THE BIG FOUR SONG CHALLENGE SERIES - Matchup 182

Anthrax "All Of Them Thieves" (2016) VS Megadeth "Look Who's Talking" (2016) VS Metallica "Spit Out The Bone" (2016) VS Slayer "Piano Wire" (2015)

Definite word nerd points to Anthrax for using "recidivist" in a seamless manor.  The song is more hard-charging than most of "For All Kings" but still seems like it's stuck in fourth gear when it should be up to 5th.  The back half tries to make up for this by randomly having the solo section go full thrash speed, which is a little unearned but at least they try to make the transition smooth.  Overall, not bad.

"Look Who's Talking" is track 8 on the iTunes and Best Buy versions of "Dystopia", so if you have those versions of the album and were wondering where this was, here's your answer.  (Same goes for tomorrow's song "Last Dying Wish", which was track 12 on those editions.)  I like the solo section of this song, but the rest of it is Mustaine doing his corny talking schtick that only works if his subject matter and delivery are menacing.  Needless to say, "Look Who's Talking" doesn't meet that bar.

"Spit Out The Bone" is the last song on "Hardwired...To Self-Destruct" proper.  It's more interesting than most of the album in that it does some thrash acrobatics and has some balls.  Hetfield is definitely on point on the vocals.  I suppose you could say if "Metal Militia" (the closer from "Kill 'Em All") was a person and aged in real time, this is what it would look and sound like.  More calloused, more skilled, but ultimately the same person at their core.  It is a little too long (there's like two minutes between the verse and solo that you could chop down to 30 seconds), but ultimately one of the best songs on "Hardwired", even if it doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel.

"Piano Wire" starts slower, aiming for a sinister atmosphere.  And that used to be an atmosphere Slayer could get without trying, but here it sounds muddled.  I feel like I'm in a house covered in peeling paint and rusted metal objects, but not that I'm about to be executed by someone lurking in the shadows of said house.  The latter is what Slayer were aiming for.

"Spit Out The Bone": 4
"All Of Them Thieves": 3
"Piano Wire": 2
"Look Who's Talking": 1

UPDATE TOTALS:

Anthrax: 34
Metallica: 33
Megadeth: 31
Slayer: 23

ALL TIME TOTALS:

Anthrax: 472
Metallica: 457
Slayer: 451
Megadeth: 416

Seems they've plugged some holes in that battleship I was bemoaning earlier.  Metallica is poised to finish strong, whereas I don't know what the future holds for the rest of this lot.  Stay tuned.

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