Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

Here are my sneak peek submissions for the December Sphere playlist:

Blue Stahli - "Endure" (2:36) from Obsidian (2021)

Circle of Dust - "Yurasuka (Blue Stahli Remix)" (4:18) from Disengage (1998, 2016 remaster)

D'espairsray - "Marry of the Blood" (8:45) from Born (2004)

Godflesh - "Obeyed" (5:35) from A World Lit Only by Fire (2014)

The Interbeing - "Synthetic Bloodline" (4:31) from Icon of the Hopeless (2022)

Neurotech - "Repent in Need" (4:13) from Ave Neptune (2023)

Total length: 29:58

Here are my sneak peek submissions for the December Revolution playlist:

Atreyu - "Lip Gloss and Black" (5:05) from Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses (2002)

The Breathing Process - "The Conscious Observer" (5:19) from Samsara (2018)

The Devil Wears Prada - "Supernova" (2:50) from Space (2015)

It Dies Today - "Life of Uncertainty" (4:48) from Lividity (2009)

Reflections - "From Nothing" (3:51) from Willow (2020)

Structures - "Gone / Dead" (1:42) from None of the Above (2021)

We Came as Romans - "If There's Nothing to See" (4:35) from Cold Like War (2017)

Total length: 28:10

Here are my submissions for the December Infinite playlist:

Conception - "Roll the Fire" (4:32) from Parallel Minds (1993)

Jinjer - "Pausing Death" (4:45) from Macro (2019)

Tesseract - "War of Being" (11:02) from War of Being (2023)

Vildhjarta - "+ Den spanska känslan +" (7:26) from Där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar (2025)

Total length: 27:45

Here are my sneak peek submissions for the December Guardians playlist:

Galneryus - "Let Us Shine" (6:20) from Between Dread and Valor (2023)

Iron Fire - "Riding Free" (4:54) from Thunderstorm (2000)

Masterplan - "Kind Hearted Light" (4:25) from Masterplan (2003)

Serenity - "Forever" (6:42) from Words Untold & Dreams Unlived (2007)

Visions of Atlantis - "Lost" (3:58) from Cast Away (2004)

Total length: 26:19

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Eisheilig - "Sturm" from Elysium (2006)

3/5. Not really the best start of the playlist, now that I look back at it. Probably because this is the German alt pop-ish genre that is Neue Deutsche Harte. But I enjoy the beautiful bridge at the two and a half minute mark.

Lard - "Volcanus 2000 (We Wipe the World)" from 70's Rock Must Die (2000)

3.5/5. This one has the band's usual industrial rock/metal first introduced in the 1988 Ministry album, tackling those who want to imitate Nine Inch Nails. There are some people who think this kind of sound is stinky garbage, but if you get more to the sound like I am, you might some decent enjoyment.

Red Harvest - "Hole in Me" from A Greater Darkness (2007)

4/5. A great song for me to feel the darkness. Red Harvest haven't made anything since this album, but hopefully they'll return. Unlike their earlier faster works, this song has the slow crawl of Neurosis or death-doom.

Black Magnet - "Better Than Love" from Megamantra (2025)

4.5/5. Quite an underrated banger! It's like a trip back to the 90s industrial rock/metal of bands like Skinny Puppy.

Shadow Domain - "Turbogenerator" from Digital Divide (2018)

4/5. Sybreed vocalist Benjamin Nominet kept himself busy during his main band's hiatus, with temporary side-project Shadow Domain. Man, his vocals shine in the chorus!

Klank - "Penetrate" from Numb (2000)

4.5/5. Klank can really crank things up, with the ability to sound heavy and dance-y at the same time.

Void - "Sulphur City Sickness" from Posthuman (2003)

4/5. Same with this band, minus the brief sludgy intro.

Pitchshifter - "Skin Grip" from Industrial (1991)

4.5/5. This one has some of Pantera's forceful groove, but it's still a pummeling crusher like in Fear Factory's debut album next year.

Awake at Last - "Bloodline" from The Balance (2023)

4/5. A cool track to love for modern alt-/industrial metal.

Motionless in White - "Burned at Both Ends II" from Scoring the End of the World (2022)

4.5/5. The title of this track already lets you know the song sequels are still going on in this Motionless in White album, being a sequel to a song from Infamous. It has really grown into one of my favorites. The lyrics have a more positive theme, "At both ends burned once more, but now I live for something more".

Acumen Nation - "Octavia" from Artifacts: 1990 - 1993 - Volume 1 (2002)

4/5. Acumen Nation has made a compilation of early demo tracks from the early 90s. This one's pretty great though more industrial than metal.

Ghostemane - "Crime Time" from Fear Network II (2021)

3.5/5. "Free ride right into the next life with next knife I see anywhere near me or in my vicinity. Count down the days!"

Killing Joke - "Majestic" from Hosannas from the Basements of Hell (2006)

4/5. This one is out of this world with majestic guitar force. Enough said!

Lord of the Lost - "It's a Sin" from Weapons of Mass Seduction (2023)

4.5/5. The original Pet Shop Boys single may be an overused pop song, but Lord of the Lost made it more epic, even more than Gamma Ray's cover!

Blue Stahli - "Red Carpet Rush" from Antisleep Vol. 04 (2017)

5/5. This highlight is from Blue Stahli's Antisleep instrumental album series mostly centered around electro-industrial tracks. However, as much as this track tries to go the EDM/house route similar to Avicii and David Guetta, it actually has a similar vein to Neurotech's Evasive, touching in on Deathstars and Turmion Katilot, giving it a somewhat industrial/cyber metal vibe, enough for it to fit well in The Sphere.

