July 2026 "Metalcore Revolution" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yFgscg5HWKGoIy2s0xRfG

Tracklisting:

1. Motionless in White - "Immaculate Misconception" from Creatures (2010)

2. ERRA - "Eye of God" from Eye of God (2019)

3. Silent Civilian - "Ghost Stories" from Ghost Stories (2010)

4. Fit for a King - "No Tomorrow" from Lonely God (2025)

5. Adept - "Carry the Weight" from Sleepless (2016)

6. Bleed from Within - "Night Crossing" from Fracture (2020)

7. Unearth - "Dawn of the Militant" from The Wretched; the Ruinous (2023) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

8. Despised Icon - "In the Arms of Perdition" from The Ills of Modern Man (2007) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

9. Humanity's Last Breath - "Abyssal Mouth" from Abyssal (2019) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

10. Born of Osiris - "A Solution" from The Discovery (2011)

11. Sun Eater - "Wounds" from Death Crown (2026) [submitted by Vinny]

12. Worm Shepherd - "The Emptiness Between Stars" from In the Wake ov Sol (2020) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

13. Space of Variations - "GHOST TOWN" from GHOST TOWN (2026)

14. Wage War - "The River" from Blueprints (2015)

15. The Amity Affliction - "Bleed" from House of Cards (2026)

16. While She Sleeps - "Be(lie)ve" from This is the Six (2012) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

17. The Narrator - "Stained Glass Reality" from Lore (2024)

18. Johnny Booth - "Get Well Soon" from Get Well Soon (2025)

19. Defects - "Heresy" from Heresy (2025)

20. Elwood Stray - "Genesis" from Descending (2026)

21. Dead by April - "Losing You" from Dead by April (2009)

22. As I Lay Dying - "Redefined" from Shaped by Fire (2019)

23. Black Veil Brides - "Woe & Pain" from Vindicate (2026)

24. The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "If These Bullets Could Talk" from Put on Your Rosy Red Glasses (2003)

25. Converge - "Dream Debris" from Hum of Hurt (2026)

26. Snapcase - "Lookinglasself" from Lookinglasself (1993)

27. Rorschach - "Oppress" from Remain Sedate (1990) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

28. Burst - "(We Watched) The Silver Rain" from Lazarus Bird (2008)

29. August Burns Red - "Crusades" from Constellations (2009) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

Here are my thoughts on all selected tracks:

Motionless in White - "Immaculate Misconception" from Creatures (2010)

4.5/5. Although I haven't listened to much Motionless in White lately, this is still one of my favorite tracks from the band. The chorus rules, and so is the bridge that leads to the breakdown. This band is certainly comfortable staying away from the Christian scene that other metalcore bands seem to hop in at the time.

ERRA - "Eye of God" from Eye of God (2019)

5/5. ERRA has helped shape up the future of progressive metalcore. This incredible track practically throws back to the Prometheus era, especially that midway breakdown.

Silent Civilian - "Ghost Stories" from Ghost Stories (2010)

4.5/5. Silent Civilian is quite underrated compared to the more popular and still awesome August Burns Red, Trivium, and Unearth. Anyway, in some copies of this album, including the one I own, there's some glitching in the solo, which fortunately they don't have in the Spotify version. That error aside, I still enjoy this track.

Fit for a King - "No Tomorrow" from Lonely God (2025)

4/5. Fit for a King are starting to sound more like Invent Animate. The drums and vocals and f***ing both beautiful and brutal, reaching their climax at the end.

Adept - "Carry the Weight" from Sleepless (2016)

4.5/5. Wow, that intro sounds like yet another song in the "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"/"Give in to Me" plagiarism chain! Besides that, this song hits f***ing HARD.

Bleed from Within - "Night Crossing" from Fracture (2020)

5/5. Horns way up for this one, including the guitar soloing by Matt Heafy of Trivium.

Unearth - "Dawn of the Militant" from The Wretched; the Ruinous (2023)

4.5/5. Deeper down the line is more of the classic metallic hardcore sound of Earth Crisis and Strife. This is solid heaviness we really need. It then leads to perhaps the most brutal breakdown the band has ever made. Absolutely killer sh*t right there!

Despised Icon - "In the Arms of Perdition" from The Ills of Modern Man (2007)

5/5. In terms of brutal standard deathcore, Despised Icon has mastered it quite well. The guitars and vocals sound so wicked, especially in the breakdown. I'm glad they're still around after that temporary breakup.

Humanity's Last Breath - "Abyssal Mouth" from Abyssal (2019)

4.5/5. The heaviness really bursts out alongside those haunting vocals by Filip Danielsson. And we have more of those machine-gun blast beats.

Born of Osiris - "A Solution" from The Discovery (2011)

4/5. Blown away by all that deathcore heaviness yet? Well here's a small break for you to catch your breath. A short interlude with the synths and cleans of Joe Buras.

