January 2022 "The Infinite" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio

(Since this playlist has arrived but its thread wasn't created yet, I've done it myself. You're welcome, Saxy!)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Wtb5QsNObO9w62f7ThQNF

01. Opeth - "Harvest" (from Blackwater Park)

02. Turbulence - "Inside the Gaze" (from Frontal)

03. Kayo Dot - "Get Out of the Tower" (from Moss Grew on the Swords and Plowshares Alike)

04. Amorphis - "The Moon" (from The Moon)

05. Intronaut - "Fast Worms" (from The Direction of Last Things)

06. Rosetta - "Soot" (from Flies to Flame)

07. Thank You Scientist - "Soul Diver" (from Plague Accommodations)

08. Mastodon - "Ancient Kingdom" (from Emperor of Sand)

09. Dream Theater - "Scene Four: Beyond This Life" (from Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory)

10. Between The Buried And Me - "The Proverbial Bellow" (from Automata II)

11. Symphony X - "The Relic" (from Twilight in Olympus)

12. Cynic - "Mythical Serpents" (from Ascension Codes)

13. Haken - "In Memoriam" (from The Mountain)

14. Stone Healer - "One Whisper" (from Conquistador)

15. Protest the Hero - "Tongue-splitter" (from Scurrilous)

16. Vektor - "Charging the Void" (from Terminal Redux)

17. Converge, Chelsea Wolfe - "Tongues Playing Dead" (from Bloodmoon: I)

18. Wheel - "Ascend" (from Resident Human)

19. Hippotraktor - "A Final Animation" (from Meridian)

Thanks for the help Andi. For the record, I was going to post this later today, but Spotify does a really shitty job of informing me when the playlists have been made public. I'll just have to make personal reminders for myself in the future!

Glad to help, Saxy! Here are some of my track thoughts:

Opeth - "Harvest" (from Blackwater Park)

4/5. Soft acoustic ambiance. A good start.

Rosetta - "Soot" (from Flies to Flame)

4.5/5. A beautiful inspiring throwback to the sound of A Determinism of Moralism. A great song to love in my life! This seems to lyrically pick up where The Anaesthete left off. It's truly a lookback to their doomy post-metal roots similar to Isis.

Mastodon - "Ancient Kingdom" (from Emperor of Sand)

4.5/5. More eclectic in an awesome way! Enough said...

Dream Theater - "Scene Four: Beyond This Life" (from Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory)

5/5. This is a longer song that has more of the great guitar soloing that are isolated from the concept without ruining it. The murder-suicide incident was mentioned in a newspaper article. Nicholas, doubting those events, has a conversation with an older man familiar with the case. Nicholas decides that the only way to move on is to solve this murder mystery.

Between The Buried And Me - "The Proverbial Bellow" (from Automata II)

4.5/5. I've had fun listening to this band and both parts of their Automata album that was split into two CDs, with this song starting the second. This 13-minute epic is so incredible, despite me leaving this band behind, that it's hard for me to explain in detail. Just listen for yourself while having a pizza or something!

Symphony X - "The Relic" (from Twilight in Olympus)

5/5. I love this one, especially the progressive solo, in this great album. This band, along with Dream Theater and Ayreon are how I started my love for progressive metal, back when my taste was more melodic. The bass and drums are awesome! The album Twilight in Olympus still doesn't beat their masterpiece The Divine Wings of Tragedy. Still this is absolutely underrated! There's epic neoclassical brilliance in the riffs and rhythms that reminds some of Yngwie Malmsteen. There's also a bit of Megadeth-like heaviness but not too much like that. Seriously, enough with the overrated mainstream thrash of Megadeth and Metallica, listen to this great progressive band instead!

Cynic - "Mythical Serpents" (from Ascension Codes)

4.5/5. A great highlight to show each member's skill! Moving on...

Haken - "In Memoriam" (from The Mountain)

4.5/5. This is a mind-blowing track that deserves greater recognition, and that final section at the 3 and a half minute mark is one of the most epic parts of a progressive metal song, even after ages since I left this band behind simply because it would've been more suitable for me, say, 5 years ago.

Stone Healer - "One Whisper" (from Conquistador)

4/5. Very great, but as I've said in this month's Pit playlist comments, a favorite genre of mine getting "blackened" at times isn't always the right deal.

Protest the Hero - "Tongue-splitter" (from Scurrilous)

4.5/5. This apologetic yet aggressive song takes some shots away from the usual self-loathing ("I'm not asking for your pity 'Oh woe is me' sarcastically"). That song really pumps me up with its adrenaline. Well done guys!

Vektor - "Charging the Void" (from Terminal Redux)

5/5. This is a great epic to prepare for the incoming elements of this album. New elements are mixed with older ones from previous albums. Another thing new is clean singing, here being sung by what sounds like a soul choir, bringing to mind Disney film soundtracks such as Frozen and Moana. Fortunately, there isn't any harm to the band's music and instead adds more atmosphere. Of course, the other new element is the superb concept, which is already written for this album, but I made my own in a review.

Converge, Chelsea Wolfe - "Tongues Playing Dead" (from Bloodmoon: I)

5/5. Jacob Bannon really shines in his vocals in this pummeling highlight!