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 .
The music in “The Leper Affinity” is outstanding. The steady layering of new and different guitar parts creating complex harmonies is fucking great, and the song has a really coherent progression from start to finish. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the vocals here are extreme rather than clean, which is a real punch in the gut. "Metal Gods" has a bouncy beat and a pretty good solo, but nearly everything else about the song is unremarkable, including that flaccid-as-fuck chorus. Congratulations, ShmoodikiMyGod, I guess you'll have to tell me how to get to Sesame Street, because not even those godawful Cookie Monster vocals can turn the tide on this match. Winner: Opeth - "The Leper Affinity"

"(We Are) The Roadcrew" sounds like pretty much every other Motörhead song -- peppy beat, simple bluesy solos, very limited vocals, dopey lyrics, very simplistic songwriting. Wouldn't ever seek it out, but I wouldn't turn it off if it were already on. In one ear and out the other. "Going Home" starts with ringing clean notes and a persistent bass line that breaks into a great bright riff with a driving rhythm. Strong vocal lines drive the verse and chorus as clean guitar accents duck in and out of the music. Great guitar solos with a sweet harmonized section give way to more atmospheric clean guitar and a great bridge. A riffy interlude gains some clean accompaniment before rolling back into the chorus to close things out. Great stuff. A very easy call for @Wogmidget's nominee here. Winner: Blood Star - "Going Home"

"Heading Out To The Highway" has appealing vocal lines, a strong chorus, and a pretty good bridge. The main riff is nice, and the harmonized bits are pretty good. A couple of nice drum fills, too. Good stuff. "Easy Livin'" has a peppy groove and pretty good vocal lines. Not as keen on the falsetto vocal sections, and the song structure is very basic. Pretty good overall, I guess -- but sorry @Diesel 11, I think the list nominee has the edge here. Winner: Judas Priest - "Heading Out To The Highway"

"Ride The Lightning" comes in with a stomping beat and crushing chords. Hetfield's voice is overly raw in spots during the verses and sometimes doesn't quite hit the intended note, but he generally sounds strong during the pre-chorus, chorus, and bridge. The extended instrumental section with the epic solos is excellent, and really what sells the song as a whole. Great song overall, verging on excellence. "Shoot To Thrill" is an utterly classic AC/DC track with absolutely killer vocal lines that takes off like a rocket through the pre-chorus and chorus, and simmers wonderfully through the more laid back interlude before slowly building to a huge crescendo. There was a point in time when AC/DC was one of the biggest bands on the planet, and this song immediately makes it clear why that was. I almost nominated this song myself, but figured it would find its way here anyway, and I was right. Some might view this as blasphemy, but I think the AC/DC track hits stellar highs without having any of the admittedly few blemishes on the Metallica track, so I'm going to toss this one their way. Winner: AC/DC - "Shoot To Thrill"

"Du Hast" has a simple, stomping industrial rhythm with basic overly-distorted guitars. The verses are non-melodic, but the chorus(?) gains a little air, and the thin little keyboard ditty is pleasant enough. Still, there isn't really much of a song here. "Tarot Woman" has some nice spacey keyboards and a pleasant galloping rhythm. Dio sounds strong as usual, but the vocal lines aren't very memorable here. The first part of the solo is pretty mediocre, but the next couple of parts are much better. Not bad overall, but that's still more than enough to take out a weak competitor. Winner: Rainbow - "Tarot Woman"

"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" has an iconic gentle groove with plenty of clean guitar and tasteful cowbell. The vocal lines go down like a fine wine, as do the sweet harmonies. The interlude and solo are also great. Excellent song. "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" appears to be a parody of hair metal, but it's neither funny nor catchy, so it fails on all fronts. The singer is technically talented, but that intentionally over-the-top falsetto is incredibly grating. The solos are solid, at least. The easiest of calls for BÖC here. Winner: Blue Öyster Cult - "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
 
My heavy metal brain is still so captivated by Ride the Lightning. That song AND album. I just don’t know how they did it, there’s these albums that come along every so often that you hear and think to yourself “everyone in the world is chasing this sound” and that’s what I think every time I listen to Ride the Lightning. A triumphant moment in heavy metal history. Like a perfect storm of riffs, attitude, playing, songwriting - everything. Everything came together perfectly for this album to happen. It might just be my all time favorite album. It’s very close at least.

