80s versions of bands like Limp Bizkit/BMTH.

I don't think this is wrong. Part of it is that the Popoff list is from 2004, and he spent a lot of time beforehand getting people's opinions. A lot of these songs wouldn't make the cut today, for sure.

 

[Diesel 11]

"I Am a Viking" is so dumb but I love how earnest Soto is in that song. Makes up for Yngwie's writing. Crimson Glory suck.

Actually really liked the Overkill song and will throw them a vote despite Metallica's being better. I dunno what your hate against FFWF is, it's a great album opener. Just like "Invaders", actually.

Dio Sabbath vs Solo Ozzy should be a much more interesting match on any other forum, but MaidenFans just starts masturbating as soon as Dio opens his mouth. "Die Young" has a cool intro, fast paced verses, cool middle section, and then speeds along to the outro before you can tell if the plane lifted off. It's good, but it feels lacking. Ozzy, meanwhile, has a perfect blend of pumping '80s metal with a glam finish. The music is so dark yet inviting and the chorus is incredibly catchy. It's a perfect song with great performances from everyone, Ozzy included - his voice is the perfect one to ride atop the misty atmosphere. Plus he's got Jake E. Lee on guitar so clearly he beats Sabbath in that department as well.... It should not be getting shat on like this. I need a drink, Jesus.

"Papercut" is decent but not outstanding Linkin Park although it has some really good moments especially towards the end. Limp Bizkit is a disgrace to music as an artform.

"Deliver Us to Evil" and "Chemi-Kill" feel like almost the same song but one is mercifully shorter than the other. "Chemi-Kill".

The final match of Part I is great, two highlights of hair metal. "Girls, Girls, Girls" is stupid but so fun and catchy with roaring guitar. "You're in Love" also slays with its riff and is also catchy. I'm gonna vote Crue because they're currently losing but I'm happy with whichever song wins.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Dio Sabbath vs Solo Ozzy should be a much more interesting match on any other forum, but MaidenFans just starts masturbating as soon as Dio opens his mouth. "Die Young" has a cool intro, fast paced verses, cool middle section, and then speeds along to the outro before you can tell if the plane lifted off. It's good, but it feels lacking. Ozzy, meanwhile, has a perfect blend of pumping '80s metal with a glam finish. The music is so dark yet inviting and the chorus is incredibly catchy. It's a perfect song with great performances from everyone, Ozzy included - his voice is the perfect one to ride atop the misty atmosphere. Plus he's got Jake E. Lee on guitar so clearly he beats Sabbath in that department as well.... It should not be getting shat on like this. I need a drink, Jesus.

Ah yes, Jake E Lee getting beat by the literal creator of heavy metal riffs. The godfather of metal guitar. Wild.

Not sure how Die Young, with its multiple awesome sections and dynamics, “feels lacking” while Shot In The Dark, with its sonically compressed lack of dynamics is “perfect”.

I need a drink. And I’ve got one. Ahhhhh that’s good. It’s a Jack Daniel’s Barrel Proof Single Barrel. It has layers. Depth. Punch. Dynamics. Just like Die Young! Whereas Shot In the Dark is basically JD Black Label - sure, it’ll get ya drunk, I guess.

 

[LooseCannon]

Whereas Shot In the Dark is basically JD Black Label - sure, it’ll get ya drunk, I guess.

It was good enough for Lemmy.

 

[Detective Beauregard]

Yngwie's Viking song is absolutely hilarious, with Soto describing himself in terrible lyrical form and of course Malmsteen's overblown guitar theatrics. I really love that first mid-tempo riff. I know Yngwie is kind of a one-trick pony, but without him my favorite band wouldn't exist, so I gotta give credit where credit is due (even if I rarely find myself listening to his stuff).

Fight Fire With Fire might be Metallica's worst opener (barring Frantic, of course). It's especially weak when compared to the other songs that opened the classic albums - particularly Battery and my personal favorite, Blackened. But it's still classic Metallica.

Die Young is such a fun song, with the typical Dio energy and catchy verses. That clean part in the middle with Geezer's bass and Dio's enchanting voice is remarkable.

I'll be honest: I almost voted for Limp Bizkit because they're so bad that they make me laugh, which is more of an emotional response than I've ever gotten from Linkin Park's borefests. When that "rollin rollin rollin rollin" chorus hit, I couldn't hold the chuckles in. Couple that with Fred Durst's whiny pathetic voice, and I truly don't know how anyone ever took this band seriously. I can only hope that the band's magnum opus, Nookie, will make an appearance in the game.

