Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

Thanks Daniel.

The 9-minute title epic of this adventurous fine hour really packs some punches:

Another fantastic dish of heaviness and symphonics that stays speedy until its slower ending section:

The best place for progressive diversity in one of my favorite tracks of this glorious offering:

Thanks Daniel.

The grand ending epic where the final bit of energy is used wisely, all the way up to the glorious end:

A savage battle between metal and orchestra with impressive shredding:

Grindcore has some of the most terrible band names in my opinion, ranging from ridiculous to just offensive for the sake of offensiveness. Another good reason why grindcore is not worth my time. While a couple of the most notorious examples include A.C. and Pig Destroyer, two more come from bands whose albums I've reviewed are, to my ears, the sh*ttiest releases I've heard in all of metal, and the only ones I've rated 0.5 stars. You can find what they are here: https://metal.academy/users/profile/97/ratings?rating=0.5

Thanks, Sonny.

I haven't commented on my personal life in a while, so I think now's a good time for me to share a couple things.

Good news: I have mentioned in my rant against As I Lay Dying vocalist Tim Lambesis' animal abuse that I have a pet cat whom my family and I treat with love and respect. Last month, we have just gotten a second cat! However, he's not used to having other pet cats around him since his previous owners didn't have any other cats besides him, so we have to keep him away from my first pet cat for now. Hopefully things are settled later this month.

Bad news: I have COVID for the second time since the pandemic started. Passed down from my grandfather, then father, then me. Please wish me the best of luck that I survive and recover within the next few days. And maybe then I'll be better enough to continue writing reviews and other stuff here.

Oh I should mention that we also have the ability to rate album covers. Just go to the "rate release cover" thing in a release page, select the number of stars, and click "save cover rating". Please feel free to give that a try, David. Though considering the nearly thousand releases you've rated, you don't have to do them all. I don't wanna be responsible for any time wastage.

Welcome to Metal Academy, David!

A 6-minute closing epic revisiting music and lyrics revisiting many of the earlier tracks in the album:

Interestingly, one of my favorite tracks in Poppy's I Disagree is a t.A.T.u. cover appearing as a midway bonus track in some releases, fitting in the "metalizing covers" category and The Sphere by adding in dark alt-/industrial metal drama while staying true to the original:

Some of my favorite releases with 20+ ratings:

Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood (#13)

Atheist - Unquestionable Presence (#30)

Godflesh - Streetcleaner (#46)

Atheist - Piece of Time (#58)

Despite all the drama surrounding Devin Duarte and his subsequent departure from Worm Shepherd, his swansong is one of the most glorious tracks I've heard in symphonic blackened deathcore:

The best place for atmosphere and melody while having the usual blackened brutality:

Worm Shepherd's debut has some highlights including this true epic blackened deathcore standout:

But they're nothing compared to this epic highlight of chaos and sorrow, a bonus track that really should've been in the original album:

Looks like my clans are at the bottom of your list, Zach. It's fine, we can't all like the same stuff. Still this is a fun idea, coming up with our own clan rankings. Here's my order, with pros and cons:

1. The Revolution: Pros - the breakdown-filled madness of standard metalcore, the catchiness of melodic metalcore, the blend of epic and extreme in symphonic blackened deathcore (Lorna Shore, Mental Cruelty, Drown in Sulphur, Worm Shepherd, etc.), and the chaos of mathcore. Cons - I'm not up for most of the more brutal deathcore bands like Suicide Silence and Thy Art is Murder.

2. The Sphere: Pros - I enjoy the more noise-experimental and EDM-based kinds of industrial metal as well as cyber metal. Cons - the bands that heavily depend on industrial (sorry, that includes Ministry and Front Line Assembly) and Neue Deutsche Harte are not what I want on a regular basis.

3. The Infinite: Pros - the complex talent of progressive metal, the downtuned riff-fest of djent, the experimentation of avant-garde metal, and the lengthy ambience of post-metal and post-sludge. Cons - some avant-garde metal bands are just too strange for me, and I've lost interest in some bands over the years, even the most popular ones.

4. The Gateway: Pros - I was first exposed to alt rock/metal when I was 13 (half of my current age), long before developing my own "true" metal taste, thanks to my older brother who still enjoys those genres today. When my interest in alt-metal was slowly rising up enough for to have potential to join Gateway, I became interested in modern alt-/nu metal and was revisiting those bands I remember from the past. Cons - not much of a fan of old-school pre-Linkin Park alt-/nu metal, nor rap/funk metal.

