Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies
Here are my thoughts on some tracks:
Animals as Leaders – Wave of Babies (from Wave of Babies)
4.5/5. Animals as Leaders is a prominent band in the wave of developing bands of djent alongside Periphery and Tesseract, and they made cool instrumentals like this one.
Extol – Shadow of Death (from Paralysis)
5/5. Extol's cover of this Believer classic is what got me into this band, and it's a total blessing! It's also a bonus track in the Japanese edition of Undeceived. Apparently, Cradle of Filth stole the song's opening riff for their own song "Dirge Inferno", though I didn't know that because I'm one of those people who prefer to listen to Extol rather than Cradle of Filth, although I'm not a Christian. I guess that proves that plagiarism has made its way into progressive death/thrash and gothic/black metal.
Madder Mortem – Convertion (from Mercury)
5/5. This eerie epic perfectly summarizes the desolate Autumn atmosphere of its original album and artwork. The distorted guitars, technical doomy drums, soft acoustic guitars, dreamy keyboards, and calm yet powerful vocals are all there. Truly hypnotic!
Periphery – Four Lights (from Juggernaut: Alpha)
4.5/5. "THERE. ARE. 4. LIGHTS!!!!" yells Captain Picard in "Chain of Command", a two-part special episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Amazing djent instrumental, though I would've loved to hear Spencer's vocals over those guitar rhythms. I love this almost as much as Zagreus.
Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One – The Eye of Ra (from Space Metal)
4.5/5. This ballad-ish 3-part epic breaks the earlier mid-tempo/fast pace and is so majestic, especially in the epic ending where all 4 vocalists plus background vocalist Robert Soeterboek sing in perfect harmony.
Tesseract – Cages - PORTALS (from PORTALS)
5/5. Holy sh*t, thank you Tesseract! They really give this song the perfect live treatment.
Fates Warning – Part of the Machine (from Perfect Symmetry)
4.5/5. Frank Aresti has performed mighty technical guitarwork here. The bass work by Joe DiBiase is also mind-blowing. If people could pay attention to notes more, this would've ended up on the radio at any given chance. The band also gave Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie an earlier chance to shine in one of the songs from the next album Parallels, released a year before Dream Theater's Images and Words. At that point, their heavy metal from as late as Awaken the Guardian is already gone.
Caligula's Horse – The Stormchaser (from The Stormchaser)
4/5. A fun banger, but am I up to revisiting the band with the rest of their new album Charcoal Grace? Not right now...
Symphony X – Wicked (from The Odyssey)
4.5/5. An excellent wicked way to end this playlist, with great singing. I definitely like the bridge at the 3 and a half minute mark followed a minute later by a scream into the final chorus. And this is the same band with the neoclassical "Smoke and Mirrors"!
Here are my thoughts on some tracks:
Alter Bridge – Holiday (from Pawns & Kings)
5/5. Let's start this playlist with an awesome tune that's basically like a country song with an epic and metallic punch!
Bad Wolves – It's You (2 Months) [feat. KILLBOY] (from Die About It)
4.5/5. Now this one's interesting as h*ll! This song starts off with some trap-pop verses then rises into powerful metal choruses. Some bada** inspiration there!
BOI WHAT – Neon Tide (from Neon Tide)
4/5. Here's some more of this great music from Boi What and his AI voice filters of Plankton, Spongebob, and Karen, with guitars heating up like wildfire. Someone should make a Spongebob music video for this killer piece of Spongecore!
Calva Louise – Feast is Over (from Over the Threshold)
4.5/5. My brother is often on a search for music to feast his ears on, as well as my ears. This is another one of those songs he stumbled upon and added to his playlist. It basically like a pop tune gone as f***ing heavy as death/thrash metal! And I thought Maria Brink was the metal scream queen (she still is)...
Cane Hill – (The New) Jesus (from Smile)
5/5. Holy f***ing sh*t, now this is some fantastic nu metalcore! I need to keep up with discovering more awesome stuff like this.
Disbelief – Misery (from Worst Enemy)
4.5/5. This heavy track has a dynamic groove sound, especially in the chorus. The first verse will let you know what you're in for, "Hey you, place called earth! Let me explain to you who I am! I’m your worst nightmare!"
