The Greatest Metal Song Cup - Part II, Round 4, Matches 82-87

What is your favourite song in each match? Vote in all six matchups!

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  • Total voters
    8
  • Poll closed .
What an easy round.

Whatever isn't Celtic Frost

Lol
.

Whatever isn't Ghost

Yngwie
over pre-Angel Dust FNM any time

Whatever isn't Rush (and especially Tom Sawyer, fuck, I absolutely hate that song)

Night of the Demon is a good song, but Crazy Train has that insane riff and that insane solo and, you know, Randy at his best. Sorry, Per.
 
"Breaking the Law" is a stone cold metal classic. Celtic Frost can't compete. Judas Priest, moving on.

I like Linkin Park, and "Numb" is very good, but they do have better songs in my opinion. "Octavarium" is nowhere near Dream Theater's best song either; the first 10 minutes or so are incredibly boring, but once it takes off and gets itself going, it's mostly great. It's enough to grab the win here - Dream Theater.

Ghost are insanely overrated. This is really just a pop song, and not even a good one. Of course Dio wins this one.

Still not in love with Faith No More. Those vocals are really getting on my nerves. Basically a win for Yngwie based on him not being Faith No More.

This match is possibly the toughest in this round. Both very iconic songs that I love (even if I think "Solitude" isn't quite the best song on Epicus), but I do love Candlemass more than Rush, so that's what's gonna be the tiebreaker here. Candlemass.

No one can deny that "Crazy Train" is a fantastic song, though not quite Randy's finest hour (I'm giving that to "Mr. Crowley"). However, "Night of the Demon" is incredible - I had never heard it before it appeared earlier in the cup, but it now it gets frequent playtime on my playlist. Based on that, I'm actually going to vote for the underdog and go with Demon.
 
Breaking The Law! Timeless riff and groove!
24 minutes long song, although interesting, is too much for me, even as a Maiden fan. Numb is one of the best songs in its genre.
Ghost's song is nice, but King Of Rock And Roll is classic heavy metal. That riff and verses! Classic solo, drumming and outro too.
I'll See The Light Tonight, no contest. One of the very best YM songs. Love the riff and the chaotic solo. The song has a perfect vibe of the early 70's bands.
The opponent's song is solid, but Crazy Train is Ozzy's best song. The riff and solo alone are worth beating entire songs.
 
"Breaking The Law" has a great ascending main riff, strong vocal lines, and some nice rhythmic interplay between the vocals and guitars. The chorus vocal is monotonous, but still works within the context of the song, and it takes on some new elements later on. The bridge is short but great, and the build-up from that point through the end of the song is just huge. The track never loses its momentum and never wastes your time. Great stuff. "Procreation (Of The Wicked)" has moderately interesting guitars in places, but doesn't really go anywhere. The vocalist is bad (I can't call him a singer because he's just speaking in rhythm), but I've heard much worse. I guess I wouldn't turn this off if it were already playing, but it's just in one ear and out the other. No contest here. Winner: Judas Priest - "Breaking The Law"

"Octavarium" has a ponderously overlong atmospheric intro, then a pleasant-enough but also overlong series of gentle verses before finally getting a little more interesting around the 9 minute mark. The thing doesn't actually spring to life until a little after the 12 minute mark, though -- over half its runtime! I really don't like the poorly phrased "tough LaBrie" section where he name drops Jack The Ripper and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, and I can't decide if the part near the end where LaBrie pretends to be Dave Mustaine is funny in a good way or a bad way. The instrumental performances are all complex and mostly satisfying, as expected; but the songwriting is really bloated and self-indulgent, with a number of sections just aping 70s Genesis, and some other parts being openly masturbatory. Lots of good music, but not a very good song. Meanwhile, "Numb" may pretty much be "In The End" Mk. II, but it turned out really well and was almost as good as the original, and most importantly it doesn't waste the listener's time. Every part of the song is memorable and is there for a good reason, and you could listen to this track three times over before its competitor even started to get interesting. For that reason, and for its better songwriting in general, I have to say sorry SpoolikipotMyBride, but I prefer the list nominee here. Winner: Linkin Park - "Numb"

