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

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

16 minutes ago, guitarzombie said:

Hey man, we're all our own people.  I like Ghost, you like a cheesy 70s zombie movie.  We all follow our hearts!

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

Shit, all this talk is making me itch to get to the top 20.  Two more weeks, dammit!

[Brickman | 3,986]

3 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Shit, all this talk is making me itch to get to the top 20.  Two more weeks, dammit!

All this debating with Hammer is making me want another WW game to start up. He went into beast mode last game 

[guitarzombie | 924]

10 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Hey man, we're all our own people.  I like Ghost, you like a cheesy 70s zombie movie.  We all follow our hearts!

Like, would be a gross understatement haha.

[Hammerfestus | 3,846]

11 hours ago, Brickman said:

All this debating with Hammer is making me want another WW game to start up. He went into beast mode last game 

I tried to channel my inner @OptOut.   I never did get around to making my big WATA can suck me goolies post.  

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#32: Carcass - This Mortal Coil (1993)

Here it is, the grand daddy of all melodic death metal albums.  These Brits (and Swede Michael Amott) laid the groundwork for a thousand albums all the way back in 1993.  And it perfectly stands the test of time: every track here is as fresh as ever.

The standout, This Mortal Coil, has one of the best riffs in MDM history.  Hell, two of the best riffs.

It's shame then that they couldn't explore this sound further.  Amott left that same year to form Arch Enemy, and the next album, Swansong, explores some fun ideas, but definitely went in a different direction.

Honorable mentions: Heartwork, Rock the Vote, Unfit for Human Consumption

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

Instead of doing a similar "Reed's Top 100 movies" countdown, I'm instead humoring a "Reed's 100 Movies You Need to Watch" idea.

@Gloves is kinda stealing my thunder though.

Maybe "100 Games You Need to Play"

[Gloves | 11,779]

1 minute ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Instead of doing a similar "Reed's Top 100 movies" countdown, I'm instead humoring a "Reed's 100 Movies You Need to Watch" idea.

@Gloves is kinda stealing my thunder though.

Maybe "100 Games You Need to Play"

I watch the good stuff, muh man.

[Brickman | 3,986]

4 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Maybe "100 Games You Need to Play"

Oh boy, you really like to play with fire 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#31: Between the Buried and Me - Prequel to the Sequel (2007)

I've seen more BtBaM live performances than any other group.  Full stop.  I have a chart of every concert I've ever gone to, and the Carolina boys stand alone at the top.  And a big part of that is the double whammy of immaculate albums they put out in the mid-2000s: Alaska and Colors.

Colors in particular is so amazing, that they released a Colors Live album, and it's arguably the greatest thing they've ever done.  They made their best album into the two best albums they've ever done.

Anyway, you could pick any song off Colors or Alaska here, but I went with the intoxicating Prequel.

Honorable mentions: Selkies, Ants of the Sky, White Walls, All Bodies

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

On 4/25/2023 at 2:09 PM, Brickman said:

Oh boy, you really like to play with fire 

Even better

"One game per franchise/property."

Should go over well!

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#30: Arsis - A Diamond for Disease (2005)

Another group that was on fire in the mid 2000s, Jim and company brought the heat with their first album and the follow-up EP.

I'm not sure if this is the longest song in the list, but it's up there,and it's certainly the longest tech death song.  By a pretty wide margin.  But they squeeze in a metric shit ton of ideas.

Also, shout out to my favorite metal cover of a pop song:

Honorable mentions: The Face of My Innocence, Maddening Disdain, Unwelcome

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#29: Faith No More - Zombie Eaters (1989)

FNM, one of my very favorite groups in all of music, has something of an eclectic catalog.  There's the early stuff with Chuck, and then the famous album with Epic when Mike came on board, and then their magnum opus (and one of my favorite albums of all time) Angel dust, and then the later albums where they moved into various experimental sounds.

So when we discuss FNM as metal act, you kind of have to take each song individually.  Most of their material is not metal.  Evidence?  Not metal.  A Small Victory?  Not really metal.  I absolutely love those songs, but they weren't in consideration for this list.  

And as much as I fawn over Angel Dust, and as much as I love tracks like Crack Hitler and Jizzlobber, the song that gets me the most, is this deep cut off The Real Thing.  Back when they had more of a funk rap metal kind of thing going on, and before Mike's creative takeover.  

Honorable mentions: We Care A Lot, Epic, Everything's Ruined, Kindergarten, Midlife Crisis

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#28: Dark Tranquillity - Final Resistance (2002)

On the road, so this will be brief.  The second of the Gothenburg bands, with a run of albums in the 2000s that rivals even what In Flames did a few years earlier.

Honorable mentions: Mind Matters, Lost to Apathy, The Mundane and the Magic

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#27: Swallow the Sun - Hope (2007)

Swallow the Sun is what happens when you take that early Katatonia sound and run with it.  With a beautiful mix of doom and melody, these guys were killing it through their first three albums, with banger after banger.  And while I'd call their first album their strongest, the title track off their third album is the best thing they've ever done.  This track is so epic and haunting that I still get goosebumps every time I listen to it, all these years later.  That guitar tone is to die for.

Honorable mentions: Ghost of Laura Palmer, Through Her Silvery Body, Swallow

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#26: Queensryche - The Mission (1988)

The greatest concept album in metal history.