Disciple – By God (from By God)
4/5. "YEEEEEEEEEEEHAW!!!" That's the sound Christian cowboys getting ready for the ride of their lives to close the portals to Hell and praise God in this solid track.
Disturbed – Down With the Sickness (from The Sickness)
4/5. You know this as one of their most popular songs, starting with that killer opening riff and vocalist David Draiman's memed-to-death primal shriek of "OOH-WAH-AH-AH-AH". The song has been used in many films, TV shows, and video games. This is Disturbed's true anthem! My brother likes it too, but he skips its disturbing bridge which has Draiman roleplaying as a kid being attacked by his abusing mother and ultimately fighting back. I've heard more disturbing sh*t than that, so I can handle that just fine.
Limp Bizkit – Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) (from Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water)
4.5/5. Let's skip ahead a bit and start ROLLIN' ROLLIN' ROLLIN' ROLLIN'! My brother has been enjoying this band lately, though surprisingly he didn't start listening to them as early all those other bands he likes. The second verse is one of the best rap verses I've heard, much better lyrics than most other hip-hop lyrics out there.
Sleep Token – Ascensionism (from Take Me Back to Eden)
5/5. This one ascends through 7 minutes of sonic emotion. Melancholic piano and delicate vocals start things off before an atmospheric buildup. Then we switch to that electronic trap beat as Vessel takes on autotuned rap-ish singing that I would rather hear from him instead of T-Pain. Just listen to that personality! Things get tense as another verse builds, and finally, a heavy breakdown occurs, a little more touching piano, and then ground-pounding finale.
Sonic Syndicate – Leave Me Alone (from We Rule the Night)
5/5. PAIN's cover of this perfect epic song is what got me interested in Sonic Syndicate and loving them so much. This is one of my favorite Sonic Syndicate songs besides "Jack of Diamonds" which I'll talk about in the Revolution playlist. I'm definitely getting some Dead by April/Linkin Park vibes here, and that never disappoints me.
Sum 41 – Goddamn I'm Dead Again (from 13 Voices)
4.5/5. Desperate anger sears through this greatness. I saw the music video for this on MTV and it adds to the killer power of the song. My own scenario for this would be an epic battle between punks and metalheads in a mosh pit as the band performs, especially during a whole minute of Bullet for My Valentine gone DragonForce guitar soloing.
Twelve Foot Ninja – Over and Out (from Vengeance)
5/5. This jazzy standout, that might remind some of Faith No More, features Tatiana Shmayluk of Jinjer who's known as a beautiful beast of a vocalist in her band. Though her poppy cleans appear here rather than her unclean vocals. And I just wanna say thanks to Twelve Foot Ninja for blessing us with this music before their hiatus.
Utsu-P – HIKIZURI (from GALAPAGOS)
4.5/5. And here's an exciting piece of Vocaloid metal to end this playlist on a fun note!
Alt-metal with unique industrial aggression:
February 2024
1. Notochord – Abyssal Ontogeny (from Aegis)
2. Parius – Crashing Black Moon (from The Eldritch Realm)
3. Syncatto – Black Velvet (from Black Velvet)
4. Animals as Leaders – Wave of Babies (from Wave of Babies)
5. Extol – Shadow of Death (from Paralysis)
6. Madder Mortem – Convertion (from Mercury)
7. Periphery – Four Lights (from Juggernaut: Alpha)
8. Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One – The Eye of Ra (from Space Metal)