"Square Hammer" has a simple organ-driven groove. The verses are OK, but the chorus is significantly better, with a strong vocal and guitar hook. The interlude is strong too. It didn't blow me away or anything, but it's a very good song. "King Of Rock And Roll" has a strong riff and a really punchy verse and pre-chorus. The chorus doesn't land quite as well, but the solo is great. Dio sounds great too, as expected. I enjoyed both songs, and I'd be fine with either one winning, but sorry MrMooserCocker, I think the list nominee was a little bit stronger here. Winner: Dio - "King Of Rock And Roll"

"Epic" has suitably epic music with some funky undercurrents. While I'm not a fan of the whiny affectation Patton uses in his voice here, the ping-ponging between rapping and singing with strong vocal melodies actually works really well. That rising instrumental in the middle is great too, as is the piano outro. Still a great song overall. "I'll See The Light Tonight" has strong vocal lines, a cool riff, great soloing, and some unexpected key changes. Jeff Scott Soto still sounds a bit raw here, but you can hear his potential. This is another match where I genuinely enjoy both songs and would be fine with either one winning, but in this case I think I actually prefer the Faith No More song by a hair. Winner: Faith No More - "Epic"

"Solitude" has a haunting intro with some queasy vocal harmonies that leads into a slow and similarly queasy main riff. The verse vocal melody is pretty strong, but I'm not sure how I feel about the chorus. The little acoustic interlude is nice, and the solo section is pretty good. I don't know, this one didn't really do it for me, and it's up against "Tom Sawyer", which is a stone cold rock classic that's pretty much perfect from start to finish -- so sorry, MagDruler, but I have to go with the list nominee here. Winner: Rush - "Tom Sawyer"

Motherfucking "Crazy Train". I mean, come on, folks. Killer intro, killer opening riff, unexpected warmth in the verse riff and vocals, and then a killer chorus. Sweet fills and color work from Rhoads, a great bridge, and a killer solo too. This song fucking slays -- no wonder I nominated it! "Night Of The Demon" has a solid main riff and strong vocals. There's kind of a weird 70s theatrical feel bubbling underneath the surface that never fully breaks out. It didn't knock my socks off, but it's a simple, straightforward, and effective song. Unfortunately, @Perun, that's not enough to derail the irresistible force of The DJermient's nominee here. Winner: Ozzy Osbourne - "Crazy Train"
 
Incredibly easy vote for Priest. Ye gods this Celtic Frost song stinks.

The four minute intro of ethereal whooshing almost kills Octavarium off the bat for me. I’ve admitted before that I’m not the biggest fan of this song, despite it having some good parts. The melodious acoustic sections that follow are definitely nice, but goddamn it just takes so long to get going - mostly thanks to Jordan’s boring intro. We don’t even get drums until a third of the way into the song (eight, get it?). It just feels like egregious Floyd worship. Myung’s groovy bassline over the second verse is a standout. Thank goodness things pickup at the halfway mark, even if it is dominated by Jordan taking us on a carnival ride. The Ripper Owens Wilson Phillips part is a big musical improvement, even if the lyrics are little lunacy. This whole section of the song is easily the best. It builds to intensity with LaBrie screaming about Octavariums and the ending is very nice. I get that they’re is A LOT going on lyrically to connect it to the whole album and, like, way to go at being studious, guys, but I just wish this wasn’t so ludicrously bloated. On the other hand, the other option is Linkin Park, so, yeah, Dream Theater.

You all know I worship at the altar of Dio, but King of Rock N Roll is pretty middling. The pretend audience stuff is super cringe, too. Square Hammer is easily Ghost’s best song. I wish this wasn’t such an easy vote, but it is.

Faith No More are just so weird, my dudes. Epic is suitably interesting and oddly catchy, but I’m not down with Patton’s 90s white rap or his weird nasally tone on the chorus. It certainly is unique, though. By comparison, I’ll See The Light Tonight is very stock, but it’s still more enjoyable. Amazing vocal performance by Soto.

