KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
It's the best round in a while.
The Greatest Metal Song Cup - Part II, Round 4, Matches 82-87
- Thread starter LooseCannon
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DJ James
A coma stole my name.
GREAT nominee @MindRuler ! One of my favorite Ozzy songs! One of the best heavy metal songs of the 80’s too (in my book). That riff from Jake E Lee in the beginning evokes a sort of ‘riding around California in a fast car in 1986’ that I really enjoy.
This round is pure hate voting. Can't stand Sonata Arctica, Manowar, Led Zep and Grave Digger.
KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
I like all four. I used to not care about Zep and Manowar at all but I've found some cool stuff from both lately.
I like one Sonata Arctica song, but otherwise can't stand the vocals.
Apart from the debut album and a couple of songs afterwards, I can't tolerate Manowar's stupid lyrics, image and shitty production.
As for Led Zeppelin, I can't stand the whiny vocals and also their attitude towards metal in general. There are some good songs there that someone else covered and made them better, such as this one:
Grave Digger is the worst offender here. I'm astounded at how a band with such shitty vocalist (who is also the only constant band member) made it to 21 studio albums. This guy is a genius for making a career in music while being unable to sing properly. He makes Dave Mustaine sound like Freddie Mercury in comparison. I liked Ballads of a Hangman a bit when I first heard it (the only one with two guitarists), then they decided to ditch the 2nd guitarist because "they didn't have space on stage" lol
Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
Sonata Arctica's song is a real fun with a cool chorus, while I'm not a fan of Powerwolf's vocals.
Not a fan of both songs, but UFO's one has a nice feel to it.
This Manowar song is not bad, but it's not one of my favorites. Father Time is a great song from my favorite album of Stratovarius. That riff and chorus! Classic stuff. Even the ''oh-oh'' part feels epic.
Purple's Perfect Strangers, no contest for me. There are not many songs with such a groove and riff!
Ozzy's song has a great guitar work, verses and overall is a very nice song, but against my nominee, Grave Digger's Lionheart - it can't beat it by a single bit. As always from the band, great riffs, verses and this time a very melodic chorus. The vocals are not for everyone, but the chorus, the solo and the music are so good.
Led Zeppelin's song here. It sounds at least kind of fun.
Not a fan of both songs, but UFO's one has a nice feel to it.
This Manowar song is not bad, but it's not one of my favorites. Father Time is a great song from my favorite album of Stratovarius. That riff and chorus! Classic stuff. Even the ''oh-oh'' part feels epic.
Purple's Perfect Strangers, no contest for me. There are not many songs with such a groove and riff!
Ozzy's song has a great guitar work, verses and overall is a very nice song, but against my nominee, Grave Digger's Lionheart - it can't beat it by a single bit. As always from the band, great riffs, verses and this time a very melodic chorus. The vocals are not for everyone, but the chorus, the solo and the music are so good.
Led Zeppelin's song here. It sounds at least kind of fun.
MindRuler
Ancient Mariner
Boltendahl is the main problem not getting into Grave Digger. I´m sure they would be alot bigger with a more melodic singer. Same with Running Wild where the vocals are the weakest link too.
TheMercenary
Ancient Mariner
I've voted for these one :
srfc
Ancient Mariner
Before listening to this round, I just want to give a pat on the back to @LooseCannon for the evenly balanced match ups, it can't be easy to breakdown this amount of tracks into ties where both tracks are of a similar enough genre that it will represent a fair fight in the early rounds, and you've got it absolutely spot on so far.
____no5
Free Man
Cream vs Led Zeppelin was extremely tough, finally voted for White Room vs the best drum intro ever praised be the name of our drum lord John Bonham.
It took me awhile to figure out the genre fits. Big hand to @Diesel 11 and @Night Prowler who reviewed the list as well before I started to make sure everything felt fair.
