I voted the exact same as Mindruler, apparently!
The Greatest Metal Song Cup - Part II, Round 4, Matches 82-87
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Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
It is now!
DJ James
A coma stole my name.
Rather begrudgingly voted for Trivium in the first matchup. Doctor Smoke was kinda cool but I didn't like the vocals. They were a little too filtered and sterile for me. Trivium actually had some parts of that song that had me nodding my head. It's just a shame bands like Trivium are so insistent on doing those clean vocals and harmonies over their choruses, just sounds so bad constantly switching up the vocals. I didn't mind the tough guy shout-y vocals from Trivium. if they did that the whole song, I wouldn't liked it a lot more. Really not as bad of a song as I was expecting from Trivium.
2nd matchup rules, Rocket Queen probably my 2nd favorite GnR song behind It's So Easy. That Motley Crue song is great and I like those first two Crue albums quite a bit. Love is actually my favorite Cult album, but I'm not that big of a Cult guy, good band and good song though. Guns N Roses ultimately.
2nd matchup rules, Rocket Queen probably my 2nd favorite GnR song behind It's So Easy. That Motley Crue song is great and I like those first two Crue albums quite a bit. Love is actually my favorite Cult album, but I'm not that big of a Cult guy, good band and good song though. Guns N Roses ultimately.
Jer
'Til Tomorrow
I nominated "Been Here Forever" from Doctor Smoke's Dreamers And The Dead, which was my #2 album of 2021, but I could have just as easily nominated 5 other songs from that album that are equally good. Complex exotic riffage, catchy vocal lines, great solos, and wonderfully creepy occult lyrics. Love it. "Down From The Sky" has a nice initial buildup, but then slips into boring shouty stuff before breaking into an incongruously melodic and catchy chorus. I agree with @DJ James that they should just pick a side and stay on it. The solo is also ear-splitting in a bad way. Yeah, this one's no contest, even without considering own-nominee bias. Winner: Doctor Smoke - "Been Here Forever"
"Rocket Queen" is one of those songs that many people really seem to love, but I've always found it to be drawn out and mediocre. The verse and chorus only have about a half a hook each, the song doesn't sound sultry at all, and the sex noises in the background are cringe-inducing. The beginning of the brighter section around the 3/4 mark is a little more memorable, but then it quickly lapses back into mediocrity. No thanks. "She Sells Sanctuary" has great atmosphere and a bright, catchy groove, but it ultimately doesn't go anywhere as a song -- it just sits there in that groove and repeats itself, aside from a brief interlude later on. I'm not really a fan of the singer, either. "Too Young To Fall In Love" has a sinister groove and great vocal lines throughout. Love that dangling melody at the end of the chorus. The solo has some cool eastern elements (though the playing's a little rougher than I'd like), and the reversal of the drum beat in the interlude between the solo and the following verse is killer. This is the song that really made Mötley Crüe blow up in the music scene, and for good reason. Again, another easy choice for me, even before applying own-nominee bias. Winner: Mötley Crüe - "Too Young To Fall In Love"
"Needled 24/7" has good energy and enjoyable guitars. The synths run the gamut from cool, to cheesy, to retro orchestra hits that belong back in the 80s. The vocals are terrible, of course. The solos are pretty cool, with some nice rhythmic change-ups. When you think about it, this is really just an extra cheesy power metal track with black metal vocals on top, and it's reasonably good for what it is. "Slaughter Of The Soul" is packed with cool riffs, though the solo and interlude aren't quite on the same level. Like its competitor, the vocals are terrible, and it's not as dynamic as the Children Of Bodom track. I don't know, this feels like a pretty even match-up to me, so I guess I'll break the tie in favor of the MaidenFans nominator, @KiDDo, rather than a list. Winner: Children Of Bodom - "Needled 24/7"
"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. "Wintermute" has much worse vocals and production, and the guitars were pretty boring at first, but got a lot better during the more atmospheric harmonized bits. OK, now the guy is barking like an ape and I'm checking the clock -- aw, fuck, there's more than 5 minutes left. Y'know, when it's just the drony guitar leads with an active bass line it sounds pretty solid, but then all this other shit gets stirred in and my brain checks out. Sorry @Magnus, but I just can't get into this at all, so the list nominee takes it by default. Winner: Celtic Frost - "Procreation (Of The Wicked)"
"Fall Of Man" has a nice piano and marching drum intro that flows into a creepy, synthy waltz. Then, just as I'm getting interested, Gollum starts cackling for his precious. At least the vocal parts are brief, and the interludes are nice, including some neoclassical runs and harmonized vocals later on, and a pretty sweet ending solo. Why couldn't this have just been cackle-free? "Amazonia" offers the heaviest groove built around a mouth harp that I've ever heard, then we get caustic but just barely melodic vocals. The throat singing later on is actually pretty cool, and the clean singing part is nice. Hmm, I think this is the first Gojira song I've heard that I've actually enjoyed. Wow, I really thought I'd be throwing @Magnus a bone here on the strength of the music, but @Spambot's nominee was way better than I expected it to be, so I'm going to have to go the other way. Sorry, @Magnus. Winner: Gojira - "Amazonia"
