Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
Into The Storm is a cool song with not a strong chorus. I like the other parts.
The Greatest Metal Song Cup - Part II, Round 4, Matches 46-51
- Thread starter LooseCannon
- Start date
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- Tags
- gmsc
Gonna need a tiebreaker on:
Type O Negative vs. Unto Others please
Type O Negative vs. Unto Others please
TYPE
The Crown of Sympathy is more important than cries of mankind. Armored Saint cannot deliver a victory over Judas Priest. Van Halen jumps over Leather Nun fairly easily. Unto Others seems to have overdosed on their heroin - as Type O Negative has noted, everything dies. You can't call Unleash the Archers immortal in their loss to Gamma Ray. Nevermore should have listened to the voices instead of embarking on their godless endeavor against Dream Theater.
Part I, Round 54, Matches 319-324
| Play In Round |
| The Wicker Man Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| KISS - Black Diamond | vs. | Uriah Heep - July Morning | |
| Popoff 500 | Nominators | Popoff 500 | |
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
Play In Round |
| Trios Match |
| The Wicker Man Division | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skid Row - 18 and Life | vs. | Twisted Sister - You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll | vs. | Dokken - Alone Again | ||
Popoff 500 | Nominators | Popoff 500 | Nominators | @Jer | ||
Links | Links |
| Play In Round |
| Martin Birch Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dream Theater - The Count of Tuscany | vs. | Myrath - Believer | |
| @JudasMyGuide | Nominators | ||
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
| Play In Round |
| Martin Birch Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Therapy? - Nowhere | vs. | Queens of the Stone Age - A Song for the Dead | |
| @MindRuler | Nominators | ||
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
| Play In Round |
| Martin Birch Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bring Me the Horizon - Can You Feel My Heart | vs. | A Perfect Circle - Judith | |
| Youtube 50 | Nominators | ||
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
Why is it always Dream Theater or Symphony X or Opeth vs. a good band instead of vs. pot-banging or a badly-recorded punk song or nu-metal?
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
These initial rounds try to keep the match-ups within their own genre. That will change as things advance.
Because they're all matched by genre in this particular portion of the tournament, excepting a handful of "grab bag" matchups, to ensure that the league portion of the tournament is representative of all of metal.
KISS vs Uriah Heep - This is a pretty good KISS song, as far as they go, but Uriah Heep, despite being too long and a little wacky, is more my speed. The outro for Black Diamond really sunk it for me.
Skid Row vs Twisted Sister vs Dokken - Let's just remove a really bad Twisted Sister song from consideration immediately. That makes it more a battle of two glam ballads. Alone Again is a perfectly fine song, certainly better from a musical standpoint, although in a glam battle that's like saying this toddler's painting is better than that toddler's painting. 18 and Life is the classic I recognize, and it evokes more positive feels from me, assuredly due to nostalgia, and Skid Row is gonna win on nostalgia alone.
Dream Theater vs Myrath - It always surprises me how much a technically complex piece of music can sound soulless and bland. There's some Dream Theater songs I really love, but The Count of Tuscany is metal by math, and almost the entire runtime slipped by without me noting anything. As always in this era of DT the one thing I really enjoy is the non-solo work by Jordan Rudess, who does have a metric tonne of talent - but the solo was so artificial sounding that it lost me. Don't really get much of an emotional connection in the slow parts, which meander and waste a lot of time. Outro didn't leave any impact on me. Myrath, by comparison, is at least shorter. I don't really like it much either, but I felt my foot tapping along more. Fully expect to be in the minority in picking Myrath.
Nowhere vs Queens of the Stone Age - Therapy? was a fine enough song when I was 12 and it ended up in tons of tv shows and movies to represent the mid 90s. A decent enough riff and a chorus repetitive enough to make Steve Harris nod appreciatively. Otherwise it's a nothing burger. I'm not the world's biggest fan of QotSA, but this is from when they had Dave Grohl, and you can tell it from the drumming and how it invokes heaviness. Not my favourite, but at least it's got some weight. Queens of the Stone Age.
