What is up metallic nation?
Hope you are well and oiled ready to take your circuits for a spin in the mosh pit as today i am going to be listing my top 10 fave metal songs. This list was suggested by James Davie so a big shoutout and thanks to him.
What comes to mind when i say metal? Music? Actual metal? Aggressive vocals? Screeching guitars with amps turned up to 11? Long hair? All black clothing?
Well what ever it is, this list is all about the metal music that is guaranteed to get you reacting either by moshing or maybe saying "well not bad but this song should have been in here" whatever it maybe or hell you could leave a comment saying "keep port talbot steelworks open!" and that is still valid to say so yeah, no matter what pops to mind do comment below at anytime and read on and enjoy :)
RULES: One song per band....god i like to make my list's tough huh? lol.
Funny enough when i think of metal it's normally all of these on the list that pop to mind first of all. Will post my opinion of the song, a link to the song and facts about the song.
10: Breaking The Law - Judas Priest
Da da da da da da dada BREAKING THE LAW BREAKING THE LAW! At number 10 Judas rides in past the speed limit with this classic. You are guaranteed to know this from the starting riff and chorus and if you don't well you are BREAKING THE LAW, BREAKING THE LAW, BREAKING THE LAW! The lyrics tell of someone who gets tired of everything that comes with an ordinary life - that life has become boring. This leads the person to take a chance and start breaking the law. The song has left its mark in many places in popular culture. It was ranked #40 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal songs list. Beavis and Butthead used to sing the song when they did something knowingly illegal. It's been used in some TV commercials, and in movies like Scarface: The World Is Yours. It's also appeared in The Simpsons.
9: Holy Diver - Dio
Another classic you are bound to know. If not for the Dio version then perhaps the Killswitch version. Both i love. Dio did it first however and it is a very iconic piece of music. Hmm mmm yeaah yeeah HOLY DIVAH! What is becoming of you? This song is about Satan, and his descent to Hell (his "dive"). The lyrics deal specifically with Revelations 12:9 where Satan was cast to the earth. The tiger is symbolic of the wild beast that comes out of the sea, as mentioned in Revelations 13:1. In June 2009, Dio told the NME: "'Holy Diver' is the metal tune that will not die. For some reason, that album and the song really hit a chord with people. Killswitch Engage did a version of it and I saw them do it at a festival recently where the reaction to their version was wonderful. But it's not something that gets resurrected every once in a while, it's just always there. I guess it's because good songs always work. What usually happens when people in bands meet me for the first time and they're fans is that they'll sing [adopts a self-mocking high pitched voice] 'Hoooly Diiiiiver' at me! It happens all the time and it's very touching."
8: Halo - Machine Head
Now many overlook this when it comes to best metal songs for me this one is a modern masterpiece. Such a great track. Rob Flynn says:"This is basically an anti-religion song, about the stuff that's been going on in America like them trying to make abortions illegal again. It's a halo over our demise". This is about how America, though supposedly a country of freedom, is still under the strangelhold of Christianity, as evidenced with the recent abortion debates. This song reflects exactly how I feel about religion and America - that society is still under it's grasp, no matter how progressive we claim to be. It's a sad, epic call for freedom from the chains of Christianity.
7: Before I Forget - Slipknot
For many metal fans this was one of the songs that got them into slipknot and metal too. Corey Taylor's lyrics are open to interpretation, which is how he likes it. This song deals with evolution and the nature of man. In 2006, this won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. This was Slipknot's first Grammy - they were nominated for the award six years in a row before finally winning. The beeping at the end of the song is Morse code, which spells out the word "Slipknot." Slipknot rarely appear without their masks, but they do in this video, although only tight shots of their faces are seen.
6: Down with the Sickness - Disturbed
Everyone know's this for the iconic unforgettable primal vocals of Draiman. "OH WAH AH AH AH!" This is about how society treats people who are "different." A lot of people think they are "sick" and "wrong" and want nothing to do with them. In the middle of the song, David acts out a skit where he is being abused by his mother (not in the radio version). Finally, he builds up enough courage and hits her right back. This is used to symbolise how "mother society" abuses "her" children for not being the way "she" thinks they should. "She" keeps doing it until "her" children get sick of it and are so angry with her and themselves they go out and get revenge for it, most likely by killing the people that hurt them ("here it comes, get ready to die!") A good example of this would be the school shootings that go on around the country.
