April 2021 "The Guardians" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0f8nPFozG0IbgSDupMTVjE?si=rTtYRxUEQfqSZ6TDOTgq5A
Tracklisting:
01. Accept – “Zombie Apocalypse” (from “Too Mean To Die”, 2021)
02. Persuader – “Judas Immortal” (from “When Eden Burns”, 2006) [Submitted by MacabreEternal]
03. Epica – “Code Of Life” (from “Omega”, 2021) [Submitted by Xephyr]
04. Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force – “Black Star” (from “Rising Force”, 1984)
05. Bruce Dickinson – “Gates Of Urizen” (from “The Chemical Wedding”, 1998)
06. Slough Feg – “Lycanthropic Fantasies” (from “The Animal Spirits”, 2010)
07. Ozzy Osbourne – “Fool Like You” (from “The Ultimate Sin”, 1986) [Submitted by MacabreEternal]
08. Haunt – “Mind Freeze” (from “Mind Freeze”, 2020)
09. Spell – “Deceiver” (from “Opulent Decay”, 2020)
10. Crystal Viper – “Whispers From Beyond” (from “The Cult”, 2021) [Submitted by Xephyr]
11. Dio – “Fever Dreams” (from “Magica”, 2000)
12. Black Sabbath – “Symptom Of The Universe” (from “Sabotage”, 1975)
13. Nightwish – “Harvest” (from “Hvman. :||: Natvre.”, 2020) [Submitted by shadowdoom9]
14. Crimson Glory – “Lady Of Winter” (from “Transcendence”, 1988) [Submitted by MacabreEternal]
15. Tygers Of Pan Tang – “Euthanasia” (from “Wild Cat”, 1980)
16. Judas Priest – “Love You To Death” (from “Ram It Down”, 1988) [Submitted by MacabreEternal]
17. Midnight – “You Can’t Stop Steel” (from “Satanic Royalty”, 2011) [Submitted by MacbreEternal]
18. Stratovarius – “Hunting High & Low” (from “Infinite”, 2000) [Submitted by shadowdoom9]
19. Edguy – “Key To My Fate” (from “Savage Poetry”, 1995) [Submitted by shadowdoom9]
20. Todd La Torre – “Hellbound & Down” (from “Rejoice In the Suffering”, 2021) [Submitted by Xephyr]
21. HammerFall – “Heeding The Call” (from “Legacy Of Kings”, 1998) [Submitted by shadowdoom9]
22. Avantasia – “The Final Sacrifice” (from “The Metal Opera Pt. II”, 2002) [Submitted by Xephyr]
23. Orden Ogan – “Come With Me To The Other Side” (from “Gunmen”, 2017) [Submitted by Xephyr]
24. DragonForce – “Revolution Deathsquad” from “Inhuman Rampage”, 2006) [Submitted by shadowdoom9]
My thoughts on some tracks (including my suggested ones):
Accept – “Zombie Apocalypse” (from “Too Mean To Die”, 2021)
4.5/5. The opener of this playlist and the new Accept album, this song rules! The band's influences from Judas Priest (specifically the Painkiller era) really shine in this cool song. Indeed beginning the playlist in a bang!
Persuader – “Judas Immortal” (from “When Eden Burns”, 2006)
5/5. Wow... This one is also awesome! It starts with a Nevermore-like rapid-fire thrash intro, then the vocals come in reminding me of Blind Guardian's Hansi Kürsch. That's the kind of speedy power metal adrenaline I'm still up for, from this underrated killer band!
Epica – “Code Of Life” (from “Omega”, 2021)
5/5. An epic part of Epica's comeback album Omega! The third extended chorus that covers over the last minute is probably one of the most epic choruses I've heard, with the amazing vocal technique making this song probably Epica's best one yet! As if this song isn't miraculous enough, Zaher Zorgati (Myrath) provides the Arabic lyrics and chanting that would mesmerize you into oblivion. The song continues the band's powerful mix of beauty and brutality. The amazing lyrics and Arabian vibes are great for a desert battle scene. I have a good feeling that their new album Omega would make for the slight disappointment of the new Nightwish album from last year....
Nightwish – “Harvest” (from “Hvman. :||: Natvre.”, 2020)
3.5/5. Troy Donockley really takes the stage in this single, both in the folk instrumentation and singing. It's a bit upbeat, but not in a heavy way. It's a little weak, and more suitable as the next "Baba Yetu" (that Civilization theme), but it's a good start to anyone wanting to get into folk-ish symphonic metal.