Celldweller - "Fadeaway" from Celldweller (2003)

4.5/5. Celldweller's self-titled debut is from a time when the earlier millennials were going to college and jamming out to these kinds of songs. I also didn't start listening to Klayton's projects until when I was, and still am, in my 20s, so a few years before this comment. The best part is throughout the 3rd quarter of the song.

Circle of Dust - "Nothing Sacred (Blue Stahli Remix)" from Circle of Dust (1995, 2016 remaster)

5/5. I absolutely love this Blue Stahli remix. Bret Autrey's futuristic stylings give an already great song more life.

AP2 - "The Only Man I Know" from Supsension of Disbelief (2000)

4.5/5. This one actually takes a break from the industrial metal sound for more of an alt-rock/metal sound that would actually foreshadow 36 Crazyfists' style at that time, and maybe even Bring Me the Horizon's sound in the late 2010s.

The Berzerker - "Lonely World" from Animosity (2007)

5/5. Industrial deathgrind, huh? This I'm actually up for! "A call to god goes unheard, unanswered. Lonely world robs us of your morals and tortures me."

Static-X - "Run for Your Life" from Project Regeneration, Vol. 2 (2024)

4.5/5. RIP Wayne Static. This band has made f***ing killer bangers resurrected from demo sessions as a tribute to him. The best part is the bridge that starts the second half, "IT'S YOUR LAST DAY IN THIS HOLLOW WORLD!!!" I also think really looks back at all the band's earlier albums. Their new lead vocalist Xer0 sounds amazing. Of course, we know he's Edsel Dope from the band Dope, and it seems like he has brought some influences from that band to this one. Also great for an action movie fight!

Rob Zombie - "Punks and Demons" from Punks and Demons (2025)

4/5. Rob Zombie is back again with a heavy punky new single. I must have some serious willpower to prevent myself from joining the "SATAN SATAN" chant-along.

Flesh Field - "Reckoning" from Voice of the Echo Chamber (2023)

3.5/5. Good, but it probably would've been better if the synth-orchestral buildup wasn't so long.

CueStack - "Icon" from Diagnosis:Human (2021)

3/5. This one's more upbeat but still not too great.

Ministry - "TV Song #6" from Moral Hygiene (2021)

3.5/5. "IT. IS. OVER!!!!" Not by a long shot, as we really speed up with a programmed blackened blast-beat all the way through.

Psyclon Nine - "You Know What You Are" from INRI (2005)

4/5. Even though Psyclon Nine was more of an electronic/aggrotech band in their first two albums, their cover of a Ministry track is perhaps the first hint of their later industrial metal sound that would build up in their next two albums and taking full form from Order of the Shadow Act 1 onwards.

Gothminister - "Raise the Dead" from Utopia (2013)

4.5/5. Towards the end of this playlist and its original album is yet another excellent track.

Pain - "Feed Us" from Cynic Paradise (2008)

5/5. When I was a teen, I was listening to symphonic/power metal bands like Nightwish. Hearing this song featuring one of that band's vocalists, Anette Olzon, all these years later, has really made me kick myself for not discovering this song or band earlier. It's just so d*mn cool!

Neurotech - "Alleviate" from In Remission (2016)

4.5/5. A nearly 9-minute epic of electronic enchantment. Though as much as I enjoy that one, it should be said that I'm not feeling the cyber metal touch that I had earlier this year. My interest in bands like Mechina and Neurotech is already fading, now that I'm restoring my interest in the more medieval fantasy side of epicness from symphonic and power metal instead of the sci-fi of epic cyber metal. All I can say is, hello again fantasy, goodbye futuristic.... But I'm still in The Sphere, don't worry.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? I recommend this to any industrial metal fan and anyone who isn't into industrial metal 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!

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Hope for the Dying - "City of Corpses" from Hope for the Dying (2008)

5/5. A killer standout to start this playlist, 7 minutes of prog-ish metalcore!

Darkest Hour - "The Sadist Nation" from Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation (2003)

4.5/5. Darkest Hour was one of the first metalcore bands I've listened to since Trivium since moving out of the power metal of my teen years. Although I haven't listened to this band in a few years, songs like this I still considered underrated. They've opened At the Gates for a show which led to that band's vocalist Tomas Lindberg guest appearing in this track, and I've added it in this playlist as a tribute to him. RIP

Bury Tomorrow - "Villain Arc" from Will You Haunt Me, With That Same Patience? (2025)

5/5. Bury Tomorrow is another awesome band to listen to. Their switch to a new heavier era makes this song worth adding to the playlist. The vocals by Daniel Winter-Bates are so crushing, though I also enjoy the clean singing by Tom Prendergast.

SEGA Sound Team, Tomoya Ohtani, Kellin Quinn - "Break Through It All" from Sonic Frontiers Original Soundtrack (2022)

4.5/5. I'm glad to have an outside-world friend who's both a Sonic fan and a metalhead, otherwise I wouldn't have discovered this really cool and heavy song with the girl-ish yet tough-guy vocals by Kellin Quinn (Sleeping with Sirens).

Fit for a King - "Slave to Nothing" from Slave to Nothing (2014)

5/5. Fit for a King is quite a heavy band for Christian metalcore, especially proven in the sick breakdown. I also enjoy the intro chords. The guest vocals by For Today vocalist Mattie Montgomery make me up to checking out that band despite sadly breaking up.

