Metal Academy Radio - "The Fallen" Playlist October 2020
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5rzQLoaPNFWcqkbbgMx7ZP?si=jWv6BsXQSUaXVyOTSYW3lg
Tracklisting:
01. Neurosis – “No River To Take Me Home” (from “The Eye Of Every Storm”, 2004) [Submitted by Daniel]
02. Pagan Altar – “Judgement Of The Dead” (from “The Time Lord” E.P., 2004) [Submitted by Daniel]
03. Black Flag – “Nothing Left Inside” (from “My War”, 1984)
04. Acid King – “2 Wheel Nation” (from “III”, 2005) [Submitted by Sonny92]
05. Elder – “Dead Roots Stirring” (from “Dead Roots Stirring”, 2011)
06. Stillborn – “I, The Stillborn” (from “Necrospirituals”, 1989)
07. Type O Negative – “Creepy Green Light” (from “World Coming Down”, 1999) [Submitted by shadowdoom9]
08. The Angelic Process – “Dying in A Minor” (from “Weighing Souls With Sand”, 2007)
09. M.S.W. – “Humanity” (from “Obliviosus”, 2020) [Submitted by Sonny92]
10. Solitude Aeturnus – “Scent Of Death” (from “Alone”, 2006)
11. Thou – “Grissecon” (from “Summit”, 2010)
12. Acid Bath – “Dr. Seuss Is Dead” (from “When The Kite String Pops”, 1994) [Submitted by Daniel]
13. 16 – “Candy In Spanish” (from “Dream Squasher”, 2020)
14. Tristania – “Beyond The Veil” (from “Beyond The Veil”, 1999)
15. The Ruins Of Beverast – “Surtur Barbaar Maritime” (from “Exuvia”, 2017) [Submitted by Ben]
16. Colosseum – “Towards The Infinite” (from “Chapter 2: Numquam”, 2009) [Submitted by Sonny92]
My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my sole suggestion):
Neurosis – “No River To Take Me Home” (from “The Eye Of Every Storm”, 2004)
10/10. This Neurosis song is one of the most clever mixes of extreme and ambient you would ever come across. It opens with a searing riff of mourning loss, then develops into flowing mid-paced guitars, followed by a quiet smoothing duet between the two vocalists/guitarists Steve Von Till and Scott Kelly (the latter I know more about since his frequent collaborations with Mastodon).
Type O Negative – “Creepy Green Light” (from “World Coming Down”, 1999)
9/10. Another familiar tale of losing a loved one by untimely death. I chose that song because it is one of their more popular singles despite having been rarely played live and it also fits for this month's playlist due to its Halloween reference ("Halloween in Heaven" would've been better but that song wasn't on Spotify). "Creepy Green Light" let us see the light of gothic doom metal and the tragedies within the lyrics we can kinda relate to.
Thoughts (Part One):
01. Neurosis – “No River To Take Me Home”
I've mainly avoided Neurosis a lot after listening to Times of Grace many moons ago and being unimpressed. This, however, is fantastic and I must revisit the band if this is indicative of the quality they usually put out. 9/10
02. Pagan Altar – “Judgement Of The Dead”
Blatant Sabbath worship - and nothing wrong with that. 7/10
03. Black Flag – “Nothing Left Inside”
Better known as a hardcore band, they actually played many shows with The Obsessed opening for them and you can definitely hear Wino's influence on the guitar sound here. The genesis of the bastard child of doom and hardcore punk known as sludge metal. 8/10 (influence-wise 10/10).
04. Acid King – “2 Wheel Nation”
Lori S, frontwoman of Acid King is a seriously no-bullshit person and this is a great, catchy slice of stoner metal hailing the biker lifestyle she embraces. 8/10
05. Elder – “Dead Roots Stirring”
With each consecutive release Elder move further away from their metal roots and further into heavy psych / progressive rock territory, but on this 12 minute centrepiece of their second album, Dead Roots Stirring, despite touching on both of those genres, this still retains enough stoner metal content to justify it's inclusion on a MA playlist. 8/10
06. Stillborn – “I, The Stillborn”
Gothic metal that's kind of OK, but still not really what floats my boat I'm afraid 6/10
07. Type O Negative – “Creepy Green Light”
Holy shit! A T-O-N track that doesn't set my teeth on edge! The best I've heard from them yet (by a f***ing long way). 8/10
08. The Angelic Process – “Dying in A Minor”
Again, not a band I'm familiar with. This begins as seriously low-energy stuff, bordering on catatonic at times, before erupting into a majestic roar. I've got a feeling that this may be a band I will become quite fond of. 8/10
09. M.S.W. – “Humanity” (from “Obliviosus”, 2020)
Another of my own submissions and an emotional, vulnerable and at the same time crushingly heavy and angry track dealing with the horrors of drug addiction from my album of the year to date. 10/10
10. Solitude Aeturnus – “Scent Of Death”
Suitably bombastic epic doom from the Texan doomster's last album. I haven't actually heard this album before, but this track is great, so I will be checking it out. 8/10
11. Thou – “Grissecon”
For me, Thou can be a bit hit and miss, but this I like. Bayou-sludge thick guitars, plodding tempos and desperate-sounding vocals all add up to a slab of southern sludge that feels like drowning in a swamp. 8/10
I'll come back to the remainder of the playlist later...
Thoughts (Part Two):
12. Acid Bath – “Dr. Seuss Is Dead”
Another sludge band I can usually take or leave. I'll take this one - I especially like the thrashy tempo change. 7/10
13. 16 – “Candy In Spanish”
Angry-sounding sludge as a father hopes for a better life for his young daughter than the one he's had to endure himself. So actually quite a positive message, albeit tinged with regret and some bitterness, despite the aggressive tone of the track. 8/10
14. Tristania – “Beyond The Veil”
Sorry, but I truly cannot stand this symphonic shit, just sounds like Disney-metal to me. 2/10
15. The Ruins Of Beverast – “Surtur Barbaar Maritime”
Oh man, did I need this after that Tristania track! Proper doom metal that doesn't make me think of anthropomorphised, animated rodents! Blackened doom with an almost ritualistic slant. Superb stuff. 10/10
16. Colosseum – “Towards The Infinite”
I know I'm biased and this was one of my choices, but this shit is what I live for. What a sublime downer of an ending to the playlist. 10/10
All in all an enjoyable playlist - a couple of bands I will be exploring further, a couple of surprises, only one dud and some stone-cold classy tunes.