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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jul 7, 2022 8:06:32 GMT -5
1. Metallica - “Master of Puppets”
We’ve waded through 199 songs to reach this moment. And if this No. 1 doesn’t surprise you, maybe it’s for a reason — sometimes the obvious pick is really just that fucking great.
What makes “Master of Puppets” the ultimate metal song? There’s a lot of aspects: first, the riff. Almost every great metal song needs a great riff somewhere to keep it rooted, and “Master” kicks right off with it. It’s heavy, it’s skull-breaking, and it’s all played with downstrokes, making it difficult but rewarding to learn.
Then there’s the lyrics. The titular “Master of Puppets” is addiction, controlling your desires until you can’t fight it any longer. And the song’s structure mirrors this, with both the brutality and the highs and lows in the quieter interlude. It’s especially poignant given James Hetfield’s own struggles with alcohol throughout his career.
And then of course, the performance is tight as all hell. The band are locked in unison, each bringing their best to the table. That chorus is enchanted, the verses are brutal, and the solo leads are impeccable. The song never lets up right until the end.
As of my typing this, “Master of Puppets” has even re-entered the charts thanks to a feature in the Netflix show Stranger Things. It’s proof that good music will never die, and that this song really just is all that.
Thanks for following the countdown, and here it is — the greatest metal song of all time.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jul 7, 2022 9:36:23 GMT -5
Postmortem Thanks for tagging along with me on this list! It was super fun to go through all these songs and count them down here. A total of 119 different artists made up the list and I’m very proud of the diversity I achieved with it. It’s a great overview of the massive variety within the genres. Below is the full list collected in one post. Feel free to leave any comments you may have. Thanks again, catch you on the flip side! The 200 Greatest Metal Songs of All Time 200. Evanescence - “Bring Me to Life” 199. Warlock - “All We Are” 198. Venom - “Black Metal” 197. Gamma Ray - “Rebellion in Dreamland” 196. W.A.S.P. - “Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)” 195. Cradle of Filth - “Nymphetamine (Overdose)” 194. Sabaton - “Primo Victoria” 193. Possessed - “Death Metal” 192. Metallica - “Battery” 191. Grim Reaper - “See You in Hell” 190. Megadeth - “Tornado of Souls” 189. Tool - “Sober” 188. Between the Buried and Me - “Mordecai” 187. Queensrÿche - “Take Hold of the Flame” 186. Avenged Sevenfold - “A Little Piece of Heaven” 185. Alice in Chains - “Man in the Box” 184. Iron Maiden - “Phantom of the Opera” 183. Behemoth- “O Father O Satan O Sun!” 182. Judas Priest - “The Sentinel” 181. Machine Head - “Davidian” 180. Morbid Angel - “God of Emptiness” 179. Acid Bath - “Toubabo Koomi” 178. Black Sabbath - “Sweet Leaf” 177. Death - “Spirit Crusher” 176. Slayer - “Hell Awaits” 175. Papa Roach - “Last Resort” 174. Metallica - “Seek & Destroy” 173. Manowar - “Hail and Kill” 172. Exciter - “Heavy Metal Maniac” 171. Gwar - “Sick of You” 170. Bruce Dickinson - “Accident of Birth” 169. Savatage - “Gutter Ballet” 168. Bathory - “One Rode to Asa Bay” 167. Yngwie Malmsteen - “Black Star” 166. King Diamond - “Welcome Home” 165. Cynic - “Veil of Maya” 164. Faith No More - “Epic” 163. Deicide - “Dead by Dawn” 162. Children of Bodom - “Everytime I Die” 161. Linkin Park - “In the End” 160. Emperor - “Ye Entrancemperium” 159. Lamb of God - “Redneck” 158. Ministry - “Jesus Built My Hotrod” 157. Atheist - “Piece of Time” 156. Helloween - “Halloween” 155. Sepultura - “Roots Bloody Roots” 154. Amon Amarth - “Twilight of the Thunder God” 153. Suicidal Tendencies - “Institutionalized” 152. Type O Negative - “Christian Woman” 151. Dokken - “Kiss of Death” 150. Iron Maiden - “Aces High” 149. Iced Earth - “Dante’s Inferno” 148. Drowning Pool - “Bodies” 147. Rammstein - “Engel” 146. Symphony X - “The Divine Wings of Tragedy” 145. Ozzy Osbourne - “No More Tears” 144. Quiet Riot - “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)” 143. Judas Priest - “The Hellion” / “Electric Eye” 142. Diamond Head - “The Prince” 141. Black Sabbath - “Paranoid” 140. Death - “Lack of Comprehension” 139. White Zombie - “Black Sunshine” 138. Soundgarden - “Jesus Christ Pose” 137. Trivium - “In Waves” 136. Sodom - “Agent Orange” 135. Scorpions - “Rock You Like a Hurricane” 134. A Perfect Circle - “Judith” 133. Skid Row - “Youth Gone Wild” 132. Napalm