The Tournament of Metal: Final Round

This week: the last battles. The last poll. Get your one-way ticket to midnight and vote now!

Last week's results:

2 ACDC’s “Hells Bells” v. Motley Crue’s “Shout at the Devil” 1
1 ACDC’s “Back in Black” v. Metallica’s “One” 2
3 ACDC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” v. Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” 0
0 Aerosmith’s “Angel” v. Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home” 3
1 Bon Jovi’s “Runaway” v. Van Halen’s “Jump” 2
1 Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” v. Motley Crue’s “Dr. Feelgood” 2
1 Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” v. Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” 2
3 Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” v. Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” 0
2 Cinderella’s “Shake Me” v. Ratt’s “Round and Round” 1
3 Cinderella’s “Heartbreak Station” v. Slaughter’s “Fly to the Angels” 0
1 The Cult’s “Firewoman” v. Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” 2
0 Damn Yankee’s “High Enough” v. Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” 3
1 Def Leppard’s “Rock of Ages” v. Scorpions’ “Rock You Like a Hurricane” 2
0 Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” v. Motley Crue’s “Girls Girls Girls” 3
2 Dio’s “Holy Diver” v. Van Halen’s “Panama” 1
1 Europe’s “The Final Countdown” v. Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” 2
3 Faster Pussycat’s “House of Pain” v. Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” 0
3 Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” v. Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart” 0
3 Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” v. Judas Priest’s “You Got Another Thing Coming” 0
2 Guns N’ Roses’ “Paradise City” v. Poison’s “Talk Dirty to Me” 1
2 Guns N’ Roses “Don’t Cry” v. Skid Row’s “I’ll Remember You” 1
3 Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” v. Tesla’s “Love Song” 0
0 Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal” v. Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)” 3
3 Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” v. White Lion’s “Wait” 0
3 Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” v. Motley Crue’s “Too Fast for Love” 0
1 Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills” v. Quite Riot’s “Cum On Feel the Noize” 2

The Tournament of Metal: Round 4, Bracket 1

We're now down to fifty-two teams. After last week's battles, we were down to forty-seven, but I added five more songs that deserved another shot (according to the 555 messages that people sent me, irritated, sad, and outraged that their songs didn't make it). From fifty-two, we'll go to twenty-six, and then to magic number thirteen, where we'll stop and talk about the importance and/or greatness of each song.

The list of all fifty-two (as decided by you) is below:

ACDC’s “Hells Bells”
ACDC’s “Back in Black”
ACDC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”
Aerosmith’s “Angel”
Bon Jovi’s “Runaway”
Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name”
Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer”
Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive”
Cinderella’s “Shake Me”
Cinderella’s “Heartbreak Station”
The Cult’s “Firewoman”
Damn Yankee’s “High Enough”
Def Leppard’s “Rock of Ages”
Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me”
Dio’s “Holy Diver”
Europe’s “The Final Countdown”
Faster Pusscat’s “House of Pain”
Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle”
Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
Guns N’ Roses’ “Paradise City”
Guns N’ Roses “Don’t Cry”
Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain”
Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal”
Billy Idol’s “White Wedding”
Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”
Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills”
Judas Priest’s “You Got Another Thing Coming”
Metallica’s “One”
Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”
Motley Crue’s “Too Fast for Love”
Motley Crue’s “Shout at the Devil”
Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home”
Motley Crue’s “Girls Girls Girls”
Motley Crue’s “Dr. Feelgood”
Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart”
Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian”
Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train”
Poison’s “Talk Dirty to Me”
Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”
Quiet Riot’s “Cum On Feel the Noize”
Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)”
Ratt’s “Round and Round”
Rush’s “Tom Sawyer”
Scorpions’ “Rock You Like a Hurricane”
Skid Row’s “I’ll Remember You”
Slaughter’s “Fly to the Angels”
Tesla’s “Love Song”
Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”
Van Halen’s “Jump”
Van Halen’s “Panama”
White Lion’s “Wait”
Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again”

Here's a list of all the bands whose songs didn't quite make it to the top fifty-two:

Accept
Anthrax
Armored Saint
Autograph
Bad English
Bang Tango
Black N’ Blue
Jon Bon Jovi
Bulletboys
Alice Cooper
Danger Danger
Danzig
Dokken
Enff Z’nuff
Extreme
Firehouse
Lita Ford
Frehley’s Comet
Giuffria
Great White
Hanoi Rocks
Helix
Jackyl
Junkyard
Keel
Kix
Krokus
L.A. Guns
Loudness
Lynch Mob
Manowar
Megadeth
Motorhead
Mr. Big
Nelson
Aldo Nova
Pantera
Queensryche
Rainbow
David Lee Roth
Saigon Kick
Saxon
Slayer
Stryper
Tora Tora
Trixter
Vinnie Vincent Invasion
Vixen
W.A.S.P.
Winger
Warrant
XYZ
Y & T
Zebra

Here are the exact results of this past week's intra-band battles:

