"Evil" has solid riffs with some nice harmonized bits. The vocal lines on the verse are good, but the ones on the pre-chorus and chorus aren't. The bridges are OK. Solos range from pretty good to great, and the extended instrumental toward the end gets two thumbs up. A mixed bag, but pretty good overall. While "The Pot" goes into the "music I appreciate more than I enjoy" bucket, it does have some very nice rhythmic interplay that offsets the less compelling vocal lines, and I think it's a bit stronger overall.
Winner: Tool - "The Pot"
"For Whom The Bell Tolls" is a stone cold classic from the jump, with the tolling bells and that iconic descending bass line. The song is epic as hell, the vocal lines and guitar leads are great, and there really isn't much negative to say here. Musically, "Feuer Frei!" is a pretty appealing blend of metal riffage and techno sounds. The vocalist has a sinister sound, but he doesn't really sing or scream -- he's just speaking really intensely, which is kind of odd. The lyrics are pretty repetitive, but I like the subdued bridge. Still, this is a very easy call for LooseKiDDo's nominee.
Winner: Metallica - "For Whom The Bell Tolls"
"Living After Midnight" is very simple but very catchy. Great vocal lines, strong but simple solo. Metal comfort food, really. "Rekviem" feels like an aural onslaught, with annoying vocals and lots of crappy cut-time drumming, though it does have very occasional bursts of vocal melody and harmony, and there are some nice head-bobbing driving rhythms in places. I also like the melodic synths that start to get folded in during the second half. But sorry,
@Night Prowler, I would much rather listen to the list nominee here.
Winner: Judas Priest - "Living After Midnight"
"Don't Talk To Strangers" is unfortunately
not a cover of the Rick Springfield song.
Nice acoustic intro with a soft vocal from Dio. The darker, heavier verse works well, though I'm less thrilled with the pre-chorus and the awkwardly sparse bit that follows. Very good solo, if a bit try-hard. I don't know, in the end this feels like half of a great song that needed more time in the oven. "Wake Up Dead" has amazing guitar work throughout, and the vocals fit the material well. Some parts are repeated a little too often, but otherwise the song is killer. Sorry, srfkalapoto, but the list nominee takes this one pretty easily.
Winner: Megadeth - "Wake Up Dead"
"Peace Sells" has a classic bass line, a wonderfully caustic spoken word rant of a verse, and a couple of simple but memorable choruses. The guitar fills in the first half are pretty good, but the song occasionally feels sparse there until it kicks into high gear for the second half. Great song overall, though. "My Last Words" is one of my favorites from
Peace Sells, with that killer clean intro with the distorted leads underneath, that deliciously busy main riff with equally busy bass, great vocal delivery from Mustaine, and the awesome change-up for the final third of the song, with a smoking solo and that "you, next victim!" chant. Love it. In the end I think the relentless drive of this song edges it past its competitor.
Winner: Megadeth - "My Last Words"
"Freak On A Leash" is twangy and queasy with really lame vocals and weak vocal melodies. I don't know WTF is going on with that beat box / scat singing shit in the middle. Yeah, that sucked hard. "Treacherous Gods" has some crappy extreme vocals, but literally everything else about the track is superior to its competitor, so this is an easy call for
@Poto's nominee.
Winner: Ensiferum - "Treacherous Gods"