It took me quite some time to get into Iced Earth and quite paradoxically, I started to get into them and enjoy Schaffer's stuff only
after he did that Capitol thing. And yes, the two were interconnected, because it brought my attention to him, making me wonder about what
was the band that was - for all intents and purposes - killed that very day.
I admit that in general, the band used to be too thrashy for me when I was in the power metal mood and I haven't been in a proper thrash mood for several years, I guess. Also, mates, don't crucify me, but Barlow took some getting used to. He's amazing once you get to know him, but at first, he felt really...
specific. Like this misbegotten hybrid of Blaze and Halford, I guess? Well, like I said, I really enjoy his vocals now.
This first match is rather easy - Burnt Offerings lacked appeal for me at first, I admit, but over time it indeed became one of the better tracks in IE's discography. I will write more about it after it will (quite deservedly) progress further.
The Prophecy, on the contrary, is already for quite a significant part of its runtime the third (fourth? Dunno, lost count) balladic song on
Something Wicked and although it's solid, it always made me think of Melancholy
and Watching Over Me - and that I would be rather listening to those instead. I like the riffing in the middle part, but
Burnt Offerings take the easy win here.
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I knew absolutely nothing about Nikola Vranjković, apart from guessing his nationality (and who must have nominated him, ehm), but I won't deny I was quite a bit
when I heard this. It kinda makes me think of Swallow the Sun, but mixed with something post-rockish (Isis?) and with the almost tribal-sounding drums, and the result has this almost
gothic quality. In fact, add Neurosis to the number of artists this reminded me of, with the overall song progression building up in intensity over its significant length - not quite utilising the "bolero effect" as such, but it hit a certain nerve with me, being emotional in a quite untrivial way. Yay! A cool pick, IMHO.
As for the opposing song, I have said it time and again that I am
not a fan of Symph X's
V - the short songs are among my favourite by them (Fallen itself is probably in my top 5, maybe even top 3), but the epics really don't work for me this time around - Communion and the Oracle has always felt to me like as if Seventh Wonder have decided to do a meandering rehash of The Accolade and Rediscovery also hardly belongs among my favourites, sorry, I just can't help it; I won't be explaining it here, it would take a longer section and 1. it's besides the point, 2. I'm already drowning you with irrelevant asides enough.
(however, combine me not being too charmed by the epics with the fact that with the various interludes and instrumentals that might be excused for pertaining to the "concept", but hardly thrill me on their own and you'll understand why this album being presented as the pinnacle of Symph X irritates me quite a bit)
In a way, Egypt is probably the best of these (or at least it has the best ratio of "sections I genuinely like" and "length") , but still, the vocals in the "five align - find the key" pre-chorus part are just... wack and one of my least favourite moments in the entire Symph X discography and I can't quite get behind Allen's pathetic (meaning
of pathos, not
pitiful here) delivery in the chorus. The instrumental part is quite good (and elevates the song quite a bit), but still, I'm going to give this one to the
Nikola with the even weirder "c" than we Czechs have.
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Ah, a battle of the "underrated" bands - Anthrax are usually underrated in their position of "one of the Big 4" (aka "why are these wankers a part of the Big 4 when Testament/Exodus/whoever should have been included there instead?") and Sepultura being criminally underrated on this very forum (or at least in this very cup).
And I love both of these bands, being not only a staunch supporter of Anthrax being in the Big 4 (because it's also about thrash's subgenres, see? And besides, Testament sucks), but also enjoying Sepultura even at their lowest (or near to it - I genuinely think
Roots is a wonderful album) and considering them to be among the thrash's best when they're at
their best. And I think
Arise might actually be their best album, at least since I stopped the pretensions of being
tr00 perfect thrash cuckboi.
So, although
Spreading the Disease was my first Anthrax album, and the first one I loved, I admit that my feelings towards it are a bit more ambivalent nowadays. For example, I love Joey Belladonna... but
if I wanted to understand the people who can't stand him, I'd probably go listen to this album. He's not bad here, no, but he feels so...
prominent. It makes it much easier to perceive him as obnoxious, really. Also, even from that very album, I never liked Medusa in particular; I like Anthrax doing mid-tempo stuff, usually, but combined with the fact this track always felt like the one with the least identity/charm on the album, it feels plodding.
Desperate Cry is much more to my liking. Much more aggressive, some Kisser's Kisserity, cool switches in the tempo and the great doomy section that
@MindRuler mentioned, makes me go
like a motherfucker, so
Sepultura it is.
Man, I need to give
Arise a spin again.
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With Ahab - and especially
The Call of the Wretched Sea -
I remember the very day I discovered them, I was listening to this masterpiece on my way to work back when I was working as a paralegal in Pardubice, I actually remember the exact type of
weather that day. Old Thunder is IMHO an excellent pick for the cup, as it is less influenced by "atmospheric/ambient" than The Hunt and more driving and immediately catchy than The Pacific, for example - I really like the guitar sound in combination with the tempo and the riffing, gives the song a certain stoner feel that shows even a funeral doom can have quite a bit of variation.
Unfortunately, this being a forum for Maiden fans, I suspect Dark Tranqulity will unfortunately be most member's pick - shit, yeah, I checked and its 5:0. Ugh.
But no, the song's definitely not bad - I can enjoy most of
The Gallery in all its overtuned glory and despite not feeling much need to listen to the band too often given the existence of... dunno, early Amorphis, Amon Amarth of Moonsorrow, I can get the appeal.
Still, I'll go with the more idiosyncratic and original choice here and vote for
Ahab.
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I don't get this, I really don't get (once I checked the sheet) how with so many fucking Manowar songs being in the cup, it's so often this B shit, even for their standards. No songs from
Louder Than Hell should be in a "Greatest Metal Song Cup", full stop. Number 1 is not completely wretched, as it has this OG Judas Priest-like feel (with Adams almost attempting that sneering half-bark like Halford), but ... meh.
You know, details might be different, but what I wrote about the previous song off this album
Manowar, on the other hand, have definitely had their weaker moment here - and I like the band, up to Triumph of Steel at least.
This is not even particularly catchy or cheesy - it's just... pedestrian. Unmemorable and lackadaisical, the crowd barking "BROTHERS OF METAL", please, no. And again, it's not Manowar hate - the band can (well, more precisely, could) do much better.
Also, their first album with the nonce on the guitar! What a threshold!
(P. S. - anyone has an idea why this is Pt. 1? There's no Pt. 2 on the album. Not that I'm complaining, really, I don't think I really need the continuation, it's just weird)
kinda still stands.
Hail and Kill at least has some real vigour and is
catchy in all its cheesy glory, once the song gets going. Definitely more lively and cool to see live (yes, of the limited number of bands I've seen live, Manowar are one of those).
Hail and Kill.
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The last match is tough, I like both of these bands very much, I guess I like the Candlemass style more, but Cathedral have a better song, compared to the bands' respective usual standards, so it kinda evens out. Still, I'll be a tribalist and go with the band of whom I'm generally a bigger fan - and who
don't have a music video, to be frank.
Candlemass.