Unfortunately, it appears to be an anomaly too, because aside from the winners on Empire, Queensryche didn't really produce a whole lot of material after the early 90s that I consider very good.  Mindcrime II was especially horrible.

But that's okay, because this album is amazing, and I could have selected any number of tracks for this spot.  If you haven't listened to it, do yourself a favor and go through the whole thing, right now.  I promise it will be worth it.

Honorable mentions: The entirety of Operation Mindcrime.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#25: Sigh - Corpsecry Angelfall (2001)

Far and away the greatest Japanese metal band of all time.  Bar none.

I have mentioned this album a number of times throughout the years.  And I will continue to do so.  It's one of my favorites of all time, and the best work from an amazing band.

I also want to shout out their next two albums, Gallows Gallery,and Hangman's Hymm.  They're both very strange, and take a central idea and run with it for an entire album.  You may hate them.  But I love them and recommend you check them out as well.

Honorable mentions: Scarlet Dream, Diabolic Suicide, the HH and GG albums

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#24: Ne Obliviscaris - "And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope" (2012)

 

 

The third and final Australian group.  These guys are also from Melbourne @Brickman 

When the debut album dropped, it not only created waves, but seemed to signal a (continued) revitalization of the MDM scene.  Soilwork had impressed with their double album, Omnium Gatherum was reborn as a new power in the area, Be'lakor was kicking ass, and then this interesting other little Australian group with a violin had come out of nowhere with a fabulous new sound.  It was a good time to be a fan of the genre.

Honorable mentions: Forget Not, Painters of the Tempest

[Gloves | 11,779]

24 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

#24: Ne Obliviscaris - "And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope" (2012)

 

 

The third and final Australian group.  These guys are also from Melbourne @Brickman 

When the debut album dropped, it not only created waves, but seemed to signal a (continued) revitalization of the MDM scene.  Soilwork had impressed with their double album, Omnium Gatherum was reborn as a new power in the area, Be'lakor was kicking ass, and then this interesting other little Australian group with a violin had come out of nowhere with a fabulous new sound.  It was a good time to be a fan of the genre.

Honorable mentions: Forget Not, Painters of the Tempest

No but for real I'll give it a listen later.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

6 minutes ago, Gloves said:

No but for real I'll give it a listen later.

It may or may not be the last 10+ minute song.

It's worth it though.  You're welcome.

[Brickman | 3,986]

7 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

#24: Ne Obliviscaris - "And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope" (2012)

 

 

The third and final Australian group.  These guys are also from Melbourne @Brickman 

When the debut album dropped, it not only created waves, but seemed to signal a (continued) revitalization of the MDM scene.  Soilwork had impressed with their double album, Omnium Gatherum was reborn as a new power in the area, Be'lakor was kicking ass, and then this interesting other little Australian group with a violin had come out of nowhere with a fabulous new sound.  It was a good time to be a fan of the genre.

Honorable mentions: Forget Not, Painters of the Tempest

Haven’t heard of these guys either. I’ll check them out.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#23: Coheed and Cambria - Welcome Home (2005)

Coheed, one of my favorite rock/metal groups, is probably mostly known to "normies" for this banger that was featured on one of the Rock Band or Guitar Hero games once upon a time.  Hell, if memory serves the NFL was even using it once upon a time.

And that's fine, because it's a hell of a song to be known for.  That riffage, and bombast, it's a good time.  Tons of fun to listen to.  Add in Claudio's stage presence and charisma, and you have an all-time great live track too.

Bonus points for being a massive nerd and gamer too.

Honorable mentions: The Hard Sell, Shoulders, Velorium Camper

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

#22: Emperor - The Tongue of Fire (2001)

The mightiest black metal band.  So of course I select something from their least-black metal album.

Here, Ihsahn was already starting to explore the progressive sounds that he'd spend the ensuing decades mired in.  Many purists balked at that.  I think it was the right move.  The tracks here rise above the conventional (but well trod) blastbeats, lofi productions, and ceaseless wailing, to deliver something unique.  It won't be for everyone, but this is one of my most-listened to tracks in metal history.

Honorable Mentions: I Am the Black Wizards, The Eruption, An Elegy of Icaros, Gypsy (cover)

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

I won't be able to do one tomorrow, so here it is:

#21: Mastodon - Crack the Skye (2009)

The best song off their best album.  Some people prefer the early fiercer stuff (hipsters), but Crack the Skye was a band at the top of their game.  I was fortunate to see them perform the entire album once upon a time or two, and when I see them again later this year with @Murray and @JamesRobot they'd better play this.

Honorable mentions: Oblivion, Colony of the Birchmen, Blood & Thunder

[Murray | 2,448]

5 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I won't be able to do one tomorrow, so here it is:

#21: Mastodon - Crack the Skye (2009)

The best song off their best album.  Some people prefer the early fiercer stuff (hipsters), but Crack the Skye was a band at the top of their game.  I was fortunate to see them perform the entire album once upon a time or two, and when I see them again later this year with @Murray and @JamesRobot they'd better play this.

Honorable mentions: Oblivion, Colony of the Birchmen, Blood & Thunder

If @JamesRobot ever grabs tickets