I think I only like two Stone Temple Pilots songs, and "Plush" is one of them. It was overplayed to hell in its day, and I don't think it's a great song, but it's a very good one. Solid groove, nice hooks. "Rusty Cage" is a more interesting song musically, but a less enjoyable one. The odd rhythm is cool, but the chorus is a mess, and I have mixed feelings about the complex song structure with the false stops. Soundgarden never fully clicked with me, and this song is a good example of why, I think. A confident call for @Diesel 11's nominee here. Winner: Stone Temple Pilots - "Plush"
"Rocket Queen" is one of those songs that many people really seem to love, but I've always found it to be drawn out and mediocre. The verse and chorus only have about a half a hook each, the song doesn't sound sultry at all, and the sex noises in the background are cringe-inducing. The beginning of the brighter section around the 3/4 mark is a little more memorable, but then it quickly lapses back into mediocrity. No thanks. "She Sells Sanctuary" has great atmosphere and a bright, catchy groove, but it ultimately doesn't go anywhere as a song -- it just sits there in that groove and repeats itself, aside from a brief interlude later on. I'm not really a fan of the singer, either. "Too Young To Fall In Love" has a sinister groove and great vocal lines throughout. Love that dangling melody at the end of the chorus. The solo has some cool eastern elements (though the playing's a little rougher than I'd like), and the reversal of the drum beat in the interlude between the solo and the following verse is killer. This is the song that really made Mötley Crüe blow up in the music scene, and for good reason. Again, another easy choice for me, even before applying own-nominee bias. Winner: Mötley Crüe - "Too Young To Fall In Love"
"Needled 24/7" has good energy and enjoyable guitars. The synths run the gamut from cool, to cheesy, to retro orchestra hits that belong back in the 80s. The vocals are terrible, of course. The solos are pretty cool, with some nice rhythmic change-ups. When you think about it, this is really just an extra cheesy power metal track with black metal vocals on top, and it's reasonably good for what it is. "Slaughter Of The Soul" is packed with cool riffs, though the solo and interlude aren't quite on the same level. Like its competitor, the vocals are terrible, and it's not as dynamic as the Children Of Bodom track. I don't know, this feels like a pretty even match-up to me, so I guess I'll break the tie in favor of the MaidenFans nominator, @KiDDo, rather than a list. Winner: Children Of Bodom - "Needled 24/7"
"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. "Wintermute" has much worse vocals and production, and the guitars were pretty boring at first, but got a lot better during the more atmospheric harmonized bits. OK, now the guy is barking like an ape and I'm checking the clock -- aw, fuck, there's more than 5 minutes left. Y'know, when it's just the drony guitar leads with an active bass line it sounds pretty solid, but then all this other shit gets stirred in and my brain checks out. Sorry @Magnus, but I just can't get into this at all, so the list nominee takes it by default. Winner: Celtic Frost - "Procreation (Of The Wicked)"
"Fall Of Man" has a nice piano and marching drum intro that flows into a creepy, synthy waltz. Then, just as I'm getting interested, Gollum starts cackling for his precious. At least the vocal parts are brief, and the interludes are nice, including some neoclassical runs and harmonized vocals later on, and a pretty sweet ending solo. Why couldn't this have just been cackle-free? "Amazonia" offers the heaviest groove built around a mouth harp that I've ever heard, then we get caustic but just barely melodic vocals. The throat singing later on is actually pretty cool, and the clean singing part is nice. Hmm, I think this is the first Gojira song I've heard that I've actually enjoyed. Wow, I really thought I'd be throwing @Magnus a bone here on the strength of the music, but @Spambot's nominee was way better than I expected it to be, so I'm going to have to go the other way. Sorry, @Magnus. Winner: Gojira - "Amazonia"
I think I only like two Stone Temple Pilots songs, and "Plush" is one of them. It was overplayed to hell in its day, and I don't think it's a great song, but it's a very good one. Solid groove, nice hooks. "Rusty Cage" is a more interesting song musically, but a less enjoyable one. The odd rhythm is cool, but the chorus is a mess, and I have mixed feelings about the complex song structure with the false stops. Soundgarden never fully clicked with me, and this song is a good example of why, I think. A confident call for @Diesel 11's nominee here. Winner: Stone Temple Pilots - "Plush"
Spambot
Meme Lord
Match 85
When I saw a band named Doctor Smoke I imagined some 80s glam metal where only one guy had some talent and that's because he went to music school when he was a kid, two guys who use music to score chicks, one guys who just wants to move away from his parents and that fifth guy always stuck around so they gave him a bass guitar. But all five of them are just looking to get some smack and booze. And I was wrong. Might actually come back to this one. And they get my vote. Also, Trivium doesn't deserve hate it usually gets (at least that was the case long time ago when they used to open for Maiden. People in the audience hated Matt Heafy so much you thought he was Fred Durst.)
Match 86
Motley Crue is an instant NO. The Cult is kind of weird choice here. And then there's Rocket Queen which I really like when I was into Appetite but that ending always bugged me. Those two last minutes is such an unexpected change of mood, I still think it's too much. Yes, later they had a lot more songs in this vein, but they were much better constructed. This feels like completely two different songs put together. Still a vote for Gn'R.
