Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies
Congrats, Daniel!
Sneak peek for the April Guardians playlist, this YouTube guitarist made a kick-A trance-power metal cover of a song from the Touhou Project video game series popularized by Alstroemeria Records, featuring the beautiful vocals of Miraculous Ladybug actress Cristina Vee:
I gave this Alcest album some listening and a review a couple years ago, and I still remember Les voyages de l'âme having some great blackgaze dominance. The black metal aggression in the guitar distortion and grim vocals is in smooth balance with the shoegaze atmosphere of uplifting melody and tranquil beauty. I made a judgement submission similar to this for the album, but somehow it didn't get through. I'm glad the album is in the Hall now, so thanks for that, Daniel.
An epic single from the new Kamelot album The Awakening! I look forward to hearing the rest of the album once my schedule clears up.
An amazing live rendition of one of Kamelot's greatest classic hits that I still enjoy:
I just gave this album some listening and a review to revisit this live album mainly consisting of songs from their best era, and to celebrate the release of Kamelot's new album with a blast to the past. Similarly to Angra's Aurora Consurgens, many songs show the more progressive side of the band with complex riffing and soloing that occur more in the songs from Epica and The Black Halo than in their earlier albums like Karma, and more diverse structure. So I'll definitely be giving this Hall entry a YES vote.
Congratulations to you and your wife, Daniel! Glad to hear your baby girl has finally entered this world.
A fantastic intersection between several of the hardcore/metal genres from earlier and later bands; the hardcore of Strife, the metalcore/melodic metalcore of August Burns Red and Parkway Drive, the deathcore of Chelsea Grin, and the melodeath of Avatar:
One of the more popular metalcore bands that somehow I keep overlooking started their career with an incredible album of underrated gems like this one:
Ben, please add the Strongarm album Atonement. Its Metalcore tag now fits the RYM 2:1 ratio (for: 12 - against: 6).
A 7-minute epic that starts off as melodic as Unearth and Trivium before this band's usual early black/death-infused metalcore:
Seriously, why would they ruin something sounding potentially good by f***ing hiding it too deep in the mix!?
A punishing highlight from one of the more famous industrial metal musicians around:
A true classic of Lard's brand of industrial rock/metal:
Amidst a sea of ambient tracks lies a few brilliant industrial metal tracks, like this hammering opening track:
One of two amazing remixes of the most well-known single of Broken:
I bought this Children of Bodom live bootleg CD earlier today, and it's quite killer. Though the original 2001 edition had 9 tracks, the edition I bought that was apparently from two years later (2003) adds 4 more live tracks not heard in any other available edition; "Downfall", "Needled 24/7" (probably their first time performing that track), "Children of Bodom", and "Everytime I Die", all of which are really kick-A. I still miss this amazing guitarist/vocalist Alex Laiho. RIP
4/5
The drummer from Artillery died on the same day. Not a great one for thrash metal it has to be said.
RIP Josua Madsen
RIP Dark Angel guitarist Jim Durkin. Though he's gone from this world now, the wicked thrash material he's made with Dark Angel shall rise in our hearts.
The occasional switch from metal to surf music will make you be like Joe Pesci and say "What the f*** is this piece of sh*t?!":
The Swedish experimental groove-ish alt-metal masters are back with perhaps their best song since the title track of Hail the Apocalypse:
1. Gateway playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 8)
2. Guardians playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 24)
3. Infinite playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 10)
4. Revolution playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 29)
5. Sphere playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 27)
For the clans I've made the monthly playlists for, 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 and Infinite playlists made by Saxy, and I'm glad the Guardians, Revolution, and Sphere playlists made by me 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! Once again, all the best with your exam, Xephyr!
THE GATEWAY: Static-X - "Wisconsin Death Trip" (1999) 4/5
THE INFINITE: Between the Buried and Me - "The Great Misdirect" (2009) 4/5
THE REVOLUTION: Underoath - "Lost in the Sound of Separation" (2008) 5/5
THE SPHERE: Ministry - "In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up (Live)" (1990) 4.5/5
Even though I don't see that Between the Buried and Me album as a perfect masterpiece as much as I used to, I still enjoyed most of it along with that Static-X album. My Revolution nomination shows Underoath as their best, and I really would recommend it to fans of that band and metalcore. That Ministry live album is also excellent. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...
