I’m not talking about the FASTEST, the LOWEST, or the MOST CHAOTIC song, but what’s the HEAVIEST song you know?
I’ve been thinking about this for awhile because I’ve been trying to figure out why my choice feels so damn heavy to me. I know faster songs, I know more chaotic songs, I know more doomy downtempo atmospheric songs, but for some reason the way these elements come together in this song just feels so massive and crushing to me.
So with that being said, my pick for heaviest song is:
Tsukuyomi (feat. Travis Worland of Enterprise Earth) from Tsukuyomi: The Origin by Distant
Like I said, I know there are songs that are more way extreme in individual ways, but the way these elements come together in this song just feels so goddamn heavy to me - genuinely heavier than a lot of stuff people refer to as heavier.
Anyway, what’s the heaviest song you know, or at least the heaviest song that readily comes to mind?
Baby Shark makes every parent/ teacher/ care taker’s heart sink to the depths death metal could only dream of
It’s also been weaponized, which as far as I’m aware isn’t something that death metal has ever been used for.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/17/us/baby-shark-florida-homeless-prevention-park-trnd/index.html
Yikes. West palm beach douchiness is next level
The FBI and ATF used pop music, Christmas carols, and some rock blasted into the Branch Davidian compound (David Korech’s cult in Waco, TX) back in the 90s.
Metal is frequently used in Guantanomo Bay, to my knowledge.
Tiptoe through the tulips by Tiny Tim.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zcSlcNfThUA
Not because the song hit heavy or hard per se, but his massive balls to perform this in public create a gravity well that pulls asteroids towards earth.
You know, it isn’t where I was expecting this to go, but you aren’t wrong.
Celtic Frost - A dying god coming into human flesh
I’ve listened to some Celtic Frost before, but that song was new to me. Killer track though. Not sonically the most crushingly heavy thing I’ve listened to, but the lyrics and vocal delivery impart a real sense of profundity that really heighten the heaviness. This was a really cool pick, thanks for sharing it
I guess I’m not very original, but Meshuggah just beats everything else for me lately, Future Breed Machine or pretty much the entirety of ObZen (though Bleed is overrated and possibly the worst song on the album apart from Pravus), I think it’s something about how the vocals interact with the riffing, though I’m not sure this is exactly the kind of heaviness you mean…
Otherwise maybe check out Flood by Boris, that has some massive riffs (Flood III is where the shit goes down if you don’t feel like listening to the whole thing)
I thought it was just me that thought Bleed was overrated. ObZen and Lethargica kick ass compared.
Can’t go wrong with Cannibal Corpse, although I’m more a Barnes guy overall I think (I just saw Six Feet Under live a few months ago and honestly Barnes sounded awesome, better than he has in awhile)
I’m partial to Black Sabbath’s Into The Void.
Classic.
Check out this 12tone video which tries to analyze what makes something “heavy”. tl;dr: sonic transgression https://youtu.be/b0mo17wLB4Q
That was a great video. I don’t know that I 100% agree with the simplified conclusion, especially as I don’t think heavy is always inherently at odds with “pop,” (just look at bands like Limp Bizkit; they certainly aren’t the heaviest band around I’d argue they’re almost equally as heavy as they are pop), but it was a tremendous exploration regardless and I think I probably still agree like 90% anyway. I’d watched a few 12tone videos before, but one specific songs (Sympathy for the Devil, The Middle, Free Fallin’), but this was a better video than those were, imo.
Such a tough question because I want to shout out songs across multiple subgenres. Death Grips - No Love, Primus - Frizzle Fry (especially the ending), Quo Vadis - Silence Calls the Storms, Rage Against the Machine - Settle for Nothing, Soundgarden - Jesus Christ Pose, Denzel Curry - Ultra (feat Yung Kane , Nell , Slikk , Rell), Vivaldi’s Summer 3rd Movement and half of the Acid Bath or Ulcerate catalog. If I have to settle for one song though I think I would go for :
Ahab - Old Thunder
However, if I can choose a particular snipet of a song that I think is the heaviest thing I have ever heard period, I would go for Akercocke - Leviathan, between the marks of 3:30 and 4:00. I was legit scared first time I heard that. You gotta listen to it from the beggining though because that build up is insane.
Abab - Old Thunder; what a mood they created. Crushing. Drums are well tuned and that guitar tone is sooo distorted. Super Duper Heavy.
Akercocke are an interesting choice. I look fwd to listening to more of their efforts.
Akercocke - Leviathan … because that build up is insane.
Yo, what a fucking banger of a track! You weren’t kidding about the build up, insane and super effective, and then like you said borderline scary when those huge uncleans hit. And I love how a section in the guitar reminds me a little bit of like an NES game warning alert sound during that part. Very sick.
Ahab - Old Thunder
Yeah, that’s fucking heavy. Great pick.
Glad you liked it ! I think this band is a little bit of a hidden gem. Their albums “The Goat of Mendes”, “Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone” and “Antichrist” are really worth checking out.
Intensive Battery Brooding by Carcass
Primitive Man anyone?
Heaviest live show I’ve ever witnessed
I am absolutely gutted that I missed my one chance to see them live, it wasn’t my own doing, but that would’ve been such a amazing experience
Listened to Seven Sorcerers. Yep, that’s heavy, great pick.
Love that little band. Just had to spread it.
Picking an hour+ long song feels like cheating. I gotta admit, I’ve never had the fortitude to sit down and listen to the thing.
Helps to have a few drinks in ya
Blacklist by Exodus. Specifically their live at Hellfest 2008 version
That was fun, I like when it’s clear the band is having a good time too
First thing that comes to mind…
Such a great song. Love Bloodbath. This one often has my mirrors vibrating in my car.
This one’s new to me, but I just listened to it and it fucks hard. Cool as hell song, gonna listen to the rest of the album now.
Well, dig deeper into Mikael Alerfeldt (Opeth) and Dan Swano (Edge Of Sanity, Moontower, et al)
I like bass and listen to a lot of metal so. It’s all pretty heavy lol
But I’m gonna throw in the pipe organ. The biggest, loudest, most badass instrument that fills entire cathedrals and sub bass that shakes your house. Your sound system needs to be able to produce that though.
I hoped so much that was going to be what that link sent me to. A true metal legend, making fuck for 30+ years now