5: Walk - Pantera
One of my personal favourites and it kicks major ass bro so of course it is on this list. The main riff was written while the band was warming up for a show on guitarist Dimebag Darrell's practice amp when Phil Anselmo shouted, "We gotta write some s--t for this new album." Dime immediately started playing the opening riff, and Vinnie tapped the drums on the wall. They were filming for the home video and caught it all on tape to remember the riff. When Pantera first found success, they found their pals were treating them a little different as they thought the fame had gone to their heads. Frontman Phil Anselmo explained to Kerrang: "I wrote this when Pantera were first getting a lot of attention. I came back from touring and my friends had taken it upon themselves to think that I'd changed as a person into this big rockstar. 'Walk' was me telling them to shove that attitude up their ass."
4: Hallowed Be Thy Name - Iron Maiden
Here's an amazing piece of music. This song is about a man who is on death row and about to be executed, it is from the perspective of that man. Pure genius metal lyrics, incredible riffs, and the godly voice of Bruce Dickinson makes this song the greatest metal song of all time. It practically defines metal. I thank you Iron Maiden for creating this masterpiece.
3: One - Metallica
Such a tune! This song is about a soldier fighting in a war and a mortar blows off in his face. He can't hear, see, smell, taste and he doesn't have arms or legs. He comes out of a coma in a hospital. During the time he is in the hospital he reflects on his life and things his father told him. Eventually the doctors get worried because he's having spasms all the time, but he doesn't seem to be dying. They call in the general and he can't figure it out either but the soldier with the general recognise it. "Its Morse code," he says. The general asks what he is saying and the soldier looks for a minute and then says, "He is saying K-I-L-L- M-E over and over again. The lyrics are based on the novel Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo, which is about World War I. This was the first video Metallica made, and it expanded their fan base by giving them a presence on MTV.
2: Iron Man - Black Sabbath
Now come on everyone know's this one and this is here for so many good reasons of course. There’s a well-thumbed story that the Black Sabbath song Iron Manwas inspired by the Marvel Comics character of the same name. But it’s not true. Although Marvel had established that superhero in 1963, Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler, who wrote the lyrics for the iconic song, had never even heard of him in 1970. The idea for the song (which first appeared on the second Sabbath album, Paranoid, released in 1970), actually started with Ozzy Osbourne. Geezer - “I can’t exactly recall what Ozzy said, but it was something like: ‘Why don’t we do a song called Iron Man, or maybe Iron Bloke’. That got me thinking about a lump of metal, and then putting it all into a science-fiction context. It all flowed from there. The storyline – a self-fulfilment prophecy, mixed up with time travel – is actually quite complex. It’s about a man who goes into the future and witnesses the apocalypse. Going back to his own time, he encounters a rogue magnetic field, which turns him into a mute, steel creature. Unable to talk, he still tries to warn people about the impending end of the world, but is only mocked for his troubles. Angry and bitter, he eventually causes the devastation he’d warned everyone about. Ultimately the would-be hero becomes the villain."
1: Ace Of Spades - Motorhead
Everyone know's this one. You probably called this at number one too. Everyone from your dog to your great nana knows and likes this one. Ace of Spades’ is rated as one of the greatest rock and metal songs ever made and has seeped into popular culture, becoming the default music to represent anarchic mayhem on endless TV shows and movies. The gambling references are a metaphor for a hard-living, wreckless lifestyle; biking, drinking, drugs, fighting, etc. He knows that it will do him in eventually, that he'll eventually be dealt the "Ace of Spades" (the death card,) but that's the way he likes it; die with your boots on and all that. The "Ace Of Spades" is the dead man's hand, which was Wild Bill Hancock's hand as he was shot dead (he was an American sheriff who was killed during a game of poker). The hand consists of aces and eights, including the ace of spades.
Alright that completes my list. Remember this is just my thoughts on my personal fave top 10 metal songs and is not the true defining list of the top 10 metal songs.
Click the pics to be taken to the songs.
If you wish to suggest future topics or top 10's for me to discuss and list please comment on google or tweet me @1stmetalgod
+1STMETALGOD and let your opinions be heard also. I would love to hear from you all.
As ever thank you very much for reading and for suggesting topics, i love my readers, you guys make my day every day :)
See you soon!
