R1: Bring Me to Life vs. Ratamahatta

[LoathedVermin72]

Evanescence - "Bring Me to Life"


Sepultura - "Ratamahatta"

[Jorge]

Like Burt and his politics, I am not sure the extent to which my enjoyment of "Bring Me to Life" is ironic, but I really like the song. I think it has a very nice, sort of elegant melody that elevates its stupid, stupid, stupid riffs. I like how unabashedly dramatic and emotional the whole thing is. "Ratamahatta" has some cool elements, particularly the percussion and that wailing guitar in the verses, but "Bring Me to Life" takes it very easily for me. One of my favorite songs in this tournament.

[LoathedVermin72]

Jorge..........are you okay?

[Jorge]

I can't wake up

[LoathedVermin72]

Ratamahatta is a strange song, especially for a single. It’s pretty much just tribal call and response with some heavy riffing.

I absolutely fucking hate BMTL. I hated it when it came out, I hate it now. I can’t even get through it. It’s pure garbage. I still remember a band playing it very poorly at my high school talent show. Oh my god I hate this song so much

[Jammer XCI]

I agree that Ratamahatta is a bizarre as fuck song to release as a single.

Insanely easy vote for Sepultura over the female Linkin Park clone.

[Jorge]

I think there's a melodic sophistication to "Bring Me To Life" that's a notch or two above most songs in this tourney, and certainly anything Linkin Park ever did. I love the arc of it. And the fact that the lyrics are so hilariously overwrought and packaged within such a mall-metal pop song with faux-industrial production flourishes makes it that much funnier and sillier and better and good.

[LoathedVermin72]

Jorge I’m worried about you

[Jorge]

I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems

[Birds in Hell]

Easy vote for Ratamahatta, it's great.

[chewm]

Easy vote for Ratamahatta, it's great.

Agreed.

[Ello Sailor]

I'm not hearing the melodic sophistication that Jorge is talking about. I want to believe, but I'm just not hearing it.

[Jorge]

Do you hear it now?

[epilogue]

BMtL is one of my favorite songs in this entire tournament.

[Kevin Davis]

I found my way to some early Sepultura as a result of what are now my Youtube recommendations, and I enjoyed that a lot more than the songs that have been in this tournament -- these vocals just aren't my cup of tea.

The Evanescence song as a whole doesn't hit the spot for me either but there are more elements of it that appeal to me, even if that dude interjecting in the chorus is a bit Linkin Parky for my liking.

[Brett]

I can see the appeal to "Bring Me to Life"; Amy Lee is a powerful and compelling singer who unfortunately decided to front a pretty basic nu metal band. The song is catchy as hell, but becomes pretty annoying due to that fact. And the story behind the whole thing, with the label requiring a male co-vocalist for this song, is pretty damn sad, and I think part of what leads to its similarities to Linkin Park.

I've never heard "Ratamahatta" before, but it is certainly an odd bird. I like the juxtaposition of the chanting vocals, wavery guitar, and tribal percussion against the heavy riffing, and this song is a lot more listenable than I found "Roots Bloody Roots" to be. Again, like System of a Down, I've heard other artists do this kind of "fusion" thing of metal and more traditional forms, but Sepultura seem to pull it off better, and with more authenticity.

My vote goes to "Ratamahatta."

[BurtReynolds]

Overwrought, melodramatic nonsense music? Sign me up. BMTL all day.

That Sepultura song is kinda cool though...

[LoathedVermin72]

Guys, we can’t let Evanescence beat Sepultura. This is a grave injustice.

[epilogue]

Guys, we can’t let Evanescence beat Sepultura. This is a grave injustice.

It is the only way.

[Anders]

I can't deny that I used to have Bring Me To Life on my pc, and listened to it now and then, but Ratamahatta is a different class. This is like Last Exit vs Boom! Shake the Room. They both have something to offer, but Last Exit is a Pearl Jam classic, while Boom! Shake the Room was just a fun pop song.

Still, BMtL probably belongs more in this competition. While Ratamahatta is the coolest song in the tournament, it wouldn't make sense for it to win a Nu Metal contest.