2 Metallica’s “One” v. Queensryche’s “Eyes of a Stranger” 1
3 Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” v. Whitesnake’s “Still of the Night” 0
0 Metallica’s “Sad but True” v. Scorpions’ “Rock You Like a Hurricane” 3
3 Motley Crue’s “Too Fast for Love” v. Warrant’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” 0
0 Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home” v. Tesla’s “Love Song” 3
3 Motley Crue’s “Girls Girls Girls” v. Skid Row’s “18 and Life” 0
3 Motley Crue’s “Dr. Feelgood” v. Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” 0
3 Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart” v. Van Halen’s “Everybody Wants Some” 0
1 Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” v. Van Halen’s “Panama” 2
2 Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” v. Steelheart’s “I’ll Never Let You Go” 1
3 Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” v. Tesla’s “Little Suzi” 0
0 Ozzy Osbourne’s “Flying High Again” v. Slaughter’s “Fly to the Angels” 2
0 Ozzy Osbourne’s “Goodbye to Romance” v. Skid Row’s “I’ll Remember You” 3
1 Ozzy Osbourne’s “No More Tears” v. Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” 2
3 Poison’s “Talk Dirty to Me” v. Scopions’ “Wind of Change”0
1 Poison’s “Nothin’ but a Good Time” v. Van Halen’s “Jump”2
3 Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” v. Warrant’s “Heaven”0
3 Quiet Riot’s “Cum On Feel the Noize” v. Skid Row’s “Youth Gone Wild”0
1 Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health (Bang You Head)” v. Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”2
2Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” v. Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher”0
1Stryper’s “To Hell with the Devil” v. White Lion’s “Wait”2

The Tournament of Metal: Round 3, Bracket 6

The all-important third round is now upon us, as the top 94 songs battle it out, and this time, there's not a stinker among them. This week, we have 42 songs, with bands M-W competing.

One song--because of the odd number of songs in this bracket--gets a bye based on having a nine-point victory two weeks ago (the highest). That song is Motley Crue's "Shout at the Devil."
We'll see it in competition next week.

This past week, the following metal acts left us:

• Jon Bon Jovi (solo)
• Bulletboys
• Honeymoon Suite
• Jackyl
• Junkyard
• Kiss
• Lillian Axe
• L.A. Guns

while the following headbangers soldier on, and we'll see them again in next week:

• AC/DC
• Aerosmith
• Bon Jovi
• Cinderella
• The Cult
• Damn Yankees
• Def Leppard
• Dio
• Europe
• Faster Pussycat
• Guns N' Roses
• Sammy Hagar
• Billy Idol
• Iron Maiden
• Judas Priest

Anyway, exact results of this past week's intra-band battles:

3ACDC’s “Hells Bells” v. Jon Bon Jovi’s “Miracle”2
4ACDC’s “Back in Black” v. Billy Idol’s “Eyes Without a Face”0
0ACDC’s “Thunderstruck” v. Judas Priest’s “You Got Another Thing Coming”3
3ACDC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” v. Kiss’ “Crazy Crazy Night”1
0ACDC’s “Who Made Who” v. Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”3
0ACDC’s “For Those About to Rock” v. Guns N’ Roses’ “Paradise City”4
3Aerosmith’s “Angel” v. Guns N’ Roses’ “Don’t Cry”2
3Bon Jovi’s “Runaway” v. Billy Idol’s “Rock the Cradle”1
5Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” v. Junkyard’s “Hands Off”0
4Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” v. Guns N’ Roses’ “Patience”1
3Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” v. Jackyl’s “The Lumberjack” 2
1Jon Bon Jovi’s “Blaze of Glory” v. Europe’s “The Final Countdown”3
0Bulletboys’ “Smooth Up in Ya” v. Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine”5
3Cinderella’s “Shake Me” v. Kiss’ “Lick It Up”2
0Cinderella’s “Night Songs” v. Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle”5
2Cinderella’s “Heartbreak Station” v. Faster Pusscat’s “House of Pain”3
0The Cult’s “Wild Flower” v. Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal”3
3The Cult’s “Firewoman” v. Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law”1
3Damn Yankee’s “High Enough” v. L.A. Guns’ “Ballad of Jayne”1
2Danzig’s “Mother” v. Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills”3
3Def Leppard’s “Rock of Ages” v. Kiss’ “Heaven’s on Fire”1
2Def Leppard’s “Photograph” v. Billy Idol’s “White Wedding”3
5Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” v. Honeymoon Suite’s “New Girl Now”0
0Def Leppard’s “Hysteria” v. Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain”5
4Dio’s “Holy Diver” v. Lillian Axe’s “Misery Loves Company”0

The Tournament of Metal: Round 3, Bracket 5

The all-important third round is now upon us, as the top 94 songs battle it out, and this time, there's not a stinker among them. This week, we have 50 songs, with bands A-L competing; next week, we'll have 44 songs, with bands M-W duking it out. That'll give us--in three weeks--47 songs remaining, and then we'll add the five losing songs with the most votes from those two weeks' worth of battles, and we'll have a total of 52. We halve that the next week to 26, then we halve that, and we'll have the Top 13 Metal Songs of the Metal Era, 1980-1992 (a thirteen-year era).