One of those album that everyone’s talked about so much for the past 40 years that you can almost forget how good it is. It’s a household name for a very good reason.
 
Once again we're inundated with Judas Priest, to the point where I'm seriously questioning what percentage of their discography is in this game. They're always going to get my vote against nu-metal and the majority of forest-dweller pot banging, but these two cuts just ain't doing it. The highway one is so bad that it's actually funny, and Metal Gods is simply average. Uriah Heep's song here is fun, and The Leper Affinity is top-tier Opeth and easily the strongest track in this round.

Blood Star have a solid tune here, although even if it was average it would beat Motorhead. I've never cared for them. Saw them at Madison Square Garden in 2003 with Dio and Maiden, and they bored me to tears. No-brainer votes for Rainbow and Blue Oyster Cult, too.

Ride the Lightning is a pretty average old-school Metallica track in my book, but it certainly beats AC/DC.
 
Slightly surprised BOC / The Darkness is so one-sided. I know I'm contributing to that, but to me it's by far the closest matchup this round.
 
Metal Gods is a fun little, silly tune that has never resonated with me in any way (mostly due to it being a metal song about being metal and such things are stupid). The Leper Affinity is one in a long line of perfect Opeth epic movements, complete with shifting moods, tones, and heaviness. As always, fantastic work from Opeth.

Most Motorhead songs are fun little bar snacks. They don't fill me up and I kinda just eat them cause they're sitting in front of me. They might be a little stale or dirty. Roadcrew is no exception. Going Home isn't a brilliant song by any means and it has very muted production, but it's competent and melodic.

Heading Out to the Highway is one of the best songs on a truly bad album, which isn't saying much. Easy Livin', however, isn't metal in any way. I honestly don't care about this one, neither song belongs here. I'll vote for Priest due to familiarity bias, but the vocal harmonies by Heep are better than anything in Highway.

Ride The Lightning drags Shoot to Thrill into the backyard, beats it to death, shoots the corpse, pisses on the remains, buries it, and sets fire to the earth above the grave.

Honestly, I am torn on Du Hast vs. Tarot Woman. In the end, I definitely prefer a classic Rainbow song from their best album with a stellar performance by Dio, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't almost vote for Rammstein.

I Believe In A Thing Called Love rules, but the bridge of Reaper is better than anything The Darkness have ever written.
 
Familiar round for me, only need to listen to Opeth, so as a result I'm making some instinctive knee jerk decisions

Opeth - The Leper Affinity vs. Judas Priest - Metal Gods
Insert usual Opeth comments here, Metal Gods brilliant Metal Gods

Motörhead - (We Are) The Roadcrew vs. Blood Star - Going Home

Love (We Are) The Roadcrew, but going with Blood Star, this is the best track of their record (which is a pretty good record) Going Home

Judas Priest - Heading Out To the Highway vs. Uriah Heep - Easy Livin'

Both great, Heading Out To the Highway

Metallica - Ride the Lightning vs. AC/DC - Shoot to Thrill

Toughest choice, if I start thinking too much I'll change my mind many times, first instinct was Shoot to Thrill

Rammstein - Du Hast vs. Rainbow - Tarot Woman

Easy one here, Tarot Woman

Blue Öyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper vs. The Darkness - I Believe in a Thing Called Love

Two of the maybe all time most well known metal/pop cross over hits, I'm a big fan of the Darkness and even have their other albums! but an easy choice here. (Don't Fear) The Reaper
 
Metal Gods is a fun little, silly tune that has never resonated with me in any way (mostly due to it being a metal song about being metal and such things are stupid).

Such things are stupid (and fun), but

DpQ9YJl.jpg


it's about a machine uprising, four years before The Terminator, interestingly. Wonder if Rob was a fan of The Outer Limits? I think Priest adopting/being given the "Metal God" nickname swayed people's view on what the lyrics are about.