Once we get into the Group Stage, there's no longer genre-balancing, so it was just for this part - the groups could be from anywhere, but I wanted to make sure a fair representation of genres got to group.
srfc
Ancient Mariner
Sonata Arctica - White Pearl, Black Oceans vs. Powerwolf - Saturday Satan
Sonata Arctica was a bit better than I was expecting, not so cliched and with some nice chord progressions. I saw Powerwolf at a festival in the summer, harmless enough sort of stuff, and they obviously must be having some level of success given their spot on the bill and stage production, but the music doesn't do a hell of a lot for me. But still more in my ballpark than Sonata Arctica Saturday Satan
Blue Cheer - Summertime Blues vs. UFO - Prince Kajuku
An actual proto metal track in the game, I feel a cover shouldn't really be considered to begin with but I understand the influence of this version, but it's a shit version to be fair. The Who's cover of this cover is better. I never heard the UFO track before and it was ok at best but an easy winner here Prince Kajuku
Manowar - Sign Of The Hammer vs. Stratovarius - Father Time
Neither of these tracks were great, Stratovarious had a good riff and Manowar had a more convincing vocal performance but both mainly draw from the bottom tier of metal cliches Father Time
Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers vs. Led Zeppelin - Misty Mountain Hop
Love both of these tracks, and while Misty Mountain Hop is from the undoubtedly way bigger and more important album, it's probably the weakest song on it (due to the high standard of the rest of the album), and Perfect Strangers is just a better track. Perfect Strangers
Grave Digger - Lionheart vs. Ozzy Osbourne - Secret Loser
Lionheart is solid enough but nothing to write home about it, I quite liked the idea of the guitars dropping out in the chorus. I'm not a major fan of the non Randy Rhoads Ozzy albums, but Secret Loser is one of the better tracks from The Ultimate Sin, not necessarily the track I would have picked if I had to choose one (A Shot in the Dark) but good nonetheless, certainly good enough to win this tie Secret Loser
Cream - White Room vs. Led Zeppelin - When the Levee Breaks
White Room has an iconic intro (they reprise it a bit too much though), a great groove in the verse and a great solo but the chorus doesn't do a lot for me, so much so that "in the white room..." is the real hook. When the Levee Breaks smashes it like a levee breaking, one of the best tracks on one of the best albums of all time. When the Levee Breaks
Sonata Arctica was a bit better than I was expecting, not so cliched and with some nice chord progressions. I saw Powerwolf at a festival in the summer, harmless enough sort of stuff, and they obviously must be having some level of success given their spot on the bill and stage production, but the music doesn't do a hell of a lot for me. But still more in my ballpark than Sonata Arctica Saturday Satan
Blue Cheer - Summertime Blues vs. UFO - Prince Kajuku
An actual proto metal track in the game, I feel a cover shouldn't really be considered to begin with but I understand the influence of this version, but it's a shit version to be fair. The Who's cover of this cover is better. I never heard the UFO track before and it was ok at best but an easy winner here Prince Kajuku
Manowar - Sign Of The Hammer vs. Stratovarius - Father Time
Neither of these tracks were great, Stratovarious had a good riff and Manowar had a more convincing vocal performance but both mainly draw from the bottom tier of metal cliches Father Time
Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers vs. Led Zeppelin - Misty Mountain Hop
Love both of these tracks, and while Misty Mountain Hop is from the undoubtedly way bigger and more important album, it's probably the weakest song on it (due to the high standard of the rest of the album), and Perfect Strangers is just a better track. Perfect Strangers
Grave Digger - Lionheart vs. Ozzy Osbourne - Secret Loser
Lionheart is solid enough but nothing to write home about it, I quite liked the idea of the guitars dropping out in the chorus. I'm not a major fan of the non Randy Rhoads Ozzy albums, but Secret Loser is one of the better tracks from The Ultimate Sin, not necessarily the track I would have picked if I had to choose one (A Shot in the Dark) but good nonetheless, certainly good enough to win this tie Secret Loser
Cream - White Room vs. Led Zeppelin - When the Levee Breaks
White Room has an iconic intro (they reprise it a bit too much though), a great groove in the verse and a great solo but the chorus doesn't do a lot for me, so much so that "in the white room..." is the real hook. When the Levee Breaks smashes it like a levee breaking, one of the best tracks on one of the best albums of all time. When the Levee Breaks
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
White Pearl, Black Oceans has some really cool musical parts and the vocals are actually pretty solid throughout, as well. I was tempted to vote for it here, but there’s simply nothing in the song as catchy or dynamic as Saturday Satan (which isn’t even one of my favorite Powerwolf tunes). Both good songs, but I side with the Demonic Christian Werewolf Priests.