The tournament will then take a week-long breather, as we spotlight two metal songs a day (and one on the last day), detailing why these songs are so important to not only the world of heavy metal, but to the world of popular music, the culture thereof, and the total impact of these songs upon society as a whole and us as individuals.


Make sure and check back every Sunday night, you headbangers, as we watch how the Tournament of Metal evolves and revolves, culminating in the winning song announced during the last week of July.


Now...on with the countdown....

This past week, the following metal acts left us:

• Saigon Kick
• Saxon
• Slayer
• TNT
• Tora Tora
• Trixter
• Vinnie Vincent Invasion
• W.A.S.P.
• XYZ
• Y&T
• Zebra

while the following headbangers soldier on, and we'll see them again in two more weeks:

• Queensryche
• Scorpions
• Skid Row
• Slaughter
• Steelheart
• Stryper
• Tesla
• Twisted Sister
• Van Halen
• Warrant
• White Lion
• Whitesnake

Anyway, exact results of this past week's intra-band battles:

3 Queensryche’s “Eyes of a Stranger” v. Y&T’s “Summertime Girls” 1
1 Saigon Kick’s “Love Is on the Way” v. Styper’s “To Hell with the Devil” 2
0 Saxon’s “Denim & Leather” v. Van Halen’s “Everybody Wants Some” 5
5 Scorpions’ “Rock You Like a Hurricane" v. Tora Tora’s “Phantom Rider” 0
4 Scorpion’s “Wind of Change” v. Winger’s “Miles Away” 1
5 Skid Row’s “I Remember You” v. Zebra’s “Tell Me What You Want” 0
3 Skid Row’s “18 and Life” v. Winger’s “Headed for a Heartbreak” 1
4 Skid Row’s “Youth Gone Wild” v. W.A.S.P.’s “Wild Child” 0
4 Slaughter’s “Fly to the Angels” v. Slayer’s “Angel of Death” 1
3 Steelheart’s “I’ll Never Let You Go” v. Van Halen’s “Unchained” 1
3 Tesla’s “Signs” v. Whitesnake’s “Still of the Night” 3 *
3 Tesla’s “Little Suzi” v. Vixen’s “Edge of a Broken Heart” 2
3 Tesla’s “Love Song” v. Van Halen’s “When It’s Love” 2
1 TNT’s “10,000 Lovers (in One)” v. Van Halen’s “Panama” 3
1 Trixter’s “Give It to Me Good v. Van Halen’s “Jump” 3
4 Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” v. Van Halen’s “(Oh) Pretty Woman” 1
2 Twisted Sister’s “I Wanna Rock” v. Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” 3
2 Van Halen ‘s “Feels So Good” v. Warrant’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” 3
4 Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher” v. Vinnie Vincent Invasion’s “Boys Are Gonna Rock” 0
3 Warrant’s “Heaven” v. Whitesnake’s “Is This Love” 1
5 Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” v. XYZ’s “Inside Out” 0
5 White Lion’s “Wait” v. White Lion’s “When the Children Cry” 0

*Whitesnake's "Still of the Night" wins this tiebreaker based on the fact that my son liked that title better than he did "Signs."

The Tournament of Metal: Round 2, Bracket 4

Up this week: bands S-Z. The battles are over on the right sidebar, so go vote!

This past week, the following metal acts left us:

• Man O' War
• Megadeth
• Mr. Big
• Nelson
• Aldo Nova
• Pantera
• Rainbow
• Ratt
• David Lee Roth

while the following headbangers soldier on, and we'll see them again in three more weeks:

• Metallica
• Motley Crue
• Motorhead
• Night Ranger
• Ozzy Osbourne
• Poison
• Quiet Riot
• Rush

and...

• Queensryche.

Why them? Because I forgot to include their song "Eyes of a Stranger" in the battle. I've included it this week, though.

Anyway, exact results of this past week's intra-band battles:

2 Manowar’s “Kings of Metal” v. Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health (Bang You Head)” 9
3 Megadeth’s “Peace Sells” v. Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” 8
2 Metallica’s “Fade to Black” v. Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” 9
7 Metallica’s “One” v. Motley Crue’s “Don’t Go Away Mad” 4
7 Metallica’s “Sad but True” v. Ratt’s “Round and Round”4
5 Metallica’s “The Unforgiven” v. Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” 6
1 Mr. Big’s “To Be With You” v. Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” 7
7 Motley Crue’s “Too Fast for Love” v. Ratt’s “You’re in Love” 1
3 Motley Crue’s “Live Wire” v. Ozzy Osbourne’s “No More Tears” 6
9 Motley Crue’s “Shout at the Devil” v. Nelson’s “(I Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection” 0
9 Motley Crue’s “Dr. Feelgood” v. Aldo Nova’s “Fantasy” 0
5 Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home” v. Poison’s “Life Goes On” 3
8 Motley Crue’s “Girls Girls Girls” v. David Lee Roth’s “California Girls” 0
6 Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart” v. Pantera’s “Cemetery Gates” 5
8 Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” v. Rainbow’s “Street of Dreams” 1
1 Night Ranger’s “When You Close Your Eyes” v. Ozzy Osbourne’s “Goodbye to Romance” 9
7 Ozzy Osbourne’s “Flying High Again” v. Poison’s “Unskinny Bop” 3
6 Poison’s “Talk Dirty to Me” v Ozzy Ozbourne’s “Mr. Crowley” 5
8 Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” v. Queensryche’s “Silent Lucidity” 3
6 Poison’s “Nothin’ but a Good Time” v. David Lee Roth’s “Yankee Rose” 3

7 Quiet Riot’s “Cum On Feel the Noize” v. Rush’s “The Spirit of Radio” 3

The Tournament of Metal: Round 2, Bracket 3

Up this week: bands M-R. The battles are over on the right sidebar, so go vote!

This past week, the following metal acts left us:

• Enuff Z'nuff
• Extreme
• Firehouse
• Lita Ford
• Frehley's Comet
• Giuffria
• Great White
• Hanoi Rocks
• Helix
• Helloween
• Keel
• Kix
• Krokus
• Loudness
• Love/Hate
• Lynch Mob

while the following headbangers soldier on, and we'll see them again in three more weeks:

• Europe
• Faster Pussycat
• Guns N' Roses
• Sammy Hagar
• Honeymoon Suite
• Billy Idol
• Iron Maiden
• Jackyl
• Judas Priest
• Kiss
• L.A. Guns
• Lillian Axe

Anyway, exact results of this past week's intra-band battles:

2 Enuff Z’nuff’s “Fly High, Michelle” v. Honeymoon Suite’s “New Girl Now” 5
6 Europe’s “The Final Countdown” v. Frehley’s Comet’s “Rock Soldiers” 2
2 Europe’s “Carrie” v. Faster Pussycat’s “House of Pain” 6
1 Extreme’s “More Than Words” v. Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” 7
0 Firehouse’s “Don’t Treat Me Bad” v. Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” 7
4 Lita Ford’s “Kiss Me Deadly” v. Billy Idol’s “Rock the Cradle” 4 *
0 Giuffria’s “Call to the Heart” v. Judas Priest’s “You Got Another Thing Coming” 7
3 Great White’s “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” v. Junkyard’s “Hands Off” 5
8 Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” v. Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself” 0
8 Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” v. Love/Hate’s “Blackout in the Red Room” 0
8 Guns N Roses’ “Paradise City” v. Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast” 0
8 Guns N Roses’ “Patience” v. Kiss’s “Forever” 0
1 Guns N Roses’ “Used to Love Her” v. Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” 7
8 Guns N Roses’ “Don’t Cry” v. Helix’s “Heavy Metal Love” 0
7 Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal” v. L.A. Guns’ “Sex Action” 0
2 Sammy Hagar’s “I Can’t Drive 55” v. Kiss’ “Heaven’s on Fire” 6
2 Hanoi Rock’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” v. L.A. Guns’ “Ballad of Jayne” 5
0 Helix’s “Rock You” v. Kiss’s “Lick It Up” 6
0 Helloween’s “I Want Out” v. Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills” 6
5 Billy Idol’s “Eyes Without a Face” v. Kix’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes” 1
3 Jackyl’s “The Lumberjack” v. Lynch Mob’s “Wicked Sensation” 3 *
7 Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law” v. Keel’s “The Right to Rock’ 0
5 Kiss’s “Crazy Crazy Nights” v. Loudness’ “Crazy Night” 1
2 Krokus’ “Screaming in the Night” v. Lillian Axe’s “Misery Loves Company” 3

NOTES

*Both of these tied battle were decided by my son Nicholas. He knew none of the songs. I asked him which titles he liked best, and...there ya go!

The Tournament of Metal: Round 2, Bracket 2

Up this week: bands E-L. The battles are over on the right sidebar, so go vote!

This past week, the following metal acts left us:

• Accept
• Anthrax
• Armored Saint
• Autograph
• Bad English
• Bang Tango
• Black n' Blue
• Britny Fox
• Alice Cooper
• Danger Danger
• Dangerous Toys
• Dokken

while the following headbangers soldier on, and we'll see them again in three more weeks:

• AC/DC
• Aerosmith
• Bon Jovi
• Bulletboys
• Cinderella
• The Cult
• Damn Yankees
• Danzig
• Def Leppard
• Dio

as well as...Jon Bon Jovi. Solo. See, I made a boo-boo. So, in three weeks, we'll see Mr. Jovi's solo hits take on some of these survivors. We may even pit him against his own band. Hmm....

