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 .
Went with Thin Lizzy as I never heard of the other band. Queen because Led Zep sucks (plus Stone Cold Crazy is awesome). Then Scorpions even though I don't care much for that song, but it's better than the Sabbath song. Then it's a classic heavy metal battle which I don't care for but went with Angel Witch as I least listened to some of their stuff. Then my own pick - Death Atlas, and lastly Estranged over shitty Def Leppard even though Estranged is not even remotely metal (but it's still awesome).
 
I know, and I respect their views, but that doesn't make it any less ridiculous to me. Kinda like if a band founded by meatlovers called themselves "Beheading Broccoli".
I love the band (post Karma.Bloody.Karma at least) and I even used to be a vegan for a while and yet I don't find the name to be particularly well-wrought.

Especially when connected with the obnoxious skit at the end of Human Jerky.
To be clear, it is a ridiculous name. But I think it’s served very tongue-in-cheek. The first time I ever saw them was via the Humanure album cover, and the obvious Pink Floyd parody made it really click for me. Finding out they were vegans helped too. It’s a silly name, but it’s also gripping. It stays in your mind.
 
Pair 1: Really dug both of these. I voted for Girlschool since they are a new group to me.

Pair 2: The 70s isn't my favorite era of Queen but Stone Cold Crazy is one of their better early tracks. The Zeppelin song was also a cool one with a great riff.

Pair 3: My favorite era of Scorpions is the glam-metally 1984-90. Taken By Force is certainly the standout album from the Roth-era, and The Sails of Charon is a solid representation of it. I would've preferred to see We'll Burn the Sky here though. My hot take of this round is that Born Again is a top-tier Sabbath album and Trashed is an awesome opener, so it gets the vote here.

Pair 4: I got into Angel Witch lately, but this track isn't quite one of their best. Diamond Head surprised me pleasantly with Sucking My Love. This might encourage me to finally dive into their catalog.

Pair 5: Cattle Decapitation's song is potentially one of the worst I've ever heard. I opted to skip it halfway through. The mediocre and forgettable Celtic Frost song gets my vote.

Pair 6: Def Leppard has made some damn fine tunes in their day, Satellite unfortunately is merely okay. Guns N' Roses takes the victory with one of the strongest songs that I've heard by them. Definitely one of my best finds in the game so far.
 
Lizzy
Queen
Sabbath (Despite being a massive Scorpions fan, Sails of Sharon has never interested me)
Angel Witch
Celtic Frost
GNR
 
Cowboy Song is an enigma. It’s part folkish country, pure straight up 70s rock and roll, plus the signature Thin Lizzy snarl, catchiness and guitarmonies. I’m a sucker for a good Phil Lynott tune and this one is a classic. Girlschool is like if The Runaways were better musicians, but that vocal chat section in the middle is a dud. It’s a total one note song, which is the opposite of its opponent.

Match 2 has a couple juggernauts from classic hard rock bands. Heartbreaker is an all-time memorable riff and Plant shreds the vocals, but the solo break is wildly sloppy and doesn’t fit the song at all (despite what Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai have to say about it). The ending is also awkward as hell. Stone Cold Crazy is just an absolutely flawless proto-metal tune. The riff is stellar, the pace is erratic and insane, the vocals are (obviously) over the top and fantastic. A slightly less easy, but incredibly confident vote for the superior Queen tune.

Sails of Charon is amazing. I love the progginess and riffs, plus those leads are just fantastic. Vocals are mysterious and wonderful. This song so obviously influenced the hell out of Symphony X. Trashed is an okay song off of a confused Deep Sabbath album. Scorpions win easily here for me.

The lesser of songs called Angel of Death has really lame vocals and weak production. I can hear why it was influential and also why it was not more popular. Sucking My Love is neither the best nor my favorite track on Lightning To The Nations, and the lyrics are beyond idiotic, but the music is peak NWOBHM and helped define an entire sub-genre while influencing much more. It’s incredibly overlong, but still the winner for me.

Fucking hell, today I learned Cattle Decapitation writes nine minute songs. I just wish I didn’t know this fact. It’s too much of everything. The drumming is exceptional and I hope I never hear it again. Circle of the Tyrants is also shit, but at least it’s half as long and it influenced Opeth.

Satellite is a decent song with a pretty meh chorus, but everything else is fine. Estranged is…I mean…truly….is this a joke? Axl switches between Jack Black and Adam Sandler throughout this ridiculously overwrought power ballad. Slash’s guitar parts are solid, at least. I’ll take Def Leppard’s forgettable, average cock rock song over the song that literally sounds like a cock.
 
