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!

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  • Total voters
    8
  • Poll closed .
If KISS was honest and looked at themselves, they'd let go doing rock and roll. Uriah Heep wins handily. It's time for Anthem to have a grieve of heart (what a weirdly translated phrase) as they're stomped by Accept. Burning times have come to the desert plains (this feels so biblical for some reason) as Iced Earth beats Judas Priest. The legend of steel cannot affect the raven child, as Avantasia wins. A barracuda bites Alice, Heart wins. And finally, it sure smells like Soundgarden was outshined by Nirvana.




Part I, Round 45, Matches 265-270


Play In Round
Match 265
Aces High Division​
Buckethead - Jordan
vs.
Death - Lack of Comprehension​
@Stardust
Nominators
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Play In Round
Match 266
Flight 666 Division​
Metallica - To Live is to Die
vs.
Megadeth - Devils Island​
Popoff 500
Nominators
Best Music Art 100​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Play In Round
Match 267
Flight 666 Division​
Sabaton - Winged Hussars
vs.
Blind Guardian - Wheel of Time​
@KidInTheDark666
Nominators
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Play In Round
Match 268
Flight 666 Division​
Led Zeppelin - Communication Breakdown
vs.
The Runaways - Cherry Bomb​
Popoff 500
Nominators
Radio EHS 100​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Play In Round
Match 269
Die With Your Boots On Division​
Def Leppard - Let It Go
vs.
Twisted Sister - Under the Blade​
Popoff 500
Nominators
Popoff 500​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links

Play In Round
Match 270
Die With Your Boots On Division​
Cruachan - Ride On
vs.
Amorphis - Black Winter Day​
@Perun
Nominators
Popoff 500​
Youtube | Spotify | Amazon
Links
 
The Runaways look better than the Deep Zen Pill.
The Amorphis song might be better but Cruachan are Irish, and R.I.P. Shane MacGowan, and Per vs. Popoff, so there you go.
 
It sounds like Buckethead wrote Jordan while button mashing on Guitar Hero. No thanks. Lack of Comprehension has a really interesting, psychedelic intro that doesn’t really connect with the rest of the song, but I still like it. This is stronger than some of the other Death I’ve heard in this game so far. The break into the chorus is brutal as hell, as is the breakdown riff afterwards. Damn, this is just pure riff salad and I’m into it this time. I still can’t say I’m in love with Death, but the dynamics are stellar and it’s light years better than The Colonel's Extra Crispy.

I love classic Metallica, but I have never seen the hype around To Live Is To Die. It’s overlong and it lacks any real musical hooks a la better instrumentals like Kthulu and Orion. The first memorable section happens around 4:30, where the song vastly improves. Up until then it feels like a more modern Metallica track: a bunch of E chug rhythm riffs pasted together. Honestly, the song would be far superior if it just started here. But it still never really goes anywhere. The talking part is awkward, the ending is super awkward…Devil’s Island tears it to shreds in every way. From the thunderous full band intro with Dave shredding a tapping solo that sounds like insane laughter, to Gar’s powerful tom-tom fills, to the rollicking bass break that leads into the verses. Devils Island is not Megadeth’s most adventurous arrangement, but the riffs are strong and its a great shot of adrenaline and it’s a fun shout-a-long.

Winged Hussars is one of Sabaton’s most anthemic, ridiculous, and fun tracks ever. It’s pure bombast and full of the typical Sabaton cheesy bits. The chorus is just a blast. I also really like the synth-lead bridge that segues into the guitar solos. Wheel of Time is a nice epic, with generally more direct vocal lines than many Blind Guardian songs, but once again: the production is just so, so poor. It’s so muddy. The levels are wildly off. I can hear string flourishes better than I can hear the guitars. It just sounds like absolute junk. Musically, it’s dense and melodic and fun and dark and all the things that make Blind Guardian great, but I just can’t get over how bad it sounds. Blind Guardian may have forgotten their past production woes, but we remember. In September. When the Winged Hussars arrived.