I cannot in good conscience vote for Summertime Blues in a metal song competition. The intro to Prince Kajuku sounds like children’s music, but the rest of the song is solid and definitely more metallic than Blue Cheer. UFO for me.
Fucking Manowar. I’m already sick of Manowar and this song does nothing to change it. Father Time, while technically a better song and definitely more memorable, has furiously annoying vocals. Regardless, I’m voting for Stratovarius to avoid having to listen to Manowar again.
The centerpiece riff in Perfect Strangers is awesome, but honestly the rest of song doesn’t do much for me. I know it’s one of Purple’s more iconic songs, and that riff deserves it, but it’s just okay. Misty Mountain Hop, however, is actively annoying as hell. Those verses are so grating and terrible that I can barely make it through the song. I can’t stand this song.
Lionheart is an alright traditional metal song. The vocals aren’t great, but it’s fine enough for what it is. Ozzy, fucking Ozzy again, has an okay song, too, but it’s just really hard to get excited about someone chanting “loser!” IDK. Going with the one that’s Isn’t Ozzy.
White Room is a good song, of course, but again I’m getting really hung up on the “metal” thing here. When The Leevee Breaks, despite the most prominent instrument being a harmonica, is just so damn heavy. Easy win for Zeppelin this time.
I cannot in good conscience vote for Summertime Blues in a metal song competition. The intro to Prince Kajuku sounds like children’s music, but the rest of the song is solid and definitely more metallic than Blue Cheer. UFO for me.
Fucking Manowar. I’m already sick of Manowar and this song does nothing to change it. Father Time, while technically a better song and definitely more memorable, has furiously annoying vocals. Regardless, I’m voting for Stratovarius to avoid having to listen to Manowar again.
The centerpiece riff in Perfect Strangers is awesome, but honestly the rest of song doesn’t do much for me. I know it’s one of Purple’s more iconic songs, and that riff deserves it, but it’s just okay. Misty Mountain Hop, however, is actively annoying as hell. Those verses are so grating and terrible that I can barely make it through the song. I can’t stand this song.
Lionheart is an alright traditional metal song. The vocals aren’t great, but it’s fine enough for what it is. Ozzy, fucking Ozzy again, has an okay song, too, but it’s just really hard to get excited about someone chanting “loser!” IDK. Going with the one that’s Isn’t Ozzy.
White Room is a good song, of course, but again I’m getting really hung up on the “metal” thing here. When The Leevee Breaks, despite the most prominent instrument being a harmonica, is just so damn heavy. Easy win for Zeppelin this time.
JudasMyGuide
Ancient Mariner
I am not quite sure where the general hatred against Tony Kakko came from, especially from a community where a significant amount of members is willing to vote for Spinal Tap, Led Zeppelin, Mercyful Fate, Kiss or (I presume for the future) Ghost, all of which have vocalists who sound as if they were trying to scare raccoons out of your house, but I have resigned upon trying to make any sense out of the general trends in this cup.
Anyway, the epic song off their third best album has already been making me biased, even before I checked the opposition.
The Powerwolf track was better than I expected, I mean is this supposed to be Ghost if that band was actually (at least somewhat) good? It has the same pop sensibilities, but doesn't sound like arse. And the lyrics are much more okay than I thought they would be.
I won't be joining the anti-Sonata Arctica prejudice here, but if the opposing song won, I'd be okay with that.
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Man, Summertime Blues is so fucking overrated as a song - I mean, the original has the nostalgia factor going for it, the Who version is a fine live filler done by a great band... but this Blue Cheer version is just tedious. It feels indeed like working all summer and not even getting a farthing out of it.
I'm not all that crazy about the UFO track either, but at least it's an original and it feels faster than your average peristalsis.
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What? Manowar against one of the bestpower metal bands ever and their iconic opener from one of their "golden streak" albums? (Fourth Dimension -> Elements, Pt. 1)
To use a late 00s meme
right?