I despise Motley Crue (almost as much as or possibly even more than KISS), and while I really don't like Ratt, either, they get my vote by default.

The rest of the songs in this round were unremarkable, so I will not be wasting my time commenting on them.

MaidenFans just starts masturbating as soon as Dio opens his mouth.

When Dio joined Black Sabbath, their overall sound changed from mid-tempo sludgy stoner metal to faster-paced bombastic power metal. Guess who else has faster-paced bombast? Iron Maiden. Guess who else has a wailing tenor singer as opposed to a drugged-out lunatic? Iron Maiden. I mean, this makes sense. Dio was so much better of a singer than Ozzy in every way imaginable, to a point where it's not even fair to compare them. They're worlds apart.

 

[Spambot]

Match 357 - Crimson Glory
There's a cackle, cowbell, and guitar slide in first 10 seconds. That's enough for a win against Yngwie who is making sounds what I imagine spaghetti to make in a washing machine during centrifugation @1200 rpm. The only time I endured Ynwie with joy was when I saw him live. I've yet to come to a moment when I say to myself, "You know what, I'm in a mood for Yngwie".

Match 358 - Metallica
I'm gonna sound like a hipster trying to be an old fart, but: no way could Metallica today write anything resembling "Fight Fire With Fire" and not because they SoLd OuT bRo. It's Cliff Burton - his classical influences are written all over this track.

Match 359 - Black Sabbath
"Die Young" pisses all over "Shot in the Dark" just like Dio pisses all over Ozzy, but here's a word of advice that nobody asked for: don't be afraid to vote against Dio. He was an amazing singer, had a huge career, and was apparently a great human being, but not everything he touched turned to gold. That was Midas. Otherwise, it would be called Dio's touch.

Match 360 - Linkin Park
Matches like these are the reason why I'm participating in this game. And what a great way to finish the first part of the game. This is the top; not a single of your multiple-nominated songs clashing will ever evoke as much awesomeness as this matchup did. To be honest, if I didn't plan to shit on nominations from users who voted against my nominations (yeah, I took notes, and yeah, I did my homework.) I'd probably give up on GMSC

Since Linkin Park is probably moving forward and this is probably the last Limb Bizkit song we'll have in this tournament, I'm gonna write a couple of reasons why Fred Durst is the best frontman ever:
1. Fred Durst single-handily multiplied red NY Yankee red hat sale by 472% in the period from 1997 to 2002.
2. Fred Durst told 250 000 people to break stuff. They did that, and a documentary was made about it. **
3. Rollin' is the most expensive video ever.***
4. He is multi-talented; he writes the lyrics and later sings them. He directs his videos and then acts in them. His vocal range includes rap, hip-hop, scatting, and swearing. *

Spoiler

* I have no idea, I'm pulling this out of my ass.
** Watched Woodstock 99 documentary the other night, not as fun as I imagined.
*** I actually have this fact somewhere in my brain, I think it was because they had to close the streets on NY or something like that. No idea why I had it, but now I've returned it to the world so maybe it disapears from my head)

Match 361 - Exodus
I wanted to vote for the first song, because it was shorter (if you're making a 7-minute trash song, you better bring a lot to the table, and it seemed to me that the first one, although shorter, had more variety). But I clicked the second one, which wasn't a list nomination like the first one, so I guess I made someone happy. I don't know much about Exodus. I know that a lot of people were in it, including Hammet, Holt, Bostaph so I went on their wiki page to see all the band members. They also have a graph timeline. I don't think it's a good sign when somebody has to draw to you how band members changed.

Match 362 - Ratt
Motley Crue is a band that has Vince Neal as a singer, I mean Minced Veal and they... no, wait, I got it right the first time. Vince Neal. Guy is so amazing, he makes a ten second birthday message and it goes viral. That's how good he is. Their guitar player is Nicki Sexxx. It doesn't sound cool today, but man, you should've been alive then, it was so cool back then. Also, I think this generation is spoiled, that's why you don't have nice things. Their drummer is Tommy Lee (not Jones). I wanted to write something about his porn career, but I respect Pamela Anderson too much. Motley Crue reached all highs and decided to call it quits. They even signed a contract about it. But then the world was like: "No Motley Crue! We need you Motley Crue, come back" AND THEN THEY CAME BACK! They blew up their contract, and I knew it happened because I saw a video of paper exploding. So amazing. Actually, it was so amazing that the fourth member just couldn't keep up, Mick Mars (like that candy bar) said to them: manbrodudes, you're just too amazin, I can't keep up, go on without me. True story. Somebody should, like, make a movie about this band, like biopic, and play it in theaters. Or somebody from the band should write autobiography, how amazing that would been, I mean, like, the world needs more Motley Crue.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

"Die Young" pisses all over "Shot in the Dark" just like Dio pisses all over Ozzy, but here's a word of advice that nobody asked for: don't be afraid to vote against Dio. He was an amazing singer, had a huge career, and was apparently a great human being, but not everything he touched turned to gold. That was Midas. Otherwise, it would be called Dio's touch.

