100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs-Schbopo style

Schbopo wrote:

17. Ted Nugent-Stranglehold

We used to get high and drive around at night, listening to this song.

TheNazgul wrote:

Ted never clicked with me, I recognize the talent but somehow it doesn't move me.

Same here. For whatever reason, I just never could get into Ted Nugent's music. Couple that with his extremist right wing stance - and you can imagine I have very little to no respect for the man.

And now it's time for a little MINI-METAL WANKFEST where I eliminate a few of the most famous and well loved of the heavy metal genre. And here we go.

14. Megadeth-Tornado Of Souls
In my humble opinion, Megadeth are (were) the greatest thrash band in town, and on this list, they're as heavy as it's gonna get. The album "Rust In Peace" is a metal classic and one of the most technically proficient thrash albums of all time, most evident on the dark and sinister "Tornado Of Souls". Starting off with some nasty guitar riffage, the tune builds and builds on its own evilness, Mustaine's snarling voice coming at you like a wild tiger. The lyrics are so dark and hateful and delivered so brilliantly by Dave, it prompts the question...what happened? It all culminates in the guitar solo by the god of all guitarists, Marty Friedman. I mean, geez, this has to be one of the most awesome and memorable solos of all time. It's so technical and shredtastic, but still has so much feeling and personality injected. But now I'm rambling. Amazing band, amazing album, amazing tune.

13. Metallica-Seek And Destroy
If you don't know and love those early Metallica records, you are criminally insane. Get out now before I eat you. Off their first and best album comes this gem. The first minute contains more, better and heavier riffs than most metal bands have in their whole career. And you know what's really weird? There was a time when Hetfield could actually sing metal!!! GASP! So much fast drumming, so many awesome riffs, so many Kirk Hammett solos that are actually good...it's almost too much! But anyway, "Seek And Destroy" stands as a first rate thrash song and a shining example of how killer Metallica could be back in the day.

12. Iron Maiden-Aces High
Possibly the most influential and innovative heavy metal bands of all time, Iron Maiden weren't content to just rock you hard, oh no...they wanted to give you a history lesson too. On the aerial classic, "Aces High", they did just that. I'm convinced that Bruce Dickinson has the single greatest voice in metal. Filled to the brim with his operatic vox, galloping bass and pummeling guitar grooves that almost make you forget about the World War II inspired lyrics. Should definitely give you an idea as to why Maiden are so influential and so well loved. One of the songs that define the words 'heavy metal'.

Soundtrack to my youthful years right there.

I think you could've done better with your Iron Maiden pick.

3 excellent choices

11. Nirvana-All Apologies
One of the most important and greatest bands of all time, Nirvana's crowning achievement in my opinion was not "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as many would have it, but this little ditty. The whole "In Utero" album was meant to showcase what the band was really all about without compromising their artistic integrity, and that's best seen here. The depressing and angst-ridden lyrics are hidden beneath a veil of pleasant comfort and mellowness, creating one of the rare uplifting grunge songs. Cobain's guitar lines are also very atmospheric, and perfectly showcases both his songwriting and distinct vocals.


And soon, my friends...we come to the top ten. It's been a long and treacherous journey, but you'll soon find out my top picks for the hardest rocking songs ever. I'd just like to give you a fair warning (hint hint): from here on out, it'll be pretty predictable. If they haven't been mentioned yet, they either won't be or are coming next. I'd just like to say sorry to a few that I reeeally wished I could have squeezed in. So here's the honorable mentions!

STP-Sex Type Thing
Soundgarden-Black Hole Sun
Creed-Higher
Edgar Winter-Free Ride or Frankenstein
Something by Bob Seger
Dio-Last In Line
Jackyl-The Lumberjack
Living Colour-Type or Cult Of Personality
The Outlaws-There Goes Another Love Song
Lynyrd Skynyrd-Gimme Back My Bullets
White Stripes-Seven Nation Army
Buckcherry-Crazy B!tch
Faith No More-Midlife Crisis

That is easily one of the best Nirvana songs. Good choice.

EvyMetal wrote:

I think you could've done better with your Iron Maiden pick.

Agreed. But hey, it's not my list.

Excellent Nirvana and also one of the saddest, it is both sad and sarcastic at the same time.