Match 87
I can't believe I didn't nominate Slaughter of the Soul. I thought this was my nomination and got surprised to see when it wasn't. At The Gates is one of the first bands with "non-clean" vocals that I got into. Also, I never understood obsession with Children of Bodom (it seemed to me that every other metalhead during my teens years had Children of Bodom shirt). Obvious vote for At The Gates.
Match 88
Ah man, if I wrote what I really think about Wintermute, Magnus is gonna block me. Why were they outside of the studio when they recorded this? You know when you go to a gig and wait outside and hear the band doing soundcheck inside? That's this song, they nailed it. Everything is muffled, you can hear a glimpse of vocal but that snare drum keeps piercing through the wall. Speaking of vocal, it doesn't got a lot going for it until it does. At 2-3 minute mark he starts that laugh or something simillar. TBH, that is what kept me going for the rest of these 8 minutes: What is he going to do next? When the song ended I was so confused that I didn't know should I cut that laugh from the song and put it as my ringtone or should I put worst 5FDP record to wash my ears out.
Match 89
I didn't nominate Slaughter of the Soul but I nominated this. I have no idea why. Must be listening to it around the time when I sent my list. Gojira isn't even in my top 25 bands. I should've really put more time (or effort) into compiling my lists. I had a rule that every song should be from different artist and no hard-rock stuff. And I stuck to the rule. Now, not only that are those 25 songs best of what I think what metal can offer, nor are these my favorite 25 songs, nor do I think that somebody will discover something new from my list. Complete clusteru**. Still way better song than the other one who found a cool piano bit and decided to stretch it for six minutes. Gojira
Match 90
What is this, GTA: San Andreas match-up? Voted for Soundgarden because running over people with a car while doing drive-by while being chased by police helicopter sound much better with Rusty Cage in background.
When I saw a band named Doctor Smoke I imagined some 80s glam metal where only one guy had some talent and that's because he went to music school when he was a kid, two guys who use music to score chicks, one guys who just wants to move away from his parents and that fifth guy always stuck around so they gave him a bass guitar. But all five of them are just looking to get some smack and booze. And I was wrong. Might actually come back to this one. And they get my vote. Also, Trivium doesn't deserve hate it usually gets (at least that was the case long time ago when they used to open for Maiden. People in the audience hated Matt Heafy so much you thought he was Fred Durst.)
Match 86
Motley Crue is an instant NO. The Cult is kind of weird choice here. And then there's Rocket Queen which I really like when I was into Appetite but that ending always bugged me. Those two last minutes is such an unexpected change of mood, I still think it's too much. Yes, later they had a lot more songs in this vein, but they were much better constructed. This feels like completely two different songs put together. Still a vote for Gn'R.
Match 87
I can't believe I didn't nominate Slaughter of the Soul. I thought this was my nomination and got surprised to see when it wasn't. At The Gates is one of the first bands with "non-clean" vocals that I got into. Also, I never understood obsession with Children of Bodom (it seemed to me that every other metalhead during my teens years had Children of Bodom shirt). Obvious vote for At The Gates.
Match 88
Ah man, if I wrote what I really think about Wintermute, Magnus is gonna block me. Why were they outside of the studio when they recorded this? You know when you go to a gig and wait outside and hear the band doing soundcheck inside? That's this song, they nailed it. Everything is muffled, you can hear a glimpse of vocal but that snare drum keeps piercing through the wall. Speaking of vocal, it doesn't got a lot going for it until it does. At 2-3 minute mark he starts that laugh or something simillar. TBH, that is what kept me going for the rest of these 8 minutes: What is he going to do next? When the song ended I was so confused that I didn't know should I cut that laugh from the song and put it as my ringtone or should I put worst 5FDP record to wash my ears out.
Match 89
I didn't nominate Slaughter of the Soul but I nominated this. I have no idea why. Must be listening to it around the time when I sent my list. Gojira isn't even in my top 25 bands. I should've really put more time (or effort) into compiling my lists. I had a rule that every song should be from different artist and no hard-rock stuff. And I stuck to the rule. Now, not only that are those 25 songs best of what I think what metal can offer, nor are these my favorite 25 songs, nor do I think that somebody will discover something new from my list. Complete clusteru**. Still way better song than the other one who found a cool piano bit and decided to stretch it for six minutes. Gojira
Match 90
What is this, GTA: San Andreas match-up? Voted for Soundgarden because running over people with a car while doing drive-by while being chased by police helicopter sound much better with Rusty Cage in background.
Confeos
Game time started.
"Been Here Forever" was not what I expected, in a good way. Nice riffing and an overall feel that reminds me of some later Mastodon. I will probably check out some more Dr. Smoke.
I really like Trivium, but lost interest in them for a number of years when they put out a couple of mediocre albums (Silence in the Snow, The Sin and the Sentence). However, their latest album, In the Court of the Dragon, is amazing all the way through and what I consider a return to form. I really recommend that one. Shogun is obviously hailed by most as their best album, even if it's not my favourite, and "Down From the Sky" is pretty good. It's a close call, but I'm going with Trivium here.
I don't care for either of three next songs. "Rocket Queen" is one of the lesser tracks on Appetite in my opinion, and not that memorable. I don't really see what The Cure is doing here. I guess "Too Young to Fall in Love" is the most metal song of these three, but Mötley Crüe can fuck off. I wanna vote for something, so it's gonna be Guns n' Roses.
