May 2022 "The Revolution" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio

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

Tracklisting:

1. Memphis May Fire - "The Sinner" from The Hollow (2011) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

2. The Ghost Inside - "Between the Lines" from Returners (2010)

3. ERRA - "Gungrave" from ERRA (2021)

4. Of Mice & Men - "Echo" from Echo (2021)

5. Any Given Day - "Loveless" from Overpower (2019)

6. Crystal Lake - "Aeon" from Helix (2018)

7. If I Were You - "Broken" from Inner Signals (2018)

8. Architects - "Death Is Not Defeat" from Holy Hell (2018)

9. Currents - "Origin" from The Way It Ends (2020)

10. Trivium - "Watch the World Burn" from In Waves (2011) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

11. Demon Hunter - "This is the Line" from The World is a Thorn (2010) [Submitted by Daniel]

12. Ice Nine Kills - "Rainy Day" from The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood (2021) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

13. Attila - "Proving Grounds" from Guilty Pleasure (2014) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

14. Make Them Suffer - "Fake" from Old Souls (2015) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

15. War From a Harlots Mouth - "Spineless" from MMX (2010)

16. The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Mouth of Ghosts" from Ire Works (2007)

17. ExitWounds - "Sickened" from Heaven is Empty (Hell is in My Mind) (2021)

18. Convictions - "The War That Followed Me Home" from I Won't Survive (2021)

19. Lost in Separation - "The Secrets We Keep" from The Secrets We Keep (2022)

20. Void of Vision - "GOTHIKA" from CHRONICLES I: LUST (2021)

21. The Parallel - "Monochrome" from Weaver (2018)

22. The Afterimage - "Cerulean" from Eve (2020)

23. Dead by April - "As a Butterfly" from Let the World Know (2014)

24. Asking Alexandria - "Moving On" from From Death to Destiny (2013)

25. Chelsea Grin - "Blind Kings" from Blind Kings (2020) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

26. Underoath - "Act of Depression" from Act of Depression (1999)

27. Betraying the Martyrs - "When You're Alone" from Breathe in Life (2011) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

28. Slice the Cake - "The Holy Mountain" from Odyssey to the West (2016)

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Memphis May Fire - "The Sinner" from The Hollow (2011)

5/5. Let's start with this mighty metalcore opener that would make you want more, especially the first chorus at the one-minute mark!

The Ghost Inside - "Between the Lines" from Returners (2010)

4.5/5. I'm glad this band is still here after that near-fatal tour bus crash in 2015. You get to witness the band create more tunes that follow the ones before the crash. I love the brilliant lyrics here. "Where have the words gone?!"

ERRA - "Gungrave" from ERRA (2021)

5/5. I love this one! The artwork for that album is quite cyberpunk-ish. The sound here is awesome too!

Of Mice & Men - "Echo" from Echo (2021)

5/5. I've heard of this band a few years ago and never gotten the chance to actually listen to much of them... But now I might feel up for that again with this amazing track! Aaron Pauley's vocals sound awesome despite having to go solo.

Any Given Day - "Loveless" from Overpower (2019)

4.5/5. Any Given Day sounds like they continue the groove anthems Five Finger Death Punch had in their earlier albums, while sticking to their own metalcore recipe. There are great lyrics in this one!

Crystal Lake - "Aeon" from Helix (2018)

5/5. Another band that has now become one of my favorites, because of this wild rollercoaster ride through progressive metalcore, deathcore, djent-core, and tech-black-death. That's how diverse this can be!

If I Were You - "Broken" from Inner Signals (2018)

4.5/5. Another great song really worth listening to. Enough said!

Architects - "Death Is Not Defeat" from Holy Hell (2018)

5/5. Some of the most intense lyrics and music I've heard in this amazing masterpiece of a song! It fits well for the band after their earlier guitarist Tom Searle passed away. RIP... If death catches up to me on an untimely moment, I'd like this as my funeral song. Absolutely underrated! The rhythm in the final minute, towards the end, shows the Tom era coming full circle.

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

4.5/5. Quite some fire here. Feel it burn!

Trivium - "Watch the World Burn" from In Waves (2011)

5/5. And then watch it burn as this track branches out beyond the band's usual sound of thrash metalcore. It still keeps that style but it's a more progressive track. The song has pretty much everything from heavy riffs and a progressive bridge with epic singing and screaming vocals to a melodic thrash chorus.

Demon Hunter - "This is the Line" from The World is a Thorn (2010)

5/5. Another awesome heavy song. That song's chorus is a little cheesy with more clean singing and not as much shouting as the rest of the song that the shouting plagues. Outstanding song choice there, Daniel!

Ice Nine Kills - "Rainy Day" from The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood (2021)

4.5/5. This is based on the Resident Evil movie, which itself is based on the video game series and that makes me wonder if they should've saved it for a horror video game tribute album. The highly different gamer-industrial tones produce a vibe of video games and early 2000s action film soundtracks.