Anyway, exact results of this past week's intra-band battles:

10 ACDC’s “Hells Bells” v. Aerosmith’s “Janie’s Got a Gun” 2
12 ACDC’s “Back in Black” v. Anthrax’s “Caught in a Mosh” 1
7 ACDC’s “Thunderstruck” v. Accept’s “Balls to the Wall” 4
12 ACDC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” v. Britny Fox’s “Girlschool” 0
7 ACDC’s “Who Made Who” v. Autograph’s “Turn Up the Radio” 5
7 ACDC’s “For Those About to Rock” v. Def Leppard’s “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” 5
4 Aerosmith’s “Rag Doll” v. Def Leppard’s “Photograph” 8
3 Aerosmith’s “Love in an Elevator” v. Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” 9
9 Aerosmith’s “Angel” v. Bad English’s “When I See You Smile” 3
1 Anthrax’s “Madhouse” v. Def Leppard’s “Rock of Ages” 9
1 Armored Saint’s “Reign of Fire” v. Cinderella’s “Night Songs” 10
3 Bang Tango’s “Someone Like You” v. Damn Yankee’s “High Enough” 8
1 Black ‘n Blue’s “Hold on to 18” v. Cinderella’s “Heartbreak Station” 7
8 Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” v. The Cult’s “Love Removal Machine” 2
7 Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” v. Def Leppard’s “Foolin’” 4
9 Bon Jovi’s “Runaway” v. Dio’s “Rainbow in the Dark” 2
3 Bon Jovi’s “I’ll Be There for You” v. Def Leppard’s “Hysteria” 8
9 Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” v. Cinderella’s “Don’t Know What You’ve Got” 2
7 Bulletboys’ “Smooth Up in Ya” v. Dangerous Toys’ “Teas’n, Pleas’n” 2
9 Cinderella’s “Shake Me” v. Dokken’s “In My Dreams” 1
3 Cinderella’s “Somebody Save Me” v. The Cult’s “Firewoman” 7
4 Alice Cooper’s “Poison” v. Danzig’s “Mother” 6
7 The Cult’s “Wild Flower” v. Danger Danger’s “Naughty Naughty” 3
5 Dio’s “Holy Diver” v. Dokken’s “Dream Warriors” 3

The Tournament of Metal: Round 2, Bracket 1

The first round is now over! Bands will now battle...OTHER BANDS! Rock!

Four brackets this round, with the first bracket covering bands A-D. Next week, it's E-L; in two weeks, we'll see bands M-R, and in three weeks, it's S-Z. One month from now, we'll mix n' match, getting all Garanimal on your heinie.

The results from this past week are as follows:

Saigon Kick
2"Love Is on the Way" v. “Body Bags”1

Saxon
3"Denim & Leather" v. "Wheels of Steel" 1

Scorpions
8"Rock You Like a Hurricane" v. "Still Loving You" 0
5"Wind of Change" v. "No One Like You"4

Skid Row
6"I Remember You" v. “Sweet Little Sister"2
8"18 and Life" v. "Monkey Business"0
6 "Youth Gone Wild" v. "Slave to the Grind" 0

Slaughter
2“Up All Night" v. "Fly to the Angels"5

Slayer
1"Raining Blood" v. "Angel of Death"3

Steelheart
5"I'll Never Let You Go" v. “She's Gone" 1

Stryper
4"To Hell with the Devil" v. “Honestly"

Tesla
3 "Getting Better" v. “Signs" 5
4"Little Suzi" v. "Modern Day Cowboy" 2
5"Love Song" v. "Heaven's Trail" (No Way Out)" 1

TNT
3“10,000 Lovers (in One)" v. “Everyone's a Star" 1

Tora Tora
1"Walkin' Shoes" v. “Phantom Rider" 3

Trixter
5“Give It To Me Good" v. “Surrender" 0

Twisted Sister
9“We're Not Gonna Take It" v. “Captain Howdy" 0
3“Burn in Hell" v. “I Wanna Rock" 5

Van Halen
7“Everybody Wants Some" v. “Why Can't This Be Love" 2
3“Mean Street" v. “Feel So Good"5
5"Unchained" v. "Finished What Ya Started" 3
7"(Oh) Pretty Woman" v. "Best of Both Worlds"2
8"Jump" v. "Black and Blue" 1
7"Panama" v. "Love Walks In"2
8"Hot for Teacher" v. "Dreams"1
3"I'll Wait" v. "When It's Love" 5

Vinnie Vincent Invasion
4“Boys Are Gonna Rock” v. "Love Kills" 1

Vixen
3“Edge of a Broken Heart" v. "Cryin'"3 - TIE ("Edge..." wins tiebreaker*)

Warrant
5“Heaven” v. "Sometimes She Cries" 1
1"Down Boys" v. “Cherry Pie” 6
6"Uncle Tom's Cabin" v. "I Saw Red" 0

W.A.S.P.
1"I Wanna Be Somebody" v. “Wild Child” 4

Whitesnake
9"Here I Go Again" v. "Slide It In" 1
7"Still of the Night" v. "Slow and Easy"2
7"Is This Love" v. "Give Me All Your Love"2

Winger
5"Headed for a Heartbreak" v. "Seventeen"3
3"Madaline" v. "Miles Away"3 - TIE ("Miles..." wins tiebreaker*)

XYZ
3"Inside Out" v. "What Keeps Me Loving You"0

Y&T
4"Summertime Girls" v. "Contagious"0

Zebra
4"Tell Me What You Want" v. "Who's Behind the Door"0

NOTES
*Tiebreaker: I asked my son which song titles he liked better. That's how those winners were determined. He knows none of those songs. He's not a metalhead...yet!

