The Revolution

It looks like the last time Converge was in the MA spotlight was back in September of 2020 and I gotta say, I'm still in a tough spot with them. Converge is easily my most respected Metalcore band considering how genuine to the actual genre they are, but I still just don't know how to feel about them. All We Love We Leave Behind was an obvious winner for me, but this one puts me in a similar position that Jane Doe did where I think I get it, but I still can't form any meaningful opinions on how I feel about it. They've definitely cleaned a lot of things up to make it less of the relentless cluster that Jane Doe was an while to some people that may make You Fail Me a bit less heartfelt, it works to give the album a bit more structure for people with my listening biases. I think I prefer this one slightly over Jane Doe but at the same time it has a bit less of that shock factor. Still an impressive showing of what tried and true professionals of more classic sounding Metalcore can do, but man, I'm going to have to figure out a way to meaningfully collect my thoughts on a single Converge album to write out what I actually think about them instead of not really knowing what to say every 6 or so months. 

3.5/5

My list expanded to top 15:

15. Horse the Band - Desperate Living (2009)

14. God Forbid - IV: Constitution of Treason (2005)

13. Bleeding Through - Love Will Kill All (2018)

12. Within the Ruins - Elite (2013)

11. Botch - We are the Romans (1999)

10. Gaza - I Don’t Care Where I Go When I Die (2006)

9. Ice Nine Kills - The Silver Scream (2018)

8. Bring Me the Horizon - Sempiternal (2013)

7. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity (1999)

6. Converge - You Fail Me (2004)

5. Bullet for My Valentine - The Poison (2005)

4. Demon Hunter - The World is a Thorn (2010)

3. All That Remains - Overcome (2008)

2. August Burns Red - Constellations (2009)

1. Trivium - In Waves (2011)

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

Structures – “Departure” (from “All Of The Above” E.P., 2010)

5/5. The ultimate sick intro to this song's EP, the band's discography, and this playlist! With a killer beginning like that, I should really listen to more of this band Structures and hear more of what they have in metalcore store.

August Burns Red – “The Frost” (from “Phantom Anthem”, 2017)

4.5/5. Heavy bass-lines in this song impressively soar all around while having an uplifting vibe.

Bullet For My Valentine – “Begging For Mercy” (from “Fever”, 2010)

4/5. Good choice, Vinny! This one is the heaviest beast in the BFMV album Fever. There are massive riffs and a clever chorus, though similar to the slightly less heavy songs' chorus while still monstrously heavy.

Fear, & Loathing In Las Vegas – “Return To Zero” (from “New Sunrise”, 2017)

4.5/5. Man, what a good song with incredible lyrics, as encouraging as the previous album's "Let Me Hear". It's a little hard for me to dance because I haven't done a proper dance since I was younger, but I feel up for dancing to this trancecore tune. I love it! RIP Kei...

The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton – “Pig Latin” (from “Irony Is A Dead Scene” E.P., 2002)

5/5. This amazing shocker starts calm. First a slow haunting guitar riff plays, then keyboard joins in, followed by Patton's soft singing. It sounds accessible at first but you know it's gonna build up to more chaos. The heavier chorus as guitars explode into heaviness. Patton starts singing deep vocals that sound almost gibberish surrounded by squeals of "Chinga". The guitars get really chaotic as the chords get forcefully wrung out. That and Patton's chaotic squealing causes the guitar to sound like you're bending a pipe around its neck to strangle it. The intensity returns as Patton yells "Speaking Pig Latin, kiss me goodnight" as the band blows the roof off this dump. After a few beeps, the song then sounds like a lounge band with the lead vocalist being a psychotic murderer. Those deep lounge vocals work well there! Then it's back to the beginning with the first verse and chorus, except in the chorus, only "Chinga" remains, then ends with one more incomprehensible gibberish line. One of the best TDEP songs!

Winds Of Plague – “Never Alone” (from “Blood Of My Enemy”, 2017)

5/5. Awesome, awesome, AWESOME!!! This is the coolest song I've heard in symphonic deathcore, a bit like a mix of the heavier Trivium, earlier Veil of Maya, and Wintersun all in one song! EPIC!!

Eighteen Visions – “She’s A Movie Produced Masterpiece” (from “Until The Ink Runs Out”, 2000)

5/5. Another one of the best songs in this playlist, making me wish I had listened to more metalcore in my high school-age years. In the second half, there's an unreal groove along with the most epic pick-up line possible, "BLONDE BOMBSHELL BLUE-EYED BEAUTY, YOU ROCK MY F***ING WORLD!!!!!" The heaviness of this f***ing masterpiece of a song would have you laughing maniacally. Their late bassist Mick Deth didn't join the band yet at that time, but still, RIP... The co-vocals by Brandan Schieppati are also great too, but what response do you expect from a Bleeding Through fan? Even Throwdown would be thrown down by this. Here comes another entry in my top 25 metalcore list...

Demon Hunter – “Artificial Light” (from “Extremist”, 2014)

4.5/5. The first song Demon Hunter fans would hear from Extremist when it was the album's lead single. Another heavy song!

Between The Buried & Me – “Alaska” (from “Alaska”, 2005)

4.5/5. I've remembered enjoying this fun brutal prog-death/metalcore song before recently dumping my interest for BTBAM during my death metal departure. I might make a one-off return a couple months later for their upcoming sequel album to the one after Alaska, Colors.

Unearth – “Survivalist” (from “Extinction(s)”, 2018)

4.5/5. This song continues the 7-string fury with screams that can boil the blood of listeners who survived the rest of this playlist. Then there's a brutal bone-crushing breakdown more intense than in other bands like Thy Art is Murder. Drummer Nick Pierce‘s work with Adam D. (Killswitch Engage) really paid off for more relentless chaos. The master trained his apprentice well!

Bleeding Through – “Anti-Hero” (from “Bleeding Through”, 2010)

4/5. Brandan's other band Bleeding Through the band time-travels back to 1995 Sweden for death metal bands At the Gates and Therion in that year to borrow their sound and add some punk lyrics ("I’ve heard enough of you, f***ing go away!”). The tremolo riffs are sprinkled in there. You've probably heard enough from me, so see ya next time!

Well I certainly wasn't expecting this: A metalcore album with groove and sludge metal elements, depicting lyrical themes of isolation, self-loathing and even suicide, and goddamn does it not slap! The opening of this EP with "Heroine Fingers" is so well done, almost reminiscent of Jordan Dreyer of La Dispute, one of my favourite modern post-hardcore bands with the alternating between softer spoken word and harsh screams. The hooks are sparse, allowing for the words to be fully understood which I greatly appreciated, but they are produced incredibly well for a twenty-plus year old record; the bass is heavy and these slower grooves are pummeling. If this isn't my type of throwdown music then I need to reevaluate myself!

8/10

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

After The Burial – “Your Troubles Will Cease & Fortune Will Smile Upon You” (from “In Dreams”, 2010)

4.5/5. Let's start this playlist with yet another band that I moved away from in my death metal departure. But why this band though? Deathcore isn't considered entirely a death metal subgenre, despite the "death" aspect. Either way, this song is still great!

All That Remains – “The Last Time” (from “…For We Are Many”, 2010)

5/5. Ah yeah, an awesome enjoyed by me and my brother! In fact, this is my second favorite by the band, behind "Two Weeks" from Overcome. It really brings their metalcore sound despite mostly clean vocals and the repetitive chorus.

Brand Of Sacrifice – “Animal” (from “Lifeblood”, 2021)

4/5. Great song, but too close on the experimental side at some points. Next!

Amaranthe – “Amaranthine” (from “Amaranthe”, 2011)

5.5/5 (not exaggerating). One of the most amazing songs from both this album and the band, and at the top of their ballads list in my opinion, which is why I felt a little hesitant about suggesting it at first. In fact, when I went with my friends from the outside world for a karaoke outing, I snuck in that song and sang it with two of my friends. Pretty rebellious, huh? When we sang it, I performed Andreas' screaming bridge.