I find Communication Breakdown and Cherry Bomb to be pretty equally annoying. Screechy, whiny, and just not my cup of tea. But, damn, I really, really hate Cherie Currie’s vocals in the chorus of Cherry Bomb, so I guess Zeppelin win by default.

Let It Go seems pretty typical of Def Leppard: boom-baps, groovin’ blues rock riffs, hooky pop chorus, and some shimmering production glitter. It’s fine. There’s nothing offensive about it. There’s some pretty interesting little fills in the rhythm guitar lines. I far prefer the musicality of Under the Blade, even though the drums were recorded in a potato. It kinda sounds like an early Dio track with far, far worse vocals. Musically, I find Twisted Sister much more to my liking, even if Dee Snider’s voice is pretty bad.

It’s damn well bloody foul fucking play that this Cruachan track featuring (and produced by) Shane MacGowan would appear this week! It’s a killer Celtic dirge with a nice build towards the double-time ending. Really cool stuff. Rough around the edges like all Celtic metal, but damn fine still. But Black Winter Day is a classic, my dudes. This is honestly the hardest match of the round because I’m very familiar with this Amorphis track (and the re-recorded version with Tomi Joutsen with far better vocals) and I’ve never heard Ride On before but I was entranced by it. In the end I must go with Amorphis and their killer guitar melodies.
 
"Jordan" has a pretty cool computerized groove that eventually leads into a great extended solo with some nice rhythmic change-ups. The twangy effervescent section toward the end is also very cool. A great instrumental. "Lack Of Comprehension" has a surprisingly gentle clean opening which plunges incongruously into heavier thrashy stuff with the expectedly bad vocals. There's a good riff or two in there, and the eastern solo is great, but the songwriting is a bit incoherent and slapdash. Sorry @Mosh, but this is an easy call for @Stardust's nominee. Winner: Buckethead - "Jordan"

"To Live Is To Die" has a very pretty acoustic opening that eventually gives way to the song's predominant plodding groove. The faster bit that breaks up the groove is nice, and the harmonized leads and solos over the main rhythm also work well. The choruses of harmonized guitars later on sound great, and the gentle clean guitar bit with swelling harmonized accents is excellent. The spoken word bit is OK, and the return to the acoustic bit at the end is a bit awkward, but ultimately nice. This one's actually a little better than I'd remembered, though it feels like some of the plodding parts could have been trimmed a little. Still very good overall. "Devils Island" has an appropriately sinister opening that soon kicks into a driving verse that builds nicely into a solid but simple chorus. The solos are great, as is the bridge, and the ending is effective. This is actually really close, with the Metallica track being more grand and complex and the Megadeth track being more groovy and energetic. I'd be fine with either one winning, but at the moment I'm feeling the Metallica track a little more. Winner: Metallica - "To Live Is To Die"

"Winged Hussars" comes out of the gate with the cheesy synths front and center. Brodén's not the best singer, but the vocal melodies here are solid, and big choral accents fit the tone of the song. Not sure why he rolls all of his R's, but whatever. Very nice melodic lead with a strong flourish at the end, and the chorus is suitably catchy. Pretty good overall. "Wheel Of Time" has a pretty cool middle eastern opening, and the vocal production here is noticeably better than on most of the other BG stuff I've heard. The string and horn accompaniment is a little odd, but I think it mostly works. The chorus is solid and the solo section is great, despite the video gamey guitar tone. The extended symphonic instrumental around the halfway mark feels unnecessary, but the song changes gears afterward to mostly justify its second half. Kind of overblown, but this is definitely the more interesting and unique track in this match-up -- so, sorry @KidInTheDark666, but I have to go with @Shmoolikipod's nominee this time. Winner: Blind Guardian - "Wheel Of Time"

"Communication Breakdown" has simplistic riffs, a not-great verse, and a so-so chorus. The solo is fine, but also exactly what you'd expect. Plant sings his heart out here, but those sickly vocal harmonies at the end kinda suck. I just kind of shrug my shoulders at this one. "Cherry Bomb" also has a simplistic groove, and the vocal delivery isn't really to my taste. The solo is fine. Another shoulder shrugger. Well, I'm not a fan of either song, but I guess this Zeppelin track is noticeably worse than most of their catalog, while the Runaways track is one of their best known, so I'll break the tie in the direction of grading on a curve. Winner: The Runaways - "Cherry Bomb"

"Let It Go" isn't even in the top half of the songs on High 'N' Dry in my opinion, but it's still a great track. It's got a memorable riff and a nice atmospheric verse that builds effectively into a solid chorus, and how can you dislike the cowbell-laden bridge 1? The guitar leads are really good, and the excellent airy bridge 2 previews the future Leppard vocal sound. Cool outro, too. Great stuff. Twisted Sister has about two good songs total, and "Under The Blade" is not one of them. The riffs are OK, but the vocal lines aren't very good, and the chorus flat-out sucks. The lead work is fine, I guess. The song runs out of ideas around the 3 minute mark, but it just keeps on going. Yeah, no thanks. The easiest of calls for Def Leppard here. Winner: Def Leppard - "Let It Go"

"Ride On" has a pleasant flute, string, and acoustic guitar opening. The female vocals are nice and have a strong melody. The male vocalist sounds half-drunk during the softer parts, then overly throaty during the heavier bits, but I've heard much worse. The solo is tasteful, and the outro has some really nice harmonic stuff going on between the guitar and bass. Good stuff. "Black Winter Day" has some interesting melodic stuff going on in the music, but the Cookie Monster vocals need to go drown themselves in the pool. (In fairness, they're toward the less offensive end of the Muppet spectrum, but still...) The round-toned synth has a flutelike flavor to it, and the melodic leads around the 2/3 mark are nice. This would have been a more interesting match if the second track had clean vocals, but alas, this is an easy call for @Perun's nominee. Winner: Cruachan - "Ride On"
 
Buckethead against Death is fucked up, both of these songs are among their artist's best. "Jordan" is the sonic equivalent of a basketball game (the title referencing the iconic player), and Bucket utilizes his killswitch to amp up intensity until he explodes into glorious wailings and noodlings. I've come to appreciate this song more and more over time; in spite of the insanity it's pretty focused and has great melodies throughout. "Lack of Comprehension", meanwhile, is one of the best tracks on Human, and that guitar sound is awesome. So much aggression in a shorter capsule, and Sean Reinert's shifting drum beats add a great progressive flair to the album's most straight-forward track. I could really go either way on this, but "Jordan" brings me more joy overall and also Mosh voted against Ahab. Buckethead.

"To Live Is to Die" isn't bad but it's very overlong and is easily the worst of Metallica's instrumentals. "Devils Island" is awesome, one of the coolest songs on Peace Sells, even if Dave sounds like a strangled muskrat. Megadeth.

The Last Stand remains the creative nadir of Sabaton's career, as they scraped the bottom of their recycling barrel. At least on other albums you had one song or two that reaches some sort of peak. The best songs on TLS barely rise above the rest. The first time I heard the album it was in a YouTube video that had removed "Winged Hussars" to avoid a copyright strike. Frankly I missed nothing. The only good thing about this song is the memes it's spawned. The rest of it is boring, lackluster, soulless shit that just redoes everything the band has done before. And fuck ALL THE WAY OFF with the "WE REMEMBER... IN SEPTEMBER..." I DON'T WANNA REMEMBER I WANT YOU TO TELL ME THE GODDAMN STORY YOU FUCKING anyway at least Blind Guardian are original.

"Cherry Bomb" is pretty good. "Communication Breakdown" is not one of Led Zeppelin's best songs. The Runaways.

I don't care about either of these songs. Elsa did "Let It Go" better. Twisted Sister have like three decent songs and that's about it. Def Leppard is basically just writing an AC/DC tribute here, and this game already has too much AC/DC. Ughhhh I guess Twisted Sister.

Tough last battle. Both songs have positives. Amorphis's is probably more well-rounded, but Cruachan have a cool pipe intro plus female vocals. I guess I'll go with them. That male singer sucks though.
 
"Ride On" has a pleasant flute, string, and acoustic guitar opening. The female vocals are nice and have a strong melody. The male vocalist sounds half-drunk during the softer parts, then overly throaty during the heavier bits, but I've heard much worse.
Shane MacGowan of The Pogues is singing the clean bits in the beginning. He was almost assuredly drunk while recording (and prior to recording, and after recording). The harsh vocals are someone else.

The Shane MacGowan slander in this thread is right blasphemy.
 
Buckedhead, Megadeth, Sabaton, Led Zep obviously, Twisted Sister and Cruachan's Ride On which was the best new discovery in this round.

This guy is Shane? :oops: Sounds like Lemmy on alcohol chewing ankles.
Anyway, wonderful song, entering my 2023's discoveries Playlist. By the way the original was on my 2019 Playlist introduced by an Irish friend.
 
Jordan is a great track, it is one of the more focused Buckethead expeditions with some recognizable riffs and hooks. Its inclusion on Guitar Hero II makes it a sort of generation-defining song and is probably important for this game as a result. Lack of Comprehension is a juggernaut though. A great crossroads between the early relentlessly brutal Death and the later proggier Death. Up there with the Stargazers and Rimes and other Metal masterpieces.

Communication Breakdown is a classic track but doesn't really do much. I like Robert Plant on this song, but other than that meh. Cherry Bomb feels like it's going to fall apart at any minute and I kinda love it. The wild fluctuations in tempo, the manic vocal stylings, this song has personality. But not the creepy Alphamale Zeppelin kind of personality.
 
A couple of interesting matchups:

Galloping thrash metal (best!) vs melodic, long with different parts and interesting thrash metal epic.
Few bands can rival the catchiness of Sabaton's songs vs one of the most interesting BG songs imo. Vibe and parts.

Let It Go is one of Def Leppard's best songs (Under The Blade is not a bad TS song), while Communication Breakdown is one of Led Zeppelin's top.
 
Classic Death full of great, sinister riffing? Sign me up! The solo in "Jordan" is very good, the rest quite bad. Easy, easy vote for Death.

I don't rate "To Live is to Die" very highly. It feels more like a disjointed collection of riffs and melodies than an actual song. Easily the worst of Metallica's classic instrumentals. "Devils Island" is not the best track on Peace Sells..., but it's energetic and good fun overall. Vote goes to Megadeth.

Every second of "Winged Hussars" is extremely enjoyable for what it is, but it's very derivative of basically all their other stuff (I particular hear a lot of my favourite Sabaton song, "The Carolean's Prayer", in it). I wouldn't mind giving it a vote, but "Wheel of Time" is just so much more interesting and engaging. Great performance from Hansi and the crew. I'm going with Blind Guardian.

I don't always understand the hate Led Zeppelin gets. Sure, "Communication Breakdown" is not their best tune, but it's still a decent rocker. On the other hand, "Cherry Bomb" sucks. Led Zeppelin.

I usually like Twisted Sister a lot more than Def Leppard, but I admit "Let it Go" is pretty good. "Under the Blade" didn't really grab me, so I guess I'm going with Def Leppard.

Both songs in the last match are very good, and I won't have any problem with either of them winning this. I think "Ride On" has a more unique vibe and generally stood out the most, however, so I'm voting for Cruachan.
 
1. Death does nothing for me, and those vocals are simply bad. Buckethead's piece was far more interesting.
2. I like both of these tracks, but the emotion in Metallica's blows Megadeth's out of the water.
3. It's a shame that this Sabaton tune is up against Blind Guardian, because it will lose. But BG's song is good. Better than Sabaton's? No.
4. Ugh, I don't care. Neither are for me. Led Zeppelin, I guess, because it's less annoying.
5. Def Leppard's song is nothing special, but it has a good drive. I don't like Twisted Sister.
6. These are both decent, but both brought down by weak vocals. Cruachan's entertained me more.

He was almost assuredly drunk while recording (and prior to recording, and after recording).
Lol.
 
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