The Greatest Metal Song Cup - Part II, Round 4, Matches 82-87

[Diesel 11]

"The Furthest Shore" was fine but nothing special until the lengthy outro which was great. "Dragonaut" meanwhile is five minutes long and does nothing, which is at least better than "Dopesmoker" which is 60+ minutes long and does nothing. I guess While Heaven Wept.

"My Own Summer" is fucking awesome and frankly if I was remaking my nominations list it would've been on the shortlist. I think I heard this one some years back on SiriusXM and the blend of hypnotic guitars, tranquil verse vocals, and unhinged chorus screams was so fucking cool. I came back to it maybe a year or two ago and I appreciate it in a lot more ways. The riff is awesome and I love Chi Cheng's bass playing on here. RIP to a legend. Knick of all people hating it is throwing me. Of all the people I expected to be mad at in this game, he was at the bottom of the list. Fucker. Evanescence is awesome too and I've had this chorus stuck in my head all day, but Jesus Christ this should be a win for Deftones if you people would [REDACTED].

Lamb of God was fine, but Ted's got a classic.

Man, "Dry County" is such a cool song. A glam rock track that tells the story of an former oil town in ten minutes - never thought it would work so well. The chorus is maybe a bit much but otherwise this is great from beginning to end, even has some Steinman flourishes! Shame that I've gotta vote against it right away, but "Sweet Child o' Mine" is a legitimately perfect song, one of the best rock songs ever made and possibly my favorite GNR song. Iconic riff, of course, but I also love everything else. The lyrics are a wonderful description of a woman, Slash's guitarwork is amazing, the big solo after the third chorus is GOD TIER, and the outro is epic as fuck. Loudness had a great riff and awful everything else.

"Dream On" doesn't do much for me, but I really like the tasteful guitar playing. It's like they're using the guitar to do what most artists would use a piano for. Voting for VH though, great fun song and DLR is pretty reined-in throughout.

Tough matchup between two of the coolest cover songs in all of music. I love how sinister Manson makes "Sweet Dreams" (and the music video is legitimately creepy). But I also love how fun Alien Ant Farm make "Smooth Criminal", and that's the direction I'm gonna be voting in.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Knick of all people hating it is throwing me. Of all the people I expected to be mad at in this game, he was at the bottom of the list. Fucker.

Not that there’s much going on instrumentally besides a basic walk-down riff for over three minutes, but my dislike of Deftones is all down to Chino’s vocal style: non-melodic, sometimes atonal soft whining and then bad screams. I never feel like he’s actually singing in key.

 

[Confeos]

Based on my nominations so far, I figure some people now know that I'm a big doom metal guy. While Heaven Wept is one of the more progressive doom acts in the arsenal, which only adds to the enjoyment, but most of all they have those heavy, crunching guitars and big, soaring vocals on top of an absolutely epic atmosphere that I just love so much. Glad to see that people like them. Sleep has been on my list for ages, so I'm glad to hear some more from them. I really like the obvious Sabbath influences, but as a whole, I still think my own nominee is stronger. While Heaven Wept.

Oh, Deftones, look what you made me do - you actually made me vote for something that has Amy Lee on it! I hate her voice, but damn, this Deftones song is so terrible that I have to put my hate aside for a while and go with Evanescence. Not happy with it, though.

I can name more than one Lamb of God song that I think is better than "Overlord", but despite its slow start, it did manage to go somewhere and was fairly enjoyable overall. Ted Nugent is an idiot, and "Cat Scratch Fever" is dumb in the not-enjoyable way. Lamb of God.

Look, I could easily vote for Guns n' Roses in the next match and be perfectly content with my choices. "Sweet Child O'Mine" is a classic for a reason, from the riff to the chorus to the solos. It's overplayed, but I really don't mind. However, "Dry County" is just so epic and every bit as good - it's almost the counterpart to GnR's own "November Rain". Plus, it has the extra benefit of not being overplayed, at least not in my presence. Bon Jovi gets my vote - and Loudness was not really a contender at all.

