Heavy Metal GOATs: The Other Guys · 6:33am Dec 3rd, 2019
Howdy, folks! First and foremost, as always, Adorable Applejack:
EPIC NOMZ!!!
Now then, I know I said that I would be posting this blog the week I posted the original, but hey. College and lethargy are a bitch, mmm'kay?
Anywho, this is the continuation of my previous blog about the "Greatest of All Time" metal bands. In the last one, we went over the "big boys," the ones that everyone lists off when they talk about this. Now, I want to put forth five other bands that I feel are among the greatest metal bands out there. Some you might know, some you probably haven't heard of, and that's kind of the point. I want to make you think about these bands in a new light if you know them, and bring them to your attention if you don't. So, let's get to it!
#5: As The World Bleeds by Theocracy
Yup, I'm gettin' all Jesusy on ya.
Now, before you tune me out, let me say that yes, full disclosure, what first attracted me to this band was their spiritual message. However, even a cursory listen to their music shows that there is so much more to this band than simply their religious beliefs. This progressive power metal band from Georgia was formed in 2002 by vocalist and primary songwriter Matt Smith.
No, not that one.
The self-titled debut album featured Smith on every single instrument. It truly was a passion project. Smith is one of those guys who knows what he wants to make, and makes it happen, a lot like a guy we'll be seeing more of in a moment. Eventually, he found musicians who shared his passion and could meet his intense musical demands. Since the beginning, the band has put heavy emphasis on complex guitar work. The riffs are aggressive and rapid fire, and while their first two albums don't really have guitar solos, as Smith is more a rhythm guy, once he finally got himself a lead, the solos are soaring and intense. This is all complimented by Smith;s soaring vocals, very reminiscent of the bands that influenced him, singers like Rob Halford and James LeBrie. This is fitting, since some songs, like the epic song I Am literally sounds like Dream Theater covering Judas Priest at times.
Quite obviously, the band's lyrics heavily feature Christian themes, from the basic in songs like Hide In The Fairytale, to the literal in songs like Nailed, about Martin Luther. Now, this may turn some of you off, not wanting to hear "preachy messages" in your metal, to which I say... shut the fuck up. You'll listen to bands like Decide and Gorgoroth spew their bullshit for literal hours. You can stand to take five minutes to hear the other side of the coin, okay? These guys are incredibly talented, and you should definitely check them out.
#4: Wishmaster by Nightwish
Now, while a lot of you won;t balk at my inclusion of Nightwish on this list, you might take issue with my choice of album. Indeed, they are one of those bands that has never really released a "bad" album. From their debut Angels Fall First to their most recent effort Endless Forms Most Beautiful, they have consistently delivered the goods. However, I feel that their third album best encapsulates what they are capable of. Sure, this was before the ever-awesome Marco Hietala lent his vocal talents to the band, but I still maintain this is the band at their peak.
What has always set Nightwish apart from their peers is the vocals. This album features original vocalist Tarja Turunen, a trained soprano, who lent an air of operatic style and feminine grace to the heavy guitars and complex orchestral score. They were hardly the first female fronted rock/metal band—look up the legendary Wendy O. Williams or Lita Ford for context—but they were one of the first to lean in to the feminine aspect. Like, Williams, Ford, or another one of my favorite female singers, Angela Gossow of Arch Enemy, all showcased a woman playing into a man's world, if that makes sense. But with Nightwish, the lady on the vocals was very much demure, almost delicate in her performance and very much owning that they were a woman.
But aside from any feminist messages, WIshmaster very much showcases what Nightwish is capable of. From the haunting The Kinslayer to the fast-paced Crownless to the absolutely epic in scope FantasMic, this album has a bit for everybody. Songwriter Tuomas Holopainen really shows why he's one of the most eccentric and ballsy musicians working today. While I personally believe the band's current singer Floor Jansen is their most well-rounded singer, Turunen's emotional, operatic style can't be denied. Definitely check this one out if you haven;t heard it, or revisit it if you have.
And now, because it;s late and I;m very drunk, we'll take a brief interlude to celebrate the One-True Romance to rule all True Romances...
WildeHopps!
