My top 10 rock anthems

Don’t we all just love a good and catchy song, that sort that takes you on a crazy sing along journey and leaves you wanting more and more. Well, that's what a great anthem does to you, it makes you want to jump to your feet and celebrate your existence through simultaneous adrenaline fueled bursts of karaoke. A great anthem gives you that surrealistic feeling of being one with the song and all it entails. It makes you feel alive.

The fact is everyone loves a good anthem, be it punk, indie,  heavy metal or even a pop anthem. Anthems aren’t just songs with great lyrics, anthems are meant to mean more than just that. Some anthems like Metallica’s “seek and destroy,” signify the intent to find and obliterate an adversary, which i believe is what heavy metal fans looks for in a killer heavy metal anthem. It doesn't really matter what the song is about, if its catchy, and gets the blood flowing, then its bound to be an awesome rock anthem.

Great rock anthems aren’t solely about the singing, the lyrics, or just the instruments, they're about how these aspects are used in perfect harmony to make a song endearingly catchy. Take for example the absolute lack of supporting instruments on Queen’s “we will rock you,” the songs rhythm was merely forged from what is not complex but rather simply clapping hands and the stomping of feet. That added to the great lyrics, makes for one hell of a sing along session. 

Here are my top 10 rock anthems

10. Rock of ages-Def Leppard

When it comes to the 80’s, Def Leppard was one of the bands that owned the hard rock circuit, and with an album like “Pyromania,“ there’s no need to wonder why. With the song Rock of ages, Def Leppard had a song that's catchier than most of their other work. Of course pour some sugar on me and photograph are their standout songs, but Rock of ages gets you on your toes from the moment you hear Joe Elliot sing the opening words, up to when the song ends.

9. Blitzkrieg Bop –The Ramones

Often sited as being the greatest punk rock song ever, this less than three minute punk classic is an insanely catchy anthem. The song starts off with a crazy distorted riff by the legendary Johnny Ramone, which sets the scene for what is to be a incredibly rigorous sing along session. I hate to say this but i can never resist trying to imitate Joey Ramone's carefree singing style, he makes the song catchy that way.

8. Smell like teen spirit -Nirvana

Whats are the chances that there exists a rock music fan who doesn’t know of this great grunge song? Close to zero, i should hope. Smells like teens spirit isn't just a great Grunge song, it is one of the greatest rock songs ever. Everything about the song is just phenomenal, from the opening riff by the inspirational Kurt Cobain, to Dave Grohl's incredible drumming. I mean what's there not to love about what is quite literally the greatest grunge song of all time.

7. I love rock n roll - Jett Joan and the Blackhearts

 Jett Joan might have taken a while before finally being inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame, but  with a song like this one, who can say she didn't deserve it. There's just no denying how anthemic this song sounds, each and every bit of it is catchy. From the monstrous riff to the chorus which makes you want to just throw your hands up in the air and sing along to lines like, “I love rock n roll, play it all the time on the jukebox baby.”

5. My Generation-The who

Lets put aside the fact that this song has one of the finest bass solos ever, and lets focus on Pete Townshend’s lyrics and how Rodger Daltrey toyed around with them in a helter skelter sort or way to turn this song into a classic rock anthem. Daltrey’s intentional utilization of stuttering while he sang the verses really gives the song an absurd vibe, but at the same times makes it fun to sing along to. Townshend’s lyrics are pure genius, they envisage the stubbornness of youth with hint of irony that we're all sure Pete never thought would come back to haunt him. The irony here is in the line, “I hope i die before i grow old.” This is ironic because you see, Pete Townshend has now lived to be over 70 years. So what now Mr Townshend? Are you going to say 70 is still too young to be classified as old.

6. Born to be wild – Steppen wolf

Steppen wolf might not be as famous  as most of the other bands on this list, but with this song, these Canadian Rockers made sure we’d never forget the fact that we were born to be wild. The song opens with a classy blues  riff that sounds like the revving of a car engine, the riff has a keith richards-esque feel to it, but that's just my opinion.  If the opening riff doesn’t get you all pumped up and ready to go, then John Kay’s laid back bluesy singing style will.

