Sleep are a classic band with a great sound, but While Heaven Wept are progressive, incredibly atmospheric (with some Floyd overtones thrown in for good measure), with good riffage and
catchy. I'll write more about this track further in this cup (I'm not afraid it wouldn't win); I can't fire all my ammunition right at the very beginning.
The Furthest Shore, no contest.
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Deftones vs Evanescence. Huh. Okay, I think I finally grew out of my Deftones stage, if there ever was something like that; listening to Moreno screaming his head off here made me want to go out and die in the snow and the cold. I feel really decadent voting for fucking Evanescence of all things, but I have mostly good memories of this track and Amy Lee is more tolerable (although I stil hate her timbre with a passion). Yeah, I admit, it's catchy. Always liked it. So, a vote from me to
a band that fucked Nightwish up.
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This next match is really hard to care about - on one side you get Cat Scratch Fever, whose popularity I never got, it's duller than a Dull McDave's dull cousin and even Motorhead couldn't make the song work, really, whereas in the opposite corner there's Lamb of God who sound as if they were intentionally trying to annoy me, with everything - the cleans, the shrieks, the growls, the ... sound.
I really don't want to vote for either, I usually go with a member's pick over a list, but then again, Ted Nugent only kills animals,
not his fans and he probably pisses off most of this forum politically (me too, but you know, enemy of my enemy...), so - with both eyes closed and fingers in my ears - I'll go with the boomer choice and vote for
Ted Nugent.
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Even though I like Guns N Roses nowadays (a lot, actually), Sweet Child of Mine mostly has just that riff and that's it. Dry County is of course absolutely ridiculous (Bon Jovi of all bands shouldn't be doing epics like this), but not only is the band my long time guilty pleasure outlet, the ridiculousness of it all is kinda endearing in itself, much like the Illiad song by Manowar.
The Loudness song is just pedestrian, I don't care about it at all.
My vote should be obvious, then
Well, yeah, but he'll say she was born to be his baby and that he'll be there for her, expecting that she'll say "thank you for loving me" and to lay his hands on her, further expecting to bounce and end the evening in and out of love, but unfortunately eventually Saap'll end up in the dry county.
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Like with Sabbath, whatever the band did later, the first six or seven Aerosmith albums are pure fire and although Dream On is overplayed and its atmosphere/approach has always rubbed me off the wrong way, with this fully serious attempt of sounding majestic and vaguely nostalgic from the Toxic Twins themselves, Msrs "Lord of your thighs" and "Down on your muffin". But, well, I can't deny its greatness, the buildup, the riff, the haunting production of the vocals... it has this almost Zeppelinesque feel to it, maybe a tad adapted to the arena rock era, but I could still imagine this song being on
Physical Graffiti or something.
Ah, Van Halen again. Again, their charm completely misses me, it's not catchy, it's not particularly rocking, it's just... there. Thanks, I'll pass.
Aerosmith.
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Two covers by bands I couldn't care for in the final round. BUT - there's something inherently rock-like in the Smooth Criminal original already and doing a mostly straight cover with guitar feels absolutely natural and the result is - much as I hate to admit it - awesome. Also, it was in
American Pie 2 and nostalgia's a bitch.
I actually like Eurythmics very much, but I never liked Sweet Dreams in the first place, it's monotonous and annoying and even of their bigger hits I'd still much rather listen to There Must Be an Angel, Here Comes the Rain Again or, dunno, I Saved the World Today, rather than this overplayed drone, especially as seen through a lens of Brian Warner, whose sweet dreams are probably made of raping to death both Annie Lennox
and Dave Stewart. And probably Moon Boy, for all I know.
I listened to both Manson versions and I don't know which is the most wretched, but Manson's tone and "distinguished methhead's rasp" is something I could live without, it just sounds so...
adolescent. The video, too. Ugh.
Cheers,
Alient Ant Farm, for actually doing a good song (now here's a sentence I never thought I'd utter).