September 2025 "Metalcore Revolution" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio

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

Tracklisting:

1. Aftershock - "Prelude to Forever" from Through the Looking Glass (1999)

2. Overcast - "Root Bound Apollo" from Reborn to Kill Again (2008)

3. Nora - "For the Travelers" from Loser's Intuition (2001)

4. Zao - "The Race of Standing Still" from (Self-Titled) (2001) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

5. August Burns Red - "Composure" from Messengers (2007) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

6. Poison the Well - "12/23/93" from The Opposite of December... A Season of Separation (1999)

7. The Breathing Process - "Inferno" from In Waking: Divinity (2008) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

8. Neaera - "Desecrators" from Let the Tempest Come (2006) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

9. Strife - "Lift" (3:35) from One Truth (1994)

10. Blood of the Martyrs - "I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills" (3:41) from Once More With Feeling (2011)

11. The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Horse Hunter" (3:11) from Ire Works (2007)

12. Car Bomb - "Blindsides" from Tiles Whispers Dreams (2025)

13. Converge - "Worms Will Feed / Rats Will Feast" from Axe to Fall (2009)

14. Frontierer - "Bunsen" from Orange Mathematics (2015)

15. Cult Leader - "Craft of Mourning" from A Patient Man (2018)

16. Drown in Sulphur - "The Sleeping Abomination" from Sulphur Cvlt (2021) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

17. Mental Cruelty - "Chapter II - The Rise of the Antichrist" from Purgatorium (2018) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

18. A Wake in Providence - "The Court ov the Trinity" from Eternity (2022)

19. The Red Chord - "Breed the Cancer" from Fused Together in Revolving Doors (2002) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

20. Spitfire - "Quintenessence at Glance" from The Dead Next Door (1999)

21. Trivium - "Bury Me With My Screams" from Bury Me With My Screams (2025)

22. Annisokay - "Into the Gray" from Abyss Pt II (2025)

23. Avenged Sevenfold - "Second Heartbeat" from Waking the Fallen (2003)

24. Vision of Disorder - "Jada Bloom" from Imprint (1998)

25. Hope for the Dying - "Legacy" from Legacy (2016)

26. Wolves at the Gate - "The Father's Bargain" from VxV (2014)

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Aftershock - "Prelude to Forever" from Through the Looking Glass (1999)

4/5. It's not often a metalcore album or playlist starts with a 7 and a half minute epic, but here we are. Ambient feedback rises before a couple minutes of heavy sludgy riffing and drumming. So basically, the first third of the song is an instrumental. As the vocals come in, the tempo in the riffing slowly increases from mid-tempo to finally reaching a punky thrash pace. This is early groove-ish metalcore at its finest, sounding quite heavy without ever having to resort low djent tunings. Fast riffing, catchy hooks, and deathly breakdowns, all in the moderately heavy drop C tuning. What more can you ask for in metalcore?

Overcast - "Root Bound Apollo" from Reborn to Kill Again (2008)

4.5/5. Thundering riffs and rhythms continue in this song that was meant to be for Overcast's then-shelved 3rd album and ended up in Shadows Fall's album Of One Blood. It still remains one of my favorite early-ish metalcore songs with a fast searing Metallica-like solo, alongside the thrashy riffing and vocals.

Nora - "For the Travelers" from Loser's Intuition (2001)

4/5. Then we have one of the heaviest anthems I've heard from this band. The riffs and tempo practically shapeshift into different forms, even slowing down for the dark effects of Godflesh. Indeed for the metalcore travelers!

Zao - "The Race of Standing Still" from (Self-Titled) (2001)

4.5/5. Songs like this remain eternal classics, just like many of the tracks from albums like Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest. The intro might remind some of Deftones before their usual metalcore rises. "RISING TOWARDS IT!!!" They can sing about death without adding deathly elements to their music. This band, Haste the Day, and Poison the Well would bring metalcore to a greater light in the early 2000s.

August Burns Red - "Composure" from Messengers (2007)

5/5. One of the band's best and most popular songs, with lyrics about keeping yourself together and carrying on. The song itself features an exciting headbanging breakdown with dual guitar harmony.

Poison the Well - "12/23/93" from The Opposite of December... A Season of Separation (1999)

5/5. After the beginning drum roll by Chris Hornbrook, there's a lot of fury from the guitar and vocals. Jeffrey Moreira has wonderful vocals as he screams well-written lyrics at the top of his lungs. Not a lot of metalcore vocalists have the same rage as Jeffrey, and that's probably good health-wise. That, along with active smoking and when he used his screaming offstage after finding out the band's equipment was stolen, would lead to him suffering a collapsed lung, but he recovered. Anyway, he also does some clean singing that helps the band standout among other early metalcore bands.