9. Ions – True Friendship (from Counterintuitive)
10. The Safety Fire – Old Souls (from Mouth of Swords)
11. Tesseract – Cages - PORTALS (from PORTALS)
12. Fates Warning – Part of the Machine (from Perfect Symmetry)
13. Whom Gods Destroy – In the Name of War (from In the Name of War)
14. Last Chance to Reason – Digital Twin (from Digital Twin)
15. Wheel – Dissipating (from Resident Human)
16. Anciients – Raise the Sun (from Raise the Sun (Re-recording))
17. Caligula's Horse – The Stormchaser (from The Stormchaser)
18. Turbulence – Hybrid (from Hybrid)
19. The World is Quiet Here – See the Sun (from Prologue)
20. Black Crown Initiate – Invitation (from Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape)
21. Symphony X – Wicked (from The Odyssey)
February 2024
1. Alter Bridge – Holiday (from Pawns & Kings)
2. Bad Wolves – It's You (2 Months) [feat. KILLBOY] (from Die About It)
3. BOI WHAT – Neon Tide (from Neon Tide)
4. Calva Louise – Feast is Over (from Over the Threshold)
5. Cane Hill – (The New) Jesus (from Smile)
6. Disbelief – Misery (from Worst Enemy)
7. Disciple – By God (from By God)
8. Disturbed – Down With the Sickness (from The Sickness)
9. Helmet – Driving Nowhere (from Aftertaste)
10. Infected Rain – Bi (from Ecdysis)
11. Mayfair – Schlage Mein Herz, Schlage... (from Schlage Mein Herz, Schlage...)
12. Metallica – Sweet Amber (from St. Anger)
13. Nita Strauss, Lzzy Hale – Through the Noise (from The Call of the Void)
14. Papa Roach – Devil (from F.E.A.R.)
15. Limp Bizkit – Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) (from Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water)
16. Sleep Token – Ascensionism (from Take Me Back to Eden)
17. Sonic Syndicate – Leave Me Alone (from We Rule the Night)
18. Sum 41 – Goddamn I'm Dead Again (from 13 Voices)
19. Twelve Foot Ninja – Over and Out (from Vengeance)
20. Utsu-P – HIKIZURI (from GALAPAGOS)
It would be nice to have symphonic power metal here, but I personally think just having both power metal and symphonic metal in a release is enough.
Melodic/progressive/tech-death metal that's almost like a more brutal Persefone on steroids:
I've just given this album some listening and a review to expand my progressive death metal knowledge, and there is certainly a lot of progressiveness. I also find some technicality within the shredding and soloing that explore flamenco/neoclassical-style territory. It's almost like a more brutal Persefone on steroids! So this Hall entry shall be granted a YES vote from me.
A grand headbanging standout from the missing link between the first two In This Moment albums:
This track is what got me interested in this band In This Moment via one of the earlier Gateway playlists, and it's still filled with alt-metal greatness in my reviewing session with its album The Dream:
Summarizing In This Moment's one-off melodic metalcore sound is basically the band's theme song, as least in their early era:
Tracklisting:
1. Notochord – Abyssal Ontogeny (from Aegis)
2. Parius – Crashing Black Moon (from The Eldritch Realm)
3. Syncatto – Black Velvet (from Black Velvet)
4. Animals as Leaders – Wave of Babies (from Wave of Babies)
5. Extol – Shadow of Death (from Paralysis)
6. Madder Mortem – Convertion (from Mercury)
7. Periphery – Four Lights (from Juggernaut: Alpha)
8. Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One – The Eye of Ra (from Space Metal)
9. Ions – True Friendship (from Counterintuitive)
10. The Safety Fire – Old Souls (from Mouth of Swords)
11. Tesseract – Cages - PORTALS (from PORTALS)
12. Fates Warning – Part of the Machine (from Perfect Symmetry)
13. Whom Gods Destroy – In the Name of War (from In the Name of War)
14. Last Chance to Reason – Digital Twin (from Digital Twin)
15. Wheel – Dissipating (from Resident Human)
16. Anciients – Raise the Sun (from Raise the Sun (Re-recording))
17. Caligula's Horse – The Stormchaser (from The Stormchaser)
18. Turbulence – Hybrid (from Hybrid)
19. The World is Quiet Here – See the Sun (from Prologue)
20. Black Crown Initiate – Invitation (from Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape)
21. Symphony X – Wicked (from The Odyssey)
Tracklisting:
1. Alter Bridge – Holiday (from Pawns & Kings)
2. Bad Wolves – It's You (2 Months) [feat. KILLBOY] (from Die About It)
3. BOI WHAT – Neon Tide (from Neon Tide)
4. Calva Louise – Feast is Over (from Over the Threshold)
5. Cane Hill – (The New) Jesus (from Smile)
6. Disbelief – Misery (from Worst Enemy)
7. Disciple – By God (from By God)
8. Disturbed – Down With the Sickness (from The Sickness)
9. Helmet – Driving Nowhere (from Aftertaste)
10. Infected Rain – Bi (from Ecdysis)
11. Mayfair – Schlage Mein Herz, Schlage... (from Schlage Mein Herz, Schlage...)
12. Metallica – Sweet Amber (from St. Anger)
13. Nita Strauss, Lzzy Hale – Through the Noise (from The Call of the Void)
14. Papa Roach – Devil (from F.E.A.R.)
15. Limp Bizkit – Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) (from Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water)
16. Sleep Token – Ascensionism (from Take Me Back to Eden)
17. Sonic Syndicate – Leave Me Alone (from We Rule the Night)
18. Sum 41 – Goddamn I'm Dead Again (from 13 Voices)
19. Twelve Foot Ninja – Over and Out (from Vengeance)
20. Utsu-P – HIKIZURI (from GALAPAGOS)
Ben, please add these new albums:
Madder Mortem - Old Eyes, New Heart
Persefone - Lingua Ignota: Part I (EP)
Ben, please add the new Dead by April album The Affliction.
Jazzy post-progressive metal from LA:
Personally I also think of "24 Hour Bullsh*t" as a thrashy take on industrial metal. But looking back on this album, sounds like that track and those 3 you've mentioned are the only thrashy songs here and they aren't enough for the release to stay in The Pit. So I'll give this one a YES vote, Daniel.
February 2024
1. Deathstars - "Chertograd" from Night Electric Night (2009) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
2. Mechina - "Xenon" from Xenon (2014)
3. Strapping Young Lad - "Skeksis" from Alien (2005) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
4. Godflesh – "Nihil" from Cold World E.P. (1991) [submitted by Daniel]
5. HEALTH - "SICKO [Feat. GODFLESH]" from RAT WARS (2023)
6. Ministry - "Goddamn White Trash" from Goddamn White Trash (2023)
7. Lock the Basement - "Feed Our Lie" from Feed Our Lie (2020)
8. Fear Factory - "Industrial Discipline" from Mechanize (2010) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
9. Lord of the Lost - "Destruction Manual" from Blood & Glitter (2022)
10. Gothminister - "Devil" from Gothic Electronic Anthems (2003) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
11. Mnemic - "Jack Vegas" from The Audio Injected Soul (2004) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
12. Sybreed - "In the Cold Light" from The Pulse of Awakening (2009)
13. Nailbomb - "Cockroaches" from Point Blank (1994) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
14. Pitchshifter - "Hangar 84" from Infotainment? (1996)
15. Dødheimsgard - "Traces of Reality" from Satanic Art (1998)
16. Static-X - "Otsego Placebo" from Project Regeneration Vol. 1 (2020)
17. Emigrate - "Get Down" Silent So Long (2014)
18. N.K.V.D. - "Sloboda" from Totalitarian Industrial Oppression (2016)
19. Uniform - "Delco" from Shame (2020)
20. 2 Times Terror - "Vielä joskus" from Equals One Sudden Death (2010)
21. KMFDM - "Take'm Out" from Blitz (2009)
22. Autarkh - "Cyclic Terror" from Form in Motion (2021)
23. Eisbrecher - "Im Guten Im Bösen" from Liebe Macht Monster (2021)
24. OOMPH! - "Ein Kleines Bisschen Glück" from Richter Und Henker (2023)
February 2024
1. Brojob - "Into the Hellfire (Kris Kringle Special)" from A Very Deathcore Christmas With Brojob 2 (2023)
2. Imminence - "Heaven Shall Burn" from Heaven Shall Burn (2023)
3. After the Burial - "Behold the Crown" from Evergreen (2019)
4. The Amity Affliction - "It's Hell Down Here" from Not Without My Ghosts (2023)
5. Like Moths to Flames - "Fluorescent White" from No Eternity in Gold (2020)
6. Resolve - "Death Awaits" from Human (2023)
7. Underoath - "In Division" from Ø (Disambiguation) (2010)
8. The Devil Wears Prada - "First Sight" from 8:18 (2013) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
9. Emmure - "Gypsy Disco" from Hindsight (2020) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
10. Any Given Day, Annisokay - "H.A.T.E." from H.A.T.E. (2023)
11. Zao – "To Think of You Is to Treasure an Absent Memory" from Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest (1998) [submitted by Daniel]
12. Cave In - "The End of Our Rope is a Noose" from Until Your Heart Stops (1999) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
13. Norma Jean - "Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste" from Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child (2002) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
14. Fit for a King - "Keeping Secrets" Keeping Secrets (2024)
15. Veil of Maya - "Red Fur" from [m]other (2023)
16. Of Mice & Men - "My Understandings" from The Flood (2011)
17. We Came as Romans - "Never Let Me Go" from Tracing Back Roots (2013) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
18. Killswitch Engage - "The Crownless King" from Atonement (2019) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
19. xNOMADx - "Acéphale" from Of Skylines and Embers (2023)
20. Sonic Syndicate - "Jack of Diamonds" from Love and Other Disasters (2008)
21. As I Lay Dying - "My Own Grave" from Shaped by Fire (2019)
22. Abigail Williams - "Procession of the Aeons" from Legend (2006) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
23. Carnifex - "Infinite Night Terror" from Necromanteum (2023)
24. Slaughter to Prevail - "1984" from 1984 (2022)
25. Whitechapel - "Without Us" from Kin (2021)
26. Converge - "Grim Heart/Black Rose" from No Heroes (2006)
27. Rolo Tomassi - "Illuminare" from Astraea (2012)
28. I, Valiance - "Pure Misanthrope" from The Reject of Humanity (2015)
I've just given that Great Falls track some listening, and indeed it has the sludgy mathcore sound of 2000s Converge and Gaza, so your submission has been accepted, Daniel.
