September 2022 "The Infinite" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio
(Thread posted with permission from Saxy)
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Wtb5QsNObO9w62f7ThQNF
Tracklisting:
01. OSI - "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" (from Office of Strategic Influence)
02. Parius - "The Signal" (from The Signal)
03. Between the Buried and Me - "(B) The Decade of Statues" (from Colors)
04. Tomarum - "Condemned to a Life of Grief" (from Ash in Realms of Stone Icons)
05. Threshold - "King of Nothing" (from King of Nothing)
06. Agalloch - "In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion" (from The Mantle)
07. Cynic - "Elements and Their Inhabitants" (from Ascension Codes)
08. Cyborg Octopus - "The Projector" (from Between the Light and Air)
09. Maudlin of the Well - "Heaven and Weak" (from Bath)
10. Gojira - "L'enfant Sauvage" (from L'enfant Sauvage)
11. Imperial Triumphant - "Merkurius Gilded" (from Spirit of Ecstasy)
12. Mandroid Echostar - "Ancient Arrows" (from Citadels)
13. Devin Townsend - "Moonpeople" (from Moonpeople)
14. Meshuggah - "Born in Dissonance" (from The Violent Sleep of Reason)
15. Enslaved - "Kingdom" (from Kingdom)
16. Ihlo - "Hollow" (from Union)
17. Ashenspire - "The Law of Asbestos" (from Hostile Architecture)
18. Opeth - "To Bid You Farewell" (from Morningrise)
Here are my thoughts on some tracks:
Between the Buried and Me - "(B) The Decade of Statues" (from Colors)
4.5/5. Between the Buried and Me was one of those must-have bands for me in the progressive metal realm. Sadly when I moved away from this band, it was too late to bring it all back. This album and Alaska, among a couple of their other albums, had g****mn great moments. One of the most beautiful moments is the 30-second ending that almost marks this song a brilliant highlight.
Cynic - "Elements and Their Inhabitants" (from Ascension Codes)
4/5. You further travel through the cosmos with this sweet tune.
Cyborg Octopus - "The Projector" (from Between the Light and Air)
3.5/5. This one's pretty good, but a little weird for me. Moving on...
Maudlin of the Well - "Heaven and Weak" (from Bath)
4/5. This one starts with a slightly weak slow intro, but gets more progressive and heavier before twisting into stronger aggression to f*** off that weak heaven.
Gojira - "L'enfant Sauvage" (from L'enfant Sauvage)
4.5/5. When I was still listening to deathly progressive metal bands like Gojira, I've recognized how well-done their songs have been, including this killer single, especially in the loose angry bridge. The title is French for "The Wild Child", fitting for something wild throughout this track.
Devin Townsend - "Moonpeople" (from Moonpeople)
5/5. Devin Townsend has brought back his heavy talent after his ambient album pair from last year. I'm glad we finally have a song from his upcoming album Lightwork. I have a feeling this album would be a heavier yet light end of the dark tunnel that is the pandemic...
Meshuggah - "Born in Dissonance" (from The Violent Sleep of Reason)
4.5/5. This is more dissonant yet simple, working well enough to get caught up in the game.
Enslaved - "Kingdom" (from Kingdom)
4/5. I admire the riffing work that sounds weird at first being arranged into amazing coherence. I've lost my fan status for this band since moving away from black metal at the start of this year, but there's majestic creativity that makes me acknowledge their Infinite position, especially the cleans. Though an instrumental version would work too.
Opeth - "To Bid You Farewell" (from Morningrise)
4.5/5. This track is an ending highlight to both its original album and its playlist, a mostly acoustic ballad except for 3 minutes of heaviness toward the end. Mikael Åkerfeldt uses his clean singing as his sole vocal style for the first time, delivering such an emotional performance, a nice break from his furious aggressive growls from other songs. It's not easy to absorb the complex structure, but it's an underrated song that deserves attention. The next few albums would continue the motive of including at least one prog-rock ballad, but shorter.