5. The Guardians: Pros - the clan with the first ever metal genres I enjoyed, power/symphonic metal, the former thanks to DragonForce and their hit song "Through the Fire and Flames". I also enjoy a few of the lesser-known classic heavy metal bands and a bit of neoclassical metal. Cons - due to my focus on heavier more modern genres, my interest in The Guardians has been on and off and just not the same as it was when I was a young teen 10 years ago.

6. The Horde: Pros - I love the more melodic side of the genre including (of course) melodeath, symphonic death metal, and the more progressive side of tech-death. Cons - Never really a fan of a lot of old-school/brutal death metal, and definitely not a fan of grindcore and its R/X-rated subgenres.

7. The Fallen: Pros - Some doom/gothic/sludge metal darkness is good for me once in a while. Cons - I'm not huge on drone, stoner (except High on Fire), or funeral doom, and I'm often tempted to play the ultra-slow songs at 2x speed.

8. The Pit: Pros - I'm up for the lesser-known bands of thrash (especially tech-thrash), speed, and groove metal. Cons: I don't get much appeal from the most well-known bands like the Big 4 and other similar bands, and stenchcore is hard for me to explore.

9. The North: Pros: I used to like some folk metal bands like Alestorm and Eluveitie. Black metal is OK for me in small doses and if a band that has one or a few albums of the genre moves on to a different one. Cons: I'm also not big on Satanism or Anti-Christianity, but for me, that includes Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir. DSBM is just way too depressing. Too much linkage to arson and murder, particularly in the 90s Scandinavian black metal scene. And I definitely avoid the dreaded NSBM at all costs.

Spine-chilling symphonic blackened deathcore for only the bravest and/or darkest souls:

The lyrics strike with their dark universal concept in the best song of Drown in Sulphur's debut full-length album:

Dragon Tales, Dragon Tales

It's almost time for Dragon Tales

Come along and take my hand

Let's all go to

Sorry, needed to let out that earworm. Anyway, since last year, I've watched a lot of shows and movies on Disney+ (Disney animated films, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Doctor Who, etc.). Not much metal-related unfortunately. I'm also currently binging the brand-new season of Phineas and Ferb, which so far might have the potential of being their best season yet, doing great justice to the original series, unlike those disgraceful reboots for other shows out there.

Submission accepted! Thanks, Sonny.

A shredtastic highlight with more of those heavy verses and melodic chorus:

Although Fear of Domination has gone past their early industrial phase at this point, this ultimate ending highlight still fits well in The Sphere as one of the most experimental tracks by the band:

A true highlight that greatly pushes the music and vocals forward, with both vocalists having their time to shine:

Metallic riffing and galactic keys shine brighter than the sun in perhaps one of the most memorable anthemic tracks they've ever done:

My favorite track of Neurotech's best album in 10 years is one of the most beautiful album endings I've heard, practically "Ultra Us 2.0":

And now for one of the more popular bands in the British metalcore scene:

Architects - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3FtIkUc39AkCf6T5QLonHk

1. You Don't Walk Away From Dismemberment

2. In the Desert

3. Buried at Sea

4. Heartless

5. One of These Days

6. Stay Young Forever

7. Alpha Omega

8. Even If You Win, You're Still a Rat

9. Naysayer

10. Dead Man Talking

11. Castles in the Air

12. The Empty Hourglass

13. Memento Mori

14. Death is Not Defeat

15. Doomsday

16. Black Lungs

17. Impermanence

18. Born Again Pessimist

19. Judgement Day

20. Seeing Red

And now for one of the more popular bands in the British metalcore scene:

Architects

1. Lost Forever // Lost Together

2. All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us

3. Daybreaker

4. Holy Hell

5. Nightmares

6. The Sky, the Earth & All Between

7. Ruin

8. For Those That Wish to Exist

9. Hollow Crown

10. The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit

11. The Here and Now

The first single of the new Architects album proves that the band hasn't lost any of their earlier heaviness in this awesome highlight:

Amira Elfeky's vocals work out nicely behind Sam Carter for a perfect chorus in this industrial-ish alt-metal standout:

The lack of strength makes this sh*t perhaps their weakest track since The Here and Now:

An ode to the band's classic sound in another killer banger:

Fantastic opening track with the band's typical riff-wrath in a slower industrial march:

Why does the "again and again and again" part of this Architects song sounds so much like part of the chorus of this Chainsmokers song?! Surely that has to be a coincidence, right? RIGHT???

