October 2024 "Metalcore Revolution" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio

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

Tracklisting:

1. Shadow of Intent - "We Descend" from Reclaimer (2017)

2. As I Lay Dying - "Within Destruction" from An Ocean Between Us (2007) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

3. Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas - "Hey Girl!! Why Not Party Like a Bitch!?" from Dance & Scream (2010) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

4. Motionless in White - "Black Damask (The Fog)" from Infamous (2012)

5. MAYFLOWER - "Save Me" from Misery (2022)

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

7. Make Them Suffer - "Oscillator" from Oscillator (2024)

8. Lorna Shore - "Hollow Sentence" from Immortal (2020)

9. Impending Doom - "Nailed. Dead. Risen." from Nailed. Dead. Risen. (2007)

10. The Contortionist - "Advent" from Exoplanet (2010) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

11. Advents - "Stigma" from Advents (2022)

12. Void of Vision - "Blood for Blood" from Blood for Blood (2024)

13. Avenged Sevenfold - "The Art of Subconscious Illusion" from Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001)

14. From First to Last - "Dead Trees" from Dead Trees (2014)

15. Trivium - "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" from Ascendancy (2005) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

16. Bury Your Dead - "Burn Baby Burn" from You Had Me at Hello (2001) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

17. Wolves at the Gate - "Weight of Glory" from Eulogies (2022)

18. Memphis May Fire - "Cowbell's Makin' a Comeback" from Memphis May Fire (2007)

19. Monuments - "97% Static" from Gnosis (2012)

20. LIMBS - "Spirit Breaker" from Coma Year (2022)

21. The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Clip the Apex... Accept Instruction" from Calculating Infinity (1999)

22. The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "Go Greyhound" from Danza II The Electric Boogaloo (2007)

23. Car Bomb - "Garrucha" from w^w^^w^w (2012)

24. Bloom - "Sink Into the Soil" from Sink Into the Soil (2022)

25. Rorschach - "Blinders" from Protestant (1993) [submitted by Daniel]

26. Knocked Loose - "Mistakes Like Fractures" from A Different Shade of Blue (2019)

27. Unearth - "No Reprisal" from Extinction(s) (2018) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

28. Within the Ruins - "Ataxia IV" from Halfway Human (2017) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

29. August Burns Red - "Reckoning" from Death Below (2023)

30. Ice Nine Kills - "Farewell II Flesh" from Welcome to Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2 (2021)

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Shadow of Intent - "We Descend" from Reclaimer (2017)

5/5. I didn't think an album intro would be the missing spark needed to finally to get me fully interested in Shadow of Intent, but here we are. The first 20 seconds consists of beautiful melancholic piano, then the heaviness builds up, reaching it's high point in the breakdown for the last 30 seconds. This is two minutes of my life I wanna repeat! How the f*** have I missed this in my life?!

As I Lay Dying - "Within Destruction" from An Ocean Between Us (2007)

4.5/5. I made that intro segue into this killer metalcore song to love.

Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas - "Hey Girl!! Why Not Party Like a Bitch!?" from Dance & Scream (2010)

4.5/5. Some say this divine brand of dance-core is sh*t, I say it's THE sh*t! This party's gonna rule like a b***h!

Motionless in White - "Black Damask (The Fog)" from Infamous (2012)

5/5. Like that Shadow of Intent intro, this song starts with soft somber piano, then when you least expect it, it switches to an intense head-ripping assault of vocals, guitars, and drums. The chorus is where the expected clean vocals come in greater range than in their debut. The perfect stage-setter!

MAYFLOWER - "Save Me" from Misery (2022)

4.5/5. Another excellent banger! I enjoy both the screamed verses and the clean choruses.

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

4.5/5. Yet another killer banger! This one has a nice music video centered around a ballerina.

Make Them Suffer - "Oscillator" from Oscillator (2024)

5/5. Make Them Suffer can make kick-A tracks worth headbanging to. This and the other singles like "Doomswitch" makes me look forward to their self-titled album big time.

Lorna Shore - "Hollow Sentence" from Immortal (2020)

5/5. This one is a brilliant vocal battle between the growling of the one-man army that is McCreery vs. a multi-person choir, almost like a vocal exchange. There are huge dramatic theatrics while staying menacing. The riffing is also impressive, alternating between the slow breakdown and sledgehammering sections.

Impending Doom - "Nailed. Dead. Risen." from Nailed. Dead. Risen. (2007)

4.5/5. "NAILED. DEAD. RISEN!!!!!" Sometimes, even Heaven can reach the height of brutality. The band's deathcore was a lot more death than core back then. The breakdown at the last minute would certainly fit well for God striking down the hordes of Satan.

The Contortionist - "Advent" from Exoplanet (2010)

4/5. Beauty and brutality sound good together, especially at over the 30-second mark when you get to "ESCAPE!!!" through the cosmos. The breakdown-ish bridge that starts the last minute is out of this world.

Advents - "Stigma" from Advents (2022)

4.5/5. Check out these excellent vocals! Both the singing in the chorus and the screaming go down hard. This banger is cool as sh*t!

Void of Vision - "Blood for Blood" from Blood for Blood (2024)

4/5. ANOTHER HEAVY F***ING BANGER!!!! This oughta level up this playlist greatly.

Avenged Sevenfold - "The Art of Subconscious Illusion" from Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001)

4.5/5. G****mn it, M. Shadows' wife Valary DiBenedetto should've joined the band full-time as their screaming vocalist. With her demonic shrieks, A7X would've continued their metalcore sound at ease after Shadows decided to stop screaming following Waking the Fallen. Valary's screams come midway through the song, though the "This can't be happening" part is also brilliant, as well as the intro sounding like that Call of Duty song "115". Pretty much a lot has happened in the first couple minutes that band never had the chance to replicate ever since.

