The sweet 16 is here! It’s time to cast your vote to see who becomes elite and who gets second billing in the Chris Cornell and Cliff Burton regions. I’ll give a brief summary of the matchups and my picks in a spoiler warning. You have until midnight on Saturday to place your vote. Here we go.
Chris Cornell Region
1 Led Zeppelin vs 4 Nirvana
After beating the teacher in the last round, Zeppelin takes on Soundgarden’s student in this round. Zeppelin’s first four albums are considered masterpieces and even though Nirvana didn’t give us as many albums, “Nevermind” is considered one of the best in the grunge genre.
6 Jimi Hendrix vs 2 Rolling Stones
Two legendary guitarist face off in this matchup. Keith Richards vs Jimi Hendrix. Jimi is known for his innovations in guitar playing using feedback and the wah-wah pedal. Keith is known for using open tuning and often removing the 6th string from his guitar.
Cliff Burton Region
1 Rage Against the Machine vs 4 Black Sabbath
While these two groups are from different generations of music, they shared the same drummer for one album. Rage’s drummer, Brad Wilk, played on Black Sabbath’s album “13.” Both bands have singers that have easily recognizable voices. Ozzy would end up leaving for a solo act and Rage members formed Audioslave after splitting with Zack de la Rocha.
3 Green Day vs 2 Metallica
Despite their music having two distinct sounds, both bands have listed the Ramones and the Sex Pistols as influences in their music. Metallica has given us legendary albums in metal, while Green Day has given us classic albums in the punk genre.
Chris Cornell Region
1 Led Zeppelin vs 4 Nirvana
After beating the teacher in the last round, Zeppelin takes on Soundgarden’s student in this round. Zeppelin’s first four albums are considered masterpieces and even though Nirvana didn’t give us as many albums, “Nevermind” is considered one of the best in the grunge genre.
This is a matchup with two deserving bands. Zeppelin has certainly given us more great music due to the untimely death of Cobain, but “Nevermind” is just such a great album that I’m going with Nirvana.
6 Jimi Hendrix vs 2 Rolling Stones
Two legendary guitarist face off in this matchup. Keith Richards vs Jimi Hendrix. Jimi is known for his innovations in guitar playing using feedback and the wah-wah pedal. Keith is known for using open tuning and often removing the 6th string from his guitar.
Tough one here. While both are legends, I’m going with Jimi. His guitar playing was just so forward thinking that it’s hard to vote against him.
Cliff Burton Region
1 Rage Against the Machine vs 4 Black Sabbath
While these two groups are from different generations of music, they shared the same drummer for one album. Rage’s drummer, Brad Wilk, played on Black Sabbath’s album “13.” Both bands have singers that have easily recognizable voices. Ozzy would end up leaving for a solo act and Rage members formed Audioslave after splitting with Zack de la Rocha.
Another tough one here. Both were highly influential, but I’m going to go with Black Sabbath due to their overall body of work.
3 Green Day vs 2 Metallica
Despite their music having two distinct sounds, both bands have listed the Ramones and the Sex Pistols as influences in their music. Metallica has given us legendary albums in metal, while Green Day has given us classic albums in the punk genre.
I’m trying to think of why Green Day should get a vote over Metallica. I can’t think of one. Metallica easily wins this one.
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