This sh*tty composition has nothing to do with the glory of its heavier more furious counterpart:
The best throwback to the Jesper Strömblad era of In Flames' melodeath fury with a memorable chorus:
Another one of the best songs from earlier Breaking Benjamin despite being a soft ballad-ish track:
A fast pounding highlight in the alternative/avant-garde metal realms:
I've done my review for that Dog Fashion Disco release. Here's the link to my review: https://metal.academy/reviews/29111/1140
And here's its summary:
Dog Fashion Disco have really done their job well in this album, Committed to a Bright Future! It shows the band's talent at a nice pace, and it has given me the motivation to continue exploring this band instead of just giving up after part of it. In many songs, one moment you hear fast guitars and drums, and the next you hear jazzy bass and creepy carnival-like keyboards, with a bit of xylophone or saxophone. So weird, but I love it! Todd Smith's vocals would make Mike Patton proud. Committed to a Bright Future can pretty much be one of my top 10 releases in alternative/avant-garde metal. Any fan of rock or metal should look into this bright future!
5/5
I've heard about this band Dog Fashion Disco, having listened to a couple songs from them, and even tried listening to and reviewing one of their albums but I couldn't finish because of its experimental wackiness. I've never heard their 2003 album before, so I'm up to giving it some listening and a review to see if the band really is worth adding to my metal arsenal. So yeah I'm going with Dog Fashion Disco's Committed to a Bright Future.
Another floppy ending track for a modern thrash album:
Fast harsh aggression of thrash, brilliant for the speedier fans:
OK, one more encore for this thread, this album from another popular thrash band I haven't checked out until now...
Testament is known as one of the SECONDARY Big 4 of thrash, alongside Exodus, Overkill and Death Angel. Reviewing this album The Formation of Damnation is a good leap from Slayer's Repentless since drummer Paul Bostaph stepped in to play drums for this Testament album at a time when Dave Lombardo (who also recently rejoined Testament) continued his time with Slayer. I also remember guitarist Alex Skolnick performing with Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. However, the quality varies in lukewarm ways. Some songs are brilliant, others are just uninspired. It's a bit frustrating when one half of the album is great and the other is more average. The highlights each have strong melody and a catchy chorus, along with fast harsh aggression for the speedier fans. However, the few poor tracks lose a bit of the band's earlier skill, and while there's longer guitar soloing, it just lacks anything memorable and comes out as pretty much aimless. The flawless highlights are certainly worth listening to, especially for thrash fans. Yet those poor tracks leave me ending another encore to my Ultimate Pit Test with a slight foul taste in my metal mouth....
3.5/5
Almost a year after doing my track-by-track genre analysis of Trivium's The Crusade, I decided to do the same for their new album In the Court of the Dragon. Throughout the year and a half that I've been listening to this album (among many other metal albums of course), I begin to realize this is more than just a melodic metalcore album, with different diverse styles mixed with the genre that is still the main one. So before I declare Judgement Submission Day on this album, here's how I would tag the genres in the 10 tracks:
1. X - orchestral intro
2. In the Court of the Dragon - melodic metalcore
3. Like a Sword Over Damocles - melodic metalcore/progressive/thrash metal
4. Feast of Fire - heavy/alternative metal
5. A Crisis of Revelation - melodic metalcore
6. The Shadow of the Abattoir - heavy/power/symphonic/melodic metalcore
7. No Way Back Just Through - melodic metalcore
8. Fall Into Your Hands - melodic metalcore/symphonic/progressive/thrash metal
9. From Dawn to Decadence - melodic metalcore/thrash metal/hard rock
10. The Phalanx - heavy/power/progressive/symphonic/melodic metalcore
So based on what I've analyzed, In the Court of the Dragon is still primarily just a melodic metalcore album with only one full song not being part of the genre, "Feast of Fire". However, there are many secondary influences appearing here, each in 3 tracks, so here's how I would list the genres for this album here:
Primary: melodic metalcore
Secondary: progressive metal, thrash metal, heavy metal, symphonic metal
So I won't have to make any judgement submissions for this album, but a few RYM genre votes from me await!
This bland groove atrocity is not how Slayer should've closed their discography, though slightly interesting at times:
A fresh thrashy highlight that really should've been the proper end for the band's swansong album:
Brief return to this thread for one more Slayer album I decided to review, jumping forward 30 years...
