May 2024 "The Infinite" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio

1. Devin Townsend – Deadhead (2003)

2. Leprous – Mb. Indifferentia (2011) 

3. Pain of Salvation – On a Tuesday (2017)

4. Into Eternity – Into Eternity (1999)

5. Richard Henshall – Mu (2024) 

6. Parius – Arecibo (2022) 

7. Mutoid Man – Beast (2015)

8. Hippotraktor – Stasis (2024)

9. Rototypical – Relic Grow (2021)

10. Persefone – Lingua Ignota Part 1 (2024)

11. Ever Forthright – Techniflux (2024) 

12. Intronaut – Fast Worms (2015) 

13. Voivod – Technocratic Manipulators (1998)

14. Slugdge – Putrid Fairytale (2018) 

15. Zeal & Ardor – To My Ilk (2024) 

16. Pull Down the Sun – Of Valleys and Mountains (2020) 

17. Wheel – Disciple (2024) 

18. Cyborg Octopus – Dreamkiller (2024)

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Devin Townsend – Deadhead (2003)

4.5/5. Let's start off with this beautiful song from Canadian metal mastermind Devin Townsend. I still love the emotion spawned from there!

Leprous – Mb. Indifferentia (2011) 

4/5. I've been a bit indifferent to Leprous for the past couple years, though songs like this make me question why. The perfect vocals of Einar Solberg first enter around the one-minute mark alongside instrumentation that starts reminiscent of the softer Opeth but then rises to be similar to the heavier side of Devin Townsend. Then gets more ominous right in the middle, but after a minute of that, right around 4 and half minutes into the song, that when we reach the heavier climax that Dream Theater is often good at doing. "DO NOTHING AT ALL!!!!"

Pain of Salvation – On a Tuesday (2017)

4.5/5. I haven't heard from this band for so long, apart from a few small revisits. In the Passing Light of Day was the last album I heard from this band 7 years ago before I switched out of the more melodic progressive metal. The lyrics have f***ing meaningful emotion that fits nicely with the Nine Inch Nails vibe in the instrumentation. This song and "Reasons" were total heavy rollercoasters for me back in those days. The "I lost the will" bridge is so beautiful. Then right after that, the heaviness comes back to surprise you. The verses are quite deep with a bit of shallowness. I can understand, considering the near-fatal Hell the band's frontman Daniel Gildenlöw went through when he suffered from a life-threatening disease. Luckily he's still alive and well.

Into Eternity – Into Eternity (1999)

5/5. Ah yeah, the perfect theme song for this progressive melodeath band Into Eternity! Guitarist Tim Roth can write great lyrics and has nice clean singing. This whole "song and album with the same name as the band" thing has been done before by classic heavy metal bands Black Sabbath, Motorhead, and Iron Maiden.

Mutoid Man – Beast (2015)

5/5. For a two-minute track, this one perfectly unites progressive metal with hardcore/speed metal as the leads and rhythms strike each other for dominance.

Persefone – Lingua Ignota Part 1 (2024)

4.5/5. The best riffing comes on in the title track of their new EP. Here we have some great guitar soloing to level up the surrounding riffing and give the EP some redeeming value. This definitely throws back to the band's better earlier material. Although the verses and choruses can sometimes get me ticked, they're still at their best here. The cleans should've been slightly reduced though.

Ever Forthright – Techniflux (2024)

4/5. Soft piano, funky bass, crushing guitar... Ain't that a great combo! The only problem here is the generic structure throughout this 13-minute progressive epic.

Intronaut – Fast Worms (2015) 

4.5/5. Wow, this is the 3rd time this Intronaut song has appeared in an Infinite playlist. I won't complain though, this is f***ing killer jazzy post-/progressive metal with flawless mixing by Devin Townsend.

Voivod – Technocratic Manipulators (1998)

5/5. This highlight demonstrates highly creative originality, packing powerful metal punches, sounding so progressive without turning into a 20-minute epic! After a calm dark ambient intro with a few bass touches, the crossover-ish dynamics erupt with speedy riff rhythms and signature snarling vocals. Near the two-minute mark, the song makes a weird evolution into old-school Hawkwind-like spacey guitar rhythms. Many styles and influences all in dexterous textures in only under 5 minutes. A truly awesome feat!