**Somehow, I left the mighty beast White Lion off of this past week's poll. No worry though, as both of their hit songs will appear in the second round in this bracket (which we'll see in three weeks).

The Tournament of Metal: Results for Round One, Bracket Three

Time to vote now on the last bracket of the first round (over at the sidebar to the right); starting next week, in round two, bands will battle other bands, so don't forget to tune in then, but first, look to the right, and rock the vote!

The results from this past week are as follows:

Manowar
1“Kings of Metal” v. “Blow Your Speakers”0

Megadeth
2“Peace Sells” v. “Symphony of Destruction”1

Metallica
3“One” v. “For Whom the Bell Tolls”2
1“Seek and Destroy” v. “Fade to Black”3
1“Master of Puppets” v. “Enter Sandman”3
1“Wherever I May Roam” v. “Sad but True”3
3“The Unforgiven” v. “Nothing Else Matters”1

Mr. Big
4“To Be With You” v. “Wild World”0

Motley Crue
3“Too Fast for Love” v. “Same Old Situation”2
3“Live Wire” v. “You’re All I Need”1
4“Shout at the Devil” v. “Looks That Kill”0
3“Dr. Feelgood” v. “Ten Seconds to Love”1
5“Home Sweet Home” v. “Without You”0
2“Smokin’ in the Boys Room” v. “Don’t Go Away Mad”3
3“Girls Girls Girls” v. “Too Young to Fall in Love”1
1“Wild Side” v. “Kickstart My Heart”4

Motorhead
1“Eat the Rich” v. “Ace of Spades”3

Nelson
2“(I Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection” v. “After the Rain”1

Night Ranger
4“Sister Christian” v. “(You Can Still) Rock in America”0
1“Sentimental Street” v. “When You Close Your Eyes”2

Aldo Nova
2“Fantasy” v. “Monkey on Your Back”1

Ozzy Osbourne
5“Crazy Train” v. “Bark at the Moon”0
4“Goodbye to Romance” v. “I Don’t Know”1
3“Flying High Again” v. “Suicide Solution”1
0“Shot in the Dark” v. “Mr. Crowley”4
2“No More Tears” v. “Mama, I’m Coming Home”1

Pantera
2“Cemetery Gates” v. “Cowboys from Hell”1

Poison
4“Talk Dirty to Me” v. “Cry Tough”1
2“I Won’t Forget You” v. “Life Goes On”3
2“I Want Action” v. “Nothin’ but a Good Time”5
5“Every Rose Has Its Thorn” v. “Fallen Angel”0
4“Unskinny Bop” v. “Something to Believe In”3

Queensryche
2“Eyes of a Stranger” v. “Jet City Woman”1
1“Another Rainy Night (Without You)” v. “Silent Lucidity”2

Quiet Riot
5“Cum On Feel the Noize” v. “The Wild and the Young”0
1“Mama, We’re All Crazee Now,” v. “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)”4

Rainbow
0“Stone Cold” v. “Street of Dreams”1

Ratt
4“Round and Round” v. “Way Cool, Jr.”0
1“Lay It Down” v. “You’re In Love”2

David Lee Roth
2“Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody” v. “California Girls”3
3“Yankee Rose” v. “Just Like Paradise”0

Rush
2“The Spirit of Radio” v. “Freewill”1
5“Tom Sawyer” v. “Limelight”0

The Tournament of Metal: Results for Round One, Bracket Two

The third week of the first round continues! Look to the sidebar to the right and rock the vote!

The results from this past week, with the winning songs in red text, and the final tally following:

Enuff Z’nuff
“Fly High Michelle” v. “New Thing” 5-1

Europe
“The Final Countdown” v. “Rock the Night” 8-0
“Carrie” v. “Cherokee” 7-1

Extreme
“More Than Words” v. “Hole Hearted” 9-0

Faster Pussycat
“Bathroom Wall” v. “House of Pain” 6-2

FireHouse
“Don’t Treat Me Bad” v. “Love of a Lifetime” 7-2

Kix
"Don’t Close Your Eyes" v. "Girl Money" 3-2

Lita Ford
“Kiss Me Deadly” v. “Close My Eyes Forever” 5-2

Loudness
"Crazy Night" v. "Like Hell" 3-0

Frehley’s Comet
“In the Night” v. “Rock Soldiers” 4-2

Giuffria
"Call to the Heart” v. “I Must Be Dreaming” 4-1

Great White
“Rock Me” v. “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” 7-2