Parkway Drive - "Carrion" from Horizons (2007)

5/5. The massive impact of this highlight makes thousands of metalheads in the audience shout along from beginning to end. It has heavy fury together with incredible melody, combining into an emotional mix. The growls of angst from Winston McCall and beautiful guitar melodies from Jeff Ling will keep you headbanging even at the album age of over a decade.

It Dies Today - "Sirens" from Sirens (2006)

4.5/5. Some of the coolest lyrics from this band!

Neaera - "Caesura" from Omnicide – Creation Unleashed (2009)

4.5/5. Some of the coolest melodeath/metalcore from this band!

Equilibrium - "I'll Be Thunder" from I'll Be Thunder (2025)

5/5. Originally an epic folk metal band, Equilibrium have evolved into folk metalCORE, creating this melodic banger that has made me up for more of this band.

I Prevail - "Rain" from Violent Nature (2025)

4.5/5. Another song to give me delight from the elements of rain, snow, and fire.

VENUES - "Duality" from Duality (2025)

4/5. I'm still grateful to find great catchy songs like this one. Another solid banger! The music video has a cool story to tell. I can already get the modern metalcore hype. It's too beautiful to miss out on the more popular live festivals. We need this to be popular instead of all this K-Pop Demon Hunters sh*t. With profound lyrics and wide-ranged vocals, let's hope this band never stops what they're doing.

Ten After Two - "Truth Is..." from Truth Is... (2011)

4.5/5. The best highlight of its original album. Everything is done greatly in the guitars, lyrics, and chorus. The absolute pinnacle of that album, and that's my true opinion!

Babymetal, Slaughter to Prevail - "Song 3" from Song 3 (2025)

4/5. A wicked collab between Babymetal and Slaughter to Prevail! Contrary to popular belief, while Alex Terrible appears in this song, some of the growls are actually done by Momo, one of the Babymetal girls, which is impressive as f***, but I understand the confusion. Alex is still a beast when it comes to his growls, roaring like a f***ing animal. The refrain chant of "Ichi, ni, san, DA!" is the catchphrase of the recently passed professional wrestler Antonio Inoki, so I'm guessing that's a tribute to him. RIP... While Alex's growls are deep and brutal as they always have, Momo sounds clearer. And honestly, I would love to hear more of Momo's raw yet natural growls.

Confessions of a Traitor - "Noble Bloom" from This Pain Will Serve You (2025)

3.5/5. Another intense banger with a catchy chorus, though the occasional dip into ethereal softness in the verses is a little unfitting.

Our Promise - "Bitter" from Bitter (2025)

3/5. Decent banger, similar to Annisokay and The Narrator, but the more nu metal-ish parts sound like sh*t.

Tuesday's Too Late - "Bitter" from Bitter (2025)

3.5/5. Wow, the second song in a row to be titled "Bitter"! And fun fact: I'm the 500th subscriber for this band's YouTube channel. The chorus reminds me of Breaking Benjamin, while everything else has the heaviness of Psycho-Frame and Kingdom of Giants. Good banger!

Mavis - "The Great Attractor" from The Great Attractor (2025)

4/5. "Is love a lie dressed up in fire, or just a wound that we desire?" Those kinds of lyrics really go hard. So does the music, especially at the one and a half minute mark. The song really has that Architects vibe, right from the intro riff.

Eighteen Visions - "Prelude to an Epic" from Until the Ink Runs Out (2025)

4.5/5. An epic interlude that sounds like the intro for one of the songs by Brandan Schieppati's main band Bleeding Through, especially in the background keyboards. Instead of being embedded to the next song like in the original version, the two re-recorded songs are separated, allowing this interlude to segue to a different track in this playlist...

Bury Your Dead - "The Forgotten" from It's Nothing Personal (2009)

5/5. A heavy gem to scream/sing along to. The vocals by Myke Terry are so crushing, and so is the guest appearance by Frankie Palmeri of Emmure.

DIESECT - "SHURA" from HIDE FROM THE LIGHT (2025)

4.5/5. Diesect and Heavensgate are two bands that unleash a blast of nu metalcore wind, and this song is another absolute f***ing banger. The crushing breakneck breakdown occurs midway through. These guys sound p*ssed as h*ll and should never be messed with. I can also hear some parts that can remind some of Alpha Wolf.

Frontierer - "Heirloom" from Oxidized (2021)

4/5. Frontierer has made mathcore rise back up from the grave after the temporary demise of The Dillinger Escape Plan and The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza.

Cult Leader - "Hate Offering" from Lightless Walk (2015)

4.5/5. One of my favorite tracks from this band, and HOLY SH*T, the final minute is so destructive.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "*#.." from Calculating Infinity (1999)

4/5. An interlude that starts ambient before an aggressive yet soft-sounding metallic hardcore twist fades in.

Coalesce - "One on the Ground" from Give Them Rope (1997)

4.5/5. This one begins in a screaming barrage that's totally worth it. I can personally hear those notes and beats strike my heart.

Converge - "In Her Blood" from You Fail Me (2004)

5/5. A purely brutal track with great tempo changes.

Wolves at the Gate - "Evil are the Kings" from Eclipse (2019)

4.5/5. One of my favorite tracks from this band and album! The vocals might remind some of Thrice.

Keep Close - "Bury the Pain" from Bury the Pain (2025)

4/5. Great dynamics, with an addictive chorus and bridge you can't resist.

