Metal Academy Radio - "The Revolution" Playlist August 2020

So we're going to be testing the waters with another new offering this week which is one that I'll be looking for your feedback on. The idea is to release regular two hour Spotify playlists for each clan with the tracklistings taking the listener through the full gamut of sounds each clan encompasses, both old & new, classic & underground. In putting together the initial lists I've attempted to push my personal tastes to one side by including something for everyone with all eras & subgenres receiving representation. I certainly haven't gone with your more obvious releases all the time & you will find the odd novelty track included just for a bit of fun. These will certainly give people that are finding it hard to choose their clans a good point of reference to see if a particular clan is for them too. Check 'em out & tell us what you think. If everyone enjoys these then we may look to make them a more permanent part of the site.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QylMUK3RZhcK6gZCjqex3?si=4Jydx8YoSsm7myfwnMhIggv

Tracklisting:

01. Structures – “The Worst Of Both Worlds” (from “Life Through A Window”, 2014)

02. Carnifex – “Drown Me In Blood” (from “Slow Death”, 2016)

03. As I Lay Dying – “The Anodyne Sea” (from “The Powerless Rise”, 2010)

04. Fucking Werewolf Asso – “They say no,no, please no ! We say yes, yes, hell yes!” (from “Nittiotremo” EP, 2011)

05. Heccra – “Banjo-Kazooie” (from “Heccra-Kazooie”, 2013)

06. Metalite – “Far From The Sanctuary” (from “Far From The Sanctuary”, 2019) 

07. BABYMETAL – “Megitsune” (from “BABYMETAL”, 2014)

08. Jamie’s Elsewhere – “Giants Among Common Men” (from “They Said A Strom Was Coming”, 2010)

09. HORSE The Band – “The Black Hole” (from “The Mechanical Hand”, 2005)

10. Attack Attack! – “Stick Stickly” (from “Someday Came Suddenly”, 2008)

11. Amaranthe – “Afterlife” (from “The Nexus”, 2013)

12. Bullet For My Valentine – “Tears Don’t Fall” (from “The Poison”, 2005)

13. Shai Hulud – “This Wake I Myself Have Stirred” (from “Hearts Once Nourished With Hope & Compassion”, 1997)

14. The Hirsch Effekt – “Bilen” (from “Kollaps”, 2020)

15. Crossfaith – “Stars Faded In Slow Motion” (from “The Dream, The Space”, 2011)

16. Fear, & Loathing In Las Vegas – “Virtue & Vice” (from “PHASE 2”, 2014)

17. Sky Eats Airplane – “” (from “Everything Perfect On The Wrong Day”, 2006)

18. Escape The Fate – “Ungrateful” (from “Ungrateful”, 2013)

19. The Word Alive – “Trapped” (from “Dark Matter”, 2016)

20. Me & Him Call It Us – “Innocent Bystanders Watched In Horror As Peter Jennings Drew His Murder Weapon” (from “Loss”, 2006)

21. Blood Stain Child – “Sirius VI” (from “Epsilon”, 2011)

22. Trivium – “In Waves” (from “In Waves”, 2011)

23. Darkest Hour - “For The Soul Of The Savior” (from “The Mark Of The Judas”, 2000) 

24. Converge – “My Great Devastator (from The Poacher Diaries” split album with Agoraphobic Nosebleed, 1999)

25. Calvaiire – “Equarrissage” (from “Forceps”, 2013)

26. August Burns Red – “Defender” (from “Guardians”, 2020)

27. The Secret – “Memento Mori” (from “Luce”, 2004)

28. As Blood Runs Black – “In Dying Days” (from “Allegiance”, 2006)

29. Betraying The Martyrs – “Take Me Back” (from “The Resilient”, 2017)

30. Attila – “Middle Fingers Up” (from “About That Life”, 2013)

31. Chelsea Grin – “Dead Rose” (from “Eternal Nightmare”, 2018)

My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my suggested ones):

Amaranthe – “Afterlife” (from “The Nexus”, 2013)

8/10. I love Amaranthe, and this song exemplifies everything you want from the band. Sharp guitars and massive drums are taken to different levels by trance keys. What really stands out is the triple-vocal approach. The combination of the female singing of Elize Ryd, the male singing of Jake E. Lundberg, and the screaming of Andreas Solveström are something you would never hear from another band. This cyclone of sound makes you want to turn into Sonic and beat up Dr. Eggman's robots through the wind and light.

