I have to admit that I was never really that much into Slipknot as some of my friends were. The whole mask thing and the fact that it seemed like there were 20 members in the band mad it look goofy to me. Oil drums and so on just made it seem like one big stunt but as I grew older I didn't care and didn't pay any attention to them. But a couple of years ago I heard Duality at a party and thought it sounded really cool. Off Course I knew Wait and Bleed but this song was in a way better for me. The intro is awesome with the lyrics and the whispering vocal and that metal drum bang is killer. The dynamics work well together and the vers and pre-chorus all work towards the chorus whit dark and soft spoken lyrics.The bridge is awesome and once again it leads to the chorus with power and precision. A great metal song that stands out as slipknots best work to me.
9. Korn - Freak On A Leash
Korn was never really my cup of tea at the beginning. I felt like it was over hyped and I didn't get why got so much attention and in some way I still don't. But at some point Freak on the leash got my attention. Then I started getting but made them famous. They had found a new sound coming out of those gorgeous Ibanez Apex 7-strings and I got hooked. The screaming guitars in the back of Jonathan Davis' vocals give a spooky feel to it and then, boom hardcore pre-chorus into the bone rattling chorus with those knocking sounds supporten the guitares and those great though short lyrics.Did he just beatbox? I cause so, and then it goes on into the bridge and then into a variation off the chorus with more open guitar. At the end the electronic sounds finish it of in style. It's a shame Korn never got even close to this again, but at least this song stands.
8. Slayer - Raining Blood
I've had the pleasure of hearing Slayer live and though it's the worst sounding band in the world it still the best sounding band in the world. Never has anything ever been so good by being so bad. It is a sea of screaming vocals, guitars and drums mashed into a live show all about power, speed and high volume. The climax of Slayer has always been raining Blood in my book. Ever since I heard it in GTA Vice City I thought it was pure evil in a musical form. The thunder, the screams, the lyrics and so on all made it clear to my that this was not a laughing matter. Everybody knows what the opening riff means and what's going to happen and that shows that it is a pretty successful song a s a whole. Many people don't like it but they still know what the song is so all hail the King.
7. Mastodon - Oblivion
First of all this song has one of the best choruses ever written in a metal song. "Falling from grace, cause I've been away too long. Leaving you behind with my lonesome song." Are you kidding me? The song changes tempo in the chorus to half tempo and works so well it's mind blowing. this is one of the best songs I know to sing along to when your getting ready for a party. The up tempo vers gets you going and the chorus makes you feel like a king because the sound is so deep and powerful. The song is packed with contrasts. The intro is experimenting and dark while the verses are fast and straight forward. The guitar solos are slow as the bridge and again creates a contrast to the rest of the song by being a mix of long bends a fast picking. This is one hell of a piece work and I've only just jumped into the sea that is Mastodon. Just take a look at the cover of the album. My god!
6. Dream Theater - Lie
I have already written about this song once. But I need to again. This song is borderline prog and metal but when the guitar is my main focus the i'll call it a metal song. The one thing that elevates this song so high on this list is John Petrucci and his solo. That heavy riff is insane and the solo is my all time favorite so I can't leave it off the list. The song in it self is though not bad at all. Lyrics with good rhymes and intense metaphors. A build up to the solo that is filled with breaks and then: Unleash the Beast. Some would say the song has to much keyboard to be a real metal song but I don't care. That solo alone deserves a spot on this list.
5. Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill
I could have filled this list with Pantera songs only but that would have been no fun so Pantera will only appear one more time after this one. The first thing I want you to do is take a look at that cover. In contrast to Crack the skye above this is a simple cover. But to me this is the best album cover ever. You get a rattlesnake sticking its tongue out, A big read Pantera writing and then that tittle: The Great Southern Trendkill. It is so simple but yet tells more about this album than anything.this album is a mix of metal ballads like Floods and Suicide Note pt. 1 and hardcore trash songs with nonstop action. It is trash at it's core and yet soft and slow. The tittle song is though to me the loudest and fastest of the bunch. It's as head on as anything I have ever heard and of course at the stirring wheel is Mr. Dimebag Darrell and lord is he good at taking charge. Phil screams and yells like normal and then if ever hell broke loose. at the 1:40 mark everything breaks down and you're left alone with Dimes screaming Guitar and a deep Phil Anselmo that says something like "Let's kick this off southern style" And Dime goes berserk during the reminding two minutes. That is one hell of a way to start an album.
4. Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Master of puppets had to be on this list. It is an absolute stable in metal and is a fantastic song in general. It is classic Metallica and has both the melodic parts as well as the fast pasted palm muted parts that started it all. A song about drugs is always a good way to start if you want to write metal lyrics. And the breaks before the chorus where they really put an emphasis on "Master" tells you that you're being controlled by a higher power and that it's pulling the strings to make you behave. It's a great setting for a metal song and this song deserves all the acclaim it gets cause it is an awesome song from top to bottom.
3. Soil - Halo
Some bands or singers are called one hit wonders. others are able to spit out one hit after another but Soil is somewhere in between. I discovered Halo About a 8 months ago and found it amazing. This song has some of the best metal vocals i have ever heard and that word: Halo, there is something about it I can't explain. The riffs and the vocal fits each other like hand in a glove and I feel like I wanted the song to continues for 3 more minutes just so I can have some more. But here is the thing. The rest of the album is complete and utter garbage. You can hear that all songs are written by Soil but Halo is the only song that's worth anything at all and live this band is a mess off sloppiness and a lag of teamwork. But if this song is the only one they'll give me i'm fine. It's spectacular.
2. Pantera - 5 Minutes Alone
This song means the world to me. It's one of the songs that I feel like are a part of me somehow. It's heavy as hell and is classic Pantera. 5 Minutes Alone though has something unique. the fills Dimebag made in between the chorus and the vers are out of this world. Where did that come from? It is one of the coolest guitar things ever made and along with that breathtaking bass-line underneath the solo makes this song one I will always treasure. But one part of this song that's the cherry on top is the best music video ever. Though shot in 1993/94 it's really good quality video and the setting is the best I've ever seen. A black background, spots and some cameras, that's it. in the guitar solo you switch between A closeup of Rex Brown's bass strings and some different angels on Dime's guitar and when he has a massive whammy pull you watch from the head of the guitar how the strings bend like crazy. The perfect music video to the song.
1. Metallica - Battery
Battery is my all time favorite metal song. The intro is slow and mood setting and then you crash into everything ahead while Kirk and James back you up with that powerchord heaven they created. With this song and Master of Puppets Metallica proved that they were the fastest and the best writers at the time. And then that word: Battery. It just sounds awesome and powerful so to end a chorus of with that word is fitting to a sound that oozes speed and aggression. Kirk's solo is good as well. though i'm not a fan of him in general some of his work fits the songs brilliantly and Battery needed a fast paced wah solo to compliment it and it does amazingly. This song is metal at it's finest fast when it has to be and slow when it can be. All in all my favorite metal song.
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