Anyway, that's all I have to contribute to this game. Edington out.
 
Judas Priest. We've had way too many weaker Priest songs that don't really deserve to be in this game, but I think "Metal Gods" is good fun. Silly? Obviously, but also very enjoyable. As for Opeth, well, I have kinda accepted that I'll never be a big fan of them. Sometimes they hit home, sometimes they don't, and while I appreciate the high level of musicianship and songwriting in "The Leper Affinity", it just doesn't do anything for me.

Blood Star. I don't dislike "(We Are the) Road Crew", but it's nowhere near my favourite offering from Lemmy and the gang. I didn't really remember "Going Home" from earlier rounds, but it's quite decent. Good dynamics, a strong vocal performance and overall executed very well.

Uriah Heep. "Heading Out to the Highway" is exactly what I was talking about earlier - another one of those very questionable Priest inclusions. Of course Popoff is the culprit behind it. It's flat-out boring, uninteresting, and not even close to Priest's best. Luckily, "Easy Livin'" is a stone cold classic; I don't care that it's not exactly metal - it's the obvious choice here.

Metallica. One of Metallica's best songs from their best album against just another AC/DC tune that sounds exactly like everything else they've done? No contest.

Rainbow. Rammstein are always fun, but if they want me vote against Blackmore and Dio at their abosolute height of their powers, they're gonna have to do better than "Du Hast".

Blue Öyster Cult. I actually think "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" is more than decent, but once again, the classic tune prevails. "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" is virtually perfect from start to finish.
 
Such things are stupid (and fun), but

DpQ9YJl.jpg


it's about a machine uprising, four years before The Terminator, interestingly. Wonder if Rob was a fan of The Outer Limits? I think Priest adopting/being given the "Metal God" nickname swayed people's view on what the lyrics are about.

Anyway, that's all I have to contribute to this game. Edington out.

The first Priest album I ever got was Metal Works, and that was on spec, I had no idea what to expect from the track and definitely presumed it would be a Manowar style more-metal-than-thou style track before listening. Was pleasantly surprised when I heard it, and like you say, predating Terminator was the icing on the cake.
 
I almost voted for The Darkness. I'm a sucker for the hilarious and over-the-top in music, and it's genuinely killer on the guitar front. Not enough cowbell though...
 
This round had some really close games! Lots of fun back and forth. In the end, it turns out the metal gods may have had leprosy as Judas Priest falls to Opeth. The roadcrew is going home thanks to Blood Star. There ain't no easy livin' on Judas Priest's highway. Metallica made AC/DC ride the lightning, it seems. Du, du hast, du hast ain't winning this one. Rainbow. Believe in love all you want, The Darkness, but accept that the reaper got you this time. Blue Öyster Cult.





Part II, Round 2, Matches 40-45


Group Stage - Round 2
Match 40
Beast Over Hammersmith Division​
Helloween - Ride the Sky
vs.
Stratovarius - My Eternal Dream​
Popoff 500
@Kalata
Nominators
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0
Record
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Group Stage - Round 2
Match 41
Afraid to Shoot Strangers Division​
Deep Purple - Black Night
vs.
Scorpions - In Trance​
Popoff 500, Radio EHS 100
Nominators
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0
Record
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Group Stage - Round 2
Match 42
Edward the Great Division​
Ozzy Osbourne - S.A.T.O.
vs.
Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic​
Popoff 500
@Mosh
Nominators
Popoff 500​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0
Record
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Group Stage - Round 2
Match 43
Tony Parsons Division​
Led Zeppelin - Kashmir
vs.
Judas Priest - Battle Cry​
Popoff 500, Radio EHS 100
Nominators
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0
Record
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Group Stage - Round 2
Match 44
Hallowed Be Thy Name Division​
Thin Lizzy - Thunder and Lightning
vs.
Alice in Chains - Them Bones​
Popoff 500, Best Music Art 100
Nominators
Best Music Art 100​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0
Record
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Group Stage - Round 2
Match 45
Killers Division​
Dragonforce - Through the Fire and Flames
vs.
Angra - Carolina IV​
@Stardust, @DJMayes
Nominators
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0
Record
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links
 
Stratovarius, Scorpions, Aerosmith, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Dragonforce.

