Ok...time for the BIG 20...the songs which,in my opnion, are the 20 best metal songs ever...shall we begin?
20. Tornado Of Souls--Megadeth(Rust In Peace)
Another song from RIP, yeah I love everything about this album. This was one of the first metal songs I had heard, I was into Gn'R, Bon Jovi, Led Zep and stuff but this song is responsible for introducing me to metal music along with many of Metallica's works. Great thrasher this one, godly riffing!!!
19. The Trooper--Iron Maiden(Piece Of Mind)
A fan favourite....this song truly depicts what IM are about...a legendary song this one.
18. Creeping Death--Metallica(Ride The Lightening)
My favourite song off this album...'lica were at their ferocious best on this one. Godly guitar work.
17. Cowboys From Hell--Pantera(Cowboys From Hell)
Dimebag at his nastiest best!! on this one. The opening riff to this one is worth many albums by some other good bands.
16. Eyes Of A Stranger--Queensryche(Operation Mindcrime)
Queensryche's greatest song to date IMHO. Everything about this song is perfect..the atmosphere...the build up...and the chorus is....well, for lack of a better word...HEAVENLY.
15. The Divine Wings Of Tragedy--SymphonyX(TDWOT)
EPIC....POWERFUL...25 minutes of musical madness. It's not one of those casual listens though....best enjoyed late in the night right before going to sleep...listen to it with a pair of good headphones..close your eyes and turn the lights off.
14. Hangar18--Megadeth(Rust In Peace)
What can I say that hasn't been said before.....the solos on this one are definitely among the top 10 of all time.
13. Symphony Of Destruction--Megadeth(Countdown To Extinction)
One of the highest charting metal songs ever made...not too technical..not too fast as Megadeth should be...but still one of the most entertaining ever made.
12. Smells Like Teen Spirit--Nirvana(Nevermind)
Hmm..I go grunge again:) I remember the time Nevermind was released, I must have been 12-13 years old...it was Nirvana everywhere...we sang the songs in classrooms...blasted their songs all the time at home....of course..my tastes have changed over time...and I hardly listen to Nirvana anymore....but this song still has a special place in my heart. When I first heard it, I thought..nothing could get angrier and heavier than this....the angrier bit applies till today:). RIP Kurt Cobain.
11. Enter Sandman--Metallica(Metallica)
To borrow from what I said above...some songs will always hold a special place in my heart. The Black Album single handedly turned me from a classic rock/ hard rock listener into a metalhead....and I'm pretty sure it applies to many others in my age group too. I don't judge the quality of music for how much airplay it gets on MTV and Radio. I don't believe in the term "sell-out". Even if I did..I would say "sell-out" is when you conform to already established gimmicks/standards of success, did Metallica do that? Instead..they made a standard themselves...if songs like Enter Sandman..Sad But True..Through The Never...The Unforgiven..Wherever I May Roam..Nothing Else Matters are sell-outs...then damn!! every band on the planet should sell-out!! I listen to the likes of In Flames..Dark Tranquillity..Dismember..Soilwork..Carcass...Obituary..Cryptopsy etc now...Metallica gets play-time very seldom..but it was..is..and forever will be my DEAREST!!! metal album of all time. Pheww!!..glad I got that off my chest...lol
10. Angel Of Death--Slayer(Reign In Blood)
Infamous...Butcher..Angel of Deaaaathhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!Everything sounds messed up...for most parts you can't even figure out the notes Hannemann and King are shredding...the solos are totally screwed up...Araya's vocals are laughable when he hits the high notes....BUT!!! This is as good as speed/thrash can get....go figure:)
09. Hallowed Be Thy Name--Iron Maiden(Number Of The Beast)
Legendary band..legendary song...one of the most covered songs in metal history. Gigantic...epic..mammoth....ummmm..u know the rest..lol
08. Cemetery Gates--Pantera(Cowboys From Hell)
Never have harmonics been used so menacingly in all of metal. A complete metal song...heavy..beautiful...technical....and might I add one of the better "singing" performances by Phil Anselmo. RIP Dimebag
07. Highway Star--Deep Purple(Machine Head)
Do I need to say anything here? No, I guess...you can laugh at me for this choice or you can completely agree with me.