Bullet For My Valentine – “The End” (from “The Promise”, 2005)

5/5. I really love the ending track to BFMV's highest pinnacle The Poison. It would work a great end to this metalcore playlist, but I'm fine with its position either way. More mellow and depressing but still stands out well. The guitar riff is so simple, Matt can focus on more emotion in his vocals in the cleaner verses. I wish he could keep doing that emotional technique but that would mean he would have to drop the guitar full-time. The song gets heavier but once again, there's no solo. Then it returns to the intro riff used as the outro with soft guitar harmony over it as it all fades out. Another personal favorite!

Converge – “Shingles” (from “Petitioning The Empty Sky”, 1996)

4.5/5. In an EP into a semi-studio album with all new tracks in the second side, that side starts with this track, marked by blazing tempo variations. A near-highlight to its release, Petitioning the Empty Sky!

Counterparts – “Only Anchors” (from “Prophets”, 2010)

5/5. "Whether you're stuck in the past, or lost in the future, this is for you", spoken from a lyrical metalcore master! This underrated band has just become another favorite of mine, and I need to listen to more of them. Such an incredible band, holy sh*t! It was only just now that I discovered the band's amazing awesomeness, having made me a new fan of theirs. I absolutely love it like a girlfriend, especially that breakdown. It has honestly continued sealing metalcore as the personal best genre for me, better than the post-hardcore of Silverstein that most people seem to know. An amazing life-saving metalcore band in chill progress! It's awesome to hear these unique sounds like the harmonic sweeps. The vocalist has more power (but less brutality) than Suicide Silence vocalist Mitch Lucker (RIP). This is grand modern melodic metallic hardcore right here in this song. F***ing sick (as in awesome), man! Thank you for including this, Daniel...

Crossfaith – “Catastrophe” (from “EX_MACHINA”, 2018)

5/5. I became interested in the Japanese metalcore scene thanks to a friend from the outside world, and this band Crossfaith a more recent example. This is really nice god-awesome heaviness. I love it so much!

Woe, Is Me – “(&) Deliquents” (from “Number(s)”, 2010)

5/5. The lead singer of this band sounds so beautiful, while the screaming vocalist sounds as brutal as he can be. Awesome song with nice lyrics, and that 30-second ending is probably one of the most touching sections of a metalcore song I've ever heard.

Underøath – “The Last” (from “Cries Of The Past”, 2000)

4.5/5. This is back in the older times when Underoath had a progressive black/death metal-influenced metalcore sound going on, and I love this song, though it's the first song of the album Cries of the Past, not the last. Sadly this year, guitarist Corey Steger passed away following a car accident. RIP

The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Fix Your Face” (from “Ire Works”, 2007)

5/5. This one commences the third Dillinger Escape Plan album in a brutal bang, an intense track of destructive perfection with guest vocals by original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis. What's more hardcore than that for TDEP??

Born Of Osiris – “Now Arise” (from “A Higher Place”, 2009)

5/5. Here there are some perfect heavy riffs, along with a black metal-like section with evil-sounding synths and blast beats, which makes the song another fun one to listen to, and similar to The Faceless while straying away from that kind of sound.

Abiotic – “Grief Eater, Tear Drinker” (from “Ikigai”, 2021)

3.5/5. This is a little too close to the technical death metal I've sworn away from. Let's move on...

Loathe – “Heavy Is the Head That Falls With the Weight of a Thousand Thoughts” (from “I Let It In & It Took Everything”, 2020)

5/5. The last song I'm gonna comment here is a f***ing killer track that starts with black metal hatred blending early Enslaved with Deafheaven, before the usual metalcore riff stomp. Loathe keeps twisting things up with technical-ish grooves with dynamic drama that are rare to happen in any other song.

Underrated:

Born Of Osiris - "The Discovery" (2011)

High quality djenty progressive deathcore from Chicago. For fans of After The Burial, Veil of Maya & Within The Ruins.

Here's my review:

I came kinda late to the deathcore subgenre. It wasn’t really a thing during my 1980’s/90’s heyday & would only start to develop as I found myself losing interest in the scene & defecting to electronic music around 1998/99. The first I heard of it wasn’t until my return to metal in 2009 & I have to admit that I was more open to it than most extreme metal fans at the time. Despite the generic elements at play on most releases, I found it hard not to enjoy the high-quality musicianship & clear & precise production jobs &, when you added in the progressive approach of some of the more expansive outfits, I found myself kinda digging it. Not to the same extent as your more traditional death metal mind you, but enjoyment was had nonetheless. Fast forward another twelve or so years & you’ll find that not a lot has changed for me in this regard. I don’t find myself racing out to track down the latest deathcore release but, when the opportunity arises, I’m up for the task & can see the merit when the subgenre is done well (as it is here).

My first experience with Chicago-based six-piece Born Of Osiris wouldn’t come until shortly after the 2011 release of this album “The Discovery” which was the band’s third full-length & is generally regarded as the pinnacle of the band’s career to date as far as I can tell. And it’s not very hard to see why either to tell you the truth because this is one outstandingly well composed & executed piece of deathly metalcore with a penchant for the more spacey & progressive end of extreme art. I wouldn’t say that it ever transcends the subgenre because all of the signature deathcore elements are at play for most of the album but there’s been a strong push for expansion & development of that sound too. For this reason, I find “The Discovery” to stretch the boundaries of my taste palate a little further than I’m entirely comfortable with but to somehow manage to keep from ever bursting out. Let’s start with the positives because there are plenty for your more open-minded metalhead to enjoy.

As is so commonly the case with US deathcore outfits, Born Of Osiris are a shit-hot group of musicians. I mean these guys can all really shred like bastards & their performances here are outstanding. They occasionally hint at crossing over into self-indulgence but I think they actually do a really great job of reining themselves in just before that occurs. Guitarists Lee McKinney & Jason Richardson are particularly skilled & show themselves to not only have the chops to match most high class shredders on the market today but also to have an impressive sense of exotic melody with some of the lead work pushing Born Of Osiris out further into progressive metal territory than they already were. In fact, I’d be very surprised if the boys haven’t been influenced by early Cynic because they’ve taken a similar approach to much of the melodic content & this is a real feather in their cap as I love a more expansive & exploratory style of guitar solo. Drummer Cameron Losch proves himself to be extremely capable with his powerful & high-precision double-kick work keeping the band sounding punchy & tight at all times. The continued use of spacey synthesizers from full-time keyboardist Joe Buras is also worth mentioning as Joe’s contribution sees “The Discovery” sporting somewhat of a sci-fi atmosphere & his short interlude pieces serve to break the album up really well without ever sacrificing on its overall heaviness. In saying that, I do think that the occasional electronic beat could be hard to stomach for some of the more traditional members of the metal audience & in truth I don’t think they add a lot to the album. You won’t be able to fault the production job as “The Discovery” ticks all of the boxes in that regard. If anything, you may be tempted to say that it’s over-produced however I think that would be a harsh assessment as I think the result generally highlights the best elements of Born Of Osiris’ sound.

