Reed's Favorite 100 Metal Songs of All Time - Finished

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#36: Eluveitie - Primordial Breath (2008)

There's a lot of "folk metal" out there that seems to fall into one of two different categories.

Black metal kind of stuff, often called "grey metal", where it's probably fuzzy and screamy, and probably sounds like it was recorded in the forest or something.

And then there's the, like, oompa loompa power metal kind of thing, where they're dancing around and drinking beer.  Stuff like Korpiklaani or Alestorm.

That's fine.  Those things are fine.  But there's one lovely little outlier.

Enter Eluveitie.  A Gothenburg-sounding band, that can basically be summarized as "Dark Tranquillity, but with a hurdy gurdy."

Is that derivative?  Am I being overly reductive here?  Well I don't know or care, because those two ingredients are awesome, and they make for an awesome product.

I went with the opener off Slania because that album hit like a nuclear bomb when it dropped.

Also, shout out to "The Call of the Mountains" which is my kids' favorite song:

Honorable mentions: Rebirth, Quoth the Raven, Gray Sublime Archon

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

Trying to catch up quickly after a hectic weekend: 

#35: Devin Townsend - Regulator (1997)

Note that I am using this entry to represent all of the "Devin Townsend"-named bands.

Devin has a signature sound.  I think everyone can agree upon that.   But what's amazing is that he established that sound right off the bat, with his first(ish) DT album, Ocean Machine.

The elements are all here.  The layered, clean wall of sound production.  The harsh and melodic vocals.  The effect-laden guitars.  It's another instance where the artist has been refining and evolving the same sound for 25-30 years.

But it works because it sounds so good.  He's a household name in metal circles for a reason.

Honorable mentions: Hyperdrive, Vampira, Supercrush

[mbd39 | 2,022]

On 4/13/2023 at 10:23 AM, Reed Rothchild said:

#43: Protest the Hero - Spoils (2008)

From @Gloves neck of the woods, these weirdos were absolutely on fire in the 2000s, producing two of my absolute favorite metal albums of all time.  Kezia brings the heavy and the metalcore-inspired ferocity, while Fortress took things in a decidedly avant-garde direction. 

While I don't know if I can pick a favorite between the two albums, for my favorite song I usually land back on Spoils.  It's just such a fun number, overflowing with ideas. I could have gone with a dozen different selections here, but that one always seems to return to the top.

Honorable mentions: No Stars over Bethlehem, Bloodmeat, Blindfolds Aside

 

 

 

They sound way better than I expected them to sound based on their look. Not that that matters.

Edited April 24, 2023 by mbd39

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#34: Slayer - Raining Blood (1986)

Band #2 from the Big Four.  I'm relatively mid on Slayer as a whole.  I say that as someone who has owned all of their golden era albums, and once drove 8 hours to see a festival they headlined.  They have some absolute bangers, and put on a hell of a performance.  They're metal legends for a reason.

But I don't listen to them nearly as much as the rest of the 1980s metal heavies.  That's just a fact.  While I've listened to Ride the Lightning and Peace Sells roughly nine million times each, I've listened to Reign In Blood far fewer times.

But the title track will always be a fucking killer.

Honorable mentions: Seasons in the Abyss, War Ensemble

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#33: Soilwork - Spectrum of Eternity (2013)

I wrote about this album in the main metal thread once upon a time.  I'm happy to write about it again.

Once upon a time Soilwork was one of those second generation melodic death metal bands that followed in the footsteps of In Flames and company.  And they put out some great albums.  From 2000-2005 they had nothing but winners that are respected by the metal scene.  With Stabbing the Drama they started evolving their sound, to mixed results.  I personally like those albums, but others weren't really sold to the same degree.

With 2010's The Panic Broadcast they seemed pretty spent.  When Peter Wichers left in 2012, the writing was on the wall.  Soilwork would become a "nostalgia band", coasting on their early material.

So imagine everyone's surprise when they release a freakin' double album, and it's their magnum opus.  The scene was dumbstruck.  How did they do it?

Well, the why doesn't matter.  Just listen and enjoy.

Honorable mentions: Chainheart Machine, This Momentary Bliss, Vesta

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

@Gloves and @Brickman can rage about those positions now 

[Brickman | 3,986]

3 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

@Gloves and @Brickman can rage about those positions now 

I’m not angry I’m just disappointed haha.

This list has been all over the place since the Katatonia ranking  

At least I know you are most likely to have Ghost in the top 3 so that’s a relief at least.