Through The Fire and Flames in particular is just an iconic metal song and I'm still sad that ZP is no longer the vocalist.
 
Helloween - Ride the Sky vs. Stratovarius - My Eternal Dream
Neither great, but Helloween a good bit closer to what I like Ride the Sky

Deep Purple - Black Night vs. Scorpions - In Trance

Black Night is great but going with my own nominee (although I was a bit in doubt whether to nominate We'll Burn the Sky instead) In Trance

Ozzy Osbourne - S.A.T.O. vs. Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic

Toys in the Attic is great, but S.A.T.O is a real dark horse on Diary, and one of the best solos from the best there has been. S.A.T.O.

Led Zeppelin - Kashmir vs. Judas Priest - Battle Cry

Battle Cry wouldn't even be the Priest "Battle" song I'd be nominating, whereas Kashmir is a contender for Zep's best. Kashmir

Thin Lizzy - Thunder and Lightning vs. Alice in Chains - Them Bones

Them Bones is ok, Thunder and Lightning kicks ass Thunder and Lightning

Dragonforce - Through the Fire and Flames vs. Angra - Carolina IV

Not pushed on either of these, I didn't have a chance to listen to all of Angra, so I looked back at my original review, "Angra sounds like a Peter Gabriel song for the first two and a half minutes, then Helloween", which doesn't fill me with confidence. Through the Fire and Flames is quite bad, but at least it's familiar enough to me for me to stand over voting for it. Through the Fire and Flames
 
Ride the Sky is an absolute power cheese clusterfuck with zero dynamics and bad production. My Eternal Dream isn’t gonna win any awards in any department, but it’s light years more interesting, not as poorly produced, has some dynamics and a cool neoclassical bridge.

Black Night is not metal and recorded in a tin can. In Trance is both more metallic and a better song.

SATO has the Where Eagles Dare beat and the instrumental is fun, even if Ozzy sounds shit. Toys in the Attic is heavy boogie woogie, so Ozzy wins by default.

Kashmir has an iconic rock riff, but Battle Cry is an awesome metal song.

Thunder and Lightning is a pretty atypical Lizzy song. Honestly, it sounds more like Motörhead. Them Bones is dark, pummelling, and a clear winner here.

Through the Fire and Flames is literally a joke. It’s a meme. I’m still not convinced it’s been real. I think it’s a sped up take or tons of production magic. But yet, it’s catchier and more memorable than Carolina IV’s typical Angra meanderings.
 
Stratovarius' My Eternal Dream is very solid and typical approach for their modern albums, but Ride The Sky is one of my favorite power metal songs. That's why I nominated it. The tempo, the chorus and especially the instrumental section are pure gold. Kai Hansen!
Both Black Night and In Trance are classic songs (that chorus for the latter!), but I'll go with the former for the overall vibe.
Ozzy's S.A.T.O., by default.
Kashmir has an iconic riff, but I will go with the traditional and straight to the point metal of Priest's Battle Cry. A much more exciting song. One of their best new songs imo.
Thin Lizzy's Thunder And Lightning. Much more fun and melodic song.
Through The Fire And Flames is really enjoyable and catchy power metal. Great playing.
 
"Ride The Sky" has a lot of energy, and it certainly lays down a very early prototype for the future Gamma Ray sound; but it's also extremely raw and rough around the edges, to the point where it's kind of irritating to try to listen to it. It has its moments during the instrumental section in particular, but overall this is at best a plucky demo. "My Eternal Dream" has some cheesy opening synths and a pretty stock power metal groove at first, but it goes through some more interesting convolutions as it progresses. Not thrilled with the singer, but he's fine. The beginning and ending of the chorus are great, but the in-between part feels like it treads water. Love the neoclassical soloing, though. A good but uneven song overall, with some great parts. Sorry, @Kalata, but I have to go with @KidInTheDark666's nominee here. Winner: Stratovarius - "My Eternal Dream"

