March 2022 "The Revolution" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yFgscg5HWKGoIy2s0xRfG

Tracklisting:

1. Amaranthe - "Leave Everything Behind" (from Amaranthe, 2011) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

2. All That Remains - "Two Weeks" from (Overcome, 2008) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

3. Invent Animate - "Cloud Cascade" (from Greyview, 2020)

4. Like Moths to Flames - "Do Not Resuscitate" (from Pure Like Porcelain, 2021)

5. Savage Hands - "Memory" (from The Truth in Your Eyes, 2020)

6. We Came as Romans - "Daggers" (from Daggers, 2021)

7. Within the Ruins - "Feeding Frenzy" (from Elite, 2013) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

8. Thornhill - "In My Skin" (from The Dark Pool, 2019)

9. Void of Vision - "VAMPYR" (from CHRONICLES I: DUST, 2021)

10. InVisions - "Deadlock" (from Deadlock, 2022)

11. Saving Vice - "Endgame" (from Hello There, 2020)

12. August Burns Red - "Indonesia" (from Constellations, 2009) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

13. Weeping Wound - "23[23]23" (from PAIN, 2019)

14. Aviana - "Oblivion" (from Obsession, 2022)

15. Trivium - "Sever the Hand" (from The Sin and the Sentence, 2017) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

16. Bullet For My Valentine - "Shatter" (from Bullet For My Valentine, 2021) [Submitted by Daniel]

17. Bring Me the Horizon - "Pray for Plagues" (from Count Your Blessings, 2006) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

18. Make Them Suffer - "Contraband" (from Contraband, 2021)

19. Psyopus - "The White Light" (from Ideas of Reference, 2004)

20. A Trust Unclean - "Aeon" (from Parturition, 2017)

21. Alpha Wolf - "The Mind Bends to a Will of Its Own" (from A Quiet Place to Die, 2020)

22. Darko US - "Insects" (from Darko, 2021)

23. Brand of Sacrifice - "Demon King" (from Lifeblood, 2021)

24. Gaza - "Gristle" (from I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die, 2006) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

25. Daughters - "Cheers Pricks" (from Hell Songs, 2006)

26. Vein - "Doomtech" (from Errorzone, 2018)

27. Shadows Fall - "Somber Angel" (from Somber Eyes to the Sky, 1997)

28. Underoath - "Pneumonia" (from Voyeurist, 2022)

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Amaranthe - "Leave Everything Behind" (from Amaranthe, 2011)

5/5. This track to begin the playlist is one of the first songs by the band and it has melodeath, alt-metal, power metal, and a bit of trance all in a perfect balance. The choruses are catchy while staying epic, especially in the guitar solo during the last one.

All That Remains - "Two Weeks" from (Overcome, 2008)

5.5/5 (not exaggerating). This is one of the band's first songs to discard most of their metalcore sound, but I still love it anyway! This is the band's best track on the album, probably the band's best one in general. Dueling guitars, deep bass, relentless drumming, this song has it all. And I can thank my usually alt-rock-loving brother for getting me into this melodic metalcore glory!

Invent Animate - "Cloud Cascade" (from Greyview, 2020)

4.5/5. Very good and dark, just the way I like it!

Like Moths to Flames - "Do Not Resuscitate" (from Pure Like Porcelain, 2021)

5/5. Now this is what I really love, melodic-ish metalcore with a brutal breakdown! Like Moths to Flames is a band I wish to discover more of. The chorus rhythm is in excellent progression. The lyrics seem to relate to Alzheimer's. The brutal breakdown groove occurs in the last 30 seconds of the song, one of the best of the year! Though there is an emotional verse a minute earlier. Also there's a bit of amazing soul-touching piano in the middle. The band can go in like a lion and out like a lamb, then vice versa! Seems like after their recent 11-track album, they decided to release another EP. This heavy bomb is phenomenal. An absolute metalcore banger!

Savage Hands - "Memory" (from The Truth in Your Eyes, 2020)

4/5. Gnarly riffs, great vocals, catchy melodies... This band can stay quite sharp!

We Came as Romans - "Daggers" (from Daggers, 2021)

4.5/5. How is this band staying on without Kyle Pavone?! Either way, this single has killer potential! RIP Kyle

Within the Ruins - "Feeding Frenzy" (from Elite, 2013)

5/5. Another fantastic metalcore band! The screaming can sound emotional while staying aggressive along with the rest of the music which also beautiful melody. I f***ing love it! Screams don't ruin metal, it makes it better.

Thornhill - "In My Skin" (from The Dark Pool, 2019)

4.5/5. An atmospheric journey that allows you to drift along with this unique captivating music. The vocals give the track a melodic vibe. However, in my quest to try to score a home-run for this band, I'm stuck in 3rd base.

Void of Vision - "VAMPYR" (from CHRONICLES I: DUST, 2021)

5/5. Here's what I prefer to go for in metalcore, dark aggression! After that heavenly drift in the Thornhill track, the Void of Vision one forcefully drags you through Hell, reaching the deepest most violent depth during the end. One of the best!

InVisions - "Deadlock" (from Deadlock, 2022)

4/5. First song I've heard from this band, and I can hear a bit of their stellar talent.

Saving Vice - "Endgame" (from Hello There, 2020)

4.5/5. A sweet killer balance between brutality and melody. So amazingly bad-a**! This is kind of the equivalent to the limbo realm between Heaven and Hell, when you visualize the aftermath of an untimely death, like in the next track...

August Burns Red - "Indonesia" (from Constellations, 2009)

5.5/5 (not exaggerating). This is my favorite song on this song's album and probably the band and this playlist. It is dedicated to David Clapper, drummer Matt Greiner's second cousin, who was a missionary killed in a plane crash in Indonesia. There's a lot of sweeping and breakdowns, plus a guest clean vocal appearance by Tommy Rogers from Between the Buried and Me.

Weeping Wound - "23[23]23" (from PAIN, 2019)

4.5/5. Now this is some heavy sh*t that's barely bad at all, a f***ing satisfying banger! We shall get more of this amazingness further...

Aviana - "Oblivion" (from Obsession, 2022)

4/5. D*mn, this sounds quite useful for a DOOM-like video game soundtrack. F***ing good heaviness!

Trivium - "Sever the Hand" (from The Sin and the Sentence, 2017)

4.5/5. Speaking of DOOM, my brother's been listening to this song lately because it reminds him of the soundtrack to that game. And why not??? This one really kicks things up to high gear and has a darker thrash metal-influenced sound.

Bullet For My Valentine - "Shatter" (from Bullet For My Valentine, 2021)

3.5/5. After that slight ballad, there's more Hell to unleash with rising feedback before the dark verses and fierce moshing chorus. Interesting choice, Daniel!

Bring Me the Horizon - "Pray for Plagues" (from Count Your Blessings, 2006)

4/5. This band, THIS BAND wrote dark lyrics and brutal music?!? Yep, and it still hits right after all these years! While this isn't as perfect as their metalcore material, it really beats their recent alt-pop-rock phase. This heaviness keeps me both calm and active during the late-night hours of me writing these comments. Seriously, f*** the pop rock sh*t, the older material is what the heavier fans should get. When Oliver Sykes does his amazing screams to say the album's title, that's the best part. So underrated!

Make Them Suffer - "Contraband" (from Contraband, 2021)

5/5. This Australian symphonic metalcore band has returned with a brand new single to start a mosh pit at home. The piano melody is hauntingly beautiful, but Booka Nile doesn't sing in that song. In fact, she was in hiatus due to taking time off to participate in Married At First Sight Australia, then just recently, she was fired from the band. For this song, the band brought in Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox to perform female vocals. If she wasn't committed to her main band, she might have a chance to join this one. Anyway, this track is kind of like a bridge from their previous album How to Survive a Funeral to whatever comes next, and can be considered August Burns Red with female singing. Still I miss the glory days of Neverbloom and Old Souls.

Psyopus - "The White Light" (from Ideas of Reference, 2004)

4.5/5. Here's a nostalgic throwback to when mathcore was rising in the early 2000s. Only someone who has mastered experience this kind of complex chaos can truly enjoy this track as much as I do. Listen at your own risk!

A Trust Unclean - "Aeon" (from Parturition, 2017)

4/5. F***ing underrated heavy technical deathcore right here! This can please the heavier fans looking for radical brutality.

Alpha Wolf - "The Mind Bends to a Will of Its Own" (from A Quiet Place to Die, 2020)

5/5. Another heavy headbanger! The lyrics follow the breakdown ridiculously well. The blast beats blow you away like a gigantic wind tunnel. A Warp Tour is in order for this band! This is basically Slipknot gone hardcore bonkers. I can definitely hear some Knocked Loose influences. The last-minute breakdown starts with a scream, literally!

Darko US - "Insects" (from Darko, 2021)

4.5/5. These lyrics are quite addictive in this f***ing slammer! What other band can go that wild?...

Brand of Sacrifice - "Demon King" (from Lifeblood, 2021)

4/5. I first started listening to metal when I was 13. Little did I know that, 10 years later, I would be exposed to some of the most berserk music I've heard in my life! Still I would reserve for the more brutal professional fans.

Gaza - "Gristle" (from I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die, 2006)

4.5/5. This one starts hard on the guitar then goes light before heading back into the heavy waves, sounding like another song inspired by early Converge. The song rolls with a heavy punch at the end.

Daughters - "Cheers Pricks" (from Hell Songs, 2006)

5/5. This long 6-minute epic has one of the most catchy bass loops I've heard.

Vein - "Doomtech" (from Errorzone, 2018)

5/5. Here you can find some intimidating hardcore. These 5 minutes are filled with chaotic changes to spin your head in uncontrollable directions.

Shadows Fall - "Somber Angel" (from Somber Eyes to the Sky, 1997)

4.5/5. Another incredible song! The first minute is a beautiful acoustic intro, then the rest is pure melodeath-inspired metalcore mayhem.

Underoath - "Pneumonia" (from Voyeurist, 2022)

4/5. This closing finale is worth describing on its own. It is the band's first 7-minute epic since the one at the end of Define the Great Line (still not as long as any of the songs from Cries of the Past). Basically it's brooding drone/post-metal that really emphasizes the first part of the post-hardcore name. Things start to build up to a final phenomenal climax. All in just that last minute, you hear more energy exploding than a supernova before it's all over. It's Underoath's "Nighttime Disguise"!

Wow, this playlist turned out pretty well! I'm glad to have some good help from Daniel with his submission. I look forward to listening to more of the bands that are perfect for me. I 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!