Father Time, duh.
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Even putting aside my general dislike of Plant's whining (he's marginally better on this track though scratch that, he's not, in the "chorus" - if you can call it that - he once again sounds like someone's doing something illegal to a poor cat) and disregarding the fact I would like to support the band that's simping Tolkien, Misty Moutain Hop is a repetitive bore that sounds like it's being written at that very moment in the studio, while the band is inebriated to the usual Bonzo level as a whole. It's barely edged out by Four Sticks in being the worst song on the fourth album, but that's hardly a compliment.
Perfect Strangers is overrated as an album (the entire Mk 2 and especially its reunion are) and by this point Purple were as much able to put out something grand as something embarassing, but the title track is actually beautiful (and one of my first moments of acquaintance with the band), the riff is really memorable and the Eastern harmonies and wistful chorus give it a certain je ne sais quoi that would probably (in my eyes at least) make it beat many better songs than MMH.
Purple.
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So, the next match is a band that sounds like better Sabaton, with actually intriguing switch in the chorus (the jump from the Sabaton verse to the Yes-like chorus is really doing it for me), with cool cover art and lyris about Richard the Lionheart against Randyless, Zakkless Ozzy?
I shouldn't think about this even as little as I have. Grave Digger.
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I have expressed my support of Cream in the previous round - and that still stands, but Levee is one of the best LedZep songs - one of those that make me forget about Plant and just enjoy the band as if I was 15 again. The intro, fuck! LedZep.
P. S.
A perfect match!
Anyway, the epic song off their third best album has already been making me biased, even before I checked the opposition.
The Powerwolf track was better than I expected, I mean is this supposed to be Ghost if that band was actually (at least somewhat) good? It has the same pop sensibilities, but doesn't sound like arse. And the lyrics are much more okay than I thought they would be.
I won't be joining the anti-Sonata Arctica prejudice here, but if the opposing song won, I'd be okay with that.
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Man, Summertime Blues is so fucking overrated as a song - I mean, the original has the nostalgia factor going for it, the Who version is a fine live filler done by a great band... but this Blue Cheer version is just tedious. It feels indeed like working all summer and not even getting a farthing out of it.
I'm not all that crazy about the UFO track either, but at least it's an original and it feels faster than your average peristalsis.
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What? Manowar against one of the best
To use a late 00s meme
right?
Father Time, duh.
-----
Even putting aside my general dislike of Plant's whining (
Perfect Strangers is overrated as an album (the entire Mk 2 and especially its reunion are) and by this point Purple were as much able to put out something grand as something embarassing, but the title track is actually beautiful (and one of my first moments of acquaintance with the band), the riff is really memorable and the Eastern harmonies and wistful chorus give it a certain je ne sais quoi that would probably (in my eyes at least) make it beat many better songs than MMH.
Purple.
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So, the next match is a band that sounds like better Sabaton, with actually intriguing switch in the chorus (the jump from the Sabaton verse to the Yes-like chorus is really doing it for me), with cool cover art and lyris about Richard the Lionheart against Randyless, Zakkless Ozzy?
I shouldn't think about this even as little as I have. Grave Digger.
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I have expressed my support of Cream in the previous round - and that still stands, but Levee is one of the best LedZep songs - one of those that make me forget about Plant and just enjoy the band as if I was 15 again. The intro, fuck! LedZep.
P. S.
A perfect match!
