Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
Get ready...
The Greatest Metal Song Cup - Part II, Round 4, Matches 82-87
- Thread starter LooseCannon
- Start date
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- gmsc
Get ready...
KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
I love both songs so I'm fine with either outcome. Spotlight Kid is a bit more iconic and also one of my first Rainbow songs.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
@LooseCannon hasn't voted yet, so he'll probably break the tie.
That's correct, and I'll be casting a tiebreaking vote for Rainbow. Update a bit later today, work is stressful.
(other votes: Christ or Cocaine, Lithium, March of the Black Queen, In Memorial, Fear is the Key)
(other votes: Christ or Cocaine, Lithium, March of the Black Queen, In Memorial, Fear is the Key)
Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
*holsters revolver*
I think if you listen to some of his more ambient albums like Ghost or The Hummer (or the billions of ambient projects he put out during the 2020 lockdowns), you get a better idea of what he's going for with his other albums. I don't really consider Devin to be a "brilliant" songwriter* necessarily, but I do admire the way he is able to create sonic worlds with his production and the way songs fit together. He probably has more in common with someone like Enya than he does with Metallica and I think that throws a lot of people off. I like listening to Devin Townsend primarily because I feel like he produces his albums in a way that takes me to a different place, much like a good fantasy novel or video game. But when you strip back the production to just the song (as he sometimes does in unplugged performances) there is often not a lot there. The Greys is a pretty good example of this - the melodies are nothing special and the lyrics are basically nonsense, but I love the song in context of the album and it's a good use of the wall of sound. So far though I think his representation in this game has been pretty weak. Lots of songs that don't work at all when pulled out of album context or songs that just don't really represent him very well.
Which is why I am a bit flabbergasted that The Greys is beating out Haken. I nominated In Memoriam partially because I find that this is one of several songs that really exemplify why I think Haken is the most special and interesting prog band since Opeth. Yes the technical showboating is there, but everything in the song is driven by the melody. Haken clearly comes from the "a song is pointless if there isn't a great chorus" school of thought, which has been much needed in the prog metal community. It's a rare example of tight songwriting and using instrumental virtuosity to enhance the song, dare I say a trait that you find in early Dream Theater despite (imo inaccurate) arguments that their music is nothing but wankery. One thing they do have on Dream Theater, and this absolutely is true for In Memoriam, is the evocative lyric writing blows DT out of the water.
*There are a few examples of songs by Devin that I think showcase genuinely solid songwriting though. Ki and Addicted were much more songwriting focused I felt, as were Epicloud and Sky Blue. He had a brief period there where he was clearly trying to write more in a pop metal format and he did it pretty well overall. Off the Ziltoid album (and later re-recorded for Addicted), Hyperdrive is a far superior example of a great driving rock song. There's some stuff on Accelerated Evolution and a few songs on Ocean Machine, but those two albums definitely lean more into "vibes" than songs.
Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
That's basically it for me too. I care more about songwriting when I listen to subgenres that don't give production as much attention, like thrash, NWOBHM, and death... But when production is given the respect it deserves, it's at least as important to me, usually even more. Devin's wall of sound is almost his main instrument. It took me a lot of time to like Ocean Machine. Once I fell in love with it, I couldn't get Terria. Once I got Terria, I couldn't get Infinity. Even Physicist I've come to understand, but the hurdle was always the sound and not the songs. Never felt that way about any other artist.
Won't challenge that...
This I will! I think it's pretty easy to take the greys to be basically the... blues. Devin used grey for this meaning in Voices in the Fan, which is also referenced in Colour Your World. It makes even more sense with the story, where Ziltoid just discovered his insignificance.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
Agreed on all your points regarding Haken. I love their stuff; they definitely scratch my prog itch while also having much-needed heavy sections. It's interesting that you also bring up Opeth, since off the top of my head I can think of two Haken songs that feature heavily Opeth-inspired parts - Falling Back to Earth (a very Master's Apprentices vibe in the second half with the ah-ahs) and Prosthetic (from 3:31 to 4:33).
Yea, my very first impression of Falling Back to Earth back when it came out was that it was very Opethian. They're clearly a big influence on the band.
