The Revolution

Noted. Thanks, Ben.

November 2024

1. Bury Your Dead - "Minority Report" from We Are Bury Your Dead (2019) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

2. Rings of Saturn - "Infused" from Lugal Ki En (2014) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

3. Fit for a King - "TECHNIUM" from TECHNIUM (2024) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

4. Unbroken - "D4" from Life.Love.Regret. (1994) [submitted by Daniel]

5. Kingdom of Giants - "Bloodworm" from Bleeding Star (2024)

6. Loded Diper - "Rodrick Rules" from Loded Diper (2019)

7. Trivium - "Pillars of Serpents" from Ember to Inferno (2003)

8. Becoming the Archetype - "Elegy" from Terminate Damnation (2005)

9. Aviana - "Obsession" from Corporation (2022)

10. Thrown - "Fast Forward" from EXTENDED PAIN (2022)

11. Chelsea Grin - "Forever Bloom (feat. Trevor Strnad)" from Suffer in Hell (2022)

12. Shadow of Intent - "Barren and Breathless Macrocosm" from Melancholy (2019)

13. Traitors - "Burnout" from Night Terrors (2015)

14. Lorna Shore - "FVNERAL MOON" from Flesh Coffin (2017)

15. Aurorawave - "KINDNESS. (with Attila)" from Aurorawave (2024)

16. Memphis May Fire - "The American Dream" from Remade in Misery (2022)

17. Ice Nine Kills - "Rocking the Boat" from The Silver Scream (2018) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

18. It Dies Today - "Son of Dawn" from Son of Dawn (2024)

19. The Devil Wears Prada - "To the Key of Evergreen" from Transit Blues (2016) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

20. Imminence - "The Seventh Seal" from I (2014)

21. Bury Tomorrow - "Heretic (feat. Loz Taylor)" from The Seventh Sun (2023)

22. Pridelands - "Antipathy" from Light Bends (2022)

23. We Came as Romans - "Cold Like War" from Cold Like War (2017)

24. As I Lay Dying - "The Cave We Fear to Enter" from The Cave We Fear to Enter (2024) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

25. Varials - ".50" from Scars for You to Remember (2022)

26. Hatebreed - "Shut Me Out" from For the Lions (2009)

27. Make Them Suffer - "27" from 27 (2018)

28. Car Bomb - "Cellophane Stiletto" from Centralia (2007)

29. Iwrestledabearonce - "The Cat's Pajamas" from It's All Happening (2009)

30. The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "Like a Cat" from Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear (2005) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

31. The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "Big Pun's Not Dead Because I Just Saw Him at Krispy Kreme" from The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza (2005)

Impending Doom - "Live From Exile" [Deathcore from California, USA]

Here's my review:

Melbourne four-piece Mindsnare have played an enormous role in the creation of a thriving metalcore scene in Australia over the years & I feel somewhat privileged to have encountered them at a very early stage of their career when I discovered that they were practicing at the same rehearsal studio as my death metal band Neuropath during one of their early trips up to Sydney. I'd subsequently pay their rehearsal room a visit & would sit on the side with beer in hand as they'd smash out a succession of super-tight & highly energetic New York hardcore-inspired numbers that left me thoroughly impressed with both their undeniable professionalism & their overall heaviness. I've maintained a strong level of respect for Mindsnare as artists over the several decades since that experience but have always wondered if their studio recordings could possibly match the electricity of a live Mindsnare performance. The band's 1995 debut proper release "Under Fire" would seem like as good a place to start as any as it would have been roughly around that time that I had the pleasure of bumping into them so I guess I'm about to find out the answer to that long-standing question.

The version of "Under Fire" that I've explored this week includes the eight tracks that were intended for that release as well as Mindsnare's four-song demo tape from the previous year. The production job on the E.P. tracks is nice & clear with good separation between the instruments which does tend to highlight the simplicity of the song-writing with the arrangements & riff structures being kept fairly uncluttered & open. The band members seem to be very much in tune with each other with the performances being extremely tight so it's no wonder that Mindsnare were able to conjure up such a targeted & controlled live assault based on just how finely honed their attack was at the time. Vocalist Matt isn't the most amazing vocal talent you'll find but he does fairly well with what he's got & is backed up by the regular use of gang vocals in support. The New York hardcore influence is really clear throughout but the demo songs included on the CD are definitely a bit rawer. I tend to prefer their thrashier & more violent feel over the cleaner & more controlled E.P. direction to be honest.

I do have to admit that the E.P. material is a little hit & miss for me with a few flatter numbers seeing my attention wavering at various stages of this short 26-minute release. "New Horizon", "About Time" & "Conveyer Belt" all fall into that category & unfortunately Mindsnare haven't managed to produce any genuine highlight tracks that leave me exhilarated enough to overlook those flaws with all of the better material still failing to see me fully convinced. It's not until the demo songs that I find my blood really pumping with hardcore punk belter "False Front" & the crossover-infused closer "Look Past Me" being the clear high points of the release in my opinion. I particularly enjoy the more savage guitar tone on the demo material as it simply feels more dangerous to me which is important with a metalcore release.

It probably should be noted that metalcore isn't one of my preferred genres so it's rare for me to venture out into my higher scores when presented with The Revolution releases. Therefore, a 3.5-star rating isn't a bad result for a relatively unknown Aussie release that competes pretty well with the overseas competition. I just think that "Under Fire" is a little bit too basic for me to get all hot & bothered about. I definitely enjoy its thrashier moments the most which isn't really any surprise but I do get the feeling that Mindsnare's best material was likely ahead of them when listening to this debut release which isn't terribly ambitious. In saying that, I'm not too sure I can see myself putting the time into any of Mindsnare's later works so this might end up being my long-term position on them as a recording artist. Don't let that stop you if you're a big metalcore fan though as you can do a lot worse than this early Australian release.

For fans of Earth Crisis, Merauder & All Out War.

3.5/5

Here are my sneak peek submissions for the December Revolution playlist:

Dead by April - "Lost" (3:34) from Incomparable (2011)

Eighteen Visions - "Dead Rose" (5:23) from The Best of (2001)

Haste the Day - "One Life to Live" (2:23) from Burning Bridges (2004)

Jinjer - "Kafka" (4:09) from Kafka (2024)

Oh, Sleeper - "The Siren's Song" (5:04) from When I Am God (2007)

Structures - "The Worst of Both Worlds" (3:20) from Life Through a Window (2014)

Wage War - "Stitch" (3:25) from Deadweight (2017)

Total length: 27:18

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Bury Your Dead - "Minority Report" from We Are Bury Your Dead (2019)

5/5. "It's f***ing time to rock, baby!" Bury Your Dead is still alive and stirring up some dark heavy bangers. This is the kind of raging metallic hardcore you can hear in other bands like Kublai Khan. This is the perfect brutal start for this playlist to immediately get familiar with the hardcore heaviness. They've also returned to naming their songs after Tom Cruise films, this one named after Minority Report, which has been overly repeated on TV in my country.

Rings of Saturn - "Infused" from Lugal Ki En (2014)

4.5/5. Who knew brutal technical deathcore can sound beautiful?! I love the vocals and cosmic guitar fiddling! I just wish they could've added vocals to their new album.

Fit for a King - "TECHNIUM" from TECHNIUM (2024)

4/5. Once the bass drops at the "DROP IT", you're in for another wild ride.

Unbroken - "D4" from Life.Love.Regret. (1994)

3.5/5. Beginning this track is crushing sinister riffing, then it makes a slow transition to really grow on you.

Kingdom of Giants - "Bloodworm" from Bleeding Star (2024)

4/5. This banger would get you hooked from the very beginning. When the heavy riffing comes in between the two parts of the chorus near the one-minute mark, it has the destructive power of Alpha Wolf. Starting the last minute is an ominous 20-second buildup to a pulverizing breakdown. That's one thing to make a f***ing banger!

Loded Diper - "Rodrick Rules" from Loded Diper (2019)

4.5/5. The only one Loded Diper dialogue-sampled instrumental I really enjoy, with its kick-A thrashy metalcore instrumentation.

Trivium - "Pillars of Serpents" from Ember to Inferno (2003)

5/5. Then it transits to this chugging churning example of heavy metalcore, still audible enough for the ears. In fact you can hear a bit of the bass clearly in the mix.

Becoming the Archetype - "Elegy" from Terminate Damnation (2005)

5/5. A true metalcore epic that can fit well in a battle between Heaven and Hell. I would recommend it to any metalhead, whether or not they're Christian.

Aviana - "Obsession" from Corporation (2022)

4.5/5. Get ready for some more of this heavy metalcore fire! It can't surpass Lorna Shore's idea of making heaviness beautiful, but it comes f***ing close.

Thrown - "Fast Forward" from EXTENDED PAIN (2022)

4/5. Thrown can easily fast forward through face-smacking metalcore in just two minutes. The screamed lyrics actually sound so clear.

Chelsea Grin - "Forever Bloom (feat. Trevor Strnad)" from Suffer in Hell (2022)

4.5/5. RIP Trevor Strnad. I felt up to paying tribute to this melodeath vocalist with 3 deathcore songs featuring him. His vocals sound so crazily brutal here, though I also enjoy Tom Barber's vocal contributions.

Shadow of Intent - "Barren and Breathless Macrocosm" from Melancholy (2019)

5/5. Here's the second Trevor Strnad-featured track, this one practically surpassing the previous one. Insane drumming and vocals here! The riffing reminds of early Whitechapel, especially during the cinematic ending.

Traitors - "Burnout" from Night Terrors (2015)

4.5/5. And here's the 3rd Trevor Strnad-featured track, which is f***ing great, though the previous one is still the best of the trio. Once again, RIP...

Lorna Shore - "FVNERAL MOON" from Flesh Coffin (2017)

5/5. Up next is this great highlight. There are two breakdowns that would burst out of nowhere and crush your bones, then you're pulled back into speedy soloing and fantastic riffing. A much better balance than that small fraction of their debut!

Aurorawave - "KINDNESS. (with Attila)" from Aurorawave (2024)

4.5/5. Now how about some reggae-infused metalcore featuring Fronz from Attila?! Every listen is as great as the first!

Memphis May Fire - "The American Dream" from Remade in Misery (2022)

4.5/5. One word: AMERICA!!!!!!!

Ice Nine Kills - "Rocking the Boat" from The Silver Scream (2018)

5/5. This highlight is based on Jaws and features original member Jeremy Schwartz, name-drops all of the band previous albums and The Burning EP, and has a killer metalcore breakdown.

It Dies Today - "Son of Dawn" from Son of Dawn (2024)

4.5/5. This year was really the perfect time for someone who hasn't listened to American metalcore during its peak years of the 2000s to discover this band, right when they're making a comeback. Their new single certainly has the greatness of their debut!

The Devil Wears Prada - "To the Key of Evergreen" from Transit Blues (2016)

5/5. A perfect piece of metalcore with a beautiful soft bridge. Enough said!

Imminence - "The Seventh Seal" from I (2014)

4.5/5. This band is still amazing metalcore fans throughout the 10 years since their debut.

Bury Tomorrow - "Heretic (feat. Loz Taylor)" from The Seventh Sun (2023)

5/5. Bury Tomorrow's 7th album has some of the best tracks to remind me of Invent Animate and While She Sleeps. Speaking of the latter, I love the guest appearance by that band's lead vocalist Loz Taylor, though the intense harsh vocals of Daniel Winter-Bates and gritty clean vocals of Tom Prendergast work as well. A d*mn perfect banger!

Pridelands - "Antipathy" from Light Bends (2022)

4.5/5. Pridelands seems to have adopted the ambient metalcore stylings of Thornhill that was abandoned after that band's debut The Dark Pool, and it shows all the way up to the killer breakdown. It shall fuel your metalcore ears with f***ing fire! Sharptone is a great home for many impressive modern metalcore bands and their releases. The fire cools down slightly at the two and a half minute mark, then lights up f***ing higher with brutal vocals in front of a d*mn bouncy groove. Then the killer breakdown comes on.

We Came as Romans - "Cold Like War" from Cold Like War (2017)

5/5. One of the best songs I've heard from this band and melodic metalcore! Imagine skydiving while listening to this perfect song. Still missing you, Kyle Pavone. RIP

As I Lay Dying - "The Cave We Fear to Enter" from The Cave We Fear to Enter (2024)

4.5/5. As I Lay Dying is not dead yet, but it might as well be, considering all the members except Tim Lambesis have just left the band, mere weeks before the scheduled release of their upcoming album Through Storms Ahead. Nonetheless, the band's signature melodic metalcore sound has been shining since their second album Frail Words Collapse. And songs like this one empower me with strength. I have a great feeling about this album that might possibly be the band's swansong offering. I sometimes wonder what this song would sound like with their classic lineup though.

Varials - ".50" from Scars for You to Remember (2022)

5/5. The music and vocals are so savage here! Mitchell Rogers switching from lead guitar to lead vocals was a clever move because of how hard his vocals can hit.

Hatebreed - "Shut Me Out" from For the Lions (2009)

4.5/5. Jamey Jasta's vocals crash through in a f***ing hardcore blitz in this Sick of It All cover you'll never get sick of.

Make Them Suffer - "27" from 27 (2018)

4/5. D*mn, those lyrics can break you apart then build you back up again!

Car Bomb - "Cellophane Stiletto" from Centralia (2007)

3.5/5. Things go as crazy as Fantomas in this one.

Iwrestledabearonce - "The Cat's Pajamas" from It's All Happening (2009)

4/5. If there are people out there who think I've missed on metalcore/mathcore during its peak era of the late 2000s, let me ask them something. Were they 25-year-old metalcore listeners writing comments about tracks in playlists back then? Probably, but either way, this kind of music is timeless!

The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "Like a Cat" from Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear (2005)

4.5/5. "What is the point of laying in a comfortable position if you can't fall asleep in it?" That sounds like another good question to relate to the past, "What is the point of reliving the past if you can't stay in it?", something I would ask those people I've mentioned in the above comment. Hardcore can have so many changes within a song.

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "Big Pun's Not Dead Because I Just Saw Him at Krispy Kreme" from The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza (2005)

4/5. All right, I admit it... The rapping parts are quite amusing like "I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" (that aged poorly 15 years later) and "Life is so trivial... I'm cryin' in my cereal..." But I, along with the more serious metalheads around here, am here for the main mathcore song. This might remind some of Into the Moat, which I should really check out someday. I guess I could've ended this playlist slightly better....

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

With only two months left for 2024, it's time to look back at the releases throughout this year and see which ones are well-deserved highlights. For one of my clans, The Revolution has spawned awesome releases, several of which reach a perfect 5 stars. Here's my top 10 of 2024:

1. In Hearts Wake - Incarnation

2. Crossfaith - AЯK

3. Like Moths to Flames - The Cycles of Trying to Cope

4. Knocked Loose - You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To

5. Imminence - The Black

6. The Ghost Inside - Searching for Solace

7. ERRA - Cure

8. Amaranthe - The Catalyst

9. Within the Ruins - Phenomena II

10. Attack Attack! - Disaster

Albums that haven't been released yet, but will check out and might update my list:

Cane Hill - A Piece of Me I Never Let You Find

The Browning - OMNI

Make Them Suffer - Make Them Suffer

As I Lay Dying - Through Storms Ahead

Any releases this year from this clan that you enjoy, enough for a top 5 or top 10 or more? Discuss!

Nu metal-infused metalcore/hardcore from Philadelphia:

I've done my review, here's its summary:

Everyone's gotta have past trauma sometime in their life. Even I had these kinds of painful experiences in the past. Sometimes you gotta battle those harrowing struggles or just accept them. You might get to move on, but if you're unable to do so, there are better ways in life than just taking the devastating but painless way out. Black Veil Brides' melodic metalcore debut will motivate you by detailing the somber sorrow while giving it optimistic light. It's the greatest the band has even been, alongside their 10th anniversary re-recording which I won't review because I'm not up for reviewing full-on album re-recordings. Andy Biersack can performed pleasant vocals, both cleans and screams. His cleans had yet to improve in quality, but that doesn't stop the perfect glory of this album. The drums and guitarwork are so catchy with enjoyable energy. The metaphorical motivational lyrics fit perfectly for anyone in the most dire situations. So if you're feeling down, overcome your struggles and look for as much help as you can. And this grand masterpiece of motivation can help be your savior!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "We Stitch These Wounds", "Beautiful Remains", "Perfect Weapon", "Knives and Pens", "All Your Hate", "Never Give In"

For fans of: The mid-2000s eras of Avenged Sevenfold, A Day to Remember, and Trivium

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Shadow of Intent - "We Descend" from Reclaimer (2017)

5/5. I didn't think an album intro would be the missing spark needed to finally to get me fully interested in Shadow of Intent, but here we are. The first 20 seconds consists of beautiful melancholic piano, then the heaviness builds up, reaching it's high point in the breakdown for the last 30 seconds. This is two minutes of my life I wanna repeat! How the f*** have I missed this in my life?!

As I Lay Dying - "Within Destruction" from An Ocean Between Us (2007)

4.5/5. I made that intro segue into this killer metalcore song to love.

Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas - "Hey Girl!! Why Not Party Like a Bitch!?" from Dance & Scream (2010)

4.5/5. Some say this divine brand of dance-core is sh*t, I say it's THE sh*t! This party's gonna rule like a b***h!

Motionless in White - "Black Damask (The Fog)" from Infamous (2012)

5/5. Like that Shadow of Intent intro, this song starts with soft somber piano, then when you least expect it, it switches to an intense head-ripping assault of vocals, guitars, and drums. The chorus is where the expected clean vocals come in greater range than in their debut. The perfect stage-setter!

MAYFLOWER - "Save Me" from Misery (2022)

4.5/5. Another excellent banger! I enjoy both the screamed verses and the clean choruses.

Hollow Front - "The Price of Dreaming" from The Price of Dreaming (2022)

4.5/5. Yet another killer banger! This one has a nice music video centered around a ballerina.

Make Them Suffer - "Oscillator" from Oscillator (2024)

5/5. Make Them Suffer can make kick-A tracks worth headbanging to. This and the other singles like "Doomswitch" makes me look forward to their self-titled album big time.

Lorna Shore - "Hollow Sentence" from Immortal (2020)

5/5. This one is a brilliant vocal battle between the growling of the one-man army that is McCreery vs. a multi-person choir, almost like a vocal exchange. There are huge dramatic theatrics while staying menacing. The riffing is also impressive, alternating between the slow breakdown and sledgehammering sections.

Impending Doom - "Nailed. Dead. Risen." from Nailed. Dead. Risen. (2007)

4.5/5. "NAILED. DEAD. RISEN!!!!!" Sometimes, even Heaven can reach the height of brutality. The band's deathcore was a lot more death than core back then. The breakdown at the last minute would certainly fit well for God striking down the hordes of Satan.

The Contortionist - "Advent" from Exoplanet (2010)

4/5. Beauty and brutality sound good together, especially at over the 30-second mark when you get to "ESCAPE!!!" through the cosmos. The breakdown-ish bridge that starts the last minute is out of this world.

Advents - "Stigma" from Advents (2022)

4.5/5. Check out these excellent vocals! Both the singing in the chorus and the screaming go down hard. This banger is cool as sh*t!

Void of Vision - "Blood for Blood" from Blood for Blood (2024)

4/5. ANOTHER HEAVY F***ING BANGER!!!! This oughta level up this playlist greatly.

Avenged Sevenfold - "The Art of Subconscious Illusion" from Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001)

4.5/5. G****mn it, M. Shadows' wife Valary DiBenedetto should've joined the band full-time as their screaming vocalist. With her demonic shrieks, A7X would've continued their metalcore sound at ease after Shadows decided to stop screaming following Waking the Fallen. Valary's screams come midway through the song, though the "This can't be happening" part is also brilliant, as well as the intro sounding like that Call of Duty song "115". Pretty much a lot has happened in the first couple minutes that band never had the chance to replicate ever since.

From First to Last - "Dead Trees" from Dead Trees (2014)

4/5. One of two singles from First to Last's heaviest album, this one is a powerful metallic throwback to the mid-2000s post-hardcore scene embraced by similar bands.

Trivium - "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" from Ascendancy (2005)

4.5/5. This one unleashes a pummeling double bass drum rhythm leading into a ferocious verse and a pre-chorus decimating break.

Bury Your Dead - "Burn Baby Burn" from You Had Me at Hello (2001)

5/5. The more hardcore of metalcore is still going f***ing strong from the 1990s/2000s to the present day. Apparently, this track has a demo version that's twice as long.