06. One--Metallica(...And Justice For All)
This song was my introduction to the land of double-bass mayhem. When the shredding/double bass kicks in aroun the 3/4th mark, you feel an adrenaline rush you never imagined could be attained by music....of course now the art has been mastered by many pounders but at that time...Lars Ulrich was THE man.
05. Paradise City--Guns n' Roses(Appetite For Destruction)
I know, I'm crossing the limits of aggravating the "true" metalheads; but I am what I am. This song, this album, this band...all are so dear to me that I just couldn't resist. I know, it's not metal...but it's heavier than atleast 20 songs on the whole list..and has one of the most infectious rhythm riffs ever. Don't agree? Sue me
04. Sad But True--Metallica(Metallica)
Refer to no. 11..lol..I'm getting lazy.
03. Fear Of The Dark--Iron Maiden(Fear Of The Dark)
Yes..yes..and yes. This is indeed my favourite IM song. I don't care for nostalgia and I don;t believe in the conception that older is always better. Yes, Trooper..Number of the beast..Hallowed Be thy name are all great songs...but this one takes the crown, for me atleast. If you've watched Iron Maiden live or seen their shows..you'll know what I mean.
Hmm...so the list is finally coming to an end; now we'll see the top 2 greatest metal songs of all time. To some..one or even both of them might be surprises!! I think I need to take a break....see you later:)
Ok....I'm back..so here they are........
02. Holy Wars...The Punishment Due--Megadeth(Rust In Peace)
Well well well....I was really confused between this and No. 1...I just couldn't decide, but given the fact that No.1 is actually 4 years older and is still considerably heavier and faster and technically better than this one, I made the choice of making this No.2. I won't go into the details...but the last two minutes of this song kick more A** than the wholoe discography of thrash bands like Anthrax(Why they are included in the "Big 4 of Thrash", I'll never understand), Exodus, Kreator etc(these are good bands too).
Hmm...so the moment we(or I rather..lol) have been waiting for. The greatest metal song of all time...you know what...I'd like some people to take a guess first. It's been quite sometime I've been putting up this list and only one good soul, list-a-maniac, has posted a comment. I'll put up the greatest metal song ever made after I get about 3-4 guesses from some people..lol. I know, it's a bit selfish....but that's the way it is:)...untill then adios amigos.
UPDATE--List-a-maniac got it right in the first guess!! So it's no use keeping it hidden now...the greatest metal song, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, ever made is......
(1) Master Of Puppets--Metallica(Master of Puppets)
If you've read the TOP 100 METAL ALBUMS OF ALL TIME by Martin Popoff or seen any other Album lists, you'll know that Master Of Puppets, almost always claims the top spot. This song is THE reason. Battery, Orion, Sanitarium, Damage Inc.(none except Battery figure in my list..did you notice?) are also very highly regarded...but this song singlehandedly helps the album to rise above the competition. You replace this song with any other great Metallica song....One..Enter Sandman..or something else, and Rust In Peace...Reign In Blood will beat it to the top spot,heck even their own Ride The Lightning will beat it....that's my opinion though. Anyway coming on to the song; This song is, and forever will be the yardstick by which every other Thrash Metal band on the planet will be judged...that's including Metallica!!!The opening riff is the BEST EVER, I don't think even Metallica can better it in their lives; the breakdown through halfway....the solo..and then the bulild up again is an energy monster; Hetfield's vocals are the best he's ever done..I could go on and on and on...so I'll just say that it is the COMPLETEST!!! metal song ever made, and there's about 00.01% probability that any band(including Metallica) will ever be able to better it.
14 comments:
Master of Puppets-Metallica!!:P
That's the only "big" Metallica-song that hasn't been on the list:P
...or maybe Whiskey in the jar:P
I'm pretty sure it will be a Metallica-song atleast.