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Jer
'Til Tomorrow
"White Pearl, Black Oceans" has a pleasant opening, if a bit twee. There's something a bit odd about the singer's accent that doesn't quite sit right with me, but he otherwise sounds good except when he gets raspy. I don't know, there's this persistent Broadway feel to all of the vocals that's a bit much, and the vocal melodies meander a lot without really making their point. The piano interludes are nice, though. OK, I finally figured it out -- this is like a wimpy version of Blind Guardian during their overblown '00s era. Definitely not my jam. And it's up against "Saturday Satan", Powerwolf's best song from their best album Lupus Dei, when they were still a real guitar-driven metal band. Great atmosphere, great vocal lines, great riffs, great leads, a great interlude, and an excellent roller coaster of a song overall. Sorry, @Spambot, but this would be an easy call even without considering own-nominee bias. Winner: Powerwolf - "Saturday Satan"
Blue Cheer's cover of "Summertime Blues" is considered by some to be the first-ever heavy metal song. It's OK, but the fuzzy behind-the-beat guitar lead doesn't really work for me, the solo sucks and drags on forever, and the original version of the song is much tighter and better, IMO. "Prince Kajuku" is already way more interesting in its first 30 seconds. The guitar work is nice, though the vocal lines are flat and boring. The song has a dated feel that I normally wouldn't go for, but it's still more than enough to win this match-up. Winner: UFO - "Prince Kajuku"
"Sign Of The Hammer" is frenetic and has some pretty good vocal lines in places, but the production is terrible, with the guitars absolutely buried in the mix with the vocals way too loud on top, and I'm really not on board with the half-singing approach being used here. The solo's pretty cool, if a bit uncontrolled toward the end. The ascending vocal bit near the end is also nice, though the outro is completely absurd. "Father Time" has a great main riff and pretty good vocal melodies, though it tumbles into naked Helloween worship for at least half its runtime. I like the hints of neoclassicism in the guitar solo. Well, despite its brutally derivative nature, @Stardust's nominee still easily wins the day here. Winner: Stratovarius - "Father Time"
In the second dad rock match we have "Perfect Strangers", which features a perfectly serviceable Purple groove and OK but uninspiring vocal lines. I like the change of feel for the chorus, but the chorus itself falls pretty flat. The staccato riff in the interludes is cool, though. "Misty Mountain Hop" has an instantly recognizable riff, but the poorly phrased verses with the doubled instrumental and vocal melody kinda suck. The rest of the vocals are better, but that same riff over and over again really starts to grate after a while. The harmonized section doesn't sound very good either. Checking the clock a little after the 3 minute mark. Oof. Not a fan of either song. I guess the Zeppelin track has somewhat higher highs, but it's also actively annoying for much of its runtime, which the Purple track is not -- and that's enough for Purple to come out on top here. Winner: Deep Purple - "Perfect Strangers"
"Lionheart" has a cool acoustic intro that breaks rather abruptly into an equally cool distorted version. The singer's pretty rough, like a huskier Andi Deris. I like the verse, but the pre-chorus is iffy, and I don't understand the saccharine chorus at all. The solo's quite good. I guess the chorus makes more sense when they do the heavier version at the end, but this is still a very mixed bag. "Secret Loser" has a dope riff and great color work from Jake E. Lee. The vocal melodies are quite good, but the chorus lyrics are pretty hard to hear without busting out laughing. Great multi-part solo, great interlude. Chorus lyrics aside, this a great song. Sorry, @Kalata, but this is a pretty easy win for @MindRuler's nominee. Winner: Ozzy Osbourne - "Secret Loser"
Hmm, Yngwie appears to have been heavily influenced by the opening of "White Room" in his "Overture 1383" on Marching Out. Anyhoo, this is an iconic vocal melody on the verse, though the chorus is a lot less memorable. And the guitar fills sound like the adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon. OK, by the time we've hit the second reprise of the intro the song feels like it's officially run out of ideas, though I guess the ending solo is good enough to justify the rest of the track. "When The Levee Breaks" has a good groove, and the harmonica soloing is interesting. The vocal melodies are nice, and the instrumental breaks all work well. The song probably should have wrapped up around the 2/3 mark, but the long deconstructing outro has its charms too. Another pretty easy call here, this time for Zeppelin. Winner: Led Zeppelin - "When The Levee Breaks"