Guns N’ Roses
“Welcome to the Jungle” v. “Mr. Brownstone” 6-4
“Sweet Child O’ Mine” v. It’s So Easy” 9-1
“Paradise City” v. “Rocket Queen” 6-4
“Patience” v. “One in a Million” 7-3
“Used to Love Her” v. “You’re Crazy (Acoustic)” 5-4
“You Could Be Mine” v. “November Rain” 7-2
“Don’t Cry” v. “Civil War” 5-3

Sammy Hagar
“Heavy Metal” v. “Three Lock Box” 3-2
“I Can’t Drive 55” v. “Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy” 8-1

Hanoi Rocks
“Boulevard of Broken Dreams” v. “Don’t You Ever Leave Me” 4-1

Helix
“Rock You” v. “(Make Me Do) Anything You 1Want” 4-1
“Gimme Gimme Good Lovin’” v. “Heavy Metal Love” 4-1

Helloween
“Halloween” v. “I Want Out” 4-1

Honeymoon Suite
“New Girl Now” v. “Feel It Again” 2-1

Billy Idol
“Rebel Yell” v. “Catch My Fall” 9-0
“White Wedding” v. “Flesh for Fantasy” 10-0
“Eyes Without a Face” v. “Mony Mony” 6-1
“To Be a Lover” v. “Rock the Cradle” 5-2
“Dancing with Myself” v. “Hot in the City” 8-0

Iron Maiden
“Run to the Hills” v. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” 5-1
“The Number of the Beast” v. “Trooper” 3-1

Jackyl
“The Lumberjack” v. “Down on Me” 3-2

Judas Priest
“You Got Another Thing Coming” v. “Freewheel Burning” 5-1
“Living After Midnight” v. “Breaking the Law” 6-2

Junkyard
“Hollywood” v. “Hands Off” 2-1

Keel
“The Right to Rock” v. “Because the Night” 3-1

Kiss
“Lick It Up” v. “All Hell’s Breaking Loose” 6-0
“Heaven’s on Fire” v. “Tears Are Falling” 4-3
“Crazy Crazy Nights” v. “Let’s Put the ‘X’ in Sex” 3-1
“Reason to Live” v. “Forever” 3-2

Krokus
“Headhunter” v. “Screaming in the Night” 3-0

L.A. Guns
“Sex Action” v. “Rip and Tear” 2-1
“Ballad of Jayne” v. “Never Enough” 6-0

Lillian Axe
“Misery Loves Company” v. “Show a Little Love” 3-1

Love/Hate
“Blackout in the Red Room” v. “Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?” 3-0

Lynch Mob
“Wicked Sensation” v. “River of Love” 2-1

The Tournament of Metal: Round One, Bracket Two

The second bracket is up for this round, but I forgot to include two bands: Kix and Loudness, so you'll see those atop all the others.

Voting ends on Saturday at midnight, so don't forget to rock the vote!

The Tournament of Metal: Results for Rd.1, Bracket 1

Okay, folks, first an apology. Somehow, bugs snuck in my blog. I squashed them, but not before they disconnected the Tournament of Metal polls for Round One, Bracket One. Sure, the polls were over, but I had yet to notch the exacting polling numbers, though I did log the victors. Here they are (with the winning songs in red text):

AC/DC
“Hells Bells” v. “Stiff Upper Lip”
“Back in Black” v. “Moneytalks”
“Shoot to Thrill” v. “Thunderstruck”
“You Shook Me All Night Long” v. “Sink the Pink”
“Have a Drink on Me” v. “Who Made Who”
“Rock & Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” v. “For Those About to Rock”

Aerosmith
“Rag Doll” v. “The Other Side”
“Dude Looks Like a Lady” v. “Love in an Elevator”
“Hangman’s Jury” v. “Janie’s Got a Gun”
“Angel” v. “What It Takes”

Accept
“Balls to the Wall” v. “Fast As a Shark”

Anthrax
“Madhouse” v. “I’m the Man”
“Caught in a Mosh” v. Anti-Social”

Armored Saint
“Can You Deliver” v. “Reign of Fire”

Autograph
“Turn Up the Radio” v. “Blondes in “Black Cars”

Bad English
“When I See You Smile” v. “Forget Me Not”

Bang Tango
“Someone Like You” v. “Breaking Up a Heart of Stone”

Black ‘n Blue
“Hold On to 18” v. “I’ll Be There For You”

Bon Jovi
“Bad Medicine” v. “You Give Love a Bad Name”
“Lay Your Hands on Me” v. “Wanted Dead or Alive”
“Runaway” v. “In and Out of Love”
“I’ll Be There for You” v. “Never Say Goodbye”
“Born to Be My Baby” v. “Living on a Prayer”