I really like Candlemass and this song is iconic from their most renowned album. Also, it’s metal through and through. But, come on, Tom Sawyer is fucking Tom Sawyer. I know it’s not metal, but it’s easily the better song and I cannot vote against it here.

There is no doubting the iconic nature of Crazy Train. And look, the riff is great. But I literally dislike everything else except the solo. It’s so damn happy and that just doesn’t work for me with Ozzy’s voice (which I already dislike). Night of The Demon surprises me again with its quality. Much more simplistic than Crazy Train, sure, but so much more enjoyable for me.
 
All respect to Celtic Frost, but Priest have a top 10 contender here and I gotta give them the vote.

"Numb" is great, but it's not "In the End". "Octavarium" is a massive, sweeping epic that makes you wait for the big payoffs, and when they come, they come hard. I honestly think the more exciting back half is lesser than the massive buildup that other people dislike. It's very Pink Floyd reminiscent. I love getting lost in the quiet, contemplative moments. Tough match but I'm actually going with Dream Theater here.

Ghost, easily. "Square Hammer" is so much fun.

Another tough round but "Epic" is a goddamn classic. Faith No More

"Solitude" is a classic but I've never been thrilled by it. "Tom Sawyer" is absolutely perfect in every way. Rush

Ozzy
, no question.
 
Breaking the Law is far from my favorite Priest song, but come on. Also I forgot how funny the video is. As for Celtic Frost, well, I’m not getting those four minutes back.

Lolololololol Dream Theater. Octavarium is actually my second-least favorite album of theirs (right behind the turd that is The Astonishing), but the title track is easily the record’s peak. I could do without that waste of an intro, though.

It’s like this: Square Hammer is one of Ghost’s best songs. King of Rock and Roll is not one of Dio’s. I also have an aversion to anything with lyrics about “we are a rock/metal band and we are cool.” Ghost.

Faith No More is just too weird for me, and from the rapped verses to the whiny chorus, I can’t get into this song. The opening to Yngwie’s song crushes Epic into tiny little pathetic bits. You can really hear how Malmsteen influenced the God of Guitar and Songwriting, Michael Romeo, in this song. Easy vote for Yngwie.

Candlemass’s effort here is fine, but Rush’s biggest hit just blows it out of the water. Is Tom Sawyer overrated? Of course. It is to Rush as Enter Sandman is to Metallica. Is Tom Sawyer metal? No. But to me it’s a far more rewarding listen than the doom and gloom of Solitude. Also, that 7/8 interlude is iconic. Rush.

I hope more people listen to that Demon song and don't just vote for Ozzy off name recognition. Demon is quietly one of my favorite NWOBHM bands!
I’m actually voting against Ozzy here, as opposed to for Demon. Not that I disliked Night of the Demon, as it’s a solid little rock song. But Crazy Train is one of the most overrated metal songs in existence, with its happy verses and Ozzy’s aggravating voice. Yes, the intro riff is iconic. But I’m so damn tired of hearing this song… I feel like it plays everywhere for some reason. Demon.
 
I also have an aversion to anything with lyrics about “we are a rock/metal band and we are cool.”
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Anything that has "rock", "rock 'n' roll" or "metal" in the title or the lyrics gets an instant dislike from me.
 
It's a case-by-case basis thing for me. A lot of the classics ("Metal Health" comes to mind) I can kind of deal with. The subject matter is lame but often there's some big anthemic moments and they were important for their time. But bands that just make metal their whole shtick and have no creativity beyond "We are heavy metal!" are lame as hell.

I still don't know how to feel about Manowar, because to a certain extent I feel like they're in on the joke. Some songs like "The Gods Made Heavy Metal" are actually fun. But god most of their material sucks and they have no lyrical creativity whatsoever.
 
I have no problems with it as long as the songs are fun. If all of your songs are only about being a metal band you might have some issues though.
 
I actually quite like this Celtic Frost song, but let's be serious, it's Priest.

Linkin Park as I'll never get back the time I spent listening to Octavarium.

Ghost because what the good detective said above.

No more Faith No More. Yngwie.

Rush isn't metal, this Candlemass song is a doom metal masterpiece and a lot of you are sleeping on it.

