September 2024 "Metalcore Revolution" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio

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

Tracklisting:

1. Trivium - "Kirisute Gomen" from Shogun (2008) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

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

3. For the Fallen Dreams - "Stone" from Six (2018) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

4. Demon Hunter - "On My Side" from War (2019) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

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

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

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

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

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

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

11. Embodyment – "Swine" from Embrace The Eternal (1998) [submitted by Daniel]

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

13. Sikth - "How May I Help You" from The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild (2003) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

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

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

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

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

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

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

20. Ankor - "Prisoner" from Prisoner (2022)

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

22. As I Lay Dying - "Burden" from Burden (2024) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

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

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

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

26. Aviana - "Transcendent" from Corporation (2022)

27. Becoming the Archetype - "The Sun Eater" from I Am (2012) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

28. Wage War - "Basic Hate" from Blueprints (2015) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

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

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

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!