"Needled 24/7" is a great offering from Children of Bodom, featuring Alexi Laiho at his shreddin' best. I love the solos in this song. "Slaughter of the Soul" is not nearly as engaging or exciting, and simply can't compare. Children of Bodom.
"Procreation (of the Wicked)" sounds like a band trying to find their footing without quite being there yet. There's potential, and Celtic Frost obviously put out much stronger material later, but this isn't that great. However, they're still gonna get my vote over Bethlehem - "Wintermute" has to be most lo-fi sounding song I've ever heard, and I'm usually not too bothered with that, but the music really suffers from it here. And it's a shame, because I think there are some decent ideas found buried somewhere in there. Celtic Frost.
In contrast, Arcturus is absolutely stellar. "Fall of Man" has an amazing mood, and I love both the keys and choirs. Great stuff. Gojira didn't do much for me - "Amazonia" has some interesting rhythmic stuff going on at times, but I'm not keen on the song as a whole. Clear vote for Arcturus here.
Damn, "Plush" is boring. It plods, it's uninteresting and it feels like it goes on and on and on. Soundgarden are massively overrated, but "Rusty Cage" is the better song here, even if I'd much rather have Dr. Smoke progress over either of these if I could. Soundgarden - but only reluctantly.
I really like Trivium, but lost interest in them for a number of years when they put out a couple of mediocre albums (Silence in the Snow, The Sin and the Sentence). However, their latest album, In the Court of the Dragon, is amazing all the way through and what I consider a return to form. I really recommend that one. Shogun is obviously hailed by most as their best album, even if it's not my favourite, and "Down From the Sky" is pretty good. It's a close call, but I'm going with Trivium here.
I don't care for either of three next songs. "Rocket Queen" is one of the lesser tracks on Appetite in my opinion, and not that memorable. I don't really see what The Cure is doing here. I guess "Too Young to Fall in Love" is the most metal song of these three, but Mötley Crüe can fuck off. I wanna vote for something, so it's gonna be Guns n' Roses.
"Needled 24/7" is a great offering from Children of Bodom, featuring Alexi Laiho at his shreddin' best. I love the solos in this song. "Slaughter of the Soul" is not nearly as engaging or exciting, and simply can't compare. Children of Bodom.
"Procreation (of the Wicked)" sounds like a band trying to find their footing without quite being there yet. There's potential, and Celtic Frost obviously put out much stronger material later, but this isn't that great. However, they're still gonna get my vote over Bethlehem - "Wintermute" has to be most lo-fi sounding song I've ever heard, and I'm usually not too bothered with that, but the music really suffers from it here. And it's a shame, because I think there are some decent ideas found buried somewhere in there. Celtic Frost.
In contrast, Arcturus is absolutely stellar. "Fall of Man" has an amazing mood, and I love both the keys and choirs. Great stuff. Gojira didn't do much for me - "Amazonia" has some interesting rhythmic stuff going on at times, but I'm not keen on the song as a whole. Clear vote for Arcturus here.
Damn, "Plush" is boring. It plods, it's uninteresting and it feels like it goes on and on and on. Soundgarden are massively overrated, but "Rusty Cage" is the better song here, even if I'd much rather have Dr. Smoke progress over either of these if I could. Soundgarden - but only reluctantly.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Doctor Smoke - whoa! I found this album last year and was so pleasantly surprised. It stayed in my rotation for almost the whole year. Really great stuff that draws on a ton of various influences - I hear Ghost in the vocals, Megadeth in the twistiness of the riffs, and a ton of other layers, too. The chorus is catchy as hell. The rest of the album is equally awesome, BTW. Trivium have a lot going for them: solid riffs, great production, decent songwriting…but something about them has just never really clicked with me. But, this is a good song. Matt Heafy is a cool guy and he can certainly craft some catchy melodies and crunchy riffs. I love the chorus here, too, even if the other parts feel a bit more stapled on. I’m not sold on Heafy’s harsh vocals. It’s a good metal tune, and honestly, if this drew a different competitor I might vote for it, but Doctor Smoke is more up my alley.
Hey, guess what? More Guns N Roses! This time it’s a jam intro before we hit another typical GnR song. This game is making me realize that I don’t like Guns N Roses. Skip. The Cult make an unlikely appearance with one of their classic, semi-spacey 80s bops. I like The Cult. This is a good song. It’s got great dynamics and a nice little hook. Motley Crue have the best riff in this match, but it sounds just like Dr. Feelgood, doesn’t it? Either way, the rest of the song is performed by Motley Crue so this song can go away forever.
I appreciate the low-rent Casio Keyboard Orch Hits patch in the intro of Needled 24/7 and the music here is simply a blast. Those vocals, though, yeesh. Those lyrics, double yeesh. +1 for a low-rent keyboard solo, too. In general, I love the insanity of Bodom’s instrumental. At The Gates has equally terrible vocals and less interesting music, though the grooviness of that breakdown riff and subsequent lead guitar break halfway through the tune are pretty fantastic. I don’t actually enjoy either of these songs, but I’m going with COB for the carnival keyboard madness.