Now for the album’s challenges & we’ll start with the djent component. As with many of the more progressive deathcore outfits, there’s very little doubt that Born Of Osiris have been influenced by Meshuggah or bands that Meshuggah have influenced. Now that’s not a bad thing in itself because I fucking love Meshuggah as they really are in a league of their own when it comes to the whole djent thing. It’s just that a lot of the band’s they’ve influenced do sound very samey due to the continued use of high-precision & purely rhythmic off-beat single-note riffs & you get a whole shit-tonne of those here. Thankfully they’ve been filed down to the sharpest point imaginable so as to ensure that they hit as hard as possible but they still do sound pretty generic at times. As do the trademark deathcore breakdowns which still permeate “The Discovery”. The band try to disguise them through the use of progressive colouring & they’ve had a reasonable amount of success to be fair but I still think I could generally do without them. And lastly, the most challenging part of the album for me is the dual vocal delivery which is over-used & continuously thrust down the listeners throat. As far as I can tell, front man Ronnie Canizaro employs the deep guttural death growls while keyboardist Joe Buras regularly chimes in with silly metalcore screams in support. These vocal lines have been brought right to the front of the mix & are used so consistently that they can sound fairly monotonous a while. To be fair, I don’t really like that vocal style to begin with but this is more of a comment on the overall genre than it is about Born Of Osiris in general.

Regardless of these flaws, I can’t really fault the tracklisting which includes fifteen tracks ranging from good to excellent. Unsurprisingly, it’s the more deathly tracks that float my boat the most along with the synth-driven interludes which are particularly well done. It’s kinda difficult to explain but, even though I struggle with some of the elements I mentioned above, the overall class of Born Of Osiris somehow seems to transcend my misgivings & sees me throwing myself in head first after the first few tracks. I guess I’m just a sucker for well-produced & precisely executed extreme metal so I can’t help but see through the more generic elements so that I can grab on to the more expansive ones & this sees me finding it very hard to be too critical of Born Of Osiris who are unquestionably at the peak of their subgenre. I mean if you like high quality US deathcore then I can’t see that you won’t love “The Discovery” because it ticks all of the boxes while adding in some of its own for good measure & in doing so has created the strongest & most interesting example of the djenty progressive deathcore sound that I’ve ever experienced.

For fans of After The Burial, Veil Of Maya & Within The Ruins.

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

Amaranthe – “Helix” (from “Helix”, 2018)

4/5. Interesting how I started with a song that reminds of a band that is now gone from my metal interest along with the rest of the you-know-what genre from my playlist. This track sounds more related to mid-2000s In Flames. I like that a bit!

Converge – “Hell To Pay” (from “Jane Doe”, 2001)

4.5/5. What's also interesting is how I spiced up the Revolution playlist with something really slow, with the thick bass to help give it a sludgy vibe and a great suiting tone. One of the best songs in the album to not be part of the greater highlights! (see review)

Unearth – “The Chosen” (from “The March”, 2008)

4.5/5. This one shows some tasty leads, and was chosen as part of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters soundtrack, recorded a year before the rest of the album this song was in, The March.

The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Crossburner” (from “One Of Us Is The Killer”, 2013)

4/5. I guess you call this sludgy track "Phone Home" Part 2!! Moody bass and mechanical distortion scatter over guitars while making the song more violent than a deadly earthquake. The madness would have a good grip on you and shake you hard. This is one of the best songs that don't make my top 5 favorites in this album.

Demon Hunter – “My Destiny” (from “True Defiance”, 2012)

4/5. This one has passionate beautiful choruses surrounding chaotic verses. Good song for any Demon Hunter newcomer fans!

Memphis May Fire – “Alive In The Lights” (from “Challenger”, 2012)

4.5/5. Theo Wyoming, I applaud your decision to contribute to the Revolution playlists. This song is brilliant killer face-blasting metalcore. I might not feel too up to listening to more of this band, but thanks for this suggestion, Theo!

Underøath – “In Division” (from “Ø (Disambiguation)”, 2010)

5/5. Now this is superb! Aaron Gillespie was absent for this album in both the drums and clean vocals, but Spencer's cleans that he uses with his usual screams keep the manliness factor going. No lie, I watched the music video for this song on TV at least 5 years ago during my earlier epic metal taste, but it was until in the center between then and now when I became fully interested in this band during my current modern heavier era. While I enjoy this exciting sound, I love the band in the albums where Aaron is around, though their older stuff. This album is, similar to the previous 3 songs in this playlist, brilliant killer face-blasting metalcore, though it hasn't reached the epic height of Lost in the Sound of Separation. They should definitely have more success than Tool. Christian metalcore for the win (though I'm a Muslim)!

Shadows Fall – “The Light That Blinds” (from “The War Within”, 2004)

5/5. This song comes to a perfect start with a short acoustic intro, then the song itself follows with heavy, pounding rhythms, awesome guitar work, and a memorable catchy chorus. One of the best songs by the band!

God Forbid – “Wicked” (from “Determination”, 2001)

4.5/5. The amazing 6-song winning streak in this playlist continues beautifully in this wicked track, which mixes metalcore rhythms with melodeath leads.

Winds Of Plague – “Approach The Podium” (from “The Great Stone War”, 2009)

5/5. After going through all those down-tuned pieces of metalcore art, the last one I'm commenting on is in standard E, and it sounds so brutal (but in a way I like)! The album's concept about an apocalyptic war in a devolving future should be made into a book or a movie. How much I love this album is probably much more than their later albums. The keyboard riff towards the end is f***ing sick (as in awesome) in this immense song! This song clearly establishes Winds of Plague as one of the heaviest metal bands around, especially the verse that surrounds the one-minute mark. This wouldn't probably be a band I would listen when I was around 14, but the leeway had pushed slowly until at least 5 years later when I became interested in them. You can go into a World War battle zone with this song blaring from your stereo. I'm so speechless by the message the song is conveying. Their first two albums, Decimate the Weak and The Great Stone War at the best by the band!

I have cross referenced Dillinger Escape Plan many times in mathcore adjacent album reviews over the last year, most notably in my two Converge reviews for Jane Doe and All We Love We Leave Behind. Both bands played into two different branches of mathcore around the turn of the century and they both turned out to be equally influential to the genre, even if Converge became the more critically adored. I have always stood by the DEP was the better of the two for their songwriting that was equal parts frenetic energy and aggression, as well as well controlled and thought out melodies and hooks.

Now this album, One of Us is the Killer, can be viewed as one of the heaviest albums in the groups discography. The hectic songwriting, complete with very complex time signatures and unison riffage, is truly a marvel to behold. The way in which this group is able to make these sound good instead of as a technical wank break is commendable for sure. But what makes this album stand out is how it fits in remarkably well with tracks like "Hero of the Soviet Union", "Paranoia Shields" and "Crossburner". That is, how these sections are complimented by their more melodic influenced hardcore sections.

Now this album is remarkably loud and one of the poor examples of an album that fell victim to the loudness war. Quite a shame for a handful of reasons, but the main reason is the guitar riffing being so incredibly close to the front of the mix. Despite having some decent hooks at times, this is still math rock at its core, so leads are sparse, and I don't need to hear the chugging breakdown riffs at the same volume/intensity as I do during the melodic choruses. What's worse is how both the kick drum in the percussion, as well as Greg Puciato's vocals are blasted as compensation! It really is muddy and it hurts the album as a whole.

To be honest, I was hoping that the first DEP album to be featured would be Miss Machine or their fantastic swansong Dissociation from 2016, but those will have to wait for another day. As it is, One of Us is the Killer is a fantastic display of how one can make hook driven hardcore music without falling into already oversaturated pool that is melodic hardcore. But the production holds this album back from higher marks. I really enjoy how this sound has been taken and refined in recent years by a group such as Rolo Tomassi, and they owe a lot of that success to this album

7/10

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

Within The Ruins – “Ataxia II” (from “Elite”, 2013)

5/5. While this isn't the first song of the playlist, it's a good intro for the selected amount of songs I'm commenting. Within the Ruins are known for their Ataxia instrumentals that they've had in every album except Creature, and this part continues that killer streak. An incredible technical death/metalcore instrumental attack!

Amaranthe – “Maximize” (from “Maximalism”, 2016)

4.5/5. This is one of the better highlights of the album Maximalism, a fantastic synth-rocker with some of the best vocals from Elize Ryd while varying with the other two vocalists. I'm glad that this song was chosen instead of one of the weak poppy songs later on in the album.

