Top 100 Metal Songs: The Top Ten

UPDATE 1/5/2010: Check out my new list, The Top 50 Metal Albums of The Last Decade

In case you're coming here from a search and missed the earlier installments, here they are: Introduction, 100-91, 90-81, 80-71, 70-61, 60-51, 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, and 20-11. Now, the top ten.

#10: “Who Do You Love?” by George Thorogood & the Destroyers
Move It On Over (1978)

Maybe it’s not pure metal, but it certainly is very hard, bluesy rock with a very metal attitude. Since blues-inspired hard rock is the origin of heavy metal, it certainly fits. The lyrical style, talking about how cool and scary the vocalist is, foreshadows the vocal stylings of such later outfits as White Zombie, Mercyful Fate, Motörhead, and Danzig, among others. George’s growly voice also foreshadows the vast majority of 90’s metal vocalists. Not only that, but the simple, powerful riff throughout the tune is also echoed by later metal groups. This song definitely deserves a place in the top ten.

#9: “Cemetery Gates” by Pantera
Cowboys from Hell (1990)

This song goes through the style of such later Pantera hits as “This Love” and “Hollow”: mellow verses interspersed by a powerful chorus. The chorus in this one, however, has one of the greatest metal riffs ever composed, sounding almost like black metal. The solo may not be one of the late Dimebag Darrell’s best, but it certainly fits the eerie, confused, and angry tone of the song, which marks a transition from Pantera’s earlier (and disowned) hair metal style to their later thrash metal virtuosity. No true metal fan can dispute the placement of this classic on the top ten list.

#8: “Faget” by Korn
Korn (1994)

The album marked a transition in the metal world by itself, but this song is the culmination of the abuse-inspired rage of the album (the epitome of the less healthy, questioning angst comes at the end, with “Daddy”). It’s a message to all the people who teased Jonathan Davis as a child, and it’s a strong message at that: “I’m just a pretty boy, whatever you call it. You wouldn’t know a real man if you saw it. It keeps going on day after day, son, you FAKE! . . . I’m sick and tired of people treating me this way every day. Who gives a fuck? Right now I got something to say to all the people who think that I’m STRANGE, that I should be out of here locked up in a CAGE! You don’t know what the hell to fuck now anyway. You got this pretty boy feeling like I’m enslaved. To a world that never appreciated shit: YOU CAN SUCK MY DICK AND FUCKING LIKE IT!” With that, the rage comes out, and the most perfect moment on the album, and in the nu-metal revolution, is realized. (Sorry for the profanity to anyone that’s offended, but you can’t truly appreciate it without said profanity.)

#7: “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash
??? (1963)

This one may seem a bit out of place. But it really isn’t. For one thing, the band Soil (of “Halo” fame) have it played over the speakers every time before they take the stage. The imagery is also characteristically metal: any time they speak of love, the discussion includes the pain and everything else that goes along with it. On my playlists, this one seems perfect as a bridge between “Down in a Hole” by Alice in Chains and “This Love” by Pantera.

#6: “Stone the Crow” by Down
NOLA (1995)

Phil Anselmo makes the top ten twice with this song (the other is “Cemetary Gates”). The most impressive thing about it is the beautifully melodic, southern-sounding riff through the verses, punctuated by Anselmo’s angry voice in the choruses and fully complemented by a great solo and guitar outro by Pepper Keenan. This is definitely the best track ever laid down by an all-star heavy metal side project, and it’s the most perfect blend of southern rock and heavy metal.
(Incidentally, yes the album is named after New Orleans. Not only that, but on their second album, released in 2002, there is a song called “New Orleans Is a Dying Whore.” Prophecy? No, just a moral criticism—or perhaps a lament for lost morals—which ultimately sounds strange coming from a group like this one.)

#5: “Mother” by Danzig
Danzig (1988)

To this day, and probably forevermore, Danzig will be best known for this song on his first solo album. It’s a warning to parents: don’t let your kids listen to Danzig. He will corrupt them, making delinquents out of your sons and whores out of your daughters. “Mother, tell your children not to hold my hand. Tell your children not to understand. Oh, Mother! Father! Do you want to bang heads with me? Do you want to feel everything? Oh, Father! Not about to see your light, but if you want to find hell with me, I can show you what it’s like, ‘til you’re bleeding!” The song has great riffs in chorus and verse, and concludes with one of John Christ’s better guitar solos.

#4: “Clean My Wounds” by Corrosion of Conformity
Deliverance (1994)

Pepper Keenan makes a second appearance in the top ten, this time also on vocals. Strangely enough, he had no place in the remaining 90. This one has one of the best staccato riffs ever written, and is incredibly catchy (it reminds me of “Who Do You Love?”). Not only that, but Keenan’s low-key voice (not to be confused with Maynard James Keenan) is a welcome replacement to CoC’s prior frontman’s voice. Keenan’s guitar solo also has a hint of the southern influence, but there is nothing to detract from the absolutely incredible riff in the verses.

#3: “13 Years of Grief” by Black Label Society
Stronger than Death (2000)

Zakk Wylde’s message to kids: “You’re so fucking tough, so motherfucking bad. 13 years of grief is all your folks ever had. Just an ignorant cunt, talking such shit.” Sure, metal is about rebellion from society. But listen to your parents, and respect them. When you’re 13 you shouldn’t be rebelling against them. If you do, you’ll probably end up with “6 months in the hole. Yeah, son, look at you now.” The riff is pure, unadulterated, bottom-heavy BLS biker metal, but the real star of the show here is Zakk’s absolutely amazing guitar solo, surpassing all of his other solos, including those done for Ozzy. Any fan of guitar solos or of biker metal needs to check this one out. And this concludes the good ol’ southern boy portion of the list.

