Kguillemette's Heavy Metal top 100 songs of all time. COMPLETE

[SNESNESCUBE64 | 554]

4 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

 

You've never heard iron savior? I love their music. Here are a handful of my favorites. Sorry for hijacking the thread...
 

 

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

#9

Amorphis- Elegy

To this day I'm unsure that I have heard a metal song convey so much emotion. Amorphis is a peculiar band that has gone through many iterations. It began as an old school death metal band before finding their sound by writing music to ancient Finnish poetry with a keyboard driven Doom Death hybrid that had never been done before with Tales of Thousand Lakes and Elegy. Then they abandoned that altogether going for some mediocre 90s hard rock like they were hoping for some serious international fame or something like that. They even released a God awful album through Virgin or all labels complete with CD copy protection to save us all from accidentally finding this hot garbage on napster. Then they hired a proper vocalist and returned to the sound that worked for them and have been making some great music since. While Elegy remains my favorite song and album of theirs, Queen of Time is also pretty great. So a bonus from their new era!

 

 

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

#8

Arcturus- Kinetic

 

This is one of those bands/projects that speaks for itself. Composed of some the biggest names in black metal, they make something that is, in my opinion, so much more. If atmospheric avant garde metal were such a thing, Arcturus would be carrying the banner. True, their early works were just more black metal. But showing themselves to be more than a short lived supergroup, they began to make some truly special music. It may be a bit of a surprise to some that I went with a song that was with Garm instead of Vortex, but Garm is no slouch. And it is the combination of Hellhammer and the keyboard player that is the driving force for what they do anyway. Arcturus is one of the most interesting listens around with Sham Mirrors and Sideshow Symphony being their best. Both albums are must listens for any fan of loud music out there.

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

#7

Opeth- The Moor

Opeth was one of my introductions to metal even if I did not know it yet. Some time ago, my sister had her napster playlist running with all the randomness she was into at the time. Lots of edgy punk, indy rock, Bob Dylan, everything. Than I overheard a song much unlike anything else that drew me in. The song had ended and I never figured out what it was. Months later I discovered Opeth while searching for that sound. I walked out of Newbury Comics with Last Fair Deal Gone Down and Still Life and my ears got their ass kicked. That slow build up in "the moor" that builds into the acoustic intro and then the main guitar melody was a gut punch I still feel to this day. I promptly listened to the rest of the album and fell in love. Still Life remains one of my favorites to this day! So much at the time that I went out and bought Opeth's entire library. When listening to Orchid, I finally heard that mystery song again from the napster playlist. It was "Forests of October". I had no idea what it was or who made it at the time. All I knew is that it was really good. So for that, I offer a bonus.

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Kguillemette

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

#6 

Megadeth- Holy Wars... The Punishment Due

I find it remarkably difficult to write about a song so iconic. So I'm just going to tell yet again another story. As implied, I began my journey into metal as a bit of a hipster. Most of what I was listening to in high-school was of the more obscure variety. In a sense it was rather fun having a music collection chock full of bands nobody ever heard of, even among my metal friends. Then of course Guitar Hero 2 is released, which may be the best party game ever made up to that point. By the time me and my friends made it to the expert songs, I was forced to actually sit there and listen to some of the real classics of the genre. Holy Shit! "Hangar 18" was an amazing song! My world opened up and I needed this album. I couldn't shun the classics forever! I bought Rust in Peace within a few days and fired that mean son of a bitch up. Before I even made it to Hangar 18, I had to deal with Holy Wars. My face promptly melted. I was in love again. And then it was time for me to expand my horizons into some of most well known and iconic bands heavy metal had to offer...

[Foochie776 | 1,062]

Any Iron Maiden?

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

2 hours ago, Foochie776 said:

Any Iron Maiden?

Mayyyybe

[Foochie776 | 1,062]

6 minutes ago, Kguillemette said:

Mayyyybe

I can’t wait! They’re a top band for me 

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

#5

Strapping Young Lad- Love?

We were not going to see Zimmer's Hole and solo DT without finding Strapping Young Lad high on this list. This is the music I put on at work for people who are metalheads but stopped with radio bands. A long time ago when I traveled to see Devin play live, I went with a group of friends who were mostly there to see Between The Buried and Me. Nobody in that car had ever listened to SyL before! Well, I happened to have copy of Alien ripped to my old school ipod and played it for everyone so they had an idea of what to expect. Most of them broke in such a good way! Strapping Young Lad is so delicate and extreme at the same time. Every note is intentional and the grooves and beats provided by the amazing Gene Hoglan are listenable all by themselves.as far as the song goes,  "Love?" Is where it's at! It's an extreme smash-up of metal and pop that to this day has never been done so well. To think that Devin wasn't the only opening band I went to see. There was a major Florida band that was touring to promote their reunion album...

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

#4

Cynic- Veil of Maya

 

...and that Florida band was Cynic. To be specific, this is a group of jazz musicians that decided to make some death metal as the scene started to build up. Sean Reinert, may he rest in peace, remains solidly in my top 5 of metal drummers to this day as previously mentioned. This is the best song to come out of the Florida Death scene, and in my opinion the best Death metal song ever made.

@Reed Rothchild really nailing it guessing my top 10 so far!

[Reed Rothchild | 9,593]

On 12/1/2023 at 9:41 AM, Reed Rothchild said:

1. CoB (obviously)
2. Blind Guardian
3. Iced Earth
4. Strapping Young Lad - 
5. Megadeth - 
6. Cynic - 
7. Black metal (Emperor, Arcturus, or Immortal perhaps) - 
8. Maiden
9. Priest
10. Mercyful Fate - already covered

Missed Amorphis, which can go in the Mercyful Fate slot.  I'll go with Opeth taking Iced Earth's slot, which I'm guessing might have something to do with certain political events.