Bullet For My Valentine – “Tears Don’t Fall” (from “The Poison”, 2005)

10/10. A definite highlight for a couple reasons. First off, my brother was listening to this song during the beginning of my heavier modern metal phase and it reminded me of "Riot" (from Temper Temper), NOT similarly, but made me think of that song I was watching its music video about a year prior. The other reason is the instrumentation; very good riffs and great lyrics like in previous songs. The bridge gets much faster and worth headbanging, then in comes the blazing solo. Best song by the band ever!

Trivium – “In Waves” (from “In Waves”, 2011)

12/10 (not exaggerating). My favorite one from this album and possibly of metalcore in general. It starts off with an Ascendancy-like metalcore breakdown with Matt Heafy repeatedly screaming the name of the song, then it leads to a melodic Crusade-like chorus. There's also a complicated solo in the middle, but other than that, the riffs are simple yet catchy. That's what I like! During my original epic power metal taste a few years ago, I found the music video for the song "In Waves" on TV, then about a year later, the friend I told you about in my first forum thread introduced me to a heavier modern side of metal starting with this band. For that, I owe him big-time!

Darkest Hour - “For The Soul Of The Savior” (from “The Mark Of The Judas”, 2000)

7/10. This song begins their first album in a vicious bang. The hardcore-like breakdown rules, but nothing worth a twist. I chose this one because it's one of their most popular songs from that era and an easy one for listeners to get interested in the band. I probably should've added the re-recorded version with the guitar solo by Kris Norris.

Converge – “My Great Devastator (from The Poacher Diaries” split album with Agoraphobic Nosebleed, 1999)

8/10. A great devastating math/metalcore hit. The big problem is, I'm not a fan of split albums because then one of my favorite bands get paired up with a different band, and that other band is either relatively unknown or a band that is known but I'm trying to avoid it. This other band fits the latter category, grindcore grinders Agoraphobic Nosebleed. I just wish Converge would release their own half of The Poacher Diaries as a separate EP with a less explicit album cover.

August Burns Red – “Defender” (from “Guardians”, 2020)

9/10. One of my favorite metalcore songs of this year! It has fantastic drumming charisma. When that song was released as the first single of the album, people found different stuff that might end up in the album, such as a couple brutal breakdowns in the second half of the song. That shows August Burns Red's wild side, I love it!

Betraying The Martyrs – “Take Me Back” (from “The Resilient”, 2017)

8/10. A killer song from the album where Betraying the Martyrs was moving their sound from symphonic deathcore to progressive metalcore. This has the brutality of ABR's "Defender", yet also has powerful clean vocals and epic orchestral background. Though their change of style compared to previous albums is a little overly drastic.

Attila – “Middle Fingers Up” (from “About That Life”, 2013)

7/10. Interesting song you chose there, Daniel! This marks the beginning of their rap-infused metalcore phase, which I don't mind as long as they know what they're doing with their rapping, unlike say, Machine Head's Catharsis. And with a song title like "Middle Fingers Up", you know there's gonna quite some rapping and swearing going on. Personally if I were to choose an Attila song, it would probably be "Payback".

Fear, & Loathing In Las Vegas – “Virtue & Vice” (from “PHASE 2”, 2014)

10/10. I'm no fan of the Japanese techno-style of metalcore, but I decided to check out this song because someone from the outside world shared with a song by this band, Fear, & Loathing In Las Vegas. And lemme tell you, this one is PERFECT!!! Excellent smooth techno-metalcore gold!! I gotta get more of that band!