OK what is the song that you think is the heaviest to "your ears"?
For me its this, fist time I heard it, it was a case of wft? The impact has softened a bit over the years but fuck me that opening riff?
Yeah I can assume that there's all kind of Death Metal that will piss all over it but for me its my go to when I need to really need
to turn things up a notch.
I can think of heavy breakdowns from slam dm bands but none are as effective as this snaking bastard riff.
Going to be biased towards some all time favourites here, and going for whole song rather than just one riff or initial impact or anything:
There's tons really. Also honourable mention because every time I hear both of these they make me start laughing they are so heavy:
And always:
Quote from: Maggot Colony on July 03, 2026, 12:39:18 PMI can think of heavy breakdowns from slam dm bands but none are as effective as this snaking bastard riff.
Ah jaysus yeah sure where would you be without it
I was a longtime fan of metal in general, thrash and more recently (a few years) death metal in particular and then this came along. It just pushed the boundaries out in terms of brutality and speed for me. There might have been heavier and more extreme acts out there at the time but I hadn't heard them.
I was so excited about this at the time (whenever it debuted on Headbangers' Ball, they a big deal of it if memory serves) that I hopped on the train to Dubbelin town the following weekend to pick it up in Sound Cellar. Of course he didn't have it but I ordered it and got it posted out. Played it on a loop for ages, wrote to the band (and got a reply!), was obsessed with it and still love it, their finest hour by far.
The point being that it was a gamechanger for me back then, and I'd still hold it up as a benchmark in heaviness in regard to metal.
It's Judas Priest - Dissident Aggressor.
Breakdowns, slams, death metal, black metal, whatever. In the context of where music was at the time, the jump up in "heaviness", nastiness and influence on the direction of metal is rivalled by few other songs.
And even taking that away, when the main riff hits along with Halford's scream, that is fucking heavy.
Quote from: Maggot Colony on July 03, 2026, 12:39:18 PMI can think of heavy breakdowns from slam dm bands but none are as effective as this snaking bastard riff.
This 100%
The only thing that's on par with it for me since is Iron Monkey's "Fink Dial"
Quote from: Carnage on July 03, 2026, 01:02:50 PM
I was a longtime fan of metal in general, thrash and more recently (a few years) death metal in particular and then this came along. It just pushed the boundaries out in terms of brutality and speed for me. There might have been heavier and more extreme acts out there at the time but I hadn't heard them.
I was so excited about this at the time (whenever it debuted on Headbangers' Ball, they a big deal of it if memory serves) that I hopped on the train to Dubbelin town the following weekend to pick it up in Sound Cellar. Of course he didn't have it but I ordered it and got it posted out. Played it on a loop for ages, wrote to the band (and got a reply!), was obsessed with it and still love it, their finest hour by far.
The point being that it was a gamechanger for me back then, and I'd still hold it up as a benchmark in heaviness in regard to metal.
Godplayer was the one that got me. What a song... and I was, what, 12 or 13? Need To Control was promptly secured in Sound Cellar and immediately became one of those important, defining albums for me. It remains unmatched. I subsequently picked up Extreme Conditions... and loved it too, but Need To Control remains the pinnacle for me.
An obvious choice for this topic must be Black Sabbath, the song. First time I heard it was while recording the first WOTH demo in Galway. Rodge stuck it on and said nothing. At first I thought, is this Prolix- one of our own songs! He then enlightened me and I couldn't believe the similarities, and also couldn't believe Black Sabbath could get so dark. All I knew by them back then were the bigger hits, the closest to that song being War Pigs, but even that didn't quite match up for the brooding sense of evil. Year dot!
When the guitars kick in on Wolfmoon and Everything Dies.
Yeah I'm in agreement with Celtic Frost. I'd also add Today Is the Day, first time hearing Temple of the Morning Star, 'The Man Who Loves to Hurt Himself' and 'Pinnacle' being particularly abrasive. Seeing them live during In The Eyes of God just blew me away with their power.
Quote from: The Heretic on July 03, 2026, 12:28:23 PMOK what is the song that you think is the heaviest to "your ears"?
For me its this, fist time I heard it, it was a case of wft? The impact has softened a bit over the years but fuck me that opening riff?
Yeah I can assume that there's all kind of Death Metal that will piss all over it but for me its my go to when I need to really need
to turn things up a notch.
Ya, this got me hooked too. Then, after a two year metal diet (was also listening to lots of grunge, RATM, etc.) consisting of almost only Metallica, someone loaned me this on cassette and the heaviness absolutely freaked the fuck out of me listening to it on headphones in bed at night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-RKXl3IRhY
Other tracks that had a similar "Fuck, this must be the heaviest thing
ever!" impression on me were Rapture and Walking Corpse.
It's a strange one. Some of my friends/ work colleagues are into what I would call "tantrum metal", and they'll send me a link for an absolute dud from Lorna Shore or something and I just don't hear anything of what I would consider heavy. There's no danger, or malice or magic to it. Just the sonic equivalent of Tom and Jerry violence.
