Best and most definitive song by different artists?

[Elric of Melniboné]

I think that there was recently a thread asking what people thought was the best album by as many artists as they could name, but I think that asking about what the best song is will be more varied and interesting.

Cirith Ungol



Slayer



Judas Priest



Technically this one is cheating but it shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[no country for old wainds]

agree with priest and probably agree with ungol. 'raining blood' is forever my slayer pick however - tag 'postmortem' onto the front to make it even better.

 

[no country for old wainds]

bathory - a fine day to die
burzum - det som en gang var
immortal - as the eternity opens
mayhem - de mysteriis dom sathanas
darkthrone - under a funeral moon
beherit - sadomatic rites
graveland - blood of christians on my sword
summoning - nightshade forests
sacramentum - cries from a restless soul

 

[Vegard Pompey]

JP - Dreamer/Dreamer Deceiver
Cirith Ungol - King of the Dead
Slayer - Necrophiliac
Maiden - Aces High
Manilla Road - Necropolis
Saint Vitus - The Psychopath
Pentagram - Be Forewarned (First Daze Here version)
Candlemass - A Sorcerer's Pledge
Metallica - Blackened (into AJFA preferably, but if I have to go with one I'll just take Blackened)
Megadeth - Five Magics

 

[no country for old wainds]

'king of the dead' is my alternative pick for teh ungols, and those are also my vitus, candlemass and manilla road picks as you're probably aware. 'starlady' is probs my fav pentagram song but i'm not sure it's definitive. 'last days here' is also a song i totally adore but, like, if someone was asking me what pentagram sounds like i wouldn't play them either of these over 'be forewarned'. i'm down with 'blackened' although i'd probably go 'master of puppets' myself. i'm not sure what i'd pick for maiden at this point, i need to delve back into some of the classic bruce albums. with megadeth i'd prob be clichéd and go 'holy wars'.

 

[Vegard Pompey]

I was actually picking my favorites moreso than which ones I thought the most 'definitive' - in every case except Maiden, anyway. My personal favorite is probably To Tame a Land (or if I'm feeling really contrarian, Starblind) but Aces High is just the quintessential classic era Maiden song in so many ways.

Some more:

Voivod - Tornado
Fates Warning - The Apparition
Dream Theater - Take the Time
Blind Guardian - Banish from Sanctuary

What would you pick for Helstar? I love their sound but it's hard for me to point out an obvious standout.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

You guys are using a weird definition of "definitive" if Dreamer/Dreamer Deceiver fits that for Priest. Depending on the audience, it would be Breaking the Law, You've Got Another Thing Coming, Painkiller, Victim of Changes, or Beyond the Realms of Death.

Other examples itt suck too. I will be back shortly with the true definitive list of best songs from metal bands.

 

[no country for old wainds]

we await with baited breath.

 

[no country for old wainds]

in a lot of cases it's either gotta be best or definitive or you've got to name two songs tbf, i was p obviously going for the former or i'd have picked 'transilvanian hunger' and 'funeral fog' and the like. 'victim of changes' is probably the priest option that best fits both categories i guess.

re: pompey, i would pick 'baptised in blood' just to piss off hbb. 'winds of war' is probs the actual best though.

'the apparition' is obviously the iconic+best fates warning pick i suppose. maybe 'fata morgana' is an alternative. 'epitaph' is my fav however.

 

[Elric of Melniboné]

You guys are using a weird definition of "definitive" if Dreamer/Dreamer Deceiver fits that for Priest. Depending on the audience, it would be Breaking the Law, You've Got Another Thing Coming, Painkiller, Victim of Changes, or Beyond the Realms of Death.

Other examples itt suck too. I will be back shortly with the true definitive list of best songs from metal bands.

You seem to be using it to mean "most well-known" which is not what the word means.

Using it to represent what you think is a band's best display of what they're capable of doing is a valid way of using the word. That's what I'm doing and what other people are probably doing too.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

You seem to be using it to mean "most well-known" which is not what the word means.

Using it to represent what you think is a band's best display of what they're capable of doing is a valid way of using the word. That's what I'm doing and what other people are probably doing too.

So a long, psych-y, bluesy ballad is the best display of what Judas Priest is capable of? It's a good (but not even the best) representation of what they used to be very early in their career, and it certainly doesn't remotely represent the band as a whole.

 

[Draehl]

Top 25 or so. I'm sure I'm missing something. Included some more recent favorites too.

Akhlys - Consummation
Agalloch - In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion
Bathory - A Fine Day To Die
Black Sabbath - Electric Funeral
Blut Aus Nord - ... The Meditant
Burzum - Dunkelheit/Belus Doed
Dissection - Where Dead Angels Lie
Drudkh - Furrows Of Gods
Earthless - Sonic Prayer
Enslaved - Neogenesis
Falkenbach - Vanadis
Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough
Mare Cognitum - Weaving The Thread Of Transcendence
Metallica - Blackened/Orion
Moonsorrow - Pimeä
Nile - Wrought
Om - Sinai
Opeth - Blackwater Park/Funeral Portrait
Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss
Tool - Parabola
Vektor - Pillars Of Sand
Volahn - Chamalcan
Warduna - Helvegen
Windir - Heidra
Wolves In The Throne Room - I Will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots
Zaum - Omen

 

[Elric of Melniboné]

So a long, psych-y, bluesy ballad is the best display of what Judas Priest is capable of? It's a good (but not even the best) representation of what they used to be very early in their career, and it certainly doesn't remotely represent the band as a whole.