Sun Eater - "Wounds" from Death Crown (2026)

4.5/5. What other sound would you expect from a band possibly named after a Lorna Shore song and having once included Mental Cruelty vocalist Lukas Nicolai? This is crushing deathcore that is like a blend of Lorna Shore and Spite. The monstrous vocals of Sten Govers make this song a lot more than just a banger. And that breakdown throughout the last minute is brutal as f***.

Worm Shepherd - "The Emptiness Between Stars" from In the Wake ov Sol (2020)

5/5. This highlight starts off smooth and ambient then unleashes the slower downtempo deathcore before ending with the same ambience. Darkness rises from the void!

Space of Variations - "GHOST TOWN" from GHOST TOWN (2026)

4.5/5. "All these shiny diamonds don’t lead me back to you", but they do lead me to another amazing track! It is part of their new album Poisoned Art, and listeners definitely had something to get them pumped up for the album.

Wage War - "The River" from Blueprints (2015)

4/5. Great work from this band, even though my interest seems to fade.

The Amity Affliction - "Bleed" from House of Cards (2026)

4.5/5. Some Lamb of God and Kingdom of Giants vibes in this one, though the latter would've been more likely if bassist Jonathan Reeves (who was formerly in that other band) has done his cleans. Nonetheless, Joel Birch sounds so vicious in his vocals, and the whole track is practically a breakdown.

While She Sleeps - "Be(lie)ve" from This is the Six (2012)

5/5. While She Sleeps would grow in popularity after the earlier releases that this underrated standout appeared in.

The Narrator - "Stained Glass Reality" from Lore (2024)

4.5/5. Sounds like the style of those previous 3 bands has been modernized.

Johnny Booth - "Get Well Soon" from Get Well Soon (2025)

4/5. Imagine if Boundaries, Loathe, and The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza collaborated with one another. It would probably something like this ravaging banger. That breakdown in over the one-minute mark slays.

Defects - "Heresy" from Heresy (2025)

3.5/5. Is it heresy here to say that I don't rate this track as highly as other metalcore songs in this playlist? Still I appreciate the music f***ing slapping, alongside the vocals by Tony Maue who was the lead guitarist for The Raven Age.

Elwood Stray - "Genesis" from Descending (2026)

3.5/5. Elwood Stray can basically make a blend of 2020s Architects and Linkin Park with this banger. A little too alternative for me, yet dark and heavy. And no, this has nothing to do with the rock band Genesis. The guitars switching between electric and acoustic is quite creative, though Mental Cruelty has a little more creativity in their sound. Those vocals have both beauty and rage. As good as the music and vocals are, they do seem a little AI-generated, though they likely aren't.

Dead by April - "Losing You" from Dead by April (2009)

4/5. I'm glad to revisit this solid gem after taking some time away from the work of Dead by April. The intro has some piano sounding borrowed from late 90s Paradise Lost that then leads into electronic alt-metalcore with some seeds planted for Starset. The music and vocals sound so beautiful. "All I need is you..."

As I Lay Dying - "Redefined" from Shaped by Fire (2019)

4.5/5. Featuring Jake Luhrs from August Burns Red, this song has angrier vocals and insane drumming and fulfilling guitar melodies. The cleans still do their respective part.

Black Veil Brides - "Woe & Pain" from Vindicate (2026)

4/5. Great to witness Black Veil Brides get their heavier side more recognized.

The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "If These Bullets Could Talk" from Put on Your Rosy Red Glasses (2003)

4.5/5. If these bullets could talk, they would be screaming your heads off. "I dont have much, but I'll ask you this....why would you destroy your best friend?"

Converge - "Dream Debris" from Hum of Hurt (2026)

5/5. The centerpiece of the new Converge album and likely this playlist is this 6-minute epic. Right from the tribal march of drummer Ben Koller and the rumbling of bassist Nate Newton, comes a spectacular slow buildup to a massive headbanging groove. Converge still have their later atmospheric side to go with their earlier math/metalcore, as that majestic gem has proven.

Snapcase - "Lookinglasself" from Lookinglasself (1993)

4.5/5. A true representation of the band at their early stage. The hardcore riffing is so sludgy and adds to the brooding emotion. Their talent is on full display!

Rorschach - "Oppress" from Remain Sedate (1990)

5/5. The chaotic dissonance fades out after the closing gem of the first ever metalcore offering.

Burst - "(We Watched) The Silver Rain" from Lazarus Bird (2008)

4.5/5. This epic starts by building up a rhythmic fill from calm to storming in the first two minutes, then calms down and, near the 3-minute mark, starts a bass transition. Then clean vocals enter and go on in extensive amounts with beautiful melancholic riffing for the rest of the song. There's still plenty of heaviness and yelling, just not as much as the clean parts.

August Burns Red - "Crusades" from Constellations (2009)

5/5. However, this 5-minute closer is a much better ending than the previous track, finding an equal balance between fast and slow. After some insane intensity, there's a small blues break that builds up into an epic final verse to end on a perfect note.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? I recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks to anyone who have contributed with their own submissions, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!