September 2022 "The Sphere" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/45Xj4PCyW3LavsE8NMtncN

Tracklisting:

1. Mushroomhead - "Simple Survival" from Savior Sorrow (2006) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

2. Samael - "Samael" from Hegemony (2017) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

3. Fear Factory - "Cars" from Obsolete (1998)

4. Spineshank - "Stillborn" from Self-Destructive Pattern (2003)

5. Emigrate - "1234" from A Million Degrees (2018)

6. Deflore - "Egodrive" from Egodrive (2008)

7. Underlined - "The Suffering" from Deadtime Stories (2012)

8. Nerve Factor - "Last Call" from Criminal Within (2000)

9. Trust Obey - "Hands of Fire" from Hands of Ash (1996)

10. Godflesh - "Unworthy" from Merciless EP (1994) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

11. meganeko - "The Cyber Grind" from The Cyber Grind single (2020) [submitted by Daniel]

12. Sybreed - "Love Like Blood" from The Pulse of Awakening (2009)

13. Luminous Vault - "Ancient North" from Animate the Emptiness (2021)

14. Gothminister - "Pandemonium" from Pandemonium (2022)

15. Rammstein - "Du Hast" from Sehnsucht (1997)

16. Tyrant of Death - "Detonate" from Superior Firepower (2019)

17. Eisheilig - "Elysium" from Elysium (2006)

18. Klank - "Numb" from Numb (2000)

19. Deadheaven - "Тени" from Антиреальность (2014)

20. The Interbeing - "Pinnacle of the Strain" from Among the Amorphous (2017)

21. Unzucht - "Ein Wort fliegt wie ein Stein" from Neuntöter (2016)

22. Weissglut - "Tanz der sinne" from Zeichen (2000)

23. Strapping Young Lad - "Info Dump" from Alien (2005)

24. Deathstars - "Termination Bliss" from Termination Bliss (2006) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Mushroomhead - "Simple Survival" from Savior Sorrow (2006)

5/5. Let's start with one of my favorite and more industrial-sounding Mushroomhead songs, beginning with the sinister yet melodic opening line, "The shadow within me, the sorrow at my feet". This will make you wanna pay more to get more of Mushroomhead's releases. So cool! I can hear a bit of a Linkin Park influence in the music and a Slipknot influence in the aesthetics, though it's no reason to start a feud between these bands. Still an awesome song! "THE END IN ME!!!"

Samael - "Samael" from Hegemony (2017)

4.5/5. This is one of the best songs from the masters of symphonic black-ish industrial metal, and can be considered their own theme song!

Fear Factory - "Cars" from Obsolete (1998)

5/5. This cover/remix of a Gary Numan hit is the perfect song to blast out on a cross-country drive, whether in real life or in GTA. Fear Factory are cool genius who can remix what is considered a pop classic. Numan himself has even sung along in Fear Factory's first remix.

Spineshank - "Stillborn" from Self-Destructive Pattern (2003)

4.5/5. Spineshank is a band known for a punk-ish electro-industrial nu metal blend. A sweet killer song that would make you wish they would make more new music. Alt-metal fans can forget about that TOOL sh*t and enjoy this kick-A track.

Emigrate - "1234" from A Million Degrees (2018)

4/5. This is a cool catchy song. What can else I say?

Deflore - "Egodrive" from Egodrive (2008)

3.5/5. Interesting instrumental, but feels hollow when there's barely any lyrics.

Underlined - "The Suffering" from Deadtime Stories (2012)

4/5. Apparently this is a remix of a song that was originally recorded a few years prior. Nonetheless, this is good horror-themed electro-industrial nu metal, similar to that Spineshank song a few tracks ago.

Nerve Factor - "Last Call" from Criminal Within (2000)

3.5/5. Nice background symphonics, but a little too pompous. Let's move on...

Trust Obey - "Hands of Fire" from Hands of Ash (1996)

4/5. One of a only few highlights in its original album, this is quite a killer tune.