THE TOP TEN (well, sort of...*wink wink*)

10. The Kinks-All Day And All Of The Night
The Kinks are one of those bands that were extremely important to music but always get hidden under the shadow of their contemporaries like The Who and The Rolling Stones, but are every bit as influential. Following the formula they set for themselves on "You Really Got Me" comes this tune, which trumps it in my opinion. Those heavily distorted opening power chords....that's some heavy stuff man (Ba bump. Ba bump. Ba DADADA dun). Ray Davies is one of the best songwriters in rock history, and a pretty good singer to boot. His brother Dave is also a beast on guitar. Listen to that solo and tell me that isn't some proto-thrash metal shredding. While it's true that a few of their biggest hits followed EXACTLY the same song structure (listen to this songs, "I Need You" and then "You Really Got Me". They're the same exact song), THEY'RE THE FREAKING KINKS, they can get away with it. Great and influential band that hold a special place in the history of hard rock and music in general.

9. Alice Cooper-Billion Dollar Babies
Before Alice Cooper the solo artist and king of shock-rock, there was Alice Cooper, the five-piece Detroit garage band that rocked the world in the early 70's. Off of 1973's opus of the same name comes the thrilling "Billion Dollar Babies", one of the most intense high-voltage hard rock songs to ever grace the world's ears. Opening with possibly the most distinct drum beat ever, the insanity just builds and builds. The gritty voice of Vincent Furnier (aka Alice Cooper) is matched perfectly on this duet with Donovan (who as far as I can tell is some British folk singer dude). The lyrics are every bit as twisted as you would expect from Alice and co. ("if I'm too rough, tell me, I'm so scared your little head will come off in my hands") If that ain't deliciously demented than nothing is. The killer bass antics of Dennis Dunaway and the wild guitar antics of Bruce and Buxton are nothing short of amazing. Positively one of the dirtiest, rawest, nastiest, sickest and greatest heavy metal songs ever put on record. Hats off to you, Alice.

The Kinks should stand with the giants of those who helped set the template for rock. Amazing stuff, the songwriting was epic and they wrote some huge songs.

8.Black Sabbath-Children Of The Grave
Black Sabbath, arguably the very first heavy metal band and without a doubt one of the best. The classic "Children Of The Grave" comes straight off their 1971 classic Master Of Reality, and is IMO the crowning achievement of Ozzy-era Sabbath. The galloping 2-chord riff chugs along in all its prototypical thrash/death metal glory, the bass plodding behind it like a freight train. Combine that with an excellent performance by the one of a kind Ozzy Osbourne and pour it all over a a tasty drum beat and you've got possibly the greatest heavy metal song of all time. It's got everything you could ever want in a song of the genre. Classic guitar riff, evil lyrics, snazzy breakdown, f*cking AWESOME solo...just a downright brutal song, cementing Sabbath's legacy as the world's greatest heavy metal band.

Oh, and you remember when I said "Sort of...*wink wink*"? Well, I'm sorry, but I couldn't narrow it down to merely ten, so I'm going to cheat ever so slightly. I sincerely apologize.

7.5.Iron Butterfly-In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
The defining psychedelic rock song from the defining psychedelic rock band, the criminally underrated Iron Butterfly. Okay, this isn't my favorite IB song, but it's certainly their most well-known and the biggest "classic", and I love it....all seventeen minutes. The keyboard/guitar riff at the start is one of the most memorable of all time, and is guaranteed to stick in your head for days. This was actually the first song I learned to play on bass. But now I'm rambling. Anyhoo, Doug Ingle shows off both his vocal chops and his mad keyboard skills for a while, then there's some guitar noodling and then the coolest drum solo ever and then some really creepy keyboard sounds and scratchy guitar. I remember hearing those guitar scratches the first time and being freaked out. They're scary, man. Eventually it comes back to main arrangement and you're like "Finally!" Okay, even though it can be a little bit of a chore to listen all the way through, it's still a great and influential classic of the acid rock era, and like most of them, it's best enjoyed whilst baked.

Another two great songs!

The Kinks are a great band and they should be held in higher esteem, critics love them and have given them credit for the creation of heavy metal, punk etc, the only thing that is left to credit them with is the discovery of electricity. Yes The Kinks did on occassion steal from themselves but who cares as long as the music was good.

The original Alice Cooper has always been underrated, thankfully Alice himself states as much in interviews, and as gone to great lengths that Alice Cooper was not just him but a band in the early 70's, this was not always the case. "Billion Dollar Babies" is a classic.

Black Sabbath rules.

Iron Butterfly what can one say about this hippie anthem, which became one of the most successful album releases of the 60's. Iron Butterfly would be buried alive by flashier, heavier and frankly better bands but this band deserved to be known for then one song.

