June 2022 "The Guardians" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio
June's Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3w8wz5HBOoks78mYzldAMq?si=c5a7ad52adad4072
Tracklist
1. Acid – “Hooked On Metal” (from “Acid”, 1983)
2. Pharaoh – “I Am the Hammer” (from “The Longest Night”, 2006)
3. Angel Witch – “Angel of Light” (from “Angel of Light”, 2019) [Submitted by Sonny]
4. Megaton Sword – “Pristine War” (from “Pristine War”, 2019)
5. Kamelot – “Wander" (from "Epica”, 2003) [Submitted by Daniel]
6. Power Quest – “Master of Illusion” (from “Master of Illusion", 2008)
7. Unlucky Morpheus – “The Black Death Mansion Murders” (from “evolution”, 2022)
8. Mercyful Fate – “Night of the Unborn” (from “Don't Break the Oath”, 1984)
9. Rage – “Death in the Afternoon” (from “Perfect Man (Deluxe Version)”, 1988)
10. Cloven Hoof – "Call of the Dark Ones” (from “Resist or Serve”, 2014)
11. Ozzy Osbourne – “No More Tears” (from “No More Tears (Expanded Edition)”, 1991)
12. Lucifer – “Dreamer” (from “Lucifer II”, 2018)
13. Striker – “Phoenix Lights” (from “Stand in the Fire”, 2016)
14. Dionysus – “March for Freedom” (from “Anima Mundi”, 2004)
15. Ostrogoth – “Queen of Desire” (from “Ecstasy and Danger" 1983)
16. Sanctuary – “Battle Angels” (from “Refuge Denied”, 1987)
17. Brainstorm – “Devil's Eye” (from “Midnight Ghost", 2018)
18. Brothers of Metal – “Son of Odin" (from “Prophecy of Ragnarok”, 2017)
19. Beast In Black – “Zodd the Immortal" (from “Berserker”, 2017)
20. Blind Guardian – “Born in a Mourning Hall” (from “Imaginations from the Other Side”, 1995)
21. Sunrise – “The Bridge Across Infinity” (from “Equilibria”, 2021)
22. Ancient Bards - "To the Master of Darkness" (from "Soulless Child", 2011)
23. Avantasia - "The Wicked Symphony" (from "The Wicked Symphony", 2010)
Even though I'm no longer in The Guardians, I'm still going to comment on a few tracks here that I still like, for memories' sake. So here are my thoughts:
Kamelot – “Wander" (from "Epica”, 2003)
5/5. The first semi-acoustic ballad in its original album. Simply just soft guitar, smooth bass, and beautiful singing. Soon, the chorus adds back some of the metal along with vocal harmony. One of the best tracks here and a rare ballad that I truly enjoy!
Power Quest – “Master of Illusion” (from “Master of Illusion", 2008)
5/5. One of my favorite tracks from the second power metal band I started listening to (first being DragonForce)! When I was just starting my power metal quest at the time that I first discovered this band, the lyrical theme of this song and others from this album isn't dragon fantasy, but rather the real-life sh*t going on in the world, lying about how "perfect" society is. That's one reason why my brother likes this song as well, besides a bit of growling in the second verse. The singing is amazing enough to love to.
Sanctuary – “Battle Angels” (from “Refuge Denied”, 1987)
5/5. This album was popular among Megadeth fans who want to hear that band's frontman Dave Mustaine's production work on Sanctuary's debut. I enjoy the f***ing awesome vocals of Warrel Dane that level up this pure metal sound. RIP...
Blind Guardian – “Born in a Mourning Hall” (from “Imaginations from the Other Side”, 1995)
4.5/5. Another band responsible for shaping up my earlier era of epic metal 6 years ago. Good times! Strange lyrics, yet f***ing killer metal!
Avantasia - "The Wicked Symphony" (from "The Wicked Symphony", 2010)
4.5/5. What a way to end this playlist! I love how deep these lyrics are, and this wicked symphonic instrumentation is fantastic, though it would've been perfect for me when it was up in my alley around 8 years ago. It's still definitely strong for me, but I've already moved on. I still applaud your well-done playlist work, Xephyr!
Thought I'd kick off with something different this month, so I've been blasting this all day while I give my garage a long-overdue clear out and I've got to say, there's a lot more to enjoy here than I expected. I'm already familiar with Ozzy, Mercyful Fate, Lucifer and my own pick Angel Witch, so no surprise that I enjoyed their contributions immensely. So far, so expected, but there were also plenty more that I am less or completely unfamiliar with that were equally great, Pharaoh, Megaton Sword, Rage ,Striker, Ostrogoth and Cloven Hoof were all brilliant, especially the latter - a bit of Lovecraftian lore will always do it for me!