A catchy highlight I would recommend to anyone wanting to get into alt-metalcore:

Some of the most intense lyrics and music I've heard in this amazing masterpiece of a song that is a sequel to the epic "Memento Mori":

I've done my review, here's its summary:

Architects has fully redeemed themselves after the poor Hollow Crown (still enjoyable by others) and the unloved Here and Now. The excellent Daybreaker and the incredible Lost Forever Lost Together are just what we need in the metalcore realms! And with All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, the distant past remains the past. Most of the songs have a perfect blend of brutality and melody within the Meshuggah-infused technical djent-core that spreads through a lot of the album. You can expect anthemic choruses, complex riffing rhythms, and a dark galactic atmosphere. And it all ends with Architect's longest song and one of the most heartful tear-shedding tracks in all of metalcore, "Memento Mori". This astonishing epic, along with the rest of this album, was written, recorded, and released in the last months of the life of Tom Searle, and the lyrics include a couple recorded quotes from Alan Watts that perfectly do justice to the inevitable transcendence into infinite darkness that awaited him. Absolutely amazing, emotional, and deserving to be heard beyond the universe. RIP this amazing legend... As awesome as many metalcore bands are to me, Architects stands out with all of its heartful emotion in All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us. Clearly, they deserve to be on top with Meshuggah, Converge, and TDEP. And all their mistakes from the past are left in the forgotten void.

4.5/5

Recommended tracks: "Nihilist", "Deathwish", "Downfall", "The Empty Hourglass", "Gravity", "Memento Mori"

For fans of: August Burns Red, ERRA, Silent Planet

3 minutes of metalcore chaos, just the way I love it, featuring Bring Me the Horizon vocalist Oli Sykes:

This sh*t sounds too much like a clean My Chemical Romance ballad. Why the f*** choose this as a closing title track?

So diversely packed with a lot to expect from bands like All Shall Perish, Black Veil Brides, Every Time I Die, and Trivium:

For the band's first time dropping into a much lower tuning, this track just falls f***ing flat and ruins an otherwise entirely listenable album:

A total crusher that is a solid heavy start to Architects' second album and first one with current vocalist Sam Carter:

Awesome guitar melodies make this track not just the best highlight of the album, but one of the best ever by this band:

The best track of this Cynic album in my opinion, and perhaps one of the best of progressive metal:

I also regard it as a progressive/tech-death classic, though upon revisiting, I find that it's not as 100% perfect as I thought it was 5 years before this comment. Here's my review summary:

As I revisit Cynic's 1993 debut, I can still hear its amazing uniqueness! Many of the members have started out in death metal bands, appearing in at least one album by Death, Master, and Monstrosity. Cynic had the idea of blending death metal with jazzy prog, which has also been done by Atheist back then. The best moments of Focus come in their more spacey moments as opposed to when they just go all-out tech-death. A lot of the power comes from the rhythm section, with the mystical bass of Sean Malone and the dexterous drumming of Sean Reinert (RIP the two Seans). It's also interesting hearing Paul Masvidal's vocoded cleans in contrast with the death growls of Tony Teegarden, along with the guitarwork of Jason Gobel. Two of the tracks would end up serving as the basis for later bands' names, "Veil of Maya" and "Textures". Those tracks and a couple others in the first half have lots of Watchtower-infused jazzy brilliance. However, their attempts at sounding metal in a couple tracks are a bit iffy and that's why a half-star is knocked from my original 5-star rating. Still it's quite a classic, with most of the first half still as perfect as ever. Just turn it on and.... FOCUS!

4.5/5

Ben, please add Botch's 1997 compilation album The Unifying Themes of Sex, Death, and Religion.

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

The Amenta - "Vermin" (4:03) from n0n (2008)

Deathstars - "No Light" (3:24) from Synthetic Generation (2002)

Gothminister - "Darkside" (3:56) from Happiness in Darkness (2008)

Mechina - "Unearthing the Daedalian Ancient" (7:11) from As Embers Turn to Dust (2017)

Neurotech - "Uplift" (6:06) from Evasive (2015)

Pain - "I Am" (3:58) from I Am (2024)

Total length: 28:38

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

The Amity Affliction - "All That I Remember" (3:50) from All That I Remember (2025)

The Autumn Offering - "Your Time Is Mine" (3:15) from Fear Will Cast No Shadow (2007)

Botch - "Closure" (3:10) from The Unifying Themes of Sex, Death and Religion (1997) (based on Unifying Themes Redux reissue, 2002)

Bury Tomorrow - "What If I Burn" (3:52) from Will You Haunt Me, with That Same Patience (2025)

Drown in Sulphur - "Absentia" (4:04) from Vengeance (2025)

Polaris - "Fault Line" (5:05) from Fatalism (2023)

Wolves at the Gate - "Unrest" (4:53) from Wasteland (2025)

Total length: 28:09