Two interconnected songs that showcase the versatile range of Judas Priest as a band and particularly highlight Halford's very diverse vocal styles sounds pretty representative of what Judas Priest can do.

You seem unaware that it has the entire "Dreamer Deceiver/Deceiver" suite in the video and not just the first track. The second track is pretty much the polar opposite of the first and a pretty standard 1970s straightforward Judas Priest metal song.

The nice thing about discussing what different people think is definitive or classic is that it is very subjective. I know that's probably hard for you to deal with, but you can ignore the topic if you have such a hard time with it.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Objectively correct answers:

Anthrax - Caught in a Mosh
Black Sabbath - Into the Void
Candlemass - A Sorcerer's Pledge
Coroner - Read My Scars
Destruction - Curse the Gods
Dio - All the Fools Sailed Away
Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt 1
Exodus - Strike of the Beast
Fates Warning - The Apparition
Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name
Judas Priest - Victim of Changes
Kreator - idk, People of the Lie? Coma of Souls? something shit, certainly
Megadeth - Peace Sells
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Queensryche - Eyes of a Stranger
Rainbow - Stargazer
Slayer - Raining Blood
Sodom - Agent Orange
Testament - Over the Wall

 

[Slayed Necros]

At the Gates - Primal Breath
Autopsy - Hole in the Head
Bathory - Enter the Eternal Fire
Bolt Thrower - World Eater
Destruction - Bestial Invasion
Dismember - In Death's Sleep
Dissection - Night's Blood
Fates Warning - The Apparition
Gorgoroth - Maaneskyggens Slave
Graveland - The Dark Battlefield
Hellhammer - Triumph of Death
Immolation - Into Everlasting Fire / Father, You're Not a Father
Jag Panzer - Licensed to Kill
Manilla Road - Crystal Logic
Mercyful Fate - A Dangerous Meeting
Morgoth - Selected Killing
Mortuary Drape - Astral Bewitchment
Mystifier - An Elizabethan Devil Worshipper's Prayer Book
Necrophobic - Before the Dawn
Razor - Cut Throat
Rotting Christ - Exiled Archangels
Sacramentum - Beyond All Horizons
Sarcófago - Nightmare
Scorpions - In Trance
Slayer - Angel of Death
Varathron - Flowers of my Youth
Vio-Lence - Kill on Command

 

[CiG]

Grand Magus "Like The Oar Strikes The Water"

Edit:

Saint Vitus "Saint Vitus" (obvious as shit, why nobody mentioned it...)
Black Sabbath "War Pigs"
Venom "Black Metal"
Iron Maiden "Where Eagles Dare"
Motorhead "Shoot You In The Back"

 

[Slayed Necros]

Also, definitely Winds of War for Helstar. Perfect song.

 

[Satanstoenail]

Objectively correct answers:

Anthrax - Caught in a Mosh
Black Sabbath - Into the Void
Candlemass - A Sorcerer's Pledge
Coroner - Read My Scars
Destruction - Curse the Gods
Dio - All the Fools Sailed Away
Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt 1
Exodus - Strike of the Beast
Fates Warning - The Apparition
Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name
Judas Priest - Victim of Changes
Kreator - idk, People of the Lie? Coma of Souls? something shit, certainly
Megadeth - Peace Sells
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Queensryche - Eyes of a Stranger
Rainbow - Stargazer
Slayer - Raining Blood
Sodom - Agent Orange
Testament - Over the Wall

Kreator - Betrayer

Also I'd pick Angel of Death for Slayer

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Slayer- Angel of Death (the definitive metal song)
Judas Priest- Victim of Changes
Ozzy era Black Sabbath- Into the Void
Dio era Black Sabbath- Turn up the Night
Iron Maiden- Where Eagles Dare
Metallica- Battery
Megadeth- Holy Wars... the Punishment Due

Burzum- Hvis lyset tar oss
Darkthrone- Transilvanian Hunger
Immortal- Unsilent Stroms in the North Abyss
Emperor- Thus Spake the Night Spirit
Graveland- White Hand's Power
Mutiilation- Magical Shadows of a Tragic Past
Deathspell Omega- Bread of Bitterness
Enslaved- Midgards Eldar
Agalloch- In the Shadow of our Pale Companion
Dissection- Unhallowed
Mayhem- Freezing Moon

 

[Phylactery]

At the Gates - Within
Autopsy - In the Grip of Winter
Bathory - Woman of Dark Desires/Enter the Eternal Fire
Bolt Thrower - World Eater
Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss (Det Som is probably the better song, but this one is so underrated.)
Candlemass - Demon's Gate or Well of Souls
Darkthrone - Kathaarian Life Code
Destroyer 666 - Unchain the Wolves
Destruction - Curse the Gods
Dissection - Black Horizons
Emperor - Into the Infinity of Thoughts
Enslaved - Midgards Eldar
Fates Warning - The Apparition
Graveland - Blood of Christians on my Sword
Hellhammer - Triumph of Death
Immolation - Close to a World Below
Immortal - Unsilent Storms in the North Abyss
Incantation - Impending Diabolical Conquest
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
Jag Panzer - Licensed to Kill
Judas Priest - Victim of Changes
Mayhem - Buried by Time and Dust
Mercyful Fate - At the Sound of the Demon Bell
Necrophobic - Before the Dawn
Sacramentum - Obsolete Tears
Summoning - Mirkwood
Slayer - At Dawn they Sleep
The Chasm - A Portal to Nowhere

Dissection - Where Dead Angels Lie

This is easily my least favourite Dissection song from the first 2 albums, and one of the reasons why I consider The Somberlain to be the better album.