I guess I was mostly just trying to think of the last prog metal band to have truly made a splash prior to Haken. Maybe Between the Buried and Me actually, I always forget that Colors actually came out later in the 00s (another big influence on Haken). Otherwise the prog scene has gone more in the Djenty direction which isn't really for me or just lame Dream Theater knockoffs (think Attick Demons for DT). Haken kinda hits that sweet spot where they're more of a "classic" prog Metal band in the vein of DT/Opeth but don't really rip off either band and also aren't afraid to get heavy.
I guess I was mostly just trying to think of the last prog metal band to have truly made a splash prior to Haken. Maybe Between the Buried and Me actually, I always forget that Colors actually came out later in the 00s (another big influence on Haken). Otherwise the prog scene has gone more in the Djenty direction which isn't really for me or just lame Dream Theater knockoffs (think Attick Demons for DT). Haken kinda hits that sweet spot where they're more of a "classic" prog Metal band in the vein of DT/Opeth but don't really rip off either band and also aren't afraid to get heavy.
You might need Christ or some cocaine but you definitely don't need more than a feeling as Boston trounces the opponent. There's unfortunately going to be more Faith No More as uppers beat downers. Put the spotlight on that Rainbow as they weather a storm. The black queen broke out of asylum city and delivered a win for Queen. This is a memoriam to Haken as they lose to Devin Townsend's alien insanity. Fear is the key to beating a mean man, as showcased by Grand Magus.
Part I, Round 40, Matches 235-240
| Play In Round |
| Moonchild Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limp Bizkit - My Way | vs. | Slipknot - The Devil in I | |
| Youtube 50 | Nominators | Youtube 50 | |
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
| Play In Round |
| Nights of the Dead Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manowar - Achilles, Agony, and Ecstasy in Eight Parts | vs. | Unleash the Archers - Soulbound | |
| @____no5 | Nominators | ||
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
| Play In Round |
| Nights of the Dead Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| King Diamond - Welcome Home | vs. | Black Sabbath - Hand of Doom | |
| Popoff 500 | Nominators | ||
| Youtube | Spotify | Amazon | Links |
Play In Round |
| Trios Match |
| Nights of the Dead Division | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dokken - KISS of Death | vs. | Black Veil Brides - In the End | vs. | Whitesnake - Walking in the Shadow of the Blues | ||
Popoff 500 | Nominators | Youtube 50 | Nominators | |||
Links | Links |
| Play In Round |
| Remember Tomorrow Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tarot - Stigmata (I Feel for You) | vs. | Mercyful Fate - Melissa | |
| @Diesel 11 | Nominators | Popoff 500 | |
| Youtube | Spotify | | Links |
Last edited:
Sorry for the delay. Henry Kissinger died while I was working on it and I got distracted.
Yeah, I forgot to update the nominations, due to the aforementioned distraction. I'm fixing it now.
Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
A few thoughts on this round:
28-minutes long song is too much, even with interesting parts. I think the best long songs are ~12-13 minutes.
Unleash The Archers' song has cool melodies.
This early Black Sabbath song has a great riff.
Kiss Of Death is one of Dokken's strongest songs. The riff is something else!
The BVB song is actually not that bad.
Whitesnake's song sounds too much like a typical song of theirs. It's not bad by any means, cool groove as always.
Marco doing a Black Sabbath/Dio era style of song. It suits him.
28-minutes long song is too much, even with interesting parts. I think the best long songs are ~12-13 minutes.
Unleash The Archers' song has cool melodies.
This early Black Sabbath song has a great riff.
Kiss Of Death is one of Dokken's strongest songs. The riff is something else!
The BVB song is actually not that bad.
Whitesnake's song sounds too much like a typical song of theirs. It's not bad by any means, cool groove as always.
Marco doing a Black Sabbath/Dio era style of song. It suits him.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Magnus
Pica Serdica
Next time, put headphones.
The Sentient
Trooper
It’s one of my nominations. I like the ‘87 onwards Whitesnake, but I really dig some of the earlier stuff. Very difficult to choose which track to nominate between Trouble, Walking in the Shadow of the Blues, Love Ain’t no Stranger or Crying in the Rain but I’ve gone for WITSOTB.