Underøath – “Emergency Broadcast / The End Is Near” (from “Lost In The Sound Of Separation”, 2008)

5.5/5. (not exaggerating) This is a heavy song, one of the heaviest songs in the metalcore scene! The bassline at the one-minute mark builds up until unleashing the chaos. This is probably the most epic song of Lost in the Sound of Separation, especially that 45-second moment with shiver-inducing guitar, one minute after that bassline. The singing by drummer Aaron Gillespie helps level up the song, though that album without him after this one is great too. F***ing amazing! And my true like for Underoath all started because TheOdd1sOut used another song from Lost in the Sound of Separation in one of his videos. The Cult of Luna influence that they had in Define the Great Line can definitely be found in this sick song. Well done, guys!

Bullet For My Valentine – “Your Betrayal” (from “Fever”, 2010)

4.5/5. Simple yet killer! It starts with a military marching drum intro for soldiers to prepare for war with a mood similar to a song from The Poison. The simple elements continue on including drop-C tuned guitars, screams and whispers. After the second chorus, the middle section is different from your typical BFMV song. No guitar solo, just siren-like wailing vocals over heavy guitar. It does show some maturity, but it would've been better if the guitar solo does the siren-like wailing.

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

6/5 (not exaggerating). Sonny suggested this one as his submission for this month's playlist, and even though I already submitted that one as part of the first ever Revolution playlist, I won't argue here. It's my favorite song 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!

Demon Hunter – “Not Ready To Die” (from “Summer Of Darkness”, 2004)

4.5/5. Exploding right into the metalcore action of Summer of Darkness after their self-titled nu metal debut, Ryan Clark does his screaming/growling in the verses before moving to the melodic chanting chorus. The song has dark lyrics about what life is like before the end and the music has almost everything the band has in one song. "If only 33 years can save my life, I have 23 more to make things right..." Was Ryan 10 years old when he wrote those anti-optimistic lyrics?!

Born Of Osiris – “Empires Erased” (from “The New Reign”, 2007)

4/5. A good song to listen to, not the best but still good for anyone starting their technical deathcore interest anew. It has a catchy main riff, along with harmonized guitar and speedy bass. The groovier parts are the best, but what really hits the spot is the epic video game-like keyboarding.

Parkway Drive – “Sleepwalker” (from “Deep Blue”, 2010)

4/5. This single is nothing like most of the other songs I've commented above, or songs from the previous album Horizons like "Boneyards", but it still has a great amount of excellent riffing and amazing ending soloing.

Converge – “The High Cost Of Playing God” (from “When Forever Comes Crashing”, 1998)

4.5/5. You'll find a huge heap of berserk metalcore until it ends with strange melodic chords with vocalist Jacob Bannon's whining cries. It's not my favorite song of the album, but it's still a prime example of 90s metalcore.

God Forbid – “Article I: The Twilight of Civilization, Section I: The End of the World” (from “IV: Constitution of Treason”, 2005)

5/5. We've come to the end of my commenting section with "The End of the World" that happens to be the epic beginning of a metalcore concept album. The song begins with an epic acoustic rising to electric intro as a sign of everyone first hearing of a deadly virus that's spreading all over the world. As the actual heaviness begins, everyone outside panics and begins running to their respective homes, unaware that the virus has caught up with most of them. Yeah, I was a little scared of the virus when it started hitting my country and we were gonna be put in lockdown. Check out my review for this album for the scenario I made: https://metal.academy/reviews/5715/6250

This one has really tested me. It's taken me much further outside of my musical comfort zone than even some of the recent European power metal feature releases have to be honest. I mean I'd certainly heard the odd Trivium track here & there previously (particularly during "The Revolution" Spotify playlist creation process) but I never quite realized just how commercially accessible their sound was until now. Let's be completely transparent here.... a fair chunk of "In Waves" is a lot closer to Linkin Park than it is to "Master Of Puppets" & I even found myself making comparisons to Nickelback at times which isn't something that any self-respecting metal band would usually be comfortable with. But having said that, there's certainly a place for a poppier brand of metal when it's done well & it's done well here.

Colin Richardson's production job really is the player of the match for "In Waves" because he gives a lot of this material more grunt than it actually deserves. The performances & execution are outstanding but if you analyze many of these tracks in detail you'll find that there's not all that much substance. There's definitely a case for some of these tracks having been needlessly extended (see the last minute & a half of the title track for example) but in general everything seems to be in the appropriate place. It's a real credit to Richardson that he's managed to take such simple & accessible song-writing & make it into a fairly decent metal record.

For a release that's generally regarded as melodic metalcore, there's actually not very much hardcore on offer here. It's much more of a combination of commercial heavy metal & melodic death metal in my opinion but the vocals & breakdowns see it hanging onto its -core tag for dear life. I'm just not so sure that too many punks are gonna be jumping onboard the Trivium train based on this offering. Despite the screamy vocals & occasional blast beat, Disturbed & Metallica's "Black Album" seem like more appropriate counterparts so no one should really be claiming "In Waves" under the extreme metal banner. In fact, the vocals are probably the weakest part of the album for me as I'm not all that big on the generic nature of the screamed delivery & the clean stuff tends to be... welll... pretty Linkin Park like really (no offence to Linkin Park who are sitting in my playlist for the coming week) which only exacerbates the pre-existing feeling that I'm listening to a Stock, Aitken & Waterman version of modern metal.

At the end of the day though, I rate releases on how much I enjoy listening to them & I'd be lying if I said that I didn't find a fair bit of enjoyment in the majority of "In Waves". Sure there are a few duds thrown in here & there (see "A Skyline's Severance", "Built To Fall" & particularly the radio-friendly closer "Of All These Yesterdays") & there aren't really all that many genuine highlight tracks but there's enough high quality metal here to keep me interested even if I don't find my head bopping up & down all that often.  Thankfully I just love a well produced & tightly performed metal record & can look past Trivium's failings for the most part.

For fans of Bullet For My Valentine, As I Lay Dying & Shadows Fall.

3.5/5

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

August Burns Red – “Meddler” (from “Constellations”, 2009)

5/5. Another perfect start of a playlist, an epic-sounding metalcore song with lyrics of hopeless rationalism. This can very well get my hopes up for a sweet playlist, though they shouldn't be too high up, of course...

All That Remains – “Tru-Kvlt-Metal” (from “The Order Of Things”, 2015)

3.5/5. This song makes you want to face palm over the oddly spelled title. The track itself is cool with all this metal aggression, but the momentum is a little lost and out of place. This song would work better in their earlier albums, not this one. But this is still a great song with their brutal metalcore sound and is one of their heaviest songs.

Betraying The Martyrs – “The Great Disillusion” (from “The Resilient”, 2017)

4.5/5. A great killer symphonic/progressive death/metalcore song. Enough said!

Botch – “Hives” (from ‘American Nervoso”, 1998)

4/5. Another killer song closing a good album of mathcore madness, but I wish it would have a more interesting ending like a much better piano melody than the one in "Oma" after the rest of the instrumentation fades, but that didn't happen. Oh well...

The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Limerent Death” (from “Dissociation”, 2016)

4.5/5. Another standard mathcore banger of a song filled with complete manic insanity, plus some yelling and screaming from both guitar and vocals. The violent blast beats and complex time signatures are far beyond how much your brain can handle.

Converge – “Dark Horse” (from “Axe To Fall”, 2009)

4.5/5. Probably the most accessible song by the band while having the usual monstrous metalcore fury. It has a fast technical riff that plays many times in the song, while in the middle there's a crushing breakdown with Jacob Bannon's powerful shrieking.

God Forbid – “Antihero” (from “Gone Forever”, 2004)

5/5. This is one of my favorite songs from this band. Melodic guitar leads cuts through my eardrums to the point of breaking them until it makes way for shattering mid-tempo moshing riffs with sweet angry vocals. Then it's back to the Arch Enemy-like melodeath/thrash mayhem!

