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 .
I've already listened to the Bathory stuff that did get nominated and I found it just fine. It definitely has a chance for me within its genre.
 
I’m already wondering how many actual METAL songs will make it to the final stages (top 100 onwards). Looks like there’s gonna be a lot - if not too much - (Hard) Rock/Pre-Metal stuff in here, at least for my liking :innocent:
 
Death Atlas is probably my favorite song in the game so far. I definitely need to listen to Cattle Decapitation more - every time I've heard something by them I've been very impressed. It's an aural onslaught in the best way possible. There are enough changing parts to keep things engaging for the entire runtime, but not so much stuff that it sounds too all over the place. The choruses are also epic. No disrespect to Celtic Frost though, I very much enjoy Circle of Tyrants and recognize its influence on things to come, but I just have to go with Cattle Decapitation, the song is insane.

I'm voting for Satellite because it's my pick. A few years ago Def Leppard put out this early years box set that primarily covers their NWOBHM days and goes up to High and Dry - but it's very heavy on even pre-On Through the Night stuff. Even though this is on the debut album, the song had been part of their live set prior and I found it to be one of the more engaging and energetic tracks in their early catalog. The whole box set was kind of a revelation though, you can really hear how Leppard, along with Maiden, were the cream of the NWOBHM crop. Where Maiden was on a whole other level as players and performers, Def Leppard had a real knack for hooks early on and were clearly aiming a little higher than a lot of their peers. Again, not one I expect to go far but don't sleep on early Leppard.
 
I’m already wondering how many actual METAL songs will make it to the final stages (top 100 onwards). Looks like there’s gonna be a lot - if not too much - (Hard) Rock/Pre-Metal stuff in here, at least for my liking :innocent:

That stuff has made far more of a contribution to metal than some of the niche genres ever have or ever will. They weren't the formative years of metal, they were it's heyday, and the proliferation of all the subsequent genres is verging on parody.
 
A few years ago Def Leppard put out this early years box set that primarily covers their NWOBHM days and goes up to High and Dry - but it's very heavy on even pre-On Through the Night stuff.

Is that the one with a live album from, I think a UK college, around 1980 or so? I heard a few tracks off it around the time it was released and it sounded great, keep meaning to try and get hold of it.
 
I’m already wondering how many actual METAL songs will make it to the final stages (top 100 onwards). Looks like there’s gonna be a lot - if not too much - (Hard) Rock/Pre-Metal stuff in here, at least for my liking :innocent:

Honestly, if I knew Guns N' Roses are going to be included, I might have nominated Coma myself.

And this whole game's missing some Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, methinks. :ninja:

I'm voting for Satellite

"It was good while it lasted
We had it all for a minute or two"

But still, 5/6 ain't bad.
 
I never got into Circle of the Tyrants but I checked out Celtic Frost’s Monotheist album. Now that’s something to behold, I’ll try to get through the whole album.
 
Match 7

Yeah, this Girlschool song is a one-trick pony, but I believe it had an impact when it came out. Obviously, I'm voting for Thin Lizzy, but I'm gonna stir the shit right at the start since there'll be more Thin Lizzy songs. Cowboy song (like many other Thin Lizzy songs) to me sounds like a high schooler trying to write a poem from a perspective of an experienced old man. Nothing wrong with the music, and I'm not one of those who gives a damn about the lyrics, but each time I hear any Thin Lizzy song, lyrically, it just sounds fake. Like, he nails a point or two, but the general idea or message is so beyond his reach. There. Still, Thin Lizzy.

Match 8
Even when discovering Led Zeppelin, never got why are were bonkers about Heartbreaker. Cool riff, but the song slugs. On the other hand, Stone Cold Crazy is live and joyful. Queen

Match 9

Sails of Charos is the coolest tune I've heard so far. Seriously, never heard that one before. On the other hand, there's Gillain fronting Sabbath. The only thing worse would be Ozzy fronting Purple. Can you imagine? 10+ minute songs with an organ solo and Ozzy wailing in between? Hilarious. Scorpions

Match 10

Eh... I might be in a bad mood, but these two are equally bad. I can't even remember what I've heard. It's like I was listening to a washing machine doing centrifugation in another room or construction work a block away. King Diamond, I guess.