Blue Cheer's cover of "Summertime Blues" is considered by some to be the first-ever heavy metal song. It's OK, but the fuzzy behind-the-beat guitar lead doesn't really work for me, the solo sucks and drags on forever, and the original version of the song is much tighter and better, IMO. "Prince Kajuku" is already way more interesting in its first 30 seconds. The guitar work is nice, though the vocal lines are flat and boring. The song has a dated feel that I normally wouldn't go for, but it's still more than enough to win this match-up. Winner: UFO - "Prince Kajuku"
"Sign Of The Hammer" is frenetic and has some pretty good vocal lines in places, but the production is terrible, with the guitars absolutely buried in the mix with the vocals way too loud on top, and I'm really not on board with the half-singing approach being used here. The solo's pretty cool, if a bit uncontrolled toward the end. The ascending vocal bit near the end is also nice, though the outro is completely absurd. "Father Time" has a great main riff and pretty good vocal melodies, though it tumbles into naked Helloween worship for at least half its runtime. I like the hints of neoclassicism in the guitar solo. Well, despite its brutally derivative nature, @Stardust's nominee still easily wins the day here. Winner: Stratovarius - "Father Time"
In the second dad rock match we have "Perfect Strangers", which features a perfectly serviceable Purple groove and OK but uninspiring vocal lines. I like the change of feel for the chorus, but the chorus itself falls pretty flat. The staccato riff in the interludes is cool, though. "Misty Mountain Hop" has an instantly recognizable riff, but the poorly phrased verses with the doubled instrumental and vocal melody kinda suck. The rest of the vocals are better, but that same riff over and over again really starts to grate after a while. The harmonized section doesn't sound very good either. Checking the clock a little after the 3 minute mark. Oof. Not a fan of either song. I guess the Zeppelin track has somewhat higher highs, but it's also actively annoying for much of its runtime, which the Purple track is not -- and that's enough for Purple to come out on top here. Winner: Deep Purple - "Perfect Strangers"
"Lionheart" has a cool acoustic intro that breaks rather abruptly into an equally cool distorted version. The singer's pretty rough, like a huskier Andi Deris. I like the verse, but the pre-chorus is iffy, and I don't understand the saccharine chorus at all. The solo's quite good. I guess the chorus makes more sense when they do the heavier version at the end, but this is still a very mixed bag. "Secret Loser" has a dope riff and great color work from Jake E. Lee. The vocal melodies are quite good, but the chorus lyrics are pretty hard to hear without busting out laughing. Great multi-part solo, great interlude. Chorus lyrics aside, this a great song. Sorry, @Kalata, but this is a pretty easy win for @MindRuler's nominee. Winner: Ozzy Osbourne - "Secret Loser"
Hmm, Yngwie appears to have been heavily influenced by the opening of "White Room" in his "Overture 1383" on Marching Out. Anyhoo, this is an iconic vocal melody on the verse, though the chorus is a lot less memorable. And the guitar fills sound like the adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon. OK, by the time we've hit the second reprise of the intro the song feels like it's officially run out of ideas, though I guess the ending solo is good enough to justify the rest of the track. "When The Levee Breaks" has a good groove, and the harmonica soloing is interesting. The vocal melodies are nice, and the instrumental breaks all work well. The song probably should have wrapped up around the 2/3 mark, but the long deconstructing outro has its charms too. Another pretty easy call here, this time for Zeppelin. Winner: Led Zeppelin - "When The Levee Breaks"
KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
Wow, Manowar really suck at this game, don't they?
I like Tony Kakko quite a lot. I also met him very briefly once. Seems cool. My big problem with him is that sometimes he is trying, and sometimes he isn't, and you can really tell.
Thank god.
Jer
'Til Tomorrow
They're Not-So-Secret Losers, I suppose...
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
JudasMyGuide
Ancient Mariner
I'm not a huge fan (well, not really a fan at all, but they did some good music as well... and for a band so outwardly stupid, they are rather talented, especially DeMaio and Adams), but my guess would be that we've had the lesser stuff so far (and when they miss, they miss hard) and once there's some of the more classic stuff, the results will be somewhat better. Probably not very much, but somewhat.
However, I'm not too sure about that, since some of the songs with the possible biggest crossover appeal (Fighting the World; Black Wind, Fire and Steel, possibly even Power of Thy Sword) are not in the cup.
However, I'm more or less sure I'm going to vote for Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy in Eight Parts, both in the first round and possibly even later. That's a guilty (?) pleasure / black sheep / whatever song if there ever was one.
Manowar doing half-hour retelling of the Illiad with a base solo and two drum solos? There's self-indulgence, there's decadent narcissism and then there's this. And it's actually endearing, somewhat.