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!

  • Black Sabbath - Hand of Doom

    Votes: 5 62.5%

  • Whitesnake - Walking in the Shadow of the Blues

    Votes: 3 37.5%

  • ----------------------------

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Dark Funeral - Atrum Regina

    Votes: 3 37.5%

  • While Heaven Wept - The Furthest Shore

    Votes: 5 62.5%

  • ----------------------------

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Ted Nugent - Cat Scratch Fever

    Votes: 2 25.0%

  • Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine

    Votes: 6 75.0%

  • ----------------------------

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal

    Votes: 4 50.0%

  • Moonsorrow - Huuto

    Votes: 4 50.0%

  • ----------------------------

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Symphony X - Masquerade '98

    Votes: 1 12.5%

  • Queensryche - Revolution Calling

    Votes: 7 87.5%

  • ----------------------------

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Slayer - Dead Skin Mask

    Votes: 6 75.0%

  • Mountain - Mississippi Queen

    Votes: 2 25.0%
  • Total voters
    8
  • Poll closed .
Iced Earth - Burnt Offerings vs. Iced Earth - Prophecy
The covers is a rip off of Don't Break the Oath. Guitar sound is better than their usual. Verse is a bit all over the shop, finally a head nodding groove kicks in around the 3 minute mark but then goes nowhere. On Prophecy, the singer is such a ham. Solo is a bit better in this one. Both tracks are quite bad, it's just all the cliches that other metal bands invented decades previously played much worse. Member over list this time, because can't make a decision Burnt Offerings

Nikola Vranjkovic - Vecernja Zvona vs. Symphony X - Egypt
Vecernja Zvona is alright, the music is pretty good but without being able to understand the lyrics I can't tell if the narrative of the song justifies it's length. There's more musically going on in this Symphony X track but I'm not interested in it. Vecernja Zvona

Sepultura - Desperate Cry vs. Anthrax - Medusa
I like both tracks in this round but I'm going to go with Medusa as I always thought it was a bit of a dark horse. Medusa

Ahab - Old Thunder vs. Dark Tranquility - Punish My Heaven
I remember this from the GMAC, it wasn't great then and still isn't. Dark Tranquility isn't great either but has a few Maiden rip off riffs. Punish My Heaven

Manowar - Number 1 vs. Manowar - Hail and Kill
Number 1 is just bog standard Manowar, Hail and Kill is great though bar of course possibly the worst lyric of all time. Hail and Kill

Cathedral - Hopkins (The Witchfinder General) vs. Candlemass - The Well of Souls
Another one that I'm just a casual fan of the band, but love when they go down the road of groovy stoner like on this or Midnight Mountain, I'd certainly be a bigger fan if they did it more often. Candlemass track is decent enough, as mentioned earlier, I have to check out more of them. Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)
 
Ahab losing to Dark Tranquillity is gonna be the death of me.

JudasMyGuide said:
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.
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You know I never did connect this song with stoner vibes but I do see it. You’re right about how it’s got a drive and catchiness that the other songs lack, which is why I nominated it, alongside it being the shortest song on the album (by a matter of seconds lol) and possibly my favorite (it’s probably the most well-rounded track IMO).

I know “The Hunt” is the fan-favorite and it definitely has the album’s best moment (I’m sure you know what I’m talking about: WHAAAAALE AHEEEEAD!), but it’s actually my least favorite song on the album. I’m pretty sure they just took “The Hunt” and “Ahab’s Oath” from their original demo The Oath and possibly just redid the drums with Corny because the sound of the record noticeably changes at that moment. I love “Ahab’s Oath” but it sticks out on “The Hunt”, which is also the album’s most repetitive track and at times slowest. I’ve never hated it but it wasn’t until recently that I started coming around to it more thanks to having a better grip on the genre as a whole — listening to bands like Thergothon, Skepticism, even their primary influence Tyranny makes you really shocked at how much faster and more intense The Call of the Wretched Sea really is compared with other funeral doom albums. And “The Hunt” is the one song that really gravitates more towards the genre’s more typical framework. And I think I get it now, but it took a while for it.