4. Living on a prayer - Bon Jovi

We all love a good sad song, and If this one doesn't catch your fancy, then i don't know what will. The lyrics of the song are about a couple trying to keep hope alive as they struggle with unemployment and poverty. As far as hard rock is concerned, this Bon Jovi song sits up there with greatest hard rock songs of not just the 80’s, but of all time. The song tightens its grip on you with each word Jon Bon Jovi sings, and when you hear the chorus, it make you wanna lose yourself in the song. And i almost forgot, it has quite the riff.

3. Rockin in the free world-Neil Young

For a insanely skilled guitarist like Neil Young, making iconic songs isn't something hard. His song writing approach is what you'd call, prophetic. With Rocking in the free world, he takes on the political and social state of the USA in the 80's. Of course he had to display his insane guitar skills while doing so.

2. We will rock you-Queen

Yes, “we are champions,” is also quite the anthem, and Bohemian Rhapsody is leagues ahead of any Queen song, but with we will rock you, Queen really outdid themselves. They proved to everyone that you don't need instruments to make good music, all you need is Freddie mercury, a few hands and some feet. Its actually hard to listen to this song without getting the urge to clap your hands and stomp your feet as you sing a long to the words. In my opinion, this song is like the blue print for all anthems, it quite literally has everything an anthem needs to be great. From the simple lyrics to the group chorus that encourages fans to sing along to it. This song is nothing short of legendary.

1. Born in the USA-Bruce Springsteen

This song is anthemic, right down to the incredible synthesizer riff that drives the song. You don't even have to be a citizen of the USA to love and sing along this patriotic masterpiece. The phrase “born in the USA,” as sung by Bruce “The boss” Springsteen, has forever been immortalized in the hearts of American patriots. This song gives you an idea of what it means to be an American, and the message of American patriotism in it, is louder that Steve Tylers’ absurdly colored attire. I personally cant listen to this song without throwing my fist up in the air, just  so i feel like an American, even if its for just five minutes.

Honorable mentions

Thunderstruck - ACDC

Welcome to the Jungle-Guns N Roses

Rock you like a hurricane-The scorpions

Crazy train-Ozzy Osbourne

Rock n roll-Led zeppelin

The Ultimate Rock Band

The ultimate rock band, a colossal rock band that would be the out right epitome of rock greatness, oozing class and finesse from each and every band member.  Yes, a fantasy band line up made of the most accomplished of legendary rock stars, each a virtuoso in their own right.

Envision that, and that would be thee ultimate rock band.

 But of course in reality having the most accomplished band members doesn't guarantee the making of great music. The many failed attempts by great rock stars to make great super groups, that ended up becoming the butt of  many critics' jokes, clearly underlines the fact that having many big names doesn't always spell success.   Just look at groups like Slashs' Snake pit, better yet, Sammy Hagar and Chad Smith's  ChickenFoot. ChickenFoot had an array of legendary rock stars, the likes of Joe Satriani; who is by the way an incredible guitarist, Chad Smith; who is also a great drummer, and Michael Anthony; the bassist from Van Halen. This band had the names but still ended up failing to make great music, and of course were jokingly called chicken sh*t for this endeavor.

The dream band line up would be a five member band lineup, with a bassist, drummer, rhythm guitarist, lead guitarist and a Vocalist. Ideally the band would have the finest bassist; a true master of the instrument, the best drummer; a drummer of god-like status. It would also have the finest rhythm guitarist; one who can toy around with a simple lick and turn it into an incredibly catchy riff, a lead guitar like none other, and a front man whose voice and showmanship set him apart from the rest.

The ultimate band line up would have;

Drummer: John Bonham(Led Zeppelin)

Drum legend: John Bonham

 John Bonham aka " Bonzo," may have died at a young age, but when it comes to rock drumming, its hard to look past this beastly drumming. His speed, power, technique and incredible bass drum are still revered by many to such an extent that none has ever been able to match his tenacity and flair when it comes to rock drumming. John Bonham boasts and array of incredible drumming moments, which include the awesome drum intro that starts Led zeppelin’s song “ Rock n Roll,” the drum solo on the instrumental, “moby dick,”  his incredible drum riff, that drives the song, “when the levee breaks,”  as well as other astounding moments.

He may be no Buddy Rich, but his drum work has and still inspires many drummers to this day. Of course, there are other incredible rock drummers like Rush’s Neil Peart, The Who’s Keith Moon, and Cream’s Ginger Baker, all of whom are accomplished rock drummers, but none of these great drummers compare to John Bonham.