Bring Me the Horizon vs A Perfect Circle - Can You Feel My Heart is from the Youtube list, and you can tell. It's not what I'd call good, but compared to other odd YT entries, it's at least interesting. It's not something I'd listen to again intentionally, but I'm glad I heard it once, if that makes sense. Judith is a little more pedestrian of a choice, but it's also more recognizable as metal. It builds to a nice crescendo and is less annoying and electronic. It deserves more consideration in a full league round. A Perfect Circle.
Sex Pistols vs Type O Negative - The Sex Pistols fucking suck. Type O Negative by default.
KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
At least he did well with including July Morning and 18 and Life.
Well I missed the boat on the last round, but I'll post my reviews anyway. My preferences got through in each pairing, although I didn't get a chance to listen to UTA vs Gamma Ray, which was my holdup in voting.
The Cry of Mankind has some really great riffing and melodic material. Love the hypnotic repeated melody toward the end of the song. Normally you would expect this section to be the end, so the soundscapes that follow and choir patches are pretty unexpected. I dig it though, really sets the mood and gets you immersed in the sonic world of the album. Out of context though, it's a pretty long outro and probably something I would skip over if not listening to the entire album. It's a cool track overall though. The Crown of Sympathy has better production and more rhythmic/sonic variety. It's not quite as melodic (I miss the floating piano melodies) but it makes up for it with better riffs and rhythmic integration with the drums (I hardly noticed the drums in Cry of Mankind). The electric violin sound also adds some nice textures. In this song we also get an ambient section, but this time it's right in the middle and builds into something. The horn sounds are so cheap sounding, but I like the idea and I'm kind of a sucker for the DIY cheap synth orchestral sounds in Metal like this. I really like the vibes and riffing from My Dying Bride. The vocals are what they are, but I don't hate it. There's a scrappy DIY feel to it that I love. Anyway, The Crown of Sympathy is a clear winner here. Just a much better structured song overall with more interesting riffs. Cry of Mankind feels almost more like an intro track to the album than a complete work.
Armored Saint is a weird outlier from the LA Metal scene. The riffing style is a similar sort of hard rock/blues driving feel, but then you have these sudden shifts into a Maiden-y gallop with some competent guitar playing. There are even key changes! It also isn't doused in hairspray. It's amazing Armored Saint has continued throughout the years yet never really catching on in the Metal scene, but I respect that they never dumbed themselves down the way contemporaries like Motley Crue did. Can U Deliver is a cool song (if a bit generic) for an 80s Metal playlist with a cool instrumental. Unfortunately, it's up against a Judas Priest juggernaut. I was never a huge The Green Manalishi fan, but you can't deny the sinister E minor chugging. I also really love the bass/guitar interplay in the chorus breaks. This song is the definition of a vibe. It's kind of the inverse of the Armored Saint song in many ways. I found Can U Deliver to be pretty generic in the main riff and vocal parts, but the instrumental section really elevated it with the Maiden gallop and tradeoff solos. In Green Manalishi, you get tradeoff solos but it all stays in the same key over the same riff and the solos are very weak. One of many prime examples of why Priest's two guitar attack never came close to touching Maiden's. But on the whole, Manalishi is a better song.
Did something get stuck in my garbage disposal? Oh no, that's just Leather Nun. Jump.
I've gotten to know a lot of Type O fans recently and have enjoyed a lot of what I've heard even though I probably would never listen to them voluntarily. I appreciate their swagger and their lyricism quite a bit - they make being gothic actually kind of cool. They take a lot of unexpected twists, as you can hear on Everything Dies which starts as a sludgy riff fest before becoming some sort of evil Meat Loaf AOR ballad. The wall of sound melancholia in the choruses kinda reminds me of something off Devin Townsend's Terria or Ocean Machine (aka songs that should have been nominated for this game, come on people!). This was a really cool track that kinda took me by surprise, maybe the best Type O track I've heard so far. Awesome final riff.