Here's my submission for the March Guardians playlist:
DragonForce - "Astro Warrior Anthem" (from Astro Warrior Anthem, 2024)
Good to hear that my review revived your interest, Daniel. Here's its summary:
Industrial metal is not a genre that you would expect all metalheads to enjoy. Many of them often get turned away by the excessive amount of keyboards, riff repetition, and drum machinery that all leave no space for any guitar solos. I only just started loving industrial metal a couple years ago, and being the open-minded person I am, I've taken a dive into this brief side-project by Max Cavalera of Sepultura and Alex Newport of Fudge Tunnel. 6 months after Chaos AD came the sole Nailbomb album Point Blank. The sound is an underrated blend of industrial groove with F***ING HARD THRASH!!! The aggressive riffing will definitely remind some of Sepultura's pre-Chaos AD albums! Cavalera continues to display his political side, and I know some people aren't into politics. I'm not either, but I am familiar with it through the more hardcore bands I've listened to out there, and it fits well for the thrash madness. Although this industrial sound stands nicely between Skrew and Ministry at that time, the riffing is more varied than those two bands. All in the name of deathly thrash that appears in several of the tracks. I also love the album's industrial side, especially when the two genres combine. Though a couple of the electro interludes are pretty worthless. With all this extreme aggression, you can't deny how much this Nailbomb album can kick a**....
4/5
I love Manic Impressions almost as much as Screams and Whispers that was featured last year, and I look forward to reviewing it along with their two earlier thrash albums.
I would choose option #3. Your work shall earn the award, Daniel!
So today's my 25th birthday, and I thought this would be the perfect (and possibly only) chance for me to see if there are any releases that came out on the day I was born. Apparently, there's only one metal album released on that exact day:
Upon doing some research, I found out that Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus is a "Band that brought metal with Finnish lyrics to mainstream in their home country." It might be hard for me to listen to and review an album from a practically unknown band with lyrics of a different language, so I'll pass on that one.
Nu-mathcore with the riffing basically mashing together the early 2000s eras of Converge and Linkin Park:
Cheers for the rec, Daniel! Here's my review summary:
Circuit Circuit perform a promising sound of experimental mathcore. After their self-titled EP, they made another one, Body Songs. And here we have some great powerful mathcore that leans into nu metal, basically mashing together the early 2000s eras of Converge and Linkin Park. Guitar grooves and shouted vocals have surely united two separate realms in the present. The circuits these guys have will keep you wired....
4/5
An incredible piece of violent yet melodic blackened prog-metal from Trivium frontman Matt Heafy:
A beautiful memorable ballad featuring Trivium frontman Matt Heafy:
A cool highlight of Eastern melodeath:
Excellent choice on that Utsu-P song, Rex! A solid piece of alt-metalcore with Vocaloid vocals. One of my outside-world friends showed me another Utsu-P song that's pretty cool and exemplifies a bit of the alt-side of Kawaii metal:
I'm also kind of worried about checking out the "genre", so I don't plan on exploring Utsu-P and their album Renaissance just yet, but maybe someday.
