February 2024 "The Infinite" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio

Sorry this is so last minute everyone, but the playlists for the Gateway and Infinite have been updated. Don't have much time, so here's the link and let me know your thoughts in the comments:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Wtb5QsNObO9w62f7ThQNF?si=062fa0a0ba7341de

Tracklisting:

1. Notochord – Abyssal Ontogeny (from Aegis)

2. Parius – Crashing Black Moon (from The Eldritch Realm)

3. Syncatto – Black Velvet (from Black Velvet)

4. Animals as Leaders – Wave of Babies (from Wave of Babies)

5. Extol – Shadow of Death (from Paralysis)

6. Madder Mortem – Convertion (from Mercury)

7. Periphery – Four Lights (from Juggernaut: Alpha)

8. Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One – The Eye of Ra (from Space Metal)

9. Ions – True Friendship (from Counterintuitive)

10. The Safety Fire – Old Souls (from Mouth of Swords)

11. Tesseract – Cages - PORTALS (from PORTALS)

12. Fates Warning – Part of the Machine (from Perfect Symmetry)

13. Whom Gods Destroy – In the Name of War (from In the Name of War)

14. Last Chance to Reason – Digital Twin (from Digital Twin)

15. Wheel – Dissipating (from Resident Human)

16. Anciients – Raise the Sun (from Raise the Sun (Re-recording))

17. Caligula's Horse – The Stormchaser (from The Stormchaser)

18. Turbulence – Hybrid (from Hybrid)

19. The World is Quiet Here – See the Sun (from Prologue)

20. Black Crown Initiate – Invitation (from Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape)

21. Symphony X – Wicked (from The Odyssey)

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Animals as Leaders – Wave of Babies (from Wave of Babies)

4.5/5. Animals as Leaders is a prominent band in the wave of developing bands of djent alongside Periphery and Tesseract, and they made cool instrumentals like this one.

Extol – Shadow of Death (from Paralysis)

5/5. Extol's cover of this Believer classic is what got me into this band, and it's a total blessing! It's also a bonus track in the Japanese edition of Undeceived. Apparently, Cradle of Filth stole the song's opening riff for their own song "Dirge Inferno", though I didn't know that because I'm one of those people who prefer to listen to Extol rather than Cradle of Filth, although I'm not a Christian. I guess that proves that plagiarism has made its way into progressive death/thrash and gothic/black metal.

Madder Mortem – Convertion (from Mercury)

5/5. This eerie epic perfectly summarizes the desolate Autumn atmosphere of its original album and artwork. The distorted guitars, technical doomy drums, soft acoustic guitars, dreamy keyboards, and calm yet powerful vocals are all there. Truly hypnotic!

Periphery – Four Lights (from Juggernaut: Alpha)

4.5/5. "THERE. ARE. 4. LIGHTS!!!!" yells Captain Picard in "Chain of Command", a two-part special episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Amazing djent instrumental, though I would've loved to hear Spencer's vocals over those guitar rhythms. I love this almost as much as Zagreus.

Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One – The Eye of Ra (from Space Metal)

4.5/5. This ballad-ish 3-part epic breaks the earlier mid-tempo/fast pace and is so majestic, especially in the epic ending where all 4 vocalists plus background vocalist Robert Soeterboek sing in perfect harmony.

Tesseract – Cages - PORTALS (from PORTALS)

5/5. Holy sh*t, thank you Tesseract! They really give this song the perfect live treatment.

Fates Warning – Part of the Machine (from Perfect Symmetry)

4.5/5. Frank Aresti has performed mighty technical guitarwork here. The bass work by Joe DiBiase is also mind-blowing. If people could pay attention to notes more, this would've ended up on the radio at any given chance. The band also gave Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie an earlier chance to shine in one of the songs from the next album Parallels, released a year before Dream Theater's Images and Words. At that point, their heavy metal from as late as Awaken the Guardian is already gone.

Caligula's Horse – The Stormchaser (from The Stormchaser)

4/5. A fun banger, but am I up to revisiting the band with the rest of their new album Charcoal Grace? Not right now...

Symphony X – Wicked (from The Odyssey)

4.5/5. An excellent wicked way to end this playlist, with great singing. I definitely like the bridge at the 3 and a half minute mark followed a minute later by a scream into the final chorus. And this is the same band with the neoclassical "Smoke and Mirrors"!