My Top 10 Heavy Metal Songs
My Buddy and Business Partner Mike Kilgore is Feeling Under the Weather Today so I thought I'd Fill in for Him with a "Dave's Morning Music" Istallment!
Editor’s Note: Check out the ongoing discussions about music at GOTD and associate editor Mike Kilgore’s daily music series:
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Check out “Mike’s Music Morning,” born from these debates.
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Good morning to our cherished God of the Desert Books Substack subscribers! I was saddened to hear from our publication’s Associate Editor - our publishing company’s Vice President and Art Director too - Mike Kilgore that he was feeling a bit under the weather this morning and would not be able to do an installment of his fun daily series offering you some tunes to start you day.
So I decided to step in and continue it for him with a collection I’d initially been saving for part of our music debate series but now will offer as a substitute for “Mike’s Music Morning.” It doesn’t sound like Mike is overwhelmed with sickness so I imagine he’ll be back tomorrow with more of his favorite tracks. In the meantime here are some of mine.
I’m generally not a big fan of the “heavy metal” genre. I usually prefer more depth and musicality for my listening time, but I’ve found a number of exceptions and here they are, presented in rough chronological order rather than a ranking counting down to the very best. I’ll probably try and do something like that in the future but would really need to dig deeper to figure that out and perhaps up it to a top 15 or top 20. Maybe you guys can help? What are your favorites I should include when I do the ranked version?
Anyway, here we go:
“Helter Skelter” by the Beatles
So I’ll tell you straight up: The White Album is not only my favorite Beatles album, it might very well be my favorite album period. And while the whole album certainly wouldn’t qualify as heavy metal, I’d argue that this legendary track certainly does.
“Heroin” by the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground and Nico would also qualify as another of my very favorite albums, certainly it’s within the top 5. And as a depressed, self-hating college student this was one of those tracks I’d play on repeat. (Don’t worry - heroin is one of those drugs I am NEVER going to try.)
As with “Helter Skelter” I regard it as qualifying as a proto-punk, proto-heavy metal song both in its subversive subject matter and the wild, over-the-top guitar stylings of it.
“Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin
I’m honestly not the biggest Led Zeppelin fan. I recognize their greatness and place in rock. They have plenty of great songs I enjoy. But I never really got into them to the degree that I fell for other bands like the Beatles and the Velvet Underground. However, their place and influence on heavy metal certainly deserves recognition and this track is one of their very best. I like “Stairway to Heaven” more but I’m not sure that really qualifies as heavy metal. What do you think? Does it?
“Thunderstruck” by AC/DC
Honestly, this may very well be my favorite heavy metal song by my favorite authentically heavy mental band. The only one that really competes with it on this list is Tool’s “Third Eye,” but I concede Tool blends a bit more into progressive rock; it’s not really a “traditional heavy metal” song like AC/DC’s output.
Among genuine, traditional heavy metal bands AC/DC is definitely my favorite at this point. I just really like their sound and how un-pretentious they are. They know what they are, what their fans want, and they’ve delivered it consistently for decades.
“Shoot to Thrill” by AC/DC
This is another of AC/DC’s coolest tracks, which I came to appreciate form its inclusion in Iron Man 2, one of my favorites among the Marvel movies.
“Iron Man” by Black Sabbath
I’m sorry, but I guess Iron Man is just one of my favorite superheroes at this point, and this Black Sabbath track obviously gets me pumped up about it.
“Dragula” by Rob Zombie
I tend to prefer Rob Zombie’s top-notch horror movies more than his music but this track - featured in The Matrix - is tremendously cool.
“Third Eye” by Tool
As an occultist for two decades now, I’ve regularly relied on Tool’s “Third Eye” for ritual use. It also features my second-favorite comedian after George Carlin, the legendary master Bill Hicks, speaking one of his most famous and very best jokes to set the tone for the song that follows:
“Chop Suey!” by System of a Down
After Tool, System of a Down is probably my favorite of the more recent heavy metal bands and this is their signature song which remains endlessly entertaining.
“Ice Breath” by Porunga
OK, for my last heavy metal selection I very much admit my bias. This band - now disbanded after their cool singer moved out of state - features my younger brother Jeremy as its guitarist and principle composer. They were fuckin’ awesome. Check them out here on GarageBand.com. This is probably my favorite track off of this awesome EP they recorded.
I am so proud of my brother and his extraordinary music talent. He’s such a gifted guitarist and I’m so excited that he’s now composing his own music.
So what do you guys think? Any key tracks you adore that I forgot about?
Hopefully Mr. Kilgore will feel well enough to resume his delightful music series tomorrow!
AC/DC is one of my guilty pleasures--and you picked my two favorites as well. I think it's Malcolm Young's rhythm guitar sound that makes the whole band.