Whitechapel - "Faces" from Whitechapel (2012)

4.5/5. This one has some greatness that is missing from people listening to deathcore without an open mind.

Shadow of Intent - "Imperium Delirium" from Imperium Delirium (2025)

5/5. Another one of the darkest deathcore epics, all the way up to the "YOU ARE NOW F***ED" ending. However, one more epic shall take the throne...

Lorna Shore - "Forevermore" from I Feel the Everblack Festering Within Me (2025)

5/5 (maybe even 5.5/5). The true ultimate best track of its original album and possibly by this band, the glorious finale that is their longest track at nearly 10 minutes, a tear-jerking atmospheric epic of triumph and emotion. Probably the best symphonic deathcore closing track EVER!!! I'm not gonna put it into words, just listen to it to believe me.

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!

Same song, more guests:

Indeed a short playlist, but one I felt up to breezing through entirely. Great work, Saxy! Here are all my track thoughts:

An Abstract Illusion – Like A Geyser Ever Erupting (2025)

4.5/5. Beginning this playlist is an eruption of progressive death metal. An amazing start!

Artificial Language – Skinwalker (2024)

4/5. Yo, this one's also great! Nothing artificial here.

Charlotte Wessels – Backup Plan (feat. Asger Mygind) (2025)

4.5/5. So I've listened to the main band of Asger Mygind, VOLA, but I haven't yet gotten interested in Charlotte Wessels's main band, Delain. I think I might just be up for the latter, considering how much I like this duet, as well as my growing return to symphonic metal.

Dir En Grey – The Blossoming Beelzebub (2011)

4/5. This one kicks off the downtuned distortion of guitars and bass and rolling drums. Don't expect any shrieking yet! Kyo starts singing in high falsetto that almost sounds like a female opera singer with tension building. The progressive interval might explode into action but it doesn't. Great song despite not having what heavier fans wanted...

Dyssidia – Impulsivity (2025)

3.5/5. Good heavy song but a little too impulsive.

Ihlo – Parhelion (2019)

4/5. "I'm home AGAIN!!!" Lots of insane synthy prog-metal talent! A nice stylistic homage to Periphery from start to finish.

Leprous – The Price (2015)

4.5/5. I should really get back to listening to Leprous someday. This groovy song might remind some of Riverside.

Nevermore – Narcosynthesis (Live) (2008)

4/5. Same with this band with the great Warrel Dane. RIP

Skyharbor – Kaikoma (2014)

4.5/5. And again with this band. I enjoy the chilling clean melodies from the vocals. The vocal harmonies really shine throughout the third quarter of the track. I can probably do my own vocal cover, since the vocals aren't too high. They also take some alt-rock from the later eras of Karnivool and Anathema. Nice production!

Symphony X – Revelation (Divus Pennae Ex Tragoedia) (2007)

5/5. This 9-minute epic has so many cohesive ideas. If you can get hooked by the neoclassical leads and melodic chorus, you'll definitely wanna stick around for the rest.

TesseracT – Of Matter – Proxy (2013)

4.5/5. This one already opens up the original album's dynamic diversity. Gentle chords leads to riff distortion, just like what you would expect from Tesseract. And clearly there's more maturity in their writing.

Textures – Polars (2004)

5/5. The title track of Textures' debut is their longest song, an 18-minute epic with lots of innovative experimentation reaching its height, not to mention Pieter's vocal talent. So I don't mind this epic appearing in another playlist after exactly a year.

Vildhjarta – Traces (2011)

4.5/5. This one pleasantly surprises me with its intricate complexity and djenty variation. Not a single moment can be considered a waste of time.

VOLA – Head Mounted Sideways (2021)

5/5. An artful highlight with a bass tone full of heavy mass.

X Japan – Art of Life (2012)

4.5/5. Y'know, I was thinking about whether or not to add this massive epic to a Guardians playlist, and I was a little hesistant because of its length. But now it's here, in an Infinite playlist! It is a 29-minute epic that has practically kickstarted the symphonic power metal subgenre. And I wish to describe it in words, but that wouldn't do it justice. All in all, an amazing epic to end this playlist!

Below is my submission for the December Pit playlist, Vinny. I was thinking about whether this would fit better in The Horde or The Pit, but I guess Sonny closing suggestions from non-clan members for his playlists helped cement my decision.

Orbit Culture - "Saw" (from Redfog, 2018)

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Warmen - "Japanese Hospitality" from Japanese Hospitality (2009)

5/5. Welcome to another Guardians playlist! Hope you appreciate the hospitality. The Japanese Hospitality! Janne Wirman is one of the best metal keyboardists out there. He was the keyboardist for Children of Bodom until that band's split-up and the passing of Alexi Laiho (RIP), after which Warmen became Wirman's main band and switched from neoclassical power metal to melodeath. Anyway, the intro for this song might've been inspired from the intro of Guns n Roses' Chinese Democracy. Also, guest appearing in a few songs (not this one) is Timo Kotipelto, vocalist of the speedy Stratovarius. Would've been great if Masterplan's Jorn Lande could guest appear too though.

Visions of Atlantis - "Clocks" from Pirates (2022)

4.5/5. Anyone expecting a Coldplay cover is proven dead wrong right away. I love the vocals by Clementine Delauney, especially in the verses.

Black Sabbath - "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)

4/5. RIP Ozzy Osbourne. The tributes to him and his band continue. Metalheads shall praise Black Bloody Sabbath!