This is an example of what I would consider to be proper heavy. But in some circles it's old fashioned and twee.
https://youtu.be/bZwvEEYrM78?si=Rd4uFo5PjZcVuB35
That absolutely inhuman scream Scott Kelly does on Enclosure in Flame.
Quote from: Anton Arcane on July 03, 2026, 02:52:53 PMIt's a strange one. Some of my friends/ work colleagues are into what I would call "tantrum metal", and they'll send me a link for an absolute dud from Lorna Shore or something and I just don't hear anything of what I would consider heavy. There's no danger, or malice or magic to it. Just the sonic equivalent of Tom and Jerry violence.
This is an example of what I would consider to be proper heavy. But in some circles it's old fashioned and twee.
https://youtu.be/bZwvEEYrM78?si=Rd4uFo5PjZcVuB35
That excoriate album is sweet, haven't heard it in a good while.
I was away in Romania for work last year and some of the other researchers were into, as you put it, tantrum metal. We had a few nice evenings just sitting around sharing tunes and chatting shit, despite little common ground on what we'd consider heavy. Anyway, surprisingly, they all could not stomach Subterraen by Moss. I was on a doom buzz at the time so alot of that sorta thing was put on. Two of them specifically told me stuff that slow and heavy makes them feel like they're going to have a panic attack, and that moss tune was the worst offender for inducing anxiety :laugh:
So I'll throw that one in here because of the anecdote:
https://mossdoom.bandcamp.com/track/subterraen
As for my own selection, I think Id have to hand it to Malthusian, the opening to Hallicinogen is what comes to mind. Some rabid magic there, really grabs you by the balls immediately.
...
All the way back to March 1984 for me, and it's all about the Riff.... Ooooooh!
Trouble - The Tempter
The opening riff to World Eater... or the 94 version if you prefer
Color Trip - Ground Level Sex Type
Coroner - Gin
Meshuggah - Abnegating Cecity
The bass intro and opening riff to 'Service For A Vacant Coffin'. Shakes the bowels every time.
Quote from: Anvil on July 03, 2026, 05:34:09 PMThe opening riff to World Eater... or the 94 version if you prefer
Good call. First version :abbath:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U9uxSdTwDTE&ra=m
When the vocal kicks in... it's crushing.
Hell awaits
Taking heavy in the sense of some kind of lava-thick psyche-paralyzing chaos-spawned organic ooze enveloping and crushing your very being, then there's also this:
https://youtu.be/1SEB40K3CxU?si=bdMCGDNI2AOEoFqI
This is another one that floored me when I heard it first in terms of heaviness though i guess you'd be forgiven for finding it a little thin production wise. But the whole feel of the thing is crushing. even with all the melody/clean guitar.I'd just play that whole "Dusk" cd ep over and over again as loud as I could when i got it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkDoo7WhlU4
I'd have to agree with "Hell Awaits" as well, first Slayer song I ever heard. I was genuinely terrified of it as a kid !
Found this by pure coincidence :laugh:
Don't know how it hasn't been mentioned yet. One hour's worth of this unforgettable riff on repeat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAVPuWYMUyo&list=RDnAVPuWYMUyo&start_radio=1&t=395s
Celtic Frost is the right answer but this also rings true for me
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WPoMA5EGnLc
Quote from: Bürggermeister on July 05, 2026, 03:45:31 PMCeltic Frost is the right answer but this also rings true for me
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WPoMA5EGnLc
Good call sir
This sludgy brooding riff is heavier than fuck.
On that note:I'm surprised Thou haven't been brought into the equation yet...
A few from Bolt Thrower - the chorus riff in For Victory. The part in War Master title track after Karl yells WAAAAR MAAAAASS-TEEEEERRRR, and the part in IVth Crusade "Vanquished In The Name - Of Your God!"
I also think Streetside by The Obsessed is super heavy but in a different way.
Quote from: OpenSores on July 05, 2026, 07:07:55 PMQuote from: Bürggermeister on July 05, 2026, 03:45:31 PMCeltic Frost is the right answer but this also rings true for me
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WPoMA5EGnLc
Good call sir
Absoiutely. Another absolute crusher for me when I heard it first was this:
https://youtu.be/Dg8wi5X26u8?si=PO_I67iy4HWZd09Y
the riff around the 4.14 mark is up there with "Procreation" for me in terms of warpedness
On the Bolt Thrower front, "Through the Eye of Terrror" for me - that was the song I heard first by them on John Peel and I was gobsmacked. "Ream" is such a murderously heay album still.
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=EFueDySKfKo&si=7XVeLmBjohOM3XVy
This from Immolation is fantastic millennium era heavy when everything else in music was going to shit
I thought of Fall From a High Place when you mentioned Immolation. Right album, different tune.
Skullkrusher by Overkill springs to mind.
Quote from: astfgyl on July 07, 2026, 05:14:26 PM
Most definitely.
Lots of great shouts in this thread. Will have to agree on the mentions of Thou (super heavy live as well), 4th of July (which Thou also covered, lol) and Slayer's Hell Awaits. I recently revisited Slayer generally after a while of not listening and teenage me was on the ball, they're heavy as fuck.