 

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

On 4/20/2023 at 11:29 AM, Reed Rothchild said:

#36: Eluveitie - Primordial Breath (2008)

There's a lot of "folk metal" out there that seems to fall into one of two different categories.

Black metal kind of stuff, often called "grey metal", where it's probably fuzzy and screamy, and probably sounds like it was recorded in the forest or something.

And then there's the, like, oompa loompa power metal kind of thing, where they're dancing around and drinking beer.  Stuff like Korpiklaani or Alestorm.

That's fine.  Those things are fine.  But there's one lovely little outlier.

Enter Eluveitie.  A Gothenburg-sounding band, that can basically be summarized as "Dark Tranquillity, but with a hurdy gurdy."

Is that derivative?  Am I being overly reductive here?  Well I don't know or care, because those two ingredients are awesome, and they make for an awesome product.

I went with the opener off Slania because that album hit like a nuclear bomb when it dropped.

Also, shout out to "The Call of the Mountains" which is my kids' favorite song:

Honorable mentions: Rebirth, Quoth the Raven, Gray Sublime Archon

You had me at hurdy gurdy, but then bagpipes and a harpsichord too? Chicks voice is great too. Awesome

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

8 minutes ago, Brickman said:

I’m not angry I’m just disappointed haha.

This list has been all over the place since the Katatonia ranking  

At least I know you are most likely to have Ghost in the top 3 so that’s a relief at least.

 

I'm honestly wrestling with Ghost's spot.  If, for example, one was to call He Is their best song, I can't really call it metal.  Or can I?  They're somewhere up there, but I don't know where, or what song I can go with.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

3 hours ago, mbd39 said:

They sound way better than I expected them to sound based on their look. Not that that matters.

My Avenged Sevenfold writeup back wherever it was goes into how I had an awakening one day (over that song) and would no longer allow appearance to affect my opinions.

[Brickman | 3,986]

2 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I'm honestly wrestling with Ghost's spot.  If, for example, one was to call He Is their best song, I can't really call it metal.  Or can I?  They're somewhere up there, but I don't know where, or what song I can go with.

Oh god this sounds controversial already, I’m scared 

If you have created a plot twist to this list and rank something like ‘nothing else matters’ as your number 1 song I’m starting a riot on this forum 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

Just now, Brickman said:

Oh god this sounds controversial already, I’m scared 

If you have created a plot twist to this list and rank something like ‘nothing else matters’ as your number 1 song I’m starting a riot on this forum 

Brick: Ghost is too low!  I hate everything!

Hammer: Ghost is too high!  I hate everything!

[Brickman | 3,986]

Wait. @Hammerfestus you don’t like Ghost?

[Hammerfestus | 3,846]

2 hours ago, Brickman said:

Wait. @Hammerfestus you don’t like Ghost?

Ha.  Just because of that one time I thought it was some crap that they were headlining over AA.  Popularity pfft.  It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just that I’ve never heard anything compelling enough from them to explore it.  As Reed’s personal top 100 it’s whatever but on a more objective list I don’t see how they’d even sniff top 150 100 50.  And I’m stoned most of the time.  So uhh you know exploring horizons and stuff.  That keyboard/vocal hook they seem to use in every song I’ve heard is pretty meh to me.  

I just made all of that up right now and in actuality I just don’t even think about them ever.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

33 minutes ago, Hammerfestus said:

but on a more objective list I don’t see how they’d even sniff top 150 100 50

Depends on how kvlt/pretentious/douchey the "objective" list is 

Or, you know:

https://loudwire.com/best-metal-songs-decade-2010-2019/

I don't even know what objective would mean though.  I'd have to pretend to love Mobid Angel?  Or weigh everything by bullshit "historical significance?  Yeah, fuck that kind of list.

[Hammerfestus | 3,846]

4 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Depends on how kvlt/pretentious/douchey the "objective" list is 

Or, you know:

https://loudwire.com/best-metal-songs-decade-2010-2019/

 

Yup, right up there with Slipknot and Korn.    There’s just a lot of decades of excellent music from a lot of excellent sub genres for it to rank that highly.  In what universe do they breathe the same air as Dio or Metallica?  

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

29 minutes ago, Hammerfestus said:

Yup, right up there with Slipknot and Korn.    There’s just a lot of decades of excellent music from a lot of excellent sub genres for it to rank that highly.  In what universe do they breathe the same air as Dio or Metallica?  