Death - “Scum” 131. Nightwish - “Nemo” 130. Anthrax - “Madhouse” 129. Suffocation - “Infecting the Crypts” 128. Overkill - “Elimination” 127. Slayer - “War Ensemble” 126. Mötley Crüe - “Dr. Feelgood” 125. Fear Factory - “Replica” 124. Iron Maiden - “The Number of the Beast” 123. Metallica - “Enter Sandman” 122. Avenged Sevenfold - “Afterlife” 121. Dio - “Rainbow in the Dark” 120. Meshuggah - “Bleed” 119. Celtic Frost - “Into the Crypts of Rays” 118. Carcass - “Corporal Jigsore Quandary” 117. In Flames - “Colony” 116. Bolt Thrower - “World Eater” 115. Mercyful Fate - “Curse of the Pharaohs” 114. Exodus - “The Toxic Waltz” 113. Annihilator - “Alison Hell” 112. Immortal - “At the Heart of Winter” 111. My Dying Bride - “Turn Loose the Swans” 110. Entombed - “Wolverine Blues” 109. DragonForce - “Through the Fire and Flames” 108. Living Colour - “Cult of Personality” 107. Megadeth - “Hangar 18” 106. Twisted Sister - “Burn in Hell” 105. Corrosion of Conformity - “Clean My Wounds” 104. Deftones - “Change (In the House of Flies)” 103. Def Leppard - “Photograph” 102. Symphony X - “The Odyssey” 101. Nile - “Annihilation of the Wicked” 100. Black Sabbath - “Heaven and Hell” 99. Judas Priest - “Victim of Changes” 98. Death - “Zombie Ritual” 97. Rainbow - “Kill the King” 96. Ozzy Osbourne - “Over the Mountain” 95. Sepultura - “Refuse/Resist” 94. Slayer - “South of Heaven” 93. Rammstein - “Sonne” 92. Iron Maiden - “Run to the Hills” 91. Alice in Chains - “Them Bones” 90. Blind Guardian - “Mirror Mirror” 89. Saxon - “Princess of the Night” 88. Cannibal Corpse - “Hammer Smashed Face” 87. Burzum - “Jesu død” 86. Marilyn Manson - “The Beautiful People” 85. Dark Angel - “Merciless Death” 84. Metallica - “Fade to Black” 83. Type O Negative - “Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)” 82. Candlemass - “Solitude” 81. Nightwish - “Ghost Love Score” 80. Helloween - “Keeper of the Seven Keys” 79. Kreator - “Pleasure to Kill” 78. Motörhead - “Overkill” 77. Rob Zombie - “Dragula” 76. Scorpions - “No One Like You” 75. Bathory - “Enter the Eternal Fire” 74. Testament - “Practice What You Preach” 73. Iron Maiden - “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” 72. Slipknot - “Psychosocial” 71. Slayer - “Seasons in the Abyss” 70. UFO - “Doctor Doctor” 69. Megadeth - “Symphony of Destruction” 68. Black Sabbath - “Black Sabbath” 67. Dream Theater - “Pull Me Under” 66. Accept - “Fast as a Shark” 65. Ghost - “Cirice” 64. Entombed - “Drowned” 63. Pantera - “Cemetery Gates” 62. Metallica - “Creeping Death” 61. Lamb of God - “Laid to Rest” 60. King Diamond - “Abigail” 59. Judas Priest - “Beyond the Realms of Death” 58. Darkthrone - “Transilvanian Hunger” 57. At the Gates - “Blinded by Fear” 56. Deep Purple - “Highway Star” 55. Carcass - “Heartwork” 54. Tool - “Schism” 53. W.A.S.P. - “I Wanna Be Somebody” 52. Obituary - “Slowly We Rot” 51. Mötley Crüe - “Live Wire” 50. Disturbed - “Down with the Sickness” 49. Gojira - “Flying Whales” 48. Bathory - “A Fine Day to Die” 47. Anthrax - “Indians” 46. Danzig - “Mother” 45. Slayer - “Angel of Death” 44. Ozzy Osbourne - “Mr. Crowley” 43. Mercyful Fate - “The Oath” 42. Morbid Angel - “Chapel of Ghouls” 41. Avenged Sevenfold - “Bat Country” 40. Pantera - “Walk” 39. Death - “Crystal Mountain” 38. Celtic Frost - “Circle of the Tyrants” 37. Meshuggah - “New Millennium Cyanide Christ” 36. Helloween - “I Want Out” 35. Megadeth - “Peace Sells” 34. Iron Maiden - “The Trooper” 33. Queensrÿche - “Eyes of a Stranger” 32. White Zombie - “Thunder Kiss ‘65” 31. Judas Priest - “Breaking the Law” 30. Sepultura - “Arise” 29. Black Sabbath - “Iron Man” 28. Venom - “Witching Hour” 27. Accept - “Balls to the Wall” 26. Metallica - “For Whom the Bell Tolls” 25. Exodus - “Bonded by Blood” 24. Rammstein - “Du hast” 23. KoЯn - “Freak on a Leash” 22. Emperor - “I Am the Black Wizards” 21. Diamond Head - “Am I Evil” 20. Dream Theater - “Metropolis—Part I: ‘The Miracle and the Sleeper’” 19. Opeth - “Blackwater Park” 18. Rainbow - “Stargazer” 17. System of a Down - “Chop Suey!” 16. Anthrax - “Caught in a Mosh” 15. Mastodon - “Blood and Thunder” 14. Mayhem - “Freezing Moon” 13. Slipknot - “Wait and Bleed” 12. Tool - “Lateralus” 11. Dio - “Holy Diver” 10. Ozzy Osbourne - “Crazy Train” 9. Motörhead - “Ace of Spades” 8. Pantera - “Cowboys from Hell” 7. Megadeth - “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” 6. Black Sabbath - “War Pigs” 5. Death - “Pull the Plug” 4. Judas Priest - “Painkiller” 3. Slayer - “Raining Blood” 2. Iron Maiden - “Hallowed Be Thy Name” 1. Metallica - “Master of Puppets”
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