#2: “The Nameless” by Slipknot
Volume 3: The Subliminal Verses (2004)

This song calcifies (hope I don’t leave you behind on that reference) the promise of Slipknot: in the early 2010’s these guys will be looked at in the same way that Metallica was looked at in the early 1990’s. It is the culmination of their most brilliant album (written and recorded in 8 months instead of 2 after a hiatus when the band members explored side projects to expand their horizons, most notably Stone Sour). It fully realizes the power of all nine members of the band, and the themes of Volume 3 (the interplay of control, love, hate, and obsession) are belted out in pure Slipknot fashion. The best part of it is the contrasting voices of Corey Taylor: the adoring, obsessed melodic and the furious, powerful, dominating force of his scream. The two voices begin as distinct, each with a separate role of love or hate, and by the end they become confused in the greatest crescendo ever written for a heavy metal song, as the narrator loses his grip on right and wrong or love and dominating obsession before finally screaming, repeating, and reinforcing the words “You’re mine!” I recommend this song so highly that I would call it the single best heavy metal song ever written. I could listen to this one over and over all day long, and it would never get old. Of course, you may be asking, if it’s the best ever written, why is it number two? Read on for the number one pick . . .

#1: “Mercyful Fate” medley by Metallica
Garage Inc. (1998)

Sure, it’s a cover. But it only makes sense to be at the top spot on the list. Mercyful Fate had 5 songs on the list, and Metallica had 10 besides this one. This medley combines some of the best writing in the metal world with some of the best performing in the world ever, period. James Hetfield’s voice obviously can’t match King Diamond’s range, but it’s always a good one, and the sound of Metallica’s guitars is the best in the business (although I can’t say the same for the drums on St. Anger or the bass on . . . And Justice for All). The gods of heavy metal go through five of Mercyful Fate’s best early tracks in this 11 minute, 11 second heavy metal epic (Metallica’s longest studio track): “Satan’s Fall,” “Curse of the Pharaohs,” “A Corpse Without a Soul,” “Into the Coven,” and “Evil,” (forgive me if I missed one) including not only riffs and lyrics but also several solos. (They said that they loved the work so much that they couldn’t possibly pick just one.) The songs flow together perfectly because of Mercyful Fate’s consistent writing, and Metallica even weave back and forth between the songs instead of simply painting by number. The band’s enthusiasm for Fate’s work shows through in their highly energetic and accelerated performance. Once again, this song is one that I could put on “repeat” for a full 24 hours.
(I don’t know if this cover was why he did it, but King Diamond sang “Happy Birthday” to James at a concert where Hetfield and Ulrich attended.)

UPDATE 7/31/06: Does this list piss you off? Do you think you have good suggestions for a brand-new list? Go here and give me your suggestions!

UPDATE 9/20/09:

I've given up on making a new list. My tastes have gotten so much heavier and less mainstream (Opeth, Necrophagist, Death, Bloodbath, etc.) and I've been adding so many more albums all the time that I've realized making a list like this--which is truly complete and fair--is a hopeless endeavor. I still like everything on this list, but I listen to it less all the time.

If you want to see a list of my favorite bands as it stands now, this is what I took off my Facebook page:

Alchemist, Alice in Chains, Amon Amarth, Amorphis, Apocalyptica, Artillery, At the Gates, Baroness, Behemoth, Black Sabbath, Blood Tsunami, Bloodbath, Candlemass, Johnny Cash, Cephalic Carnage, Coal Chamber, Corrosion of Conformity, Crimson Moonlight, Cryptopsy, Cynic, Dååth, Danzig, Dark Tranquility, Death, Deftones, Dethklok, DevilDriver, Diablo Swing Orchestra, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Dimmu Borgir, Disillusion, Disturbed, Down, Dream Theater, Eluveitie, Eryn Non Dae, Extol, Godsmack, Gojira, The Haunted, John Lee Hooker, Iced Earth, In Flames, Tony Iommi, Iron Maiden, Isis, King Diamond, Korn, Lacuna Coil, Lake of Tears, Led Zeppelin, Living Sacrifice, Mar De Grises, Mastodon, Megadeth, Mercyful Fate, Meshuggah, Metallica, Monster Magnet, Motörhead, My Dying Bride, Necrophagist, Nevermore, Nile, Nine Inch Nails, Opeth, Orphaned Land, Ozzy Osbourne, Pantera, Psyopus, Ram-Zet, Rammstein, Red Harvest, Sepultura, Slipknot, Soilwork, Sotajumala, Soul Embraced, Spineshank, Static-X, Suffocation, Swallow the Sun, Theatre of Tragedy, Therion, Tool, Type O Negative, Volbeat, White Zombie, Black Label Society

I've also disabled comments, as I think 100 is enough.

I hope everyone will accept that I now admit my list was narrow-minded, but I needed the Internet to introduce me to the great stuff (I don't know anyone else who listens to death metal, and I don't think I've ever met anyone who does). In this vein, anyone who needs to be introduced to all kinds of metal you can't hear on the radio should check out MetalCast, the best podcast ever.

UPDATE 1/5/2010: Check out my new list, The Top 50 Metal Albums of The Last Decade