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

[JudasMyGuide]

I wear BYO sunglasses at night
So I can, so I can
Watch you weave then breathe your story lines
And I wear BYO sunglasses at night
So I can, so I can
Keep track of the visions in my eyes

 

[Shmoolikipod]

Our favourite band!

 

[Jer]

In the battle of the overrated classics, we first have "War Pigs", which is OK-to-good during its instrumental sections, and the vocal melody is pretty strong, though Ozzy's performance is merely OK. The song drags on too long in general, but the final instrumental section is probably the best part of the track, so its length can be forgiven. The sped-up ending is awkward and silly-sounding, unfortunately. Still pretty good overall. Next up is "Purple Haze", which has memorable guitar work, strong vocal lines, and some nice a capella breaks. It's not a super awesome song or anything, but it's generally good stuff. Hmm, the Hendrix track was tighter, but the Sabbath track has higher highs from a songwriting perspective. I suppose I could go either way on this, but I'll throw @Confeos a bone. Winner: Black Sabbath - "War Pigs"

"Symphony Of Destruction" is very dumbed down Megadeth, but it's got a good groove, a memorable chorus, and a strong solo. Pretty good, but nothing special. "Smoke And Mirrors" is pure Yngwie worship ("Vengeance", specifically) with both the leads and the rhythm playing in the intro, but it starts to forge more of its own path afterward. The vocal melodies are solid but not great, and I hate to break it to Mr. Allen, but "mirrors" has two syllables, not one. The interlude and solos are good-to-great. A very good song overall, and a very easy call for @Mosh's nominee. Winner: Symphony X - "Smoke And Mirrors"

"Thunder Kiss '65" fucking blows. I mean, really, this just sucks hard. It's got a tolerable groove, but everything Zombie's doing on top of it is just awful. Beavis and Butthead were praising it ironically, folks. Apparently no one got the joke, and now here we are. "Sweet Emotion" has a lot more going for it out of the gate, with an iconic bass line and memorable riffs. The verse vocals work well as a rhythmic element, and the chorus is simple but strong. The change-up for the extended outro is also nice. Absolutely no contest here. Winner: Aerosmith - "Sweet Emotion"

"Crystal Mountain" has dope riffs and strong dynamics. The non-melodic vocals are bad, at times distractingly so, but they're still not in Muppet territory, thankfully. The songwriting is pleasantly complex, and there are a lot of nice melodic leads on offer. The acoustic bits toward the end are really nice and totally unexpected. Really good stuff overall. "Stranglehold" has a strong groove and memorable vocal lines with some really good bass and guitar fills. The jammy feel of its final two thirds is cool, and it's got nice dynamics. This one's close-ish, but I'll go with ConfiDDieselo 3.666's nominee in the end. Winner: Death - "Crystal Mountain"

"Chop Suey" has a nice acoustic opening, but once it gets heavy and goes into Serj Tankian's psycho babbling it loses me. The gentle harmonized vocals are nice, and actually become quite beautiful toward the end, but that can't make up for the junk that fills over half the track. "Eyes Of The World" is strong synth-infused hard rock with great performances, and it's way more consistent than its competitor. Sorry, @KiDDo, but this is an easy call for @Poto's nominee. Winner: Rainbow - "Eyes Of The World"

"Hammer Smashed Face" is certainly loud, and it has laughably deep-inside-the-stomach grunts throughout. There are moments of coherence where they ape thrash metal for a bit, but most of this is just noise. No thanks. "The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)" has some nice guitar bits, and some nice bass and drum moments as well, but as a song it isn't particularly special. It's...fine. Still, that's enough to trash its incredibly weak competitor here. Winner: Judas Priest - "The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)"

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Ted Nugent is... Ted Nugent, I suppose as the best fucking movie ever puts it

View attachment 34776

I am willing to put aside any previous disagreements or arguments we have ever had based on this single sentiment alone.

