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

[MrKnickerbocker]

I understand different tastes and everything like that, but the constant dogging on Mark The Shark Shelton’s voice irks me. They’re not bad, I in fact find them great. I just don’t like seeing one of the greatest underground legends in heavy metal being dragged for anything. I’m connected to a lot of music on an emotional level, and there’s not many deaths that have hit me as hard as Shelton’s did. I don’t know, I know this isn’t the place for proper discussions on heavy metal and there’s a lot of bias on every side, but I wish you all would show him more respect.

Things I did not know before this post:

- Manilla Road’s lead singer passed way.
- He called himself “The Shark”.

I think the vocal melodies in Necropolis are great, but it’s ok to criticize flaws. The performer being deceased doesn’t change my opinion, but glad it works for some people. Clearly, people have very strong emotional ties to Manilla Road and I’m sure he was a big part of that. I just don’t get it.

 

[LooseCannon]

I guess we can't decide which Anthrax song we like most, so they'll split the game points in a tie. There's just no one like you, even at the witching hour, notes Scorpions. I guess Alice Cooper's nightmare is a German angel, absolutely not nominated by Perun. Rammstein. Led Zeppelin's black dog took down an entire god of thunder, wow! Speed kings and zombies are apparently a perfect standoff, as we have a tie. Opeth is the heir apparent to the entire necropolis.

---

Part II, Round 2, Matches 52-57​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 52​	Doctor Doctor Division​
Black Sabbath - The Wizard	vs.​	Evoken - Antithesis of Light​
Popoff 500, Best Music Art 100	Nominators​	@Diesel 11​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 53​	Heaven Can Wait Division​
Avenged Sevenfold - Hail to the King	vs.​	Warlord - Deliver Us From Evil (1983 EP Version)​
Youtube 50, Best Music Art 100	Nominators​	@Perun (for real this time)​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 54​	22 Acacia Avenue Division​
Blue Öyster Cult - Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll	vs.​	Amon Amarth - Embrace the Endless Ocean​
Popoff 500 @Stardust	Nominators​	@Night Prowler​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 55​	Rod Smallwood Division​
Deep Purple - Space Truckin'	vs.​	Riot - Outlaw​
Popoff 500, 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​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 56​	Futureal Division​
Skid Row - Youth Gone Wild	vs.​	Candlemass - Demon's Gate​
Popoff 500, Rolling Stone 100 @The Sentient	Nominators​	@Confeos​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 57​	Dave Murray Division​
Skid Row - Slave to the Grind	vs.​	Devin Townsend - Earth Day​
Popoff 500, VH1 40	Nominators​	@Mosh​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

 

[Diesel 11]

Evoken is back! “The Wizard” is a great early Sabbath song but I don’t think it’s one of those that belongs in the game per se. Bring out the funeral doom heads like last time and help me spread darkness across the forum.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

The Wizard begins with a lengthy harmonica intro and, as such, should be disqualified. Also, it’s just not a very good song. Ozzy sounds tentative as hell and it’s a complete tonal whiplash from the superb, genre-breaking album opener. Antithesis of Light wears out its welcome very, very quickly, but its at least metal as hell. I’m a bit bored with it, but still an easy vote over a Sabbath song that doesn’t belong.

Hail To The King just makes me mad. It sounds like the definition of pandering. Avenged Sevenfold are aping AC/DC, aping Metallica, and many more…all while doing a real shit job at it. M. Shadows has the most infuriatingly annoying voice in heavy metal. At least the guitar solo is good? Warlord is quite wonky, with subpar production, but it is light years more interesting. The way that intro builds is really cool. The chorus is also catchy as hell, despite the whole thing sounding twee. Honestly, this might be one of the catchiest songs in this game, it’s just hampered by really dated production and slightly gutless vocals. Overall, great tune and way more fun than A7X.

Blue Oyster Cult bring their typical cool guitar work, twisty songwriting, and tempered vocal delivery to another solid slab of hard rock with a tinge of prog. The vocals feel a bit flat in places, though. That angular, stabbing riff that leads the verses of Embrace Of The Endless Ocean immediately steals my vote, though. Amon Amarth aren’t one of my favorite bands, but when they’re on fire they burn the whole fucking city down. Scope and power are the keys to this track, which legitimately feels like a voyage into Valhalla.