I'm familiar with one song from Babymetal's second album Metal Resistance, and it's their collaboration with DragonForce, "Road of Resistance". This is a prime example of Kawaii metal's take on DragonForce's brand of speedy power metal, though I still don't expect Kawaii metal to be part of the Guardians:
Removing the "folk" part & making it just "medieval metal" seems appropriate as long as that reflects a signature sound.
Yes it would. I think the "folk" in medieval folk metal is irrelevant. But medieval metal is often considered one of a few regional variations of folk metal alongside Celtic metal and oriental metal, and each of those regions have their own brand of folk. So medieval metal can still be considered folk metal in a regional perspective. I'm also irked about Mittelalter-Metal having the idea of medieval music blended with electronic/industrial metal/Neue Deutsche Härte. This is MEDIEVAL metal, not medieval-gone-futuristic metal! It's times like that when we're not sure if medieval metal, or even folk metal, should belong in the same clan as black/viking metal, when influences from more modern metal genres can be heard than those two. I say we keep medieval folk metal as one subgenre for now, as just medieval metal, but we will think about whether or not it should be separated from folk metal as its own genre in a different clan.
Medieval Folk Metal is an accurate way to describe the more notable bands of the subgenre that have blended metal with Neo-Medieval music such as In Extremo, Saltatio Mortis, and Subway to Sally. However, seeing how very little releases of the subgenre there are in Metal Academy besides the ones from those bands (only 11 releases), there might not be enough for Medieval Folk Metal to stay as a subgenre. However, with a total of 222 Mittelalter-Metal releases in RYM, there might be some potential for the subgenre to be revived here under that name. We just need to determine if it's any different from standard folk metal besides the Medieval elements.
Kawaii metal might be a problematic genre to add to Metal Academy, for a few reasons. 1. There are very few releases of the genre in RYM, only 88 of them. 2. Kawaii metal is a little more of a "scene" genre, being almost entirely based in Japan, and some of us have struggled with where those kinds of genres stand here, which is why I don't count Neue Deutsche Härte as a subgenre in my Sphere playlists. 3. Based on all that I've listened to from the genre (a few Babymetal songs, "Idol of Death" by Candye♡Syrup, and I guess Clarity by Passcode can be considered Kawaii metal as well), it sounds more closely related to trance metal, with a similar instrumental vibe to Amaranthe in terms of blending melodic modern metal sounds in a trance-powered cauldron, and we already got rid of trance metal because its releases are too different-sounding from one another to qualify as a genre. Kawaii metal certainly wouldn't fit in The Revolution where trance metal used to be, and although despite "the guitar-heroism of Power Metal" and "the mechanical approach of Industrial Metal", it probably won't stand a chance in their respective clans either. But considering the prominent modern alternative influences, it might work in The Gateway, I guess? I don't know. Quite a tough call. Anyone here experienced with the genre, what do you think?
I think Mittelalter-Metal is just a different name for Medieval Folk Metal. Anyone here think otherwise?
The only release I've listened to that is considered doomgaze in RYM is the EP Silver by Jesu, and that one I thought had more of a sludgy post-metal sound. Other than that, I've never even heard of doomgaze until the subgenre came up in RYM, so I can't really say much about it.
Another new single, another awesome feeling I have about the upcoming DragonForce album:
And in other news... Prepare yourselves, epic deathly power metal fans! Wintersun is coming with their looooooooooooong-awaited Time II album later this year!! FOR REAL!!!
https://chaoszine.net/wintersun-announce-major-news-time-ii-is-finally-finished/
https://metaladdicts.com/wintersun-to-launch-another-crowdfunding-campaign-in-march/
1. Gateway playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 12)
2. Horde playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: 8)
3. Infinite playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 8)
4. Revolution playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 32)
5. Sphere playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 24)
For the clans I've made the monthly playlists for (The Revolution and The Sphere), I've listened to the entire playlists! I'm grateful to Saxy and Daniel for their playlist works. I really dig the tracks I've reviewed in the Gateway, Horde, and Infinite playlists made by Saxy and Daniel, and I'm glad the playlists I've made have paid off. I recommend them to any fan of the clans' respective genres and anyone who isn't into those genres but wants to get into a great start in enjoying them. Thanks, Daniel, for accepting these playlists, and good work all!