Ozzy Osbourne - "Dreamer" from Down to Earth (2001)

3.5/5. And here's one more tribute, this one being a soft dreamy ballad. Once again, RIP...

Budgie - "Guts" from Budgie (1971)

3/5. Budgie has been considered underappreciated in the old-school hard rock/metal community, especially when they had another fallen vocalist in Burke Shelley (RIP). The bass and guitar fuzz gives this track a stoner-ish that would put this band together with Black Sabbath as stoner rock/metal before Kyuss brought it further two decades later. It's cool, and but it doesn't give me the guts to explore more of their older sound.

Battle Beast - "Angel of Midnight" from Angel of Midnight (2025)

3.5/5. Imagine a Bonnie Tyler hit from the 80s turned metal. This is what that is right here! Noora Louhimo sings like a queen, a hair metal queen. I'm not sure if I'm up for a lot more of this retro-sounding style though.

Bang - "Lions, Christians" from Bang (1972)

4/5. Now here's another band from the Sabbath days of early heavy metal. However, Bang was quite short-lived and didn't make it big the way bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy, and Budgie did. Sir Lord Baltimore also stopped after only one album or so. Still the leads here are f***ing heavy for the early 70s.

Manowar - "Blood Brothers" from Gods of War (2007)

4.5/5. This power ballad is worth dedicating to all your friends who have sacrificed a lot to protect the ones they love, and those who have lost their loved ones and wish to persevere after tragedy. Warriors shall fight for the brothers that are lost and left behind. Those lyrics greatly motivate you in that situation. It's like therapy without having to go to therapy! Apparently, there's also a similarly titled Iron Maiden song, but it's not the same one. Stay strong, my brothers!

3 Inches of Blood - "Silent Killer" from Here Waits Thy Doom (2009)

5/5. After that slow march, it's time to speed up and battle for heavy/power metal!

Scorpions - "In Trance" from In Trance (1975)

4.5/5. Thie title track for Scorpions' 3rd album first metal one is actually one of the best 70s hard rock ballads I've ever heard! Meine's vocals have so emotion, the chorus sounds powerful, and the song ends epically in the guitar leads. And don't forget a subtle reference to the Beatles.

Lorna Shore - "Glenwood" from I Feel the Everblack Festering Within Me (2025)

5/5. Absolutely epic and emotional, and with the lack of breakdowns, this is really extreme power-ish symphonic metal, enough to make a genuine Guardians track for a Lorna Shore song!

Arch Enemy - "Vivre Libre" from Blood Dynasty (2025)

4.5/5. Then we have this cover of a French power ballad originally by Blaspheme. There's no melodeath, not even in the vocals. Gluz sounds very much like an angel have descended from Heaven to go to a rock/metal concert. Perhaps the most Guardians-esque track Arch Enemy has done!

Stevie T - "Jojo" from Jojo (2020)

4/5. Ah, the song that couldn't be fixed, now fixed by the one and only Stevie T! And he didn't just fix it, he turned it into a full-on DragonForce-esque power metal song. Now I hope for his Moonlight Eternal song to one day be added to Spotify. At least that one has lyrics I can take more seriously than this.

SEGA Sound Team, Tomoya Ohtani, Kellin Quinn - "Undefeatable" from Sonic Frontiers Original Soundtrack (2022)

4.5/5. And here's another DragonForce-esque power metal song, sung by someone you probably weren't expecting in power metal, Sleeping with Sirens' Kellin Quinn! I checked out some songs from his main band but they weren't metal enough for me, unlike this track. Let's hope this one ends up in the next Sonic the Hedgehog movie.

Amorphis - "Dancing Shadow" from Borderland (2025)

4/5. Amorphis seems to be taking a more classic heavy metal turn while maintaining the usual doom-ish progressive metal, but I'm all for it!

Sabaton - "To Hell and Back" from Heroes (2014)

4.5/5. Another highlight worth mentioning! It starts with a flute melody before another epic heavy experience. It's more midpaced while staying strong in the chorus, lyrics, and even synthesized brass. The best part is the short yet sweet guitar solo. There's just so much power in these 3 and a half minutes! I just wish the band would make long epics, not just radio-sized songs. The closest we have to a Sabaton epic is "Rise of Evil" from Attero Dominatus.

Galneryus - "Destinations" from Resurrection (2010)

5/5. An absolute beautiful progressive power metal song, especially in the soloing duel between guitars and keyboards through the last couple minutes. The soloing in the middle of the track is also wonderful! Anime fans who have watched Hunter x Hunter would know Galneryus and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas from their songs being used as the show's opening themes. Truly a fun song!

Stratovarius - "Fright Night" from Fright Night (1989)

4.5/5. Probably would've been better for last month's playlist, especially since it sounds similar to Black Sabbath and Helloween, especially the latter's song "Halloween". Nonetheless, I enjoy the kick-A singing and guitar shredding of Timo Tolkki.

Primal Fear - "Nation in Fear" from Jaws of Death (1999)

5/5. Another masterful piece of heavy/power metal! Primal Fear is the band Ralf Scheepers formed after his unsuccessful audition for Judas Priest. A f***ing awesome song relatable to the bleakness of the world we live in. I can also hear some Angra vibes here.

Stream of Passion - "The Hunter" from Beautiful Warrior (2023)

4.5/5. A truly stunning song to mark the return of Stream of Passion. Marcela Bovio's singing is just divine!