Love the list, by the way!!
It's a very strong thing to do!
I've got a couple of new favourite songs thanks to you!
It was pretty obvious isn't it:) lol. Glad you liked the list...Have you updated your SOAD list by the way?
Yay, I was right!!:D
Again, great job with the list!
I got part 1 and 2 up.
Part 3 is on the way:P
Well done on constructing a top 100 metal list. I analysed your list a little and counted 42 different bands including representation from: classic acts from the 70s (DP, LZ, BS); obvious metal necessities (maiden & priest & pantera); thrash metal (big four minus anthrax which I am quite ok with, and kudos for the Testament inclusion); a few hard rock acts (def leppard, gnr, acdc) and a nirvana inclusion - which I am also cool with, let's not split hairs too much about genres not being metal; power metal (helloween, dragonforce); prog metal (queensryche, dream theater & maybe symphony X); melo-death (in flames, at the gates & let's include CoB); metalcore (lamb of god). So that's pretty diverse. I must admit it is an incredibly difficult task. I won't criticise your selections because I think you did pretty well and I agree with many of your choices. I mean 'one' and 'master of puppets' and 'creeping death' are there, so that's the main thing :) Anyhow I would like to recommend a few bands (and I sincerely hope you have not heard them and discarded them as not being top 100 material). Anyhow, listen to these bands - most of them write pretty epic stuff: Opeth - listen to these guys until you like them :) (blackwater park or ghost reveries), Agalloch (folk/black metal - pale folklore or ashes against the grain), My dying bride (doom metal - turn loose the swans), cult of luna (post metal - get somewhere on the highway), isis (post metal - get panopticon), nightwish (power metal - get once, wishmaster or century child), amon amarth (melo-death - get versus the world). Oh and for brutal death metal get Nile (annihilation of the wicked) - they're quite fun now and then.
That's my input. Thanks for the list. cheers.
Now that was some comment!! Thanks a lot for all the appreciation Adrian. Coming on to your band suggestions...Opeth--I have both Blacwater Park n Ghost reveries, but I've tried and tried and tried to like them...but still no luck:). Annihilation of the wicked is a kick ass album..truly! But none of the songs belong in the top 100 metal songs, IMHO. They would be there if it were a top 100 extreme metal songs though, so would be a lot of Morbid Angel, Dismember, Obituary, Atheist and Suffocation songs. My Dying Bride, Cult of Luna, Agalloch and Isis I haven't heard, so I'll give them a shot:)
I have Once by Nightwish, n have heard a few songs from Wishmaster...in all honesty..none of the songs from these albums have the power to replace any of the songs in the list, again IMHO:)As for Amon Amarth, I have Versus the World as well as With Oden On Our Side..really thumping stuff, but the melo-death of At The Gates, Dark Tranquillity and early In Flames is so much better, again IMHO:)
As for the exclusion of Anthrax, maybe Caught In A Mosh would have made a spot in the 90-100 slot, but I decided to leave them. Why? Because they are THE most overrated thrash act in the history of metal. Testament, Kreator, Overkill, Exodus are all so much better, again,,,,IMHO...lol. Anyway thanks again for the wonderfully crafted comment...I shall see if I can come up with a top 100 extreme metal songs..cheers.
