Metal Academy Radio - "The Guardians" Playlist September 2020

Hi everyone. So we've been listening to your feedback on our initial Metal Academy Radio clan-specific playlists & we've returned with a slightly adjusted format for September in that we've focused a lot more on the primary subgenres rather than giving equal playtime to all subgenres covered by a clan. We've also started to make these playlists interactive as we're now taking our clan members suggestions for track inclusions with the intention of expanding this further as some of the less populous clans start to fill out.

Here's our September playlist for The Guardians, a list that was partially made up of suggestions from some of our highest contributing clan members in Andi & Xephyr. I think you'll agree that the higher concentration on the primary subgenres has resulted in a more focused product. Ben & I are excited to see where we can take this offering as there is sure to be a market for this sort of targeted & well-informed playlist. Well done everyone! I may ask for an even greater contribution from our members for next month.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2kgfOBaW3xjvwDtNtXT2bN?si=ck1mAlEoRduQJoAzKzTI5A

Tracklisting:

01. Black Sabbath – “You Won’t Change Me” (from “Technical Ecstasy”, 1976)

02. Accept – “I’m A Rebel” (from “I’m A Rebel”, 1980)

03. More – “Killer On The Prowl” (from “Blood & Thunder”, 1982)

04. Pagan Altar – “Highway Cavalier” (from “The Time Lord” EP, 2004)

05. Vinnie Moore – “The Journey” (from “Mind’s Eye”, 1986)

06. Riot – “Land Of The Rising Sun” (from “Unleash The Fire”, 2014)

07. Tytan – “Blind Men & Fools” (from “Rough Justice”, 1985)

08. Megadeth – “Trust” (from “Cryptic Writings”, 1997)

09. After Forever – “Digital Deceit” (from “Invisible Circles”, 2004)

10. Iron Maiden – “The Trooper (Live)” (from “A Real Dead One”, 1993)

11. Cirith Ungol – “Fractus Promissum” (from “Forever Black”, 2020)

12. Saxon – “Metalhead” (from “Metalhead”, 1999)

13. Atlantean Kodex – “A Prophet In The Forest” (from “The Golden bough”, 2010)

14. Epica – “The Imperial March (Live)” (from “The Classical Conspiracy”, 2017)

15. Dark Moor – “The Dark Moor” from “Dark Moor”, 2003)

16. Twilight Force – “Hydra” (from “Dawn Of The Dragonstar”, 2019)

17. Iced Earth – “Dystopia” (from “Dystopia”, 2011)

18. Arion – “Seven” (from “Last Of Us”, 2014)

19. Dragonland – “Starfall” (from “Starfall”, 2004)

20. Blind Guardian – “Mirror Mirror” (from “Nightfall In Middle-Earth”, 1998)

21. Unleash The Archers – “The Matriarch” (from “Apex”, 2017)

22. Theocracy – “Paper Tiger (from “Ghost Ship”, 2016)

23. DragonForce – “Through The Fire & Flames” (from “Inhuman Rampage”, 2006)

Now before I start my thoughts on some tracks (including my suggested ones), I'd like to point out that the tracks I'm gonna list here are ones that I haven't listened to ever since my grand switch out of my initial epic metal taste, so my opinions for that songs might be a little... outdated? After all, it is tough for me to get back in touch with a big part of my metal interest I abandoned almost 3 years ago. And thanks again Daniel for a great playlist and accepting our suggestions. Anyway, onto my track thoughts:

After Forever – “Digital Deceit” (from “Invisible Circles”, 2004)

8/10. Hello again, After Forever! This song is very good, but the concept of its album Invisible Circles was pretty heavy for my symphonic/power metal taste 6 years ago, centering around quarrelsome families and psychological child abuse.

Epica – “The Imperial March (Live)” (from “The Classical Conspiracy”, 2017)

10/10. Meanwhile, former After Forever guitarist/harsh vocalist Mark Jansen's band Epica is having fun performing their own songs plus playing covers of famous operas and movie soundtracks, that show becoming part of their 2009 live album The Classical Conspiracy. They take on one of the most popular pieces from the Star Wars soundtrack and converted into epic heavy headbanging assault with no mercy. It is at the two and a half minute mark when they reach their epic peak. Total imperial genius!