Look at it!!! LOOK UPON ITS MAJESTY AND DESPAIR FOR YOU WILL NEVER HAVE A LOVE AS TRUE AND PURE AS THEY!!!
*ahem*
Moving on...
#3: Night of the Stormrider by Iced Earth
If you know metal, you likely know of these guys. They have been working hard and paying their dues for over thirty years. Iced Earth is quite likely the biggest "underground" metal band, as they have never achieved commercial success, but nearly every metal head knows them. Rhythm guitarist Jon Schaffer foremd than band in Florida way back in 1984, but they didn't release their self-titled debut until 1990.
Iced Earth has always been known for their almost insane technical precision. I once read a column who described Schaffer's right hand as being, "tighter than a Republican's butthole." The rolling triplets, the constantly shifting time signatures, high-flying solos, and soaring vocals combine to make a sound that is unique among all other bands. They are easily one of my favorite bands. Whenever I close my eyes and fantasize about being in a metal band, it's usually this band I imagine being in. I just love everything about them.
While they have release multiple albums that could make this list—from the iconic Something Wicked This Way Comes, to the 'Murica touting The Glorious Burden, to their most recent album Incorruptible—they are, again, a band that has never released a truly bad album.
However, I have to give the nod to their sophmore effort for this list. Like Matt Smith of Theocracy, Schaffer is a man who knows exactly what he wants, and will go through Hell or high water to get it. He's notorious for firing band members who fail to toe his line, and their line-up is like a revolving door of amazing musicians.
Now, the more astute of you might have noticed that when I showcased the best song on the album above, I linked a live version of the song. This is for a reason that, if you know the band, you likely know already. While the band has had a roster of amazingly talented people, the vocals on their early albums... sucked. Like, hard. Their self-titled debut, which is amazing musically, is almost painful to listen to due to the horrible vocals. It wasn't until their third album, Burnt Offerings, that they got a singer who could match their musicianship, Matt Barlow, who is actually my favorite singer of all time. Matter of fact, his new band Ashes of Ares was on the short list for this blog. Barlow himself is an amazing guy. After 9/11, he left the rockstar life to giv eback to the country he loved, and currently serves as a police officer, doing musical things in his off time. Still, even with the vocal shortcomings, this album cannot be denied. Give it a spin.
#2: Heroes by Sabaton
You know, that I was going to include Sabaton on this list was a given. The band has built a reputation of fierce precision in their music, but what truly set them apart is the subjet matter of their songs. Every song they write is based on military history, eithe famous battles or noteworthy soldiers. Most impressively, they have stuck to their guns in saying that, "War knows no nation." They have written songs extoling the successes of Nazi units, as in their traditional concert opener Ghost Divison.
No, what was difficult was chosing which album to showcase. My first thought was The Last Stand. But then I realized that was just because the title track is my all-time favorite Sabaton song. My next thought was Primo Victoria. But again, that was mainly because that was the first Sabaton album I ever bought. As I was debating this, I realized something...
I had been listening to Heroes literally every day on the way to school for two months.
It's a "concept album." If you don;t know wnhat that is, a concept album is an album that either features or songs that sequentially tell a story—the most well-known example of this would probably be Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son—or this one. Every song on this album is about World War II. From obscure stories of a Nazi fighter pilot showing mercy on an American bomber in No Bullets Fly, to the unsung absolute unit Lauri Torni in Soldier of Three Armies, to the legendary Audie Murphy in To Hell and Back. As the title says, the song is about heroes, those brave men willing to execute extreme violence to end a true darkness. And through it all, the band maintains its dedication to tight riffs, a gruff yet operatic vocal style, and unwavering historical accuracy.
Once more, Sabaton ahs yet to release a bad album. Whether you're a rabid metal head or a student of history, give them a listen.
And the greatest metal album you may not have heard of is, in my humble opinion...
#1. Hell Destroyer by Cage
This is a band that I would bet money you've never heard of, and that is a damn shame. They are truly one of the best American power metal bands of all time, however due to that small market, they haven't been able to achieve any measure of commercial success. They were formed way back in 1992 by lead guitarist Dave Garcia and vocalist Sean Peck, who is hands down, one of the best singers in metal. His range is damn near immeasurable. He's performed with metal legends Michael Denner and Hank Shermann of Mercyful Fate, and in another of my favorite bands, Death Dealer. But is his original band Cage that truly showcases his talents.