Bassist: John Entwistle(The Who)

Thunder fingers: John Entwistle

With a name like ThunderFingers, there’s little room to wonder why John Entwistle is the finest bass player to ever walk this earth. His bass playing didn't just standout on a number of The Who songs, it laid down the law for rock bass playing. His 12 string bass and his incredible bass work have inspired countless bassist and When you look at his incredible bass playing on The Who’s “my generation,” you can’t help but worship his incredible bass playing.

 It was actually not easy to choose Entwistle ahead of Rush’s Geddy Lee, because Lee is also an insanely talented bassists and of course the fact that he plays multiple instruments, as well as singing lead for Rush, make him a very tantalizing choice. These two aren’t the only great bassists out there, there’s also Primus’ Les Claypool, The Beatles’ Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones , The Redhot Chilli Peppers' Flea and other great bassists.

  Rhythm Guitarist: Keith Richards(The Rolling stones)

Riff machine: Keith Richards

I won't talk about Keith Richards’ excessive drug use and all those other small things that might deter us from appreciating the fact that he plays a mean rhythm guitar. When it comes to most bands, the band's rhythm section is usually the drummer and bassist. This applies to almost every band except the Rolling Stones, for the Stones, Keith Richards was the basis of the bands rhythm section. When it comes to riff, only Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page can hope to usurp Keith to the title of riff master.

 Keith's body of riffs is beyond any thing out there, with incredible riffs on songs like,  i cant get no (satisfaction), bitch, start me up, beast of burden, Jumping Jack flash, and brown sugar, Kieth Richards lays down the law when it comes to playing rhythm. 

Lead Guitarist:Jimi Hendrix(The Jimi Hendrix Experience) 

Voodoo child: Jimi Hendrix

 If playing the guitar was a Tv drama or a novel, Jimi Hendrix would be the protagonist of the story. Of course it would make little sense to have a band of the greatest rock stars without the guitar's ultimate user. 
If at all Jimi hadn’t existed, I'd have to chosen a lead guitarist from these great guitarists; Duane Allman, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, and Eddie Van Halen . All of these gentlemen are incredible lead guitarists, but of course none of them compare to Jimi Hendrix, he is only just the greatest ever. Jimi's heavy bluesy guitar style inspired countless other great guitarist like Funkadelic’s Eddie Hazel as well as Stevie Ray Vaughan himself. 

With the guitar in his hands, Jimi could do all sorts of things with it, like using it to play the Star Spangled Banner. Jimi could also play it with his teeth, which if i may say, isn't a menial task. In short, Jimi was and still is the Ultimate guitar player, his guitar work on songs like, voodoo child, All along the watchtower, Purple haze, Hey Joe, machine Gun, Little wing and fire is nothing short of sublime.

Front Man: Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)

Rock god: Robert Plant.

Of course in a previous blog, I talked about how good a front man Robert Plant is, and yes, there are other incredible front men like Mick Jagger, Roger Daltrey, and Freddie Mercury, but none of these great singers can out sing and out perform the rock god himself. Robert Plant is quite simply the greatest front man ever. Just read about this great front man and others in the blog, The Greatest Front Men in Rock music history.

Alternatively 

 I could have gone with a band line up having Queen’s inspirational front man, Freddie Mercury, Rush’s Geddy Lee on bass, Stevie Ray Vaughan playing Lead guitar, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page playing rhythm guitar and Rush’s Neil Peart on the drums.

Or

I could also have gone with the rolling stones’ Mick Jagger on lead vocals, The Who’s Keith Moon on the drums, The Allman Brothers’ incredible guitarist Duane Allman playing Lead guitar, the Who’s Pete Townsend playing rhythm and The Beatles Paul McCartney on the bass.

The reality is, the greatest instrumentalists don’t always gel together to make great music. The band might have great names and personel whose skill and talent are unmatched, but there’s just no guarantee that they’ll have had made great music. If it was just a contest of each individual's pedigree, ability and skill, no band could match the combination of Jimi Hendrix, John Entwistle, John Bonham, Robert Plant and Keith Richards, but i guess we'll never know.

