People always ask me “Hey, you awesome metal journalist you, what are the best songs of <insert genre>,” so I figured I’d write a list about the greatest Death Metal songs of all time.
There are just a couple of rules I’m limiting myself to. #1 Only one song per band, #2 Must be Death Metal; not Melodic Death, Deathgrind or Blackened Death.
Sounds simple? Well, it is, isn’t it? So make the jump now for this week’s Friday Top 10.
Morbid Angel – Where The Slime Live / Bloodbath – Mock The Cross
We have two entries for place #10. Morbid Angel’s ‘Where The Slime Live,’ off 1995’s Domination and Bloodbath’s ‘Mock The Cross,’ off their latest (2008) album The Fathomless Mastery. Why are the two songs tied, you might ask. Well, ‘…Cross’ and the 13 year older ‘…Slime’ sound remarkably similar and, while Bloodbath’s song might rip-off Morbid Angel’s classic, it’s still an awesome song in its own right.
Bolt Thrower – Ritual
‘Ritual’ off Bolt Thrower’s The IV’s Crusade takes the 9th place. While Those Once Loyal is a better album overall, I feel like ‘Ritual’ is just the perfect Bolt Thrower song and one of the greatest Death Metal tunes of all time.
Debauchery – Torture Pit
The titlesong off Debauchery’s Torture Pit is a banger. It’s groovy, heavy, gory and has a great grunt-along chorus. Who wouldn’t like to “disembowel in the torture pit”? Nasty lyrics, deep vocals and a mean look on your face. That’s Death Metal.
Dismember – Me-God
Sweden’s Dismember take the 7th place with ‘Me-God,’ a moody, doomy fest of brutality. It’s no secret that Scandinavia is a paradise for metal bands that go down extremely brutal paths. No wonder when you’re living in a country where it’s always dark and you’re only surrounded by forests. That’s how I imagine these countries are at least.
Vader – Out Of The Deep
Poland’s representative in this Top 10 is none other than Vader, with ‘Out Of The Deep.’ A brutal ass-kickin’, floor-wipin’ bastard of a tune, that’s so bad-fucking-ass that Dark Vader surrendered and changed his name to Dark Evader.
Unleashed – Midvinterblot
Viking Death Metal up in this bitch. We were talking about moody Scandinavian Death earlier, right? Well, Dismember ain’t got nothing on Unleashed. Deservingly one of the greatest Swedish Death Metal bands of all time.
Six Feet Under – Victim Of The Paranoid
Oh, I’m going to get some crap for this entry. Six Feet Under wrote one of the greatest Death Metal songs of all time? Fuck yeah, ‘Victim Of The Paranoid’ is brutal and evil as fuck. Don’t be so stuck-up all the time, relax, smoke some weed and nod your undead head.
Death – Spiritual Healing
How can a list on Death Metal be complete without the Fathers of Death Metal: Death? Not at all and that’s why ‘Spiritual Healing’ took 3rd place. An awesome song that borrows an old riff off the early Manta’s classic ‘Legion Of Doom.’
Possessed – The Exorcist
Now we’re boxing out classic after classic. ‘The Exorcist’ which borrows the theme music of the film of the same name and then turns into a thrashing Death Metal classic, deserves all the praise that it gets. With this song, and the complete Seven Churches album, Possessed cemented their place in the annals of Death Metal history.
Cannibal Corpse – Hammer Smashed Face
I know, I know. It’s the obvious choice for the 1st place but there’s a reason for that: it’s just the best damn Death Metal song of all time. It has all the trademarks of Death Metal and then some. Starting with the incredible guttural vocals by Barnes, the most famous DM bass solo by Webster, an extremely catchy breakdown and speed and brutality as only Cannibal Corpse can deliver it. ‘Hammer Smashed Face’ takes the cake, without a shadow of a doubt.