Hell Destroyer is actually another concept album, one of the ones that tells a story. That story? A stylized retelling of the Book of Revelations. Now, before you jump ship, let me stress that Cage is not a Christian metal band. Sean is a Christian, but the band does not use that theme. Mostly, they sing about general metal cheesiness, and actually, comic books of all things. Their album Science of Annihilation has songs about both Galactus and the Ghost Rider, and their album Supremacy of Steel has a song literally called Doctor Doom.
But this album tells the story of Revelation in a very interesting way. In a nutshell, it tells how agents of Satan take blood gathered from the hammer that wa used to crucify Christ, and use it to clone Jesus, and that is the Anti-Christ. It's really cool, but even beyond the subject material, the album is amazing, It;s one of those albums that has very varied songs, from the thrasher title track, to the absolutely evil Abomination, the mournful Fall of the Angels, to the triumphant Beyond the Apocalypse. And Throughout it all, it maintains that heavy metla cheese factor, never becoming too heavy or bogged down in the subjet material.
Unlike a lot of power metal albums, it;s a CD that is not afraid to slow down and let the story tell itself. I think my favorite track is Bohemian Grove, an absolutely evil song that revels in the bad guys winning. Despite the source material being very clear on who wins, the album actually ends on a bit of a cliffhanger with Metal Devil, which ends with an uncertain tone. We don;t get resolutuon until the album Supremacy of Steel, with the song Hell Destroyer Vs. Metal Devil.
Well! That's it, then! Now, I feel I must reiterate that it is late at night, and i am monumentally drunk, so some of the music links might not be the right songs. Let me know if they are wrong, and I'll fix them when I sober up in the morning. I mainly just wanted to showcase a few bands you might not think about when considering "the greatest bands." Also, I want to show that heavy metal is not monolith. There is a lot of variation in the genre, a bit of something for everyone, I feel. If you know these bands, great! A reason to spin them again. If not, then maybe I've made you think a bit differently about the genre.
Either way, never forget that I fucking love you all. Til next time stay safe, stay free, and more than anything else, stay metal! Jake The Army Guy out!
Oh man, Wishmaster. :D
And you're right, I have not heard of Cage before. :B Time to change that.
God, Night Witches. They're one of my favourite parts of Russia's WWII history, as well as it being just a sick song in general.
Did you know that the planes they flew, the Polikarpov PO-2, is the only biplane to have a documented kill on a jet?
5163731 Did it get sucked into a turbine? (hey, I had to ask.)
Hey, my Metal got rusted long, long ago.
5163760
Nope, but similarly stupid!
Despite being designed in the 1920s, he PO-2 was used by the North Koreans in the Korean Civil War in a relatively similar capacity to how the Night Witches used them (night time raids, switching the engine off and gliding over airfields, dropping the bombs before kicking the engine back on and puttering away), earning them the nickname Bedcheck Charlie. The problem is, the PO-2 is such an incredibly awful plane, it was nearly impossible to kill.
Radars work great on modern metal machines. Less so on something made out of cloth and plywood. .50cal machine guns and 20mm cannons of the time would shred most planes they encounter, but would literally go in one side and out the other without detonating against the PO-2. And, above all, the plane was so incredibly slow that fighter jets had a hell of a time even getting into a position where they could shoot them down. A Lockheed Starfire ended up flying roughly 100mph below stall speed in an attempt to get the bastard who'd been bombing his airfield. Didn't work. Plane stalled, crashed, and PO-2 flew away to fight another day.
It's my second favourite "the planes were literally too crap to die" story.
5163774
I'm almost scared to ask about your favorite...
5163760
Hey, Ozzy Osbourne just turned 71, and he has an album about to drop, and Glen Tipton of Judas Priest is 70, and has Parkinson's, and he is still writing material for the band.
Never too old to rock, my dude.
I like the Alvin York song
True, but when they seemed forced to do a song...
5163774
I personally like the Six Days War story.
Also that song because it seems to really honk a lot of people off for some reason