Dark Moor – “The Dark Moor” (from “Dark Moor”, 2003)

9/10. I consider this song Dark Moor's theme because it's the title song of their title album and a great starting point for any first-time listeners of this band, which is a good reason to suggest the song. It's an absolute masterpiece. It doesn't reach its true perfection due to some spooky parts like at the 3 and a half minute mark (Gollum, what are you doing here?!), but the final verse and chorus that start at the 7 and a half minute mark remind you of what an amazing epic this is.

Twilight Force – “Hydra” (from “Dawn Of The Dragonstar”, 2019)

10/10. Twilight Force is, along with Gloryhammer, the last band I've listened to in my original epic metal taste before my grand move out, and that was in the turn from 2017 to 2018, so those two bands I've only listened to for a few months. And apparently I've skipped out on a lot since then like this new album Dawn of the Dragonstar. I kinda regret missing this album because of epic this song is! Another thing that has changed is the vocalist. After Christian Eriksson (Chrileon) left, he was replaced by Alessandro Conti (Allyon) whose previous band Luca Turilli's Rhapsody split up. Wow, a lot has changed from during my time away from epic metal! Conti's accent might make the lyrics a little hard to understand, but that doesn't matter as long as the song has its epicness. The music sounds like it was written by Conti in his time with Luca Turilli's Rhapsody but ended up getting used for this album, and it could make a good anime opening theme or another one of John Williams' soundtracks. The band still has their strength picked up from their previous album. The music is epic with gorgeous orchestration, so is the cover art that reminds me of Magic the Gathering. And holy sh*t, that nice melodic guitar solo is amazing! Twilight Force is probably one of the most orchestral/classical focused recent metal bands. Hail Twilight Force!! HAIL HYDRA!!!

Dragonland – “Starfall” (from “Starfall”, 2004)

9/10. Dragonland is probably the first ever power metal band I've listened to besides DragonForce and its spin-off band Power Quest. This is another great representation of power metal that deserves some play in other radios.

Blind Guardian – “Mirror Mirror” (from “Nightfall In Middle-Earth”, 1998)

10/10. My favorite Blind Guardian song, an epic kick-A tune from one of the greatest Middle-Earth themed albums on Earth! André Olbrich's guitar in the chorus is absolutely killer, so is the vocals of Hansi Kürsch that tell Lord of the Rings movies as greatly as those movies. This was a great song during my late teen years to help me "find a path out of the dark". This album's a year older than me and it's still going strong. It might even go well with some D&D games. I really miss those fantasy metal days, sounding as great as it did back then. Even the cover art is pretty epic. HAIL BLIND GUARDIAN!!!

DragonForce – “Through The Fire & Flames” (from “Inhuman Rampage”, 2006)

12/10 (not exaggerating). This. Is. It. This is the one song that completely started my metal interest. DragonForce's "Through the Fire and Flames"!! If it wasn't for this song, or for my dad and brother both finding it, I wouldn't have been interested in metal, or maybe I would via a different song. Yes, this is indeed my own metal "big bang" (NOT the K-pop boy band, the universal beginning I mean). From the intricate guitar lines and solo plus strange Pac-Man noises to the amazing vocals and fantasy lyrics, this song has burned away my horrid radio-pop future and replaced it with a glorious metal one. And I can't believe it was just 8 years ago when it all started. So thank you DragonForce, along with my dad and brother (the latter's birthday is today so it's a nice gift). Also thanks Daniel for helping me piece back together my epic metal taste and adding this song into the playlist. Once again you really saved the best for last!

My thoughts on a few other tracks:

Iced Earth – “Dystopia” (from “Dystopia”, 2011)

7/10. Here we go again with this band, Iced Earth. I just can't seem to find a way through this band. I mean it has powerful lyrics that speak real volumes, but still not as awesome as people say it is. It might be as addictive as drug, but for me it's a technological bug. I should've listened to this band more in my earlier epic metal days.

Arion – “Seven” (from “Last Of Us”, 2014)

9/10. This one's much better! I almost thought this was another Iced Earth song, but the instrumentation is more melodic and symphonic with more beautiful singing. A great example of symphonic power metal, but still doesn't spark up great band interest.

Probably my favourite playlist so far right here.  Never heard anything off Technical Ecstasy before but adding the whole record to my library later based on that track alone.  I was predictably unimpressed with Vinnie Moore (guitar only albums aren’t my thing) and won’t be going back to More, Arion, Dragonland or Tytan anytime soon but loved more or less everything else.  That Twilight Force track just happens to be my favourite and I have a lot of time for that Dragonforce track also.  New bands added to my radar are Unleash The Archers and Atlantean Kodex.  Thanks for sharing Daniel.