Meanwhile, Unto Others is an artist I'm not familiar with at all. The main riff is great, love the chugging and the sinister chords on top. It's a cool song with a nice driving beat and some surprising dynamic changes. A lot to offer in a really tight 3.5 minutes. The twin guitar attack in the middle section was a nice surprise and added a lot of color to the song. They manage to pack a lot in there, kinda opposite Type O which uses a long running time but more of a minimal structure. Really great nomination and a tough choice overall, but I feel like Everything Dies just had more to offer in dynamics and lyricism.
The Cry of Mankind has some really great riffing and melodic material. Love the hypnotic repeated melody toward the end of the song. Normally you would expect this section to be the end, so the soundscapes that follow and choir patches are pretty unexpected. I dig it though, really sets the mood and gets you immersed in the sonic world of the album. Out of context though, it's a pretty long outro and probably something I would skip over if not listening to the entire album. It's a cool track overall though. The Crown of Sympathy has better production and more rhythmic/sonic variety. It's not quite as melodic (I miss the floating piano melodies) but it makes up for it with better riffs and rhythmic integration with the drums (I hardly noticed the drums in Cry of Mankind). The electric violin sound also adds some nice textures. In this song we also get an ambient section, but this time it's right in the middle and builds into something. The horn sounds are so cheap sounding, but I like the idea and I'm kind of a sucker for the DIY cheap synth orchestral sounds in Metal like this. I really like the vibes and riffing from My Dying Bride. The vocals are what they are, but I don't hate it. There's a scrappy DIY feel to it that I love. Anyway, The Crown of Sympathy is a clear winner here. Just a much better structured song overall with more interesting riffs. Cry of Mankind feels almost more like an intro track to the album than a complete work.
Armored Saint is a weird outlier from the LA Metal scene. The riffing style is a similar sort of hard rock/blues driving feel, but then you have these sudden shifts into a Maiden-y gallop with some competent guitar playing. There are even key changes! It also isn't doused in hairspray. It's amazing Armored Saint has continued throughout the years yet never really catching on in the Metal scene, but I respect that they never dumbed themselves down the way contemporaries like Motley Crue did. Can U Deliver is a cool song (if a bit generic) for an 80s Metal playlist with a cool instrumental. Unfortunately, it's up against a Judas Priest juggernaut. I was never a huge The Green Manalishi fan, but you can't deny the sinister E minor chugging. I also really love the bass/guitar interplay in the chorus breaks. This song is the definition of a vibe. It's kind of the inverse of the Armored Saint song in many ways. I found Can U Deliver to be pretty generic in the main riff and vocal parts, but the instrumental section really elevated it with the Maiden gallop and tradeoff solos. In Green Manalishi, you get tradeoff solos but it all stays in the same key over the same riff and the solos are very weak. One of many prime examples of why Priest's two guitar attack never came close to touching Maiden's. But on the whole, Manalishi is a better song.
Did something get stuck in my garbage disposal? Oh no, that's just Leather Nun. Jump.
I've gotten to know a lot of Type O fans recently and have enjoyed a lot of what I've heard even though I probably would never listen to them voluntarily. I appreciate their swagger and their lyricism quite a bit - they make being gothic actually kind of cool. They take a lot of unexpected twists, as you can hear on Everything Dies which starts as a sludgy riff fest before becoming some sort of evil Meat Loaf AOR ballad. The wall of sound melancholia in the choruses kinda reminds me of something off Devin Townsend's Terria or Ocean Machine (aka songs that should have been nominated for this game, come on people!). This was a really cool track that kinda took me by surprise, maybe the best Type O track I've heard so far. Awesome final riff.