One thing is certain: we have to plod through alot of - let´s stay polite to avoid red faces - mediocrity here. :D

Some of these songs I´ve never heard before and I wished I never did but that's the price you have to pay in search of the pearls.
 
Not a fan of both songs, but Thin Lizzy is fun.

Led Zeppelin. Cool groove.

Sails Of Charon is one of my favorite 70's songs of Scorpions.

Diamond Head's song is much more interesting.

Never been a fan of GNR vocalist, so vintage Def Leppard.
 
So, up to this day, I only ever heard of Girlschool in the context of their collaboration EP with Motorhead as Headgirl; their rendition of Please Don't Touch is a cute and fun little song, though I'd guess there's just as much the novelty of seeing a band so primordially masculine playing together with an all-female band. Nonetheless, I do find this particular song to also be rather cute and catchy, I like the energetic feel... though the coda feels somewhat pedestrian. For a band I would probably never seek out on my own - and I still probably won't - I admit that the song has a certain appeal and I could imagine voting for it in other matches.
However, its competition is Thin Lizzy's Cowboy Song - which might be among my all-time favourite songs by one of my all-time favourite hard rock bands. Maybe the intro is a tad too cheesy, I don't know, but the guitar harmonies, the amazing rhythmic feel, Lynott's probably most emotional delivery on the entire album, the solos... this is one of the songs that I often have on repeat even if I'm not in a Lizzy mood. Heck, if I'm not in a rock mood. Thin Lizzy, and it's not even remotely close.

My relationship with Queen - after going through the amplitudes of almost unmitigated adoration at first and tired, annoyed scorn later - has settled in a comfortable zone of lukewarm appreciation. I still respect the whole band for their talents as both singers and songwriters, I still am genuinely awed by their production capabilities or melodic sensibilities and eclectic tastes... and still find them woefully sterile - for all their bravado and often almost cock-rockish attitude, they can't help but sound like a bunch of nerdy eunuchs and their output, though often beautiful, often sounds weirdly... "mechanical", if you know what I mean - and their quality control and overal ratio of good/great to mediocre/terrible is not really in their favour.
Thing is, I just hate when they're trying to "rock out". I just find it absolutely inadequate. They have the rhythm, they have the guitar tone, it just sounds... fake in a way. They feel like scientists trying to recreate "what is this thing called rock music you hoooomans do?" Stone Cold Crazy isn't as bad as for example Sweet Lady - which is a song so dreadful it brings the whole Opera album down at least two levels just on its own - but I've nonetheless never been a fan and probably never will be. I don't want to stress this too much - I don't really hate the song - but again, this is from Popoff's list and it feels precisely like the musical journalist's choice. Now, for Prophet's Song, for example, I would vote immediately.
LedZep were my first "official favourite band" I had and although the passing of time made me reevaluate and reassess a lot, there's still nostalgia, appreciation for their absolutely killer rhythm section and still probably one of my favourite "guitar heroes" of the era. Again, I'd pick a wholly different song for a greatest metal cup - Achilles' Last Stand, No Quarter or even stuff like Kashmir come to mind - but Heartbreaker is cosidered a classic and rather overplayed and rightfully so. The riff itself is fiendishly ingenious. My biggest problem nowadays is Plant - probably my biggest "falling out of love" with any vocalist ever, gosh, I can't stand the obnoxious screeching prick - but that's not that important, the Jones - Bonzo combo outweigh nearly everything, Led Zeppelin all the way here.

Taken by Force is - as a culmination and in many ways the perfection of the Uli era - my absolutely favourite Scorpions album and quite possibly the only one I love from start to finish without complaints. It is a rare example of an album where pretty much every track is absolutely killer and even in that competition, Sails of Charon are near the very top, probably the second best song after the nonpareil We'll Burn the Sky. The groove, the riffs, the vocal harmonies (and the somewhat untrivial harmonic elements as well), it all creates a fascinating mix which makes the song both immediately catchy and yet rather hard to overplay.
As for Sabbath's song ... well, I for the record would like to say that I don't hate the album nor the song as much as many do. The idea of Gillan doing vocals for Sabbath is not such a ridiculous proposition itself - definitely not any more so than Iommi playing with Jethro Tull or Sabbath going for Glenn Hughes only slightly later in their career - I think he fits and despite the rest of the album not always being up to par, this opening track is fast, energetic, really catchy (the vocal melodies have this subtle appeal that makes them stick in my head) and "there was no tequiiiiiila" is just hilarious. I would almost want to vote for it as for the probable underdog here, but I can't with clear conscience vote against a track as great as Charon is. Scorpions.