From First to Last - "Dead Trees" from Dead Trees (2014)

4/5. One of two singles from First to Last's heaviest album, this one is a powerful metallic throwback to the mid-2000s post-hardcore scene embraced by similar bands.

Trivium - "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" from Ascendancy (2005)

4.5/5. This one unleashes a pummeling double bass drum rhythm leading into a ferocious verse and a pre-chorus decimating break.

Bury Your Dead - "Burn Baby Burn" from You Had Me at Hello (2001)

5/5. The more hardcore of metalcore is still going f***ing strong from the 1990s/2000s to the present day. Apparently, this track has a demo version that's twice as long.

Wolves at the Gate - "Weight of Glory" from Eulogies (2022)

4.5/5. Nick Detty's vocals shine as he screams about battling the darkest times of the world. New guitarist Joey Alarcon has made sure the band's fans' faith isn't lost. I'm glad to add this banger to the playlist! Once again, Christian lyrics can fit so well in the heavy metalcore fire. A gym workout can end up being a fight to the death between man and machine. It almost has the same impact as Polaris' "Landmine".

Memphis May Fire - "Cowbell's Makin' a Comeback" from Memphis May Fire (2007)

5/5. Memphis May Fire had more of a Southern metalcore/post-hardcore sound in the beginning. While Matty Mullins would always be the heart and soul of the band from the debut album onwards, former vocalist Chase Ryan Robbins has more spunk. I'm a little surprised someone with a voice sounding so young is already a father, and he left the band to prioritizing his parenting duties. Cowbells are more common in hard rock/glam metal, a path that, unfortunately, a similar metalcore band Black Veil Brides ended up taking. This song and EP is quite underrated. Maybe add a little a bit of piano there? I don't know... And if you're wondering where the h*ll the cowbell is, it's right at the midway point. No chance for Chase to ever make a comeback...

Monuments - "97% Static" from Gnosis (2012)

4.5/5. I can't believe I never thought about checking out this band and album until recently. Here we have some djenty power, with vocals that are both pure and raw despite sounding closer to Rage Against the Machine. This shall give the playlist a greater kick.

LIMBS - "Spirit Breaker" from Coma Year (2022)

4/5. The chorus near the one-minute mark shall get you pumped and jumping. I would recommend this song for any fan of Architects and Currents. It's quite g****mn interesting, and while I love the heavy verses, the clean vocals are wonderful in the chorus and bridge. Once again, we have some f***ing well-done metalcore here. I wonder how many people thought this was a song by Spirit Breaker called "Limbs". No matter how much confusion this might cause, the formula of heaviness and cleanliness is bound to win some new fans.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Clip the Apex... Accept Instruction" from Calculating Infinity (1999)

4.5/5. This one has impeccable tightness with guitars of tangling destruction, then just when you think the band has settled their sound into sanity, the sound rises into an amp-ruining wall of noise.

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "Go Greyhound" from Danza II The Electric Boogaloo (2007)

4.5/5. This mathcore band has made another insane riot, all the way up to the lovely ending, apparently from the film Flowers in the Attic. This f***ing chaotic sh*t can hit you like a truck then revive you. There should be more guitar shredding though.

Car Bomb - "Garrucha" from w^w^^w^w (2012)

5/5. This highlight sounds so easy in the even-time patterns, yet emphasized by the grinding machinery of the percussion, crushing riffs that are already crushing.

Bloom - "Sink Into the Soil" from Sink Into the Soil (2022)

4.5/5. Sometimes metalcore can be more of a way of life than a temporary phase. I can hear the raging melody of Counterparts.

Rorschach - "Blinders" from Protestant (1993)

5/5. One of the best early metalcore breakdowns occurs here.

Knocked Loose - "Mistakes Like Fractures" from A Different Shade of Blue (2019)

4.5/5. Absolutely killer violent hardcore/metalcore with relatable lyrics. The bass at over the 30-second mark I would give a thumbs-up to. It's like a more brutal take on Slipknot's "Psychosocial". Anyone brought here by that Spongebob "GARY!" video?

Unearth - "No Reprisal" from Extinction(s) (2018)

4/5. This one tones down the mayhem in favor of shining melodic riff power. The heavy momentum is elevated through blast beats and a groove pace.

Within the Ruins - "Ataxia IV" from Halfway Human (2017)

4.5/5. Quite odd how this instrumental would be deemed "explicit", but whatevs. The "Ataxia" tracks are epic djent-core journeys, and this is probably the best of them all. Over the one-minute mark is what sounds like a brief take on the Tetris theme. The band's 7-string guitars are tuned quite low. The final two-minute section begins reminding some of Infected Mushroom, and it reaches a chilling climax at the last minute that starts fading out. That final section definitely fits well for a boss battle. It's a shame the band didn't continue the "Ataxia" series in their new album Phenomena II. The piano is a bit out of place, which brings the score a half-star down from perfection.

August Burns Red - "Reckoning" from Death Below (2023)

5/5. The second 8-minute epic of the new August Burns Red album. I know you metalcore fans wanna hear Underoath vocalist Spencer Chamberlain unleashing his vocals as furious as early Bring Me the Horizon. Those make the best moments of this playlist!

Ice Nine Kills - "Farewell II Flesh" from Welcome to Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2 (2021)

5/5. Of course, we have one more song to celebrate the spooky month of Halloween, the longest INK song at 5 minutes since the debut's "Family Unties", based on Candyman, with soothing yet eerie piano as the story of the Candyman is introduced. After layers of dramatic atmosphere, more layers come in thanks to the other instruments that create metalcore riffing from the guitars. Then after all those strings, heaviness, and growls, cue more bee noises to end the album and playlist.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? 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!