The ultimate band line up, (L-R); Jimi Hendrix, John Entwistle, John Bonham, Robert Plant, and Keith Richards

 Share your ultimate band line up in the comments area or tweet me @instantiate2roy

Top 10 greatest Heavy Metal songs

It is the prevailing assumption that ideally the best heavy metal songs are littered with noise and cacophony. But in reality, heavy metal isn’t really meant to be all out noisy. yes, it could be a tad loud, but not necessarily. The noisiest and loudest heavy metal songs aren’t always thee best songs. Great heavy metal is normally characterized with heavy riffing, precision drumming and of course it also wouldn’t hurt if the lyrics were made a wee bit dark and somewhat surrealistic. Look at it this way, heavy metal songs sung solely about things like flowers, bliss, happiness, unicorns as well as other exquisitely beautiful things, wouldn’t really cut it. Not that they wouldn’t rock, it’s just that they wouldn’t really be heavy metal-ish or what is otherwise called being Hardcore. The typical heavy metal song is themed to depict, rage, struggle, suffering, death, Insanity, war, and of course apocalyptic occurrences. All of which as not really beautiful things, who am i kidding, all of those topics can be used to provide a visual description of what is considered the opposite of beauty. I mean if things like death, insanity and war were beautiful, we'd have postcards, birthday and Christmas cards with skulls and grim reapers on them sent to our loved ones wishing them a Merry Christmas or a happy birthday. But no we're stuck with flowers, candles, teddy Bears and balloons.

The roots of heavy metal trace back to the late 60s, where some claim, that Jimi Hendrix’s heavy Blues Guitar style was one of the first instances of Heavy metal, while others pin it to led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page’s Heavy Riffing, but then again the latter seems to be the more substantial claim. This is valid because Led Zeppelin have been and are still continually sited as being the first heavy metal band and thus the inventors of the genre. The best example of heavy metal in Led zeppelin’s sound can be heard in the fast and heavy, “Achilles’ last stand.” Though you wouldn't categorically say that Led zeppelin was an all out heavy metal band, and yes they may have sounded heavy, but had way too many blues and folk songs to be considered as the first real heavy metal band. So we'll continue to say that black sabbath are the God fathers of this genre. Heavy metal as a genre has a number of sub genres attached to it, sub genres like Thrash metal, Death metal, pop metal, speed metal, groove metal, progressive metal and other sub genres

Choosing a list of great heavy metal songs is not as easy as it seems, because, there are just way too many great heavy metal songs out there. There are quite literally numerous songs vying for a place on this list. So if you don't see your favorite song on here, comment below and tell us why you think it deserves to be on the list.

10 Raining blood-Slayer 

It is without a doubt impossible to find a die hard heavy metal fan who doesn’t know Slayer, or this thrash metal master piece. The song was written by late guitarist Jeff Hanneman and his guitar partner Kerry King. The riff on this song is an incredible piece of guitar work, and the chorus by Tom Araya, is just powerful. This song along with other Slayer great like Seasons in the abyss, make slayer arguably the greatest Thrash metal band ever.  


9.Walk -Pantera

This right here is groove metal at its best. One of the great Dimebag Darrell’s  finest riffs. It has great rage filled vocals from Phil Anselmo, and the chorus is just awesome, how could someone not want to head bang to this heavy metal master piece. The message in the song really does justice to the name of its parent album, “ vulgar display of power.” It goes with out saying that Dimebag Darrel's guitar playing did a lot to sell the song as well as other incredible hits on that album such as "cowboys from hell," which has an incredible riff as well of course the incredible vocals of Phil Anselmo.

       8. Ace of spades- Motor head

                                                                                                                                                                   

      The speed and intensity of this song sets it apart from most heavy metal songs. The distorted bass playing by Lemmy kilmister that opens the song and the incredible guitar riff are nothing to joke about. This song is without a doubt a fine speed metal classic. Lets put it this way, without Ace of spades or motor head, we would not have speed metal or thrash metal. This song laid down the law for thrash metal and as such led to the emergence of great thrash metal bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. 