Deep Purple are a contentious band for me. I enjoy some of their songs, Space Truckin’ of course is a classic, but, also…it’s just blues played by good musicians. I find nothing distinctive in the majority of their music. Eh, anyway. Space Truckin’ is a classic for a reason, but I think I'm having more fun with Outlaw. The Riot song has a lot of pep and is really joyous. That said, the ending of each song pushes me back towards Deep Purple. I’ll take Ian Gillan wailing over the lame, mutest speaking in Spanish (possibly as a joke? no thanks). Space Truckin’ takes a win despite my reservations.

Youth Gone Wild is a hair metal masterpiece. Every vocal is infectiously catchy, it’s got a gang chant chorus, and the production is nice and roomy. The ending gets quite a bit annoying with the chanting. Demons Gate is goofy as all hell, but also epically dark and spooky like a backyard haunted house on Halloween owned by a guy who takes the holiday very seriously. In terms of pure craftsmanship, I don’t think I could argue that Candlemass have written a better song than Skid Row here, but I enjoy the journey more than the fleeting cheese. Demons Gate it is.

Plus, here’s the superior Skid Row song! I absolutely love this song (and album). Skid Row quickly pulled themselves out of being a pure hair metal band and always had a bit more credibility (IMO) for it. Slave To The Grind has such energy and Sebastian Bach really was a force back in his prime. I played this song three times in a row just now instead of listening to EATYOURBEETSRE-CY CLEITSYOURBIRTHDAYITSAWAYITSAWAY! even once. You got me once, but never again, Devin!

 

[Jer]

"The Wizard" spends a fair amount of its time as harmonica-laden blues rock, and the heavier vocal breaks are decidedly uninspiring, both in terms of melody and performance. The song doesn't really go anywhere, either. "Antithesis Of Light" is soft and doomy for sure. I could do without the Cookie Monster vocals, but at least they're low in the mix and not actively shoveling the contents of the guy's stomach onto my ear drums. Lots of repetition here, probably only one new musical idea per minute on average, if I'm being generous. They're generally good ideas, and pleasantly melodic aside from the vocals; but I'd prefer to either hear more of them, or hear the same number over a significantly shorter period of time. Not a fan of either track, but congratulations @Diesel 11, I'll break in favor of the MaidenFans nominee here. Winner: Evoken - "Antithesis Of Light"

"Hail To The King" has pretty good guitar work with some nice neoclassical undercurrents, and the singer sounds less annoying than usual for Avenged Sevenfold. The verse and pre-chorus are decent, but the chorus really blows. "Deliver Us From Evil" has a nice medieval acoustic intro and a solid Celtic-flavored main riff. The singer is fine, though the vocal phrasing is pretty bad, and I'm not really on board with the nursery rhyme lyrics. The drumming is great, as expected from Zonder, and I like the extended solo a lot too. Both songs are merely OK overall, but anti-A7X bias and pro-MaidenFan bias leads me to vote for @Perun's nominee here. Winner: Warlord - "Deliver Us From Evil"

"Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll" comes off like a lamer, less punchy version of "Godzilla" to me. It's fine, I guess, though the chorus isn't my cup of tea. The instrumental bit toward the end is a bit more interesting. "Embrace The Endless Ocean" has a nice tapped intro that flows into a similar evolving riff. The vocals are awful Cookie Monster garbage, but I like the melodic guitar leads. Great atmosphere in general. If this song had clean vocals I'd probably like it a lot, but alas, it doesn't. And yet it drew a pretty weak competitor, so sorry @Stardust, but @Night Prowler's nominee once again surmounts the Muppet tax to pull this one out. Winner: Amon Amarth - "Embrace The Endless Ocean"

"Space Truckin'" has an OK riff, but some of the stupidest lyrics I've ever heard. The chorus sucks, too. The instrumental section is alright, but most of this is a mess. "Outlaw" has a cool intro and some great flavor work behind the main riff. I like the energy here, and the singer's good. The vocal lines are pretty solid but not great. The chorus has a 70s feel that seems a little out of place. The harmonized guitar parts are nice, if a bit straightforward, and the solo is very good. Not sure how I feel about all the spoken word stuff near the end. A pretty good song overall, and that's more than enough to win this match-up handily. Winner: Riot - "Outlaw"