 

[srfc]

Black Sabbath - War Pigs vs. Jimi Hendrix Experience - Purple Haze
Out in the general world I think War Pigs would be a contender to win this outright, tastes on here don't seem to like the classic Sabbath line up too much, but I still would expect this to do well. Purple Haze is great too War Pigs

Megadeth - Symphony of Destruction vs. Symphony X - Smoke and Mirrors
I thought Smoke and Mirrors was alright, pretty good and in general they have been the best of the prog bands on here, I think they'd be better served cutting back on the prog and writing straight songs as the guy is a good singer and there's a bit of balls to their riffs. It can't be overstated how good the riff to Symphony of Destruction is, plus just what a great pop song in general it is. Symphony of Destruction

White Zombie - Thunder KISS '65 vs. Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion
I'd never purposely listen to White Zombie, but if I was in a bar several pints in and this came on I'd nod my head. Sweet Emotion is the far, far superior track here, and was in the Simpsons in it's heyday was well for extra kudos Sweet Emotion

Death - Crystal Mountain vs. Ted Nugent - Stranglehold
Death was pretty good, I might check this album out, a bit of a Coma of Souls sound off it. I'm going to go against the grain here and vote for the actual better song, regardless of whether the artist is an arsehole or not Stranglehold

System of a Down - Chop Suey vs. Rainbow - Eyes of the World
I like the build up of Chop Suey, and obviously it's memorable, but it's a bit shit. This era of Rainbow is not my thing, but I'm pretty sure that sounds like Cozy Powell on drums so that's enough to win Eyes of the World

Cannibal Corpse - Hammer Smashed Face vs. Judas Priest - The Green Manalishi (With a Two Pronged Crown)
I nearly started laughing when that vocal came in, one of the easiest wins so far for Priest The Green Manalishi (With a Two Pronged Crown)

 

[Shmoolikipod]

You listen to Purple Haze for the riff, as a song War Pigs is far more consistent.

Symphony of Destruction really does have a very memorable riff and great melodies, but those are things present in a lot of Megadeth songs, here they're just in a pop package. Smoke and Mirrors has all the characteristics of a Symphony X song too: top-notch vocals, impressive solos that don't actually add a lot... Unlike Symphony of Destruction, it has bells in addition.

Oh! This is like 20 times better than More Human Than Human. Actually very fun. Sweet Emotion is probably more memorable but fuck that I want to vote for the fun song.

In the red corner, an all time great of the tech-death genre! In the blue corner, War Pigs, but 50% more ambient! I'll be honest, this was closer than I expected. Stranglehold started very strong, and the lengthy instrumental part ain't half bad, if a step down. A good jam, just not particularly impressive. It was in the last 3 minutes that I realized how much this apes War Pigs. Not a lot but I swear there are similarities if you look for them. Crystal Mountain

Is Chop Suey the best song of the round? Maybe. It moves seamlessly between ludicrously dirty and soft, and is extremely memorable. I love Eyes of the World but Chop Suey should win this easily.

Very good riffing and awesome tempo changes in Hammer Smashed Face, The Green Manalishi is very good too but I think I can go with the underdog.

 

[Detective Beauregard]

I’m no Ozzy Sabbath fan, but it’s hard not to vote for them here. Hendrix is fine, but he can’t compare in this case. Sabbath.

Gee, Megadeth’s “breakthrough” pop metal hit or a middle-tier song by the masters of progressive power metal? I heard Holy Wars… the Punishment Due earlier today, which was a track where Megadeth was firing on all cylinders; Symphony of Destruction is Megadeth-lite. Not a bad song, but incredibly pedestrian in comparison. Smoke and Mirrors has a sweet intro, verses where Russ shines, a cool odd-meter pre-chorus, a catchy chorus, and a classical-tinged interlude, with its only weakness being that the solos go on for far too long (a full minute with no variation other than the riff changing keys). Symphony freaking X!

I don’t know where Thunder Kiss ’65 sits within White Zombie’s discography, but it’s a fun little groovy song. Meanwhile, Sweet Emotion is not one of my favorite Aerosmith songs. White Zombie.

Incredibly easy vote for the Nuge here, as Stranglehold is probably my favorite classic rock song. That bass groove and solo are legendary. As for Death, outside of the odd cool riff they’ve never done much for me; everything I’ve heard by them has the same sound palette and overall feel. This song has some of the best music I’ve heard by them, but damn those vocals are awful. I also can’t help but get the impression that some people vote against Ted simply because of his politics – which, if true, is really sad.

I don’t like System of a Down at all, but this song… is no exception. The chorus is decent, but they ruin it with those nu-metal verses and all the shouting. Ugh. Eyes of the World may lack Dio, but it makes up for it by not being System of a Down. It’s far from groundbreaking, and it has a weird solo, but it’s still a decent song. Super easy vote for Rainbow.