But anyway, I figured since I only have one shot basically at injecting some Ahab into this game (LC can correct me but I don’t think anyone else submitted anything) I might as well do it with their fastest track on their best album. And it’s up against a melodeath band.

IMG_1147.jpeg

What we need is a Doomvivör Noobvivör Funerál where all we’re playing for is funeral doom. I’d like to see these fuckers vote against Ahab then. This is the beginning of my villain arc.
 
Kalata said:
Iced Earth's Prophecy is a very cool song. A mix of calm parts and a great fast galloping riff. Interesting writing style, which is important. It's one of their best songs I've heard in the game so far. I didn't like their other song.
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Prophecy is easily one of Iced Earth's best songs. That middle instrumental section is one of my all time favorites!
 
MindRuler said:
@Diesel 11 if the vocals in Ahab were melodic I certainly would´ve vote for them. Melodic vocals combined with doom is just great: Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Saint Vitus,...
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Check out the rest of their discography then. TCOTWS places a big emphasis on growls but all their other albums balance harsh vocals with cleans.
 
Diesel 11 said:
But anyway, I figured since I only have one shot basically at injecting some Ahab into this game
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You had three shots, as you could nominate three Ahab songs. Nobody else nominated Ahab.

Diesel 11 said:
What we need is a Doomvivör Noobvivör Funerál where all we’re playing for is funeral doom. I’d like to see these fuckers vote against Ahab then. This is the beginning of my villain arc.
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It's unfortunate (for you) that Ahab drew a grab bag nomination by means of being the odd song out from a category. Oh well, them's the breaks in the GMSC.
 
KidInTheDark666 said:
Prophecy is easily one of Iced Earth's best songs. That middle instrumental section is one of my all time favorites!
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It's awesome.
MrKnickerbocker said:
And looking back, there were more (and better) songs I probably could've picked.
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Me too. I had to go with the more ''rare'' picks (even out of curiosity), although you need the big metal songs in such a game. You can't be sure (for some of them) they will be nominated. If only we had more nomination slots.
KidInTheDark666 said:
This is already way too much for a band of Symphony X's popularity.
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I don't think this game is about a popularity or prominence of any certain band. The nominated songs are good enough (favorites) for the person for the purposes of this game. Every song is someone else's favorite or someone thinks it's one of the best metal songs or by that band; being underrated as well.
 
Ready your bear spray, it's time to #stopthesteal and take our country back through political violence, but first we have to pick a theme song! "Burnt Offerings" starts with a piano riff on the theme from The Exorcist, then gets into some busy riffage with mostly non-melodic rambling and out-of-place synths alternating with Maiden pastiche. The chorus is OK, with the melodic parts sounding pretty decent but the non-melodic parts sounding pretty silly. Then we get a Metallica bit, and a nice clean bridge where Barlow sounds better than usual. A doomy part with Barlow bordering on Cookie Monster, an overly busy solo, and more Maiden pastiche before some final choruses. This song has the usual pros and cons of Iseditionist Earth -- some great parts and some pedestrian ones, some aping of Maiden and Metallica, patchwork songwriting, and a very mixed bag of vocals, but with generally strong guitar work. It's not as incoherent as many IE songs are, and the chorus and overall atmosphere have some appeal. "Prophecy" starts off like a Blaze-era Maiden song, but with Barlow hamming it up. God, he sounds terrible on those low weepy notes. OK, I'm already bored with the verse by 2:40. Then we get a more uptempo Priest lead in Maiden dressing and some annoyingly shouty choruses with no hooks. The dual guitar interlude is nice, as is the outro piece. Another very mixed bag that wears its influences on its sleeve. No contest here, @Shmoolikipod's nominee should clearly be the battle cry of the new republic. Winner: Iseditionist Earth - "Burnt Offerings"