My January feature release ratings so far:
THE HORDE: Neuropath - At Damnation's Core (2023) 4/5
THE REVOLUTION: xNOMADx - On Skylines of Embers (2023) 3/5
THE SPHERE: Dødheimsgard - 666 International (1999) 5/5
The Sphere feature release that I've nominated is an incredible genre that I would recommend to fans of industrial/black/avant-garde metal. The Neuropath album is pretty great too. But the xNOMADx EP, not so much. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...
The songs in this xNOMADx EP are quite decently good, but I haven't really found any highlights from there to stand out for me, except for this one:
I've just checked out this EP, and my thoughts about this might be a bit of a shocker. Here's my review that you can also find here: https://metal.academy/reviews/32699/48479
Melodic hardcore/metalcore has indeed been underappreciated in the present when bands have gone the more djenty route. As rare as it would be to find an EP like this one from xNOMADx released in this decade, I personally don't think of On Skylines of Embers as the legendary classic that people in the future will consider it. It's quite decent, but it's missing the spark that similar-sounding bands had in the 2000s such as Shadows Fall, For the Fallen Dreams (especially their debut Changes), and Unearth.
The songs here are good with their melodic heavy riffing and vicious vocal fury, but not enough to make highlight territory. The one exception is the sick "Acephale", with its otherworldly riffing and clean/scream duet at the end, both marking this song a perfect gem. But the rest of the EP? Not really the best, but worth a try....
Favorites (the one highlight to really stand out for me): "Acephale"
3/5
Well since I'm here, I'd like to talk about one of the more recent notable cases of alleged metal song plagiarism. Listen to the guitar rhythm during the solo of this Plini song (at 3:28):
And then the guitar rhythm during the solo of this rock/metal version of Doja Cat's "Say So" (at 2:51):
Even though Doja Cat admitted to the plagiarism and apologized for it, I suspect that it's just a coincidence, as I'm not sure she would purposely steal something from a random progressive metal/rock song. What do you all think?
Rex and I have just found one of the funniest coincidences in music history. Listen to that vocal riff from the epic title track of Septicflesh's Communion:
It sounds identical to a minor-key variation of Meow Mix:
It's fucking Meow Mix.
LOL! I just checked out this song and Meow Mix, and that vocal riff really does sound identical to a minor-key variation of the latter. Now I can't unhear that... Let's take this to the "Influence or Coincidence, Inspiration or Plagiarism" Thread and see what the others think.
I hadn't really thought of 666 International as an avant-garde metal album. But realizing the high amount of unorthodox percussion and keyboards and overall experimentation there, I think you're right, Daniel. I'll give that entry a YES vote.
Does this sample sound familiar to Godflesh fans in this industrial rock/metal highlight? It certainly does:
Fantastic 80s-influenced heavy/power metal:
Thanks for this, Xephyr! I've just tested out that website and CSV-downloading technique with my upcoming February Revolution and Sphere playlists (still in the works). However, I find Excel a little too complex for me, and anyone who doesn't have Skiley Pro can only do it 3 times for free. I prefer the old-fashioned way of typing it all out, but there's a twist in my technique. After making my sneak peek suggestions in the Revolution and Sphere playlists, I copy them into Notepad and type out all the other tracks in the playlists in the same format (artist name, track name, track length, album name, album release date). Then when I send them to Daniel before the middle of the month, I set the tracks I've typed out to the order that they run in the playlist tracklistings and remove the track lengths that are only needed to keep track of their two-hour total lengths. And finally, when the first day of the month comes, I just copy the playlist tracklistings and paste them to their respective forum posts. Anyway, I still appreciate your suggestion and understand your technique, so you do you.
Here are my sneak peek submissions for the February Sphere playlist:
Deathstars - "Chertograd" (4:45) from Night Electric Night (2009)
Fear Factory - "Industrial Discipline" (3:38) from Mechanize (2010)
Gothminister - "Devil" (3:05) from Gothic Electronic Anthems (2003)
Mnemic - "Jack Vegas" (3:24) from The Audio Injected Soul (2004)
Nailbomb - "Cockroaches" (5:10) from Point Blank (1994)
Strapping Young Lad - "Skeksis" (6:42) from Alien (2005)
Total length: 26:44