Absolutely. Dio has a lot of subpar material, but none of it is gonna be in this game. This game is gonna showcase the 70% of his material that was transcendent, inspirational and amazing.

If we had to pick between Shot In The Dark and something off Angry Machines or one of a dozen “hootchie kootchie” Elf songs, Ozzy would deservedly win.

4. He is multi-talented; he writes the lyrics and later sings them. He directs his videos and then acts in them. His vocal range includes rap, hip-hop, scatting, and swearing. *

A genius! The pinnacle of man! He can talk, talk on beat, talk nonsense words, and talk with bad words!

 

[LooseCannon]

Vikings slay dragons, as per Yngwie Malmsteen. When you fight fire with fire, you get a world of hurt. Metallica. Ozzy's shot in the dark missed and Black Sabbath wishes he woulda died young. Who knew that a little papercut was all that was needed to topple Fred Durst, as Linkin Park advances. Exodus will deliver us to evil instead of chemi-killing us, which seems the mildly preferable option. And let's face it, you're all in love with Ratt.

You'll notice some changes to the formatting, specifically the addition of the Record. This'll be 0-0-0, 0, +0 for awhile. That's wins-losses-ties, points, differential. Each song will be evaluated in 4 different matches in their rounds, and the two songs per division will advance. Points are 2 for a win, 0 for a loss, 1 for a tie. Voting differential will be the sole tiebreaker. In the unlikely event that we have a tie, we will probably deal with a play in but that's fuckin way down the road so I'm not worried too much aboot it yet.

---

Part II, Round 1, Matches 1-6​

Group Stage - Round 1	Match 1​	The Number of the Beast Division​
Black Sabbath - Symptom of the Universe	vs.​	Legend - The Wizard's Vengeance​
Popoff 500, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100, Best Music Art 100	Nominators​	@Mosh​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 1	Match 2​	Blood Brothers Division​
Rainbow - Kill the King	vs.​	Blind Guardian - Imaginations From the Other Side​
Popoff 500, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100, Best Music Art 100 @The Dissident, @Wogmidget	Nominators​	Popoff 500​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 1	Match 3​	Isle of Avalon Division​
Metallica - Creeping Death	vs.​	Queen - Stone Cold Crazy​
Popoff 500, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100, Best Music Art 100 @MrKnickerbocker, @Jer, @Black Bart, @Confeos	Nominators​	Popoff 500​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 1	Match 4​	Terry Wapram Division​
Black Sabbath - Children of the Grave	vs.​	Celtic Frost - Circle of the Tyrants​
Popoff 500, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100 @MindRuler, @Black Bart	Nominators​	Popoff 500​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 1	Match 5​	Clive Burr Division​
Death - Pull the Plug	vs.​	Gamma Ray - Gardens of the Sinner​
Popoff 500, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100	Nominators​	@Jer​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 1	Match 6​	Women in Uniform Division​
Motörhead - Overkill	vs.​	Quasarborn - Ne Mozes Imati Sve​
Popoff 500, Best Music Art 100 @Mosh, @Spambot	Nominators​	@Night Prowler​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

 

[Shmoolikipod]

Are we going through the first games of all divisions then looping around 10 times?

 

[TheMercenary]

My votes go to :

1) Black Sabbath - Symptom Of The Universe
2) Rainbow - Kill The King
3) Metallica - Creeping Death
4) Black Sabbath - Children Of The Grave
5) Gamma Ray - Garden Of The Sinner
6) Motörhead - Overkill

 

[Mosh]

Black Sabbath - Symptom of the Universe	vs.	Legend - The Wizard's Vengeance
Popoff 500, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100, Best Music Art 100	Nominators	@Mosh

Well, it was a good run.

 

[LooseCannon]

Are we going through the first games of all divisions then looping around 10 times?

Yes.

 

[Diesel 11]

If Gamma Ray beats Death I might go mad.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

If Gamma Ray beats Death I might go mad.