Trivium – “What The Dead Men Say” (from “What The Dead Men Say”, 2020)

5.5/5 (not exaggerating). The title track of the newest Trivium album might take a few listens to fully grasp it, but the end result is this song becoming possibly my favorite Trivium song since the In Waves title track! The catchy chorus is a bit repetitive yet something I would never change. I say it has the fury of The Sin and the Sentence and the technicality of Shogun mixed into a hard-written song that's been missing from the band for many years until now. A total destroyer I profusely love!

Misery Signals – “River King” (from “Ultraviolet”, 2020)

5/5. Speaking of kings, "River King" is an amazing song from Misery Signals, the kings of Wisconsin (my grandparents' state) metalcore! We really need them to perform live after the virus clears out so they can shatter the earth, especially the heavy breakdown at the last minute. The exciting noise assault definitely brings back ABR memories.

Unearth – “One With The Sun” (from “Extinctions(s)”, 2018)

4.5/5. A great standout, featuring some of the most catchy guitar leads in the album while the lyrics warn you about the final extinction, hopefully not the virus. After all that intense energy, it lightens up to an uplifting mood as the song closes in calm symphonic melody.

Veil Of Maya – “Dark Passenger” (from “[id]”, 2010)

4/5. This one continues the technical veracity with some more headbanging breakdowns along with beautiful ambient riffs. Probably would've been better, but a decent introductory song for anyone stumbling upon Veil of Maya for the first time.

Thanks Daniel, but the album is still too far beyond my mostly melodic metalcore league, not to mention a title that would offend people with autism and their parents. Again I'm not into the ultra-grind-metalcore of this band and others such as Gulch and Fawn Limbs (Gaza is still OK for me though). I'm not gonna write a summary, I'm just gonna say the link to my review: https://metal.academy/reviews/19991/26049

3/5

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

Amaranthe – “Fearless” (from “Manifest”, 2020)

4.5/5. Not the Amaranthe song I suggested, but I'll take it! This is one of the most killer songs by Amaranthe I've heard since Massive Addictive, where the band fearlessly slays through their trance-metalcore sound like a sci-fi dystopian battle.

August Burns Red – “Spirit Breaker” (from “Rescue & Restore”, 2013)

4/5. Another nice metalcore song! This one starts with an intro similar to some Darkest Hour song intros but with rising and falling strings before starting the standard August Burns Red attack. That song also has a soft break with emotive spoken reading.

Converge – “Aimless Arrow” (from “All We Love We Leave Behind”, 2012)

4.5/5. I used to think those two bands mentioned above (Amaranthe and August Burns Red) were some of the best Revolution bands around, but when Converge entered my playlist, now I realize that sometimes it's more about aggression than melody. This track drops the extreme bomb into an explosion of math-metalcore backed up by vocalist Jacob Bannon sounding more semi-melodic than his earlier atonal screaming.

Trivium – “Kirisute Gomen” (from “Shogun”, 2008)

5/5. The track title is a Japanese saying meaning "authorization to cut and leave". The song itself is pretty effective. 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, and a memorable chorus. Now that its album Shogun is finally in The Pit despite not concluding its hall voting, I might have to ask Ben in another thread to cancel the Hall submissions for that one and Vengeance Falls (the latter because I just realized it's not that thrashy) if possible.

Norma Jean – “Landslide Defeater” (from “All Hail”, 2019)

5/5. Now this is fantastic! I may have changed my mind about enjoying that Architects song from last month's playlist, but this song makes up for that by improving on those Architects influences to a new level. This brutal heavy song has one of the most chaotic breakdowns I've heard recently. Between the heaviness and catchiness, the vocals release mind-blowing energy from the infinite. The chaotic energy is mixed with fragments of melody. Some might think of old The Devil Wears Prada, but I say it has super-mega chaos far beyond that level. Forget what I said about August Burns Red being one of my favorite Revolution bands, Norma Jean takes the reign!

Unearth – “Endless” (from “The Oncoming Storm”, 2004)

4.5/5. A killer song with a bit of a Hatebreed vibe, re-recorded from the Endless EP. The lyrics are notable for being inspired and inspiring; the first verse lyrics inspired the name of symphonic deathcore band Winds of Plague, and the "ENDLESS FIGHT!!" breakdown, was inspired by Endless Fight Records, the label that released Unearth's demo EP Above the Fall of Man.

Cursed – “God & Country (Some Folks Inherit Star-Spangled Eyes)” (from “One”, 2003)

5/5. Remember yesterday when Daniel and I established that I wasn't really into the doomy hardcore sludge metal? I just changed my mind with this song! This is probably the best song to mix metallic hardcore with sludge, and those screams would be tough to imitate. "Final frontier falls to decay, last of hope rotting away... ROTTING AWAY!!!"

The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton – “Hollywood Squares” (from “Irony Is A Dead Scene” E.P., 2002)

5/5. The chaos starts right at the press of the play button, with legendary session vocalist Mike Patton screaming "GAME OVER! I WIN!! GAME OVER! YOU WIN!!!" Intensity never stops and instead keeps twisting and turning through all this variety. As the fast pace speeds on, Patton shows off his astonishing vocals ranging from blood-curdling yelling and creepy whispering. What a great maniac! Things get quieter in the second half where Patton sounds closer to his more accessible time in Faith No More. There's still some more amazing creative talent! The furious extreme noisecore rages on once more as Patton snarls "We're Hollywood squares, going nowhere".

Botch – “John Woo” (from “American Nervoso”, 1998)

4.5/5. This one has prime usage of the heavy-mild technique. The song starts with maximized mathcore noise that would fit well in a demolition derby, but eventually starts weaving back and forth between an easy guitar groove and a technical riff. Then there's a simple breakdown before a chaotic ending. That song pretty much proves the unrestrained hysteria of its album in intelligent progress and unique contrast.

Underøath – “And I Dreamt Of You” (from “Cries From The Past”, 2000)

5.5/5 (not exaggerated). Probably the longest song to ever reach one of the Revolution playlists! When this song came to my mind, I thought it was a great one to choose because I've been thinking about submitting a real 10+ minute metalcore epic, the ones I was thinking of, like the title tracks of Trivium's Shogun and Converge's Jane Doe were far longer than the other songs of their respective albums, and it doesn't quite make sense to choose a song that's far longer anything else in album. However, the first two Underoath albums are progressive black/death-influenced metalcore songs that are longer at 7-8 minutes on average, so I finally got the chance to include this 11-minute epic! And I gotta say, this is my favorite Underoath song from that era. The melodic guitar playing far near the 4 and a half minute mark is so sick and cool with leads playing over breakdowns that would otherwise be too fast for a breakdown. Some of the lyrics can be very poetic. Now that's a black/death-ish metalcore epic like no other!

Parkway Drive – “Smoke ‘Em If Ya Got ‘Em” (from “Killing With A Smile”, 2005)

4.5/5. This Parkway Drive fan-favorite was re-recorded from the Don't Close Your Eyes EP, now with better production and more intense sound. Once again, it sums up everything the band has; crushing riffs, heavy breakdowns, melodic leads, technical drums, and emotional intensity, the latter especially in the ending lead and riff.

After The Burial – “A Vicious Reforming Of Features” (from “Rareform”, 2009)

5/5. A great djent-core ending to its original album, it might sound like a copy of Meshuggah, but there are a few unique variations. The high-hat can really stand out in the incredible precise drumming which, by the way, is programmed, even in the remastered version. Also, the sound might be a bit scratchy, but it gives a cold feeling, like a more audibly distorted Necrophagist. A viciously awesome closer! There's another song from this album in this month's Infinite playlist, which I'll talk about later...