Procreation is immediately off-putting. The song literally starts with a belch. The vocals are terrible. The riff is pedestrian and endlessly repetitive. There is nothing about this song that I enjoy. And if it’s possible, Wintermute is even worse! Someone growling into a closet while SOMEWHERE there is music happening. Certainly not in the same room. Maybe the band is in the basement but they could only afford the vocal mic, so it’s just one mic trying to pick up the atrocious “singing” and the band from a distance? There is some attempt at riffing buried in this song, but I can’t judge it’s quality because Bethlehem clearly don’t think their riffs need to be heard. Both of these songs are aggressively not good, but I guess I have to vote for Celtic Frost because someone made a mild attempt at producing and mixing the song.
Vocals feel like an afterthought to both the basement-bedroom-dwelling Arcturus and the have-you-heard-our-lowest-string-riffs Gojira. Neither song does anything for me, especially vocally - terrible in Arcturus and middling screaming Gojira. I’ll throw a vote to Arcturus, I guess, because I like the Tales From The Crypt vibe of the instrumental.
Today I learned that Plush was not Pearl Jam. Like, I always knew the title and knew it was Stone Temple Pilots, but just hearing that song? I assumed it was Pearl Jam. Anyway. It’s fine. It’s catchy in a 3 chord 90’s kinda way. But it cannot compete at all with Rusty Cage, which isn’t even close to being one of my favorite Soungarden tracks, but absolutely rips from start to finish. The doomy, groove metal riff towards the end is such a cool dynamic shift. Total pro move. Chris Cornell all the way.
Hey, guess what? More Guns N Roses! This time it’s a jam intro before we hit another typical GnR song. This game is making me realize that I don’t like Guns N Roses. Skip. The Cult make an unlikely appearance with one of their classic, semi-spacey 80s bops. I like The Cult. This is a good song. It’s got great dynamics and a nice little hook. Motley Crue have the best riff in this match, but it sounds just like Dr. Feelgood, doesn’t it? Either way, the rest of the song is performed by Motley Crue so this song can go away forever.
I appreciate the low-rent Casio Keyboard Orch Hits patch in the intro of Needled 24/7 and the music here is simply a blast. Those vocals, though, yeesh. Those lyrics, double yeesh. +1 for a low-rent keyboard solo, too. In general, I love the insanity of Bodom’s instrumental. At The Gates has equally terrible vocals and less interesting music, though the grooviness of that breakdown riff and subsequent lead guitar break halfway through the tune are pretty fantastic. I don’t actually enjoy either of these songs, but I’m going with COB for the carnival keyboard madness.
Procreation is immediately off-putting. The song literally starts with a belch. The vocals are terrible. The riff is pedestrian and endlessly repetitive. There is nothing about this song that I enjoy. And if it’s possible, Wintermute is even worse! Someone growling into a closet while SOMEWHERE there is music happening. Certainly not in the same room. Maybe the band is in the basement but they could only afford the vocal mic, so it’s just one mic trying to pick up the atrocious “singing” and the band from a distance? There is some attempt at riffing buried in this song, but I can’t judge it’s quality because Bethlehem clearly don’t think their riffs need to be heard. Both of these songs are aggressively not good, but I guess I have to vote for Celtic Frost because someone made a mild attempt at producing and mixing the song.
Vocals feel like an afterthought to both the basement-bedroom-dwelling Arcturus and the have-you-heard-our-lowest-string-riffs Gojira. Neither song does anything for me, especially vocally - terrible in Arcturus and middling screaming Gojira. I’ll throw a vote to Arcturus, I guess, because I like the Tales From The Crypt vibe of the instrumental.
Today I learned that Plush was not Pearl Jam. Like, I always knew the title and knew it was Stone Temple Pilots, but just hearing that song? I assumed it was Pearl Jam. Anyway. It’s fine. It’s catchy in a 3 chord 90’s kinda way. But it cannot compete at all with Rusty Cage, which isn’t even close to being one of my favorite Soungarden tracks, but absolutely rips from start to finish. The doomy, groove metal riff towards the end is such a cool dynamic shift. Total pro move. Chris Cornell all the way.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
IRYO
srfc
Ancient Mariner
Doctor Smoke - Been Here Forever vs. Trivium - Down From the Sky
Doctor Smoke was pretty good, I'm intrigued enough to check out more. They reminded me of Ghost if they were a bit less retro influenced and more over produced. Ironically for a band called Doctor Smoke they need to be a bit more groovier man, the rhythm guitar parts in particular were very uptight. I thought I may have ended up voting for Trivium after the intro which was very good but the rest of the track turned out to be a bit of a mess. The chorus was good too but the other mismatch of sections varied from average to shit. Been Here Forever
Guns N' Roses - Rocket Queen vs. The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary vs Mötley Crüe - Too Young to Fall in Love
Too Young to Fall in Love is decent enough as Crue go but the weakest here, although Roy Z clearly liked the guitar hook enough to steal it for The One You Love to Hate. Rocket Queen is a classic, especially the groove and the outro section, although I agree with Jer that the sex noises are cringe. She Sell Sanctuary is the best track on here and an all time classic She Sells Sanctuary
Children of Bodom - Needled 24/7 vs. At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul
Children of Bodom is alright but a few shit parts with the keys. The solo is nice. I had Terminal Spirit Disease back in the day, it was released just before my interest in current developments in metal started to wane. This is pretty much in the same vein as what I remember, pretty good. Both track are in the same ball park, enjoyable enough to listen to but not quite good enough for me to buy the album in the morning nor pick up Terminal Spirit Disease for nostalgia reasons, but I'll give the win to At the Gates for not having keys. Slaughter of the Soul
Celtic Frost - Procreation (of the Wicked) vs. Bethlehem - Wintermute
The last time Celtic Frost came up I was struggling to remember a song which I was familiar with, and I think it may have been this. I think the same as the last song, there's some decent ideas there alright just played, sung and recorded badly. The arrangement is a bit Saxon, two parts just repeating one after the other too much. Bethlehem the production is the big issue, it sounds like you're in a rehearsal room and you can hear another band down the corridor. Also the reverb on the vocals. Some nice tempo shifts around two minutes in, and a good evil laugh. The slow down part about 5 minutes in is a bit like the first Sabbath album in parts. It's not something I would listen to, but the arrangement, ideas and various moods is a good bit better than Celtic Frost Wintermute
Arcturus - Fall of Man vs. Gojira - Amazonia
The harpsichord or whatever it is in the background is just distraction, it's like I'm listening to a GMSC song and have forgotten I still have some Bach minimized in another window. There's a real good section about 4 and a half mins in. Nice solo in the outro.