Britny Fox
“Girlschool” v. “Long Way to Love”

Bulletboys
“Smooth Up in Ya” v. “For the Love of Money”

Cinderella
“Shake Me” v. “Shelter Me”
“Somebody Save Me” v. “Gypsy Road”
“Night Songs” v. “Last Mile”
“Take Me Back” v. “Heartbreak Station”
“Coming Home” v. “Don’t Know What You’ve Got (Till It’s Gone)”

Alice Cooper
“Poison” v. “Feed My Frankenstein”

The Cult
“She Sells Sanctuary” v. “Firewoman”
“Wild Flower” v. “Peace Dog”
“Love Removal Machine” v. “Lil’ Devil”

Damn Yankees
“High Enough” v. “Come Again”

Danger Danger
“Naughty Naughty” v. “Bang Bang”

Dangerous Toys
“Teas’n, Pleas’n” v. “Scared”

Danzig
“Mother” v. “She Rides”

Def Leppard
“Bringing on the Heartbreak” v. “Let’s Get Rocked”
“High and Dry” v. “Rock of Ages”
“Foolin’” v. “Women”
“Photograph” v. “Animal”
“Pour Some Sugar on Me” v. “Armageddon It”
“Hysteria” v. “Love Bites”

Dio
“Holy Diver” v. “Mystery”
“Rainbow in the Dark” v. “The Last in Line”

Dokken
“In My Dreams” v. “Into the Fire”

“Dream Warriors” v. “Alone Again”

Round One, Bracket Two will start later in the day, sometime before 7:00 p.m. CST.

This bracket will contain songs by artists that fall alphabetically E-L.

You'll get to vote on what you think are the best songs of artists such as:

• Europe
• Lita Ford
• Guns N' Roses
• Sammy Hagar
• Billy Idol
• Judas Priest
• Kiss
• L.A. Guns

and many more. So check back in later tonight, look at the sidebar on the right, and vote on your favorite songs by each band. There will be over forty battles this week, and you get to determine the outcome.

So make sure and bookmark this page and get your one way ticket to midnight.

We call it heavy metal.

The Tournament of Metal

Calico, my rock band, has decided to host The Tournament of Metal, and we decided to host it here (mainly because setting up these polls on Facebook proved too difficult), on my blog, because I'm the drummer, and I rock. The bands in the tournament do, too. Or they did.

The Tournament of Metal consists of over 350 songs released between and among 1980* and 1992** by heavy metal, hair/glam/pop metal, speed metal, power metal, thrash metal, and hard rock bands (or bands who were marketed as such) . All you have to do is look over at the sidebar on the right and vote on as many different song choices as you desire. Vote early, and vote often.
This first round, we whittle down the list to what's essential in each band's oeuvre. Next round, we'll pit band against band, like against like, hair metal against hair metal, speed metal against speed metal, etc....In the third round, we'll stage dive, throwing one type of metal song into the pit with another, and we'll continue that way until it's all over.

When is that? Oh, I'm no mathmatician,*** but the end will arrive sometime near the end of June.

Why so long? With over 350 songs in the tournament, it's not feasible to list over 175 battles at one time; therefore, we've quartered the list, and the first round should finish in four weeks, with the second round finishing in two weeks, and each subsequent round should take a week each, and with eight rounds, that puts around the last week of June when the champion song is crowned.

Why is my band, Calico, sponsoring this tournament? Three-fifths of our members are heavy metal fans and have been since youth,**** and we just wanted to throw our Dio demon horns in the air as a salute to those who rocked, if only for a brief bit.

Once again, vote! This week's list o' metal songs (from bands falling alphabetically A through D) will only last...uh...a week. Next week, another eighty/one-hundred songs will be pitted against one another, so vote now, and don't miss your chance, 'cause if--say--the Bulletboys' lame cover of the O'Jays' "For the Love of Money" tops the B'boys deliciously-raunchy hit "Smooth Up in Ya," then don't come crying to me.

We'd like to give one last ROCK! before we leave, and that's to Shane Woodard Hardy, for without him, this list might never have seen the light of the computer screen.

So get your one way ticket to midnight, people. Call it heavy metal.

NOTES

*Yeah, I know, heavy metal didn't start in 1980; however, 1980 was when heavy metal finally made a huge sales dent in the American market with the debut and incredible success of AC/DC's Back in Black album, making it much safer for metalheads from Philadelphia, Mississippi to Fargo, North Dakota to come out of the closet with their heads banging.

**Yeah, I know, heavy metal didn't officially end in 1992, but that was it's last gasp, and grunge officially dethroned metal, as marked by Nirvana's seminal album Nevermind reaching #1 on the Billboard album charts.

***Why do English teachers teach English? 'Cause they can't do math.

****Yeah, I know, three-fifths of a band does not unanimity make, but it does make majority, and since the other two of our five either play triangle or play stool, then we three kings of metal rule the rock shed.