July 2023 "The Revolution" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yFgscg5HWKGoIy2s0xRfG
Tracklisting:
1. Rorschach - "Mandible" from Protestant (1993)
2. Trivium - "The Sin and the Sentence" from The Sin and the Sentence (2017) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
3. Converge - "The Broken Vow" from Jane Doe (2001)
4. Botch - "Mondrian was a Liar" from We are the Romans (1999)
5. Burst - "Two-Faced" from Two-Faced (1997)
6. Earth Crisis - "Unseen Holocaust" from Firestorm (1993)
7. Unbroken - "The Setup" from Life. Love. Regret (1994)
8. Vision of Disorder - "D.T.O." from Vision of Disorder (1996)
9. Living Sacrifice - "180" from Reborn (1997)
10. The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "Texas Dolly" from Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear. (2005)
11. Demon Hunter - "Storm the Gates of Hell" from Storm the Gates of Hell (2007) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
12. 36 Crazyfists - "Kenai" from A Snow Capped Romance (2004) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
13. Strife - "Will to Die" from In This Defiance (1997)
14. Morning Again - "Minus One" from The Cleanest War (1996) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
15. Ice Nine Kills - "The Nature of the Beast" from Every Trick in the Book (2015)
16. Bullet for My Valentine - "Eye of the Storm" from Scream Aim Fire (2008)
17. Amaranthe - "Dynamite" from Massive Addictive (2014) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
18. The Browning - "Cryosleep" from Isolation (2016) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
19. Parkway Drive - "The River" from Atlas (2012)
20. Polaris - "No Rest" from The Guilt and The Grief (2016) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
21. As I Lay Dying - "Shaped by Fire" from Shaped by Fire (2019)
22. Make Them Suffer - "Ghost of Me" from Ghost of Me (2023)
23. Any Given Day - "Diamonds" from Diamonds (2022)
24. Brojob, Enda Vinera - "BARBIE GIRL" from BARBIE GIRL (2023)
25. Shadow of Intent - "The Coming Fire" from Elegy (2022)
26. Whitechapel - "Breeding Violence" from A New Era of Corruption (2010)
27. The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "Vicki Mayhem" from Danza 3: The Series of Unfortunate Events (2010)
28. Iwrestledabearonce - "Button It Up" from Ruining It for Everybody (2011)
29. Invent Animate - "Immolation of Night" from Heavener (2023)
30. Lorna Shore - "Pain Remains III: In a Sea of Fire" from Pain Remains (2022)
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...