For my track thoughts here, I originally commented on a massive 20 of the 32 tracks here because there are so many bands I like and songs from bands that I might like. However, I realized that I tried so hard to enjoy the some of the songs from bands I haven't listened to before when really I didn't like them, and my comments on some of the songs from bands that I do listen to were outdated, most of which were copied from my own reviews and my opinions on those songs have changed since then. I might even give them up and sacrifice their discographies to make room for newer bands eventually if I feel like it, God forbid (NOT one of those bands). So I cut my amount of reviewed tracks to just 14 and rearranged the order of songs here to sound more complete. Here they are:

Hatebreed – “Instinctive (Slaughterlust)” (from “Weight Of The False Self”, 2020)

8/10. If Trivium could rip the heart from your hate, Hatebreed does just that then keeps stomping the heart hard while your hate bleeds to death. This is f***ing brutal old-school-inspired metalcore that would keep your wild bullhorns up. Though I still don't feel up to metalcore that brutal...

Gulch – “Self-Inflicted Mental Terror” (from “Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress”, 2020)

7/10. After the November playlist had the demo version, this newer version appears in their album Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress. It does fit well with the title, sounding too much like it was written by a mentally ill terrorist. I still can't handle this brutal grind-metalcore...

Chamber – “Numb (Transfuse)” (from “Cost Of Sacrifice”, 2020)

9/10. A heavy start to this playlist, one of the hardest metalcore songs I've heard so far, more than the heaviest hamburger! The drumming is so g****mn insane, pushing the boundaries of metalcore drumming and reminding me of Gojira's Mario Duplantier. Some listeners might pick up Code Orange and Norma Jean vibes from the chaotic mathy metalcore inspired from the late 90s. Then there's a 30-second unexpected beautiful ending. The two-minute breakdown has excellent hellfire. However, the chaos might be a little too spicy for me to handle as much as Zao. If the new Predator film could feature a Suicide Silence song, then the next one should have this song. Some listeners might also be reminds of a less technical Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza. Chamber has made a metal hardcore extravaganza that's a little out of my bounds!

Bleed From Within – “Alive” (from “Era”, 2018)

8/10. Another killer song, but not enough to get more of this band. Enough said!

The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Prancer” (from “One Of Us Is The Killer”, 2013)

9/10. This smashing hit continues The Dillinger Escape Plan's tradition of swinging straight into action. Off beat melodies shine in a considerate pace. This band sure knows how to prance around with more chaos than grace!

Trivium – “Pillars Of Serpents” (from “Ember To Inferno”, 2003)

10/10. Ah yeah, "Pillars of Serpents", the first full song I talked about in my first Metal Academy album review, Trivium's Ember to Inferno! Not just that, I also suggested this song in the playlist in memory of former bassist Brent Young (RIP). The song itself is a chugging churning example of heavy metalcore, still audible enough for the ears. In fact you can hear a bit of the bass clearly in the mix. I personally like the original (the version used in this playlist) better than the 2017/2019 re-recorded version, not sure why, maybe I just wasn't into the scream and the F-word at the end of the re-recording.

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

9/10. Some of the most crushing music helped out by a diverse vocal trio. It really sets apart from any music you hear nowadays. The top-notch lyrics have a positive tone of never giving up. An energetic song of metal heaven on pop earth!

Converge – “Last Light” (from “You Fail Me”, 2004)

10/10. 3 and a half minutes of mayhem are the result from probably the most impressively unique song in the album. The screaming vocal attack of Jacob Bannon ranges from manic to emotional through the lyrics. The song is indeed emotional and you already know what's going on just by listening to it.

Botch – “Transitions From Persona To Object” (from “We Are The Romans”, 1999)

9/10. This song greatly represents the organic nature of the album We are the Romans. Every riff is played naturally, never forced, as if the riffs are inventing themselves. After an eerie intro melody, the song continues into its awesomeness, riff after riff, all in a perfect groove mood. The heavy riffs lead to high dissonance in a passage that brings back the lower riffs and vocals. The song ends with frantic discord fading out to a drumbeat.

HORSE The Band – “Lord Gold Throneroom” (from “The Mechanical Hand”, 2005)

10/10. One of the most amazing songs from Nintendocore masters Horse the Band! I can definitely say that this song could be used in a Nintendo video game battle. Other than that, I got no other words to do this killer piece justice!

August Burns Red – “Your Little Suburbia Is In Ruins” (from “Thrill Seeker”, 2005)

9/10. A blazing brutal song from August Burns Red BEFORE Jake Luhrs! The opening has a catchy riff and fast drums, leading into an earth-shattering breakdown. That's a fast song with interesting riffs that are never cliché.

The Contortionist – “Flourish” (from “Exoplanet”, 2010)

8/10. This song is a good heavier one, sounding closer to progressive deathcore/djent, with beautiful moments like the instrumental breakdown and that shoegaze-like solo. After that, close to the 5-minute point, they turn back to the sharper djent sound. Its album Exoplanet was remastered in 2015, and even though the remaster caused some mixed reactions, I still think this song has cool djent on both versions.

Veil Of Maya – “Crawl Back” (from “The Common Man’s Collapse”, 2008)

9/10. And here's another deathcore band that I enjoy, Veil of Maya. This song immediately introduces the band's second vocalist Brandon Butler with some semi-memorable lyrics. That's the deathcore I can tolerate!

Venom Prison – “Slayer Of Holofernes” (from “Primeval”, 2020)

8/10. And the third's time not the charm for deathcore... Vocalist Larissa Stupar does her attempt to do Cattle Decapitation-like vocals along with background cleans, but that's just too much and too spine-chilling. Still this song is somewhat amazing. I mean a female death-screamer must be quite a phenomenon, isn't it? Those are some sick killer screams that stay consistent and drag you through f***ing extreme Hell, if you're up for that challenge. D*mn, it's brutal! Larissa is one of the brightest shining stars of harsh vocals nowadays, in a pulverizing range from death to hardcore. So insanely killer! Her beautiful yet beastly vocals can pound f***ing harder than a gorilla's fists. Yep, those vocals are awesome, but it's just too chaotic, along with the rest of the song. I've reached my deathcore limit!

Despite the massive cutdown, that's quite a lot for me to review in this playlist! It hasn't beaten the original high score of December's playlist, but it came close. Thanks again Daniel for including my suggestions and many more songs for me to enjoy!

It's pretty amazing that a band like Converge can release Jane Doe in September of 2001 and be heralded as the GOAT of mathcore, yet Botch can come along just over a year later with this EP and invoke the same critical reception.

As I have mentioned many times before, mathcore is not my specialty. Something about the irrationality of it all and how none of it sticks together just leaves me feeling empty after hearing it. But some groups can make it work: Converge from Axe to Fall and beyond, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Rolo Tomassi and Botch would probably fall into that category. The guitars are given prominent roles as a melodic instrument throughout as Dave Verellen's vocals are allowed to be as punishing and relentless as possible. The compositions are fluent as well; "Japam" and "Vietmam" are structured well and do not fee like an amalgamation of four/five ideas lumped together without a through line. 

I will say that the cathartic release that I felt following the buildup from "Afghamistam" into the first half of "Miciragua" was impressive, but the song "Afghamistam" on its own doesn't feel like it belongs here. It's a decent cut and a great way to show off the groups capability to play slow and atmospheric, but the runtime is a detriment and is not as developed as the albums heavier moments.

I feel like this EP is much more in the realm of mathcore that I can appreciate for its songwriting prowess alone. The production does help also, but it is the overall connectivity that makes these tunes resonate as actual pieces of music that I can listen to and enjoy rather than as a mosh pit anthem. An Anthology of Dead Ends is hardly my favourite in this niche subsect of mathcore, but there was an effort put forward and it did pay off.

