One Hour of Metal is exactly what you’d think it is. This is where I listen to metal music for one hour and document what I hear. The good, the bad and the downright awful are always represented with honesty in this segment. Some hours are better than others as you will see in this series.
This time around I found a playlist on Spotify called Old School Metal. I just enabled the shuffle option and hit play and for an hour I just called it as I heard it. How was this hour? Well, read on brothers and sisters. Read on!
Exodus – Toxic Waltz
Now THIS is how you start a One Hour of Metal! It’s amazing how after 20-something years this song still kicks my fucking ass. Hands down one of the greatest mosh anthems. As a matter of fact, I find myself a lot of times preferring this one over Anthrax’s “Caught in a Mosh.” Go ahead and sue me but this song is timeless and epic as fuck.
===============================================
Metallica – Master of Puppets
Wow. Just… wow. Every time I hear this song it’s as mind blowing as the first time I ever heard it. That riff, the subtle complexity of the song structure, James Hetfield’s “who gives a fuck” vocals, those lyrics. Good lord. Everything about this fucking song just kills. Hearing this also makes me shake my head as I wonder what ever happened to this band. I get it that bands “grow” but Metallica has done nothing but digress and unsuccessfully tried to reclaim that greatness that they let slip through their fingers more than 20 years ago. So sad but goddamn what a legacy they left behind.
===============================================
Saxon – Wheels of Steel
Love ’em or hate ’em. As corny as they were (and still are) I have to say that I fucking LOVE me some Saxon. “Wheels of Steel” totally reminds me of Bon Scott era AC/DC and that’s a good thing. I just love that Saxon is a band that just valued having a good fucking time and not really giving a fuck. This song is just fun, groovy, headbanging NWOBHM shit that I will never get tired of. In my opinion, Saxon undoubtedly deserves the title of NWOBHM legends. Great fucking song for sure. Crank this mutha to “11.”
===============================================
Ozzy Osbourne – Mr. Crowley
What a fucking classic. Those first two Ozzy albums will forever be timeless classics that are without a doubt worthy of every bit of praise they get. This song in particular has been one of my favorites since I first heard it back in the 80’s. One of the things that sticks out to me the most in listening to this is just how unthreatening this music is. It blows my mind that this music scared the living shit out of parents. I mean, this music is so fucking beautiful and full of hooks and melody. Hell, I think the Blue Oyster Cult probably had more eerie sounding shit than this but whatever. Can we just talk about Randy Rhoads’ guitar playing on this? Good fucking lawd jeebus! That man… yeah… you know what I’m saying.
===============================================
Kiss – Heaven’s On Fire
Ya know what? I don’t know how I can really be objective about this song coming on right after “Mr. Crowley.” Ok, let me just say this. This song just sounds absolutely ridiculous coming off the heels of such a monumental song. I can’t even listen to this song right now as it’s just so… so… stupid. Time to go take a leak and get some more coffee.
===============================================
Motley Crue – Shout at the Devil
Motley Crue is one of those bands that just gets worse the older I get. This has to be one of least timeless bands and songs. Motley Crue has made a huge, long career off of nostalgia, smoke, and mirrors that cover up the fact that Nikki Sixx couldn’t write his way out of a wet paper bag. It’s so uninsulting and so homogenized. They tried (and still do) so hard to put on this “we are badder and harder than all” front when in actuality they are just a bubblegum Hollywood band that got lucky and have amazing PR people working for them.
===============================================
Queensryche – I Don’t Believe In Love
As a whole, I don’t find Operation: Mindcrime as a whole to have stood the test of time really well but songs like this one totally have. This is just such a great song. Great melody, great lyrics, and a chorus that is pretty massive. Geoff Tate is such an expressionistic vocalist and this is one his best performances from this album. I always thought this album suffered from a kind of muddy production and I would’ve loved to have heard this album with a bit more of a slick sound similar to that of Empire. Great song nonetheless.
===============================================
Megadeth – Peace Sells
Talk about a timeless metal classic. This has to be in my top 5 favorite Megadeth songs. The minute that opening bass riff comes in you just know that the gloves are about to fucking come off. Everything about this song is just as important and relevant today as it was when Megadave wrote it back in 1986. Dave Mustaine knew what he was talking about then and still does. This song is without a doubt a metal classic that never gets old.
===============================================
Iron Maiden – 2 Minutes to Midnight
Talk about your fucking timeless classics. To this day, Powerslave is one of my all time favorite Iron Maiden releases. Hell, it’s one of my all time favorite albums in general and hearing this song in this context shows me just how fucking amazingly it holds up. That mellow guitar solo before it just cranks back up into that facemelting riff is just so fucking good that I had to listen to it again. Hands down one of the greatest metal songs of all time and a song that ages like a fine, fine wine.
===============================================
Judas Priest – You’ve Got Another Thing Coming
How can a song that is so overplayed still be so fucking fun to hear? I guess you could say that this is a sign of a true, timeless piece of classic metal. Whether I’m hearing it on the radio or hearing at a Priest show, every time they play this song it’s as fun and exciting as it was the very first time I heard it as a young, fledgling Brainfart. Rob Halford’s voice, that catchy fucking riff, that groove, everything about this song is fucking great. This one never gets old. Fucking love it!
===============================================
Warlock – All We Are
Warlock and Doro Pesch never really got the props they deserved but it’s great to see that these days Doro is finally getting her due. Hailed as the female Dio, this song without a doubt shows that she was a reigning Queen of metal back then and today still is. This song is so fucking good. It’s so catchy and the production on this one is top notch. Doro’s vocals are absolutely flawless and so full of passion and heart. This song never gets old and much like with “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming”, I never get tired of hearing this song. What a great way to close out this challenge! This one definitely didn’t suck in the least.
About The Author
