The Top 10 Heaviest Songs From Genesis

via Ryan Martin / Youtube
Genesis got lucky to have been blessed with two pioneering frontmen in their career. The first part of Genesis was largely creative and experimental, with Peter Gabriel bringing something out-of-the-box. And then came Peter Collins, who drove Genesis to perform ballads that not only showed a different side of the band but also led them to immense amounts of fame. But one thing remained constant between the two; they always have a thing to heaviness. Below, we introduce these 10 songs of Genesis thatโll guarantee its championship in the world of heavy rock.
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The Waiting Roomโ (1974) โ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
โWe just sat there and tried to frighten ourselves!โ Tony Banks once told this in an interview, upon explaining how the band come up with โThe Waiting Room.โ Its heaviness emulsifies with its creepiness, something that Genesis has a knack for.
โBack in N.Y.C.โ (1974) โ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
In โBack in N.Y.C.,โ Genesis adopts a more hostile tone than in their previous songs on the album. Lyric-wise, Gabriel sings profanity in the line โIโm not full of shit,โ which is pretty much what youโd expect from the songโs heaviness.
โ… In That Quiet Earthโ (1976) โ Wind & Wuthering
A total opposite to its title, โ… In That Quiet Earthโ is fuming with blasting cymbals of Collins, a soaring guitar work by Steve Hackett, and Mike Rutherfordโs genius bass lines. Weโre telling you, that the song has its own story and is more than willing to state its parts.
โMusical Boxโ (1971) โ Nursery Cryme
Genesis impressed their critics with Nursery Cryme, an album so ludicrous it reeks of insanity from its cover album down to the content of its songs. One, in particular, is โMusical Box,โ which says the story of a young girl named Cynthia who beheads her friend Henry in a game of croquet. Henryโs soul then gets trapped inside the musical box, re-emerges as an angry, old ghost, and attacks Cynthia. Wild.
โThe Return of the Giant Hogweedโ (1971) โ Nursery Cryme
Gabriel has been known by many to be the author of some of Genesisโ craziest lines ever. For this song, we have: Mighty Hogweed is avenged! / Human bodies soon will know our anger / Kill them with your Hogweed hairs! / Heracleum Mantegazziani.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTuJQL8GBqY
โFly on a Windshieldโ (1974) โ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
The song is developed into two parts: one thatโs loud and one thatโs quiet. Its shift from soft and mellow to pure heaviness is what Tony Banks labeled as โthe single best moment in Genesis.โ
โSupperโs Readyโ (1972) โ Foxtrot
The song is the starting point of the development of progressive rock, with the lengthy number finishing neatly at 23 minutes. However, โSupperโs Readyโ was not heavy at all times, some of its hefty parts can be heard in the โApocalypse in 9/8โ section.
โDown and Outโ (1978) โ …And Then There Were Three…
After the departure of guitarist Steve Hackett to pursue a solo career, the remaining members felt that they could carry on the legacy as a trio. ย โ…And Then There Were Three… relived the old remnants of prog-rock, with songs that relied on heaviness, such as โDown and Out.โ
โSquonkโ (1976) โ A Trick of the Tail
โSquonkโ is based on the North American legend of the Squonk, who dissolves in a pool of tears when caught. The song was meant to sound like Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” with the main theme written by Rutherford and a middle portion written by Banks.
โThe Knifeโ (1973) โ Live version
โThe Knifeโ was built as a folk-rock tune, with nothing to be excited for. But in 1973, when the band performed this live, critics decided to label the song as the โedgiestโ Genesis track ever. Why wouldnโt they? You can listen to it below and see it for yourself.