I was expecting to make some snarky remarks about Gojira, as I was outside the tent one time when they played Download and they sounded pretty shit, but I quite like this, nice head nodding groove and hooks, some of the samples add a nice bit of atmosphere and are low enough in the mix to be a compliment to the song, one of the whistle samples sounds like Cypress Hill or something. I like the tone on the main riff, it's a standard enough open string rhythm but bothering their hole to find a unique tone for it makes them stand out from the pack. Again both tracks proved to be more enjoyable than I was anticipating Amazonia
Stone Temple Pilots - Plush vs. Soundgarden - Rusty Cage
I was an opponent of grunge when it was out, but I'm less hostile these days, as it was clearly better than the shit that came after it that passed for mainstream trends that were under the metal umbrella. I'm still unlikely to ever want to listen to it though. Plush is pretty good and your man has a great voice but it feels like it needs some sort of middle eight or something. Cornell is obviously one of the vocal greats, I'm not too keen on the main riff, the Sabbath riff that comes in is good though. Both these tracks were real good too. Rusty Cage
EDIT: just seeing @Spambot had a similar sort of impression about what Bethlehem sound like
Doctor Smoke was pretty good, I'm intrigued enough to check out more. They reminded me of Ghost if they were a bit less retro influenced and more over produced. Ironically for a band called Doctor Smoke they need to be a bit more groovier man, the rhythm guitar parts in particular were very uptight. I thought I may have ended up voting for Trivium after the intro which was very good but the rest of the track turned out to be a bit of a mess. The chorus was good too but the other mismatch of sections varied from average to shit. Been Here Forever
Guns N' Roses - Rocket Queen vs. The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary vs Mötley Crüe - Too Young to Fall in Love
Too Young to Fall in Love is decent enough as Crue go but the weakest here, although Roy Z clearly liked the guitar hook enough to steal it for The One You Love to Hate. Rocket Queen is a classic, especially the groove and the outro section, although I agree with Jer that the sex noises are cringe. She Sell Sanctuary is the best track on here and an all time classic She Sells Sanctuary
Children of Bodom - Needled 24/7 vs. At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul
Children of Bodom is alright but a few shit parts with the keys. The solo is nice. I had Terminal Spirit Disease back in the day, it was released just before my interest in current developments in metal started to wane. This is pretty much in the same vein as what I remember, pretty good. Both track are in the same ball park, enjoyable enough to listen to but not quite good enough for me to buy the album in the morning nor pick up Terminal Spirit Disease for nostalgia reasons, but I'll give the win to At the Gates for not having keys. Slaughter of the Soul
Celtic Frost - Procreation (of the Wicked) vs. Bethlehem - Wintermute
The last time Celtic Frost came up I was struggling to remember a song which I was familiar with, and I think it may have been this. I think the same as the last song, there's some decent ideas there alright just played, sung and recorded badly. The arrangement is a bit Saxon, two parts just repeating one after the other too much. Bethlehem the production is the big issue, it sounds like you're in a rehearsal room and you can hear another band down the corridor. Also the reverb on the vocals. Some nice tempo shifts around two minutes in, and a good evil laugh. The slow down part about 5 minutes in is a bit like the first Sabbath album in parts. It's not something I would listen to, but the arrangement, ideas and various moods is a good bit better than Celtic Frost Wintermute
Arcturus - Fall of Man vs. Gojira - Amazonia
The harpsichord or whatever it is in the background is just distraction, it's like I'm listening to a GMSC song and have forgotten I still have some Bach minimized in another window. There's a real good section about 4 and a half mins in. Nice solo in the outro.
I was expecting to make some snarky remarks about Gojira, as I was outside the tent one time when they played Download and they sounded pretty shit, but I quite like this, nice head nodding groove and hooks, some of the samples add a nice bit of atmosphere and are low enough in the mix to be a compliment to the song, one of the whistle samples sounds like Cypress Hill or something. I like the tone on the main riff, it's a standard enough open string rhythm but bothering their hole to find a unique tone for it makes them stand out from the pack. Again both tracks proved to be more enjoyable than I was anticipating Amazonia
Stone Temple Pilots - Plush vs. Soundgarden - Rusty Cage
I was an opponent of grunge when it was out, but I'm less hostile these days, as it was clearly better than the shit that came after it that passed for mainstream trends that were under the metal umbrella. I'm still unlikely to ever want to listen to it though. Plush is pretty good and your man has a great voice but it feels like it needs some sort of middle eight or something. Cornell is obviously one of the vocal greats, I'm not too keen on the main riff, the Sabbath riff that comes in is good though. Both these tracks were real good too. Rusty Cage
EDIT: just seeing @Spambot had a similar sort of impression about what Bethlehem sound like
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The Sentient
Trooper
I’m always going to lean towards the rock-orientated stuff but I’m enjoying listening to so many of these bands I’ve never heard of. The shouty vocals put me off a lot of them, but I really liked that Celtic Frost track in this round. Plus I’ve already had some Gamma Ray on in the car this week, which is new to me.
Loving this so far as it’s giving me reason to listen to stuff I’d never normally engage with and opening my eyes to some great tracks (and some garbage mind you )
Loving this so far as it’s giving me reason to listen to stuff I’d never normally engage with and opening my eyes to some great tracks (and some garbage mind you )
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srfc
Ancient Mariner
It's actually The Cult, but I can see the confusion, their early stuff including Love the album this is from is definitely closer to Goth. They came a lot closer to the metal umbrella on subsequent albums, total hard rock on albums like Electric and Sonic Temple, and even quite heavy on later albums like Beyond Good and Evil
DJMayes
Ancient Mariner
Doctor Smoke is one of the surprises of the cup for me so far - never heard of them before but really enjoyed this song and will be checking out more of them in the future. With that said, Trivium are one of the most frustrating bands I know because if they stuck to clean vocals they'd have easily taken this.
I thought I'd heard this one by The Cult before. Great song. I normally prefer either GNR or Motley Crue but neither of these are my favourites from either band.
Bodom are better musically and less annoying vocally than At The Gates here.
I thought the Celtic Frost track was bad, but I turned off Bethlehem within a minute. Lesser evil here.
I liked Arcturus initially, but then the vocals kicked in. Gojira wins here.
Big fan of Plush.
I thought I'd heard this one by The Cult before. Great song. I normally prefer either GNR or Motley Crue but neither of these are my favourites from either band.
Bodom are better musically and less annoying vocally than At The Gates here.
I thought the Celtic Frost track was bad, but I turned off Bethlehem within a minute. Lesser evil here.
I liked Arcturus initially, but then the vocals kicked in. Gojira wins here.
Big fan of Plush.
Confeos
Game time started.
Sorry! Grunge generally does very little for me.
Massive confusion cleared up, thanks - baffling that I managed to listen to the song without realising it wasn't The Cure, but oh well.
KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
Man, I forgot how awesome Needled 24/7 is. Slaughter of the Soul is cool too but I think there are some far better tracks on the album.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
Gotta say, this round had some pretty strong match-ups, in that I often felt that both songs were about equal to me and decided who to vote for was rough.
Doctor Sleep and Trivium both had me questioning at first but as the songs progressed I got more into them. Doctor Sleep was kinda like Mastodon with Ghost vocals. Fat riffs and then really clean singing (although sometimes trying to mimic Dave Mustaine). Solid. Trivium has a bit of a clash going on but I really got invested in it after the second chorus. Gonna go with who's currently losing - Trivium.
This three-way is really strong all the way around. "Rocket Queen" is super catchy, "She Sells Sanctuary" has some fantastically layered music, and "Too Young to Fall in Love" has some great music (although I wish Vince had a stronger voice). Going with The Cult, that music is super cool and they're currently losing.
Power death legends return and this time Alexi Laiho has done a WHOLE LOTTA COCAINE. This song is wild as fuck but it's a classic for a reason. I also love the industrial piece floating around in there too. To be honest, "Slaughter of the Soul" is a lot more my kinda thing but that record has better songs on it and it's not the song that I've been humming all day. Children of Bodom.
Vote away. That's right, folks. You know why @Magnus didn't nominate other songs? Because they're too small! He doesn't care about them! They're nothing to him! They're a bacterium! He travels in worlds you can't even imagine! You can't conceive of what he's capable of! He's so far beyond you! He's like a god in human clothing! Lighting bolts shoot from his fingertips!
No seriously why the fuck is Bethlehem losing this badly?? That Celtic Frost song is boring as shit. "Wintermute" is fucking cool as hell. The production is absolute trash but I kinda got into the cheesiness of it all (including that weird-ass laugh). And then it slows down and goes from solid to awesome. Loved it. Always happy with some good extreme doom and this was right up my alley. Bethlehem by a sheer mile!
Arcturus is back and this time they're bringing some wintery ballet for us. It's quiet good! But so is Gojira; loved the way the mouth harp ran with the music and I really enjoyed the rhythms. They're also currently losing, so easy vote to support 'em.