"Youth Gone Wild" is a great little commercial hard rock song. Great vocal lines, strong riffage and solos, and even the group vocals don't quite grate. Thumbs up for the classic vocal + drum breakdown, too. "Demon's Gate" has some silly tone-shifted vocals in the intro, but builds nice atmosphere afterward. I'm not sure the wimpy bass sound is a good fit here, but the guitar tone is strong and the singer sounds pretty good. The vocal lines are pretty memorable, and the song generally changes things up right around the time the repetition is starting to get noticeably stale. The eastern interlude is pretty good and I like the solo. Starting to check the clock around the six and a half minute mark, though, because there aren't really enough musical ideas here to justify the run time. Not bad, but not great. Sorry, @Confeos, but I prefer @The Sentient's nominee here. Winner: Skid Row - "Youth Gone Wild"

"Slave To The Grind" is refreshingly metallic for Skid Row, though the verses don't hold together very well and the pre-chorus and chorus aren't the best. The solo is decent, but short. Hmm, that song doesn't really hold up after not listening to it for a long time. "Earth Day" is bombastic and airy, and has lots of memorable melodies and harmonies. It also gets annoyingly screamy in places, has pretty dopey lyrics, and is drawn out way too long. Thankfully, it avoids most of the carnival music tropes that Townsend often descends into, and it's still a good song overall -- and congratulations, @Mosh, that's enough to beat out a weak competitor. Winner: Devin Townsend - "Earth Day"

 

[____no5]

A few words for the winners:

1. Black Sabbath - The Wizard, one of my best metal songs and the first ever (?) featuring a harmonica. Feels fresh 50 years later.
2. Warlord - Deliver Us From Evil (1983 EP Version) The only song that could lost against is Black Mass also from Warlord, so...
3. Amon Amarth - Embrace the Endless Ocean. Link could not open. Thankfully I had NP's playlist on my Apple Music. Wonderful song. By the way it was this time last year that NP gave me his list. I know because I am planning to spend 2 weeks in the same place in Thailand I was listening to his Playlist last year and memories came as it happens with memories.
4. Deep Purple - Space Truckin' Very lively energy. This pure energy won this round. Difficult to be beaten by Riot yet it was a closer call that I would have thought
5. Candlemass - Demon's Gate. 9 minutes epic from the best Doom Metal album ever. Powerful stuff, it gives the chills.
6. Skid Row - Slave to the Grind. Another classic and ultra heavy Skid Row. Huge!

A few word for the loosers:

1. Evoken - Antithesis of Light. Link couldn't open, lost by default, but in any case Wizard's card to be beaten.
2. Avenged Sevenfold - Hail to the King Quite a great song but all 12 1980s Warlord songs are all but sacred to me
3. Blue Öyster Cult - Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll Quite mystic sound, production not the best ever but still...
4. Riot - Outlaw. Not bad at all, a good contender for one of the best bands /albums ever and that says something. PS: Isn't that cover the best ever by @srfc ?
5. Skid Row - Youth Gone Wild Classic 80s anthem. Nostalgia at its best. Normally it should be a winner, but Candlemass and Demon's Gate are too good and beloved.
6. Devin Townsend - Earth Day. Link couldn't open, lost by default though I doubt it would have beaten Slave to the Grind.

 

[Confeos]

Black Sabbath. Listened to "The Wizard" on the way to work this morning, and it's been stuck in my head since. You can never go wrong with early Sabbath. Evoken is good musically; I just wish they had clean vocals instead.

Warlord. "Hail to the King" is one of the few Avenged Sevenfold that I genuinely like, and I think it speaks volumes about their other stuff that I actually prefer them when they're basically ripping off other bands. Still, Warlord's tune is much more interesting and engaging, so I gotta vote for them.

Amon Amarth. Not blown away by "Embrace the Endless Ocean", I think they have better songs, but it does come out on top against an overall weaker BÖC offering here (I do like the instrumental bits, though).

Deep Purple. Purple is one of my all-time favourite bands. "Space Truckin'" is nowhere near one of my favourite songs, but the magic combo of Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice is still enough to beat the somewhat forgettable opposition here.

Candlemass. I guess you could say that this is the battle of the young, handsome hero versus the huge, evil monster. Usually the hero prevails, but not here - "Demons Gate" is top-tier doom metal without any flaws or weaknesses, and it swallows Skid Row whole. "Youth Gone Wild" is a great track, though, and I expect it to go far.