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Missed Amorphis, which can go in the Mercyful Fate slot.  I'll go with Opeth taking Iced Earth's slot, which I'm guessing might have something to do with certain political events.

Naw, I have Varg Mayhem on my list, after all. John Schaffer might be a crazy MAGA republican, but he's no murderer(at least that I'm aware of?). I wouldn't exclude Iced Earth based on that. 

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

#3 

Iron Maiden- The Trooper

One of the best hooks ever, with one of the most memorable bass lines ever, with one of the best... You get the idea.

It's Iron Maiden at their absolute best, which says a lot for a band which not much really needs to be said. Iron Maiden is prolific enough I can make a top 100 countdown using only songs from their library. When it is all said and done with me ranking my personal feelings about each song measured up against one another, "The Trooper" stands at the top of the mountain of pure classics. I think a band of Iron Maiden's calibur deserves an encode, so here's my second favorite song!

 

 

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

#2

Faith No More- King for a Day

 

For the longest time this stood as my favorite song ever. I had considered it the best song by the best band on the best album, and those who know, respect, and appreciate Faith No More always respected that stance. It's a musical journey with that acoustic intro, super cool bass line, Mike Bordin slapping that snare so hard like he does, and the GOAT on lead vocals. Mike Patton is my GOAT. After 10 solid years at the top of my personal favorites, heavy consideration caused a shake up at the top spot, especially when putting it all out there to make this list. I think we all know the band, but which song could it be...

[Reed Rothchild | 9,593]

Oh shit, a miss, and for one of my favorite bands of all time at that.  For shame.

I guess I forgot you were one of the FNM bros.

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

Well let's let it be a pleasant surprise we are in agreement on how awesome FNM is.

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

#1

Judas Priest- Painkiller

 

Here we have the absolute best heavy metal song ever made. There is no metal song more well rounded that fits in more of my playlists. When I am in the mood for classic metal, I can put this on. When I'm in the mood for thrash metal, I can put this on. MDM? Painkiller fits right in. NWOBHM? Judas Priest basically IS NWOBHM. Black metal? Painkiller. Power metal? Painkiller. You get the idea. There is no song I have listened to more than Painkiller since I first heard it. I love everything about it. 

And I have finally reached the end. This was a project that I absolutely needed to do, and I'm proud of myself for completing it. Maybe one day I'll go back, and polish up the writing a bit, but until then, I consider this done. My top 100 metal songs of all time! Thank you for everyone who took their time to read through it, and I hope everyone who did read it enjoyed it!

 

 

 

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,593]

 

Wow, I figured it was Priest or Guardian, but put my money on Guardian.  Did they not make the cut?  I didn't see that coming.

Great stuff, and a few new additions to my Spotify lists.  Off the top of my head the shared songs were Love?, Holy Wars, and Veil of Maya.

I think @Brickman is on deck

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

33 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

 

Wow, I figured it was Priest or Guardian, but put my money on Guardian.  Did they not make the cut?  I didn't see that coming.

Great stuff, and a few new additions to my Spotify lists.  Off the top of my head the shared songs were Love?, Holy Wars, and Veil of Maya.

I think @Brickman is on deck

BG did not make the cut. Part of it is unfamiliarity with BG, but the two albums of theirs that I do own, while great, never had any individual songs jump out at me the way most every other song on this list did. Same goes for Helloween.

Kings of Carnival Creation was the 4th song we had in common.

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,593]

18 minutes ago, Kguillemette said:

BG did not make the cut. Part of it is unfamiliarity with BG, but the two albums of theirs that I do own, while great, never had any individual songs jump out at me the way most every other song on this list did. Same goes for Helloween.

Kings of Carnival Creation was the 4th song we had in common.

 

Is either of those albums Imagination or Night Falls?

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

35 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Is either of those albums Imagination or Night Falls?

Battalions of Fear and Somewhere far Beyond. Have some good recommendations for me?

[SNESNESCUBE64 | 554]

15 minutes ago, Kguillemette said:

Battalions of Fear and Somewhere far Beyond. Have some good recommendations for me?

Their newest album "The god machine" is pretty good. "Deliver us from evil" is one of my favorite Blind Gaurdian songs.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,593]

21 minutes ago, Kguillemette said:

Battalions of Fear and Somewhere far Beyond. Have some good recommendations for me?

Imagination and Night Falls.

The thrash is gone, the bombast is turned up to 11.

[Brickman | 4,020]

Great work @Kguillemette and a great selection for number 1 spot. I’ve only seen Judas Priest live once but man it was definitely in my top metal gigs. 

Thanks for taking the time to write it up.

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I think @Brickman is on deck

I think mine would essentially look like a combination of yours and Kguillemette’s list. Especially from around the top 10 mark.

I’ve been thinking of doing a top RPG’s list instead but I can only choose one game from the franchise. I have just played under 50 different RPG franchises though so I need to play a few more to get the 50 then I might do it.

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

6 hours ago, Brickman said:

Great work @Kguillemette and a great selection for number 1 spot. I’ve only seen Judas Priest live once but man it was definitely in my top metal gigs. 

Thanks for taking the time to write it up.

I think mine would essentially look like a combination of yours and Kguillemette’s list. Especially from around the top 10 mark.

I’ve been thinking of doing a top RPG’s list instead but I can only choose one game from the franchise. I have just played under 50 different RPG franchises though so I need to play a few more to get the 50 then I might do it.

I would love to read your 50 favorite RPGs. Getting to 50 franchises is amazing! I love RPGs, but I'm not sure I even touched on 30 different franchises!

I gave Imagination a spin while doing dishes tonight, it was really good. I owe it to myself to give BG an honest listen.