The
Greatest Metal Songs of All Time
This week Vh1 is airing their 40 Greatest Metal Songs of All Time
special. Some of the picks are leaving us scratching our heads instead
of banging our heads, so in an effort to understand how these lists are
brought about we asked our crew and our metal hearted brethren over at
antiMusic to come up with their lists of the Greatest Metal Songs of All
Time. Instead of one master list, this week we will be posting a few of
the individual lists each day that will show not only different tastes
of metal heads but Korn-free lists that are made by people with a real
love for metal not just industry insiders. The result is the conclusion
that metal means different things to different people and that's what makes
it the Greatest form of music of all time!
Today we have lists from Hobo and Greenmuse. Check back tomorrow for
two new lists from the crew.
Hobo
Black Sabbath - War Pigs: One of
my favourite Black Sabbath songs. Politically charged, energetic, catchy
and an arse kicker of a song. A great song to kick of one of the greatest
early metal albums.
Motorhead - No Class: to me, Overkill
is the definitive Motorhead album - the first album where the group really
found their sound; large, raw and bass-heavy. No Class is a perfect demonstration
of this - it has that simple yet effective main riff underscored by a massive
bass sound that just batters listeners. "Your perfect smile, betrays your
lack of style - no class."
Slayer - Reign In Blood, Angel of Death
& Seasons in the Abyss: I'm going to cheat and put in three of
Slayers most important songs; Reign in Blood, Angel of Death and Seasons
in the Abyss. All definitive classics of the genre representing Slayer
at the height of their game (though Hell Awaits, Captor of Sin and Chemical
Warfare all deserve spots too). Break neck, violent death/thrash (the death
influence being Araya's vocal style and lyrics content).
Napalm Death - Scum, Suffer the Children
& Greed Killing: Napalm Death are still one of the most important
bands in modern metal, shattering all narrow minded preconceived barriers
of 'punk' vs 'metal'. By taking the ethos, integrity and agenda of hardcore
punk, blending it with metal and cranking the intensity up they created
the greatest form of extreme music on earth. Suffer the Children is one
of the earliest and most coherent classics of the genre. With the much
tamer, catchier Greed Killing the group brought grindcore that one step
closer to the mainstream. Simply an amazing group, that has released some
of its best material in the the new millenium, 18-24 years after their
first formation.
Carcass - Corporal Jigsore Quandary
& Heartwork: Another group imperative to the formation of the genre
- Carcass were the first group to introduce medical terms in death and
gore themed metal. Jeff Walker's razor sharp and yet clear and coherent
vocal style allowed for much more intelligble lyrics in death, grind and
gore. Heartwork marked the groups evolution, fusing grind with early melodic
death metal - adding groove to mid-tempo grindcore. Brilliant lyrics too.
Another highpoint of the genre.
Metallica - Fade to Black, Battery,
Blackened & One: You cannot deny Metallica were amazing. Those
first four albums were mind blowing - here was fast paced thrash with neoclassical
overtones and exceptional epic structuring (which is what made Metallica
rather than musicianship or integrity). Their final album And Justice For
All introduced a very high level of technicality and progression on top
of over complex structuring. How the evolution from Bay Area thrashers,
to neo-thrash progressive composers to southern cock rock sodomites took
place I will never know (all bow down to the almight dollar).
At The Gates - Slaughter of the Soul:
very instrumental in the evolution of mid paced melodic death metal. At
The Gates have been written off by many in times of late, more in hindsight
of The Haunted then for any valid reason. Anyway you look at it the band
had great guitar layering, catchy grooves and that aggressive edge many
subsequent 'melodic death metal' bands lack. Tomas Lindberg's incredibly
aggressive vocals complemented and contrasted the guitar melodies well.
A landmark album and title track.
Sepultura - Beneath the Remains &
Arise: Arguably as good as if not better than Slayer or Metallica,
Sepultura were an incredibly brutal death/thrash band that utilised elements
of hardcore punk rock and groove, and were certainly not afraid to experiment.
They really knew when to use something simple and catchy, and when to take
things up a few notches in tempo and in technicality. Max's vocals and
leads and Andreas Kisser's guitar leads paved the way for brutal yet catchy
post thrash. Sadly, this awesome group also (to no ones surprise) partially
lead to the pathetic excuse for a genre nu-metal due to rising musicians
mis-intepretation of what made Sepultura great (that aggression and brutality).
Nasum - Inhale/Exhale, Scoop, Engine
of Death & Twinkle Twinkle Little Scar: Nasum took the aggression
and intensity of grindcore that one step futher than Napalm Death. By continuing
to fuse elements of hardcore, melody and groove into ear splitting passages
of blast, they kicked off a new generation of grind, opening up a world
of possibilities. Mizeko's vocal style is still the most unique and aggressive
I have heard to date - and he created the perfect mix of a grindcore album
in the production seat. No one will never be able to replace what Miezeko
and Anders created - four albums (and shitloads of splits) of perfected
grindcore. The evolution from Inhale/Exale, Human 2.0, Helvete and Shift
is amazing, and whenever I throw an album of theirs on I cant help but
wonder what they would have done given another 10 years, another album
or ever another 6 months. The greatest grindcore band on earth.
Greenmuse
1. Metallica - For Whom the Bells Tolls
2. Motorhead - Ace Of Spades (Its
A Classic)
3. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (It
Dont Get More Metal Than This Tune)
4. Suicidal Tendancies - Two Sided Politics
(Is
This Band Metal?)
5. Megadeth - Symphony Of Destruction
Previous Lists
Mark
Hensch (Thrashpit Editor)
Keavin
Wiggins (antiMusic Editor)
Anuj
(Thrashpit)
DeadSun
(antiMusic)
Matt
Hensch (Thrashpit)
GreenTillDeath
(antiMusic)
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