December 2022 "The Gateway" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio
(Thread posted with permission from Saxy)
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7aY7WjCGySb3Lb4x79Dk5T
Tracklisting:
01. Coldrain - "Boys and Girls" (from Nonnegative)
02. Architects - "Burn Down My House" (from The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit)
03. Cave In - "Blood Spiller" (from Heavy Pendulum)
04. DIR EN GREY - "The Perfume of Sins" (from PHALARIS)
05. I Prevail - "Bad Things" (from TRUE POWER)
06. Memphis May Fire - "Only Human" (from Remade in Misery)
07. Motionless in White - "Masterpiece" (from Scoring the End of the World)
08. Northlane - "Is This a Test?" (from Obsidian)
09. Parkway Drive - "Soul Bleach" (from Darker Still)
10. Alter Bridge - "Sin After Sin" (from Pawns & Kings)
11. Slipknot - "Hive Mind" (from The End, So Far)
12. Alexisonfire - "Committed to the Con" (from Otherness)
13. Thornhill - "Casanova" (from Heroine)
14. Bloodywood - "Zanjeero Se" (from Rakshak)
15. Bad Omens - "Nowhere to Go" (from THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND)
16. Dog Fashion Disco - "Grand Experiment" (from Cult Classic)
17. Fit for a King - "Reaper" (from The Hell We Create)
18. Nova Twins - "Antagonist" (from Supernova)
19. Tallah - "Telescope" (from The Generation of Danger)
20. Moon Tooth - "The Conduit" (from Phototroph)
21. Disturbed - "Unstoppable" (from Divisive)
22. Halestorm - "Back From the Dead" (from Back From the Dead)
23. NOTHING MORE - "TIRED OF WINNING" (from SPIRITS)
Here are my thoughts on some tracks:
Coldrain - "Boys and Girls" (from Nonnegative)
3.5/5. Interesting start for this playlist, a nice beautiful rock ballad. It's different from the rest of the playlist and the song's original album, yet a nice emo tune that flashbacks to 10 years ago when the band also made a few ballads.
Architects - "Burn Down My House" (from The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit)
4/5. Another mid-tempo ballad-ish song though with a dark turn in the instrumentation. The more poppy aspects that appear in this song and much of its album end up giving Architects more in common with a band like Falling in Reverse.
Cave In - "Blood Spiller" (from Heavy Pendulum)
4.5/5. Cave In really should've been more popular than they really are, not just for their mainstream early-2000s sh*t, but also for d*mn beautiful pieces like this that just smell an Oscar for the band. Caleb Scofield would've been proud. RIP
DIR EN GREY - "The Perfume of Sins" (from PHALARIS)
5/5. I love this album's beautiful dynamic mix of heaviness and melody. This is one of my favorite songs here, both in the album and the band, with some of the wildest blackened death blast beats performed by their drummer Shinya.
I Prevail - "Bad Things" (from TRUE POWER)
4.5/5. Another d*mn good mix of heavy and melodic, only softer and less extreme. I first heard of bands I Prevail and Bad Wolves around 2018 when my brother was (and still is) listening to those bands. This is one of the best mixes of metal, pop, and rap since what you might find from the year 2001 in the nu metal age! A bad-a** song for anyone battling addiction, and a tearful polar opposite from a heavier song like "Body Bag". There are a few songs that my brother plays in the car, and he could drive twice the legal speed limit if he wanted to, but he wouldn't. He's a good law-abiding driver. Excellent lyrics, alongside the Linkin Park vibe in the music!
Memphis May Fire - "Only Human" (from Remade in Misery)
4/5. Sweet lyrics, interesting vocals including rapping, enough said.
Motionless in White - "Masterpiece" (from Scoring the End of the World)
4.5/5. Great tune from Motionless in White recent near-masterpiece album. I should recommend this one to my brother!
Northlane - "Is This a Test?" (from Obsidian)
4/5. Yes, this is a test! A test of 90s nostalgia. You can for sure understand when I say that this would fit well in the soundtrack for the rave scene of an action-thriller movie set in the 90s. When you listen, you can hear the palate being cleansed with fresh ideas. There's certainly never any filler, though the tempo change seems too calm for one.
Parkway Drive - "Soul Bleach" (from Darker Still)
3.5/5. This one puts us back on track with rapid pacing in the riffs.
Disturbed - "Unstoppable" (from Divisive)
4/5. F***ing throwing back to Disturbed's earlier days of 20 years ago, hard-hitting like a b***h!
Halestorm - "Back From the Dead" (from Back From the Dead)
4.5/5. I haven't heard of Halestorm (don't confuse them with Alestorm) in a long while, I mean the last time I heard a few songs was from my brother listening to them 5 years ago. This band really is back from the dead, with a heavy as f*** vengeance! This would be great for a wrestler's comeback into their career. The vocals would sound interesting when the band perform this live. I really should be thankful for my brother listening to bands like Halestorm and Skillet that set my eventual path to metal.
NOTHING MORE - "TIRED OF WINNING" (from SPIRITS)
4/5. Holy sh*t, this one I thought about recommending it to my brother, but then upon closer listen, I realized that this is a song he has already been listening to lately! I've been searching for it for a couple months! Thanks Saxy for the help even though it wasn't intended. What a way to end this playlist, with an unexpected realization.