What's heavy is always a great question because it'll cover so much ground and so many people have a different idea of what it means for them. I'll always lean towards the sludge end of it though because that's really where it hits in my mind, "heavy" and "fast" need a hell of a lot of other things working to bring them perfectly together (see Full of Hell, Slayer, etc). There has to be some "hang back" in the flow of the riff to really evoke that feeling. It's what drew me into heavy music properly and is to this day, my favourite kind to seek out.
I'm kind of surprised no one has mentioned this classic though (maybe too obvious?), because if I had to distill it to one answer to the question it's probably this. Just dripping with hate and claustrophobic in its sound/feel, it's the performance, production, the whole package.
Another big one at the moment for me would be Primitive Man. The word crushing is thrown about fairly liberally, but they really do just that, and it's very overwhelming live. Saw a comment on some video that said "Ethan McCarthy sounds like a dinosaur", and that's really the gist of it
This is in the buildup to the hit and like, it's in the fucking title, lol
ochoill mentioned Inter Arma, and I'd actually pick another track off that album, again with that dragging feel where the snare hangs back ever so slightly from around 3:53 on, then back on it for the chorus, just perfect, and the effect gets more extreme later in the song
Shout out to our very own Slomatics and Nomadic Rituals as well, who frequently dish out the exact kind of stuff that comes to mind when I think of this
By coincidence I've had Dopethrone popping up in my head all day, and it brought this thread to mind. Just dripping in grime and filth, truly crushing.
Good shout on Like Rats too. Pummeling.
Related to that, anything from the first few Swans albums could appear in this thread, not to mention their recent live material.
Faith no more, jizzlobber
Was just thinking of that Overkill tune this morning, nice shout Thorns
I have to mention this. Heavy in the way a bout of sleep paralysis is heavy, like being pinned down and suffocated. People talk about "Public Castration" but really all of "Body to Body" is where its at for experiencing the sheer heaviness of early Swans.
https://youtu.be/viTKVusgjqA?is=WNEiGa0y-_IC3M7u
When the bass kicks in and that riff takes off at 2:46, just bleedin' lovely. I remember coming across this is Virgin in Tallaght, of all places, when it came out, a total surprise as I'd heard they had split up years before. I was working in a field service job at the time and it would shake the living shit out of the caddy van when I drove around listening to it. Jerusalem always sounded fatter and heavier than the subsequent Dopesmoker releases, still my favourite version of it.
https://youtu.be/I3DsjW64F2g?t=158
Always tend to put the amp up to the last when this is on the turntable/tv/headphone.
Some cool stuff posted in here, particularly the reminder to listen to more primitive man. Saw them a few weeks ago and they are unbelievably heavy, great band.
Here's another one for the thread, main riff in from skin to liquid is so fucking meaty!
https://cannibalcorpse.bandcamp.com/track/from-skin-to-liquid
Quote from: Sworntothecans on July 08, 2026, 10:44:25 AM
Always tend to put the amp up to the last when this is on the turntable/tv/headphone.
Immense :abbath:
Seen these guys with Neurosis and Entombed back in 1997 at Temple Bar. Never heard them before, but they were awesome live, heavy as fook: heavy in a way I had never heard before.
Great gig, met Entombed too
Venom was the Breach album I got into back then. Savage dark hardcore.
The heaviest song there ever has been and ever will be is Territory by Sepultura. Heavy theme, heavy lyrics, heavy fucking riffs, it screams heavy.
There are 10,000 songs that come to within a gee hair of Territories heaviness but none equal it.
In my opinion.
Seeing as I have the shirt on me this morning, this definitely needs to be included. Probably the heaviest album of the last decade or so for me,certainly the heaviest opening track I've heard on something in years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v4Ui8JAA3Y
Can't believe I misse the mention of "Jizzlobber" - agreed. It was initially the b side of the 12" of "Midlife Crisis" before the album came out and I remember a bunch of us in a mate's house listening to it for the first time after he got it in town, and it was an absolute "Holy Shit" moment. I don't know if younger people can appreciate how much of a shock to the system that was comng from that band at the time, particuarly off the back of "The Real Thing". "Fourth of July" was maybe less of a surprise but was also pretty mindblowing to hear from what seemed like a "Mainstream" band at the time. Probably no surprise both songs are my favourite by the respective bands.
The Swallowed album is so fucking good, good shout, NP!
Black sabbath sign of the southern cross
I remember hearing that on a Terrorizer CD at the time and being very intrigued (it was the first I'd heard from them since the second or third album) but only got around to picking that album up a few years ago. Different but mighty.
Think that's exactly where I heard it, poss the year 2000. Those comps were gold. Amazing tune
The slow riff in Diktat by Napalm Death is always the first thing I think of as an example of proper heavy.
Just going back to "4th of July" for a second, just found this instrumental version
https://youtu.be/mDlwBqFAtp8?is=jfQEbtxFSSFifa1C
Honestly, put Chris Reifert over that and it could be a lost track from the "Mental Funeral" sessions.