Wolves at the Gate - "Weight of Glory" from Eulogies (2022)

4.5/5. Nick Detty's vocals shine as he screams about battling the darkest times of the world. New guitarist Joey Alarcon has made sure the band's fans' faith isn't lost. I'm glad to add this banger to the playlist! Once again, Christian lyrics can fit so well in the heavy metalcore fire. A gym workout can end up being a fight to the death between man and machine. It almost has the same impact as Polaris' "Landmine".

Memphis May Fire - "Cowbell's Makin' a Comeback" from Memphis May Fire (2007)

5/5. Memphis May Fire had more of a Southern metalcore/post-hardcore sound in the beginning. While Matty Mullins would always be the heart and soul of the band from the debut album onwards, former vocalist Chase Ryan Robbins has more spunk. I'm a little surprised someone with a voice sounding so young is already a father, and he left the band to prioritizing his parenting duties. Cowbells are more common in hard rock/glam metal, a path that, unfortunately, a similar metalcore band Black Veil Brides ended up taking. This song and EP is quite underrated. Maybe add a little a bit of piano there? I don't know... And if you're wondering where the h*ll the cowbell is, it's right at the midway point. No chance for Chase to ever make a comeback...

Monuments - "97% Static" from Gnosis (2012)

4.5/5. I can't believe I never thought about checking out this band and album until recently. Here we have some djenty power, with vocals that are both pure and raw despite sounding closer to Rage Against the Machine. This shall give the playlist a greater kick.

LIMBS - "Spirit Breaker" from Coma Year (2022)

4/5. The chorus near the one-minute mark shall get you pumped and jumping. I would recommend this song for any fan of Architects and Currents. It's quite g****mn interesting, and while I love the heavy verses, the clean vocals are wonderful in the chorus and bridge. Once again, we have some f***ing well-done metalcore here. I wonder how many people thought this was a song by Spirit Breaker called "Limbs". No matter how much confusion this might cause, the formula of heaviness and cleanliness is bound to win some new fans.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Clip the Apex... Accept Instruction" from Calculating Infinity (1999)

4.5/5. This one has impeccable tightness with guitars of tangling destruction, then just when you think the band has settled their sound into sanity, the sound rises into an amp-ruining wall of noise.

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "Go Greyhound" from Danza II The Electric Boogaloo (2007)

4.5/5. This mathcore band has made another insane riot, all the way up to the lovely ending, apparently from the film Flowers in the Attic. This f***ing chaotic sh*t can hit you like a truck then revive you. There should be more guitar shredding though.

Car Bomb - "Garrucha" from w^w^^w^w (2012)

5/5. This highlight sounds so easy in the even-time patterns, yet emphasized by the grinding machinery of the percussion, crushing riffs that are already crushing.

Bloom - "Sink Into the Soil" from Sink Into the Soil (2022)

4.5/5. Sometimes metalcore can be more of a way of life than a temporary phase. I can hear the raging melody of Counterparts.

Rorschach - "Blinders" from Protestant (1993)

5/5. One of the best early metalcore breakdowns occurs here.

Knocked Loose - "Mistakes Like Fractures" from A Different Shade of Blue (2019)

4.5/5. Absolutely killer violent hardcore/metalcore with relatable lyrics. The bass at over the 30-second mark I would give a thumbs-up to. It's like a more brutal take on Slipknot's "Psychosocial". Anyone brought here by that Spongebob "GARY!" video?

Unearth - "No Reprisal" from Extinction(s) (2018)

4/5. This one tones down the mayhem in favor of shining melodic riff power. The heavy momentum is elevated through blast beats and a groove pace.

Within the Ruins - "Ataxia IV" from Halfway Human (2017)

4.5/5. Quite odd how this instrumental would be deemed "explicit", but whatevs. The "Ataxia" tracks are epic djent-core journeys, and this is probably the best of them all. Over the one-minute mark is what sounds like a brief take on the Tetris theme. The band's 7-string guitars are tuned quite low. The final two-minute section begins reminding some of Infected Mushroom, and it reaches a chilling climax at the last minute that starts fading out. That final section definitely fits well for a boss battle. It's a shame the band didn't continue the "Ataxia" series in their new album Phenomena II. The piano is a bit out of place, which brings the score a half-star down from perfection.

August Burns Red - "Reckoning" from Death Below (2023)

5/5. The second 8-minute epic of the new August Burns Red album. I know you metalcore fans wanna hear Underoath vocalist Spencer Chamberlain unleashing his vocals as furious as early Bring Me the Horizon. Those make the best moments of this playlist!

Ice Nine Kills - "Farewell II Flesh" from Welcome to Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2 (2021)

5/5. Of course, we have one more song to celebrate the spooky month of Halloween, the longest INK song at 5 minutes since the debut's "Family Unties", based on Candyman, with soothing yet eerie piano as the story of the Candyman is introduced. After layers of dramatic atmosphere, more layers come in thanks to the other instruments that create metalcore riffing from the guitars. Then after all those strings, heaviness, and growls, cue more bee noises to end the album and playlist.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

Earth Crisis - "Firestorm" E.P. (1993)

Back in 2012 I had a close friend that was going through a pretty hard time on a personal level but had started to embrace metal music as a not only a form of release but also a way of connecting with me. We would head out to live shows quite often at the time & she was generally pretty open to learning about all styles of metal so there were often gigs that we attended where neither of us knew much about the headliners. One such gig would be an Earth Crisis show at Sydney's Manning Bar in February of that year & we bought tickets for it with plenty of time to spare so I decided to explore what Earth Crisis had to offer in the weeks prior. This led me to checking out all of the New York metalcore legends' back catalogue to the time in quick succession, starting with 1992's super-raw "All Out War" E.P. & finishing with their latest release to the time in 2011's "Neutralize the Threat" seventh album. While a few of their records left me fairly cold (see "All Out War" & the run of three albums from 1998 through to 2001), there were some entertaining listens to be had elsewhere with their peak period coming between 1993's "Firestorm" E.P. & their 1996 sophomore album "Gomorrah's Season Ends" (which was my favourite at the time). Earth Crisis ended up being pretty disappointing live & my friend found the violent crowd of dickheads to be pretty hard to tolerate so it wasn't the best night I've ever had but my relationship with a couple of Earth Crisis' best releases has been maintained & I've been looking forward to revisiting them again in recent times.

1993's "Firestorm" E.P. very much represents their coming of age as a band. While the "All Out War" 7" single sounds more like a demo, Earth Crisis' second proper release sees them being catapulted into the metalcore limelight with a vastly more mature & well-defined sound. The production job is excellent which gives the simple arrangements enough weight to hit the listener right in the chest with the band's tight & chunky New York hardcore-inspired riffage. Earth Crisis certainly stay well within their capabilities here as they were far from being virtuosos but they seem to really know their limitations & work well inside those parameters. In fact, the guitar work on "Firestorm" is particularly basic, so much so that virtually any guitar novice could tackle this material with confidence. But it's also entirely effective as the song structures are fluent & there's miles of room left to highlight the outstanding vocal prowess of angry front man Karl Buechner who I find to be comfortably the focal point of this release. His aggressive delivery feels entirely authentic & you'll genuinely believe that he's lived his lyrics.

The E.P. contains just the four songs, the first two of which are joined together & represented as the one lengthy track. All four are worth hearing but it's the first three that are where the real gold is here with the title track remaining as Earth Crisis' signature tune to this day. My personal favourite is mosh pit anthem "Unseen Holocaust" but I could just as easily have selected "Firestorm" or "Forged in the Flames" as there's not a lot between them. Closer "Eden's Demise" contains a few riffs that I consider to be a step down from the rest of the material on the E.P. but it's still more than acceptable so "Firestorm" is a rewarding & consistent release that sees Earth Crisis flexing their muscles with a newly found purpose.

So, is "Firestorm" Earth Crisis' best work? Well, I didn't think so up until now but perhaps I might have to reassess that position. One thing's for sure, I'm definitely more open to 90's metalcore now than I was when I first checked out the Earth Crisis back catalogue so I can see some of my scoring being bumped up a bit. I'd also suggest that any neck-tattooed, ear-stud wearing metalcore kid worth their salt should have an appreciation for "Firestorm" as one of the fundamental building blocks of the scene they now love so much. Perhaps it's not significant enough to crack my top ten list but it's a thoroughly rewarding & entertaining listen that never over-extends itself & stays right in Earth Crisis' comfort zone for its entire fifteen-minute duration.

For fans of Disembodied, Living Sacrifice & Merauder.

4/5

Converge - Jane Doe (2001)

No, believe it or not, I hadn't listened to this before today, even though I am well aware how critically-acclaimed it is. Despite metalcore not being one of my "core" genres, I have found Converge to be one of the more palatable bands in the genre, so I can't really say why it has taken me so long to get round to their highest-rated album, sheer bloody mindedness I suppose! Well, I can certainly hear why it is so highly acclaimed as I found it to be quite a striking listen. There is a nice blend of short, aggressive tracks and more expansive, sludge-influenced workouts. The greater depth to the guitar tone and the slower tempo of a couple of tracks, most notably Hell To Pay and Phoenix in Flight, unsurprisingly appeal to my Fallen-obsessed sensibilities more than most metalcore albums do. Then, the absolute nirvana of what is already a singularly great Revolution release, the epic closing title track and it's dabbling with atmospheric sludge renders this so far above the metalcore crowd that it inhabits a different plane of existence. Shit, at this rate I'm going to be swapping one of my clans for The Revolution. (Not really, Andi, before you say anything!) Anyway, credit where credit is due, this is a fantastic metal release with the ability to invigorate even an old curmudgeon like me.

4.5/5

Here's my review:

I'd never explored a full Merauder release prior to nominating their 1995 debut album "Master Killer" for feature release status last week but there was no doubt about which one I'd have a crack at as the reception for their first-up effort has tended to dwarf the remainder of their back catalogue over the years. My recent investigation of the stronger 1990's metalcore records has reaped quite a bit of reward thus far & the general reputation that "Master KIller" has built for itself saw me feeling a level of confidence & anticipation leading into my first listen & that faith proved to be warranted too because Merauder's piece da resistance proved itself to be worthy of all the hype & acclaim.

The strength of Cro-Mags guitarist Parris Mitchell Mayhew's production job hit me like a tonne of bricks during the first few seconds of "Master Killer" as it certainly doesn't sound like it was recorded almost three decades ago. The weight of the guitars & the clarity of the sound is a major feather in Merauder's cap & allows the material the best possible chance to win over the first-time listener. The riffs & song-writing appear to be very solid too though & after the first song I was left wondering whether I may have stumbled onto one of the more important metalcore releases in my lifetime. Unfortunately, muscular opener "Time Ends" is as good as the album gets though but that's not to say that the remainder of the album is anything to scoff at because that's far from the truth.

Merauder's sound is often tagged as a combination of metalcore, groove metal & New York hardcore but I think that's a little ambitious to be honest. There' really not much doubt that "Master Killer" is a metal release so I don't think the New York hardcore references are all that relevant, despite the clear influence in the crushingly heavy yet inherently simple power chord riffage. The groove metal reference is a little more relevant but it's honestly more to do with the vocals of front man Jorge Merauder than anything musical as he sounds exactly (& I mean EXACTLY) like Pantera legend Phil Anselmo's more violent work on "Far Beyond Driven". Jorge brings the aggression in a major way here & is a major drawcard for Merauder, acting as the ringleader in what amounts to a highly professional & efficient metalcore outing. There's probably more of a thrash metal influence in the instrumentation than there is a groove metal one in all honestly with Slayer riffs popping up quite regularly but the vocals & general structure inevitably draw things back into the metalcore space.

You won't find any duds on this classy debut with the tracklisting being completely blemish-free. The weaker moments tend to occur when the band go for a bouncier/rappier delivery like on "Life is Pain" or where the chorus hook sounds a little clunky like on "Fear of Sin" but neither are without their charms. The previously-mentioned opener "Time Ends" is probably the heaviest of the ten tracks included here & I've quickly fallen in love with its masculinity & power. The title track "Master Killer" is probably my second favourite inclusion & it's not hard to see why it was selected as the focal point of Merauder's sole music video. I also really enjoy the thrashy "Downfall of Christ" which really gets me going but there's a lot to enjoy here.

If "Master Killer" has a weakness then it's probably the lack of sophistication in the riff structures as this is all pretty basic stuff that could be achieved by almost any metalcore band reasonably comofortably. I'm not sure that matters much with this style of music though as it's hardly the point of the punk mentality now, is it? "Master Killer" is all about telling stories of the streets which is very much in line with the essence of the New York hardcore scene & they do it with a enormous amount of success too. There are perhaps more substantial metalcore records out there & I'm not sure that "Master Killer" will quite make it into my top ten or anything but it's a very solid effort nonetheless & I can't see it disappointing too many The Revolution members.

For fans of All Out War, Twitching Tongues & Terror.

4/5

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Trivium - "Kirisute Gomen" from Shogun (2008)

5/5. Now this is a pretty effective way to begin this playlist and the song's original album. It begins with an acoustic Japanese guitar intro that is the same melody as the chorus for the epic title track. Then a gong is hit, followed by taiko drums kicking in, and I was amazed by the guitar build-up leading to the song itself drilling in some killer thrashy verses with vocals alternating between clean and growling (for the first time used in a common basis since Ascendancy), and a memorable chorus.

Damnation A.D. - "No More Dreams" from No More Dreams of Happy Endings (1995)

4.5/5. One of only a couple surviving highlights of this Damnation A.D. album, this is one of the darkest and heaviest songs I've heard in early metalcore.

For the Fallen Dreams - "Stone" from Six (2018)

5/5. This explosive single is worth singing and screaming along to, especially in that massive chorus with layers of power from their heavy metalcore/hardcore sound. It is a true blessing to remind us about what metalcore used to be and revive the earlier scene.

Demon Hunter - "On My Side" from War (2019)

4/5. This one also keeps up the metalcore aspect with drilling guitars and drum kicks alongside Ryan Clark's rock vocals.

Annisokay - "Face the Facts" from Aurora (2021)

4.5/5. A strong banger from another underrated band!

Counterparts - "Bound to the Burn" from A Eulogy for Those Still Here (2022)

4/5. You're bound to find some sick metal/hardcore from this band, though it might take slightly more to convince me.

Caliban - "Moment of Clarity" from The Undying Darkness (2006)

3.5/5. One of the most thrashy metalcore songs I've heard, helped out by the guest vocals of Kreator's Mille Petrozza. Could've been better though...

Vein.fm - "Untitled" from Errorzone (2018)

4/5. Even at one minute and with no title, lots of strong emotion and anger can burst right out. Errorzone is an album that can go back and forth from Deftones to Converge, maybe even early Bring Me the Horizon.

Knocked Loose - "Suffocate (feat. Poppy)" from You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To (2024)

4.5/5. HOLY SH*T, what a brutal banger! It has as much impact as an uppercut to the jaw. Poppy unleashes her vicious screams greater than going Super Saiyan, the intensity reaching its high point at the two-minute mark.

Job for a Cowboy - "Entombment of a Machine" from Doom (2005)

5/5. My favorite track of the Doom EP, with some riffing and breakdowns I really enjoy, including that final devastating one at the end. The song also has rare audibility in bass and common usage of horror imagery in the lyrics.

Embodyment – "Swine" from Embrace The Eternal (1998)

4.5/5. This one swings through like a pendulum. Enough said!

Damaged - "Breathe Deep" from Purified in Pain (2000)

4.5/5. This one truly shows the extreme/melodic blend early deathcore has to offer.

Sikth - "How May I Help You" from The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild (2003)

5/5. The EP version has a slightly greater edge, but the album version is still perfect all the same. At least the story of Rodney is still done justice in this f***ing brilliant song.

Converge - "In Her Shadow" from You Fail Me (2004)

4.5/5. This longer song is a calm yet soon experimental acoustic break going on for...6 MINUTES?! Not quite my cup of tea, but I'll go with it. This will help me relax before the heaviness of this playlist returns shortly later.

The Number Twelve Looks Like You" - "Remembrance Dialogue" from Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear (2005)

4/5. People who have listened to this revolutionary band may have heard them as early as in their middle/high school years, but I only started listening to them just a couple years before this comment. This might work as a funeral song. Even when it's soft, it can be quite powerful. The guitar tone and how chill it is brings it closer to AFI though. I'm glad #12 is still around and active.

Saviour - "Jaded" from First Light to My Death Bed (2013)

4.5/5. From the intro to the end, beauty and heaviness sound so good together.

Void of Vision - "Lifeblood" from Broken // Bones (2014)

5/5. Man I want more of the frantic chaos of this band!

Polaris - "All of This is Fleeting" from The Death of Me (2020)

4.5/5. Crashing through again is this deep track. Twisting things up well is an ultra-heavy breakdown after those frantic verses and dramatic chorus.

Memphis May Fire - "Only Human (feat. AJ Channer)" from Remade in Misery (2022)

5/5. Guest vocalists can give almost any song more life, in this case, AJ Channer of Fire from the Gods.

Ankor - "Prisoner" from Prisoner (2022)

4.5/5. I probably wouldn't have heard of this band or this insane song if not for my brother who enjoys this and finds it relatable.

Amaranthe - "BOOM!1" from Manifest (2020)

4/5. The heaviest and most innovative song in this Amaranthe song is more of a djentstep rap-filled track similar to Hacktivist with spoken vocals by Butcher Babies vocalist Heidi Shepherd. Harsh vocalist Henrik Englund does high-speed Eminem-inspired growl-rapping, which normally I'm not a fan of, but here brings wild technical force.

As I Lay Dying - "Burden" from Burden (2024)

4.5/5. As I Lay Dying had already suffered some tough setbacks. Not just frontman Tim Lambesis' imprisonment 10 years ago, but also, after their comeback album Shaped by Fire, 3 of the members left the band. Enter Unearth members guitarist Ken Susi and drummer Nick Pierce, and Miss May I bassist/clean vocalist Ryan Neff. Ryan's singing is perfect for the personal lyrics and crushing instrumentation. I especially enjoy the half-minute intro.

Miss May I - "Forgive and Forget (feat. Fit for a King)" from Forgive and Forget (feat. Fit for a King) (2024)

5/5. And now we go to Ryan Neff's main band Miss May I and check out their collaboration with Fit for a King as part of a 15th anniversary re-recording for their debut Apologies are for the Weak. This almost f***ing outshines the original!

Abbie Falls - "Parasite" from Hell is Other People (2022)

4.5/5. Anyone wanting to hear some brutal metalcore drumming is gonna have a lucky day.

Hollow Front - "Heritage" from The Price of Dreaming (2022)

4/5. Some killer anthemic sh*t right here to rebel against your enemies.

Aviana - "Transcendent" from Corporation (2022)

4.5/5. As the heaviness rises, we eventually get another wicked breakdown.

Becoming the Archetype - "The Sun Eater" from I Am (2012)

5/5. One of the best songs from the only Becoming the Archetype album without Jason Wisdom. The most of the brutality comes in throughout the last minute.

Wage War - "Basic Hate" from Blueprints (2015)

4.5/5. Let's jam on in this heavy glory! Play this amazing song hard and loud (though not deafening). Again the heaviest point at the two-minute mark.

Eighteen Visions - "Terrible Lie" from 1996 (2021)

5/5. This Nine Inch Nails cover is so f***Ing perfect, and my favorite in the rock/metal side of Eighteen Visions' cover album.

Chelsea Grin - "The Path to Suffering" from Suffer in Heaven (2023)

4.5/5. The brutal conclusion to Chelsea Grin's Suffer in Hell/Heaven series of albums has giving this playlist amazing closure.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite a slight drop in quality somewhere. Anyway, I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

I've done my review, here's its summary:

From June to July 2021, Eighteen Visions released 3 singles. The first one was an Alice in Chains cover, the second one was a Vision of Disorder, and the third was their own song. Then on the 4th week, all 7 other tracks came out together with those singles in a surprise-release looking back at different bands from the 90s, the cover album 1996! Personally, I think when they switch into Alice in Chains-style hard rock/alt-metal, it doesn't always work as much as their metalcore glory. Still they can blend beauty and chaos together well. With crushing drums, pummeling bass, searing guitars, and in-your-face vocals ranging from clean singing to bloodcurdling screams, there's barely any other cover album to hit you as hard as this. The album has two sides; the first one has their original title track for the album and 4 covers of songs by metalcore/hardcore bands, and the second has covers of songs from hard rock/alt-metal bands. Pretty much every song from both sides manages to outshine the original. With that, I can forgive 18V for their earlier attempts at grunge-metal. The only problematic cover is the one for that Damnation A.D. track, in which the original was dragged down by the painful vocals and lyrics. I dig 18V's cover a lot more than the sh*tty original, but the fact it's still that song prevents this from becoming a highlight. The album would've reached a perfect 5 stars if they had replaced that cover with a different one from a metalcore/hardcore band. Still I really dig the other 9 songs, and if there's anything to bring the band back to their early 2000s glory, this is that!