Meanwhile, Unto Others is an artist I'm not familiar with at all. The main riff is great, love the chugging and the sinister chords on top. It's a cool song with a nice driving beat and some surprising dynamic changes. A lot to offer in a really tight 3.5 minutes. The twin guitar attack in the middle section was a nice surprise and added a lot of color to the song. They manage to pack a lot in there, kinda opposite Type O which uses a long running time but more of a minimal structure. Really great nomination and a tough choice overall, but I feel like Everything Dies just had more to offer in dynamics and lyricism.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Alright Kiss haters, take off the anti-Kiss goggles for a second and enjoy this exceptional work from their debut album. The riffing, the attitude, the haunting harmonies, imo this song shows how much potential the original band had. Whether they lived up to that potential is debateable, but there was a grit and heaviness to their club days that suggests there was more than a gimmick - at least at first. The riffing and forward motion of Black Diamond is
As always with Kiss, the studio version never lives up to the live version. The debut in particular was kind of a disaster, with the record label pairing the band with producers who really had no idea what to do with them (think Will Malone on the first Maiden album but worse). Black Diamond isn't too affected by the production, the quality of the song still comes through, although the slowed down outro is pointless. Check out any live version from the original lineup, but I'm partial to this one recorded in 1975 in San Francisco:
The whole concert, Kiss live at Winterland contains only material from their first two albums and is probably my favorite document of the band. It gives a decent glimpse at what the band had to offer. They are so tight here, the harmonies are right on key and the tempo is super steady. They're still an opening act here, but I would not want to follow this band on stage with or without the makeup.
They say never judge a book by its cover, but the ridiculous cover for Look At Yourself has resulted in me having never listened to it despite enjoying other Uriah Heep work (again, partially inspired by the album artwork to check out The Magician's Birthday and Demons and Wizards). The song is OK. Some decent playing but overall I found the track to be fairly middling and forgettable. The big falsettos in the middle are so goofy. Funnily enough, things pick up quite a bit after that. The big riff that follows is great. The song has its ups and downs, but again a lot of it is pretty middling. I'll take the immediacy of Black Diamond easily.
As always with Kiss, the studio version never lives up to the live version. The debut in particular was kind of a disaster, with the record label pairing the band with producers who really had no idea what to do with them (think Will Malone on the first Maiden album but worse). Black Diamond isn't too affected by the production, the quality of the song still comes through, although the slowed down outro is pointless. Check out any live version from the original lineup, but I'm partial to this one recorded in 1975 in San Francisco:
The whole concert, Kiss live at Winterland contains only material from their first two albums and is probably my favorite document of the band. It gives a decent glimpse at what the band had to offer. They are so tight here, the harmonies are right on key and the tempo is super steady. They're still an opening act here, but I would not want to follow this band on stage with or without the makeup.
They say never judge a book by its cover, but the ridiculous cover for Look At Yourself has resulted in me having never listened to it despite enjoying other Uriah Heep work (again, partially inspired by the album artwork to check out The Magician's Birthday and Demons and Wizards). The song is OK. Some decent playing but overall I found the track to be fairly middling and forgettable. The big falsettos in the middle are so goofy. Funnily enough, things pick up quite a bit after that. The big riff that follows is great. The song has its ups and downs, but again a lot of it is pretty middling. I'll take the immediacy of Black Diamond easily.
Alright, the dreaded hair metal round. It feels like Skid Row should be a band I like. Sebastian Bach is unquestionably a great vocalist and they have a lot of attitude and heaviness that, if I'm being honest, sets them apart from other glam acts. But I've found their music to be just completely devoid of interesting riffs/hooks. 18 and Life is an exception and actually showcases the band's strengths. It's an unforgettable melody and has a great solo, which is about all you could ask for from a Skid Row song.
Twisted Sister might be goofy and poorly produced, but I think they have their moments. They have a good attitude and every now and again you hear a cool riff. Unfortunately, now is not the time for that. Also what's up with that snare drum? The volume is so inconsistent and the tone is awful. Generic arena rock. Solo isn't terrible, but is also the quietest thing happening at that moment. Credit to the cool tempo change in the instrumental.