Godflesh - "Unworthy" from Merciless EP (1994)

4/5. This one has more sounds and more speed. Not really the greatest of its original EP, but worth listening to. The vocals sounding clean in the beginning seem out of place. Other than that, it's still pretty good.

meganeko - "The Cyber Grind" from The Cyber Grind single (2020)

3.5/5. I did not realize this was part of the Ultrakill soundtrack that I chose not to review when it was July's Sphere feature release. Interesting choice, Daniel! You can play this on full blast while playing the game when the world is asleep, though you might end up p*ssing off your neighbors in the process. Get ready to fight in a speaker-blowing stadium-like experience that is... THE CYBER GRIND!! (not to be confused with the subgenre)

Sybreed - "Love Like Blood" from The Pulse of Awakening (2009)

4/5. I like this nice metallic cover of a song by Killing Joke from their earlier new-wave era, with its cold feeling. The emotion can be expressed through the instrumentation more than the original vocals. Sybreed did not live as long as fans hoped they would, only for 10 years. I like Dead by April's cover slightly more. The synth sounds mixed with booming guitars can blow you away more than Nine Inch Nails would ever. I like when covers stick to their band's usual style instead of just blindly following the original artist's footsteps, that's kind of the whole point of covers, I think... Props to this band for greatly standing by that rule!

Luminous Vault - "Ancient North" from Animate the Emptiness (2021)

4.5/5. This one is almost like an atmospheric mutation combo of Killing Joke's 80s pop, Godflesh's signature industrial metal, and Septicflesh's epic blackened death metal. A great interesting spacey vibe with cool ethereal beauty! It's almost different from the rest of this playlist. They might surpass Genghis Tron as the band with the most prominent mix of electronics and extreme metal.

Gothminister - "Pandemonium" from Pandemonium (2022)

5/5. I've only heard of this band after a song from their previous album The Other Side in a playlist a few months ago, and both that song and this one are filled with epic industrial metal greatness! Can't for more of this band, along with this album to come out!

Rammstein - "Du Hast" from Sehnsucht (1997)

4.5/5. This song I'm sure many people in the world or maybe the universe have heard whether or not they're into metal. It's a really great song to listen to, and would probably keep the band's legacy lasting as long as they can last. Though I'm not into the Neue Deutsche Härte style, this is quite addictive. Du... Du Hast!

Tyrant of Death - "Detonate" from Superior Firepower (2019)

4/5. Another mostly instrumental track, though I like that this heavy-sounding band is just MAKING SOMETHING NEW.

Eisheilig - "Elysium" from Elysium (2006)

3.5/5. Good industrial metal song, but close to the NDH sound with its German lyrics.

Klank - "Numb" from Numb (2000)

4/5. This one's quite cool. Industrial nu metal is really playing its part in this playlist.

Deadheaven - "Тени" from Антиреальность (2014)

4.5/5. Raise your hand if you misread the band's name as blackgaze band Deafheaven. It has great smooth vocals, despite the lyrics all being in Russian. Super cool! There is quite a bit of vibe from Sybreed along with Soilwork. This is the second metal band I've heard with Russian lyrics, the other being KYPCK. Many cyber metal and NDH songs come out as mediocre sh*t for me, but this one has great amounts of cyber hellfire! I just wish they would have more ideas such as mixing the Russian lyrics with English. Still interesting and excellent all the same!

The Interbeing - "Pinnacle of the Strain" from Among the Amorphous (2017)

4/5. This one's quite impressive, though not as much as the better progressive metal bands out there. The great screaming vocals fit the song well in amazing goodness. Truly this is Meshuggah-inspired cyber metal!

Unzucht - "Ein Wort fliegt wie ein Stein" from Neuntöter (2016)

3.5/5. And we're back in the Neue Deutsche Härte zone. Though this is quite good...

Weissglut - "Tanz der sinne" from Zeichen (2000)

3/5. I like this slightly, but it's probably the weakest point of the playlist, right before the finale...

Strapping Young Lad - "Info Dump" from Alien (2005)

3.5/5. This one is a controversial track worth liking or hating. It's a 12-minute ambient track, but it doesn't affect the perfection at all. If you're patient enough to stick around, you would find that there's more than just feedback, instead being a feedback experiment. It's so cool yet scary! It sounds like the feedback has its own beat. Then the feedback stops then comes back differently, getting louder and more distorted. This is SYL's "Elastic"!

Deathstars - "Termination Bliss" from Termination Bliss (2006)

4/5. The final track of its original album and this playlist has slower melancholy with sad emotion. You don't need to know the lyrics to get the feeling, an achievement first made by Queen in "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite a few slight bumps throughout... Anyway, I sure would recommend this to any industrial metal fan and anyone who isn't into industrial metal but is up to getting into a great start in enjoying the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!