7/10

I'm a big fan of hardcore punk like Sick of it All and Minor Threat and the first Suicidal Tendencies album is one of my all-time favourites, so I quite enjoyed this - far better than almost any metalcore I've heard before. Benefits, as most hardcore-based releases do, from it's short runtime as that level of intensity is hard to maintain for extended periods. 3.5/5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7FHvqsAHntA7kP3gzgEFMr?si=CHbfHKLVSZ-ITXm57xsWaA

Tracklisting:

01. Alpha Wolf – “Akudama” (from “A Quiet Place To Die”, 2020)

02. Within Destruction – “Hate Me” (from “Yōkai”, 2020)

03. God Forbid – “Article II: In the Darkest Hour, There Was One, Section 7: To the Fallen Hero” (from “IV: Constitution of Treason”, 2005) [Submitted by shadowdoom9]

04. The Hirsch Effekt – “Torka” (from “Kollaps”, 2020)

05. Fear, & Loathing In Las Vegas – “Twilight” (from “Dance & Scream”, 2010) [Submitted by shadowdoom9]

06. Protest The Hero – “Blindfolds Aside” (from “Kezia”, 2006)

07. Amaranthe – “Hunger” (from “Amaranthe”, 2011)

08. HORSE The Band – “Shapeshift” (from “Desperate Living”, 2009)

09. August Burns Red – “Carol Of The Bells” (from “Sleddin’ Hill: A Holiday Album”, 2012) [Submitted by shadowdoom9]

10. Gulch – “Sin In My Heart” (from “Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress”, 2020)

11. Between The Buried & Me – “Selkies: The Endless Obsession” (from “Alaska”, 2005)

12. The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton – “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things” (from “Irony Is A Dead Scene” E.P., 2002)

13. Integrity – “Judgement Day” (from “Those Who Fear Tomorrow”, 1991)

14. Counterparts – “Ghost” (from “The Difference Between Hell & Home”, 2013)

15. Underøath – “Anyone Can Dig a Hole but It Takes a Real Man to Call It Home” (from “Lost in the Sound of Separation”, 2008) [Submitted by shadowdoom9]

16. Poison The Well – “Slice Paper Wrists” (from “The Opposite Of December”, 1999)

17. Converge – “The Saddest Day” (from “Petitioning The Empty Sky”, 1996) [Submitted by shadowdoom9]

18. Mortality Rate – “Sandman” (from “Sleep Deprivation” E.P., 2016)

19. Make Them Suffer – “Erase Me” (from “How To Survive A Funeral”, 2020)

20. Unearth – “Stronghold” (from “The Stings Of Conscience”, 2001) [Submitted by shadowdoom9]

21. Misery Signals – “The Year Summer Ended In June” (from “Of Malice & The Magnum Heart”, 2004)

22. After The Burial – “Berzerker” (from “Rareform”, 2009)

23. Within The Ruins – “Versus” (from “Invade”, 2010) [Submitted by shadowdoom9]

24. Sunami – “Weak Die First” (from “Demonstration” E.P., 2018)

25. Turmoil – “Playing Dead” (from “The Process Of…”, 1999)

26. Nostromo – “Sunset Motel” (from “Ecce Lex”, 2002)

27. Currents – “A Flag To Wave” (from “The Way It Ends”, 2020)

28. Methwitch – “Teeth Like Nails” (from “Indwell”, 2020)

29. Despised Icon – “Retina” (from “The Healing Process”, 2005)

I finished my review, here's its summary:

I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die is an intense, dissonant, and unpleasant album...for some people. But for me, this is awesome! This 2006 release contains some crazy brutal music but in a way that blesses my ears and has got me hooked. Now I plan on fetching their other two albums, and maybe they would cause destructive chaos just like this one did. For this album, after two short grindcore tracks, the album charges through 8 more mathcore songs of brutal chaos and wild intensity with occasional melodic sludge sections. I don't care if people think this album sucks garbage because it's too intense for them, I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die passes this mathcore/grindcore test for finding what I think is the right balance of enjoyment. Hello, Gaza!

5/5

I agree with Daniel with his assessment of Converge's All We Love We Leave Behind. I found this record to be far more enjoyable than the bands more critically successful Jane Doe from 2001.

And given my opinion on that record to be quite controversial, Converge fixed the production significantly from that record, and created a throwback album that is more refined, melodic and well thought out than any in their entire discography. It's still ruthless and aggressive as hell, but in a more developed and intentional way. One that I greatly appreciate and marks the turning point (at least for me) where I start to "get" Converge. Mathcore is not a genre I take lightly, but Converge deliver here.

8/10 

Going to post my review for BABYMETAL'S Metal Galaxy here since it echos a lot of the short points I'll make about this one.

https://metal.academy/reviews/14061/14278

Surprisingly, Metal Galaxy is much better put together than this debut, with a lot of the songs on here being EXTREMELY erratic and silly, with most of the choruses being completely different songs than the verses. There's a surprising amount of harsh vocals in this one too and even though they're not the greatest thing ever, the fact that they stick around for a pretty long time does speak volumes for BABYMETAL'S attempt to really bring as much Metal as they could into their performance. 

At the end of the day though, BABYMETAL is very much just a performance, with their history being rooted in some Japanese idol group manager who happened to love Metal deciding to take the chance on a new act. It obviously went over very well, with them becoming a household name just because of how strange and different it was. I'm not going to lie, I absolutely rolled my eyes whenever someone told me that "BABYMETAL goes hard af" or anything like that since I was already starting to dive into the more extreme sides of Metal in 2013/2014. Like Saxy said, they certainly have a place in the mainstream Metal community to try and ease people into harsh vocals and Death Metal riffage. It was always eerily similar to Rammstein when "Du Hast" made its rounds thanks to Rock Band 3. Everyone knew the weird German song with the "NEIN" shouts and the heavy as hell riff, and it was the same sort of story with BABYMETAL'S "Gimme Chocolate!!" and "Megitsune".  

I think the newer albums do a way better job of incorporating the girls' voices and general wackiness that they have, but this debut certainly had a lot of...ideas. A lot of them aren't very good, but a few do work. The crazy rhythm game synths and Eurobeat are pretty good in some tracks, some of the solos rip pretty hard, and there's a ton of variety, but there are just way too many things that make me roll my eyes. It's just all over the place, with "Megitsune" being the only track that I legitimately think is pretty great. It does have its place in the Alternative Metal scene and I'd love to hear more bands experiment with this sort of sound without being so pandering and off-the-wall, like an even more Metal version of Wagakki Band. Look them up, their songs "Tengaku" and "Senbozakura" are massively popular (127m views? Jeez I didn't know they were THAT popular) and I'd love to see a middle ground between that and BABYMETAL. It probably exists somewhere out there, especially since we have that Vengeful Spectre release from this year. 

2/5

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!

Here's my short summary:

After the Burial is a great melodic/technical death/metalcore band with intense breakdowns. You know how in France, they refer to sun-rain as "the devil beating his wife and marrying his daughter"? Well...the devil is Meshuggah, the wife is Cynic, and the daughter is Maya (Veil of Maya). And a child was born as a blessing, After the Burial! Yeah, that seems like a somewhat wrong story, but I can't think of any other description to sum this up. I reviewed the remastered version with vocals by Anthony Notormaso, instead of the original vocalist Grant Luoma whom I guess people didn't like. I like the off-beat guitar weirdness by Justin Lowe, who was a real djent guitar hero. Despite the incredible precision of the drumming, it's actually programmed, even in the remastered version. Also, the sound might be a bit scratchy, but it gives a cold feeling that helps the album stay awesome. Rareform is fantastic!! Not only would Veil of Maya fans love this, but also Meshuggah fans. Besides all that djent, it has everything to expect from deathcore and metalcore; quick solos, searing melodies, and earth-quaking breakdowns. After the Burial is a band I would recommend to a lot of metalheads out there! RIP Justin Lowe

5/5

I'm glad that I gave this EP a second chance as I bumped my score up a bit afterwards. I've checked out my fair share of modern and electronic focused Metalcore and personally I don't think this is anything particularly special. It's not egregiously bad, "Radiant" is the obvious highlight on here as "The Paddington Frisk" and "Rat Race" seem to just be experiments rather than anything polished. I think the mainstream Pop Rock influence is what rubs me the wrong way with "Radiant", with the constant "Woahs" going on in the background, but it's not all bad. The track is varied with Metalcore buildups, rewarding Trance/EDM elements and a pretty killer Metalcore riff here and there, with an "emotional" soft portion that actually doesn't sound half bad. 