Alone Again is like the opposite of 18 and Life. Super plodding, no interesting riffs or melodies. Just kind of a middling slog to listen to. Like Skid Row, Don Dokken and George Lynch are each forces to be reckoned with, but I find the music to be severely lacking in anything interesting. Dokken in particular exists somewhere in between a cool American Metal band (think something like Armored Saint) and the hair trite, but they don't really do either any particular justice. Also, Lynch really managed to get some weak guitar tones on these albums (although I think a lot of that had to do more with the recording and how hot the drums are, I'm sure his rig sounded amazing in person).
Wasn't expecting to go Skid Row, but 18 and Life wins this one pretty easily.
I'll be real here, there is virtually no chance of a song I haven't heard before beating out The Count of Tuscany. Over the years it has emerged as one of my favorite DT tracks. The first few minutes are some of the most beautiful work of the band's career, and Petrucci has some amazing moments. The rest of the song is great as well with some fantastic riffing and an awesome ambient section. I think the criticisms over the lyrics/vocals are way overblown.
With that being said, I've really enjoyed what I've heard from Myrath in this game and I won't be mad if Believer takes it. Really great song with some insane guitar work.
Twisted Sister might be goofy and poorly produced, but I think they have their moments. They have a good attitude and every now and again you hear a cool riff. Unfortunately, now is not the time for that. Also what's up with that snare drum? The volume is so inconsistent and the tone is awful. Generic arena rock. Solo isn't terrible, but is also the quietest thing happening at that moment. Credit to the cool tempo change in the instrumental.
Alone Again is like the opposite of 18 and Life. Super plodding, no interesting riffs or melodies. Just kind of a middling slog to listen to. Like Skid Row, Don Dokken and George Lynch are each forces to be reckoned with, but I find the music to be severely lacking in anything interesting. Dokken in particular exists somewhere in between a cool American Metal band (think something like Armored Saint) and the hair trite, but they don't really do either any particular justice. Also, Lynch really managed to get some weak guitar tones on these albums (although I think a lot of that had to do more with the recording and how hot the drums are, I'm sure his rig sounded amazing in person).
Wasn't expecting to go Skid Row, but 18 and Life wins this one pretty easily.
I'll be real here, there is virtually no chance of a song I haven't heard before beating out The Count of Tuscany. Over the years it has emerged as one of my favorite DT tracks. The first few minutes are some of the most beautiful work of the band's career, and Petrucci has some amazing moments. The rest of the song is great as well with some fantastic riffing and an awesome ambient section. I think the criticisms over the lyrics/vocals are way overblown.
With that being said, I've really enjoyed what I've heard from Myrath in this game and I won't be mad if Believer takes it. Really great song with some insane guitar work.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
Match 1: Uriah Heep by default.
Match 2: Skid Row, but I don’t like any of this.
Match 3: Ah, the only match I really care about, and easily the two best songs in this round. The Count of Tuscany is outstanding from a musical perspective, and utter shit from a lyrical one. Top offenders include the hilarious “my brotha!” and of course “all the finest wines improve with age” barked with an outrageous Mustaine-ish snarl. But damn if the music isn’t sublime, particularly the acoustic part at the end with LaBrie actually not sounding like dying fowl. So much emotion in this part for such a ridiculous story. Then we have Myrath in one of their better efforts amongst their newer material (I greatly preferred their older more progressive stuff). This is a catchy song, and I’d vote for it if it were up against any of the other 11 songs in this round – but not against this Dream Theater one.
Match 4: Therapy’s song is bereft of musicianship and is insanely repetitive. Song for the Dead isn’t really my thing, either, but it’s still a much better tune. Queens of the Stone Age.
Match 5: Hmmm, emo metal for teenagers or Maynard in Tool lite? A Perfect Circle, obviously.
Match 6: One is punk, one is not. Type O Negative by default.
Match 2: Skid Row, but I don’t like any of this.