Amberian Dawn - "Valkyries" from Rover of Tuoni (2008)

5/5. Anyone into Nightwish would surely enjoy this band! And I really need to enjoy them too, considering those serene vocals by Heidi Parviainen.

Savatage - "Sirens" from Sirens (1983)

4.5/5. Man, what other hidden 80s gems are there!?! This is the strong melodic beginning of these American heavy/power metal legends! Fits well for the sirens from the Witcher games, and the dark crushing guitarwork rules too. Those people who prefer to listen to Metallica and Iron Maiden are really missing out.

Fates Warning - "The Apparition" from Spectre Within (1985)

5/5. This one still remains as my favorite track of the album on the US power metal side, with the best vocals from John Arch.

Yngwie Malmsteen - "(Fight) the Good Fight" from Parabellum (2021)

4.5/5. Impressive singing and guitar shredding from the king of neoclassical metal! It's sad that Ozzy Osbourne is gone, this seems like a song he would sing in one of Yngwie's performances if he had the chance. Yngwie continues to prove himself a master shredder from the intro to the soloing throughout.

DragonForce - "Wildest Dreams" from Warp Speed Warriors (2024)

4/5. Let's end it all with a neat metalized cover of the Taylor Swift hit. It still can't beat the previous album's Celine Dion cover though. What happened to Extreme Power Metal on Spotify anyway!? H*ll if I know...

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? I recommend this to any heavy/power/symphonic/neoclassical metal fan and anyone who isn't into those genres 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!

November 2025

1. Eisheilig - "Sturm" from Elysium (2006)

2. Lard - "Volcanus 2000 (We Wipe the World)" from 70's Rock Must Die (2000)

3. Red Harvest - "Hole in Me" from A Greater Darkness (2007) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

4. Black Magnet - "Better Than Love" from Megamantra (2025)

5. Shadow Domain - "Turbogenerator" from Digital Divide (2018)

6. Klank - "Pentrate" from Numb (2000)

7. Void - "Sulpher City Sickness" from Posthuman (2003)

8. Pitchshifter - "Skin Grip" from Industrial (1991)

9. Awake at Last - "Bloodline" from The Balance (2023)

10. Motionless in White - "Burned at Both Ends II" from Scoring the End of the World (2022)

11. Acumen Nation - "Octavia" from Artifacts: 1990 - 1993 - Volume 1 (2002)

12. Ghostemane - "Crime Time" from Fear Network II (2021)

13. Killing Joke - "Majestic" from Hosannas from the Basements of Hell (2006)

14. Lord of the Lost - "It's a Sin" from Weapons of Mass Seduction (2023)

15. Blue Stahli - "Red Carpet Rush" from Antisleep Vol. 04 (2017) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

16. Celldweller - "Fadeaway" from Celldweller (2003) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

17. Circle of Dust - "Nothing Sacred (Blue Stahli Remix)" from Circle of Dust (1995, 2016 remaster) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

18. AP2 - "The Only Man I Know" from Supsension of Disbelief (2000)

19. The Berzerker - "Lonely World" from Animosity (2007)

20. Static-X - "Run for Your Life" from Project Regeneration, Vol. 2 (2024)

21. Rob Zombie - "Punks and Demons" from Punks and Demons (2025)

22. Flesh Field - "Reckoning" from Voice of the Echo Chamber (2023)

23. CueStack - "Icon" from Diagnosis:Human (2021)

24. Ministry - "TV Song #6" from Moral Hygiene (2021)

25. Psyclon Nine - "You Know What You Are" from INRI (2005)

26. Gothminister - "Raise the Dead" from Utopia (2013) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

27. Pain - "Feed Us" from Cynic Paradise (2008) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

28. Neurotech - "Alleviate" from In Remission (2016)

November 2025

1. Hope for the Dying - "City of Corpses" from Hope for the Dying (2008)

2. Darkest Hour - "The Sadist Nation" from Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation (2003)

3. Bury Tomorrow - "Villain Arc" from Will You Haunt Me, With That Same Patience? (2025)

4. SEGA Sound Team, Tomoya Ohtani, Kellin Quinn - "Break Through It All" from Sonic Frontiers Original Soundtrack (2022)

5. Fit for a King - "Slave to Nothing" from Slave to Nothing (2014) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

6. Parkway Drive - "Carrion" from Horizons (2007) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

7. It Dies Today - "Sirens" from Sirens (2006)

8. Neaera - "Caesura" from Omnicide – Creation Unleashed (2009) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

9. Equilibrium - "I'll Be Thunder" from I'll Be Thunder (2025)

10. I Prevail - "Rain" from Violent Nature (2025)

11. VENUES - "Duality" from Duality (2025)

12. Ten After Two - "Truth Is..." from Truth Is... (2011)

13. Babymetal, Slaughter to Prevail - "Song 3" from Song 3 (2025)

14. Confessions of a Traitor - "Noble Bloom" from This Pain Will Serve You (2025)

15. Our Promise - "Bitter" from Bitter (2025)

16. Tuesday's Too Late - "Bitter" from Bitter (2025)

17. Mavis - "The Great Attractor" from The Great Attractor (2025)

18. Eighteen Visions - "Prelude to an Epic" from Until the Ink Runs Out (2025)

19. Bury Your Dead - "The Forgotten" from It's Nothing Personal (2009) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