However, on a playlist that covers power, symphonic and neoclassical metal there will inevitably be tracks I personally struggle with. During the first hour the only two which fit into that category were Power Quest and the real challenge for me, Unlucky Morpheus, which was almost unbearable. The last hour were evidently where these sub-genres were concentrated though and the final forty minutes were a challenge for me with only Beast in Black and Blind Guardian being even remotely bearable and the last two tracks going well beyond my tolerance threshold. So ultimately a playlist of two halves to be honest, the first was great, the second particularly less so for my personal tastes, but I'm still glad I gave it a go and I did find some new stuff worth checking out to be sure.
I've found this playlist is pretty difficult to program due to the divide between Heavy Metal and Power/Symphonic, especially since I like creating playlists that flow between genres rather than jumping around. I'd rather program something that eases into the different genres so, like Sonny said, the final 45 minutes of the playlist isn't going to be something that everyone likes. At the same time, I think I'd rather keep doing this approach rather than randomly sprinkling different subgenres around so that people can skip past full sections instead of constantly getting interrupted by a style they don't like in-between stuff they're enjoying.
I think this approach works very well Xephyr. Like I said, the first hour or more worked extraordinarily well for me, more than I expected, but if the symphonic/power tracks were more randomly spread it may not have done so. I went into this playlist knowing full well that there would be stuff well outside my comfort zone, but I remained engaged throughout most of the runtime, so I would say a job well done 👍.
I actually use a similar method with The Fallen playlist, usually kicking off with more conventional doom or stoner metal and becoming increasingly extreme as the playlist proceeds, trying to end with the heaviest of the sludge/drone/funeral doom tracks. Hopefully this approach wouldn't scare off any casual listeners (not as I'm sure if we get any) before they get too far into it!
I think this approach works very well Xephyr. Like I said, the first hour or more worked extraordinarily well for me, more than I expected, but if the symphonic/power tracks were more randomly spread it may not have done so. I went into this playlist knowing full well that there would be stuff well outside my comfort zone, but I remained engaged throughout most of the runtime, so I would say a job well done 👍.
I actually use a similar method with The Fallen playlist, usually kicking off with more conventional doom or stoner metal and becoming increasingly extreme as the playlist proceeds, trying to end with the heaviest of the sludge/drone/funeral doom tracks. Hopefully this approach wouldn't scare off any casual listeners (not as I'm sure if we get any) before they get too far into it!
It's an interesting discussion as I consciously do the opposite on The Pit list, mainly because I fear people will get tired if I stack all speed together for example. Now it is being touted in black and white on here I may switch up to follow the model you guys operate and see how that works when I do my initial run throughs. Food for thought most definitely.
This is a discussion that Daniel I have also had and generally disagree, so it's an each to their own thing. As a DJ, he likes to build the "set" up from the lighter side to the more extreme. I'm the complete opposite, and like to mix things up throughout the playlist, shifting the styles so that there aren't long stretches that might be a challenge for some listeners or just become tiresome. When putting The North playlist together, the idea of kicking off with a bunch of folk, blackgaze and lighter melodic black metal tracks, that a lot of listeners might not be into at all, and then closing things with a lengthy run of intense black and war metal, just doesn't appeal to me. I think I'm much more likely to endure and possibly appreciate the tracks that aren't to my taste when I know that just around the corner there will likely be one that does. The not knowing what's coming next approach is something I really enjoy, so try to bring that to my playlists.
To be clear though, this is just my preference, and there's no right or wrong answer here.
It definitely requires some experimentation because it obviously doesn't work the same for each of the Clan's playlists.
I absolutely wouldn't use the same methodology if I was doing the playlists for The North or The Infinite; there's something about cheesy and bombastic Power/Symphonic Metal that feels more corny than usual if it's slotted in-between some Judas Priest or Iron Maiden.
It definitely requires some experimentation because it obviously doesn't work the same for each of the Clan's playlists.
I absolutely wouldn't use the same methodology if I was doing the playlists for The North or The Infinite; there's something about cheesy and bombastic Power/Symphonic Metal that feels more corny than usual if it's slotted in-between some Judas Priest or Iron Maiden.
I agree that it is very much dependent on the clan. I regularly listen to the North playlist which is compiled by Ben and the Pit compiled by Vinny and they both work very well indeed with a mix of tracks. I don't think I would enjoy the North playlist as much if it kicked off with a bunch of blackgaze and folk metal tracks, becoming more raw as it proceeds or the Pit if I suddenly hit a groove metal iceberg in the middle of the playlist, whereas one track is ok because you know something good is just around the corner.
Just out of interest, members of the Fallen (or anyone else who may listen to the Fallen playlists), do you think my current approach works for the Fallen or would it be better with the extreme stuff more evenly spaced out?