Nice to see a lesser known BS song. It's easy to pick the ones that are always mentioned but they had so many other great ones.

7. ZZ Top-Just Got Paid
Before ZZ Top donned their trademark beards and wowed the MTV crowd in the 80's, they were the blues trio that rocked the hardest. Their heaviest and rawest tune was their early classic "Just Got Paid". Gibbons' signature, chunky guitar riff paves the way for this funky little ditty of life on the run. His fluent leads and the steady rhythms of the other Toppers make this undoubtedly their greatest contribution to the world of hard rock, adding a strong injection of guttural delta blues and a down-home Texas boogie to the mix without sacrificing any of the heaviness. Early ZZ Top was hard to beat in this department, creating a steady mix of straight up rock n' roll and that southern twanginess, cementing their status as rock royalty.

6. Motorhead-Overkill
The drums begin to beat. A scratchy bass line emerges, all leading up to the most epic moment in heavy metal history: that guitar slide and that nasty power chord riff! To me, that is the single defining metal moment. On this song, Motorhead take their unique brand of 3-chord rock to the extreme, creating one of the very first songs that could be considered thrash metal. On top of it all is Lemmy's disgustingly dirty vocals and some of the greatest guitar licks ever played! And those drums....wow! The icing on the cake is how many complete teases this song has! The big crescendo happens, and then you think it's over, right? Well, the drums come in again and there's yet another awesome solo! Oh, but then there's another big ending! This must be the end, right? Be glad it isn't, because at this point, they're just messing with you. Motorhead are without a doubt one of the most important heavy metal bands of all time, and if you question that......f*ck you.

Both great songs. These bands, though divergent stylistically, have a lot in common.

Thumbs down on those last two.

You are righ Schnoppy early ZZTOP was hard to beat in that dept of tasty leads, just great well written thought out music.

Motorhead rules and this song is a perfect example of that early style that the classic line up perfected.

Metallic Blaze wrote:

Thumbs down on those last two.

You don't like Motörhead??

Dave the Boss wrote:

Metallic Blaze wrote:

Thumbs down on those last two.

You don't like Motörhead??

Say it aint so, Joe...say it aint so. Tell us it is the song selection...like maybe you were expecting "Killed by Death" or "Ace of Spaces", but not that you hate Motorhead. Nooooo!

Sorry guys. Not a fan of Motorhead or ZZTop.

They are both bands that others seem to love, but I never have been able to get into.

5.Van Halen-Mean Street
Just about any VH tune from the Roth era could have made the list, but the nastily classic "Mean Street" is a personal favorite. Oh sweet buttery Jesus...where do I begin with this song? Let's start with the insane guitar intro. To make this an understatement of the century: Eddie Van Halen is good at guitar. Oh, but it gets better, folks! The one and only David Lee Roth comes in to give his darkest performance ever with his his unique voice and charismatic showmanship, describing a hopeless life in a rough city, all over a pounding riff and a thumping bass line. It contrasts a lot to the image of a "party-metal" band that Van Halen had and still has. It's dark, dreary, and bleak, but still rocks very hard. Heck, it's almost like grunge! That was the magic of Roth Van Halen. .if you were happy, play "Dance the Night Away", if you were angry, play "Unchained", and if you were feeling tortured and angst-y, you'd play this. When they had Roth and Michael Anthony on board, Van Halen were without a doubt one of the best rock bands of all time, and this classic shows the depth of their songwriting and musical talent.

4. The Kingsmen-Louie Louie
Okay, this one might be a little surprise. Why is it on here? Well, it was one of the very first songs that could really be considered "hard rock"! It was a huge influence on the genre and music as we know it probably wouldn't be the same without it. That legendary three-chord riff still stands as one of the heaviest things ever put to tape. Partially stolen from Allmusic.com: After lead singer Jack Ely had incorrectly taught the rest of the band the Wailers version of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie" (thus altering the basic rhythm into the now famous duh-duh-duh, duh-duh, duh-duh-duh, duh-duh riff that has become the only way anyone has played it since), they recorded it for fifty dollars at a primitive local recording studio with only three mikes, Ely hollering the indecipherable lyrics into an overhead boom mike. The rest is music history, with the Kingsmen version of the song becoming the most well-known version of the tune and one of the most covered songs of all time (second only to "Yesterday" by The Beatles). It still holds up today as a genuine rock n' roll classic, and one that has great historical significance.

Your # 11 pick was good but I think my Nirvana pick would have come from Bleach probobly Big Cheese or School