20. DIESECT - "SHURA" from HIDE FROM THE LIGHT (2025)

21. Frontierer - "Heirloom" from Oxidized (2021)

22. Cult Leader - "Hate Offering" from Lightless Walk (2015) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

23. The Dillinger Escape Plan - "*#.." from Calculating Infinity (1999)

24. Coalesce - "One on the Ground" from Give Them Rope (1997)

25. Converge - "In Her Blood" from You Fail Me (2004)

26. Wolves at the Gate - "Evil are the Kings" from Eclipse (2019)

27. Keep Close - "Bury the Pain" from Bury the Pain (2025)

28. Whitechapel - "Faces" from Whitechapel (2012) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

29. Shadow of Intent - "Imperium Delirium" from Imperium Delirium (2025) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

30. Lorna Shore - "Forevermore" from I Feel the Everblack Festering Within Me (2025)

November 2025

1. Warmen - "Japanese Hospitality" from Japanese Hospitality (2009) [Suggested by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

2. Visions of Atlantis - "Clocks" from Pirates (2022) [Suggested by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

3. Black Sabbath - "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)

4. Ozzy Osbourne - "Dreamer" from Down to Earth (2001)

5. Budgie - "Guts" from Budgie (1971)

6. Battle Beast - "Angel of Midnight" from Angel of Midnight (2025)

7. Bang - "Lions, Christians" from Bang (1972)

8. Manowar - "Blood Brothers" from Gods of War (2007)

9. 3 Inches of Blood - "Silent Killer" from Here Waits Thy Doom (2009)

10. Scorpions - "In Trance" from In Trance (1975)

11. Lorna Shore - "Glenwood" from I Feel the Everblack Festering Within Me (2025) [Suggested by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

12. Arch Enemy - "Vivre Libre" from Blood Dynasty (2025)

13. Stevie T - "Jojo" from Jojo (2020)

14. SEGA Sound Team, Tomoya Ohtani, Kellin Quinn - "Undefeatable" from Sonic Frontiers Original Soundtrack (2022)

15. Amorphis - "Dancing Shadow" from Borderland (2025)

16. Sabaton - "To Hell and Back" from Heroes (2014)

17. Galneryus - "Destinations" from Resurrection (2010) [Suggested by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

18. Stratovarius - "Fright Night" from Fright Night (1989)

19. Primal Fear - "Nation in Fear" from Jaws of Death (1999) [Suggested by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

20. Stream of Passion - "The Hunter" from Beautiful Warrior (2023)

21. Amberian Dawn - "Valkyries" from Rover of Tuoni (2008)

22. Savatage - "Sirens" from Sirens (1983)

23. Fates Warning - "The Apparition" from Spectre Within (1985)

24. Yngwie Malmsteen - "(Fight) the Good Fight" from Parabellum (2021)

25. DragonForce - "Wildest Dreams" from Warp Speed Warriors (2024)

Here's my review summary:

Any Fear Factory fans new and old can enjoy a lot of this album, with the longtime listeners experiencing nostalgia. As highly selling as this album is, reception might've been divisive due to leaning a bit into nu metal territory. However, the excellent writing is what make this album essential. Basically, the band is following the then-common idea of dumping all traces of death metal for a more pop-ish mainstream path, while staying in industrial metal. The tough lyrics and hip-hop beat sound odd in the band's attempt to discard their death metal roots, yet it brings me great delight. Brushing aside the accessibility, the greatly written songs are worth listening to, and even pure metalheads should try at least one of them. And it's a brilliant start for metal newcomers in extreme metal, starting off with poppy accessibility before digging into the heavier underground. All of this makes Obsolete an amazing experience!

4.5/5

Recommended tracks: "Securitron (Police State 2000)", "Descent", "Freedom or Fire", "Resurrection", "Timelessness"

For fans of: Static-X, Strapping Young Lad, Sybreed

Here's my review summary:

Hope for the Dying's official full-length debut masterpiece Dissimulation is an album in which the "epic" label fits in quite appropriately. Before recording this album, the band made a self-titled release that was released as an EP then repackaged as a studio album released via Strike First Records. The band would then be signed to the label's more well-known older sibling Facedown Records. Just imagine Unearth and All That Remains with more progressive structures and Two Steps From Hell-esque orchestra. The metal guitars alternate from riffing to shredding, bringing out that neoclassical vibe. The screams and clean vocals are all in brilliant balance. The orchestra makes its bombastic flow through the heavy guitars, drums, and vocals. Dissimulation may not surpass Trivium's In Waves for the eternal reign of my personal best albums of 2011, but it's still one of the best that I wished I had discovered sooner. The older fans would get a kick of nostalgia while still sounding fresh the newer fans including myself. Orchestral metalcore is a sound that should've caught on a lot more. A must-have for anyone up for something both epic and extreme!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "Vacillation", "Orison", "Transcend", "The Awakening" (full suite), "Vile Reflections"

For fans of: Trivium, Unearth, Make Them Suffer's Neverbloom

Here's my review summary:

Skillet was part of the league of my brother's favorite alt-rock/metal bands alongside others such as Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, and Disturbed. Back around the Rise era, shortly before getting into "true" metal, I was following his footsteps and liked some songs from those bands. I consider Skillet more of a rock band than metal, but when I gave that album some listening for the first time in many years, I realized it has the most metal Skillet has ever sounded in their career, as heavy as frontman John Cooper's side-project Fight the Fury. The electronics of the band's prior albums were reduced in favor of pure guitar intensity, with John's singing having a bit of a screamy edge. This is total riff aggression that the band has barely done before and after. Synths still pop out occasionally while still having the heavy riffing. There are a couple softer ballads here and there, but they still mainly go from bliss to devastation (not to be confused with that Vision of Disorder album with a similar sound). Collide has shown Skillet really making their way to the alt-rock/metal generation. And it has still pleased listeners in the next couple decades that would follow. If my brother and I both end up saying goodbye to alt-rock/metal for real one day, this offering can still be something for us to remember....