Attila - "Proving Grounds" from Guilty Pleasure (2014)

4.5/5. One of the best Attila songs for me! I love how this song is based on Fronz's real-life stories in a way that almost stretches the truth of his struggles in the music industry with his "b****rds be damned" like attitude. Not the super-best, and not the most appreciated but still so good. Makes you want to "Hit the back button, repeat this song." Except if you're like my mother who can't stand the heavier metal/core or if you're sensitive to a bit of homophobia in the middle ("WHO'S THE F****T NOW?!"), in which case you might wanna go somewhere else. Can Of Mice & Men reach that level? Most likely not.

Make Them Suffer - "Fake" from Old Souls (2015)

5/5. For a song titled "Fake", it's never fake. It's a real punishing song with sharp riffs and menacing views towards hypocrisy and indoctrination that basically say "To h*ll with religion!" A great standout!

War From a Harlots Mouth - "Spineless" from MMX (2010)

4.5/5. Without a doubt, this has some of the best instrumentation here. Catchy breakdowns, a well-placed clean section, and crushing riffs keep leveling up.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Mouth of Ghosts" from Ire Works (2007)

5/5. Probably the longest TDEP song at almost 7 minutes. After 4 minutes of mellow jazz piano, things start building up before the guitars enter one last time in an almost theatrical conclusion.

ExitWounds - "Sickened" from Heaven is Empty (Hell is in My Mind) (2021)

4.5/5. This is quite a sick banger, with nearly the right metalcore vibe!

Convictions - "The War That Followed Me Home" from I Won't Survive (2021)

4/5. If the band Reflections married Norma Jean and then cheated on that band for Veil of Maya, this song is what would be spawned. You can definitely hear the influences from those bands within the guitars.

Lost in Separation - "The Secrets We Keep" from The Secrets We Keep (2022)

4/5. It's no secret what there is for the heavier metalcore fans to love. Some cool metalcore hype here! The vocals are quite a chiller, especially in the chorus. Quite some beautiful killer jamming there. Sworn In has really influenced this band to make such a banger.

The Parallel - "Monochrome" from Weaver (2018)

4.5/5. D*mn, that chorus has powerful meaning! Other than that, I don't have a lot to say.

Void of Vision - "GOTHIKA" from CHRONICLES I: LUST (2021)

5/5. Filthy synths and breakdowns are gonna make Ocean Grove regret not having them longer. The playlist gets better again with this d*mn underrated band. So ravaging this sound! And I thought their song "VAMPYR" from the March playlist was the heaviest those guys can do. The mixing is f***ing brilliant, a fantastic distorted beast of a song! I don't know any other filthy banger that could top this. The unclean vocals really transcend through realms, maybe one of them being Emmure. Your bones would be crushed in a moshpit activated when this song is blasted live. Heavy in a decent level for me, kinda like Northlane at their heaviest.

The Afterimage - "Cerulean" from Eve (2020)

4.5/5. Apparently the vocalist of this band is also in deathcore band Brand of Sacrifice. Quite fascinating! The riffing/rhythm in the intro and bridge reminds me a bit of Meshuggah, specifically the Nothing era.

Dead by April - "As a Butterfly" from Let the World Know (2014)

5/5. High-quality beautiful lyrics in this excellent song! If the tempo was two times faster, this would've made the song more metalcore. But there's already enough strength to brush aside that weakness like it's nothing.

Asking Alexandria - "Moving On" from From Death to Destiny (2013)

4.5/5. A great song from Asking Alexandria, and one of my favorite metal ballads, to break things up a bit.

Chelsea Grin - "Blind Kings" from Blind Kings (2020)

4/5. Chelsea Grin is back at it again with some searing deathcore only suitable for those who can go underground.

Underoath - "Act of Depression" from Act of Depression (1999)

3.5/5. Some of Dallas' best screaming comes from the 10-minute title epic of this band's deathly metalcore debut. The lyrics deal with suicide, but the way he screams those lyrics with pain and depression in his voice is the best aspect of the track. Christians normally condemn suicide, but the lyrics tell the story of someone who was bullied (as you can hear from the sound samples at the 7-minute mark). The lyrics are meant to discourage such a tragic action, instead of encourage, and that's what Christians prefer. However, it can't beat the rest of this playlist.

Betraying the Martyrs - "When You're Alone" from Breathe in Life (2011)

4/5. A killer song to roll with the f***ing punches. You can hear the deathcore elements of Whitechapel combined with the symphonic black metal of Dimmu Borgir, mixed into this band's own unique sound.

Slice the Cake - "The Holy Mountain" from Odyssey to the West (2016)

4.5/5. This fits well as the closing single track epic to both this playlist and its original album, mixing all and additional elements to end this theatrical journey. Nothing is simple! The melody and rhythm fades, and you might just feel up to repeating this journey again.

Holy wars, this is probably the best Revolution playlist I've assembled, particularly the first half with all songs from that half reaching 4.5 and 5 stars! To make my opinion not sound selfish or bad form, 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 your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!