In the last match, I'm very indifferent to both songs. Neither quite leaves an impression on me; Skid Row's tune is nowhere near the quality of "Youth Gone Wild", and even if Devin's usual madness is a bit more subdued here, I will probably never be a big fan of his. Eh... Devin, because he's currently losing, I guess.

 

[Shmoolikipod]

Antithesis of Light is just more tense and engaging. I love all the rhythmic stuff about it, they let me build a story in my head. Great tones. The Wizard wasn't bad, cool bass and classic Sabbath guitar, but the main selling point here is definitely the harmonica melody and it wasn't enough to make it more than a good BS song.

Hail to the King is melodic and probably a crowd pleaser, but too much an imitation of traditional melodic metal with not great vocals and less substance. Look, Deliver Us From Evil even has the trademark tapping from HttK! Much more passionate and interesting, even with the children's song melodies. Agree with Mrknickerbocker that this is one of the catchiest songs we've had.

Interesting fuzzy tone. Easily comparable to The Wizard, you could tell me the verses were Sabbath and I'd believe you. Even more bluesy though, subdued at times, happy at others, the solos are fantastic. Darn, this is going to be another genre-vote. Embrace the Endless Ocean just melodeaths all over it. It's massive, maybe less thoughtful than BOC but who needs that when you can fill the frequency range with guitars? Bonus points for the verse riff. Not brilliant but it steals the vote.

Both of these are very catchy energetic numbers, I'll have to go with the fabulous album cover. No time for the other songs, but I doubt Skid Row will win either match for me. Demon's Gate is a classic from an album I'm really digging lately. Earth Day is one of Devin's better songs, slow moving, almost intentionally annoying, and still very memorable. Looks like everyone here is convinced Devin only makes music about selling cheeseburgers and beets at a circus. Oopsie.

 

[srfc]

ah shite I missed the end of this, I had most of it drafted anyway so might as well post it

Black Sabbath - The Wizard vs. Evoken - Antithesis of Light
The Wizard is a Heavy Metal classic. Evoken, I lasted a few minutes out of politeness to @Diesel 11. The Wizard

Avenged Sevenfold - Hail to the King vs. Warlord - Deliver Us From Evil (1983 EP Version)
Hail to the King was alright, I'm not going to rush out and buy anything from them afterwards, but it's the best track they've ever had in either of the games on here. The pre-chorus is Hells Bells though. Deliver Us from Evil is a pretty decent NWOBHM-style track. Deliver Us From Evil (1983 EP Version)

Blue Öyster Cult - Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll vs. Amon Amarth - Embrace the Endless Ocean
Cities on Flame With Rock N Roll is not my favourite BOC track but I still like it, it might also be the first time a song has appeared in the same round as the song it rips off (The Wizard). Amon Amarth was pretty damn good, and even though it was at the more accessible end of growling (i.e. you can actually hear words) it still is no substitute for a real singer. Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll

Deep Purple - Space Truckin' vs. Riot - Outlaw
Outlaw was pretty good, very early Def Leppard vibe off it, and I keep meaning to check out more of Riot as I always like what I hear. Space Truckin' is much better though Space Truckin'

Skid Row - Youth Gone Wild vs. Candlemass - Demon's Gate
Apart from the iffy voice over parts and the awkward bass bit in the middle, Demon's Gate was great and again I've been meaning to check out that album for a long time and I really must do it. But Youth Gone Wild is better Youth Gone Wild

Skid Row - Slave to the Grind vs. Devin Townsend - Earth Day
Slave to the Grind is a great track off a great album. Earth Day didn't interest me, not a lot musically happening in the long run time and little of it to my personal tastes, also very over produced. Slave to the Grind

 

[srfc]

the first ever (?) featuring a harmonica.

I'd say there's good odds of that, as it's the second track on the first ever Heavy Metal album

 

[____no5]

I'd say there's good odds of that, as it's the second track on the first ever Heavy Metal album

There were heavy metal songs before that though, not albums; songs. In A Gadda Da Vida is a metal song for one, or Purple Haze*, Helter Skelter, 21st Century Schizoid Man etc... Even Green Manalishi now that I think of it.

Anyway, there's a good chance being the first and up to this day one of the few featuring a harmonica. (I can't recall any actually)

*The term "heavy metal" comes from the sound of Hendrix's guitar, let's not forget that.