Match 11
That second part of Death Atlas is actually pretty cool. Too bad I had to listen to 5 minutes of blast beats before that. And that's just too much. If it were just the last 4 minutes, I'd vote for it. Now the vote goes to Celtic Frost (not that it's a good song, tho)

Match 12
Nothing wrong with Satelite, but we're talking about Estranged here. Hate on Axl all you want, but this song rocks. Guns n' Roses
 
I’m already wondering how many actual METAL songs will make it to the final stages (top 100 onwards). Looks like there’s gonna be a lot - if not too much - (Hard) Rock/Pre-Metal stuff in here, at least for my liking :innocent:
If I had to guess, very little of that stuff will be hard rock. Going by the GMAC, the hard rock albums were almost never successful at going deep. We're primarily metal fans here. There's definitely one or two members for whom Iron Maiden is their "heaviest" band, but most go pretty wide. The group stage ought to do for it.

That said, there is a *lot* of hard rock in the prelim rounds, moreso than any other genre. This is primarily due to the Popoff 500 list, of which maybe 200 songs were hard rock.
 
For me, I found Cowboy Song to be offputting, too close to country, which is a danger with southern rock. Girlschool was interesting, even if it wasn't my cup of tea. At least it had good energy, and I really needed energy when I listened.

I am not, and never shall be, a Led Zeppelin guy to my core. Queen however, for them I'm.....stone cold crazy.

I found myself thoroughly enjoying Scorpions on this track. I'm definitely not a deep Scorpions appreciator but this was a much different song than those I've traditionally heard from them. Born Again is an okay album, with one very good song. Trashed is not that song.

It's gotta be Angel Witch, whom I find to just embody NWOBHM a bit more than this particular puerile Diamond Head more.

For me, Death Atlas was a tale of two halves. The first half I found almost incomprehensible. It's no secret that extreme metal's not my bag. The back half was pretty good. Meanwhile, Celtic Frost I find far more interesting and original, comprehensible, and it's shorter. Celtic Frost.

God, I hate Guns 'n' Roses. Everything they do is so fucking pretentious, and Estranged is possibly their most pretentious song of all time. Def Leppard by default but Satellite also stinks.
 
Nothing particularly close in this round, it seems. Thin Lizzy sends Girlschool back to school, Queen defeats bursts Led Zeppelin's balloon, Scorpions sail past Black Sabbath, Angel of Witch condemns Diamond Head, Celtic Frost freezes out Cattle Decapitation, and Guns 'N Roses uh...shoots Def Leppard and plants flowers on their grave, I guess. Congrats to all the winners, except GNR, who still sucks. Next up:



Part 1, Round 3, Matches 13-18


Play In Round
Match 13
Clive Burr Division​
Slayer - Mandatory Suicide
vs.
Pantera - Domination​
Popoff 500
Nominators
Popoff 500​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Play In Round
Match 14
Clive Burr Division​
Manowar - Blood of the Kings
vs.
Gamma Ray - Gardens of the Sinner​
Popoff 500
Nominators
@Jer
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Play In Round
Match 15
Clive Burr Division​
Edge of Sanity - When All is Said
vs.
Napalm Death - Suffer the Children​
@Magnus
Nominators
Popoff 500​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Play In Round
Match 16
Women in Uniform Division​
Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet
vs.
Rush - 2112​
@Mosh
Nominators
Popoff 500​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Play In Round
Match 17
Women in Uniform Division​
Quasarborn - Ne Mozes Imati Sve
vs.
Overkill - Hammerhead​
@Night Prowler
Nominators
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Play In Round
Match 18
Women in Uniform Division​
The Ocean - Silurian: Age of Sea Scorpions
vs.
Dream Theater - Learning to Live​
@Night Prowler
Nominators
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links
 
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Slayer vs. Pantera - Barring a couple of songs, I can't stand Pantera or what they stand for, and Mandatory Suicide is a classic.