Since I try to keep up with modern releases and there are quite a few Metalcore names that I constantly recognize and check out. Most of them are moving towards this very poppy modern Rock mixed with EDM influences kind of sound, so I'm personally worn out on it since it doesn't bring too many new or exciting things to the table for me. The final remix of "Radiant" was pretty nice, while it doesn't take any risks whatsoever that's kind of what Trance is all about, at least on the EDM side of things. Getting into a melody or rhythm and just kind of riding it until it decides to end. I think this album would have made more sense if I was ever an Enter Shikari fan, as from what I can gather this was a short return to form for them. Overall not the worst example of modern Pop Metalcore I've heard. 

2.5/5

You know what? I felt very similarly to you on first listen Xephyr. But after giving "The Mechanical Hand" a couple more listens I couldn't help but find some endearing qualities in it. For starters, it's a very varied & reasonably complex record which doesn't stick to the one plan for any length of time. The vocals & breakdowns show plenty of enthusiasm even if they are fairly generic metalcore inclusions but the 8-bit synth lines are really well incorporated into HORSE The Band's sound & it gives them a quirky appeal similar to Mr. Bungle. Do I think there's justification for an entirely new subgenre of metal (i.e. Nintendocore) here? Well... no... not really. The Nintendocore tag is usually associated with the more melodic side of metalcore but this record has more to do with mathcore. The instrumentation is very strong &, despite 3 or 4 duds across the 13 song tracklisting, I have to say that I eventually found myself getting some pretty positive feelings out of "The Mechanical Hand".

3.5/5 

Wow, I totally forgot about this album being the January 2020 Feature Release. Well it's been a long time like 6 months, and I've only starting listen to this band in April. Anyway, here's my review summary:

When making a debut studio album, there are some things you need to think about deciding; the feel for the album, the central themes, and each song's style. Give them all some time so you can let the album grow and glow without forcing the beauty. That's exactly what Protest the Hero did! After playing some Happy Go Lucky punk rock, they decided to brainstorm an album and story to compose that's far different, and that took them 2 years. 2 YEARS!! A long time for a 10-song album! However, that's what makes some albums the best, by taking the longest time. Alongside that and their more progressive sound, Kezia is not just an album but also a story, which is what concept albums are, right? It has everything you need for a story; interesting characters, plot twists, and poetic language. There are 3 parts of the story, and each part is in the perspective of a different character with their view in the story. We barely know anything about those characters when we start the story, but as the twisted tale goes on, we learn much more about them song after song. As the story goes on, you get some of the greatest progressive metalcore ranging from chaotic to melodic, and each act is more epic than the last. With all that said, I can absolutely declare that Kezia is one of the greatest progressive metalcore albums I've ever heard. Protest The Hero are some of both the most talented musicians and the most amazing storytellers, greater than most other albums I've heard and stories I've read. I would recommend this album to any music listener and story reader out there. Thank you, Protest the Hero, for this grand-masterpiece. Not to sound like I'm in love with someone, but... I love you, Kezia!

5/5

I just love that album cover! Beyond that, I really should give Converge a solid go sometime, despite my general aversion to Revolution releases. What's the worst that could happen?

As someone who wasn't too impressed by 2018's Helix and only enjoyed their cover of Powerwolf's "Army of the Night" as a guilty pleasure, I can say that this is probably Amaranthe at their best. Making accessible Metal is difficult, since a lot of Metal genres at their core are made to be inaccessible! With 12 tracks all at 3 and a half minutes and all having huge hooks and choruses, this album is basically begging to be played on mainstream radio, and that's perfectly okay! What separates this album from other albums vying for mainstream playtime, though, is that it still has the things people love about Metal mostly intact. The guitar tone is chunky and chugs well, the harsh vocals aren't laughably bad, the band in general has a great energy to them, there are some good guitar solos, and the balance between synth melodies and the rest of the band is well done.

It's pretty repetitive though, with the band having one or two ideas and rolling with them through the entire album, but since the songs are so short and don't try to overstay their welcome I don't really have a problem with it. Elize Ryd's vocals can come off as a bit flat sometimes but I think she works wonderfully as a front woman and has enough power behind her voice that it doesn't feel thin and compliments the piano and synths very well. Massive Addictive is a surface level album though, and even though it does what it set out to do very well, there's nothing too crazy on this one. This is a great recommendation for anyone who wants some electronics in their Metal and for a "mainstream album" this is pretty dang good. I'd rather listen to this every day of the week rather than what's on mainstream Hard Rock radio nowadays, which I'm pretty sure is like...Godsmack. Or Breaking Benjamin. Or Disturbed. 

3.5/5

For this round, we'll try a couple releases I've listened to myself, one of which I've done only for a Clan Challenge. If you have been following my journey through some of the Revolution Clan Challenges, you probably know which one I like better, but I won't tell you until I get at least one or a few responses. So here are two Revolution albums released in 2007. Which one of these albums with a different genre has the greater edge? Choose one and explain the reason!

Metalcore:

Melodic metalcore:

Inspired by the new DIS vs DAT thing on Metal Academy, in turn inspired by that weekly feature on Utopia Records' Facebook page, I decided to turn this conversation-starting activity into a full thread instead of separate threads. Got a couple albums with the same genre and release year that you can't decide which has the greater edge? Share them here!

Let's start off with two of the greatest metalcore/mathcore classics released in 2004. Which one has the greater edge? Choose one and explain the reason!

Since I play quite a few rhythm games, Trance Metal has been more or less in my listening cycle for quite a while now. While it may work great for hitting buttons in a videogame, I still don't think this style pans out as an album experience. 

Props to choosing an interesting one, as this album definitely had enough Death Metal influences to keep me interested, but like many other albums like this, it just gets to be too much after a while. After a while the riffs and melodies turn into a stagnant wall of sound and synths that ends up not being all that interesting. It had its moments, but I think it's a flaw of the genre trying to pack too much energy and noise into mostly simplistic songs rather than Blood Stain Child being a lackluster band or anything. I'll definitely think about revisiting this more than the other Trance Metal offerings I've heard, but I'm still waiting for synths in Power/Trance/Alternative Metal like this to really wow me. 

Post you clan-specific top 10 lists for 2019 here.

While I can say I enjoyed Earth Crisis more than modern Metalcore, this was just absolutely exhausting for me. I can appreciate the aggression and anger as well as keeping more to hardcore punk with more of an edge, but something just doesn't draw me into this. 

I think I look for more than just pure aggression when I listen to Metal or any kind of music, which is why I stray away from genres like Industrial, Metalcore, and Slam/Grind. There has to be something more substantial within the music for me to really connect with it, rather than just looking for raw evil and anger. Thankfully Earth Crisis does have something more substantial with some dirty riffs and climactic breakdowns that I found way more interesting and heavy than something like Bring Me The Horizon or Parkway Drive, so at least I can rest easy knowing that 90's Metalcore kicks the teeth out of 2010's Metalcore. 

Still though, I can't say I'll be going back to this by my own volition. 

Thanks Strig. I've fixed the Every Time I Die year and the Controller double.

As for Knut, this is because you have The Revolution clan selected, and that album is considered pure sludge, and therefore The Fallen only. If you have no clan filter, it's there.