Here is their final album Repentless, which is also their only album without founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman after his untimely passing two years earlier. Also absent was their mighty drummer Dave Lombardo. Does this album work without them? Eh, not so much... Hanneman was known for his creative thrash songwriting. He knew how to add in spooky experimentation to the band's songs, while the band's other founding guitarist Kerry King wrote the typical upbeat tracks. With King in full control of most of the songwriting in this album, you might think this would be full-on fast thrash, especially with a promising start in the first few tracks. About half of this album is just low-tuned mid-tempo groove metal, unfitting for what I expect from this band. Only a couple thrashy highlights appear in the second half of the album, and a couple more thrashy songs sound uninspired and anti-climatic. Guitarist Gary Holt does some great soloing work as if he has learned from Hanneman himself. Drummer Paul Bostaph is also good, while not the same as Lombardo. King performs some of the greatest riffing in thrash. Tom Araya continues his experienced aggression in the vocals and bass. And while Repentless is not how I thought they would end it all, I recognize the earlier Hell Awaits as a classic essential enough for my potential in The Pit. So long, Slayer.....
2.5/5
An impressive hymn mixing the catchy and heavy sides of the band's industrial metal sound:
Two slow cold bleak highlights from Dead World's second album that shows great improvement compared to their debut:
I think in the actual pictures would be better, but then again it's quite a lot to write and it would make the fine print too small to read, unless you make the posters in a large size.
I also enjoy "Can God Fill Teeth?" which is so odd and mesmerizing yet as creative as those first two tracks in my opinion.
Yeah. That band is more avant-garde/experimental than people out there think they are.
That would be quite interesting, Rex! I look forward to seeing your promotional posters. Let's see what Ben and Daniel think of that idea first.
A one-two punch of fast heavy/industrial metal/hardcore fury with occasional slow psychedelia in the latter track:
Here's my submission for the April Guardians playlist:
Avantasia - "The Scarecrow" (from The Scarecrow, 2008)
Here are my sneak peek submissions for the April Sphere playlist:
Code Orange - "Drowning In It" (3:08) from What is Really Underneath? (2023) (Code Orange's new remix album is more of an electro-industrial release, but some of the remixes maintain the metal sound of the original songs from Underneath that are remixed)
Godflesh - "Mothra" (4:31) from Pure (1992)
Gothminister - "Bloodride" (3:49) from Pandemonium (2022)
The Kovenant - "The Memory Remains" (4:32) from SETI (2003)
Samael - "Year Zero" (3:38) from Eternal (1999)
Voivod - "Phobos" (6:57) from Phobos (1997)
Total length: 26:35
Here are my sneak peek submissions for the April Revolution playlist:
36 Crazyfists - "We Gave It Hell" (3:12) from The Tide and Its Takers (2008)
All Shall Perish - "The Death Plague" (3:02) from This Is Where It Ends (2011)
All That Remains - "Become the Catalyst" (3:07) from The Fall of Ideals (2006)
Candiria - "Temple of Sickness" (6:21) from The Process of Self-Development (1999)
From Autumn to Ashes - "The After Dinner Payback" (2:51) from The Fiction We Live (2003)
Lorna Shore - "To the Hellfire" (6:09) from ...And I Return to Nothingness (2021)
We Came as Romans - "Intentions" (3:01) from To Plant a Seed (2009)
Total length: 27:43
Here are my submissions for the April Infinite playlist:
Between the Buried and Me - "Disease, Injury, Madness" (11:03) from The Great Misdirect (2009)
In Mourning - "Voyage of a Wavering Mind" (5:49) from The Weight of Oceans (2012)
Leprous - "Within My Fence" (3:16) from The Congregation (2015)
Rosetta - "Ayil" (4:59) from A Determinism of Morality (2010)
Voivod - "Planet Hell" (4:34) from Negatron (1995)
Total length: 29:41
Here are my submissions for the April Gateway playlist:
Avatar - "Dance Devil Dance" (4:00) from Dance Devil Dance (2023)
Breaking Benjamin - "Next to Nothing" (3:43) from Saturate (2002)
Disturbed - "Indestructible" (4:38) from Indestructible (2008)
Dog Fashion Disco - "Love Song for a Witch" (4:11) from Committed to a Bright Future (2003)
Gone Is Gone - "Roads" (5:31) from Echolocation (2017)
Katatonia - "Austerity" (3:41) from Sky Void of Stars (2023)
Linkin Park - "Numb" (3:07) from Meteora (2003)
Total length: 28:51
A Spotify playlist I've made of highlights from the albums I've reviewed in my Ultimate Pit Test:
An amazing live rendition of a pounding industrial metal tune: