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

[MrKnickerbocker]

As in the previous round, Nightwish brought a kitchen knife to a gunfight here. Passion And The Opera is a good song. The riffs are great throughout (something that is sorely missing from latter era Nightwish) and Tarja’s coloratura section is pretty unique. But Twilight of the Thunder God is an absolute banger. Not Amon Amarth’s best, but certainly their most popular and probably one of their catchiest. Johan and his mighty band of Swedish vikings take this one easily.

Cemetery Gates, for my money, is Pantera’s single best song. It’s still incredibly melodic, hooky, and powerful while showcasing that typical aggression and riffing. Anselmo’s vocals are literally one of a kind - even he could never replicate them. The dynamics are great, the solo is great, the vocal wails at the end are great. It’s absolute top tier metal. Blackbird is a good song, but like everything else by Alter Bridge it somehow cannot escape feeling quite a bit generic. Phil and his rebel flag waving fools take this one.

I nominated Cult of Personality because it is simply one of the most unique expressions of metal to ever exist. Also it’s catchy as hell. The song just rips from the get go. Nothing else sounds like this, and if they tried, they wouldn’t sound as good. What Living Colour achieved with this song is transcendent. Christian Woman is a slog, just as it was in the last stage of the game. Vernon and his funky band of rockers take this one without a second thought.

I always forget how batshit BYOB really is. But goddamn if it ain’t incredibly fun. As with Living Colour, System of a Down were a force of nature completely isolated from every other band of their era. No one can sound like them. Their wackiness stands alone. The chorus of BYOB is infectious and one of the only times where Daron’s vocal harmony actually helps the song (even if it’s still mixed way too fucking loud). Lights Out is a good song by a good band. But again, it’s just not unique enough to stand out here. Great riffs, vocals, guitar leads and everything…but it’s just not strong enough to topple Serj and his circus cabal of insanity.

Jaymz and the Eet Fuk boys every day over Bathory.

John, John, James, Mike and Kevin over another boom bap simplistic riff and wail fest that sounds like every other song.

 

[Wogmidget]

@LooseCannon you need a tiebreak for Sabbath/Symphony X? bc if so I vote the latter

 

[LooseCannon]

@LooseCannon you need a tiebreak for Sabbath/Symphony X? bc if so I vote the latter

There are no tie breaks in the group stage, because ties are a valid option.

 

[DJ James]

Run from this fire, it will burn your very soul…

 

[DJ James]

A song with growls is not winning this game, but I think it's between Twilight of the Thunder Gods or something by Opeth to be the highest ranking song with growls. Passion and the Opera is another example of an average Nightwish song that isn't going to last long now that it is facing real competition.

Alter Bridge is a mediocre band and Blackbird is a mediocre song. I hate to keep voting for Pantera but Cemetary Gates is stratospheres better. Great riff too.

I enjoyed the Type O track but Cult of Personality is a true one of a kind piece of Metal. It runs circles around the glam metal of its time and it's one of the few examples of an American metal band from the 80s truly doing something interesting, unique, and not at all gimmicky.

I'm not mad that BYOB is beating Lights Out. That was a coin toss for me and if I really think about it I don't feel that strongly about my choice.

I tossed a pity vote to Bathory but lets be real, Master of Puppets shouldn't be anywhere below the top 5.

Lol Pull Me Under. Same thing as Living Colour, although a few years later. When you think about the other Metal coming out of America in 1992, you realize how special Dream Theater was. Say what you will about what they do now, but Images & Words is a Metal essential, so something off that album needs to land in the upper tier. There are a few songs I would opt for before Pull Me Under, but I also think this song is worthy of every accolade it receives, even if it is overexposed compared to the rest of the DT catalog (and they have done a remarkable job not living under its shadow).

I think this is first time in the entire game that all my votes have aligned with someone else!

 

[JudasMyGuide]

Passion and the Opera is among my least favourite songs off my (second) favourite album by one of my favourite bands. That's an awesome badge of honor! Twilight of the Thunder Gods is among my favourite songs by one of my still favourite bands, but less so than Nightwish. How do they compare? I don't know! However, especially since it's currently losing, I can't help but vote for Tarja-era Nightwish on principle.

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I know this forum has this weird hate for Pantera, however Cemetary Gates is an absolute classic that should overcome even prejudices and biases, especially compared with the radio rock of Alter Bridge (but then again, Rock You Like a Hurricane won, so I suppose "radio rock for housewives" isn't a completely hopeless category here).

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Cult of Personality is such a ridiculous epitome of 90s I can't help but find it unintentionally hilarious. The sound is just an aural representation of an old poster with birds in bikinis inviting you to a 93 rave in a blocky, graffiti font, that has been forgotten in a remote corner of a beach and has been bleached by the sun to a degree where it's almost half purely white.

Type O Negative is one of the bands I really like and if @Diesel 11 picked a song that wouldn't be this pettily blasphemous, it would probably get my vote in 99 % cases (and it did the last time around). What makes me happy is that since Steele converted back in the final years of his life, he probably had second thoughts about this. Well, at least I like to think so, because of him, mostly.

Anyway, I have huge nostalgia towards GTA: San Andreas and Living Colour are exactly that, a perfect representation of the atmosphere, of the Zeitgeist, just like Cutting Crew, Mr. Mister or Jan Hammer were for GTA: Vice City.

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BYOB is kinda overplayed and it's not one of SOAD's best songs (I like those with more of the middle-Eastern vibes within, like Dreaming, for example) but it was my first SOAD song and I genuinely feel the band is criminally underrated. Unfairly thrown into the "nu metal" bag, their weird mixture of almost Zappaesque craziness and contrasts, with tempo and loudness switching on a whim, much like the sardonic mixes with cheesily sentimental and wackily humorous in their work, with punkish shouts and Oriental tinge, yet it always feels structured and immensely catchy. They have been very influential in my own personal music taste and I will never forget that. And I absolutely love Tankian - a powerful, immediately recognisable voice that is just as fitting as the muezzin calling out for salat from the mosque as a jovial wacky weirdo that's probably molesting five-year olds... or at least pretends to in order to troll you.

That means, SOAD for me, definitely. Even a worse song of theirs would get my vote.

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I kinda like Bathory, but come on.

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Don't like Pull Me Under much, personally, never understood why this of all their songs was a hit (well, Americans, amirite?), it's overplayed and overrated, but I'm going with band bias here, because much as I used to love Bon-led AC/DC, it never amounted to how much I've loved and still love Dream Theater.

 

[Diesel 11]

Cult of Personality is such a ridiculous epitome of 90s I can't help but find it unintentionally hilarious.

Funny ‘cuz it came out in ‘88 lol.

 

[Kalata]

Passion And The Opera is one of the best songs on its album. I love the early (riffy) sound of the band.
Lights Out - ending a song with a long solo will always be great.
Master Of Puppets is one of the examples of classic thrash metal. The riff and the calm part are timeless.

 

[JudasMyGuide]

Funny ‘cuz it came out in ‘88 lol.

Appetite for Destruction was released in '87, Ultramega OK in '88 and Bleach in '89.

It is what it is, you know.

 

[Jer]

"Twilight Of The Thunder God" kicks off with a nice driving melodic riff, but then Screamy McFuckFace shows up to steal all my cookies. As he slowly fills a bucket with the contents of his stomach over the next few minutes I continue to wonder how anyone could ever legitimately enjoy this style of vocal. Musically, I like the change-up in the middle and the solo is strong, but this is ultimately just pretty good music with shit vocals. And it's up against "Passion And The Opera", one of my favorites from Oceanborn for its audacious full embrace of opera-style vocals atop riff-driven metal. All of the guitar and vocal melodies are great here, as are the riffs outside of the vocal sections, and that full-opera bridge in the middle with the series of "ah ah ahs" is simultaneously hilarious and beautiful. Sorry, MosherLooserDJocker, but this one isn't even remotely close, even without considering own-nominee bias. Winner: Nightwish - "Passion And The Opera"

So many people hold up “Cemetery Gates” as some kind of classic, but I don’t hear anything to get excited about here — the verses are fine, but the chorus is just a bunch of annoying Zakk Wylde pinch harmonics and a completely forgettable vocal line. No sir, don’t like it. "Blackbird" is very melodious and epic with a very good multi-part solo, and Myles Kennedy gives an impassioned performance throughout. I don't like the big swaying guitar part that shows up a few times during the song, and the mastering is overly compressed, but otherwise there isn't really much to criticize here. The thing is, there's something about Kennedy's voice that just isn't to my taste; and despite all the epic roller coaster songwriting on display here, the song never really gets its hooks into me and actually takes me along for that ride. That leaves me sitting on the sideline thinking, "well, this certainly checks almost all the boxes for a well-written and well-executed song", and yet I don't feel much of anything when I listen to it. But its competition is so weak this time that I have to say congratulations, @The Dissident, your nominee defeats Spackbort's pretty handily. Winner: Alter Bridge - "Blackbird"

"Cult Of Personality" is an iconic song from a groundbreaking band. That complicated, slightly off-kilter riff and Corey Glover's smooth and hook-laden delivery cut right through the noise and demand your attention. The change in feel for the chorus is great, and I like Vernon Reid's little breakdowns between the vocal sections, though his really noisy solo is a bit of an earsore. The deconstructed outro is great, though. Still a great song overall. "Christian Woman" manages to marry glumness with ethereal lightness in a pretty appealing way. Not a fan of the super-super-low vocals in the, uh, chorus(?), but most of the vocals are great. The acoustic bridge is nice, too. The final minute and a half feels a bit tacked on, but it's got a nice groove and I'm all for more pipe organ in my metal. I like both songs here, but sorry @Diesel 11, I think @MrKnickerbocker's nominee is a bit stronger. Winner: Living Colour - "Cult Of Personality"

"BYOB" has manic energy, but I really fucking hate Serj Tankian's psychotic-sounding, poorly-phrased vocals. He sounds better when he's more subdued, but that's the exception here rather than the rule. From a songwriting perspective this track is also a patchwork mess. No thanks. "Lights Out" gets right to it out of the gate with a cool driving groove and a strong vocal line. The chorus is a lot less successful, with a weak melody and some awkward phrasing choices, though the solos are strong. By the 3 minute mark I think all of the musical ideas in this track were fully expended, but it just kept on going. Oh well. Still, its competitor is weak enough that I have to say sorry, SkidInTheDust333, but the list nominee is the better song here. Winner: UFO - "Lights Out"

"Master Of Puppets" vs. "Twilight Of The Gods". Let's see, one of Metallica's finest songs against a dude singing the beginning of “Electric Eye” for 11 minutes. Sorry, @____no5, but The SnickerPockiDDor's nominee just red-misted yours from a thousand yards away. Winner: Metallica - "Master Of Puppets"

"Pull Me Under" is dreamy and theatrical, with memorable melodies throughout. It offers some proggy flavor without ever going off the rails, keeping things pretty focused while still swinging between melodic and crunchy parts and delivering a big chorus. There's such a huge gap in quality between a song like this and an overindulgent mess like "Octavarium" -- it's refreshing to be reminded of why I used to like this band so long ago. Great stuff. "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'N' Roll)" has a pretty basic riff and not much of a verse melody, but the verse builds tension effectively into a memorable chorus, and the bagpipes actually work really well here, including interesting trade-off leads with the guitar. This isn't a great song, but it's a good and iconic one. An easy win for @MindRuler's nominee here. Winner: Dream Theater - "Pull Me Under"

 

[LooseCannon]

Passion of the Opera is a good song. I really enjoy it every time I hear it. Absolutely. But it's A- tier Nightwish, the kind of stuff that comes close to their peak but would be reinvented yet again. Realistically, there's only one Nightwish song in this game that's a contender, and it ain't this one. Meanwhile, on the other side, is one of the best modern fist pumping anthems. A little more simplistic, sure. A little rougher, sure. But 9/10 times this is the song I'd rather spin. Amon Amarth.

Cemetery Gates is a true classic and easily the best Pantera song, and a true contender. Alter Bridge is fine, I like them a lot, but come on. Pantera.

Living Colour. We don't want to have CM Punk get angry and start a fight, do we?

BYOB has a decent chorus and an absolute mess of everything else. System of a Down has like three decent songs and everything else is just utter trash. Where the fuck am I? Not voting for Serj. Lights Out is fine and doesn't make me grate my teeth. UFO.

I like Twilight of the Gods, it's decent. It's overlong and it never gets where it's going, but it's a good song. But it's not Metallica's most popular song, and one of their best.

Dream Theater because I'll basically always vote against AC/DC.

 

[DJ James]

I can’t believe UFO is losing on an Iron Maiden forum… to System of a Down no less!