Demon. Why not.
 
I had no problems firing some bullets in this round.

Breaking the Law is a stone cold classic and I don’t mind it winning, but Celtic Frost all the way.

Numb isn’t bad, but Octavarium is clearly better. Probably the most DT ever dabbled in pure progressive rock. I think if you listen to sections like the Someone Like Him movement, you’ll hear some of the most restrained and most musical space to come out of the band. Critiques about musical masturbation in this instance are just purely looking at the song’s length.

It’s nice to see a good metal band get some mainstream recognition. Ghost are pretty throwback but the songwriting is really good. Square Hammer deserves to be remembered more than a mediocre Dio cut.

Not mad about Epic winning, but I slightly prefer Yngwie.

Rush isn't metal, this Candlemass song is a doom metal masterpiece and a lot of you are sleeping on it.
Exactly this.

Crazy Train is not overrated, overplayed, or anything like that. Iconic metal track.
 
Not much more than one riff in Procreation, Breaking the Law is cool.

Look, it's that really fucking good Linkin Park song! Octavarium was an instant lock for my list, all the instrumental sections and solos are pure gold. And Intervals :wub:. Really, the only parts that aren't quite S tier for me are the intro and some of Medicate.

Filler sounding Dio song. Square Hammer is catchy and has good production.

Previous round was a joke round, Epic is the real thing. Patton's annoying vocals are a strength when it's groovy and anthemic like this. Easiest win over ChatGPT's song.

Solitude is a masterpiece. It's fantastic from the start, but what really bought me is the riff change after the acoustic break which really caught me off guard, and the chorus vocal line. It moves in a way very unlike what I usually hear in most metal, on the word "ashes". Maybe I just need to listen to more doom. The problem is that Tom Sawyer is a masterpiece too, but, not metal and I already voted against two songs from this album, which I supposedly really like.

Crazy Train is real good, just an iconic track with zero unnecessary bits. I'd give Demon a vote as it's maybe just as good as Crazy Train at the beginning, but it gets way repetitive.
 
Quick one this round with no listen, I know all the tracks bar Octavarium but gut instinct is I won't like it, it will get a fair crack in the next rounds

Breaking the Law
Numb
Square Hammer
Epic
Tom Sawyer
Crazy Train
 
Match 31 - Judas Priest
Because Celtic Frost's song sounds like Procrastination of the wicked.

Match 32 - Dream Theater
There were two reasons why I nominated this DT song:
1. I wanted for people to spend 24 minutes of their day on a song that has "Owen Wilson" in its lyrics. Wasn't as funny as I thought since some other nominations were way sillier.
2. Octavarium wasn't even nominated for the "Epics Tournament" that was held on this board. It doesn't seem like a big deal now, but it will couple of centuries in the future when Capt. Picard is kindaped by Q who puts whole humanity because of that.

Match 33 - Dio
Because I obviously like to put my foot into my mouth. I don't know why I voted for Dio (again), but I know I can't vote for Ghost anymore. Reading comment after comment how this or that isn't metal and then say that Ghost is metal doesn't make sense to me. Ghost's music is like apparel in brand stores that usually very accessible, popular, cheap and generic. But once in a while they print a skull on a t-shirt or add a piece of plastic chain on a vest and suddenly is very "edgy".

Match 34 - Faith No More
Last round I was talking about "Epic" but I remember being it more epic-y than it actually is. Still better than Yngwie.

Match 35 - Rush
Since I already put one foot in my mouth, why not another. Rush. It's fun, it's catchy, it had that drum break that I'd vote over "In the Air Tonight".

Match 36 - Demon
Crazy Train is "objectively" a better song, but every time I hear it I have mental image in my head. I don't know which performance was it, but Ozzy was blonde, shirtless and looked and sounded... awful. And it was early 80s. I can't imagine how he would look and sound now. That guy is the luckiest person in the music business after Ringo Star.
 
The luckiest person in the music business is the Smurf from Ghost. I mean, the only thing he can do is mocking the Church like a fourteen-year-old and he's winning over DIO, for fuck's sake.
 
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