The next match is interesting. Both are these "hidden gems" of old-school NWOBHM, but with different strengths. Angel Witch sound more aggressive (or, well, harder, whatever your preferred nomenclature is) and are more consistent throughout, Diamond Head have this more laid-back approach and while some parts are definitely better - especially the mid-section or the soloing in the outro - the main riff and chorus and, well, literally the first four minutes are much more boring than AW.
Honestly, I always found Sucking My Love to be overlong, especially as it is sandwiched between the much superior The Prince (probably the best song off that album and maybe the whole NWBOHM movement in general, bar Maiden) and Am I Evil? In the context of the album, it's acceptable, but on its own the song indeed sounds a bit too mediocre.
I think I'll go with the lesser known, more hectic and more consistent Angel Witch here.

The next match is the easiest one so far, with the possible exception of the Arch Enemy - In Flames one. I am a huge fan of Cattle Decapitation, at least since they started being good (that means since The Harvest Floor at the latest, though Karma also has some great stuff) and although an admitted acquired taste, they are so competent at what they do and their overal shtick is so well-put together that they almost get a bonus purely out of favouritism. Now, with Death Atlas in particular, I'm wavering a bit, I admit I might like the albums immediately before and after more, but that still means it's really high above its competition. The title track is certainly majestic and feels like a properly epic close to the whole album, though on its own...
I'll be the first to say that the complaints about the overuse of Travis' "goblin cleans" (or, as one less appreciative review has dubbed it, his "pedo-voice") are somewhat unresonable - while I also think these were most powerful when used more sparsely, like on Monolith (still my favourite album of theirs, probably), I don't think the usage is cheap; on the contrary, I feel that their stated overpresence is surely exaggerated and that they still have their use. But I agree that they can do it better than here (see Lifestalker, for example) - on this track, the haunting, depressing quality isn't really to be found or at least it doesn't click with me and especially in the first half of the track I don't think the cleans really fit. Also, I wish the prolonged sombre, haunting outro wouldn't remind me so much of Alone at the Landfill, where this particular atmosphere came across a bit better as well, even though that track itself is definitely worse.
But that's nitpicking - in the other corner stand Celtic Frost, whose Circle of the Tyrants I don't like much even as the Opeth cover and that one has Akerfeldt and Lopez.
I mean, I would never deny them how influential and important they were, for various subgenres, but this sounds to me just like a slightly more technical Venom ... and interests me about as much.
So, one Decattlification of the Capita, please. Oh, sorry, sorry, I meant Chapel Decaffeination.

When I saw the last match, I honestly mistook Def Leppard's Satellite for Rocket off Hysteria (you now, "Satellite of loooove") and although it's not a popular attitude to have, I honestly prefer their synth-glammy era full of cheese over their somewhat pedestrian NWOBHM beginnings. There's nothing particularly wrong about the track - it just feels run-of-the-mill and unmemorable. I feel like during my two years as a radio DJ back in the day I must have heard, like, a million similar tracks. So let's see the competition.
It was during this last replay of Estranged, yesterday evening, when I realised how much do GNR in some ways remind me of LedZep, just with less fantasy-vibes and mysticism and more pub sleaze and alcohol (which isn't necessarily a put-down - LedZep obviously tried to be the torchbearers for The Who, even with actual 1:1 member roles, but I digress). Yesterday, with wine in my hand, I wondered how much of that is an intentional stylisation and what is just coincidence. I mean, Slash is definitely trying to give off similar "cool" vibe like Page - when I saw him with the double-necked guitar and those long black curly hair, it was just a "huh" moment, Mr Oral Sex himself has the same raspy screech that is just as iconic as annoying, just like Plant, they're a bluesy pub band that got enamoured with their own pretensions and started to dabble in more "high-brow" endeavours pretty soon... and for better or worse, Estranged in particular always felt to me like they said "okay, so we have our Stairway to Heaven in November Rain, but what about a second breakfast Stairway to Heaven?" But maybe it's just the chord progression under that "storm is getting closer" part, that's taken verbatim from there, isn't it?
Also, why is Geddy Lee of all people throwing the life ring at Axl?
Anyway, my ramblings above notwithstanding, I loved GNR most when they were grossly inadequate, meaning 'what is a band like this doing releasing such a megalomaniac project like the Use Your Illusion double release? What is a band like this doing putting freakin' Raphael's painting on the cover? Ten minute songs? Are you fucking kidding me?'
And yet it works (well, it worked for the Clash, didn't it?). I admit I like for example Coma even more and I absolutely get the people who can't stand this track, especially since this type of kitschy sentimentalism might be somewhat hard to swallow for your given music connoisseur.
But I guess that's where I come in. Guns 'n' Roses.
 
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I have more in depth things to say about these songs later today, but I have something to say real quick about Circle of the Tyrants: in a lot of “heavy metal circles” I’m apart of, Celtic Frost and Hellhammer are spoken of like these mythical/untouchable/greatest to ever be entities. Extreme metal legends and pioneers, never once would these people I hang out with say anything negative about those first few CT albums and those Hellhammer demos. I just read on here 5/6 posts in a row saying Circle of the Tyrants sounds like shit lmfao. Thanks for keeping it real. I like both bands quite a bit, it’s just funny to see how drastically your guys’s opinions about this stuff is than I expected. I quite like Circle of the Tyrants
 
One thing is certain: we have to plod through alot of - let´s stay polite to avoid red faces - mediocrity here. :D
This is why I add lists to the game. Frankly, as fun as it is to have a bunch of songs we mostly agree about, it's also fun to bring up stuff that some other asshole likes, or in the case of a Rolling Stone song, picked for arcane reasons nobody can divine. And it's okay to shit on a song that nobody nominated.

Wait till you see some of the bullshit from the Youtube list.
 
The only Girlschool songs I know are tracks from cheap 1 euro bin compilations. Never heard of this one before, the parlando part is not even amusing. Thin Lizzy is more my thing and I really should check out more of their stuff.

I´m never going to be a Led Zep fan. Apart from some songs I really don´t like them at all. Heartbreaker falls into the "meh" category so easy win for Queen.

Scorpions vs Sabbath could´ve been an interesting match with some more wellknown songs. I liked the Scorpions track better.

I like some NWOBHM so this is an interesting one too. Diamond Head has the better song for me.

Cattle Decapitation´s song is very unpleasant to my ears. There's some melodic part which is kinda ok but as a whole I don´t dig it. Celtic Frost has the coolest name of the two and also the better musical approach but isn´t exactly my thing either, they win by default.

I really like Def Leppard alot and I would have voted for it against every other song in this round but not against one of Guns N´ Roses masterpieces!
 
First matchup was a bit difficult because these songs kind of went in opposite directions for me. I wasn't fully sold on "Cowboy Song" until I got to the solos, and then everything from those leads to the quiet bridges and back through the final chorus was pure bliss. Meanwhile I was pretty into "Yeah Right" at the start, but it didn't really go anywhere and certainly didn't have the peaks that "Cowboy Song" did. Thin Lizzy it is.

If I have one gripe with the second match, it's that "Heartbreaker" doesn't flow straight into "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" like it does on classic rock radio. But that's a minor gripe. This is classic hard rock Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page plays a killer guitar riff and Bonham and Jones are just oozing groove with the rhythm section. And Plant is pretty reined-in, focusing on his strength instead of OoH bAbY! And also I have to heavily disagree with those saying the solo is sloppy; it's noodly, sure, but Page knows exactly what he's doing and where he's gonna go with it. This is some great proto-heavy metal. Meanwhile, Queen has got to be the most talented band I just cannot get into. I don't like Mercury, and I think May is overwrought... their rhythm section is cool, though. "Stone Cold Crazy" ain't bad, but it's no match for "Heartbreaker". Zep all the way, baby!

"Sails of Charon" is cool as hell. My one issue is that it really should've been expanded beyond its five minute runtime; I kept waiting for a big hook that never came. But the riff is awesome and Klaus Meine sounds so fucking German it's fantastic. Meanwhile, Sabbath. "Trashed" started out okay but it never went anywhere and actively devolved by the minute. Scorpions.

NWOBHM match! I was more impressed by a song called "Sucking My Love" than I ever expected to be. Some solid moments in there, including a "Phantom of the Opera" piece, and I can tell Metallic was inspired by it in writing "Seek and Destroy". Still, it just went on for way too long. Nine minutes is too much. I'm going with Angel Witch; "Angel of Death" was far from perfect, and that singer is terribly at high notes, but I had fun and enjoyed listening to it! The pre-chorus and chorus are really strong.

I was excited to listen to "Death Atlas", and I was not disappointed at all! That's gotta be some of the most powerful drumming I've ever heard, the harsh vocals are on point, the clean vocals unexpectedly worked too. The way they managed to infuse some black metal elements here too is great, and it's a very emotional ride especially in the second act. Nine minutes well spent! "Circle of the Tyrants" is an undeniable classic in the evolution of black metal and I like part where it slows down, but ultimately it's just never grabbed me. Let's Decapitate some Cattle!

When I saw the last match, I honestly mistook Def Leppard's Satellite for Rocket off Hysteria (you now, "Satellite of loooove") and although it's not a popular attitude to have, I honestly prefer their synth-glammy era full of cheese over their somewhat pedestrian NWOBHM beginnings. There's nothing particularly wrong about the track - it just feels run-of-the-mill and unmemorable.
This is literally exactly how my brain went too. 1) Dammit, I'd rather "Rocket" be here. 2) Hey this is a little better than I expected. 3) Still obviously voting Guns n' Roses. I love "Estranged", my favorite song from them for sure. It isn't perfect, Axl's voice is probably the weakest link, but damn, the whole band is just on fire throughout this song. Slash and Izzy kill it, those two solos from Slash are absolute money; Matt Sorum's drumming is on fucking point; and Axl's piano is just a cool touch. I love how the song is basically two stitched together with a watery interlude bridging the gap. It ebbs and flows just like a river, and when the storm hits, it hits hard. The way Axl really brought to life a ruined and ruinous relationship in a larger-than-life epic is just great. And I really think the lyrics, particularly in the chorus, are wonderfully succinct, and the way the track moves from depression to anger and ultimately to acceptance is really skillful. I love this song; even it's completely over-the-top music video has a lot of charm for me, even if it really is pretentious as fuck. It's not metal, but there aren't going to be many songs I'll be voting for over "Estranged".

Best song of the round: Guns n' Roses, "Estranged".
Worst song of the round: Black Sabbath, "Trashed".
 
@Diesel 11 that's 6/6 agreement on the votes! Cool.

(@Mosh hasn't yet written about his final two votes and so far, we had 4/6 agreement, so there's still the possibility... although he had a nomination in the last match, so who knows)
 
Sorry, mates, I think I might agree with you on some black metal songs (have you nominated some Darkthrone? Borknagar? Winterfylleth? Summoning? Carach Angren? Drudkh? Cormorant? Antestor? Even Immortal? Emperor?) but the early ones, including Frost, early Bathory, Venom and so on, I'll probably never be a fan of. Honestly, historical significance does not really help me with my enjoyment of any given music. Taking Motorhead and making it sound somehow both less heavy and shittier production-wise is not my idea of good time.

(I'll also probably never be a fan of Mayhem and Mercyful Fate, because there are literal diseases I'd have rather than having to listen to Csihar or Diamond's vocals, again, sorry!)

Just wanted to say I'm not in any way against black metal proper. On the contrary, in some ways I like it more than its death sub-brother.
 
Well, I did make sure that the qualifiers are roughly balanced by genre, I didn't want a whole genre getting wiped out, but I am sure there will be some interesting choices going forward. Then every song gets a chance to be promoted. 2/5 that qualify for the divisions will, so I expect some black, death, etc will make it.
 
(I'll also probably never be a fan of [...] Mercyful Fate, because there are literal diseases I'd have rather than having to listen to [...] Diamond's vocals, again, sorry!)
Sure, King isn't always on point, but the Denner/Shermann duo is like an electric orgasm of hellfire. The whole Don't Break the Oath album is like guitar heaven for me.
 
Not excited to see the reactions to the Bathory songs that end up on here.
Ah some peeps here do appreciate their Bathory, and I think this whole thing is, apart from hearing some really unfamiliar stuff, mostly about all the banter, and all the mutual insults (friendly, tongue-in-cheek and within limits I'm sure, and inventive I hope), so I'm looking forward to said reactions.
 
Yeah Right was fine with the humor, but Cowboy Song much more memorable and better sounding.

I don't like Zep's riffage and Stone Cold Crazy is freaking great either way.

Hard choice in the third pairing. Sails of Charon has great performance, but I'm not a fan of melodies relying super hard on the phrygian. Have to admit that the Sabbath song is just more up my alley.

Sucking My Love is great and I really liked the lengthy solo, but I really liked the evil vibe on Angel of Death. Love the monotony of the singer's voice in the title drops. Close but I'm going with Angel Witch.

Death Atlas was brutal and melodic, and I'd say it definitely achieves the goal of being an emotional death epic. Would probably vote for it over any other song in the round. Circle of the Tyrants deserves its status imo, it had the legendary feel back when I heard it the first time in the GMAC. UGH!

Estranged, which is apparently not spelled enstranged, was a great piano driven song with a different structure. I think I need to stop thinking I hate GnR just because I despise their version of Knockin' on Heaven's Door. Satellite was very good too but didn't leave a mark on me.
 
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