No doubt it will. Just like Blind Guardian is currently wolloping fucking Kill the King. Madness.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Symptom of the Universe is a top tier Ozzy Sabbath track, for sure. It’s heavy as hell, it’s dark as hell, it’s the promise of the first Sabbath record continuing to ring true on their sixth album (despite all of the hippie and psychedelic stuff that had wandered in by that point). Iommi’s proggy riff break around the 2-minute mark is so awesome. The major key second half of the song is wildly unexpected. I’d be lying if I said I kind of wish it didn’t exist, see my previous above comment re: hippie stuff, but it’s certainly a unique, surprising composition. Still a very strong song. The Wizard’s Vengeance was a fun lark in the previous round, and still has good bass playing, but can’t hold a candle to Sabbath here.

Kill The King is a stone cold classic and one of the single greatest moments in Dio’s discography, Rainbow’s discography, and the foundations of heavy metal. Songs like this (and the previous Rainbow record) are responsible for the existence of an entire genre. Rainbow’s competition in this round, the also quite good Imaginations From The Other Side, literally would not exist without Kill The King. Besides the spirited performances across the board, the unrelenting pace and catchiness, and Dio just being on absolute fire, it’s also one of the earlier tracks to use double bass in running fashion. Other than the muffled and muddy production, I have nothing against this Blind Guardian track. It’s fine. It’s good. But it is not Kill The King.

Creeping Death very well might be Metallica’s best song. You could argue the same of many tracks, sure, but there’s something about this cold, calculating riff fest that endures year after year. The main riff is iconic, the chorus shockingly melodic and catchy, and that bridge just comes alive like no other song in a live setting (especially when Newsted was in the band). Creeping Death would still be a great song without the bridge, but it’s the bridge that seals the deal. It hits like a ton of bricks. Kirk Hammett rules on this song, the outro rules on this song…the song just fucking rules. Stone Cold Crazy is awesome, an absolute joy of a tune. Again, we’re getting into much higher quality material here, and things are getting tough. But Creeping Death wins this one by a mile. Hell, even Metallica’s cover of Stone Cold Crazy improves upon the original, which should easily qualify them to win this match.

Children of the Grave has one of the most classic Iommi riffs ever written. Ozzy sounds good, the percussion is interesting, and the riff changes are as engaging as ever. The song just flat out rocks. The ending is suitably creepy, too. Circle of the Tyrants still does nothing for me.

Pull The Plug continues the tradition of Death writing awesome riffs. The vocals here are less offensive than previous Death entries. I still feel like every one of their songs is just a patchwork of riffs and sections, but at least those parts are incredibly strong. I love the part that sounds like Inspector Gadget around 1:30. Good chorus chugs, too. Gardens of the Sinner is a bit more immediately pleasing to the ear, but it also feels stock and I still really hate the spoken word bit. Overall, it’s a good, fun song with lots of catchy bits, but Pull The Plug feels more original and interesting.

Overkill has a moderately catchy chorus, or as catchy as Motorhead can be, cool double bass drumming that never quits, and a horribly annoying first guitar solo. That outro section where it feels like the song is gonna end (twice!) has so much raw heat and power that I can’t help but enjoy it. I really like what Quasarborn bring to the table, but despite their song having 100% more intricacy and required skill, I somehow enjoy the charms of Overkill more.

 

[The Dissident]

@LooseCannon as good of a song as it is, I didn't nominate Kill the King, but I will vote for it!

 

[Kalata]

The music of this Black Sabbath song is strong.
This BG song is not really interesting to me. Kill The King is an early speed metal classic with great verses, chorus, solo and harmony. No contest here. The result so far is wow!
Creeping Death is my favorite Metallica song and is one of the best songs of its genre. That middle part! And it's a more interesting song.
Gardens Of The Sinner is a heavy song with a classic (great, memorable and melodic) chorus for the band. Galloping rhythm too. The melody is awesome. Not my top favorite of the band (or from the album), but again, no contest here. A very solid song.

 

[Shmoolikipod]

I'm very tempted to vote for Legend, it still sounds like Hit the Lights V0.5 to me. Symptom of the Universe is excellent too however and just more varied.

Kill the King - a classic for sure, sick on all fronts. And a template for better things to come, like Imaginations from the Other Side.

Creeping Death is everything good about Metallica, the bridge is huge.

It's telling that Circle of the Tyrants is one of my favourites whenever it appears on an album as a cover. It's just so wicked. I love Children of the Grave too, but less than CotT for sure.

Pull the Plug I'm less familiar with, but I liked it well enough to take down a strong Gamma Ray song.

Even though Quasarborn is very fresh for what you expect from a modern-sounding almost-power-metal song, Overkill stands out in an even more tired genre. The way it keeps faking out the end!