If someone asked you to name the heaviest song ever recorded, which would you pick? There are countless strong arguments but Avatar singer Johannes Eckerström knows exactly what he thinks is the heaviest of all time, as he said in an interview on 96.7 KCAL-FM (transcribed here).
Earlier in the interview, he said that "Aces High" is the fastest song Iron Maiden ever recorded, segueing into a discussion about whether he prefers Ride the Lightning or Master of Puppets, where he revealed his pick for the heaviest song of all time.
"And in the same way that I always said 'Aces High' is the fastest song ever recorded, 'For Whom The Bell Tolls', I think, is the heaviest song ever recorded. And I know Meshuggah and Neurosis exist, and I know Obituary exists, and all kinds of stuff. And that's also true. And that's the heaviest thing ever also in another way. But just those riffs, that anger, with that rage and sense of — I don't know — its importance that comes through in how that riff is played, that primitive riff in the beginning, and the decision to put the cymbal crash on the first snare in the bar after instead of the other one, and all that. So that song — I've never tried to write a song like that, but I keep going back to thinking about that song in terms of what's actually heavy music. Yeah, we tune down and that part of the sound is important, but none of the things that matter before — you can't put the cart in front of the horse… So it has to be Ride The Lightning."
Obituary and Meshuggah definitely belong in the conversation, but you can't fault Eckerström's logic either. Earlier this year, the singer said he hopes Avatar will be back in the studio soon to work on the follow-up to 2023's Dance Devil Dance.