"Večernja Zvona" has a cool driving yet haunting intro and a pleasantly melancholy verse. Everything here works well, but it's drawn out a little too long before switching gears into a heavier groove and atmospheric chorus. This second phase also works well, but it's also drawn out a little too much. It's still a very good song overall, even if it could stand to have 2-3 minutes chopped out. "Egypt" has some dope acoustic middle eastern off-rhythm stuff going on out of the gate. The verse has an interesting riff and strong vocal melodies, but the ethereal pre-chorus is a bit twee and weird. The chorus goes through perhaps a few too many chord convolutions, but is otherwise pretty strong. The extended interlude and solo section is great. That is one busy bass line! Allen verges on sounding like Barlow in the bridge afterward (which is not a compliment), but is back to normal on the final chorus. Cool piano outro. Well, @Night Prowler, your nominee was more consistent and was certainly worthy, but @Diesel 11's choice has much higher highs and so much more good stuff going on in less time that I have to vote his way. Winner: Symphony X - "Egypt"

"Desperate Cry" has a nice clean intro with distorted punctuation that carries forward in heavier form. The non-melodic vocals are bad, as expected, but the riffs underneath are pretty good. The cut time section in the middle isn't great, and the guitars seem to be out of time with the drums there. That's a very weird and abrupt solo. The interlude around the 2/3 mark is surprisingly nice, but then some more incongruous parts follow. A very mixed bag, but the best parts of this song are probably the best things I've heard out of Sepultura so far. "Medusa" has a simple but catchy riff, and Belladonna actually sounds quite good on the verse. The pre-choruses with their terrible backing vocals and non-melodic sections kinda suck, and the chorus isn't much better. The solo is pretty good, but harmonized strangely in places. Another mixed bag, but the song mostly hangs its hat on the strong verses, and that's enough to put @The Dissident's nominee over the top here. Winner: Anthrax - "Medusa"

"Old Thunder" has a cool atmospheric opening, then things get heavy, and gurgly Cookie Monster comes out to play. I feel like with a little more training I could probably identify the vocalist's stomach contents based on the sound of those gurgles alone. The harmonized chants are less bad. Checking the clock around the five and a half minute mark. Finally some clean vocals for a bit. There are definitely some choices with the drums and guitars later on that give the impression of ocean waves, which is a nice touch. I can see how someone would enjoy this if the Cookie Monster stuff didn't bother them, but it's a bridge too far for me. "Punish My Heaven" starts off with some neoclassical promise, but then the cut time drumming and higher-pitched Cookie Monster stuff starts. There are some nice guitar leads in here for sure, but the song feels pretty disjointed in places. The clean wail in the middle was welcome, and the atmospheric interlude toward the end is great. Actually, the whole second half of the song works much better than the first. Well, the Ahab song is more coherent for sure, while the Dark Tranquillity song has higher highs and lower lows; but sorry @Diesel 11, I think the second half of @KiDDo's nominee sealed the deal on this one. Winner: Dark Tranquillity - "Punish My Heaven"

Time to polish my codpiece for the Manowar-off. "Number 1" has a good groove, but lame half-sung vocals through the verse. The chorus is actually pretty good. Nice solos. "Hail And Kill" has a nice opening and a surprising acoustic verse that sounds quite good. The heavy verse is less appealing and the chorus is silly, but the solo is mostly great. The chanting bit afterward is pretty good, but the scenery-chewing choruses are terrible. Not a fan of either track, but I think "Number 1" is more consistent. Winner: Manowar - "Number 1"

"Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)" has a good opening riff. The singer isn't great, but isn't too bad either. The guitar work is generally pretty good and the vocal melodies are alright. Pretty good song overall, though nothing special. "The Well Of Souls" starts off with good vocals but bad phrasing. Solid guitar lead, but I don't like the vocals following the lead so directly. Strong solo. OK, I'm starting to get annoyed by that extreme tremolo in the singer's voice. Checking the clock at the five and a half minute mark. The choral outro works pretty well. I suspect that the Candlemass song is going to do well with this crowd because of its more epic feel, but it's pretty drawn out and has enough weaknesses that I think @srfc's nominee works better overall. Sorry, @Confeos. Winner: Cathedral - "Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)"
 
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