       7. Holy Diver - Dio

When you look at Dio’s impressive body of work, one song stands out the most, and that song is holy diver. Holy diver has a distinctive Vivian Campbell riff that is quite literally one of the most well known riff’s in heavy metal, its just nothing short of incredible. But the riff isn’t the only good thing about holy diver, because with Dio’s vocals, the song wouldn't really have shot to as much success as it did. Dio was without a doubt an incredible heavy metal front man and his soaring vocals on holy diver tell all you need to know about his vocals prowess

    

      6. Painkiller-Judas Priest

      This is the painkiller, Arguably Judas priest finest song. It has an incredible guitar riff, played by two great heavy metal guitarists in K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton. The two combine their guitar skills to bring to the foray, pure heavy metal Elysium and not forgetting their dual guitar solo at the end. Painkiller is a great heavy metal song not just because of the instruments, there’s also the Rob Halford factor. This man is a heavy metal front man of the first order, he is one of the finest there ever was, and ever will be, his scream by itself is an unstoppable force of nature, emulating it is a feat, not many can achieve. 

           5.Holy wars(The punishmentdue)-Megadeth

 When it comes to heavy metal riffing, there are few better than the incredible Dave Mustaine, and this song outline his incredible riffing ability, he really goes all out on this one. Written by Dave Mustaine, Holy wars the punishment due is the opening track of Megadeth's 1990 album, Rust in peace. The song is an intense thrash metal track that sits right up there with thrash metal’s finest song. This song along with other great thrash hits like, hangar 18, symphony of destruction and Peace sells, put Dave Mustaine's  Megadeth among thrash Metal's big four bands and also cemented their place in the heavy metal community.

          4. Crazy train-Ozzy Osbourne

      Crazy train is a heavy metal gem from the prince of darkness’ illustrious career, and was the first single from his debut album, Blizzard of Ozz. Crazy train combine’s great guitar playing, great lyrics and the demented vocals of Ozzy Osbourne to create a fine heavy metal anthem. Its hard or otherwise close to impossible to find a heavy metal riff better than this Randy Rhoads monster riff, you’d be better off attempting to count from one to infinity, than finding a better heavy metal riff. And lets not leave out that face melting  Randy Rhoads guitar solo as well. Lets just say this song is the one that put Ozzy back on his horse after her was booted out of black sabbath, and he has the late Randy Rhoads to thank, may he RIP. 

           3. Paranoid-Black sabbath

      No list of great heavy metal songs is ever complete without a song from the Godfathers of heavy metal. It was hard to choose just one song from the impressive work of Black sabbath, with great songs like, war pigs, iron man, sabbath bloody sabbath, heaven and hell among other. But the choice this time was paranoid, not just for it’s incredible Tony Iommi riff but also the dark and twisted Lyrics written by Bassist Geezer Butler as well as Ozzy's incredible singing. Most heavy metal songs are very long, but this song is actually short and brief, but that doesn’t take anything away from its greatness.

           2. Master of puppets-Metallica

Master of puppets is ideally the most definitive Metallica song, with incredible riffing from one of the best rhythm guitarists around, James Hetfield, as well a great solo from Hammett Kirk. This song embodies the quintessential Metallica song, boasting a monstrous riff as well as portraying Metallica's great thrashing skill. It really is a fine piece of thrash metal heaven. This song isnt the only great metallica hit, they have other great hit like One, Enter sand man and Seek n Destroy all of which could've made the list, but they are clearly not better than the master of puppets.         

     
    1. The Number of the beast-iron maiden

The number of the beast is a dark and otherwise devilish song written by bassist Steve Harris. This song right here outlines Iron Maiden’s immortality in the heavy metal community. The number of the beast is not a song for the faint heart-ed, with its menacing riff, and its surrealist dark lyrics. I mean With lines like, “666, the number of the beast, 666 the one for you and me,” the song is sure to raise a few hairs down one’s back while they listen to it. It goes without saying that this song is one of incredible front man, Bruce Dickinson’s finest songs, it really has him pulling out all the stops to have us gripped to our seats on this devilish journey to the hell and back. One could also site other great iron maiden songs like hallowed be thy name, fear of the dark, The trooper and Run to the hills as deserving a place on this list, because they're all incredible heavy metal songs. But none of them are quite up to the level as the number of the beast 

For other great heavy metal songs you can try out these great songs below.

War pigs-black sabbath

Hallowed be thy name-Iron maiden

Tornado of souls-Slayer

War pigs-black sabbath

One-Metallica

Star gazer-rainbow

the trooper-Iron maiden

breaking the law-Judas priest

cemetery gates -pantera

Mr Crowley-Ozzy Osbourne

killed by death-Death

the last in line -Dio

Indians-Anthrax

Left behind-slipknot