"Black Night" is a pretty basic and forgettable rock song with a disappointing first solo and an OK second one. "In Trance" has an OK verse and chorus, nothing particularly memorable. The harmonized solo sounds a little sickly and offputting for some reason, but I like the instrumental outro. This one didn't leave much of an impression on me either way, but that was still enough for @srfc's nominee to beat a weak competitor. Winner: Scorpions - "In Trance"

"S.A.T.O." starts off a bit queasy, but soon gains some pep. The vocal melodies are pretty decent, though Ozzy's performance isn't the best. The instrumental sections are clearly the high points here, with some very nice soloing and atmosphere toward the end. Good stuff overall. "Toys In The Attic" has a simple, peppy groove, but the vocal lines are pretty bad and the chorus is completely anemic. The solo's pretty good, though. Still a very easy call for @Mosh's nominee here. Winner: Ozzy Osbourne - "S.A.T.O."

"Kashmir" has a hypnotic rhythm and memorable vocal lines, and it goes on a cool meditative journey. It's a classic rock song for good reason, but it's hard for me to think of it in a hard rock or metal context. "Battle Cry" has a cool multi-part harmonized intro and a nice urgency to the verse. The pre-chorus has a Nostradamus-like feel in a good way. Chorus 1 kinda sucks, but chorus 2 is pretty solid, and the slower-tempo bridge is a nice change-up. Rob sounds pretty rough on the higher notes, but overall this is still a very good song. The Zeppelin track is probably the better song here, but I would personally rather listen to the Priest track, and @DJ James's nominee is certainly the more thematically appropriate song for this competition, so I'll toss my vote in his direction. Winner: Judas Priest - "Battle Cry"

"Thunder And Lightning" is heavier fare than I'd normally expect from Thin Lizzy. I like the energy, but the vocal lines and lyrics aren't very good, and the synth solo is a bit of a mess. The guitar solo is cool, but that's not enough to save the song. "Them Bones" is a powerful outpouring of queasy anguish and depression with a surprisingly bright chorus and solo. Alice In Chains always does interesting things with harmony, whether it's consonant or dissonant, and Dirt in particular is great at conveying that permeating sense of sickness and depression with brief moments of hopefulness. This song is a tight distillation of that entire vibe, and that makes it a perfect album opener. A very easy call for AIC here. Winner: Alice In Chains - "Them Bones"

"Through The Fire And Flames" is like a parody of power metal that isn't quite in on the joke. I appreciate the technical ability on display, but the overly rushed, computery vibe that pervades the song is really annoying to me, even though some of the melodies are quite nice. "Carolina IV" has some cool native Brazilian sounds and grooves in it. Andre Matos's vocals have a wimpy feel to them that underpowers some otherwise strong sections of the song, and the synths are pretty twee in places; but there's a lot to like here, with all the memorable melodies and complex song structure, not to mention that absolutely gorgeous piano and cello break in the middle. Sorry, STDJMustyes, but I prefer @Black Bart's nominee here. Winner: Angra - "Carolina IV"
 
It's one of those rounds when I read @Jer's writeup and find myself nodding along to every point. I don't always agree but from time to time yep, this is pretty well my view as well. Especially on the last matchup, I find it wild that Angra isn't doing better. Such a neat sound, complex play, and just interesting musicianship against something that just seems like a competition to play as fast as possible.
 
It's one of those rounds when I read @Jer's writeup and find myself nodding along to every point. I don't always agree but from time to time yep, this is pretty well my view as well. Especially on the last matchup, I find it wild that Angra isn't doing better. Such a neat sound, complex play, and just interesting musicianship against something that just seems like a competition to play as fast as possible.
All personal feelings about both songs aside, Through The Fire and Flames is one of the best known metal songs full stop. For example, on Spotify, it's sitting at over 244 million streams, which is higher than:

- Every Black Sabbath song except Paranoid, Iron Man, and War Pigs
- Every Maiden song except The Trooper, Run To The Hills, and Fear of the Dark
-
Every Priest song except Breaking The Law
- All of Angra's 10 most popular songs added together

It would even make the top 10 for Metallica and AC/DC, who are the two most popular metal / metal-adjacent bands I found on there in the short time I was searching.
 
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