Manowar is shit, and that Gamma Ray song is awesome.

Edge of Sanity is great and I could never get into Napalm Death.

Then we have a prog rock bore match - I at least like some Rush stuff, including this song, and PT is just not my cup of tea.

Quasarborn is my favorite Serbian thrash metal band and this album is maybe my album of the year. They did 2 albums before it in English, which were kinda boring, but this one, which is all in Serbian, kicks ass. Gotta go with my pick over Overkill, whose song is also solid.

And in the end, The Ocean will get slaughtered even though that song is amazing. Learning To Live is a classic too, but I want to give a vote to one of my favorite bands of the 20's.
 
Obscure round for me.

Gamma Ray's song is great, but Manowar's song is one of their best.
A 20-minutes long song is too much, but the music of Rush is interesting.
Overkill's early Metallica vibe wins.
Dream Theater's song is really cool.
 
Mandatory Suicide has a shit chorus, sloppy transitions, lame vocals, a dumb ending and one cool riff - a.k.a. a typical Slayer song. Domination is better in literally every aspect. The drumming is better, the recording is tighter, the solo rules, it's catchy in an aggro-gym bro sort of way, and that simplistic outro is a classic. I still hate Dime's Boss Metal Zone guitar tone, though.

Blood of the Kings is just so cheesy and ridiculous. What the hell is up with the ending? Total waste of time. Gardens of the Sinner feels incredibly stock, and almost as cheesy as Manowar, but I prefer it overall (despite the terrible spoken word bit). Both of these songs are far too long.

Hell Is Where The Heart Is features more terrible distortion, but the playing is nice. The harsh vocals are pretty average, but tread far closer to gutturals (yay!) than demon-wind-shrieking (nay!). Really cool riffs throughout, both heavy and melodic. I'm very curious to hear more of those clean vocals that appear at the very end! What's that about? By comparison, Napalm Death sounds like some kids demoing shit in their parents' basement. The kick drum tone makes me furious, it's like my ear is literally on the beater. The hi-hats sound like someone rubbing aluminum foil on the mic. No thanks, this is absolutely not my jam. Edge of Sanity with an easy win.

I like Fear of a Blank Planet, I really do. As far as PT goes, it's one of their best. But it simply cannot compare to 2112.

Quasarborn is a breath of fresh air. What is this? Thrash metal? Power thrash? Anyway - it's musically great and I truly appreciate the clean singing. Nice vocals, nice harmonies, the playing is impeccable - good stuff, for sure. I love the way the song peaks and literally sounds like it is exploding. By comparison, Overkill sounds so very sloppy and weak - especially that guitar tone, holy shit. This is very bad. I'm trying not to vote based solely on production - but this truly awful. Also, I don't like the vocals or the riffs or the drums or the song! Serbian metal FTW - Quasarborn.

The Ocean's tune kicks off like an Alice In Chains song I've heard before. I do enjoy this band every time they pop up in these competitions, although they are far too consistently melancholic for my tastes. Great dynamics here and a great bass tone. The lyrics, as I've said before, never quite work for me. How they manage to combine phrases like, "sea scorpions prowl these waters / they are the apex predators" and "I am super fucked and all I really want is to sleep now" in the same song while taking themselves so instrumentally serious boggles my mind. Weird, interesting, good stuff, as usual from The Ocean. However, Learning To Live is an absolute classic of progressive metal and packs more emotion into 11 minutes and 30 seconds than the other 1 hour and 17 minutes in this playlist. The outro is better than anything else in the game so far.
 
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