Stratovarius – “Hunting High & Low” (from “Infinite”, 2000)
5.5/5 (not exaggerating). Stratovarius' ultimate anthem hit! The chorus has possessed my soul into listening to the song many times in my earlier epic metal taste. I just love it! The greatness starts from the intro and doesn't stop until the end. If my voice was higher instead of lower, I would definitely wanna sing it! Oh the motivational nostalgia... Very well done! Did I mention this is my favorite Stratovarius song? The song makes sure metal never dies. It's been over 3 years since I last listened to that song, and it's still g****mn f***ing awesome! Apparently, the Dragon Ball Z Budokai theme is based on the song, which is cool, I guess. Great job, guys!!
Edguy – “Key To My Fate” (from “Savage Poetry”, 1995)
4/5. The song in the Spotify playlist is actually from the 2000 re-recorded version of Savage Poetry. It's not Edguy's super best song, but a great introductory song for anyone finding this band for the first time. I understand the powerful lyrics that are about the suffering struggle to control your own life. The soloing that starts at exactly 3-minute mark reminds me of DragonForce, which definitely saves the song from being mediocre and lets me make that song suggestion.
Todd La Torre – “Hellbound & Down” (from “Rejoice In the Suffering”, 2021)
5/5. Yet another song where everything about it is perfect, from the sound to the engineering! Todd La Torre is an insanely great vocalist who can perform both Halford-like falsetto powerful growls, all fitting well with the great guitar. Todd's singing has already gotten me hooked with his brilliant phenomenal vocal range. If this album came out 5 years ago in my teenage years when I was still in my earlier epic metal taste, I would've gotten it in a heartbeat. He and Craig Blackwell did a great job with this kick-A song, and I feel like getting the whole album including bonus tracks. The heavy vibe makes this song probably the best so far this year. I probably love his falsetto style a little more than Geoff Tate (whom Todd replaced when joining Queensrÿche) and Bruce Dickinson, probably more than when Tate and Dee Snider guest-performed in the Avantasia album Ghostlights. La Torre's vocals have powerful expression to go with the a**-kicking Nevermore-like heavy tone. His voice before the guitar solo had a bit of a Dimmu Borgir vibe. I'm still amazed by the amount of technique in the vocals. The older sound of metal has been reborn from the underworld, allowing the earlier metalheads to look back at different memories of Judas Priest, Savatage, and Iron Maiden being resurrected. The intro reminds me of In Flames, and the rest is thrash-like heavy metal history...
HammerFall – “Heeding The Call” (from “Legacy Of Kings”, 1998)
4.5/5. One of my favorite classic HammerFall tracks, characterizing what the band is about, especially in one of their best choruses. The backup choir vocals are used tastefully and subtly and never overpower the powerful vocals of lead singer Joacim Cans. Besides that, there are nice surprises such as fast drum kicks and searing riffs.
Avantasia – “The Final Sacrifice” (from “The Metal Opera Pt. II”, 2002)
5/5. A killer beast of a song! Tobias Sammet does insanely amazing singing in the first verse and chorus, then Dave ‘the Lion’ Defeis (Virgin Steele) does his vocals ranging from brief black metal-like hisses to gravelly singing like a mix of ZP Theart and Tom Waits. F***ing brilliant!! This is probably the best and heaviest song of The Metal Opera Part II. The singing and riffing is so great! I can definitely hear some inspiration for Edguy's Hellfire Club. Insane screaming thrash-infused heavy metal right here!
Orden Ogan – “Come With Me To The Other Side” (from “Gunmen”, 2017)
4/5. This one is pretty cool, starting with a soft intro by Liv Kristine (from Leaves' Eyes, formerly Theatre of Tragedy), then the heavy action begins, all suitable for a book or movie like Alice in Wonderland. Despite how epic this is, the song doesn't hit me as much as the other songs I've commented.
DragonForce – “Revolution Deathsquad” from “Inhuman Rampage”, 2006)
4.5/5. The only song that could top off that Orden Ogan song as the ending of this playlist is this awesome song by the legendary DragonForce, though this one has a small generic flaw. I mean It's got catchy verses and a glorious chorus, along with background harsh vocals, but the long guitar soloing could've been better shorter. I still love this song though. Thank you Daniel for saving this awesome song for last and also including its album as this month's Guardians feature release!
My thought on one more track:
Midnight – “You Can’t Stop Steel” (from “Satanic Royalty”, 2011)
3/5. But can steel stop ME?! Satanic heavy metal just isn't my thing, but this song is good for metalheads who like this kind of style.
As if this song isn't miraculous enough, Zaher Zorgati (Myrath) provides the Arabic lyrics and chanting that would mesmerize you into oblivion.