"And the Cradle Will Rock..." is a strange choice for a Van Halen pick. There's nothing truly memorable about the song, almost like Popoff ran out of options and had to choose some lesser tunes to fill up his list. "Dream On" is not amazing either, but it has much more going for it, so Aerosmith it is.

Hey, I remember when Alien Ant Farm's version of "Smooth Criminal" came out - it was quite the hit when I was still in school in the early 00's. I actually think it's a perfect cover; it doesn't alter the original too much, and the riff benefits a lot from those heavier guitars. On the other hand, Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet Dreams" is plodding, boring and Manson fails miserably at sounding menacing as he butchers the vocals. Going with nostalgia and Alien Ant Farm in the last one.

 

[JudasMyGuide]

Yeah, @Confeos , the While Heaven Wept is a great nomination, thanks for that, I'm gonna check the band some more.

 

[Spambot]

Too late to vote, not too late to shitpost.

Match 241 - Sleep
While Heaven Wept has the cringiest name and a much, much better song. However, I can't shake the feeling that the vocal was just a random guy they found on the street, and he's doing his best, but it's bringing the whole song down. Sleep has this stoner-rock feeling, which sat better driving to work in the morning, and I can't believe that it lost by 12 votes to a 15-minute prog-song in a competition where these songs often get skipped, let alone voted for.

Match 242 - Evanescence
Purely for nostalgic reasons, I still remember my friend giving me a pirated copy of "Fallen" and saying: Here, listen to this before they get commercial (yes, we had hipsters then). However, I don't think it's fair to label Evanescence nu-metal. It's such a broad term that gets stapled on everything circa 2000 that doesn't fit in classic rock/metal. SOAD, Tool, Linkin Park and a lot of other bands that don't have that much in common get labeled like that and now Evanescence is also nu-metal. Not even close. The best I could name them is "pop-metal".

I don't think I'd like this song at all if I heard it today for the first time. That made me remember the theory that the music you were listening to as a kid or in your teens will always be imprinted on you, no matter how bad it was. It will always be connected to that period of life when you were frequently experiencing new stuff and sensations, and it will always "hit hard". Even if you find much better music later in your life, it will never hit that hard, it will never take you whole. I think an old person who was a music fan his whole life and was always open to new bands and genres will always have the most intense feelings about the music that was around him when he was young, even if times wasn't always rosy. I mean, I can discover some great bands in my 50s and reminiscence: "Oh, I remember this period. It was when I paid a half of my mortgage" or "This song was playing when I got out of the hospital when my appendix burst". Although there are much bigger milestones in life, they will never be as intense as some nu-metal crap taking you back to the times when you got drunk one summer vacation and puked all over your PC or that song that was playing on your disc-man when your high school crush waved at you across the hallway.

Match 243 - Lamb of God

"Overlord" is one of those songs that made me go "holy fu**** shit" and gave me goosebumps when I first heard it (and it still does). Half "Alice in Chains" at their melancholic-est, half Slayer at their most brutal-est, this song is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde summed up in six minutes. There is a growl before the clean chorus, like a warning of what's to come, but when that break comes as 3:30 - holy mother of riffs—it obliterates everything standing in its way. Except Ted Nugent, apparently. I'm always trying to separate the artist from his music, and most of the time I succeed, but not with Ted Nugent. I don't want to derail this thread, so I'm going to put it in spoiler, but I also have to write about it in case there are some people who didn't know this about him.

Spoiler

The guy uses head-worn microphone. Seriously, WTF?! Are you presenting new iPhone or are you trying to sing to a rock song?!

Match 244 - Guns n' Roses

Looking at the period when they started, there is no logic in Guns n' Roses succeeding. Metal was on the decline, grunge was on the rise, and if the 80s didn't need anything, it's another "glam-metal" band singing about sex, drugs and rock 'n roll. Yet, they did become one of the biggest rock bands, and the answer is in the Sweet Child o'Mine. There are a hundred of songs in the same vein, but not a lot of them have stood the test of time like this one did. Or so I thought. Last year, I was doing a music quiz for 8th graders (13-14 years) and I had this category "Older foreign music". I just had to put some "heavier" song, and I wanted to put something that at least somebody had to know. Nope, not a single correct answer (but they did recognize some others, like ABBA, The Beatles and Michael Jackson, so it's not so bad, I guess).

Match 245 - Aerosmith
Van Halen is really getting a beating in this tournament, I'm a Van Roth fan and I would still vote for "Dream On". "...And the Cradle Will Rock" is the middle of the road song from the middle of the road album, while "Dream On" is a great cover those early Aerosmith albums that often get overlooked these days (they do have cool songs except that Armageddon ballad). Still, it doesn't compare to Eminem's original.

Match 246 - Alien Ant Farm
AAF had one song that I remember and it's a cover. But they named their album "Anthology" (LOL). But even that cover is nothing special. But the video was cool (I still remember paying homage to Jackson's original video where the tiles lighted as he moonwalked over them). Marilyn Mason has nothing except that "taking out his own rib for... reasons" rumour that circulated throughout the world in the times before the internet. The only way I could get through this song* is that I sang the pun version:

Sweet dreams are made of cheese
Who am I to dis' a Brie?
I Cheddar the world and a Feta Cheese
Everybody's looking for Stilton​

*I lied, I couldn't get through the whole song. Instead, I skipped a few songs and "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits came. So, I parked in front of my workplace enjoying the beautiful story-telling skills of Mark Knopfler.

 

[Jer]

Looking at the period when they started, there is no logic in Guns n' Roses succeeding. Metal was on the decline, grunge was on the rise, and if the 80s didn't need anything, it's another "glam-metal" band singing about sex, drugs and rock 'n roll.

Eh, 1987 was still pretty peak era for hard rock and metal. We hadn’t even seen the releases of …And Justice For All, Seventh Son, or Operation: Mindcrime yet, or the huge Monsters Of Rock arena tour with Metallica / Scorpions / Dokken / Van Hagar, or Rust In Peace, or Metallica’s big black album sellout/breakthrough. And I don’t think any notable grunge bands released albums before 1988, and they certainly didn’t get major mainstream attention until Nevermind in 1991.

Realistically, GNR put out 3 full-length albums and an EP before metal truly declined in the mainstream’s view.

 

[LooseCannon]

While Heaven Wept has put their opponent Sleep, well, to sleep. Deftones is going under against Evanescence. No matter who scratches you, if a fever develops, see a doctor. Ted Nugent. What a crazy night in dry county as GNR wins their matchup. Van Halen's just gonna have to dream on as they are trounced by Aerosmith. Sweet dreams to Marilyn Manson (and Eurythmics) as Alien Ant Farm wins the nu metal cover-off.

---

Part I, Round 42, Matches 247-252​

Play In Round	Match 247​	To Tame a Land Division​
Moonsorrow - Huuto	vs.​	Skyclad - The Wickedest Man in the World​
@Perun	Nominators​	@srfc​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Play In Round	Match 248​	From Fear to Eternity Division​
Fates Warning - Eye to Eye	vs.​	Opeth - Ghost of Perdition​
@MindRuler	Nominators​	@MrKnickerbocker​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Play In Round	Match 249​	From Fear to Eternity Division​
Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction	vs.​	Symphony X - Masquerade '98​
@Shmoolikipod	Nominators​	Best Music Art 100​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Play In Round	Match 250​	From Fear to Eternity Division​
Queensryche - Revolution Calling	vs.​	Airbourne - Black Dog Barking​
Popoff 500	Nominators​	@The Sentient​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Play In Round	Match 251​	Iron Maiden Division​
Villagers of Ioannina City - Zvara	vs.​	Count Raven - Baltic Storm​
@____no5	Nominators​	@Confeos​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

Play In Round	Match 252​	Iron Maiden Division​
Sepultura - Attitude	vs.​	Slayer - Dead Skin Mask​
Popoff 500	Nominators​	Popoff 500​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon	Links​	Youtube | Spotify | Amazon​

 

[Shmoolikipod]

Make sure to have a cheeseburger nearby this round!

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

 

[Kalata]

This song by Skyclad has a good music but weak vocals. It happens quite often.
Fates Warning's Eye To Eye has a classic rock/metal feel that will always be great. Solid guitar work and great vocals.
Symphony X's Masquerade is another interesting song of theirs. Great Nightwish-esque vereses and melodic riff with a power metal chorus. The instrumental section is very good, solos and melodies with keys.
Queensryche's Revolution Calling is one of their songs with the most impactful harmonies, riff and chorus.

 

[MindRuler]

Another one of my nominations facing Opeth?

 

[LooseCannon]

Huuto really just has great music. Awesome stuff. The growls aren't so good, so I was fully prepared to vote for Skyclad. But man, I really felt the Skyclad song missed. The vocals sounded funky, almost hip-hopish to my ears, and the music was nothing special, so I'm voting for Moonsorrow.

Fates Warning has been a band that I've always felt I should get into, but then when I listen I find them to be fairly pedestrian. That's true here, Eye To Eye sounds like a radio single rather than a prog band's work. Ghost of Perdition, on the other hand, what a great track. Awesome riffs and guitar work and mostly quite nice clean vocals, and I've found myself getting more and more into Åkerfeldt's growls as well. Opeth by a mile here.

I'm a huge Symphony X fan, but Masquerade is not a song I find to be among their best. Even the '98 re-record? Lackluster. Deconstruction is a truly odd song, in all the Devin Townsend ways. There's large parts of it I didn't love, but it was never boring. Devin himself sounds really good on his solo work, so let's go with DTP.

Queensryche's Revolution Calling has long been one of my favourite songs off of Mindcrime. It's Tate at his best, great riffage, and a big growing feeling. Eyes of a Stranger closes this album perfectly but you wouldn't appreciate it without kicking things off with a bang. Meanwhile Airbourne sounds like average metal, inoffensive, but not enough to impress against a song I'm surprised needs to pass through the prelims.

Zvara is an...odd track, interesting to listen to once, but I don't think I'd care to listen again. Nice to see an instrumental from time to time. I'm not sure what instrument is being highlighted here. Count Raven might be some sort of discount Black Sabbath, but it's perfectly fine for me, even if their not-Ozzy singer is a little flat. The instrumental section was pretty nice. There's ideas here, maybe the execution is lacking, but hey. I still liked it more.

I've been happier with Sepultura than ever before. A lot of the non-Roots stuff works a lot better for me than that album. This song, being from Roots, is just entirely too nu-metal for me. It's tough to listen to, bad vocals, big dumb guitar sound, etc. Slayer at least actually sounds like thrash, so they get my vote.

 

[Jer]

"Huuto" sets a bright, ethereal mood with its acoustic & synth opening before getting crunchy, and then an extremely aggravated Gollum shows up to ruin the proceedings. The instrumental parts are generally nice, but I can't stomach the rest, and sixteen minutes of it is way, way too much. I do like the interlude with the mouth harp in the middle, though. "The Wickedest Man In The World" has an almost 70s vibe to its primary groove, which is interesting. The airy synths feel a little out of place, and of course Martin Walkyier is a much better lyricist than vocalist, but he gets the job done here in the typically coarse style of his earlier albums. Great solos and some interesting songwriting detours. I wouldn't put this song near the top of Skyclad's discography, but it's a solid and enjoyable track that doesn't leave any cookie crumbs or melted magical rings in its wake, and sorry @Perun, but that's more than enough for @srfc's nominee to win this match-up. Winner: Skyclad - "The Wickedest Man In The World"

"Eye To Eye" has a nice mix of clean and distorted guitars in an accessibly proggy package. I like a lot of the vocal melodies here, though the odd rhythm doesn't really help the chorus. Ray Alder sounds really good, as expected. Strong stuff overall. "Ghost Of Perdition" starts off with a great haunting first 7 seconds, and then Åkerfeldt makes it completely unlistenable with his particularly coarse Cookie Monster nonsense. The music and songwriting are otherwise great, as expected, and Åkerfeldt also sounds great when he stays clean, but my eyes roll a full 360 degrees when he starts growling again. If it weren't for the "look how much I can annoy your parents!" parts I would totally vote for Opeth here, but sorry @MrKnickerbocker, I would much rather listen to @MindRuler's nominee. Winner: Fates Warning - "Eye To Eye"

"Deconstruction" starts with a fart, for fuck's sake. There are some good guitar parts here and there, but I could do without the cheeseburger stuff, the stream of consciousness blathering, the screaming, the masturbatory sections, and the dips into carnival music, which when combined unfortunately make up 95% of the track. This isn't enjoyable, it isn't funny, and it's only passably interesting on a pure performance art level. No thanks. "Masquerade '98" already wins in its first 10 seconds, despite the low-rent synths -- the opening is pure neoclassical comfort food. The rest of the song has good grooves and strong, if a bit over-the-top, vocals. The backing vocals are Queenier and more amateurish than I would prefer, but you've gotta love the harpsichord bit and the extended solos. Cool queasy outro, too. Sorry, @Shmoolikipod, but this is a very easy call for the list nominee. Winner: Symphony X - "Masquerade '98"

"Revolution Calling" has a great intro with some nice percussive changes, a punchy and memorable verse, a great pre-chorus, and a solid chorus. Cool solo and outro, too. It's only a mid-tier song on Operation: Mindcrime, but that says more about the overall quality of that album than saying anything negative about this song, which is still pretty great. "Black Dog Barking" is pure AC/DC worship with less distinctive vocals. It's got punch, but it's 100% derivative. Not much else to say about it. Sorry, @The Sentient, but I've got to vote for the better and more distinctive song here. Winner: Queensrÿche - "Revolution Calling"

"Zvara" has an appealing chanty groove and some pretty sick clarinet solos, but it's pretty much a one-trick pony that says almost everything it has to say in the first half of the song, and then just keeps on going. There's finally a slight twist toward the very end of the track, but they could have easily chopped out a couple of minutes without losing anything meaningful. "Baltic Storm" has an appealing main riff. The singer sounds somewhere between Ozzy and one of the Mastodon dudes. The vocal melodies are solid, but nothing too special. OK, this is starting to plod -- checking the clock at the 4 minute mark and it's less than half done. The guitar and synth interlude is pretty great, at least, and the outro is pretty good. Both of these songs overstayed their welcome while still having cool parts, but sorry @____no5, I think @Confeos's nominee had more musical meat on its bones, and that's enough to tip this match in its favor. Winner: Count Raven - "Baltic Storm"

"Attitude" has an interesting twangy folk intro that morphs into something almost industrial before devolving into empty chug, and then something that sounds like out-of-tune Helmet with lame non-melodic vocals. Yeah, like most of the other Sepultura I've heard, this sucks. "Dead Skin Mask" has some nice trade-off melodic leads, and Tom Araya is much less annoying when he's speaking than when he's screaming. The main riff is OK, but not great. Bonus point for Araya actually singing melodically here (though not always in key). The solos mostly suck, as expected, and there are unfortunately quite a few of them. I'm also not on board with the kid talking all over the back end of the song, though I like the long piercing note at the very end. Not a fan of either track, but a better-than-usual Slayer song easily beats a typically bad Sepultura song. Winner: Slayer - "Dead Skin Mask"

 

[JudasMyGuide]

Another one of my nominations facing Opeth?

I feel like every fucking song of mine was pitted against Nightwish, welcome to the club and prepare to die.

 

[Jer]

I feel like every fucking song of mine was pitted against Nightwish, welcome to the club and prepare to die.

 

[Mosh]

The inclusion of Masquerade 98 furthers my suspicion that these magazine/radio/influenced top 100 lists are largely randomly selected and the curators aren’t actually listening to some of these tracks.

 

[LooseCannon]

We're gonna have a much better list once this is done!

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Instrumentally, Huuto is right up my alley. Epic, melodic, dramatic, folk melodies turned heavy…it’s really some fantastic music. I’m not a big fan of these harsh vocals, but they’re listenable due to the high quality of the instrumental. It definitely overstays its welcome, though, without having any dramatic shifts in dynamics. That final five minute stomp is killer, though. Skyclad are also going for a little bit of a folky vibe, it seems, but they sound like children compared to the depth and seriousness of Moonsorrow. The talking parts are super lame. Huuto takes this by a Finnish mile.

Eye to Eye is a fine enough song, I guess, off a fine enough Fates Warning album, I guess. I like Ray Alder and he’s the only choice for Fates Warning as a singer, but his melodies are not always the strongest. The verses are nice and emotional, but the chorus reeks of Def Leppard worship and it just doesn’t do anything for me. Ghost of Perdition, for me, is the absolute pinnacle of Opeth’s existence. It is unflinchingly dark, brutal, heavy, spooky, and yet beautiful, airy, calm and catchy. It’s a masterpiece of progressive music that feels positively alive. It never stops moving, even when it literally grinds to an acoustic halt. There’s not a moment wasted here. The guitar is sublime throughout, with riffs that have more energy than the majority of stuff in this game. Akerfeldt’s clean and harsh vocals sound amazing. I legitimately think this is one of the catchiest songs in metal. The song ends at the exact moment it should, yet I want it to keep going every time. I know some folks are going to write this song off immediately simply because HARSHVOCALSUCKDONKEYDICKSUGHJUSTSINGHIGHANDCLEANHEATHENS but you’re severely missing out.

Ghost of Perdition is one of my top ten heavy metal songs of all time.

Deconstruction literally starts with the sound of pooping before we get another typical Devin “art is stupid here’s some art” schtick. I shut it off after two minutes. I will admit the dramatic echoes of “cheeseburger!” made me giggle. I don’t get this guy, I don’t like it. Masquerade is far, far from my favorite Symphony X song (and certainly not the best song from the debut they could have covered with Russell), but at least it doesn’t include someone making a dick joke out of the word happiness. The classical intro is cool, the drums are great, the cheesy Queen break into the driving chorus is fun, solos are typical Romeo madness, it’s an alright Symphony X tune…until the outro, which is magnificent. Go away, Devin and enjoy your cheeseburger.

Revolution Calling is super cool…for the first 45 seconds. Really gripping riffs that land somewhere between classic prog and 80s cheese. And then Tate starts singing. He’s slightly less annoying here (until you get to the chorus). He’s still about the lamest voiced person to spit a line like “I’m tired of all this bullshit!” The bridge riff and solo are really nice, too. As usual, it’s too bad about Geoff. Black Dog Barking is just AC/DC worship with slightly more aggressive vocals. Also, this band is Australian? Come on, guys. Do better. Going with Queensryche by far, despite Geoff.

Zvara is intentionally plodding, with Greek(?) chanting and manic clarinet wailing. It’s weird. I kinda enjoy it. The beat change halfway through is cool and helps justify the traditional instrumentation. Baltic Storm really love Black Sabbath, if you couldn’t tell. The vocals are trying so hard to sound like Ozzy, but are far weaker than Ozzy (shock, awe, I know). The instrumental break around the midpoint is good, though, nice bass work (just like Sabbath). There’s no shift in dynamics over 9 and a half minutes, though, and that’s a crime. Villagers take this one easily for at least having a distinct sound and trying something new instead of making a worse copy of an iconic band.

Attitude also dips into traditional instrumentation, but the song proper does nothing for me. Just sounds like nu-metal with a cultural veneer. The opening riff of Dead Skin Mask is better than Sepultura’s whole song. I’m no Slayer fan, but it’s a decent little creepy riff. The talking is lame, but the riffs are fine throughout and it’s a nice mid-tempo groove. There’s even one riff that almost veers into polyrhythmic territory! I’m sure it’s by accident. The solos are atrocious, as usual. The cries of the victims at the end are too much. I hate them. Still, I’m giving this one to Slayer.

 

[JudasMyGuide]

I will do a full write-up tomorrow, but I just wanted to say that I love the fact the only Moonsorrow song in the cup is currently winning and mates, don't fuck it up, please. I had, like, three songs of theirs in my shortlist and then decided to have more of power metal and that there will definitely be enough Moonsorrow nominations already, because how couldn't there be, right?... yeah, I was a stupid fucking cunt.

Anyway, thanks @Perun for this nomination, I'd rather pick something off Verisäkeet or V myself, but whatever, good to have them in the cup.

 

[DJ James]

Attitude is one of the only “groove”/“nu” metal era Sepultura songs I like, but Dead Skin Mask is a classic!