The irony being that Metallica love Ghost 

It's all subjective.  And we all have personal tastes.  You couldn't pay me to listen to Manowar.  Some people hate every single band that growls.  Nothing will satisfy everyone.

I'd love to see some other people's personal lists like this.  See people's love of metal fully charted out.

[Brickman | 3,986]

22 minutes ago, Hammerfestus said:

Yup, right up there with Slipknot and Korn.    There’s just a lot of decades of excellent music from a lot of excellent sub genres for it to rank that highly.  In what universe do they breathe the same air as Dio or Metallica?  

Eh Metallica are great but let’s not pretend that after around the Black Album they started to take a dive. No one is going to a Metallica concert yelling give me St Anger or Death Magnetic vs Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning.

I couldn’t quite follow your rambling up above but I will concede that I wouldn’t care if Ghost aren’t in Reed’s top 3. I thought they were a top 3 for him but maybe I’m mistaken.

However, Ghost easily make it into top 50 and imo top 15 of any metal list (top 10 for me). How can they not?

They’ve made consistently hit albums one after another since they started. There’s barely any metal bands that have pulled off what they have.

They also have revitalised a lot of metal genres they try their hand at and they’re always changing but actually sound good doing it. The majority of metal bands don’t even survive when they try to change up their styles.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

10 minutes ago, Brickman said:

couldn’t quite follow your rambling up above but I will concede that I wouldn’t care if Ghost aren’t in Reed’s top 3. I thought they were a top 3 for him but maybe I’m mistaken.

So, this isn't my top 100 metal bands list.

Ghost is a top 3 metal band for me overall, correct.  The proof is in the number of listens, and the lengths I go to see their live shows.  They speak for themselves.

But a big part of that love is the depth of their library.  Every song they do is great imo.  20 of them could compete for this list.

But for a singular song?  I haven't decided where they land yet.  Which is why they may fall to the teens for this list.  That's still pretty lofty.

[Hammerfestus | 3,846]

5 minutes ago, Brickman said:

Eh Metallica are great but let’s not pretend that after around the Black Album they started to take a dive. No one is going to a Metallica concert yelling give me St Anger or Death Magnetic vs Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning.

I couldn’t quite follow your rambling up above but I will concede that I wouldn’t care if Ghost aren’t in Reed’s top 3. I thought they were a top 3 for him but maybe I’m mistaken.

However, Ghost easily make it into top 50 and imo top 15 of any metal list (top 10 for me). How can they not?

They’ve made consistently hit albums one after another since they started. There’s barely any metal bands that have pulled off what they have.

They also have revitalised a lot of metal genres they try their hand at and they’re always changing but actually sound good doing it. The majority of metal bands don’t even survive when they try to change up their styles.

Even ignoring everything after Justice, which becomes controversial afterwards, their highest high is pretty much higher than everyone else.  Master of Puppets is the Super Mario Bros 3 of heavy metal.  We are worlds apart here.  Ghost just sounds meh to me no matter what genre.  I really don’t care about their popularity.  

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

8 minutes ago, Hammerfestus said:

Even ignoring everything after Justice, which becomes controversial afterwards, their highest high is pretty much higher than everyone else.  Master of Puppets is the Super Mario Bros 3 of heavy metal.  We are worlds apart here.  Ghost just sounds meh to me no matter what genre.  I really don’t care about their popularity.  

But who's the Link to the Past of metal? 

[Hammerfestus | 3,846]

3 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

But who's the Link to the Past of metal? 

Overrated?

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

5 minutes ago, Hammerfestus said:

Overrated?

You just said it was Mario Bros. 3 

[Brickman | 3,986]

50 minutes ago, Hammerfestus said:

Even ignoring everything after Justice, which becomes controversial afterwards, their highest high is pretty much higher than everyone else.  Master of Puppets is the Super Mario Bros 3 of heavy metal.  We are worlds apart here.  Ghost just sounds meh to me no matter what genre.  I really don’t care about their popularity.  

Yeah I don’t deny that at all but I’m making my point in regards to you stating Ghost isn’t worth putting in a top 50 list and shouldn’t stand with Metallica and Dio.

I think you would be hard pressed to find a modern metal list that doesn’t include Ghost in the top 50 metal songs or bands of all time.

Your personal tastes aside, they’re a great band that are already making metal history. In 20 years people will be looking back at Ghost just like they do Metallica and Dio. And that is why they deserve to be in the same league.

[guitarzombie | 924]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Ghost is a top 3 metal band for me overall, correct.  The proof is in the number of listens, and the lengths I go to see their live shows.  They speak for themselves.