4.5/5

Recommended tracks: "1996", "D.T.O.", "Blanket", "Them Bones", "Terrible Lie"

For fans of: Atreyu, Knocked Loose, Vision of Disorder

The Marilyn Manson-infused music and lyrics make me cringe at this total fail:

A playlist I've made based on the above list: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/134fsyMvVO10wgiXgW0896

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Memphis May Fire - "Without Walls" from Challenger (2012)

4.5/5. Now this is how to start a playlist, with a heavy intro by one of the idols of metalcore before a greater idol band of mine...

Trivium - "In Waves" from In Waves (2011)

5/5 (maybe even 6/5). I know this is the 3rd time this glorious song is in a Revolution playlist, but let's face it, this will remain my ultimate favorite metalcore song today! It starts off with an Ascendancy-like metalcore breakdown with Matt Heafy repeatedly screaming the name of the song, then it leads to a melodic Crusade-like chorus. There's also a complicated solo in the middle, but other than that, the riffs are simple yet catchy. That's what I like!

Of Mice & Men - "Second & Sebring" from Of Mice & Men (2010)

4.5/5. Of Mice & Men's self-titled 2010 debut is nothing more than a post-hardcore album with barely any of the metalcore/alt-metal in subsequent albums. In saying that, there are a couple tracks in the album that I enjoy and they qualify as metalcore. This one, written in memory of unclean vocalist Austin Carlile's mother who passed from a aneurysm induced by Marfan Syndrome, takes on the melodic metalcore of his previous band Attack Attack!, specifically that band's debut Someday Came Suddenly, albeit without the autotune and trance-y dance-y synths.

The Ghost Inside - "Faith of Forgiveness" from Fury and the Fallen Ones (2008)

4/5. A memorable highlight, still performed live to this day, including their comeback show over a decade later.

Unearth - "Invictus" from The Wretched; the Ruinous (2023)

4.5/5. Then we have the thrashy blaster. The strong breakdown isn't highly hardcore, but it has the brutal-melodic blend of Shogun-era Trivium.

Betraying the Martyrs - "The Covenant" from The Hurt the Divine the Light (2009)

5/5. When I was in my teens, power/symphonic metal were the genres I enjoyed. Betraying the Martyrs is one of the first bands I've discovered since my move to modern metal genres to have symphonic elements. The lyrics of this concept EP are based on Genesis from the Bible. The death growls are so killer here.

Shadow of Intent - "The Migrant" from The Migrant (2023)

4.5/5. F*** YES, Shadow of Intent are really channeling their inner Lorna Shore in this new single.

Shai Hulud - "Two and Twenty Misfortunes" from That Within Blood Ill-Tempered (2003)

4/5. This song is obviously not the symphonic deathcore of the previous two tracks, but it certainly has the layers of a hardcore/metalcore symphony.

Veil of Maya - "Punisher" from Eclipse (2012)

4.5/5. "All they have is just, baowdit baodidawaow ranudiuh ranuhdiduh." A young man mocks Periphery in a hate video towards that band, and then Veil of Maya mocks that guy in return with one of the most kick-A riffs in djent, reminding me a lot of After the Burial.

Varials - "The Cycle of Violence: Chapter 1" from Scars for You to Remember (2022)

5/5. Mitchell Rogers is a total beast of a vocalist! At least compared to Travis Tabron from that other Varials song a couple playlists back.

Earth Crisis – "Stand By" (title swapped with "Ecocide" on Spotify) from All Out War E.P. (1992)

3/5. This track is not really as spectacular as the first two of this Earth Crisis EP, but it's part of a decent start of the band's journey vastly improved by their mid-90s material.

From Autumn to Ashes - "Every Reason To" from The Fiction We Live (2003)

3.5/5. Most people have discovered this band in the mid-2000s, but for me, it was only over a couple years ago. Are they good at what they do? You bet it shows! Those were the good times that I'm a couple decades late for.

Counterparts - "Compass" from The Difference Between Hell And Home (2013)

4/5. This one stands out well in the music and lyrics. "I am a compass, constantly spinning, constantly searching for the end." The drumming and riffing sound progressive, and the midsection breakdown touches down hard. The outro after a small break from heaviness has some absolutely chilling lyrics, ending with Murphy yelling the album title, "You're the difference between Hell and Home!"

God Forbid - "The Lonely Dead" from IV: Constitution of Treason (2005)

4.5/5. This one begins with headbanging riffs for a minute followed by a catchy lead. The lyrics serve good metaphors for after the virus, with people mourning all of the dead victims. Byron Davis continues his screaming while the Coyle brothers sing cleanly in the chorus while doing some great guitar work. Pretty cool post-solo riff! And that catchy lead riff returns again at the 4 and a half minute mark. Satisfying! The pretty piano outro was played by the Coyle brothers' dad Kevin Coyle. Those brothers really got their music talents from their Dad, did they?

Killswitch Engage - "My Last Serenade" from Alive or Just Breathing (2002)

5/5. I can't believe it took me so long to become interested in this band until finally last year. I think during the pandemic and its tail-end, I became more in the mood to find some bands to cure my part of that global depression. Thanks to that great boost, I'm able to appreciate masterpiece highlights like this one much more!

All That Remains - "Let You Go" from Let You Go (2024)

4.5/5. Another powerful comeback single from All That Remains! A little more over the place than "Divine", but still superb.

Frontierer - "Gower St." from Unloved (2018)

4/5. You don't have to go all-out death metal/core for brutality. Mathcore is its chaotic future! Though the drums are a bit compressed.

The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "If They Holler, Don't Let Go" from Worse Than Alone (2009)

4.5/5. #12 has made some of the most talented mathcore around, and this is one of my favorite tracks from their 2009 album. Glad they're active again after their temporary split between this album's release and their reformation 8 years ago. This song shall grab your attention from start to finish. Guitarist Jamie McIlroy left the band between the Here at the End of All Things concert and this album's recording, so the band became a 5-piece. The ridiculous diversity of their earlier material is front and center, almost competing with Between the Buried and Me. The only difference is, BTBAM dropped the metalcore part of their sound entirely after that, while #12 kept theirs while having some of that other band's progressiveness. Don't let go of this band!

Iwrestledabearonce - "Eli Cash vs. the Godless Savages" from It's All Happening (2009)

4/5. Iwrestledabearonce is another mathcore band gone too soon, this time with no chance of reforming. Later members vocalist Courtney LaPlante and guitarist Mike Stringer went on to form Spiritbox. Still there's a lot to love about the chaotic metalcore subgenre that is mathcore.

Osiah - "Seeds of Despair" from Chronos (2023)

3.5/5. If you thought Gojira could make "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe", this deathcore band can slam you to the ground like a gravitational sledgehammer. This track is one of the heaviest, most monstrous tracks I've heard in deathcore. In saying that, it can't beat the epic greatness of the earlier symphonic deathcore section. Still you don't wanna miss this d*mn heavy ending breakdown at the 4-minute mark that can shatter the world in half.

Signs of the Swarm - "Tower of Torsos" from Amongst the Low & Empty (2023)

3/5. Killer drumming in this decent deathcore track that I don't love too much but still can give it a thumbs-up.

Phinehas - "Communion for Ravens" from Dark Flag (2017)

3.5/5. We're back into the melodic side with a short soft intro leading into more headbanging heaviness. The lyrics are a bit confusing which brings the score down a bit.

Ankor - "Oblivion" from Oblivion (2023)

4/5. I'm so impressed by the vocal stylings of Jessie Williams, ranging between poppy singing, Beyond the Black-ish mezzo-soprano, and harsh growls. Even when it all sounds so serene, the guitars and drums can still be heavy. I need to thank my brother for discovering this band first.

Novelists - "Souvenirs" from Souvenirs (2015)

4.5/5. No journey is ever complete without... souvenirs! Novelists has a lot of them in metalcore, whether they're clean melody or djenty technicality. The latter is presented well in f***ing great riffing at the two-minute point. It's stories like this that can help inspire your own stories and universe, specifically your characters' deep heavy problems such as abuse or death. So insanely phenomenal! The vocals are so intense and have brilliant synergy with the lyrics. If I ever start my own band, I'll make sure to nail that heavy/melodic blend as much as I can. There's just a lot to enjoy and headbang to. And they say only Too Close to Touch has that kind of emotion...

Zao - "The Latter Rain" from Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest (1998)

5/5. This one's a greater step, another 6-and-a-half-minute epic! Though it's not the end yet...

The Devil Wears Prada - "Lord Xenu" from With Roots Above and Branches Below (2009)

5/5. This one would've closed the playlist in epic heaviness, but there's still one more epic left....

Norma Jean - "Sun Dies, Blood Moon" from Wrongdoers (2013)

4.5/5. That over 15-minute epic from Norma Jean's debut with The Chariot vocalist Josh Scogin may be their most ambitious achievement, but this one comes close. Beautiful music and poetic lyrics shape this track up to an almost perfect masterpiece. The most climatic part actually comes 6 minutes in that then pummels into a brutal collapse. And just when you think it's over, we have the final 6 minutes of sludgy doom. "Make my way through my designer home....."

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite a couple drops in quality throughout. Anyway, I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

Here's my review:

I’ve been meaning to get around to checking out San Diego metalcore outfit Unbroken for a long time now. I don’t mind me a bit of 1990’s metalcore on occasion & these guys seem to be known as one of the more prominent examples of that sound so I had a funny feeling that they might be something I’d dig. Their 1993 debut album “Ritual” seems to receive generally positive feedback but it’s Unbroken’s classic 1994 sophomore album “Life. Love. Regret.” that receives the bulk of the attention so let’s see if it warrants the lofty praise that is inevitably heaped upon it then.

 Unlike many of the more widely celebrated metalcore releases, “Life. Love. Regret.” doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, instead taking a tried & tested direction that lives or dies by its attitude & authenticity. Thankfully though, it has both of those attributes in spades which has no doubt pleased the hardcore purists to no end. The relatively short 35 minute album doesn’t try to be anything that any good hardcore band shouldn't aspire to be. The production job is fairly raw but is still chunky & heavy while the performances are left pretty loose with no attempt having been made to clean up any timing concerns. Those things simply don’t matter all that much when it comes to hardcore music. It’s a more about the visceral urges they inspire in the listener & a general lack of fucks being given.

From a musical point of view, “Life. Love. Regret.” might as well be a guidebook for new players on what 90’s metalcore was all about really. Simple yet crunchy power chord-driven riffs? CHECK! Mosh-worthy breakdowns? CHECK! Angry & aggressive screamed vocals? CHECK! Occasional post-hardcore experimentation? CHECK! In saying that though, there’s an honesty & integrity about this music that places it above the sum of those tick boxes. There’s a purity in Unbroken’s sound that I find to be really easy to buy into. It didn’t quite sink in on first listen but I found myself liking this record more & more with each revisit & that has a lot to do with its consistency as the quality of the song-writing as it rarely dips below the really solid platform that’s set right from the offset with only “Blanket” feeling a little less essential even if it still generally enjoyable.

The two elements that drive this album are its clear points of strength. The riffs are the first of those components with Unbroken seemingly rewriting the manual on metallic hardcore crunch. I can easily imagine how intense this band would have been live because these anger-fuelled guitar parts seem to have been born for mosh pit mayhem. As a guitar nut myself, I found it hard not to buy into Unbroken’s selling point in that regard as I live for the sort of amplifier reverberation they possess in spades, even if the riffs are kinda basic a lot of the time & aren’t exactly performed with precision. The other major highlight can be found in the vocals of front man Dave Claibourn who steers away from that gurgly hardcore tone that I’ve always found to be a little weak by giving himself a little more of a natural sound. It gives his stories of life on the streets some added believability & he does a fantastic job at drawing the listener in through sheer fire & vitriol. In fact, it’s hard to deny that he’s the major calling card for the album overall & I’d suggest that he’d have to one of the more appealing hardcore vocalists out there.

A four-star rating was always on the cards from the first second I pressed play on “Life. Love. Regret.” to be honest as it stays predominantly at that level throughout its nine songs. While “Blanket” may have seen the quality curve dipping just a touch, the biggest talking point for the album comes in the form of a total game-changer that sits right at the end of the tracklisting. The nine-minute epic “Curtain” is nothing short of a devastating, tension-building beast of a track that I’d suggest should rightfully sit amongst the absolute elite examples of the metalcore genre. Its use of repetition & dynamics to draw the listener in from both a physical & cerebral perspective is astounding & I’ve found it hard not to allow my passion for this one piece to dictate my feelings on the holistic package to tell you the truth. I genuinely feel sorry for people that don't have the patience to connect with a piece like this one.

Despite the lengthy classic that dominates the B side though, I still can’t see “Life. Love. Regret.” as a classic release. Essential? Oh definitely, particularly if you’re a die-hard metalcore or hardcore fan. But I don’t think the majority of the album is different enough for it to command the loftier scores in my ratings system. Perhaps I’ve simply come to it a little late in the game but I can’t help but feel that “Life. Love. Regret.” doesn’t really do anything terribly different to a lot of metalcore release. Perhaps Unbroken are the source of all of that in the first place though? I dunno but what I can say is that I’ve rarely heard a better example of this type of music than this record & I can easily see why those metalheads with a stronger affiliation with the metalcore genre than I would tend to gush over it as I’ve been surprised at just how much I've enjoyed the experience.

For fans of Rorschach, Starkweather & Racetraitor.

4/5

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

War of Ages - "Famine" from Dominion (2023)

5/5. To start things off, I'd like to thank War of Ages for making awesome songs like this that shall shape up the future of melodic metalcore the way it's meant to. And thanks Kaleb Luebchow for the impressive drumming that posthumously appears on this album. RIP

Unearth - "The Great Dividers" from The Oncoming Storm (2004)

4.5/5. This one is a tough crusher with great riffs and decent breakdowns. The spoken-ish section in the last minute is awfully odd but it doesn't affect its original album's perfect score.

August Burns Red, Will Ramos - "The Cleansing" from The Cleansing (2024) 

5/5. This epic clearly shows the band's relentless heaviness from their earlier days with drummer Matt Greiner firing away with blast-beat machinery. That's one of two nearly 8-minute epics in the Death Below album that are the band's longest, not including the closing epic of their 2005 debut, and it's full of stylistic transcendence. The original version didn't have a guest vocalist like some of the other songs did, but here we have the vicious vocals of Lorna Shore's Will Ramos to make any deathcore fan's day.

Attack Attack! - "Stick Stickly" from Someday Came Suddenly (2008)

5/5. You know what this one, the ultimate Crabcore anthem! Those guys can impressively play their respective instruments while squatting like crabs in that music video.

I Prevail - "Body Bag" from TRUE POWER (2022)

4.5/5. I Prevail is more of an alt-metal band, but they've made occasional turns into metalcore fire. Think my brother who likes this band will like this one?

Bring Me the Horizon - "It Never Ends" from There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret (2010)

5/5. Bring Me the Horizon seem to describe a war that never ends, but then in another single 10 years later, "the end has arrived". They've really "said it once! Said it twice! Said it A THOUSAND F***ING TIMES!!!"

Shai Hulud - "Reach Beyond the Sun" from Reach Beyond the Sun (2013)

4.5/5. Shai Hulud knows how to get the more hardcore fans pumped. They have inspired many of those fans and allowed them to find what music is supposed to be like. They certainly need more recognition and perhaps the guest appearance by Jonathan Vigil of The Ghost Inside in one of the other songs in the album helped out with that. The drumming is great, though ex-member Steve Kleisath (also formerly of Strongarm) would made it slightly better. The band has some of the great passion I've heard from a metalcore/hardcore band, with an attitude of toughness instead of suffering. Vocalist Chad Gilbert is also the founder of New Found Glory. All in all, an amazing song!

Knocked Loose, Motionless in White - "Slaughterhouse 2" from You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To (2024)

5/5. With this sequel to a song from the latest Motionless in White album, it's time to "BREAK DOWN THE WALL AGAIN!!!" The breakdowns are so brutal, especially the one over the one-minute mark after a small beat and Bryan Garris screaming "LET IT GO!!!" (NO he's not singing that Frozen song).

Jeris Johnson - "Here's to the Years" from Here's to the Years (2024)

4.5/5. Last year, Dragoncorpse united deathcore and power metal together. This year, Jeris Johnson showed the world that melodic metalcore, power metal, and medieval folk can co-exist with each other in this fun tune. If this single had its own clans, they would be both The Guardians and The Revolution, maybe enough folk for The North.

The Ghost Inside - "Split" from Searching for Solace (2024)

5/5. This is one of the heaviest and most hardcore tracks the band has done to date. I mean, listen to Architects, Hatebreed, or the aforementioned Knocked Loose, and you might find a lot that song has in common with any of those bands.

Annisokay - "The Cocaines Got Your Tongue" from Aurora (2021)

4.5/5. If you're listening to this song via one of those videos that only has the song name in the title, you might think this is a band named The Cocaines, and the name of the song is "Got Your Tongue". Lol. Anyway, this is like a more hardcore Papa Roach.

Underoath - "Moving for the Sake of Motion" from Define the Great Line (2006)

4/5. This is probably the biggest highlight of its original album, with sick riffing and atmosphere to enjoy! Spencer Chamberlain grieves over his relatable faults.

Balmora – "An Angel’s Final Prayer" from With Thorns of Glass & Petals of Grief E.P. (2023)

3.5/5. A pretty good attempt at reviving the deathly melodic metalcore of Darkest Hour and Prayer for Cleansing, though not that strong.

After the Burial - "Berzerker" from Rareform (2009)

4/5. I once thought After the Burial was pretty awesome band, with 5-star songs like this one. But now I've subtracted a whole star from that perfect score because I've since realized how repetitive a bit of the riffing is. Also I heard this was in one of the Saints Row games.

Dal Av, Jackson Rose - "Billie Eilish" from Billie Eilish (2022)

3.5/5. I wouldn't say this is the best cover I've heard, but I still love these "metalizing" covers of pop/hip-hop songs and how f***ing hard they hit.

ZOMBIESHARK!, Viscera - "Keyboards for Insects" from I Will Destroy You, Myself, and Everything I've Ever Loved. (2020)

4/5. Imagine if a cybergrind band like Genghis Tron or The Locust went metalcore. That certainly makes this more tolerable than all those grindcore bands out there for me.

Of Mice & Men - "Earth & Sky" from Earthandsky (2019)

4.5/5. This one has true power in the chorus. With that and its heavy verses, it's the ultimate standout of its original album!

As I Lay Dying - "The Truth of My Perception" from Shadows are Security (2005)

5/5. An awesome song to love from this masterful melodic metalcore band.

Killswitch Engage - "Always" from Disarm the Descent (2013)

5/5. One of the best songs from this band, as well as one of the first that I've found, via a music video on TV. See, fury isn't always everything in metalcore...

Chelsea Grin - "Recreant" from Desolation of Eden (2010)

4.5/5. ...Unlike this band! Alex Koehler could really growl and scream without damaging his voice. And I can also say that about new vocalist Tom Barber (ex-Lorna Shore).

Shadow of Intent - "The Shaping Sickness" from Inferi Sententia (2014)

4/5. You can consider this a blend of the bands Fleshgod Apocalypse and Gravemind. But the problem is Ben Duerr's vocals here, like what's up with that?!

Dragoncorpse, Nick Miller, First Fragment - "I Live... AGAIN!" from I Live... AGAIN! (2024)

4/5. And of course, Dragoncorpse took the epic deathcore sound much further into power metal, even featuring Unleash the Archers bassist Nick Miller. From beginning to end, it's a wild ride through two metal genres once thought impossible to combine. If DragonForce or Into Eternity went deathcore, that's it right there!

Moments - "Break the Chains" from Hopes & Dreams (2015)

4.5/5. Excellent lyrics in this killer headbanger. Enough said!

Monuments - "Nefarious" from Nefarious (2023)

5/5. God, this slaps! Monuments made this song for the comic book series Godslap by YouTuber Cr1TiKaL.

Car Bomb - "Finish It" from w^w^^w^w (2012)

4.5/5. This articular song showcases drastic fury alongside a couple comedic sounds of "WOO!!!"

Cult Leader - "God's Lonely Children" from Nothing for Us Here (2014)

4/5. Sludgy noise-mathcore from a new band by most of the members of the band Gaza formed after their split-up.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Weekend Sex Change" from Calculating Infinity (1999)

3.5/5. This interlude is kind of a nice summarizing sound collage.

Inchaos - "My Gallaxy" from My Gallaxy (2022)

4/5. Djenty metalcore with oriental instrumentation and female singing. Interesting!

Afterglow - "Like a Wave" from Believe in Nothing (2022)

4/5. A motivational banger like this needs more attention, especially at the breakdown that starts the last minute. I would recommend this for anyone working out! This nicely killer song shall please my metalcore heart.

The Last Ten Seconds of Life - "As the World Turns Over" from Soulless Hymns (2015)

3.5/5. We're now heading into the darkest deadliest part of the playlist saved for almost the last, DOWNTEMPO DEATHCORE (my last playlist to have this section). This song (and album, I guess) has recently made its return to Spotify. I'm guessing it was too brutal for some Spotify streamers. The vocals sounds so monstrous!

Black Tongue - "Black Fawn Temple" from Nadir (2018)

3/5. This can be considered the midway interlude of the downtempo deathcore, being just an atmospheric spoken-word interlude that doesn't get heavy until the end.

Humanity's Last Breath - "Bearer" from Ashen (2023)

3.5/5. Then it greatly segues to this f***ing sh*tload of brutality that will take a long time to get over.

Frontierer - "Dusk" from Orange Mathematics (2015)

4/5. But the playlist is not over until this final mathcore track that is the ultimate closing epic of chaos that then fades out into ambience.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite some slight drops in quality throughout. Anyway, I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

A playlist I've made with my favorite songs from those essential releases: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MwevI05ua7UhQmrvkKQaT

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Make Them Suffer - "Epitaph" from Epitaph (2024)

5/5. H*ll yeah! Make Them Suffer have another new single, and this one starts this playlist off hard.

Carnifex - "Torn in Two" from Necromanteum (2023)

4.5/5. Carnifex have their kick-A deathcore sound going on. And holy sh*t, you can hear some eerie orchestration in the background! That's how influential Lorna Shore is.

The Convalescence - "Anthem" from The Process (2014)

4/5. Now that I think about it, this track would be better off as the playlist's intro. Still it's another killer deathcore track.

Within the Ruins - "Death of the Rockstar" from Halfway Human (2017)

4.5/5. More like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Rockstar" in the chorus! We also have the astonishing shredding soloing followed by bad-a** riffing with thick guitar.

Varials - "Empire of Dirt" from Pain Again (2017)

5/5. Holy f***, this is so brutally awesome! From the first 40 seconds to the guest appearance by Bryan Garris of Knocked Loose, this is the kind of metalcore heaviness I'm always in search of. And those f***ing breakdowns are worth moshing to in the pit. The music and lyrics are all d*mn heavy. It's the perfect way to take your rage out on the state of the world. The final drum hits occur after 3 minutes than the song fades in an ambient outro. The song is a true example of what makes this genre revolutionary!

Thrown - "Parasite" from EXTENDED PAIN (2022)

4.5/5. The Knocked Loose-like brutal metalcore continues here with lower vocals. A killer track for a workout!

Until I Wake - "Hope Ur Happy" from Inside My Head (2022)

4.5/5. Another solid track you just gotta love and share.

The Autumn Offering - "Revelation" from Revelations of the Unsung (2004)

5/5. Now this is epic melodic metalcore ahead of its time! That's the kind of sound fans have heard as early as their teens. I was more into power metal when I was a teen, and didn't start my metalcore exploration until I became a young adult. The soft break at the 3-minute mark followed by the powerful bridge and dramatic outro is all glorious!

Zao - "A Well-Intentioned Virus" from The Well-Intentioned Virus (2016)

4.5/5. The lyrics are some of the best from this band, filled with anger and doubt. An excellent throwback to the band's perfect glory before their 2001 Self-Titled album.

Bring Me the Horizon - "Shadow Moses" from Sempiternal (2013)

5/5. This epic track is a great choice for its original album's first single and a true highlight. The verses are aggressive as always, but the infectious chorus would kick you hard in the face, leaving a big footprint. ("Can you see by the look in our eyes? We're going nowhere! We live our lives like we're ready to die. We're going nowhere!")

Lorna Shore - "Sun//Eater" from Pain Remains (2022)

4.5/5. The first single released for this victorious Lorna Shore album, having psyched fans up with its furious fret force and mythological lyric themes. A young choir of angels appear, chanting "Kyrie Eleison" ("Lord Have Mercy") in the beginning.

Darko US - "FUTURE DOOM" from Dethmask, Pt. 2 (2022)

4.5/5. Some nice brutal punches packed in this song. The verse at the two and a half minute mark is just b*lls-on hard.

All That Remains - "Divine" from Divine (2024)

5/5. F*** yeah, All That Remains are back! This perfect comeback single is basically This Darkened Heart (especially with that album's bassist Matt Deis rejoining) gone Killswitch Engage. This surely does justice to the legacy of their fallen guitarist Oli Herbert. RIP

Killswitch Engage - "Breathe Life" from The End of Heartache (2004)

4.5/5. And how about some more Killswitch Engage?! I love how the solo can sound beautiful without fast technicality!

Sonic Syndicate - "Damage Control" from Love and Other Disasters (2008)

5/5. Another epic piece of melodic metalcore. What else can I say?

Prompts - "Of Nothing" from Fracture (2022)

4.5/5. Now this one is a progressive nu metalcore beast! The cleans add a more melodic side to this hard banger. I'll be waiting for more of this to come...

Seeing Things - "Consume" from Paranoia (2022)

4.5/5. Here's another top-notch metalcore banger, from Seeing Things and Abbie Falls! This can certainly have people listening to this playlist on the edge of their seats. I love the fantastic breakdown in this one. So f***ing good!

Falling in Reverse - "Ronald" from Ronald (2024)

5/5. If you thought those previous two tracks were some of the heaviest in this playlist, this one is a massive explosion of death/metalcore with a rapping verse by Tech N9ne. But the epic climax comes in beyond the two and a half minute mark leading into a brutal breakdown more powerful than anything Lorna Shore has done, for real! Everything is so deathly and melodic all at once! Plus bit of an Underoath vibe in the first half. This killer track shall definitely see its upcoming album appear in this site.

Invent Animate - "Shade Astray" from Heavener (2023)

4.5/5. What's not to love about this amazing heavenly song?

After the Burial - "A Pulse Exchanged" from Evergreen (2019)

4/5. RIP Justin Lowe. The band really throw back to his stellar guitar work in the chaotic ending. Dan Carle has limbs of steel to be able to pull off those blasts well.

PhaseOne, Polaris - "Icarus" from PhaseOne x UNFD (2023)

4.5/5. PhaseOne is an electronic artist known for some collaborations with metal bands. This one with Polaris is f***ing heavy!

Trivium - "Fall Into Your Hands" from In the Court of the Dragon (2021)

5/5. While it's tough to pick highlights for perfect albums because of how strong the songs are that make the album as cohesive as true heavy metal classics from the 80s, this song comes close, a headbanging epic that is the longest song by the band to not be an album's title track or a cover song. It has vocally the best chorus of the album with all 3 vocalists (one lead + two background) uniting. You get to hear killer thrashy riffing along with lots of soloing and instrumentation good for air-guitar. Besides the album's intro, Ihsahn has performed strings that are buried in the background, but this song is where those strings really shine, especially in their own glorious outro.

Imminence - "The Black" from The Black (2024)

5/5. And here's some more majestic symphonic metalcore!

The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "Don't Get Blood on My Prada Shoes" from Put on Your Rosy Red Glasses (2003)

4.5/5. Beginning the mathcore section of the playlist is this track of mind-blowing rage with awesome guitar. The band know how to tear down the walls of mathcore.

Daughters - "Fur Beach" from Canada Songs (2003)

4/5. A h*lla fast and short track. Enough said!

Converge - "Phoenix in Flames" from Jane Doe (2001)

4.5/5. This one is just drums and vocals, allowing Bannon's awesomely demented vocals to really shine.

Circuit Circuit - "Blood in My Eye (Holy Human)" from Body Songs (2023)

4/5. This one starts with a guitar riff loop that then squeals its way into speed. The vocalist's impressive range blasts in before another killer breakdown and some more riff crunch. Disorienting, but a better track for the band's nu metal-ish side.

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "Hold the Line" from Danza 4: The Alpha - the Omega (2012)

4.5/5. A song about the people you care about going to war, dedicated to America's Armed Forces, it starts off brutal with heavy moments like around 40 seconds in. And while this band may be gone, at least we have Born of Osiris as a go-to band for metalcore technicality. Absolutely underrated! Throughout the second half is a long sad beautiful outro with samples of war. You can't end a mathcore song better than that!

Iwrestledabearonce - "Break It Down Camacho" from Ruining It for Everybody (2011)

4/5. These masters of female-fronted mathcore sure know how to break things down.

The Acacia Strain - "Cold Gloom" from Gravebloom (2017)

4.5/5. Another downtempo deathcore song from this band. It can't beat the monolithic "Observer", but it still has that epic's anger and depression, with some d*mn feeling-hitting lyrics, "There’s nobody out there, and no one can help. I am blistered from the frozen sun, find your own way home." The ambient break around the 3 and a half minute break is quite golden. It's so f***ing doomy, giving more character to the downtempo deathcore subgenre. I wouldn't change anything about this track, not even the drumming which takes its time without any forced speed. It also hints at the sludge doom direction the band would take in Failure Will Follow. An absolute blessing! Gravebloom is perhaps the point where their quest to become heavier, more brutal, and doomier, since The Dead Walk, has reached full circle. And it all wasn't just a dream...

Rorschach - "Ornaments" from Protestant (1993)

5/5. Triggering dissonant atmosphere in the best light is the most atmospheric swansong to end this band's short career and this playlist.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite some slight drops in quality throughout. Anyway, I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

I've done my review, here's its summary:

Almost 4 years after The Ghost Inside's horrific tour bus crash, the band made their return from the void with a comeback show on July 13, 2019. The concert was recorded for this live album that was released two years later in 2021, with a physical release another 6 months after. Now let's witness the phoenix rise! The audience knows a lot of the band's lyrics and are there to accompany vocalist Jonathan Vigil as the band perform. The instrumentation is excellent too, with guitarwork ranging from heavy to melodic and Andrew Tkaczyk's intense drumming talent that really stands out in many of the tracks he performs, even after losing his leg in the crash. Most of the songs chosen for the setlist in Rise From the Ashes: Live at the Shrine are some of the best highlights from their first 4 albums. There are really only a couple duds, pretty much all the other songs are golden inspirational anthems. The band really knew how to make their return in full-on modern metalcore grace. Let us have the bravery to choose our actions, break these chains, and keep swinging!

4.5/5

Recommended tracks: "Avalanche", "Dear Youth (Day 52)", "Between the Lines", "Shiner", "Dark Horse", "Chrono", "Faith or Forgiveness", "Engine 45"

For fans of: 2000s A Day to Remember, Parkway Drive, For the Fallen Dreams

Daniel, seeing how much you've enjoyed Rorschach's second album Protestant, I don't think you'll have any problem checking out their 1990 debut Remain Sedate. It's the very first metalcore album, and Charles Maggio's vocals lean more towards gruff shouts, as opposed to his hysterical shrieks in Protestant.

Here's my review:

New Jersey metalcore outfit Rorschach have been on my radar to check out for quite some time now. I'd heard a few of their tracks while I was still programming the monthly The Revolution playlists & had always found their sound fairly attractive but I guess I'm not generally one to go chasing too much in the way of metalcore. The task of selecting every second The Revolution feature release has finally seen me investigating Rorschach though & I'm very glad I did because I've found them to be a class act that's deserving of the hype they inevitably seem to draw.

"Protestant" was clearly produced by a very competent group of musicians who knew what they were doing & had a clear sound in mind. Like a lot of the early metalcore releases, it sits heavily on the hardcore punk side of the metalcore equation but utilizes the best elements of that genre in conjunction with metal influences to great effect. The level of musicianship is exceptional for a bunch of rebellious punks to be honest with the arrangement & composition being very mature & showcasing a lot in the way of technique. I'm not the biggest fan of Charles Maggio's vocals as they tend to err on the generic, screamy side of the metalcore spectrum but they're certainly not a deal breaker by any means. It's the guitar work of Keith Huckins (Deadguy/Kiss It Goodbye) & Nick Forté (Raspberry Bulbs) that's the real attraction here though, particularly when they explore more atmospheric, arpeggiated or chaotic realms.

Another strength is that there are no weak tracks included amongst the thirteen included on "Protestant". It begins in very solid fashion & tends to maintain that level for most of the tracklisting. There's only really the one track that I'd suggest is capable of competing at the top tier of the metalcore hierarchy though in the classic "Blinders". The references to the mathcore subgenre are a little bit of a stretch though to tell you the truth. Yes, this material was fairly sophisticated for the time but I'm not sure I would ever tag it as chaotic, hectic or spasmodic. It's perhaps just a touch more progressive than you would usually expect from the hardcore scene which is intended as a compliment in this context.

"Protestant" is a very strong record overall & is definitely the sort of metalcore record I find myself attracted to. It doesn't rely on production or gimmicks to draw the listeners attention, instead focusing on strong song-writing & punk rock energy to perform the task & it works a treat. In fact, I've gone so far as to include "Protestant" in my newly revised Top Ten Metalcore Releases of All Time list which is really saying something given that it's not generally a genre of choice for me. I can tell a good record when I hear one though & "Protestant" fits the bill nicely.

4/5

Here are my thoughts on all selected tracks:

Like Moths to Flames - "All That You Lost" from Where the Light Refuses to Go (2019)

4.5/5. First track of this playlist and we're already get some vicious low growls and high screams. The balance of soft ambience and heavy aggression is cranked up and ready for action. For the most hardcore fans of metalcore, it's showtime!

Bullet for My Valentine - "Your Betrayal" from Fever (2010)

5/5. is simple yet killer! It starts with a military marching drum intro for soldiers to prepare for war with a mood similar to a song from The Poison. The simple elements continue on including drop-C tuned guitars, screams and whispers. After the second chorus, the middle section is different from your typical BFMV song. No guitar solo, just siren-like wailing vocals over heavy guitar. It does show some maturity, but it would've been better if the guitar solo does the siren-like wailing. Still perfect all the same!

Any Given Day - "Get That Done" from Limitless (2024)

4.5/5. An excellent song that oughta level up some mornings for me and my brother who likes this band. It definitely has some similarity to the likes of Killswitch Engage! And speak of the devil....

Killswitch Engage - "In Due Time" from Disarm the Descent (2013)

5/5. The main riff in this song is pure heavy metalcore bliss. Awesome music, awesome lyrics ("Shadows will give way to light")!

Thrown - "On the Verge" from On the Verge (2023)

4.5/5. Nicely brutal! Don't let the occasional trap-like beat throw you off though.

If I Were You - "Hate Me" from Radiant Dark (2020)

4/5. Also nicely brutal! You can hear a lot of heaviness from the DOOM-line intro riff to the screams of Ryan Kirby from Fit for a King.

Fit for a King - "Backbreaker" from Dark Skies (2018)

4.5/5. And here's a killer song from that band, Fit for a King! I'm so thankful for being able to discover bands like this.

In Hearts Wake - "Frequency" from Ark (2017)

5/5. This perfect song can still be f***ing powerful even after the brutality of the previous 3 tracks in this playlist are toned down, particularly in the chorus riffing. Apparently, it's about the lonely 52-hertz whale.

Crown the Empire - "Johnny Ringo" from Limitless (2011)

4.5/5. The story of Johnny Ringo is detailed in this EP and the first two Crown the Empire albums, with its main focus in the "Johnny" tracks. This is powerful theatrical metalcore in a similar vein to Ice Nine Kills. "Don't ever trust the devil, b***h!"

Space of Variations - "Tribe" from Tribe (2024)

4/5. Get spaced out with another killer track to enjoy!

Threat Signal - "Trust in None" from Threat Signal (2011)

4.5/5. An underrated song from a great band that needs more attention. The modern melodic metalcore sound is real and cool as f***. I should really get back to listening to this band someday.

Dragoncorpse - "A Quest for Truth" from A Quest for Truth (2024)

4/5. Dragoncorpse is the answer to the question "What if you can easily blend deathcore with power metal?" This song ended up having one of the most comedic music videos ever in all of metal. And I love the keyboard solo here. I guess you can consider this a more metalcore Into Eternity. A great track with some weird stellar sh*t! The secret to originality in power metal is to mix it with a different metal genre. And we reach a beautiful climax at the 4-minute point.

Within Destruction - "Toxic" from Lotus (2022)

4.5/5. Within Destruction started off as deathcore, then they switched to modern metalcore. And holy sh*t, there's some impressive fire here, especially in the drumming.

Embodyment - "Blinded" from Embrace the Eternal (1998)

5/5. If you combine the metalcore of Converge at that time with the Christian death metal of Mortification, this killer highlight would be it.

As Blood Runs Black - "Angel City Gamble" from Instinct (2011)

4.5/5. This band is willing to "RISK. IT. ALL!!!!!" to combine melodic death metal with deathcore, and it paid off with a wicked heavy sound that shall never die. Absolutely phenomenal! The riffing melody shines at the start of the last 3rd of the track before a face-punching ending breakdown with a f***ing killer scream of "DO NOT FEAR THE FAILURES!" Another deathcore band that can blend melody and brutality in the riffing like that is All Shall Perish. That band and this one is proof that deathcore can still be metal despite what pure metalheads believe. "WILL YOU PURSUE?!"

Amaranthe - "Re-Vision" from The Catalyst (2024)

5/5. This driving highlight breaks through hard with vocoder and the harmony of the vocal trio. A perfect standout!

Currents - "The Death We Seek" from The Death We Seek (2023)

4.5/5. Sick modern metalcore, but there are other bands for me...

Half Me - "Wraith" from Soma (2023)

4/5. And there's more of that sick modern metalcore where that came from! The vocals, riffing, and breakdown all go f***ing hard.

Volumes - "Vahle" from No Sleep (2014)

4.5/5. This powerful underrated song has emotional lyrics in memory of someone the band knew who's last name was Vahle. "Why'd you have to go, why'd you have to go? I've been waiting... Staring at the floor, staring at the phone."

Rolo Tomassi - "Fofteen" from Hysterics (2008)

5/5. This legendary female-fronted mathcore band started off with a more brutal sound before the more serene cleanly-sung later albums. Fantastic!

Car Bomb - "Pieces of You" from Centralia (2007)

4.5/5. Urgently, the drums roll into an opening explosion of the discordant chaos that make up Car Bomb. Seriously, it's TDEP's Irony is a Dead Scene on steroids! This is dark extreme mathcore that marks a killer break from the black metal/grindcore that extreme metal is often associated with.

Protest the Hero - "Limb from Limb" from Fortress (2008)

5/5. Another favorite here! Rody Walker's awesome vocal range varies rapidly, perfectly playing together with the guitar work without overshadowing it. The lower death growls are a bit unnecessary but fit well for the experimentation in the music. The common tapping is still there, but then we find something unique, groovy keyboard soloing by Vadim Pruzhanov from DragonForce. Wicked but I wanna hear from that band's guitarists too.

Iwrestledabearonce - "Pazuzu for the Win" from It's All Happening (2009)

5/5. Another female-fronted mathcore band with a perfect blend of brutality and melody. IWABO FTW!

The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "The Weekly Wars" from Mongrel (2007)

4.5/5. There are so many underrated mathcore bands, and #12 is one of them! Mongrel picks up where the band's wicked mathcore sound in Nuclear Sad Nuclear left off but with more melody, later perfected in Worse Than Alone. What I love is the building ascent and top-notch lyrics. The sound is a more mathcore take on the progressiveness of BTBAM and Cynic, and that's something to remember.

PSYCHO-FRAME - "The Plot To Nuke The Midwest" from Automatic Death Protocol E.P. (2023)

4/5. Now here's some wild brutal deathcore suitable for the moshpit. That f***ing snare though!

Whitechapel - "This Is Exile" from This Is Exile (2008)

4.5/5. This track uses kind of an oriental harmonic guitar scale, especially in the breakdown when one guitar plays the melody, while the other two play the ravaging rhythm.

The Acacia Strain - "House of Abandon" from Death is the Only Mortal (2012)

5/5. The Acacia Strain have already bringing deathcore down to its deathcore variant earlier than other bands. This is also one of the best ways to end a deathcore album. "LIFE IS THE SLOWEST DAY TO DIE!!!!"

VEXED - "It's Not the End" from Negative Energy (2023)

4.5/5. That's right, it's not the end of the playlist yet. This heavy yet beautiful track pays tribute to anyone who has lost their loved ones. Within heartbreak and sorrow, there's hope and strength in all of us. Even when losing a lot that you hold dear, you should never give up. Let out your emotion from the heart so you don't keep it all bottled up. We may not live forever, but the memories of who we lost shall stay eternal. Make sure you have a nice life with your family while any of you are still around. On top of that, we shouldn't put down metalcore while it's still evolving and more female-fronted bands are rolling in like Vexed and Spiritbox. The deepest tears can be shed as you reminisce in grief, but you can always help yourself overcome these tough times. And don't forget, Megan Targett can really master both heavenly cleans and hellish growls.

Zao - "The Web" from The Crimson Corridor (2021)

5/5. Now this is how the playlist should end, with a 10-minute epic filled with the post-/progressive metal aspects of Cult of Luna. Not as f***ing long as The Acacia Strain's "Observer", but quite a journey within a journey.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite some slight drops in quality throughout. Anyway, I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

Even though I don't think it should technically be classed as a deathcore release, I've decided to add Embodyment's "Embrace The Eternal" into my Top Ten Deathcore Releases of All Time list given that it's still listed that way on the Academy database. I may elect to post a Hall of Judgement entry for it though.

01. Impending Doom – “Baptized In Filth” (2012)

02. Slice The Cake – “Odyssey To The West” (2016)

03. The Contortionist – “Exoplanet” (2010)

04. Whitechapel - "A New Era of Corruption" (2010)

05. Embodyment - "Embrace The Eternal" (1998)

06. Suicide Silence – “The Black Crown” (2011)

07. Born Of Osiris – “The Discovery” (2011)

08. As They Burn – “A New Area For Our Plagues” E.P. (2009)

09. The Acacia Strain – “Wormwood” (2010)

10. As They Burn – “Aeon’s War” (2011)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/179

Here's my review:

I stumbled over the debut album from Texas' Embodyment around 15 years ago while desperately trying to catch up on all of the great death metal releases I'd missed out on during my self-imposed, decade-long hiatus from the metal scene. "Embrace The Eternal" was reasonably well thought of in death metal circles at the time but Embodyment's remaining back catalogue seemed to be frowned upon for reasons I was unaware of so I went into the album with an open mind. I was also unaware of the links with Christianity & the early deathcore scene that now permeate the release & I honestly don't recall thinking I'd discovered the building blocks of a new genre with that experience either so this month's feature release nomination represents a good chance to reassess that position, particularly given the strong statements from our resident The Revolution devotee Andi.

"Embrace The Eternal" is a well-produced & executed record from a band that were already well in control of their chosen instruments. In fact, they can occasionally be guilty of being a little TOO precise to be honest as the weaker moments on the album do tend to sound like they're in autopilot & lacking a bit of electricity. The clinical production is led by a particularly clicky kick-drum so if that element is something you usually struggle with then I'd perhaps give this release a wide birth. In saying that though, current Living Sacrifice drummer Mark Garza is arguably the highlight of the record with his super-precise performance giving Embodyment a particularly solid platform to work off. I mean, clicky kick drums can be very unforgiving at times but here we see Garza pulling everything off effortlessly. Front man Kris McCaddon's contribution isn't your average deep death metal or deathcore growl though. Instead, we see him sporting a screamier approach that sits right at the mid-point between Carcass' Jeff Walker & the classic metalcore delivery. He tends to be a bit of a one-trick pony on the evidence here too as he really does stick to the one thing the whole way through the album's duration.

Now for the elephant in the room... Despite "Embrace The Eternal" being claimed as one of the founding releases for the deathcore genre, I have to question that consensus. You see, there is nothing terribly unusual or original here from an instrumental point of view. This is purely a death metal record from that perspective with Suffocation being the primary source of inspiration. As someone that absolutely worshipped (& at times sought to emulate) that wonderful band, it's really obvious that Embodyment were also bowing down at the altar of "Effigy of the Forgotten", even if they do tend to shy away from Suffocation's more technical side & aren't nearly as brutal. The regular use of breakdowns is certainly worth mentioning but they don't seem to be drawn from the hardcore scene as far as I can tell, instead being borrowed from the early slam death metal one. Unlike Suffocation though, Embodyment's death metal sound has as much to do with your classic old-school death metal model as it does with the brutal death metal one & you should be able to pick up the influence of bands like Morbid Angel at times too. Then during the second half of the album we start to see some more diverse influences seeping in with the odd Fear Factory groove or jumpy Korn-style nu metal section appearing. While that idea might not sound all that appealing on paper, Embodyment seem to have the class to pull it off nonetheless. It's really just the vocals that draw upon hardcore for inspiration though as the instrumentation can basically be summarized under the death metal banner &, even then, McCaddon's tone isn't even close to the super-gutteral, ultra-deep death growl employed by most deathcore front men these days. Therefore, I struggle to see how "Embrace The Eternal" is a seminal deathcore release to be honest. If it's just the vocals that draw it into that space then Carcass' "Heartwork" would surely suffer the same fate & that idea certainly isn't on the table.

With that said, "Embrace The Eternal" is a very solid extreme metal album in its own right with no weak tracks included. There's a clear consistency to the ten songs & the Christian lyrical content will have absolutely no impact on you unless you go out of your way to investigate what McCaddon is going on about. I personally choose not to & are much better off for it given my strong feelings about organised religion in general. I'd recommend that our The Horde members leave any preconceived notions at the door & give "Embrace The Eternal" a chance to win them over because it's really a very solid first-up effort & one that will have you pondering over how Embodyment's next record could possibly fall into the realm of our The Gateway clan.

4/5

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Malevolence - "Malicious Intent" from Malicious Intent (2022)

3.5/5. Let's start with good beatdown fire, filled with MALICIOUS INTENT.

Hatebreed - "Instinctive (Slaughterlust)" from Weight of the False Self (2020)

4/5. If Trivium could rip the heart from your hate, Hatebreed does just that then keeps stomping the heart hard while your hate bleeds to death. This is f***ing brutal old-school-inspired metalcore that would keep your wild bullhorns up.

Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas - "The Stronger, the Further You'll Be" from Hypertoughness (2019)

4.5/5. I totally agree with that song title, since I've been gaining a lot of strength in my metal journey. Sometimes metal isn't always about soloing but rather about Solo Leveling. Get it? The lyrics are quite amazing and perfect for gaming. Level up!

As I Lay Dying - "An Ocean Between Us" from An Ocean Between Us (2007)

5/5. Horns up to the massive melodic metalcore fire from this killer highlight!

Thrown - "New Low" from EXTENDED PAIN (2022)

4.5/5. I haven't heard of this band until just recently. That outro riff is heavy gold!

Half Me - "Ex Negativo" from Soma (2023)

4.5/5. That's a lot of Thrown for me to consume, with this song featuring Thrown vocalist Marcus Lundqvist. An absolutely heavy banger! This is basically Alpha Wolf gone Periphery, especially in the breakdown halfway through filled with raw anger. Not much has changed in between singles, and that's a good thing.

Imminence - "Continuum" from Continuum (2024)

5/5. The perfection of Imminence's new singles continues, this one sounding both brutal and beautiful. Like f***ing beyond beautiful!

Alleviate - "Within Worlds" from Within Worlds (2024)

4.5/5. Perhaps the heaviest song in the playlist so far! And I'm talking about raging metalcore violence.

HEAVENSGATE - "SHE MOVES LIKE THUNDER" from AND ALL I LOVED, I LOVED ALONE (2023)

4/5. If you take Loathe's sound and replace the shoegaze elements with the brutality of Sworn In, you have a f***ing heavy banger in this song. Impressive hellfire in the instrumentation that never disappoints! You can hear the sick p*ssed-off attitude. Though it should be noted that there's already a heavy metal band called Heaven's Gate.

VENUES - "Godspeed, Goodbye" from Godspeed, Goodbye (2024)

3.5/5. Escape the depression and experience the upbeat melody. I enjoy the chorus and how it gets a heavy twist in the end of the final one.

xNOMADx - "On Skylines of Embers" from On Skylines of Embers E.P. (2023)

3/5. A decent track with melodic heavy riffing and vicious vocal fury, but not enough to make highlight territory.

Nik Nocturnal, Victor Borba - "Soul Eternal" from How to Metal, Vol. 1 (2023)

3.5/5. A pretty cool take on Bring Me the Horizon and all of their different eras, though the structural skeleton seems to come from "Shadow Moses". Victor Borba (who also sings that Devil May Cry "Bury the Light" song) does an impressive job vocally impersonating Oliver Sykes. TAKE MY SOUL ETERNAL!!!

Currents - "Monsters" from The Way It Ends (2020)

4/5. I like this one, but something's a little off that seems to ruin it slightly.

Fit for a King - "Pissed Off" from Deathgrip (2016)

4.5/5. "Guns firing into masses... Building burning, SOCIETY COLLAPSES!" Is that a parody of a lyric from Black Sabbath's "War Pigs"? Either way, it can't beat the final f***ing brutal growl at the end.

Underoath - "Paper Lung" from Ø (Disambiguation) (2010)

5/5. This one sounds a little more alternative than the rest, but like those other two Underoath music videos ("Writing on the Walls", "In Division"), this one is also what ignited a slight spark of interest in Underoath that didn't fully began until when a different song from the band was used in a TheOdd1sOut video. This is closer to a sludgy metalcore mix a bit like early He is Legend, especially in the intense last minute. I ain't sorry when I say this is much better than their recent pop rock sh*t.

Amaranthe - "Digital World" from Massive Addictive (2014)

4.5/5. This more intellectual track deals with society living more via digital devices instead of physically socializing people. This is yet another song fitting well with both the music and the current ongoing pandemic. You can party to that song alone at home!

Bullet for My Valentine - "Alone" from Fever (2010)

5/5. This one starts with massive guitar tapping over orchestral synths and chord sequence, a nearly similar starting structure to "Your Betrayal", but sounds neo-classical. The synth-strings continue through the verse and chorus in catchy occasion. The guitar solos start with simple melodies transposed to E minor (key changes are rare for BFMV) before modulating back to D minor in time for the final chorus and a crashing finale like no other. The intro plays again in the outro slowing down to crawling before an epic collapse similar to a film or album ending. Yeah, that song would fit better as the closing track, but at least it brings us to the second half of the playlist, length-wise.

Convictions - "Stigmata" from Stigmata (2021)

4.5/5. "I won't deny my father's crown! SO YOU CAN CRUCIFY ME UPSIDE DOWN!!!!" One of the most aggressively pleasant lyrics I've heard in a Christian metal song.

Converge - "Heartless" from You Fail Me (2004)

4/5. Definitely an adjective that I would describe song #6. It's as great as many the other songs here. The song has some of the melody from the previous few tracks here while still containing heavy amounts of heaviness. The ability to combine melody and brutality is what makes Converge so great.

Iwrestledabearonce - "Still Jolly After All These Years" from Iwrestledabearonce (2007)

4.5/5. The first 15 seconds sound like a strange alien drug trip before that intro gets f***ed apart by the mathcore chaos. I love the melodic bridge that starts near the one-minute mark. Then after the last bit of chaos, the intro is repeated again as the outro.

Botch - "Spitting Black" from American Nervoso (1998)

4/5. That first line "It won't happen again, not for the hundredth time" seems fitting because this song's uniqueness makes sure nothing gets repeated for the hundredth time. The uniqueness is helped out by Knudson's guitar versatility going all over the place and constantly changing like when you're repeatedly switching weapons in your arsenal in one of those shooting video games like DOOM.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Gold Teeth on a Bum" from Option Paralysis (2010)

4.5/5. This one has some moments that can make a nice action-heist movie soundtrack, while bringing together a once-hated mix of metal and pop.

Invent Animate - "Elysium" from Heavener (2023)

5/5. Such godly vocals to go with the glorious instrumentation!

Ice Nine Kills - "Someone Like You" from The Predator (2013)

4.5/5. When I first came across this Adele cover, I thought it would be laughable, but it's highly enjoyable.

Trivium - "The Ones We Leave Behind" from What the Dead Men Say (2020)

5/5. An epic closer that keeps the intensity while having incredible melody. Apparently, this song gives a powerful message that takes on a whole meaning of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, thereby giving us a great song to fit in as we're restricted by this global maelstrom of sickness. Everything the band did in this album is nicely compiled into this furious blend of heavy and melodic, along with some of the hardest riffing in their career. Absolute metal glory!! Though the playlist isn't over yet...

The Acacia Strain - "Observer" from Coma Witch (2014)

5/5. You may have been wondering where the h*ll the deathcore section of this playlist has been all this time. Well this 27-minute epic perfectly covers both deathcore and downtempo deathcore, with over a quarter of its length containing some of the slowest, most doomy deathcore I've heard, perfect for its downtempo counterpart. Yeah, I actually think downtempo deathcore has potential in these playlists despite being just one of RYM's ridiculous desperate attempts in creating a subgenre and not having enough releases to qualify in Metal Academy anyway. Apparently, the epic is about a man suffering night terrors about killing his wife, but when he actually does that, he tries to flee by driving his vehicle away but crashes and ends up hospitalized in a coma. If there was a film based on this, that would be worth watching. A heavy doomy monolith!

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite some bumpiness in the first half. Anyway, I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

I have to admit that I, even though "All Out War" certainly isn't as bad as I originally thought it was, it's still not something that I can see myself ever feeling like revisiting again. It sounds more like a demo than a proper release with the production & performances being pretty scratchy. The vocals are enjoyable when they get super-aggressive but they can also be a bit lucklustre at other times. The riffs are pretty generic for the most part too. There's nothing horrible here but there's also not much to write home about either.

3/5

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Before I Turn - "Beginning My Descent to Hell" from The Devil Exists (2024)

4.5/5. Continuing from last month's playlist, the Hellfire spreads all over the land and everyone and everything falls. This track almost reminds me of Mechina's "Tyrannos" in the symphonic-ish metalcore instrumentation.

Sonic Syndicate - "Aftermath" from Only Inhuman (2007)

5/5. Then we head into the aftermath. I love this song, and I can't believe I wasn't fully interested in this band until just a few months ago.

As Blood Runs Black - "In Dying Days" from Allegiance (2006)

5/5. Some more melodic awesomeness, this time diving into a bit of deathcore and giving me a reason to enjoy that subgenre. "BRING THE MOTHERF***IN' RUCKUS!"

War of Ages - "The Awakening" from Fire From the Tomb (2007)

5/5. This is the only song from this album that is a new song instead of re-recorded from the band's 2005 self-titled debut, and it was re-recorded for their next album Arise and Conquer. Do I enjoy this song? H*ll yes!

In This Moment - "This Moment" from Beautiful Tragedy (2007)

4.5/5. This one can greatly work as this band's theme song, as least in this early era. It summarizes harsh vocals harmonizing the cleans and blending Swedish melodeath with metalcore breakdowns in this upbeat tune.

The Amity Affliction - "Pittsburgh" from Let the Ocean Take Me (2014)

5/5. I'm really thankful about finding this band via music videos for this song and "The Weigh Down". I really am!

Malevolence - "Higher Place" from Malicious Intent (2022)

4.5/5. That's right, a f***ing metalcore ballad! And one you can definitely sway your phone light to back and forth.

VENUES - "Unspoken Words" from Unspoken Words (2024)

4/5. Unspoken words are what you need to build up strength against toxic situations and become more mentally healthy. This is quite a catchy emotional banger, and almost like Lacuna Coil would sound like if they've expanded their metalcore influences.

Thrown - "Backfire" from Backfire (2024)

3.5/5. If Thrown decide to make their own album, it would just be like 8 songs in 12 minutes. And this one's breakdown at the end goes down HARD.

Acres, Silent Planet - "Nothing." from Burning Throne (2023)

4/5. A great song featuring Garrett Russell of Silent Planet. His screams are addictive and never a disappointment. They really add heaviness to the beautiful colors. I almost feel like crying. The heaviness in the song builds up, leading up to that killer breakdown. The drums, guitars, and bass stand together in unison to guide the vocals. A d*mn powerful song with different aspects of Bad Omens, Royal Blood, and Devin Townsend all in one.

One Morning Left - "Emerald Dragon" from Emerald Dragon (2024)

4.5/5. This band and Blessed by a Broken Heart know how to blend metalcore with 80s synths and a bit of the power metal of DragonForce. Jake Luhrs of August Burns Red conquers this fun banger with his screamed vocals. Their glam-ish aspects stand out quite a bit. You never really hear them in metalcore frequently.

Miss May I - "Gone" from Rise of the Lion (2014)

5/5. One of the best songs I've heard from this band! The screaming and singing make a perfect contrast with each other.

Unearth - "Zombie Autopilot" from The Oncoming Storm (2004)

5/5. This one totally rules! The extreme action starts with an awesome melodic riff and dueling leads. The band really shines there, giving them the fame they deserve! As if the song title doesn't tribute to In Flames enough, the song soars with an amazing soaring duel solo that the band was missing out in their debut. However, if there are a couple very small flaws to point out, they would be the spoken section ("all days are lost") and the overused breakdowns breaking part of the melodic flow. Remove those small flaws and that's an awesome extreme metalcore song!

Drown in Sulphur - "Eclipse of the Sun of Eden" from Dark Secrets of the Soul (2024)

4.5/5. A crushing modern blackened riff commences in this track with spectacular growling vocals.

Osiah - "Street Justice" from Terror Firma (2016)

4/5. When it comes to brutal deathcore, there's bound to be a face-melting blast break like that at the one and a half minute mark, followed then by an explosive breakdown less than 30 seconds later.

Monasteries - "Dreadwaste" from The Empty Black (2015)

4/5. Early Lamb of God gone f***ing brutal deathcore. Enough said!

Humanity's Last Breath - "Human Swarm" from Humanity's Last Breath (2013)

4.5/5. You can't go wrong with brutality in deathcore, that's what most of the subgenre is made of. They know how to bust sh*t hard. After a spoken line of "We stop the wind from blowing", then comes a f***ing massive breakdown near the 3-minute mark. A nice surprise for the more extreme 'core listeners. Practically heavier than all that's heavy! Quite hard and evil for the moshpit.

Deadguy - "Nine Stitches" from Fixation on a Co-Worker (1995)

5/5. This early mathcore highlight has the kind of bridge you wish to have in music class, with as many time changes as The Dillinger Escape Plan can have, enough to induce f***ing confused headbanging.

Circuit Circuit - "I Dream the World Awake" from Body Songs (2023)

4.5/5. This one opens with a guitar riff loop before vocals crash in. Then the guitar halts for a bit of drum tapping before exploding into total riff noise. The riffing basically mashes together the early 2000s eras of Converge and Linkin Park.

Great Falls - "Born As An Argument" from Objects Without Pain (2023)

4/5. This song is from a sludge metal band and album. I've given it some listening, and I agree with Daniel that it has the sludgy mathcore sound of 2000s Converge and Gaza. And it sound quite killer.

Car Bomb - "The Sentinel" from w^w^^w^w (2012)

4.5/5. This one shows the drumming action pummeling over complex riffing and bass strokes.

Zao - "Xenophobe" from The Well-Intentioned Virus (2016)

5/5. The vocals by Dan Weyandt are quite haunting. I'm glad this band is still alive along with fellow metalcore forerunners Converge. And they still have the glory from their earlier albums like Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest.

Invent Animate - "Indigo" from Stillworld (2016)

4.5/5. Ex-vocalist Ben English has the heart of a f***ing wolf. A metalcore wolf!

HEAVENSGATE - "GINSICK" from AND ALL I LOVED, I LOVED ALONE (2023)

4/5. I'm proud of how well the band can put some f***ing massive great sh*t. Over a minute in is when they get more emotional while staying brutal.

Feed the Addiction - "Thorn" from Rebirth (2023)

3.5/5. The metalcore sound of Volumes can go quite big in this song. You can pretty much travel through space with this ambient deathly metalcore sound. It's almost a solid sequel to that Before I Turn song at the start of this playlist. The f***ing heavy breakdown is worth jamming to as all the members break through with their instruments.

Sail's End - "Wishful Thinking" from Live and Die (2023)

4/5. Another song with Before I Turn vibes! The cleans and screams are amazing, fitting well with the production. And that breakdown at the last minute is f***ing monstrous.

Architects - "Doomsday" from Holy Hell (2018)

4.5/5. A smooth cool example of Architects sound after the passing of guitarist Tom Searle (RIP). Soft verses make a brilliant contrast with the soaring chorus.

Trivium - "The Phalanx" from In the Court of the Dragon (2021)

5/5. The triumphant closer of Trivium's latest album starts with grand intro riffing before a mid-tempo verse that starts building up speed when Heafy starts his usual screaming. Strings return to prominence again in the pre-chorus before the chorus of heroic glory. This epic pretty much summarizes everything they've had in the album, with sublime soloing by Corey Beaulieu. Drummer Alex Bent really keeps his pace with the riffs and elevating them. The song's lyrical theme of fighting demons fit the song's music video like a glove, and that video is a collaboration with Bethesda Game Studios based on the Elder Scrolls Online. And to cap it all off beautifully is an ultra-epic two-minute outro as Matt's vocals lead the band and the one-man orchestra to victory, until next time...

For the Fallen Dreams - "Through the Looking Glass" from Changes (2008)

5/5. Actually, there's still the last bit of the metalcore war in this awesome 6-minute epic. The one-minute intro is beautiful, but not as much as the final two minutes of epic glory, concluding the song and the album with synthesized strings that fade into a solitary snare drum, as the war ends and the surviving soldiers march home...

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite some bumpiness in a couple places. Anyway, I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

I think that ultimately it must come down to the site owners to decide the policy for genre differentiation as ultimately it comes down to their vision for how they want the site to operate with respect to genres and how broad or narrow they wish the site's genre focus to be. Sure we could pick every release apart and debate the minutiae to arrive at a definitive sub-sub-genre, but what's the point, when you could just be digging on some cool sounds instead of stressing over whether something needs yet another new pigeonhole to be put into.

I get the whole "the listener may not like sub-genre A, but love sub-genre B" argument, but give people credit for being able to pick out what they do and don't like from within a reasonably broad genre definition. It sometimes sounds like we are saying that new music discovery is a trial rather than something exciting and we fear that  some listeners may be too fragile to accidentally hear something they don't enjoy and need to be shielded from the possibility.

All this deep-genre talk feels to me like reading an operating manual for a Ferrari rather than actually driving a Ferrari. Personally, I'd rather we kept the genres reasonably broad and let people make their own minds up. 

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Brojob - "Into the Hellfire (Kris Kringle Special)" from A Very Deathcore Christmas With Brojob 2 (2023)

4.5/5. Beginning this playlist is Brojob's brutal humorous Christmas parody of Lorna Shore's breakthrough hit "To the Hellfire". And HOLY SH*T, it hits f***ing hard! Will Ramos should definitely react to this, especially during the final demonic shrieking. I still prefer the original through.

Imminence - "Heaven Shall Burn" from Heaven Shall Burn (2023)

5/5. Honestly another godly piece of metalcore to enjoy! I need more of this band.

After the Burial - "Behold the Crown" from Evergreen (2019)

4.5/5. After the Hellfire has burnt Heaven, the Lord's crown still stands. When that awesome djenty harmonic riff strikes after, you know some brutal sh*t is going down on you. This even has some recent Trivium vibes. F***ing killer!

The Amity Affliction - "It's Hell Down Here" from Not Without My Ghosts (2023)

5/5. The chaos of Hell spreads into Earth, especially during the pandemic, and you wonder if there will ever be Heaven on Earth. F***ing thumbs up for this song!

Like Moths to Flames - "Fluorescent White" from No Eternity in Gold (2020)

5/5. This band and Fit for a King know how to write lyrics about personal struggles, with this song being about vocalist Chris Roetter's wife battling an auto-immune disease, and the "fluorescent white" referencing the lights in the hospital she is in. This fantastic original song is one of my favorites from this band. They sure know how to please their fans with their groove-ish metalcore sound that's almost as progressive as ERRA and Invent Animate. Absolutely wonderful! From the first 30 seconds, you know how technical the guitars and drums can get. They can really rock this sh*t f***ing hard with killer djent vibes.

Resolve - "Death Awaits" from Human (2023)

4.5/5. Another great banger to love. Enough said!

Underoath - "In Division" from Ø (Disambiguation) (2010)

5/5. Now this is superb! Aaron Gillespie was absent for this album in both the drums and clean vocals, but Spencer's cleans that he uses with his usual screams keep the manliness factor going. No lie, I watched the music video for this song on TV long ago (at around the same time as "Writing on the Walls") during my earlier epic metal taste, but it was until in the center between then and now when I became fully interested in this band during my current modern heavier era. While I enjoy this exciting sound, I love the band in the albums where Aaron is around, though their older stuff. This album is brilliant killer face-blasting metalcore, though it hasn't reached the epic height of Lost in the Sound of Separation but it's very close. They should definitely have more success than Tool. Christian metalcore for the win!

The Devil Wears Prada - "First Sight" from 8:18 (2013)

5/5. Another perfect metalcore song that I've seen the music video for many years ago. Mike Hranica can perform insane screams that would repel my mother who doesn't care for this extreme kind of music. Although I'm not Christian, the music and lyrics are easy to love and believe. The emotion really matches those lyrics. Truly there's nothing highly disappointing this band has done.

Emmure - "Gypsy Disco" from Hindsight (2020)

4.5/5. Frankie Palmeri knows how to let out his unsteady emotions in the anger of his music. I'm sure anyone who has been around in COVID times felt the same thing. Just don't give up on life, people. Stay alive!

Any Given Day, Annisokay - "H.A.T.E." from H.A.T.E. (2023)

4.5/5. Talk about an insane collaboration by two of my brother's current favorite metalcore bands! With that and their collaboration with Within Temptation in "Shed My Skin", Annisokay should team up with Imminence next.

Zao – "To Think of You Is to Treasure an Absent Memory" from Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest (1998)

5/5. This one has vicious drumming. That song was written in memory of a friend of the band who committed suicide. Those lyrics pay great tribute to the fallen, "When you shut your eyes and fell asleep, Dark clouds descended on the souls of the ones who held you close to their hearts."

Cave In - "The End of Our Rope is a Noose" from Until Your Heart Stops (1999)

5/5. In this 8-minute epic, there's an ambient soundscape Isis would have later, before a mid-paced blend of progressive metal and metalcore, sounding slow before a ricochet into chaos. Then we have a psychedelic stoner bridge before the nastily great heaviness rises once more.

Norma Jean - "Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste" from Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child (2002)

4.5/5. This is from Norma Jean's first album since changing out of their original name Luti-Kriss. Legendary breakdown there!

Fit for a King - "Keeping Secrets" Keeping Secrets (2024)

5/5. I'm glad to have discovered this band recently. Their Christian modern metalcore sound never disappoints!

Veil of Maya - "Red Fur" from [m]other (2023)

4.5/5. Another great sick track, especially the killer djentstep breakdown at the 2-minute mark.

Of Mice & Men - "My Understandings" from The Flood (2011)

4/5. A beautiful mellow song that can work as this playlist's intermission.

We Came as Romans - "Never Let Me Go" from Tracing Back Roots (2013)

4.5/5. RIP Kyle Pavone, a tragically fallen vocalist/keyboardist. This song is so wonderful, from the f***ing amazing intro. I'll never let go of this band's music. Those lyrics shall be fun more to sing and scream along to.

Killswitch Engage - "The Crownless King" from Atonement (2019)

5/5. Ever since Howard Jones left the band and Jesse Leach rejoined, Killswitch Engage has been bringing back some of the earlier heaviness. Chuck Billy of Testament has brought forward enough fury for this song to have potential in the DOOM soundtrack.

xNOMADx - "Acéphale" from Of Skylines and Embers (2023)

4.5/5. A sick track with otherworldly riffing and that clean/scream duet at the end, both marking this song an amazing gem.

Sonic Syndicate - "Jack of Diamonds" from Love and Other Disasters (2008)

5/5. One of the most bada** songs from this band, blending metalcore with the pure melodeath In Flames steered away from since Clayman. There are also some cool subtle keyboards, that are done a little better than Asking Alexandria at that time. The cleans and screams rule!

As I Lay Dying - "My Own Grave" from Shaped by Fire (2019)

4.5/5. Nice song from As I Lay Dying's comeback offering.

Abigail Williams - "Procession of the Aeons" from Legend (2006)

4.5/5. This one has intense speed, as guitar melodies shine over blast beat insanity. Everything's well-placed there!

Carnifex - "Infinite Night Terror" from Necromanteum (2023)

5/5. I think I just have a newfound favorite of deathcore. Carnifex is a brutal beast, especially in the drumming. The breakdown midway through is a total ripper. Man I just love this sh*t to bits!

Slaughter to Prevail - "1984" from 1984 (2022)

4.5/5. Did deathcore or even music this angry or violent even exist in the year 1984? Definitely not for the former. This song is actually about stopping violence and war, which is ironic for a band called Slaughter to Prevail. Still this is quite insane!

Whitechapel - "Without Us" from Kin (2021)

4.5/5. This one mixes clean atmosphere with stomping djenty deathcore aggression.

Converge - "Grim Heart/Black Rose" from No Heroes (2006)

5/5. If you're up for some sludgy mathcore, listen to this two-part almost 10-minute centerpiece! This epic once again proves the band's distinct brilliance in expanding their territory into epic horizons as they did with the title track of Jane Doe, while maintaining their identity to not sound like a Neurosis clone. The first part, "Grim Heart" is a song of evocative mourning performed by guest vocalist Jonah Jenkins (Only Living Witness and other bands) whose emotive vocals fit perfectly with the slow bleak march to give it a Mastodon vibe. Then at around the 6-minute mark begins the second part "Black Rose" which after calming down for a bit blasts off into rhythmic frenzy, ethereal guitar notes, and the torturous howls of Jacob Bannon. One of the most impressive Converge moments, though it can't beat the superior "Jane Doe" epic. And there's one more slow mathcore epic to come...

Rolo Tomassi - "Illuminare" from Astraea (2012)

5/5. An uplifting heart-stunning mathcore epic. The only other band that can blend screamed vocals with atmospheric melody is Architects. I'm starting to love this song and band! A unique journey through the astral plane...

I, Valiance - "Pure Misanthrope" from The Reject of Humanity (2015)

4.5/5. ...Until the Hellfire burns it down and starts to destroy everything in nothing but a f***ing heavy breakdown. Now that's the sickest way to end this playlist. A heavy banger of pure f***ing hate!

HOLY SH*T, this is probably close to the best metalcore playlist I've ever done, with every track ranging from 4.5 to 5 stars, except for one 4-star track in the middle. I sure would recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but wants to get into a great start in enjoying the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

I've done my review, here's its summary:

This perfectly equal blend of melodies, riffs, and breakdowns is what makes this underrated band so unique. The breakdowns are made beyond imagination and they would make you get on your knees and beg for more. You'll find a lot of this awesomeness if you give the album a go. The wonderous melodies and riffs would guide you through, and the brutal breakdowns touch down hard and pummeling. The lyrics are so positive and mature, and they detail a revolutionary war in a story throughout the album. I could probably write a novel based on that. This band and album was missing in my life until last year, and I would love to continue listening to Changes any time. A true masterpiece in my ongoing metalcore quest!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "New Beginnings", "Last Dying Breath", "Never Again", "Vengeance", "Through the Looking Glass"

For fans of: August Burns Red, Parkway Drive, Crystal Lake

The frontrunners for The Revolution Release of 2023 Award are August Burns Red's "Death Below", Will Haven's "VII" & Unearth's "The Wretched; The Ruinous" at the moment with less than a week to go so get those ratings in.

I've just checked out this EP, and my thoughts about this might be a bit of a shocker. Here's my review that you can also find here: https://metal.academy/reviews/32699/48479

Melodic hardcore/metalcore has indeed been underappreciated in the present when bands have gone the more djenty route. As rare as it would be to find an EP like this one from xNOMADx released in this decade, I personally don't think of On Skylines of Embers as the legendary classic that people in the future will consider it. It's quite decent, but it's missing the spark that similar-sounding bands had in the 2000s such as Shadows Fall, For the Fallen Dreams (especially their debut Changes), and Unearth.

The songs here are good with their melodic heavy riffing and vicious vocal fury, but not enough to make highlight territory. The one exception is the sick "Acephale", with its otherworldly riffing and clean/scream duet at the end, both marking this song a perfect gem. But the rest of the EP? Not really the best, but worth a try....

Favorites (the one highlight to really stand out for me): "Acephale"

3/5

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Polaris - "Harbinger" from Fatalism (2023)

4.5/5. Starting this playlist is this track with an atmospheric intro as bassist Jake Steinhauser sings his clean vocals over building synths. Soon the drums and guitars come in, and finally the moshing riffs and vocalist Jamie Hails' screams. The perfect opening storm that should work well live!

Born of Osiris - "Torchbearer" from Torchbearer (2023)

5/5. I'd like to thank Born of Osiris for continuing their djenty metalcore journey, and I hope there will be more of their music to come. They never cease to amaze me, and I might try exercising with this song in their playlist.

Upon a Burning Body - "King of Diamonds" from Southern Hostility (2019)

4.5/5. Here's some more of this Texas band's killer groove metalcore!

Imminence - "Temptation" from Heaven in Hiding (2021)

5/5. Once again, Imminence f***ing rules with their music! My favorite part is the heavy riff at the one and a half minute mark.

Norma Jean - "If You Got It at Five, You Got It at Fifty" from Wrongdoers (2013)

4.5/5. I can't get enough of this band's f***ing moshpit-worthy music. The buildup at over the one-minute mark leading up to a breakdown gets me every time.

Half Me - "Concrete Ceiling" from Concrete Ceiling (2023)

4/5. Back again for some more noise is this band Half Me. This almost makes me think of late Betraying the Martyrs but more brutal and less symphonic, with the vocalist sounding a bit like Ben English (ex-Invent Animate), sound the most brutal with his growling in the final breakdown throughout the last 30 seconds. One h*ll of a headbanger, right from the first verse, "THE FIRST SHOT CAST WAS A F***ING DISGRACE".

Alt. - "Apep" from Abeyance (2023)

4.5/5. You can very well recognize the searing screamed vocals by Jack Bergin from Void of Vision. His guest appearance along with the glowing melody are what make this song amazing. I also love the verses in this banger. This would be another intense addition to my possible exercising playlist. And although this band is from Australia, you might end up in thinking about this sound from bands from other places like America and Europe if not for that fact. Though I prefer a bit of the earlier metalcore of bands like Underoath, and we'll get to more of that sometime later. Still these guys know how let themselves be set apart from the league.

Currents - "A Flag to Wave" from The Way It Ends (2020)

4/5. Some more sick modern metalcore. Enough said!

Annisokay - "Human" from Abyss Pt. 1 (2023)

3.5/5. This song seems to bit of a miss for me, but I love the lyrics that are nothing more than poetic.

Our Promise - "Panic Waves" from Panic Waves (2023)

4/5. Some absolute power in this one! Like d*mn, you might pray for more of this killer insanity. A bit of a similar vibe to the heavier Linkin Park there.

Emmure - "I Should Have Called Ms. Glen" from The Complete Guide to Needlework (2006)

4.5/5. Emmure's earlier material from the second half of the 2000s shows them at their best. Throughout the second minute is one of the greatest moments ever for the band. Holy sh*t, the vocal brutality is insane, in a similar vein to Carley Coma from Candiria. Emmure still have great potential in their early 2010s albums, but not the same as before then. "Won't you go for a ride? Let's drink a cerveza!!! And shed our ways..." Good stuff!

BOI WHAT - "PLAN Z" from PLAN Z (2023)

4/5. So... Plankton has his own modern metal band now. Absolutely chilling, including a powerful breakdown! Now all we need is Plankton and Karen performing a cover of Motionless in White's "Cyberhex".

Bullet for My Valentine - "Hand of Blood" from Hand of Blood (2005)

4.5/5. This one has the usual hardcore guitar riffing that stands out in the metal instrumentation. It's so great hearing the cleans and screams alternating between each other in the verses.

Abigail Williams - "The Conqueror Wyrm" from Legend (2006)

5/5. This may be the slowest track in its original EP, but it's my favorite here, having heavier bridges and a beautiful chorus. This is true emotional modern symphonic black metalcore. Nothing wrong with adding hardcore heaviness for the sake of trying something new, right?

Zao - "Fifteen Rhema" from Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest (1998)

5/5. Where would bands be like Eighteen Visions, Bleeding Through, and Bring Me the Horizon without a song like this!?

Killswitch Engage - "My Curse" from As Daylight Dies (2006)

5/5. Although I didn't become fully interested in this band until last year, this song I've actually known since 10 years prior, and I still love it! There's an alternate version for radios that have all the screams replaced by cleans, but of course, you know I would choose the original version for this playlist. F***ing awesome melodic metalcore!

As I Lay Dying - "Through Struggle" from Shadows are Security (2005)

4.5/5. Unlike other metalcore bands that I've heard of from over 10 years ago that would plant the seed for my metalcore interest that began in 2018 (Bullet for My Valentine, Killswitch Engage, Trivium), I didn't hear anything from As I Lay Dying until within a few years before today. It's just as well since if I started hearing about this band at the time of Tim Lambesis' arrest, I would've severed my ties with their music before even starting. But I'm glad to not miss out on this band's blend of beauty and brutality.

Parkway Drive - "Flesh, Bone and Weakness" from Don't Close Your Eyes (2004)

5/5. This can very be my favorite song in its original EP. Haunting bass kicks in followed by the drums. The growls and harmonic singing (the latter by then-bassist Brett "Lagg" Versteeg) work well for a melodic spice-up that might remind some of Evergreen Terrace. Awesomeness continues to be found in the catchy yet heavy breakdown, along with more of the audible bass riffing.

Trivium - "At the End of the War" from Vengeance Falls (2013)

4.5/5. This one contains worthwhile clean vocals while still keeping some screaming, with Matt Heafy's voice growing and becoming more powerful.

God Forbid - "Soul Engraved" from Gone Forever (2004)

5/5. A killer song with catchy riffs. What really helps it stand out is the clean chorus by guest member Thomas Cummings, later known as Bad Wolves vocalist Tommy Vext, and Nevermore guitarist Jeff Loomis performing an awesome shredding solo which unfortunately fades out when it's still great.

Killwhitneydead - "Starring Robert Downey Jr. as "The Addict"" from Inhaling the Breath of a Bullet (2002)

4.5/5. The dark disturbing atmosphere works well for the riffs and samples in this two and a half minute highlight.

PROJECT: VENGEANCE, Traitors, Nik Nocturnal - "Vessel" from Vessel (2023)

4.5/5. The vocalists of deathcore bands Spite, Infant Annihilator, Left to Suffer, Lorna Shore, and Traitors have gathered together to form an insane brutal quintet. Also stepping in is I, the Breather guitarist and YouTuber Nik Nocturnal, adding in the instrumentation. HOLY SH*T, what a f***ing powerhouse this project is!

Carnifex - "Death's Forgotten Children" from Necromanteum (2023)

5/5. However, this is much more worth checking out! Carnifex have made such an evil heavy deathcore song featuring Tom Barber (Chelsea Grin, ex-Lorna Shore). This is solid perfection that has granted me the leeway to check out more of this band.

Monasteries - "Spiralled Icon" from Ominous (2023)

4.5/5. Some more underrated deathcore heaviness, featuring the insane screaming of Ingested vocalist Jason Evans. An absolutely brutal banger like a motherf***er! It's a shame that the band split up after releasing this album Ominous, so there's no more of this devastating dissonance. Maybe one day I might be up to getting that album, if my tolerance for the more brutal side of deathcore builds up more. There's even a bit of the mathcore of The Dillinger Escape Plan and Iwrestledabearonce.

Darko US - "Come Home" from Oni (2022)

4/5. Interesting how this band added in a soft ballad-ish song to a deathcore album, but it's a beautiful way to unwind. You can think of all the pleasant past memories you have that you can never bring back, as the vocals of Dayseeker vocalist Rory Rodriguez guide you through. Beautiful!

Hopesfall - "Escape Pod for Intangibles" from The Satellite Years (2002)

4.5/5. The soft break continues with one of my favorite tracks from this album. Here they transcend through the spacey alt-rock of HUM, even featuring their vocalist Matt Talbott, and while it sounds beautiful as a one-off thing, this would sadly affect their newer stuff that's almost entirely like that. The Satellite Years and their EP No Wings to Speak of are the two releases to have their earlier spacey metalcore sound that is sadly gone from them. F***, those 4 lines are so meaningful, "I left the horizon, curled up and frozen still, the tilting of the hourglass, with all this time to kill". And while this song should've been longer, that would cause those lyrics to be a little too repetitive.

The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "Glory Kingdom" from Glory Kingdom (2009)

4/5. There's been talk about this song being Charlie Sheen, which is an interesting way to think about it.

Iwrestledabearonce - "Tastes Like Kevin Bacon" from It's All Happening (2009)

4.5/5. And this song directly references another actor in the song title! This is the kind of music that is enjoyable but hard to explain to your future kids. The final minute is one of the most impressive moments in all of metal. Some soft harp strums are heard before a sudden honking jingle from a jalopy to start a killer breakdown.

Rolo Tomassi - "Ex Luna Scientia" from Astraea (2012)

5/5. A fantastic song to love that has given me more hope in checking out this band! The members have insanely brilliant skills, almost in the same height as fellow British hardcore band Enter Shikari. The awesome spacey sound made me think about that Hopesfall song again. That soft spacey section occurs through the second third, between the heavier first third, and the final third that brings back the earlier screaming reminding me of that of Oli Sykes from Bring Me the Horizon.

Converge - "Black Cloud" from You Fail Me (2004)

5/5. A standout with the band's earlier aggression. The drumming by Ben Koller ranges from brutal to technical. The heavy guitars are incredible while Bannon continues his hard intense vocals shrieking incomprehensible lyrics. The lyrics are clearer during the structurally messy chorus ("Black cloud til' the end!!").

August Burns Red - "The Seventh Trumpet" from Thrill Seeker (2005)

5/5. I'm guessing they were influenced by old-school Avenged Sevenfold because of that song title. At 8 minutes, it is the longest track of this playlist, its' original album, and the band. The lyrics show the band's Christianity, written about the rapture, with metaphors about the blood moon, stars falling, and the incoming end of the world, a prime example being this lyric, "I take one last look at the moon and the stars begin to fall..." There's 5 minutes of brutal guitars and finally a melodic yet heavy passage that goes on until the end. That song is a total standout and my favorite song of its original album, an epic progressive song that sounds like something Meshuggah could've done. A perfect dramatic album ending!

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Parasitic Twins" from Option Paralysis (2010)

4.5/5. The playlist isn't actually over until this sinister closer that mixes eerie experimental soundtrack with doo-wop harmonic vocals. It may sound unsettling to some listeners, but a satisfying ending nonetheless.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite some bumpiness in a couple places. Anyway, I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

I've certainly been aware of West Virginia metalcore legends Zao for some time now due to my past involvement with The Revolution Spotify playlists however I'd never taken the plunge with a full album before jumping into their highly regarded 1998 third album "Where Blood & Fire Bring Rest". It certainly sounded like it might be right up my alley on paper but I have to admit that I've been left with a fairly middling (if not necessarily disappointing) outcome. Here we see Zao presenting us with a punk-heavy brand of metalcore with a reasonable amount of experimentation going on that never really convinces me that the band are deserving of the praise this record inevitably seems to draw. The vocals of front man Daniel Weyandt aren't amazing to tell you the truth. He's got one of those really wet & gurgly blackened screams that sounds like he's trying too hard but hasn't really got what it takes. I felt very similarly about Converge singer Jacob Bannon during the first half of his career actually but Converge had the power to pull it off regardless. I'm not so sure about Zao as I find them to be less intense & a little easier on the ear.

To be clear, I'm not saying that I don't enjoy "Where Blood & Fire Bring Rest". It's a pretty decent metalcore record overall but the highlights ("To Think of You Is to Treasure an Absent Memory" & "Ember") don't reach the elite level & there is a flat section during the second half of the album that sees me losing interest temporarily (see "Fifteen Rhema" & "For a Fair Desire"). The musicianship is pretty decent but the song structures sometimes push the friendship, there are more generic metalcore breakdowns than I'm comfortable with & I find the Korn-ish nu metal parts to be a little tedious. So, it's fair to say that I find the album to be a decent way to pass the time but I'm unlikely to return to it in the future. I definitely prefer the more visceral material that bands like Converge, Snapcase & Disembodied were delivering at the time.

3.5/5

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

HEAVENSGATE - "VIOLENT JOY" from VIOLENT JOY (2023)

4.5/5. Now here's a playlist opener not to be missed. There's something so special about this band like, HOLY SH*T, some f***ing emotional fire! Such an excellent beast they unleash in absolutely brutal momentum. This hard banger can really shine on the top of this year as you storm the gates of Hell. This will get you hooked to the Make Them Suffer-like heaviness all the way up to the final violent 15-second breakdown.

Kingdom of Giants - "Wasted Space" from Wasted Space (2023)

4/5. Great song, good vocals, far better than Slipknot, enough said.

Architects - "Naysayer" from Lost Forever // Lost Together (2014)

4.5/5. We blast through the drumming and riffing of one of Architects' heaviest songs yet, but the atmospheric chorus and clean vocals also sink in and never lose their grip.

All That Remains - "Divide" from The Order of Things (2015)

4/5. This is more of a Skillet-like rock/metal song with a catchy melody. That's probably one of the first songs where bassist Jeanne Sagan's backing vocals are prominent, singing together with vocalist Phil Labonte in the chorus.

Apparitions - "Coda" from Coda (2023)

4.5/5. First song I've heard from this band and it's already quite addictive. From the intro riff, you're already heading into amazing catchy metalcore. Music touches your soul and gives you a better future. The instrumentation sits nicely alongside the cleans and screams letting out killer lyrics, "DESTINED TO TAKE THE FINAL FALL!!!" This cool sh*t is what you wish Bring Me the Horizon would bring back.

Imminence - "Lost and Left Behind" from Heaven in Hiding (2021)

5/5. I absolutely love this one! This is symphonic metalcore that I need more of.

Polaris - "Consume" from The Mortal Coil (2017)

5/5. This brilliant standout is pure technical metalcore. It's an incredible highlight with the best of the late Ryan Siew's guitar leads. He and rhythm guitarist Rick Schneider put their work out in sharp delivery that barely any other band could.

From Autumn to Ashes - "Lilacs & Lolita" from The Fiction We Live (2003)

4.5/5. I love this band, along with this song! The only problem is the soothing singing during the last chorus that's a bit unclear. Still this band knows what they're doing and how to do it. This is the kind of metalcore I can truly accept.

Bullet for My Valentine - "Waking the Demon" from Scream Aim Fire (2008)

5/5. The ultimate extreme metalcore track of its original album is its heaviest song with a monstrous riff and a crazy shredding solo. Matt Tuck and Jason James have a total scream-off in the verses.

Winds of Plague - "Anthems of Apocalypse" from Decimate the Weak (2008)

5/5. Decimate the Weak is an awesome symphonic deathcore album, from the music to its album cover. The band reach their height of brutality in the breakdown at the 3 and a half minute mark. Think of this band like As Blood Runs Black with background symphonics.

Dragoncorpse - "Blood and Stones" from The Drakketh Saga (2023)

4.5/5. The fast relentless symphonic deathcore sound continues, in a once-thought-impossible blend with power metal, complete with a brutal chant of "Blood in, blood out".

Brojob - "Teenie Weenie" from Talk Shit Get Kissed (2018)

4/5. "THIS IS THE SOUND OF A THOUSAND CLAPPING A**ES!!!!" The more brutal side of metal has taken on a more perverted theme than satanic, and it shows that you can add humor to such an extreme genre.

Chelsea Grin - "See You Soon" from Eternal Nightmare (2018)

4.5/5. It's currently nighttime as of writing this comment, and it adds to the song's f***ing haunting relevance. I enjoy the vocals by Tom Barber who was the former vocalist of Lorna Shore before joining this band.

Emmure - "You Got a Henna Tattoo That Said Forever" from Goodbye to the Gallows (2007)

4/5. This is some great metalcore/deathcore before taking on a more Limp Bizkit like nu-ish direction in later albums, bringing back some good memories for those who have listened to this genre earlier than I ever had. Deathcore has cool mesmerizing wonders. F*** the sh*t haters say! The brutality reaches its highlight throughout the last minute, "MY EYES STILL SCREAM... CHILDHOOD!!!" There are definitely some vibes from For the Fallen Dreams at that time, and I love both bands. Some lyrics do make historical quotes, "WHY WOULD YOU LIE TO ME? WHAT WAS THE POINT?!" "MOVIE QUOTES AND LYRICS STILL CONNECTING US LIKE CONSTELLATIONS!"

Upon a Burning Body - "Thunderheart" from Fury (2022)

4.5/5. Another amazing heavy banger, filled with hardcore chaos for your manly lifestyle, "THUNDERHEART!!!!!!" And HOLY SH*T, the chorus that first appears one minute in rules, along with the breakdown that starts the last minute.

Celldweller, The Browning - "Switchback" from Switchback (2023)

5/5. Celldweller and The Browning once again proves themselves to be a fantastic remix collaboration duo, with the latter adding a furious breakdown to enhance this Celldweller classic. This is truly powerful industrial metalcore/deathcore! I'll be headbanging a lot to this while crying tears of joy.

Parkway Drive - "Alone" from Deep Blue (2010)

5/5. This one has similar elements than that other "Alone" song from the Bullet for My Valentine album Fever; they're both the 6th and longest track in their 2010 third album considered metalcore. Coincidence?? Probably... Anyway, it blends riffing and vocals worth singing along to with a meaningful yet strange slow chorus.

Prospective - "Visions" from Beyond (2016)

4.5/5. Some more f***ing great metalcore with good screams. The bass tones make a djenty beast, straight from the first verse onwards.

We Blame the Empire - "As I Fall" from Inferno (2023)

4.5/5. I love the beautiful melancholy from the guitar melodies in this one.

The Devil Wears Prada - "Reaching" from Color Decay (deluxe edition) (2023)

5/5. I promised to listen to this band full-time, and thanks to this awesome song, that promise is finally fulfilled!

Amaranthe - "Iconic" from HELIX (2018)

4.5/5. A pleasant surprise for heavier metalheads, running wild through hyperspeed melodic thrash and powerful choruses.

Any Given Day - "Whatever It Takes" from Overpower (2019)

4/5. Another pleasant metalcore trip, with a nice soft break at the two and a half minute mark. Solid fire right here, with the growls having a bit of an Emmure vibe. I'll do whatever it takes to unearth more music like this.

Withdrawn - "Striation" from Seeds of Inhumanity (1999)

4.5/5. My favorite highlight of this early deathcore album. They lose some speed but in a controlled pace, leading to a mighty breakdown, before getting moody in the end. Perhaps one of the greatest early deathcore songs besides some of the ones from Embodyment's Embrace the Eternal!

Currents - "Remember Me" from The Death We Seek (2023)

4/5. I love the haunting heaviness in this song, along with lyrics and vocals to touch my soul. Thank you, Currents!

August Burns Red - "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" from August Burns Red Presents: Sleddin' Hill (2012)

4.5/5. Merry Christmas, metalcore fans! Enjoy this Christmas metalcore song to prepare you for a holiday battle.

Norma Jean - "Pretty Soon, I Don't Know What, But Something Is Going to Happen" from Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child (2002)

5/5. I often listen to one of my playlists half a dozen times between when I create it and when it gets published at the start of a month. A unique thing for a metalcore band like Norma Jean is how they can easily make a 15-minute sludgy metal/mathcore epic. I have been quite familiar with epics that long since when I was listening to power metal and progressive metal in 2014. This epic is so heavy and beautiful all the way! Light and darkness blended together, if you will. It's hard to find bands of this style that can pull off a spectacular stunt like that, except maybe August Burns Red's epic from their debut album. At the 4-minute mark, the riffs become more interesting to keep you hooked. Then it all quiets down at the 10-minute mark before rising up again into a climax hitting its peak at nearly 13 minutes in. A true metalcore/mathcore epic!

Trivium - "Thrown Into the Fire" from The Sin and the Sentence (2017)

5/5. After that glorious epic, there's still one more song left for this playlist, and it's this chaotic closer. Heafy showcases a lot of his screaming potential with not as many clean vocals as the previous songs. The song has an epic aggressive chorus and some flaming high-pitched progressive guitar solos which, to be honest, sound almost like part of the chorus from "The Root of All Evil" by Dream Theater.

HOLY SH*T, this is probably close to the best metalcore playlist I've ever done, with every track ranging from 4.5 to 5 stars, except for a few tracks throughout the playlist. I sure would recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but wants to get into a great start in enjoying the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX - "Bone Saw" from Gore E.P. (2016)

4.5/5. Behold, "Bone Saw". The opening track of my first Revolution playlist after my 3-month break. Interesting track submission, Daniel! From around the 45-second mark comes a funky groove for a brutal deathcore song that can work well for a zombie slasher film. And holy sh*t, what a f***ing groovy solo for a grind-ish deathcore track! Seems like they invented a new subgenre that they call "groove to the flesh grind". Stay classy, grinding gentlemen, those are some disgustingly silly lyrics that can still be enjoyed. Also even though I don't usually put the deathcore section into the beginning of a playlist, I thought it would work well as a heavy brutal comeback for me in working on the playlists, including that Xavleg submission. If you can't handle that much deathly chaos, maybe skip to track 6 or 7 and start there.

Lorna Shore - "Welcome Back, O' Sleeping Dreamer" from Pain Remains (2022)

5/5. I was originally planning on this epic track being the one to start the playlist before that Xavleg submission came in. It begins with an ominous intro, where symphonic orchestra rises as if you were expecting Two Steps From Hell. Then at the top, the band strikes in a devastating touchdown, as the guitarists conjuring a searing riff storm raining down on you. A brutal breakdown chops you down to size, then sharp riffing once again decimates you while fitting well with the brilliant cinematics.

Mental Cruelty - "Obsessis a Daemonio" from Zwielicht (2023)

4.5/5. Some might think of this total blaster as Dimmu Borgir on steroids. At over the 3 and a half minute mark, Lukas attempts some clean power metal-like singing like some of the male guest vocalists of Avantasia.

Gravemind - "Deadspace" from The Deathgate (2017)

4/5. A killer brief transition from one part of the deathcore section to another.

The Browning - "Poison" from Poison (2023)

4.5/5. As I listen to this raging new single by The Browning at night (as of this comment), I feel like f***ing kicking a hole in the wall next to me during the brutal breakdown. Fortunately, I've never done that.

Dagames - "Die Die Die" from Die Die Die (2016)

4/5. See, this is the kind of music that I've been interested throughout my early 20s, solid deathly melodic metalcore. This time, another song from the masters of making metalcore tunes based on video games "Can you feel the edge?! (DIE DIE DIE!!!)"

Any Given Day - "Unbreakable" from Unbreakable (2023)

4.5/5. One h*ll of a headbanging anthem for the live crowd! With heavy beauty and powerful lyrics, lots more attention is what this band really needs.

Parkway Drive - "Vice Grip" from Ire (2015)

5/5. This is a much stronger metalcore song than most of its original album, and it's an excellent choice for the album's lead single; a catchy anthem about perseverance rebelling against opposition.

Polaris - "Nightmare" from Fatalism (2023)

5/5. The ultimate Polaris anthem! An easy metalcore banger with all of their signature aspects; screamed verses, melodic choruses, heavy riffs, and powerful vocals, all leading up to the mighty end. This is full-on rage you just gotta experience!

Amaranthe - "Viral" from Manifest (2020)

3.5/5. This one is a little off because of the gigantic hooks being cheesy, but they're swept away by the triple-vocal attack and crushing metal.

Kingdom of Giants - "Burner" from Passenger (2020)

4/5. Although I've only given this track 4 stars, its original album should've had more fame, especially when they had Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox in a different song.

Sikth - "In This Light" from Death of a Dead Day (2006)

4.5/5. Beautiful song filled with emotional lyrics and a f***ing irresistible solo. This can easily work well as part of the Fallout soundtrack. Somehow I think of this song as The Contortionist gone Sum 41.

Trivium - "Sickness Unto You" from What the Dead Men Say (2020)

5/5. This highlight has a darker mood and breaks through technical limits with an extreme storm of riffs and drums possessing your body. Who needs MTV?! You got this song that's far more fun than any of those lame pop music videos!

All That Remains - "Dead Wrong" from For We Are Many (2010)

4.5/5. This one makes another backward turn through history with some melodeath: Fast pummeling drumming, sawing guitar leads, deep resonant bass, and evil sounding death growls. Dissonant yet pleasing! At least there's some clean signing to fit well with the howling and growling.

Left to Suffer - "Consistent Suffering" from Feral (2023)

4/5. Feral deathly metalcore right here! At over the one and a half minute mark is an unreal blend of sped up trap with the usual growled vocals. It's so crazy how much eerie brutality and clean melody can be found put together. H*ll, those lyrics may seem sad, but the vocals make them sound mad.

Demon Hunter - "The End" from Outlive (2017)

3.5/5. While this track sounds metal in the verse and breakdown, the rest of that song just sounds like straightforward rock. Still a nice way to break the flow a little bit.

Every Time I Die - "Revival Mode" from Ex Lives (2012)

4/5. "There's only room on this rescue boat for butchers and bakers and men with hope! And will machine gunners please step forth?!" Holy sh*t, those lyrics towards the end are timeless, right before the last of the chorus that's also good, "Thanks Lord but I don't need anymore poor advice, poor advice." The solo by John Christ of Danzig during the aforementioned bridge is super cool!

Of Mice & Men - "Purified" from The Flood (2011)

4.5/5. Scr*w the haters who attack this album. The Flood is the best album by the band, and this is one of many great songs there.

Invent Animate - "Naturehold" from Everchanger (2014)

5/5. Another golden highlight! ERRA clean vocalist Jesse Cash adds pure beauty to this Invent Animate track.

Termina - "Blood Echo" from Dysphoria (2021)

4.5/5. My favorite part of this track is the clean singing at the one and a half minute mark. And the rest of the song is so insane!

Rising Insane - "Demons" from Demons (2023)

4/5. And speaking of insane, it's crazy how this band can add a lot of texture to the modern metalcore template for something so beautiful and brutal. Great lyrics too! There's so much in this killer banger you just can't miss. Raising your hammer of fire high against those demons! It's just so great. The screams and higher cleans are some good sh*t there with a similar vibe to Architects vocalist Sam Carter. There's also the wildness of the newer albums by Northlane. A bit generic and overdone in the execution of the vocal melodies, but standing high all the same.

Annisokay - "Monstercrazy" from The Lucid Dream (Er) (2012)

3.5/5. Pretty good, though not really the best I've heard from this band. However, the quality increases throughout the last minute.

Hollow Front - "Letting Go" from Letting Go (2023)

4/5. A more well-made modern metalcore track. Moving on...

Heart of a Coward - "Around a Girl (in 80 Days)" from Hope and Hindrance (2012)

4.5/5. Better riffing and raw vocals, all in heavy instrumentation, plus some clean vocal emotion. F***ing sh*t-loads of destruction!

Johnny Booth - "Follower" from Firsthand Accounts (2019)

4/5. Solid blend of beauty and chaotic energy right here! This might reminds some of the band Beloved. And G****MN, the final third of this song is so awesomely brutal, ending with perhaps one of the most destructive breakdowns I've heard in metalcore.

Knut - "Shine" from Leftovers (1997)

4.5/5. Another song to love from this band. RIP Didier Séverin

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "The Running Board" from Calculating Infinity (1999)

5/5. This mathcore standout probably works better in the Under the Running Board EP. After a chaotic minute, the song switches to a western noir theme that escalates into some more jazz fusion. Still there's no denying that the song is a hardcore anthem for metalheads.

Converge - "Drop Out" from You Fail Me (2004)

5/5. Continuing the hardcore metal insanity, guitarist Kurt Ballou shows his versatile talent with an incredible ending riff.

Frontierer - "Tumoric" from Unoxidized (2018)

4.5/5. A f***ing mathcore gamechanger of intense destruction! This shall make up for the loss of The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza. And speaking of that band...

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "Sammy Jankis" from Danza 3: The Series of Unfortunate Events (2010)

4.5/5. Holy h*ll, this is amazing furious djenty mathcore sh*t with Joshua Travis on guitars. Nothing but the sweet sound of f***ing crushing chaos! Especially in the final minute with the most of the djent. Remember Sammy Jankis!

Betraying the Martyrs - "THE VEIL" from GODSPEED (2023)

5/5. There's no better way to end this playlist than with a farewell song from this incredible symphonic metalcore band. It was shocking hearing about the breakup of this band that I've listened to 5 years, but I hope the members go on with their future projects. This is a total masterpiece of a banger! Thank you for everything, BTM....

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite some bumpiness in a couple places. Anyway, I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

My review from 3 years ago: https://metal.academy/reviews/17393/22547

Not a fan of this to be quite frank. There are some decent moments throughout Fatalism, but they come few and far between. The bands more alternative metal and quasi post-metal tunes are a nice touch around the very standard, unoriginal metalcore breakdowns. Songs like "Harbinger" and "Aftertouch" feel like an advancement of a predictable sound and I wish the rest of the record did the same. The untimely passing of Polaris' guitarist, Ryan Siew does not actually make a large impact in this albums release as it was basically complete and ready to ship out the door before the sad news. I'm sure for the band themselves, Fatalism is a heartfelt goodbye to a great friend, but all I hear is a mostly unoriginal metalcore album. 

2.5/5

Thank you once again Saxy for taking my place in assembling the Revolution playlists when I was having my break. Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Crossfaith – "Xeno" (from XENO)

5/5. What a way to start this playlist, with an epic masterpiece of a trance-metalcore song!