Match 3: Ah, the only match I really care about, and easily the two best songs in this round. The Count of Tuscany is outstanding from a musical perspective, and utter shit from a lyrical one. Top offenders include the hilarious “my brotha!” and of course “all the finest wines improve with age” barked with an outrageous Mustaine-ish snarl. But damn if the music isn’t sublime, particularly the acoustic part at the end with LaBrie actually not sounding like dying fowl. So much emotion in this part for such a ridiculous story. Then we have Myrath in one of their better efforts amongst their newer material (I greatly preferred their older more progressive stuff). This is a catchy song, and I’d vote for it if it were up against any of the other 11 songs in this round – but not against this Dream Theater one.
Match 4: Therapy’s song is bereft of musicianship and is insanely repetitive. Song for the Dead isn’t really my thing, either, but it’s still a much better tune. Queens of the Stone Age.
Match 5: Hmmm, emo metal for teenagers or Maynard in Tool lite? A Perfect Circle, obviously.
Match 6: One is punk, one is not. Type O Negative by default.
I don't hate pop punk sounding stuff. Therapy? feels to me like a stripped down Devin Townsend, basically his style of riffing and high energy songwriting minus the wall of sound production. The vocals hold this back quite a bit. I don't mind less skilled vocalists, but I think some of the energy is lacking in the vocal part. Fun little ditty, but ultimately lacks that extra something to make it noteworthy. Also it shouldn't bother me that much (especially for such a short part), but the out of tune lead guitar before the final chorus drove me crazy.
I really want to like Queens of the Stone Age - it should be the perfect band for me. Basically like Foo Fighters but a little less formulaic and a little more metal (not to mention Dave Grohls on drums). I think I'm most put off by the repetitive riffing and the grimy guitar sound. It's just a bit too drab for me. Not my thing, but the hot leads (all in tune) give Songs For the Dead the edge in a matchup that I don't really care for.
I really want to like Queens of the Stone Age - it should be the perfect band for me. Basically like Foo Fighters but a little less formulaic and a little more metal (not to mention Dave Grohls on drums). I think I'm most put off by the repetitive riffing and the grimy guitar sound. It's just a bit too drab for me. Not my thing, but the hot leads (all in tune) give Songs For the Dead the edge in a matchup that I don't really care for.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
I love Tool but "Judith" immediately cements A Perfect Circle as so much more than just a side-project. Maynard's lyrics are raw and unfiltered. His mother has been paralyzed since he was a kid and still believes in a god who, in his mind, hasn't done shit for her - and this makes for one of the most visceral and emotional performances he's ever put down on tape. The swell of music that rushes in on the chorus, and the peak at the end where he holds his breath for 16 seconds while shifting notes is insane. One of the hardest vocal lines, period.
And for those who find these lyrics to go against their own beliefs, it actually fits into a larger narrative arc that culminates in Tool's "Wings for Marie"/"10,000 Days" where Maynard finally finds acceptance for what his mom stands for. It's pretty powerful, and the vitriol of "Judith" is necessary for the entire story.
It's a bit of an odd single because the rest of the album isn't quite as heavy, but it's also one of their best songs just in general (right now the only one I love more is "Orestes", which tackles themes of his mom's paralysis in a different, darker, more tear-jerking manner). From the drum hits to the grooving riff and even Paz's speedy hair-tying in the music video, this is four minutes of some of the most powerful music in alt rock/metal history. Love it.
And for those who find these lyrics to go against their own beliefs, it actually fits into a larger narrative arc that culminates in Tool's "Wings for Marie"/"10,000 Days" where Maynard finally finds acceptance for what his mom stands for. It's pretty powerful, and the vitriol of "Judith" is necessary for the entire story.
It's a bit of an odd single because the rest of the album isn't quite as heavy, but it's also one of their best songs just in general (right now the only one I love more is "Orestes", which tackles themes of his mom's paralysis in a different, darker, more tear-jerking manner). From the drum hits to the grooving riff and even Paz's speedy hair-tying in the music video, this is four minutes of some of the most powerful music in alt rock/metal history. Love it.
I like Giles.Bring Me the Horizon:
A Perfect Circle:
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I like Anarchy in the UK but it's not Metal. Not as taken by Love You to Death as the other Type O song, but it has riffs.