I understand all your comments and I have to say that of the top 100 metal lists floating around, your list totally owns them (have you seen digitaldreamdoors so-called top 100 "greatest" metal songs they happen to have heard cos they were on the radio?). As soon as I saw at the gates at number 100 I knew you either knew your metal or were from Gothenburg :) I would still have liked to see more representation from other metal genres (doom, black & post-metal, for instance) - and I'm sticking to my guns on Opeth - but I suppose if we all had identical views it would be very dull. Here's my all time top ten list at the moment (more or less) and subject to change in a moment :)
1. Opeth – The Drapery Falls
2. Metallica- Master of Puppets
3. Cult of Luna – Waiting for you
4. Children of Bodom – Needled 24/7
5. Iron Maiden – Hallowed be Thy Name
6. Pantera – Cemetary Gates
7. Agalloch – Fire Above, Ice Below
8. Iced Earth – Travel in Stygian
9. Nightwish – Fantasmic
10. Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Thanks again Adrian:) Yeah I've seen the digitaldreamdoor list...not really my type but not too shabby either..I guess it's a more popular reflection on the history of metal. Although it was a surprise that they had Scorpions, KISS, Motley Crue, Rainbow in there but no Zep,AC/DC or DP. I should take it as a compliment, coz the Swedes know their music best:) but I'm from India:)Your top 10 list absolutely rocks!!...and since you've given Opeth the top spot, I shall try harder to get into them now:)I would've preferred Bodom Beach Terror from Hatecrew Deathroll:P. Honestly, I regretted not including Iced Earth(the III part something wicked trilogy) and Blind Guardian(curse of feanor,the eldar & many more) in my list,heck! I even wanted to see some Stratovarius in there, but I guess you can't have everything and 100 is just too small a number to do justice to this masterful form of music. I'm off to check out some Cult of Luna and Agalloch now:)
You are right 100 songs sounds a lot more than it actually is. With regard to my top 10, Opeth was always going to have top place and Metallica no 2. And I feel that I have to give credit to Black Sabbath - so they get in at 10. The overall contribution of Iron Maiden to metal gives them a spot. Pantera get in cos they more or less saved the 90s for metal after Metallica abdicated in favour of hard rock (although I am one of the few metalheads that actually love both Load and Reload). Cult of Luna are just my current favourite band. True they are almost pedestrian (and 'waiting for you' is especially so), but there is a lot of melody going on and the gradual build to the "wall of sound" is just so immense. Agalloch use guitars so well, with folk influences and melody, and a hint of black metal in the vocals that just show how diverse metal can be. CoB just rock my socks off and I have to concede that Bodom Beach Terror has one of the most glorious moments in metal - when the power metal chords kick in for the chorus. Iced Earth - well I love Matt Barlow - so I might even say that your Iced Earth selection might edge out Travel in Stygian :) That kind of leaves nightwish, and they get in on my bias. Good luck with cult of luna and agalloch - they're really great but not exactly easy listening - tougher than Opeth, I would say, :) loooong songs lol.
Oh yes, and LZ, DP and AC totally own Kiss, Motley crue and Scorpions - although I think the first 3 rainbow albums (dio) are great - but then how one can include rainbow and exclude DP beats me cos they really out of the same box - I had that question myself.
Cheers
PS: I'm South African.
I totally agree. I'm still trying to find some Cult Of Luna and Agalloch though, being in India doesn't help you know:). You do find death/black metal, but only if it's really really huge like Morbid Angel, Obituary, Nile or Cradle Of Filth, for other stuff you really have to look around or get it ordered. Looks like I'll have to download the albums you recommended first. Oh, and coming to Opeth, I do like them:) and I sincerely think they are very talented. I just think they are a tad overrated, and in some songs I can't help getting the feeling that I'm listening to part Dream Theater, part Tool, part Porcupine Tree with death metal growls thrown in. Although the atmosphere that they create is far out of reach of any of the bands mentioned above, I'll give them that.Umm..and I didn't like Load at all, but I guess my view would have been different if the name on the label was not Metallica:) Re-Load was a decent effort in my opinion.
I think your comment that Opeth is part Dream Theater, Tool and Porcupine Tree with death metal growls is quite a cool observation!! Tool I can take or leave, Dream Theater I enjoy in small doses, but Porcupine Tree (I am listening to deadwing as I write this) are totally awesome - (which is odd for me, because I prefer metal usually - go figure) - but a combination of the three is quite enticing. Personally, though I think Opeth is underrated - but then again absolutely nobody where I live has even heard of them - so I guess these things are relative.