 

[srfc]

I was just being a smart arse there

Is Led Zep 2 a metal album? I would definitely consider it as falling under the umbrella. There's harmonica in Bring It On Home

 

[____no5]

I was just being a smart arse there

Hahah yes, but it was accurate and I actually liked your comment!

Is Led Zep 2 a metal album? I would definitely consider it as falling under the umbrella. There's harmonica in Bring It On Home

With metal elements for sure! Good notice about Bring It On Home!

 

[LooseCannon]

It looks like Black (Sabbath) is the antithesis of light. Warlord has delivered the king from evil. What should you do when your cities are on flame? Embrace (of) the endless ocean. Amon Amarth. Deep Purple's space truckin' has no room for outlaws. Candlemass has closed the demon's gate on the youth going wild. And finally, Devin Townsend wants to recycle, but we're all just slaves to the grind. Skid Row.

---

Part II, Round 2, Matches 58-63​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 58​	The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg Division​
Slipknot - Wait and Bleed	vs.​	Ozzy Osbourne - Suicide Solution​
Popoff 500, 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 2	Match 59​	The Clansman Division​
KISS - Rock and Roll All Nite	vs.​	Sonata Arctica - White Pearl, Black Oceans​
Popoff 500, Radio EHS 100	Nominators​	@Spambot​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Group Stage - Round 2	Match 60​	Different World Division​
Deep Purple - Child in Time	vs.​	Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers​
Popoff 500, Radio EHS 100	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 2	Match 61​	En Vivo Division​
Metallica - Disposable Heroes	vs.​	Iggy and the Stooges - Search and Destroy​
Popoff 500 @Diesel 11	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 2	Match 62​	Phantom of the Opera Division​
Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love	vs.​	White Zombie - More Human Than Human​
Popoff 500, Radio EHS 100	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 2	Match 63​	Still Life Division​
Led Zeppelin - Achilles Last Stand	vs.​	Armored Saint - Warzone​
Popoff 500 @Stardust	Nominators​	@MrKnickerbocker​
0-0-0, 0 pts, +0	Record​	0-0-0, 0 pts, +0​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

 

[Diesel 11]

@LooseCannon I didn’t nominate “Suicide Solution”. Good song though.

 

[LooseCannon]

@LooseCannon I didn’t nominate “Suicide Solution”. Good song though.

not sure what you're talking about.

 

[Diesel 11]

Gaslighting is real on MaidenFans.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

I don’t enjoy this Slipknot song and I don’t enjoy this Ozzy song. Generally, I’d vote for Ozzy in something like this, but his performance is terrible here (especially those echoed lines at the end) and the instrumental does not mesh with the lyrics at all. You’ve got lyrics about suicide and the reaper, yet the music sounds like shopping at the mall for a new purse. Wait And Bleed at least achieves what it is trying to do, however lame that is.

There’s a lot of flaws in White Pearl, Black Oceans, but it’s not a song about “rocking and rolling all night” and, more importantly, it’s not Kiss.

Child In Time has pretty great dynamics, but it’s also way too long. It goes off on a massive blues/rock jam tangent and then settles back down…just to repeat the first part of the song with more falsettos. It’s cool, sure, but Purple continues to whelm me. Perfect Strangers, however, is boring as hell with the exception of that riff in the middle (and outro). It’s pointless, otherwise. I guess Child In Time.

A thrash titan from one of the greatest metal albums of all time, Disposable Heroes pummels your ears from the jump and never lets up for 8 minutes. It’s not my favorite Metallica song, but it’s still awesome. The Stooges do not belong here.

Whole Lotta Love has a classic blues riff, but it’s also a pretty annoying song. Those sound effects are grating and Plant is at his most obnoxious. Speaking of annoying: the two minutes of bongos and orgasms can die a cold, cold death. More Human Than Human once again draws lucky here and wins for me (despite also having too much orgasm audio).

Achilles Last Stand has really cool music, I cannot deny. It’s got the gallop that inspired our favorite band, I get it. That said, I still find half of Plant’s vocals to be pretty ill-suited to the song (and again with the orgasming shit). I know it has zero chance here, but Warzone is such a groovy, kickass tune! Of course, I’m biased with Armored Saint, but I have more fun listening to this three-and-a-half minute banger than the nearly eleven minute Zeppelin ramble.