January 2023 "The Gateway" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio

January 2023

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7aY7WjCGySb3Lb4x79Dk5T?si=125be6cc78594988

1. Thornhill – Red Summer (2019)

2. Bring Me The Horizon – Itch For The Cure (When Will We Be Free?) (2020)

3. Time, The Valuator – Binary Pulse (2022)

4. Bullet For My Valentine – Coma (2018)

5. Cave In – Trepanning (2005)

6. Disturbed – Liberate (2002)

7. Saliva – Badass (2011)

8. Fight The Fury – Still Burning (2018)

9. Pyogenesis – I Have Seen My Soul (2017)

10. Primus - Jerry Was A Racecar Driver (1991)

11. Tallah – Telescope (2022)

12. I Prevail – Lifelines (2016)

13. P.O.D. – Boom (2001)

14. Katatonia – Consternation (2006)

15. Taproot – I (2000)

16. Saint Asonia – Break the Mold (2022)

17. Soilwork – Nerve (2005)

18. The Raven Age – The Day The World Stood Still (2019)

19. Destiny Potato – Indifferent (2014)

20. Avatar – A Statue of the King (2018)

Saxy, let me just say, you have done such as incredible job assembling this month's Gateway and Infinite playlists! This tracklisting has encouraged me to go through the entire playlist and find good tracks from bands I already listen to along with different bands in which some of them I feel up to trying some more songs from them. Well done, please keep it up! So let's get my track thought journey started:

Thornhill – Red Summer (2019)

4/5. A beautiful good way to start this playlist. The climax shows the band go all out in tear-jerking tension. So atmospheric! This sounds closer to one of Northlane's less heavy while still powerful songs, a great break from the brutality of other bands I listen to like Chelsea Grin.

Bring Me The Horizon – Itch For The Cure (When Will We Be Free?) (2020)

3.5/5. I was think of this one being the starting track of this playlist, but it works as a transition out of that Thornhill song. It's much better than that Linkin Park instrumental the name of this otherworldly track comes from.

Time, The Valuator – Binary Pulse (2022)

3/5. A good heavy track while still dreamy. Not really the best for me though...

Bullet For My Valentine – Coma (2018)

2.5/5. This frustrating generic song is too light to make an impact. That's enough to make me fall into a coma! I'm not sure what I was thinking when suggesting that one, but it is good for the more curious alternative metal fans.

Cave In – Trepanning (2005)

3/5. Another otherworldly song, and standing out is the massive screaming for their late bassist/vocalist Caleb Scofield. I'm glad to discover this band a few months ago, but I prefer the heavier furious metalcore of their 1998 debut. This is the kind of band people would discover in high school, but when I was high-school-age, my heart was set on power metal. I think the first I heard Caleb's vocals was in a song by post-sludge band Isis. RIP

Disturbed – Liberate (2002)

3.5/5. It's been many years, like over 10 years, and I enjoy a small bit of one of my brother's favorite alt-metal bands Disturbed. He hasn't really listened to a lot of this album, but it has some decent classics like this one.

Saliva – Badass (2011)

4/5. This one's quite bad-a**! This could almost work as the soundtrack to a WWE fight against Darth Vader. The quality's very good.

Fight The Fury – Still Burning (2018)

3.5/5. This one restores grace for the EP, once again reminding me of Collide and the heavier direction Skillet should've taken after that album. The lyrics in the song are a great improvement compared to the earlier weakness.

Pyogenesis – I Have Seen My Soul (2017)

4/5. Great emotion in this song to get you f***ing hooked!

Primus - Jerry Was A Racecar Driver (1991)

3.5/5. Interesting song telling the sad tale about a racecar driver who was killed in a car wreck whilst drunk driving. The lyrics explain the story. Don't drink and drive, peeps!

Tallah – Telescope (2022)

4/5. New extreme era for nu metal?! Rightly so!

I Prevail – Lifelines (2016)

4.5/5. Another underrated band and one of my brother's favorites! I would say that my brother and I discovered this in around my middle-school-age, but the truth is, that was nearly 5 years before this album was released, so it's a more recent band that we started hearing of, when we're now both young adults in our 20s.

P.O.D. – Boom (2001)

4/5. Long-time nu metal fans might find some nostalgic memories from this band, but I'm not one of them. It's still quite good. Here comes the boom!

Katatonia – Consternation (2006)

4.5/5. One of my favorite songs when I still listening to this album! Still killer!!! What interpretation is there??? I don't care, as long as I can hear Jonas Renkse's unforgettable vocals! The gothic/doom metal of their earlier material is what turned me away from this band though.

Taproot – I (2000)

4/5. This is one of those songs that can help remedy a depressive dark time you might have, but I had other songs to listen to when I was in quarantine last month. I'm like 20 years later than any other person who has found enjoyment in this song. This band toured with fellow then-nu metal bands Linkin Park, Papa Roach, and Static-X during that era. I personally like myself far more than I hate myself. It's almost like an anthem against dark times! Great song, but perhaps if it was sped up, it wouldn't have a bit of droning quality. It still works!

Saint Asonia – Break the Mold (2022)

4.5/5. A highlight of melancholic groove!

Soilwork – Nerve (2005)

5/5. Now we're talking! During those earlier high-school-age epic metal phase, I was starting to get into melodic death metal. I tried to get into listening to Soilwork, but the band didn't really fit my taste at that time. Now this one absolutely kickstarts my interest in the band. The beginning reminds me of that of Fear Factory's "Slave Labor".

The Raven Age – The Day The World Stood Still (2019)

4.5/5. This is one of my brother's current favorite songs, and throughout the different times he played it during one of my car rides with him driving, it has grown on me to the point that I like it too. Although it's closer to the alt-rock/metal that he likes while having a bit of melodic metalcore elements, it's so great and powerful! The music is quite impressive, and the lyrics are so dramatic. Absolutely beautiful!

Destiny Potato – Indifferent (2014)

4/5. Here we have the more djenty vibe of Periphery and Intervals in the guitar. In fact, it's almost like an Animals as Leaders song with female vocals, both cleans and screams. A more djenty Paramore, if you will. The action really boosts halfway through.

Avatar – A Statue of the King (2018)

4.5/5. Although I haven't really been listening to a lot of this band lately, this one is still worth headbanging. This one ends this playlist far better than DragonForce's sh*tty cover of "Ring of Fire" that ended the standard edition of their album Maximum Overload.