Metal Odyssey’s Top Ten Metal Songs of 2011 – My name is Stone and I listen to Metal. I write about Metal. I live for Metal. On this December 1st of 2011, I present to you the Top Ten Metal Songs that left the biggest impression on me during 2011. These ten Metal songs will always maintain a lasting impact on me. With the remaining month of December left, I could not foresee any one song being replaced on this list. My Metal decisions cannot be swayed. Before this list begins, I have included a Metal song as an Honorary Mention:
THE RODS – The Code (Featuring Ronnie James Dio)
(Niji Entertainment)
David “Rock” Feinstein has given an admirable tribute to his late and legendary cousin Ronnie James Dio with the addition of this song on THE RODS 2011 release: Vengeance. I remember buying this CD in the early Summer and being ecstatic that Ronnie James Dio was singing lead on The Code. It’s amazing how strong a song can come across to me and it’s due to the timeless vocals of Ronnie James Dio.
Ronnie sounds like the Metal icon he always was and shall forever be on The Code, with the spirit of Traditional Metal being swirled about by THE RODS. A double fist to the air vibe that came over me, as I listened to The Code for the first time, felt so damn cool for me. I’m certain I’m not alone in how I feel about this song either. Rest in peace, Ronnie James Dio.
#10
FAIR TO MIDLAND – Musical Chairs
(eOne Music)
Why I dig Fair To Midland so damn much is no one really knows what genre of Metal they really are. Alternative Metal? Check. Extreme Metal? Check. Um, Melodic Metal? Yup. To embrace this band’s sound is to accept the fact that these guys love music and know how to mix-it-up with Metal splendor. Musical Chairs from their Arrows & Anchors album is a sensational listen into what Modern Metal will sound like in five years. Fair To Midland can be considered… ahead of their time.
#9
KATANA – Rebel Ride
(Listenable Records)
From Sweden, comes KATANA. At approximately 2:54 long, Rebel Ride is an unmistakable Metal ride to hear! This song is short and gets to the Metal point, with duo guitars driving this song, coupled with its pumped-up power vibes that take you to a psyche-you-out level of Metal enlightenment. Rebel Ride is heard on the outstanding 2011 debut album from KATANA: Heads Will Roll.
#8
PENTAGRAM – Call The Man
(Metal Blade Records)
Bobby Liebling and PENTAGRAM returned on Metal Blade Records in 2011, with Last Rites. I wrote back on August 23rd: “Listening to Call The Man and this entire album is like getting psyched-out by a late night thunderstorm, there’s just no other way for me to explain it”. Doom pioneers = PENTAGRAM. Metal be thy name.
#7
SARAH JEZEBEL DEVA – The Corruption Of Mercy
(Listenable Records)
The title track from Sarah Jezebel Deva’s sophomore studio album The Corruption Of Mercy is hauntingly soothing, Gothic and never fails to mesmerize me. Is it Sarah’s vocals that casts such a magical Metal spell upon me? Yes. Yes again. Oh, her band plays exquisite Metal too. I’ve heard my share of female fronted bands in Metal and Sarah Jezebel Deva is one of the best at what she does in 2011. Take that to the Metal bank and tell ’em Stone sent you.
#6
SCHEEPERS – Saints Of The Rock
(Frontiers Records)
What would a Metal Odyssey Top Ten METAL song list of 2011 be without Ralf Scheepers? I wasn’t gonna be the one to tell Ralf he didn’t make the list. Instead, Ralf Scheepers is spotlighted at #6 with Saints Of The Rock from his star-studded solo album: SCHEEPERS. Nuthin’ beats a Heavy Metal anthem and nuthin’ beats a kick-ass Heavy Metal anthem. Saints Of The Rock has kicked my Metal lovin’ ass since the first time I’ve heard it. So let it be Metal written, so let it be Metal told.
#5
SPEED\KILL/HATE – No Remorse
(HAMMERFIST RECORDS)
It was a close call with determining this selection. You see, SPEED\KILL/HATE have ten Thrash songs on their debut album, Out For Blood, that are each capable of tearing your Metal soul apart, while having you exclaim: Thank you sirs, may I please have more of your Extreme Thrash Metal Assault delivered upon me? Lyrically, No Remorse says it all about the assholes in life that think they rule you. Intense isn’t the word for this song. Instead, F’n intense to the Thrash Metal melting point is how I sum up this song best.
#4
SINISTER REALM – The Crystal Eye
(Shadow Kingdom Records)
From the greatest Metal city in Pennsylvania known as Allentown, there is a Metal band that the world should brace themselves for. This Metal band is: SINISTER REALM. Traditional Metal, such as the title track from The Crystal Eye, has become a necessary Metal nutrient for my Metal hungry ears. A Metal song that takes me back to those days of long ago, days when I felt invincible. That is how a great Metal song can make me feel and I like that.
#3
ANTHRAX – Fight ‘Em ‘Till You Can’t
(MEGAFORCE RECORDS)
After 8 years of waiting for a new Anthrax album, Worship Music is released in 2011 with Joey Belladonna at the mic! Yes Virgina, there is a Thrashin’ Claus and it’s Anthrax! Fight ‘Em ‘Till You Can’t became my favorite song from Worship Music and it psyches-me-out beyond belief. This song defines what I always loved about vintage Anthrax: speed, more speed, guitar driven, Charlie Benante going Metal Thrashin’ Mad on drums, gang vocals and Joey Belladonna. What else can I say?
#2
HEMOPTYSIS – M.O.D.
(Rock It Up Records)
Any regular visitor to Metal Odyssey knows by now that Stone supports HEMOPTYSIS. Why do I have this band on a Metal pedestal? Due to the clear Metal fact that Masaki Murashita (guitarist/vocalist) has his band running on precise Metal cylinders.
It is 2011 and new chapters of Metal, Thrash Metal and Death-Thrash are at my doorstep. HEMOPTYSIS is leading the Metal charge and I’m on board for the F’n Metal ride. M.O.D. defines the speed and extreme sound of this band’s brand of Thrash Metal. If you haven’t picked up and listened to Misanthropic Slaughter from HEMOPTYSIS yet, you absolutely must.
#1
MORBID ANGEL – I Am Morbid
(Season of Mist)
When it comes to choosing my #1 Metal song of 2011, I take it very, very, seriously. The #1 Metal song has to be the crème de la crème of all the Metal songs I’ve listened to all year. This song MUST take me to Metal heights that I can’t explain away. I Am Morbid is that #1 Metal song for me. “We stand invincible not just a dream” and “Tear down the obstacles this is our day” are real Metal lyrics to me.
Triumphant and yet defiant, I Am Morbid speaks of stepping on the enemy. Defeat those who obstruct your path to success is what I hear in this song. I Am Morbid is leading… not following. A Metal anthem that picked me up and carried me off in 2011, while I raised Metal horns to the sky.
LONG LIVE METAL.
Stone.
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