The Breathing Process - "Inferno" from In Waking: Divinity (2008)

4.5/5. An earlier track from the I Am Legion demo, and I love the clean chorus here. If they had more of that in the actual album, I would rate it higher.

Neaera - "Desecrators" from Let the Tempest Come (2006)

4/5. Another kick-A track from this melodeath/metalcore band bordering in deathcore.

Strife - "Lift" (3:35) from One Truth (1994)

3.5/5. This one lifts things up through hardcore fire.

Blood of the Martyrs - "I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills" (3:41) from Once More With Feeling (2011)

5/5. Absolutely loving this track. The drumming isn't totally perfect, but everything else it. More from this band please!

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Horse Hunter" (3:11) from Ire Works (2007)

4.5/5. An amazing track usual TDEP mathcore before going into their Zappa influences, more furious groove, spacey synths, and guest vocals by Mastodon's Brent Hinds. This was a last-minute addition to the playlist after finding out about Brent's passing. RIP

Car Bomb - "Blindsides" from Tiles Whispers Dreams (2025)

4.5/5. Savage drumming and guitar by Elliot Hoffman and Greg Kubacki, respectively. It might be worth listening to in a car ride, but at the risk of ending up in sonic speed.

Converge - "Worms Will Feed / Rats Will Feast" from Axe to Fall (2009)

5/5. This crushing two-part choice cut slows the action down to sludgy doom.

Frontierer - "Bunsen" from Orange Mathematics (2015)

4.5/5. More of the mathcore action comes in with tons of noisy distortion in a catchy fashion.

Cult Leader - "Craft of Mourning" from A Patient Man (2018)

4/5. Some of the most f***ing deathly mathcore I've heard! Some might get Cannibal Corpse/Spawn of Possession vibes here.

Drown in Sulphur - "The Sleeping Abomination" from Sulphur Cvlt (2021)

4.5/5. The lyrics strike with their dark universal concept in the best song of this Drown in Sulphur album.

Mental Cruelty - "Chapter II - The Rise of the Antichrist" from Purgatorium (2018)

5/5. One of the most technical tracks by this band. This relentless charger is like a more brutal Within the Ruins!

A Wake in Providence - "The Court ov the Trinity" from Eternity (2022)

5/5. This one very well summarizes both this deathcore trilogy and its original trilogy with lots of exciting moments. In all honesty, the original trilogy really should be performed in a live setting in its entirety. No separating the tracks!

The Red Chord - "Breed the Cancer" from Fused Together in Revolving Doors (2002)

4.5/5. Another perfect highlight! Though this one I consider outside of that deathcore trilogy.

Spitfire - "Quintenessence at Glance" from The Dead Next Door (1999)

4.5/5. One of the most quintessential songs in early math/metalcore, with Rosetta-esque sludgy tempo.

Trivium - "Bury Me With My Screams" from Bury Me With My Screams (2025)

5/5. Trivium is back with a vengeance, filled with awesome heavy groove. Hopefully the Struck Dead EP would lead up to the new album next year.

Annisokay - "Into the Gray" from Abyss Pt II (2025)

4.5/5. Another powerful new track, this one being more of a ballad, sounding like a more electronic Imminence. Nice vocals by both vocalists!

Avenged Sevenfold - "Second Heartbeat" from Waking the Fallen (2003)

4/5. F***ing underrated track compared to their more popular singles. The ending solo is one of the best by the band, especially with its drop C tuning.

Vision of Disorder - "Jada Bloom" from Imprint (1998)

4.5/5. Late 90s metalcore has spawned some great treasures. It really touches my heart as pretty much one of the first ever uplifting metalcore ballads. I've also heard that one of their songs (not this one) features Phil Anselmo. The beat is still quite hammering, along with the addictive heavy starting riff. Around that time, this band and Fear Factory were the ones popularizing this clean/scream blend. So f***ing beautiful, especially that second half!

Hope for the Dying - "Legacy" from Legacy (2016)

5/5. My ultimate favorite track of its original album and this playlist is the 9-minute title epic that really packs some punches. A smooth two-minute bridge comes in midway through before some blazing soloing out of nowhere. Then it ends with soft strings.

Wolves at the Gate - "The Father's Bargain" from VxV (2014)

4.5/5. "What kind of love is this, friends? What kind of love is that is so big, so without bounds, that He would come, He would want, He would want to do so much to rescue people who wanted nothing to do with Him? Who fought Him even when He came to cleave us from hell? What kind of love is it that sees us in our filth, comes to rescue us, sees us resist that rescue, but continues to rescue us anyway? What foolishness is this? That He would come offer us rescue and we would say, 'No!' Why? What are we gaining by our resistance? Oh, how glorious He is, that He saw you like that and didn’t give up!" A well-spoken quote from this Christian metalcore track to end this playlist, suitable for anyone whether or not raised as a Christian.

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 to anyone who have contributed with their own submissions, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!