Listening to Cannibal Corpse is like putting your ear up to your kitchen’s garbage disposal for four straight minutes. The only way I could enjoy this is from a comedic perspective (I also despise blast beats). The Green Manalishi is far from my favorite Priest tune, but it has a decent groove and a cool ending. For obvious reasons it wins by default.

I thought Smoke and Mirrors was alright, pretty good and in general they have been the best of the prog bands on here, I think they'd be better served cutting back on the prog and writing straight songs as the guy is a good singer and there's a bit of balls to their riffs

You should check out their three most recent albums: Paradise Lost (2007), Iconoclast (2011), and Underworld (2015). They're heavier and more straightforward than the more prog-oriented stuff you'll hear in this tournament.

 

[LooseCannon]

I also can’t help but get the impression that some people vote against Ted simply because of his politics – which, if true, is really sad.

I do not vote against Ted because of his politics. I vote against him because I generally don't like his music. I make fun of him for his politics.

 

[Mosh]

I do not vote against Ted because of his politics. I vote against him because I generally don't like his music. I make fun of him for his politics.

This.

 

[Diesel 11]

[Symphony X] I think they'd be better served cutting back on the prog and writing straight songs

I will end your entire bloodline.

 

[Mosh]

I will end your entire bloodline.

Banning Diesel for inciting violence.

 

[Diesel 11]

War Pigs is an utter classic.
Symphony of Destruction has an amazing chorus.
Thunder Kiss ‘65 is a total jam.
Crystal Mountain is utterly perfect.
Chop Suey! is not just a masterpiece in nu metal, but deserves to be regarded as one of the greats in metal as a whole.
Hammer Smashed Face should not be losing to a Priest cover. Even if you think it’s silly it should be sweeping you off your feet. Alex Webster’s bass on that song alone destroys Ian Hill’s entire career lol.

 

[DJ James]

Black Sabbath - War Pigs vs. Jimi Hendrix Experience - Purple Haze
Out in the general world I think War Pigs would be a contender to win this outright, tastes on here don't seem to like the classic Sabbath line up too much, but I still would expect this to do well.

I love the classic Sabbath lineup, and I think it may very well be the greatest metal lineup of all time. Only lineup for me that comes close is Iron Maiden with McBrain in the 80’s. That being said, I find War Pigs and Iron Man to be hugely overrated. There’s a sentiment I echo all the time: a good song cannot be overplayed. I find War Pigs to be overplayed.

In general though, Paranoid is in my top ten albums of all time. And it’s probably still the heaviest album I’ve ever heard. This is a little off the point, but I think more metal bands should go back and relisten to albums like Paranoid to get a better idea on how to sound heavy. It’s all about dynamics, if everything is heavy, then nothing is heavy. Paranoid is made great by the quieter sections and little rooms to breathe throughout its runtime.

 

[DJ James]

I also believe Hammer Smashed Face got a bad pull this matchup. Green Manalishi is becoming one of my favorite Priest songs ever. When KK and Tipton go into that riff under the verse for the first time, there’s just not a lot else out there like it. And it’s the perfect head banging tempo.

Hammer Smashed Face is a death metal standard. It’s funny, when I first got into metal, I hated Cannibal Corpse. However, throughout the natural evolution of my taste, I’ve amassed a collection of 20 to 25 Cannibal Corpse songs I adore. I think the best front to back album they ever did was Eaten Back to Life, but there’s some good stuff in the late career work.

I don’t recognize Butchered At Birth to be the death metal classic that a lot of death metal fans think it to be. It’s boring, repetitive and quite simply a one note album. Its successor however, Tomb of the Mutilated, is wonderful (though still flawed and suffering from some of the problems I have with Butchered At Birth). A lot of bands would kill for the production sound on Tomb.

 

[Shmoolikipod]

In general though, Paranoid is in my top ten albums of all time. And it’s probably still the heaviest album I’ve ever heard. This is a little off the point, but I think more metal bands should go back and relisten to albums like Paranoid to get a better idea on how to sound heavy. It’s all about dynamics, if everything is heavy, then nothing is heavy. Paranoid is made great by the quieter sections and little rooms to breathe throughout its runtime.