I have never cared for System of a Down. Their “quirky” or “odd” character seems WAY too forced (as in not natural). There’s artist I listen to like let’s say Nick Cave or Grimes that have a strange or peculiar way or aura about them and their music that really exemplifies them as artists and really makes their music “work”, and I sense none of that from System. It is like they’re trying too hard to be weird and off-putting. Simply doesn’t work for me.

 

[Detective Beauregard]

I can’t believe UFO is losing on an Iron Maiden forum… to System of a Down no less!

I have never cared for System of a Down. Their “quirky” or “odd” character seems WAY too forced (as in not natural). There’s artist I listen to like let’s say Nick Cave or Grimes that have a strange or peculiar way or aura about them and their music that really exemplifies them as artists and really makes their music “work”, and I sense none of that from System. It is like they’re trying too hard to be weird and off-putting. Simply doesn’t work for me.

I haven’t had a chance to listen to the UFO cut yet, but they’ll most likely get a vote from me. System of a Down is annoying as shit.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

especially compared with the radio rock of Alter Bridge (but then again, Rock You Like a Hurricane won, so I suppose "radio rock for housewives" isn't a completely hopeless category here).

Spoiler

I mean...I agree about the blandness of both and I'm still upset about Hurricane winning, but....

Cult of Personality is such a ridiculous epitome of 90s I can't help but find it unintentionally hilarious. The sound is just an aural representation of an old poster with birds in bikinis inviting you to a 93 rave in a blocky, graffiti font, that has been forgotten in a remote corner of a beach and has been bleached by the sun to a degree where it's almost half purely white.

Except for the intensely serious, philosophical and social commentary of the lyrics...

And also this:

Funny ‘cuz it came out in ‘88 lol.

but the chorus is just a bunch of annoying Zakk Wylde pinch harmonics

That'd be the other way around there, my friend.

I have never cared for System of a Down. Their “quirky” or “odd” character seems WAY too forced (as in not natural). There’s artist I listen to like let’s say Nick Cave or Grimes that have a strange or peculiar way or aura about them and their music that really exemplifies them as artists and really makes their music “work”, and I sense none of that from System. It is like they’re trying too hard to be weird and off-putting. Simply doesn’t work for me.

I think the artists you're describing are simply fitting their quirks into a simpler package. One is folk/art/rock and one is pop. Tom Waits is in the same category. The music is inherently less intense, so their quirks feel more "genuine", but at the end of the day - it's all a show. I think SOAD is on the exact same level as those guys. Half of their quirks are genuine, half are built to appear more quirky. It's just that metal is always over the top.

 

[DJ James]

I think the artists you're describing are simply fitting their quirks into a simpler package. One is folk/art/rock and one is pop.

Grimes and Nick Cave are both very complex. This may be another discussion entirely, but just because pop/dance music is Grimes’s engine for delivering her music, it doesn’t make it less complicated or simpler than a rock or metal band’s music. But like I said - another discussion for another day. My problem with SOAD is hard to verbalize, I hear a disingenuous sound to their music.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Grimes and Nick Cave are both very complex. This may be another discussion entirely, but just because pop/dance music is Grimes’s engine for delivering her music, it doesn’t make it less complicated or simpler than a rock or metal band’s music. But like I said - another discussion for another day. My problem with SOAD is hard to verbalize, I hear a disingenuous sound to their music.

I am probably using the term "simple" incorrectly, I guess. Again, as I cited my example of Tom Waits - it can be very melodically, rhythmically, lyrically, production...ally complex. But the output itself is not at the same intensity as metal, so it feels more personal.

I'm not trying to hold SOAD up on some sort of artistic pedestal, I'm sure Nick Cave and the others are technically far better musical artists than they are, but just trying to equate the level of theatrics (which are incredibly high on either side).

 

[Mosh]

Weird. I always felt SOAD was one of the more authentic bands in a sea of copycats and posers. Unfairly swept by the nu Metal craze.

Similarly, Living Colour (see also Extreme) was a great 70s hard rock band trapped in a can of hairspray. The funky rhythms, the bluesy vocal inflections. Vernon Reid was a shredder but more of an old school player, much tastier than someone like CC Deville.

 

[Magnus]

I don’t care that Kansas isn’t metal, because Rush isn’t either, but Rush is better than most metal.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

View attachment 34000

Says the meme with black painted fingernails.

 

[JudasMyGuide]

That said

Rush is better than most metal

That's not much of an achievement, the Arctic Monkeys' debut is better than most metal, and ?