I didn't know this, pretty cool considering I like Myrath quite a bit. It's funny because the first time I listened to the album and "Code of Life" came on I legitimately thought to myself "Oh hey Epica are trying to be Myrath for a song", turns out I wasn't too far off.
First of all, what a stellar playlist this month. Even the bands I normally can bank on giving me cause to hit the skip button didn't stay true to form (barring Nightwish who lasted all of 90 seconds). I think the first half of this playlist is probably the strongest we have seen on MA since we begun this venture. Keen to check out that new Accept record based on that killer track that starts this list and I keep get reminders of how awesome Persuader are and how I need to spend more time with them (hence why I kind of put my own reminder on this month's list).
This month's "dust this off and play it soon" reminder is definitely the Black Sabbath track, I own Sabotage on vinyl and it was of the band's creative high points which is showcased by Symptom of the Universe . Also, who the fuck has Todd La Torre been hanging out with to get that uber-aggressive thrashing riff fest of a track together? I enjoyed him in Queensryche but it seems his solo output might suit my more aggressive tastes nicely.
Super pleased with this month's playlist overall as it reminds me why I got into metal with 2 hours of hi-octane and anthemic metal tunes. Let's all give ourselves a collective pat on the back for this one folks.
I normally don't listen to too many of our playlists but I'm slowly coming around to checking them out every now and again, and yeah this was an extremely good one. Sadly I had to listen to it on shuffle so it lost a bit of its charm but looking at the listing here I can see that Daniel did a fantastic job structuring it.
I wouldn't get your hopes up for Accept or Todd La Torre Vinny, "Zombie Apocalypse" is good and is a decent showcase of how modern Accept sounds, but I personally found the rest of the album to be an awkward slog. There's still a few killer tracks in there though. Same with Todd La Torre, "Hellbound and Down" is an obvious highlight along with 2 or 3 other tracks but then it gets a bit monotonous.
The only thing I'll say on my end is that I was really surprised by "Symptom of the Universe", couldn't believe I was listening to Sabbath when it came on, and apparently I rated Sabatoge a 3.5 when I went on my short Sabbath kick? That just doesn't seem right, gonna have to go back and fix that sometime this month.
I normally don't listen to too many of our playlists but I'm slowly coming around to checking them out every now and again, and yeah this was an extremely good one. Sadly I had to listen to it on shuffle so it lost a bit of its charm but looking at the listing here I can see that Daniel did a fantastic job structuring it.
I wouldn't get your hopes up for Accept or Todd La Torre Vinny, "Zombie Apocalypse" is good and is a decent showcase of how modern Accept sounds, but I personally found the rest of the album to be an awkward slog. There's still a few killer tracks in there though. Same with Todd La Torre, "Hellbound and Down" is an obvious highlight along with 2 or 3 other tracks but then it gets a bit monotonous.
The only thing I'll say on my end is that I was really surprised by "Symptom of the Universe", couldn't believe I was listening to Sabbath when it came on, and apparently I rated Sabatoge a 3.5 when I went on my short Sabbath kick? That just doesn't seem right, gonna have to go back and fix that sometime this month.
I think you're right on the TLT front. I ran through the album last night and whilst it was still of a reasonable calibre it did not stand up to the initial promise shown by the featured track. It is good to see La Torre do something on his own however as I have never been able to shake the feeling that he works for Queensryche because he is so like Geoff Tate in terms of vocal sound. His time in Crimson Glory was an unfortunate non-starter in terms of recorded output and he certainly landed on his feet with the Queensryche gig. That guitarist on the record TLT put out has promise though.
I normally don't listen to too many of our playlists but I'm slowly coming around to checking them out every now and again, and yeah this was an extremely good one. Sadly I had to listen to it on shuffle so it lost a bit of its charm but looking at the listing here I can see that Daniel did a fantastic job structuring it.
I wouldn't get your hopes up for Accept or Todd La Torre Vinny, "Zombie Apocalypse" is good and is a decent showcase of how modern Accept sounds, but I personally found the rest of the album to be an awkward slog. There's still a few killer tracks in there though. Same with Todd La Torre, "Hellbound and Down" is an obvious highlight along with 2 or 3 other tracks but then it gets a bit monotonous.
The only thing I'll say on my end is that I was really surprised by "Symptom of the Universe", couldn't believe I was listening to Sabbath when it came on, and apparently I rated Sabatoge a 3.5 when I went on my short Sabbath kick? That just doesn't seem right, gonna have to go back and fix that sometime this month.
I sense a few good songs for you to share in the new "Great Tracks On Poor Albums" thread, Xephyr... https://metal.academy/forum/23/thread/750