I think about it a lot, how even Sweet Leaf is heavier than a lot of modern bands really only thanks to its organic sound. Does feel like natural heaviness was sacrificed for songwriting and technicality over the years, not that I hate my overproduced metal, it's just a different kind of heavy. Atlantean Kodex comes to mind as a newer band that mixes both worlds pretty well.

 

[LooseCannon]

It seems like the war pigs have the power and Jimi can't rise up for the hour. Black Sabbath. When it comes to smoke and mirrors, you can simply smash them in a symphony of destruction as Megadeth wins. The emotion isn't sweet as White Zombie ekes out a narrow win. I've been waiting for a while, but Death finally has a stranglehold on Ted Nugent. I didn't know you could make chop suey from the eyes of the world, but System of a Down doesn't mind an ocular dish. Judas Priest does whatever a green manalishi does to Cannibal Corpse.

---

Part II, Round 1, Matches 109-114​

Group Stage - Round 1	Match 109​	Somewhere Back in Time Division​
Guns N' Roses - Welcome to the Jungle	vs.​	Gamma Ray - Anywhere in the Galaxy​
Popoff 500, Radio EHS 100, VH1 40	Nominators​	@Shmoolikipod​
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 110​	The Wicker Man Division​
Megadeth - Hangar 18	vs.​	Uriah Heep - July Morning​
Popoff 500, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100, Best Music Art 100 @MindRuler, @Jer, @LooseCannon, @DJMayes	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 111​	Martin Birch Division​
AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long	vs.​	Therapy? - Nowhere​
Popoff 500, Radio EHS 100 @Jer	Nominators​	@MindRuler​
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 112​	A Real Live Dead One Division​
Guns N' Roses - Paradise City	vs.​	Motörhead - Orgasmatron​
Popoff 500, Radio EHS 100, VH1 40	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 113​	The Trooper Division​
Metallica - One	vs.​	Metallica - Trapped Under Ice​
Popoff 500, Rolling Stone 100, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Radio EHS 100, Rate Your Music 100, Youtube 50 @DJMayes, @KiDDo	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 114​	Janick Gers Division​
Venom - Black Metal	vs.​	Pantera - I'm Broken​
Popoff 500, Rolling Stone 100, DigitalDreamDoor 100, Rate Your Music 100, Best Music Art 100	Nominators​	Popoff 500​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

 

[Kalata]

Anywhere In The Galaxy is classic power metal, and I just love it. The chorus is a pure joy. Not a contest for me.
Hangar 18, easy for me. Undisputed classic, my favorite of the band. The riff alone brings a win. The solos are pure metal too!
AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long, easy again. This chorus is so captivating. Timeless rock.
Paradise City, by default.
The Metallicas matchup is not that easy for me because I like Trapped Under Ice a lot, but One brings so much emotion (that's the most important for me) and the riff in the middle with the vocals is still one of the best things the band has ever done.

 

[TheMercenary]

My votes.

 

[DJ James]

One is one of those songs that separated the "boys" from the "men" as it pertains to 80's thrash. I've seen diehard Thrashers complain and moan before about Metallica being "overrated" and I always point to this song, this song right here.

One is a masterclass in songwriting. A real tour de force of 80's heavy metal. Nothing against these guys, but bands of Metallica's ilk, Kreator, Exodus, Slayer, etc. could never write a song like One. Perfect balance of dynamics, perfect execution, excellent playing. I think this is the best song we've had in this game so far, and its my favorite Metallica song. Shame it's gotta go up against Trapped Under Ice, I find that one to be very underrated.

 

[DJ James]

Hangar 18 is also a great Megadeth track. I'm sure some of us here have fond memories of hearing these songs for the first time at a young age. For me that was age 14 (12 years ago). I obviously hadn't heard anything like it, and I was quickly obsessed with everything having to do with Rust in Peace. I remember I was in an algebra class in ninth grade, for an extra credit assignment, we could write down the words from our high schools alma mater from memory on to a sheet of paper to turn in. The only song I had memorized at the time was Hangar 18, so I wrote down the lyrics to that song. I didn't get any extra credit points.

Getting a little more personal, I got the chance to see Megadeth live this past summer with my younger brother. When they opened with Hangar 18, I did cry a bit. This music means a lot to me and when I was younger I use to kind of use this stuff to escape, not the best home life/upbringing growing up and all that kind of stuff.