And finally, my own nomination. Now, the people of Seattle always get mad at me for saying this, but STP were the best band of the grunge scene. Sure, you can hear Pearl Jam and Nirvana in their sound, but you can also hear country and folk (they've namedropped another favorite of mine, Gordon Lightfoot, as an influence), and most importantly they wrote rock records with the hope that they'd stand up as a complete work like a Led Zeppelin album does. And all these influences make them one of the ultimate rock bands for me. They've got some awesome layers, plus a tight as hell rhythm section, and Scott Weiland's drawl is super masculine but also super emotive.
The entire Core album is great from start to finish, pretty much perfect IMO (even the slow-burning "Where the River Goes"), and Purple isn't far behind. "Plush" is probably my favorite from them ("Interstate Love Song" is super close, though), and I love how heavy but loose it sounds. The lyrics are super cryptic and it's a classic for a reason. There's never a moment where I'm not ready to start grooving with this track. It's so well-oiled and so powerful.
Now, "Rusty Cage" is a solid song but it really only goes somewhere when it starts to slow down. Chris Cornell was a rock god and I'd be lying if I don't start singing the chorus after hearing the song. But Soundgarden have better songs, and I even nominated "Jesus Christ Pose" from the same album. And at the end of the day, if we were nominating the ultimate rock songs, not only would "Plush" be on my list but it might legitimately be in my Top 5. It's everything I want from rock'n'roll wrapped up in one powerful five minute stormer. Stone Temple Pilots for the fucking win.
Doctor Sleep and Trivium both had me questioning at first but as the songs progressed I got more into them. Doctor Sleep was kinda like Mastodon with Ghost vocals. Fat riffs and then really clean singing (although sometimes trying to mimic Dave Mustaine). Solid. Trivium has a bit of a clash going on but I really got invested in it after the second chorus. Gonna go with who's currently losing - Trivium.
This three-way is really strong all the way around. "Rocket Queen" is super catchy, "She Sells Sanctuary" has some fantastically layered music, and "Too Young to Fall in Love" has some great music (although I wish Vince had a stronger voice). Going with The Cult, that music is super cool and they're currently losing.
Power death legends return and this time Alexi Laiho has done a WHOLE LOTTA COCAINE. This song is wild as fuck but it's a classic for a reason. I also love the industrial piece floating around in there too. To be honest, "Slaughter of the Soul" is a lot more my kinda thing but that record has better songs on it and it's not the song that I've been humming all day. Children of Bodom.
Vote away. That's right, folks. You know why @Magnus didn't nominate other songs? Because they're too small! He doesn't care about them! They're nothing to him! They're a bacterium! He travels in worlds you can't even imagine! You can't conceive of what he's capable of! He's so far beyond you! He's like a god in human clothing! Lighting bolts shoot from his fingertips!
No seriously why the fuck is Bethlehem losing this badly?? That Celtic Frost song is boring as shit. "Wintermute" is fucking cool as hell. The production is absolute trash but I kinda got into the cheesiness of it all (including that weird-ass laugh). And then it slows down and goes from solid to awesome. Loved it. Always happy with some good extreme doom and this was right up my alley. Bethlehem by a sheer mile!
Arcturus is back and this time they're bringing some wintery ballet for us. It's quiet good! But so is Gojira; loved the way the mouth harp ran with the music and I really enjoyed the rhythms. They're also currently losing, so easy vote to support 'em.
And finally, my own nomination. Now, the people of Seattle always get mad at me for saying this, but STP were the best band of the grunge scene. Sure, you can hear Pearl Jam and Nirvana in their sound, but you can also hear country and folk (they've namedropped another favorite of mine, Gordon Lightfoot, as an influence), and most importantly they wrote rock records with the hope that they'd stand up as a complete work like a Led Zeppelin album does. And all these influences make them one of the ultimate rock bands for me. They've got some awesome layers, plus a tight as hell rhythm section, and Scott Weiland's drawl is super masculine but also super emotive.
The entire Core album is great from start to finish, pretty much perfect IMO (even the slow-burning "Where the River Goes"), and Purple isn't far behind. "Plush" is probably my favorite from them ("Interstate Love Song" is super close, though), and I love how heavy but loose it sounds. The lyrics are super cryptic and it's a classic for a reason. There's never a moment where I'm not ready to start grooving with this track. It's so well-oiled and so powerful.
Now, "Rusty Cage" is a solid song but it really only goes somewhere when it starts to slow down. Chris Cornell was a rock god and I'd be lying if I don't start singing the chorus after hearing the song. But Soundgarden have better songs, and I even nominated "Jesus Christ Pose" from the same album. And at the end of the day, if we were nominating the ultimate rock songs, not only would "Plush" be on my list but it might legitimately be in my Top 5. It's everything I want from rock'n'roll wrapped up in one powerful five minute stormer. Stone Temple Pilots for the fucking win.
Jer
'Til Tomorrow
Doctor Sleep is a Stephen King story. Doctor Smoke is a band.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
Magnus
Pica Serdica
Never understood what's so special about Родом От Бодом; At The Gates, on the other hand, were one my favourite bands in the 90s (although I prefer their first two albums). There's more music in Wintermute than in Procreation... but I wouldn't mind at all if the Celtic Frost classic wins.
Arcturus, obviously, and those I disliked least in the other matches.
Oh, and @Diesel 11 , thank you from the bottom of my Saul.
Arcturus, obviously, and those I disliked least in the other matches.
Oh, and @Diesel 11 , thank you from the bottom of my Saul.