4/5

Recommended tracks: "Forsaken", "Savior", "My Obsession", "Collide", "Imperfection", "Energy"

For fans of: Fight the Fury, Breaking Benjamin, Vision of Disorder's From Bliss to Devastation

Update for December:

THE FALLEN: VINNY, Sonny

THE GATEWAY: SAXY, Andi

THE GUARDIANS: KARL, Andi, Sonny

THE HORDE: SONNY, Karl, Vinny

THE INFINITE: ANDI, Saxy

THE NORTH: VINNY, Sonny, Karl

THE PIT: SONNY, Vinny

THE REVOLUTION: ANDI

THE SPHERE: ANDI

Here's my submission for the December Gateway playlist:

Skillet - "Collide" (from Collide, 2003)

That band is already added here, Emir. I think the problem is, you forgot the second "p" in Cryptopsy. Here's the band's page: https://metal.academy/bands/38

Ben, please add the new Trivium EP Struck Dead.

Despite the departure of Butcher Babies co-lead vocalist Carla Harvey, Heidi Shepherd and co. can still carry on with perhaps the ultimate modern alt-metal collab:

Dark Tranquillity's tribute to the fallen vocalist of fellow Gothenburg melodeath pioneers At the Gates. And honestly, we need a studio recording of this kick-A cover. RIP Tomas Lindberg

A Skillet song from my pre-metal past that I still love today, perhaps their own Linkin Park "Krwlng":

Epic symphonic/folk metal from Finland, though they can sometimes have fun with cover songs like this one:

Just clean pop-ish filler sh*t that sounds awful in both the music and lyrics:

The absolute pinnacle of this album, and that's my true opinion:

I've heard it! Lots of wild thrash energy in many of the new Coroner album's tracks, plus a few more progressive ones. Back on track indeed...

A perfect mix of atmosphere and heaviness in the best of the track of the album's progressive side:

A modern-ish take on the band's earlier thrash, spiced up with a dash of melodeath:

Besides getting interested in more of the earlier metalcore bands like Poison the Well and Snapcase, I also enjoy a couple later metalcore/deathcore bands that have some symphonic/blackened tendencies similar to the new wave of epic deathcore but not as much:

My return to the heavy/power/symphonic metal part of my taste has also led me to discovering (and rediscovering) melodic progressive metal bands that I somehow missed when I was deep in that zone 10 years ago:

Swedish melodeath/groove metal, sounding like a blend of Metallica, Gojira, and Opeth, minus the progressive side of the latter two bands:

German heavy/power metal with their albums covering a sci-fi space saga similar to Mechina lyrically:

Ben, please add the new Iron Savior album Reforged: Machine World.

Ben, please add Blood of the Martyrs.

Ben, please add these albums that qualify as Alternative Metal within the RYM 2:1 ratio:

Poison the Well - The Tropic Rot (FOR - 9, AGAINST - 4)

Skillet - Collide (FOR - 26, AGAINST - 13)

Sleeping with Sirens - How It Feels to Be Lost (FOR - 12, AGAINST - 4)

Ben, please add Dark Sermon.

RIP Sam Rivers

OK, thanks Daniel.

OK, thanks Daniel.

Even though Psyclon Nine was more of an electronic/aggrotech band in their first two albums, their cover of a Ministry track is perhaps the first hint of their later industrial metal sound that would build up in their next two albums and taking full form from Order of the Shadow Act 1 onwards:

I've decided to list some albums from industrial metal bands I enjoy that are electronic rather than metal. I'm not a big fan of these albums, though I can revisit them sometimes to get my occasional electronic fix. Here they are, in no particular order (only albums I really consider electronic with 0 to 10% metal count in my list):

Psyclon Nine - Divine Infekt (2003)

Psyclon Nine - INRI (2005)

Argyle Park - Misguided (1994)

Celldweller - Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head Vol. 03 (2016)

Celldweller - Offworld (2017) (Ben, please add that album to the site to fill the gap)

Blue Stahli - Antisleep Vol. 01 (2008)

Blue Stahli - Antisleep Vol. 02 (2011)

Blue Stahli - Antisleep Vol. 03 (2012)

Blue Stahli - Antisleep Vol. 04 (2017)

Neurotech - Evasive (2015)

Honorable mentions (electronic releases I've listened to long ago, before I first got into metal):

The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die (2009)

Skrillex - Bangarang (2011)

Yes, Miles. Anyone can.

Still in the Sonic video game metal songs zone, here's another heavy epic alt-/rap metal track featuring Tyler Smyth and his Dangerkids bandmate Andy Bane:

It's usually Saxy who assembles the Gateway playlist, Vinny, and yes, submissions from non-clan members are accepted.

These two metalcore album covers both have the same "bobcut hand-bra girl" image! Coincidence? Rip-off?!? I have no idea, but I should really check out that Ten After Two album sometime.

As I Lay Dying has a brand-new banger of a single! Not sure how long the new lineup will last though, considering the troubling tales of Tim Lambesis.

One of only two tracks I like from this Zaraza album, having great potential for doom metal fans:

One of only two tracks I like from this Zaraza album, having more of the industrial side: