July 2024 "Metalcore Revolution" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yFgscg5HWKGoIy2s0xRfG
Tracklisting:
1. War of Ages - "Famine" from Dominion (2023) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
2. Unearth - "The Great Dividers" from The Oncoming Storm (2004) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
3. August Burns Red, Will Ramos - "The Cleansing" from The Cleansing (2024) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
4. Attack Attack! - "Stick Stickly" from Someday Came Suddenly (2008)
5. I Prevail - "Body Bag" from TRUE POWER (2022)
6. 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)
7. Shai Hulud - "Reach Beyond the Sun" from Reach Beyond the Sun (2013) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
8. Knocked Loose, Motionless in White - "Slaughterhouse 2" from You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To (2024)
9. Jeris Johnson - "Here's to the Years" from Here's to the Years (2024)
10. The Ghost Inside - "Split" from Searching for Solace (2024) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
11. Annisokay - "The Cocaines Got Your Tongue" from Aurora (2021)
12. Underoath - "Moving for the Sake of Motion" from Define the Great Line (2006) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
13. Balmora – "An Angel’s Final Prayer" from With Thorns of Glass & Petals of Grief E.P. (2023) [submitted by Daniel]
14. After the Burial - "Berzerker" from Rareform (2009)
15. Dal Av, Jackson Rose - "Billie Eilish" from Billie Eilish (2022)
16. ZOMBIESHARK!, Viscera - "Keyboards for Insects" from I Will Destroy You, Myself, and Everything I've Ever Loved. (2020)
17. Of Mice & Men - "Earth & Sky" from Earthandsky (2019)
18. As I Lay Dying - "The Truth of My Perception" from Shadows are Security (2005) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
19. Killswitch Engage - "Always" from Disarm the Descent (2013)
20. Chelsea Grin - "Recreant" from Desolation of Eden (2010)
21. Shadow of Intent - "The Shaping Sickness" from Inferi Sententia (2014)
22. Dragoncorpse, Nick Miller, First Fragment - "I Live... AGAIN!" from I Live... AGAIN! (2024)
23. Moments - "Break the Chains" from Hopes & Dreams (2015)
24. Monuments - "Nefarious" from Nefarious (2023)
25. Car Bomb - "Finish It" from w^w^^w^w (2012)
26. Cult Leader - "God's Lonely Children" from Nothing for Us Here (2014)
27. The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Weekend Sex Change" from Calculating Infinity (1999)
28. Inchaos - "My Gallaxy" from My Gallaxy (2022)
29. Afterglow - "Like a Wave" from Believe in Nothing (2022)
30. The Last Ten Seconds of Life - "As the World Turns Over" from Soulless Hymns (2015)
31. Black Tongue - "Black Fawn Temple" from Nadir (2018)
32. Humanity's Last Breath - "Bearer" from Ashen (2023)
33. Frontierer - "Dusk" from Orange Mathematics (2015)
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!