Here's a you tube video of an edited version of agalloch "not unlike the waves" off the ashes against the grain album. It's been cut from over 9 minutes to 4:30 - not great quality but you get the idea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYMaIzFq1Iw
Yo! I'm making a list of 1000 greatest metal songs of all time. This is Metal only, cuz technically, Nu-Metal has become its own separate genre, as well as Grunge and alternative. It will include Black metal, death metal, thrash metal, glam metal, power metal, and progressive metal. Yeah, I know, this is a "true metal" list.
The #1 song is Dante's Inferno, hands down. (Check it out now)
Then comes Master of Puppets, then Hallowed be thy Name.
This list will be thourough, and when I mean "Greatness" of a song, it will be judged entirely on musical quality, Riffing, Musical impact, Popularity, and Musicianship. Dante's Inferno, for example, may not be popular, but had a huge impact despite being written in 1995, and squeezes in above master of P./Hallowed b.t. Name in terms of musicianship, musical quality, and riffing.
Every song ahead of a song will be "better than" the song behind it based on the above criteria. That is also why Dante's Inferno beats out Symphony X's D.W.o.T. by ALOT.
Unfortunately, this system forces me to start from #1 down in order to be precise.
Wish me luck!
1000 songs!!!..whoa!! Best of luck Nick. Please buzz me when you're done with the list. Cheers!!
An excellent list by you sir(One of the best actually).But I couldnt help notice how there's no mention of axxis or edguy or
axel rudi pell or lost horizon or X-Japan or Virgin Steele or Running Wild or Sonata Arctica.
My top twenty songs list(subject to change of course) written after 2 years of pure dedication to headbanging.So please check them out they're all
gems(IMHO of
course):
1)Axxis-Never Say Never(Kindom Of The Night-1989)
2)X-Japan-Rusty Nail(Dahlia-1996)
3)Leatherwolf-The Way I Feel(Street Ready-1989)
4)Iron Maiden-Hallowed Be Thy Name(Number Of The Beast-1982)
5)Iron Maiden-Fear Of The Dark(Fear Of The Dark-1992)
6)Axel Rudi Pell-Carousel(Ocean Of Time-1998)
7)Helloween-I Want Out(Keeper Of The Keys Pt.2-1987)
8)Children Of Bodom-Kissing The Shadows(Follow The Reaper-2001){Thanks to you Sir,thanks a lot}
9)Angel Dust-Bleed(Bleed-1999)
10)Lost Horizon-Highlander/The One(A Flame To The Ground Underneath-2003)
11)Burzum-My Journey To The Stars(Burzum-1992)
12)Edguy-Down To The Devil(Hellfire Club-2004)
13)Judas Priest-The Sentinel(Defenders Of the Faith-1984)
14)Rainbow-Stargazer(Rising-1976)
15)Sonata Arctica-Full Moon(Ecliptica-2001)
16)Running Wild-Dragonmen(Black Hand Inn-1994)
17)Guardian-Fates Warning(The Sceptre Within-1985)
18)Savatage-Hall Of The Mountain King(Hall Of The Mountain King-1987)
19)Stratovarius-Playing With Fire(Destiny-1998)
20)Megadeth-A Tout Le Monde(Youthanasia-1994)
As you might have guessed,I'm not so fond of thrash(not that i haven't tried) or death(love the melodic side though) metal.But am into tr00,kvlt,norwegian(Burzum!!!,Darkthrone,Emperor,Mayhem,Ulver) black metal(maybe a bit too much for the society's liking).Hope you guys like it.And ya i too am from India(Hyderabad).
I agree with 95% of your list, but putting "Nirvana" and "heavy metal" in the same sentence... No. Just no.
I don't hate them, I just think there's nothing about metal on them. Grunge is closer to punk than to metal if you ask me.
Also, I don't deny the importance of SLTS to the musical movement, but I think this song is pretty overrated. There are other better songs by them, like Sliver, Scentless Apprentice (which, IMO, was the closest they ever got to metal, if pretty dirty - this and Milk It, BTW), Been a Son, Aneurysm, Pennyroyal Tea...
Anyway, you got a real good musical taste, better than some so-called "critics" out there. Kudos for you, man.
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