Earth Crisis – "All Out War" (from All Out War)

4.5/5. The title opener of Earth Crisis first EP stands against its sloppy production and comes close to surpassing "Firestorm" as the band's best classic track.

Electric Callboy – "Parasite" (from TEKKNO)

4/5. My brother likes this track, and I like it too. However, the only problem is, the clean singing isn't that fun and instead rather unfocused.

Enda Vinera – "Unholy Incarnate" (from Unholy Incarnate)

4.5/5. I can understand people think this band is a Lorna Shore copy because of their "Death's Calling" single. However, "Unholy Incarnate" makes the similarities much less obvious, and even adding different aspects like clean singing in the chorus. Don't just stand there, get this epic extreme single NOW!!!

Miss May I – "Under Fire" (from Shadows Inside)

5/5. Metalcore is a genre that may sound cliche at first, but as you give it some chance, you end up loving that genre. That's what happened when I first got into metalcore, but I didn't actually get interested in Miss May I until 5 years later. Anyway, this is one of the best songs by this band with lots of beauty and chaos, and the chorus reminding me of Killswitch Engage. Miss May I have been standing strong since their debut Apologies are for the Weak. I heard that the intro and verses sound identical to Metallica's "Moth Into Flame", but personally I think they sound closer to the band Like Moths to Flames.

Parkway Drive – "Atlas" (from Atlas)

4.5/5. This one is more progressive, having the classical vibe of acoustic guitar over orchestral background.

Trivium – "Beauty in the Sorrow" (from The Sin and the Sentence)

4/5. This is another mid-tempo song but still has a good balance between heaviness and melody.

Premonitions of War – "Black Den" (from Left in Kowloon)

4.5/5. Then we have the second longest track of the playlist, taking the brutal sludge of the first two Isis albums.

Full Blown Chaos – "Heavy Lies the Crown" (from Heavy Lies the Crown)

4/5. An underrated song for metalcore fans to like. The lyrics sound great, and the music is different from what more modern metalcore bands have nowadays. I'm really getting some As Blood Runs Black and Hatebreed vibes from this. The breakdown at the 3-minute mark is f***ing sick!

Unearth – "This Glorious Nightmare" (from III: In the Eyes of Fire)

3.5/5. An aptly-titled song that's a little weaker than the other songs and should've been placed at the end of the playlist.

Lamb of God – "Black Label" (from New American Gospel)

4/5. OK, this is an interesting track to add here because I submitted it as an earlier Revolution playlist suggestion, back when Daniel was doing these playlists. He told me that he was gonna add that track to that month's Pit playlist and it fits much better there, so I had to replace that submission with a different one. I think that was the right call, because Lamb of God is never really a metalcore band. Anyway, enjoy this raw groove metal hellfire!

Bad Omens – "F E R A L" (from Bad Omens)

3.5/5. Now this one has potential to be in a soundtrack for a movie similar to Queen of the Damned. A nice way to end this playlist. Not a complete run-through of this playlist but I'm satisfied all the same.

I've done my review, here's its summary:

When I was still enjoying this band, their 2002 self-titled debut was a solid start that showed their metalcore side at their rawest. The Silent Circus began to display their more progressive tendencies. Then Alaska was a perfect phenomenon of progressive metalcore innovation. This is only surpassed by a few points by the stunning diamond gem that was Colors, in which their experimental deathly progressive metalcore sound is in full prodigious force throughout basically a 64-minute epic split into 8 tracks. And then came this live rendition of that colorful journey, as you get to hear to all the different twists into other genres while standing by their progressive metalcore. Pretty much all of the instruments and vocals have different variations that seamlessly transcend from one place to another, all in a range from beauty to brutality. The DVD version includes their second set songs from their first 3 albums voted by fans in a special online poll. And it's an amazing selection, I must say, a trip through their earlier, more metalcore days. Colors Live is a monstrous live experience like none other from this modern progressive metal fivesome BTBAM. This is an excellent live journey you just gotta hear to believe!

4.5/5

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Rorschach - "Mandible" from Protestant (1993)

4.5/5. Let's start this playlist with abrasive guitar that might make you think of the industrial metal wave that was also shaping up at that time. However, the band is still in the metalcore zone with hysterical shrieks to accompany the abstract madness that gets more melodic midway through.

Trivium - "The Sin and the Sentence" from The Sin and the Sentence (2017)

5/5. This track begins with a 30-second build-up intro that was removed on Spotify, before heading straight to the song itself, which brings back a lot about Trivium you've missed; searing screaming vocals, greatly fired-up guitar solos, and blazing blast beats.

Converge - "The Broken Vow" from Jane Doe (2001)

4.5/5. This one has remarkable lyrics from not just Bannon but also from other hardcore vocalists like Kevin Baker (The Hope Conspiracy), Tre McCarthy (Deathwish Inc.), and Caleb Scofield (Cave In) (RIP), especially during the final screaming line, "I'll take my love to the grave!!"

Botch - "Mondrian was a Liar" from We are the Romans (1999)

4.5/5. I'm not lying when I say there's a jazz passage here. You gotta listen to believe!

Burst - "Two-Faced" from Two-Faced (1997)

5/5. This highlight has a simpler direction than what they would have later, while more adventurous than many of the more traditional hardcore bands out there. There's some melody in the music while having the usual vocal aggression that would be lessened as the band progresses.

Earth Crisis - "Unseen Holocaust" from Firestorm (1993)

4.5/5. This one has a catatonic breakdown, but the rest of the song drives on through the sonic assault of Karl's vocals as he addresses indigenous people and their risk of genocide and relocation.

Unbroken - "The Setup" from Life. Love. Regret (1994)

4.5/5. Here we have the best setup for some of the most explosive music in this album.

Vision of Disorder - "D.T.O." from Vision of Disorder (1996)

5/5. Another heavy highlight, recently covered by Eighteen Visions in their own cover album named after the year the Vision of Disorder album was released, 1996.

Living Sacrifice - "180" from Reborn (1997)

5/5. This one shows the band's 180-turn away from their earlier death metal while keeping a bit of the much earlier thrash rhythm.

The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "Texas Dolly" from Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear. (2005)

4.5/5. Now here's a great mathcore creation I enjoy. There are some people who started listening to this band as young as age 14, though I was listening to an entirely different metal genre when I was that age. I might try singing/screaming this song some time. One similar band that I haven't fully checked out yet is The Fall of Troy. #12's lineup since reuniting is not as big as it was originally. This band and Horse the Band should have more material to make up for both bands' hiatus. At over the one-minute mark, there's a brief soft break before the f***ing sudden return of the heaviness. Then there's some grindcore for 40 seconds. After that, the other vocalist steps in and descends into Vader-like brutality (both the death metal band and Darth Vader's voice). Now for those who don't know, Texas Dolly is the nickname of a famous poker player Doyle Brunson who passed away just 4 months before this comment. RIP

Demon Hunter - "Storm the Gates of Hell" from Storm the Gates of Hell (2007)

5/5. A brutal thrash-metalcore feast of screams and blasting chorus that would give you a headbanging headache. That song starts its original concept with an army of Christian angel warriors storming the gates of Hell to battle Satan's demon knights. Killer beginning!

36 Crazyfists - "Kenai" from A Snow Capped Romance (2004)

4.5/5. Another great band performing amazing tracks like this, hailing from Anchorage, Alaska.

Strife - "Will to Die" from In This Defiance (1997)

5/5. This amazing highlight has a bit of a Black Sabbath kind of soundscape, with a few prominent guests assisting in the action; ex-Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera, Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares, and most notably, Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno.

Morning Again - "Minus One" from The Cleanest War (1996)

5/5. This grand 6-minute epic marks the perfect blend of beautiful and heavy.

Ice Nine Kills - "The Nature of the Beast" from Every Trick in the Book (2015)

5/5. In an Animal Farm, a circus ringleader (lead vocalist Spencer Charnas) invites you to the act that opens the album. Spencer and co-frontman Justin DeBlieck sing the evocative chorus for the first time, as you begin to realize that the audience aren't people, they're animals! As Spencer begins his screaming, the ringleader reveals himself to be a wild boar, and you've been tricked into a trap by the animal rebellion. Through the twisting and turning epic chaos, the animals chase you all over the farm, determined to seize control and destroy any humans who get in their way. A compelling start to the album!

Bullet for My Valentine - "Eye of the Storm" from Scream Aim Fire (2008)

4.5/5. This one continues the thrash-metalcore action with a thunderous riff and another signature guitar solo.

Amaranthe - "Dynamite" from Massive Addictive (2014)

5/5. This one has an explosive start! After lighting the fuse, it explodes into a very powerful trance-metal song. Elize's vocal performance is energetic and overpowers the other vocalists who still sound great.

The Browning - "Cryosleep" from Isolation (2016)

4.5/5. H*ll yeah, some more trance-metalcore in the house!

Parkway Drive - "The River" from Atlas (2012)

5/5. This song can be considered the long middle epic of its original album, a bit like the previous album's "Alone", except there's a longer song later in that album. The intro sounds similar to that song's intro, this time with clean female background vocals. After that intro, the next couple minutes with the riff, verse, and chorus are a great blend of epic and extreme. More clean female vocals come later in this song.

Polaris - "No Rest" from The Guilt and The Grief (2016)

4.5/5. If I had more time to change this song to a slightly more appropriate one after the passing of guitarist Ryan Siew, I would've done that. Then again, it fits well for that difficult struggle for the band, and relates to anyone whose life is f***ed up by the loss of a friend/bandmate. From the fantastic intro onwards, you get to hear some amazing sh*t to make you pleased. Intense emotional metalcore right here, especially in the underrated breakdown under the 3-minute mark. F***ing strong melody in this song! This band, along with other metalcore bands, can make songs that fit well in 3 categories; short, fast, and loud. I'm telling you, that intro is filled with entrancing heaven! This band has definitely made up for Bring Me the Horizon's move out of metalcore. You can almost think of this as Currents with Lamb of God-like unclean vocals. RIP Ryan

As I Lay Dying - "Shaped by Fire" from Shaped by Fire (2019)

4.5/5. This track is heavier, sounding closer to djent. It's a fun djenty song to listen to for some low-tuned headbanging joy.

Make Them Suffer - "Ghost of Me" from Ghost of Me (2023)

5/5. A well-done standout single with amazing lyrics! Sean's incredible vocals help maintain the band's bad-a** single streak they've had alongside "Contraband" and "Doomswitch". Absolutely marvelous!

Any Given Day - "Diamonds" from Diamonds (2022)

4.5/5. H*ll yeah, you know how much I love these kinds of metal covers, full-on metalizing pop songs! This cover is actually from 10 years ago. I can definitely recommend this track to my brother who enjoys this band. It's so powerful that it can obliterate the original Rihanna song. Quite a hammering banger! Now I need to check out their other cover, the one of Scorpions' "Winds of Change". Metal can definitely enhance any pop/R&B hit.

Brojob, Enda Vinera - "BARBIE GIRL" from BARBIE GIRL (2023)

4/5. Now this is quite wild! Two deathcore bands have collaborated with each other to turn a 90s pop single about the popular doll into a deathcore track. And it's already f***ing different with its brutal breakdown in the last 30 minutes or so. One other Brojob song I've heard is "Teenie Weenie". And yes, I've seen the Barbie movie.

Shadow of Intent - "The Coming Fire" from Elegy (2022)

4.5/5. The ending of this track is one of the most memorable parts of its original album. It's "Gravesinger 2.0" (yes, I've listened to that song as part of the playlists)!

Whitechapel - "Breeding Violence" from A New Era of Corruption (2010)

5/5. The guitar soloing that should level up deathcore's appealing factor appears in this violently pleasant highlight.

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "Vicki Mayhem" from Danza 3: The Series of Unfortunate Events (2010)

4.5/5. Again I probably would've chosen a different song after the passing of TDTE guitarist Brad Thomson who performed with the band in the two albums before this one. RIP... This band can unleash unique talented mayhem. Things get physical at near the one and a half minute mark, then 45 seconds later, there's one of my favorite parts of a a TDTE song! This band is filled with brutal experimental mathcore in 7-string slaughter. "THEY. WILL. NEVER. TAKE US ALIVE!!!" You can almost think of this as Whitechapel gone Animals as Leaders, with a bit of BTBAM and Hatebreed.

Iwrestledabearonce - "Button It Up" from Ruining It for Everybody (2011)

4/5. Now here's a clever entertaining mathcore adventure to make your day and not have to worry about what other people think. Ruining It for Everybody is filled with weird yet fun songs. So come join this party in your head! I'm glad their material is in major streaming platforms like Spotify.

Invent Animate - "Immolation of Night" from Heavener (2023)

4.5/5. Some g****mn sick djenty metalcore with great lyrics and effective breakdown. Emotional fury right there!

Lorna Shore - "Pain Remains III: In a Sea of Fire" from Pain Remains (2022)

5/5. The climatic final part of this epic suite, its original album, and this playlist, is a highlight you can never skip. It shows the band at their most epic, then wraps it all up with a soft outro of ethereal atmosphere. The dream is over, wake up!

HOLY SH*T, this is probably close to the best metalcore playlist I've ever done, with every track ranging from 4.5 to 5 stars, except for a few tracks towards the end. I sure would recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but wants to get into a great start in enjoying the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had! I'm also glad to finally catch up with all of my July playlists, along with having just entered the last month of my busy schedule, so look out for my usual playlist thoughts for all of my clans continuing next month...

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yFgscg5HWKGoIy2s0xRfG?si=593a6644166340b1

1. Whitechapel – Single File to Dehumanization (2010)

2. Botch – Frequency Ass Bandit (1999)

3. The Dillinger Escape Plan – Symptom of Terminal Illness (2016)

4. Any Given Day – Endurance (2016)

5. Typecaste – Traverse (2020)

6. As I Lay Dying – Blinded (2019)

7. Fit For A King – Hollow King (Sound of the End) (2013)

8. Electric Callboy – Best Day (2015)

9. The World Is Quiet Here – Ossuary (2023)

10. blessthefall – The Reign (2011)

11. Emmure – A Gift A Curse (2014)

12. iwresledabearonce – Green Eyes (2015)

13. Northlane – Corruption (2011)

14. MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE – Headshot! (2008)

15. The World Alive – Your Mirage (2014)

16. Animations – My Private Ghetto (2013)

17. The Eyes Of A Traitor – The Birth (2010)

18. Unbroken – Zero Hour (1993)

19. A Black Rose Burial – A Baleful Aura in the Graveyard of Broken Gears (2020)

20. ERRA – Vanish Canvas (2021)

21. The Agonist – Blood as My Guide (2019)

Here's my review summary:

Converge is known as one of the pioneers of the metal/hardcore mix that is metalcore, and a developer of its mathematical subgenre mathcore. They're highly popular in the metalcore community despite the lack of mainstream attention. Its extreme taste might take a while to get used to but it has gotten better as time went on and the band would reach bigger labels for a bigger audience... I'm definitely sure you won't get straight into Converge right away. Listening to a band that extreme takes time for its full pleasure. I thought When Forever Comes Crashing only deserved a lower rating at first, but now I realize how incredibly extraordinary it is! I think another math/metalcore band this good is The Dillinger Escape Plan. Many of the songs strike with dissonant guitars and pummeling drums, and no metalcore fan can ever complain about the strong outstanding vocals, though it's astonishing how Jacob Bannon's vocal chords can survive his screaming sounding so intensely harsh. The songs are all strong for the most part with almost nothing being bad or week. And I think both the original album artwork created by Bannon and the reissue artwork by Aaron Turner (Isis) are amazing. However, the album and the band might not appeal to everyone in the world. Nonetheless, When Forever Comes Crashing is another fine metalcore album worth your money!

5/5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yFgscg5HWKGoIy2s0xRfG?si=fd6e82740749446f

1. All That Remains – Not Alone

2. Amaranthe – Countdown

3. Suicide Silence – Witness the Addiction

4. Electric Callboy – Everytime We Touch

5. Emmure – Looking A Gift Horse In The Mouth

6. Iris Official – I’m the Animal

7. Killswitch Engage – The Signal Fire

8. Trivium – Brave This Storm

9. All Shall Perish – Awaken the Dreamers

10. Whitechapel – When a Demon Defiles a Witch

11. As I Lay Dying – Parallels

12. Fit For A King – Anthem of the Defeated

13. Adept – Shark! Shark! Shark!

14. To The Grave – Red Dot Sight

15. Fit For An Autopsy – Iron Moon

16. Imminence – Jaded

17. Unearth – Mother Betrayal

18. Like Moth To Flame – Real Talk

19. Hatebreed – Weight of the False Self

20. Within Destruction – Plage of Immortality (feat. Dean Lamb)

21. After The Burial – To Carry You Away

22. Sea Of Treachery – Unleash The Serpents

Following my enjoyment of the Suicide Silence feature release last month I was intrigued to see if I was about to go on a deathcore streak with the arrival of Whitechapel in The Revolution hot seat this month. After 3 or 4 listens I remain distinctly underwhelmed in comparison to the more immediate entertainment I found with The Black Crown. First off the bat though, it is important to say I do not hate A New Era of Corruption. It lacks any real depth or grit overall for me though. Despite some interesting breakdowns that allow for the vocals to play just a big a part as the guitars I find them still to be nothing more than a welcome distraction to what I deem to be otherwise quite a monotonous record.

There is an almost mechanical (sadly lacking the "necro" aspect promised by the penultimate track) undertone to this album for me, a real sense of going through the motions. Punctuated only by the all too brief moments of true death metal guttural gurns and the hint of groove to a riff every now and again, this machine-like edge to proceedings soon becomes all I am focusing on. Album closer Single File to Dehumanization is the least enjoyable of all the eleven tracks on offer here and is perhaps the best example of the challenges I have with this record. The added frustration is that it sounds like these guys are better than this record actually shows them to be and that they somehow along the way lost any sense of soul or even fun in what they were doing and fired out a technically proficient yet ultimately boring album.

2.5/5

When I saw that The Black Crown was a deathcore release I went to RYM to check my rated releases to see if I had anything against which to reference it. Turns out I have never knowingly listened to a deathcore album before, which is not really that surprising as I will admit that I often struggle with 'core-related releases, chiefly because I struggle with the vocals. Well, first point goes to Suicide Silence, because I had no issue at all with Mitch Lucker's vocals as they stayed well below the "shouty teenager" level that is my cut-off point, whilst remaining particularly savage and pissed-off sounding. Musically, I actually had a pretty decent time with this, although it is aimed a fair distance from my metal sweet spot. I don't aim to pretend I know what I am talking about regarding a release like this that is so far removed from my usual fare, but I did find myself getting into the groove with a fair few of the riffs and, generally, the whole did provide me with a decent amount of enjoyment on a day when I may well have been in a frame of mind for something a bit different. On several occasions I found myself thinking, oh that sounds a bit like early Slipknot, a band not to everyone's taste I know, but I think they wrote some pretty decent metal tunes and it is meant as a compliment to Suicide Silence, not as a gripe against them. There is a surfeit of angst and vitriol on display and although such anger doesn't really translate to a retired sixty-year-old walking his dog on a beautifully sunny June morning, I can still relate to the sentiment.

As a band Suicide Silence seem very tight and economical - there is very little by way of  superfluous embellishment, the rhythm section is there to drive the tracks forward, not to impress the listener with fancy fills or bass runs. The guitar sound is pretty dense and the riffs are effective with one or two killers - You Only Live Once, for example. Personally I enjoyed the second half of the album more than the first as it adds a couple of small, but cool touches that enhance the experience for me. The opening few songs feel like a band blowing off steam and are totally focussed on aggressive delivery, but after the interlude of March to the Black Crown, which provides a nice mid-album breather with it's ominous sound and choral-style vocalisations, things get a bit more interesting. The interlude is followed by my personal favourite, "Witness the Addiction" which maintains the pissed-off aura of the album, but feels more considered with it's clean vocal sections providing more accesibility without compromise. The acoustic guitar parts of The Only Thing That Sets Us Apart fit into the song very nicely too and is a nice touch.

Overall, I would contend that whilst The Black Crown will probably never feature in my top 100 metal albums, it did provide sufficient enjoyment for me to return to it at some point in the future and, rather like Trivium's In Waves, it may well be an album I turn to when I fancy something outside my usual listening fare. I must also add my agreement with both Daniel and Vinny that, whilst respecting Metal Archives right to regulate their own content, it doesn't follow that this is unwelcome there whilst Rush, Deep Purple and Scorpions are all represented. Metal is metal surely and The Black Crown is certainly worthy of it's inclusion here at Metal Academy.

3.5/5

That's two positive experiences with Revolution features in consecutive months. Maybe I need to reassess my general feeling towards the clan and perhaps I have misunderstood it all along. Conversely, maybe the last two features have just been outstanding choices.