Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

Ain't this a real heavy deal in early metalcore!

I gave Earth Crisis' first EP and first two albums a listen, and the Firestorm EP and Destroy the Machines are some of the best I've heard so far in this journey, reaching a perfect 5 stars! They're terrific early examples of metalcore, filled with raging riffs and substance-free lyrics. However, their second album Gomorrah's Season Ends has some slight cliches from their attempts to recreate their success. Still it has a great amount of impressive music, continuing this band's status as an important one in metalcore history! Maybe someday I'll keep listening to that band full-time and check out their later albums, but I have other metalcore albums to look out for in my rediscovery saga. I shall continue it with a few other bands with important early albums. More of the original Revolution awaits me!

The most hardcore breakdown of metalcore breakdowns in my opinion occurs in this track:

Cool, thanks Daniel!

Thanks, Daniel!

These two tracks together form the ultimate early Revolution anthem:

I changed my mind. THIS is the birth of metalcore if we count the 1989 demo version:

As a bonus treat before progressing through metalcore's first decade further, I decided to find and listen to Rorschach and Integrity's first ever demos, released in 1989, though Integrity's Harder They Fall demo would be re-released a year later as In Contrast of Sin with two more tracks. They're good but don't reach the greatness as the proper albums. Still I acknowledge the demos as the real birth of metalcore. Here they are:

A mighty mix of pre-Tool alt-metal and mid-paced angry metalcore:

The debut album from a band determined to make a sharp rudimental sound of metallic hardcore and, as a result, sounding ahead of their time! I said that because, it was the year 1992, and they were already introducing new sonic elements into the genre they were helping pioneer. You can hear some alt-metal to remind you of Biohazard, Helmet, and Life of Agony, with a similar approach in the production. Besides often hitting a mid-tempo pace, what's worth noting is the deranged vocals performed by Rennie Resmini; not hardcore, not metal, but in between. With all that said, there's so much to digest, especially for those who have had a hard time finding this album before the reissue. Hope they speed up the pace they've had in releasing albums (3 more in the 30 years after their debut)....

4/5

An important part of 90s hardcore, already signifying the metalcore vision of Earth Crisis and Hatebreed:

What if you can fully establish metalcore as a genre without being highly dependent on hardcore roots, to influence heavier subgenres, a bit like Black Sabbath's way of heavy metal in Masters of Reality? Add that and lyrics of the confusing insanity of life, and you have the violent intensity of Integrity's Those Who Fear Tomorrow! This hardcore juggernaut is the start of the band's over 3-decade legacy. It is one of the first ever metalcore albums, from 1991, though only the second after Rorschach album from a year earlier. It's no secret that Cro-Mags and Corrosion of Conformity where experimenting with crossing metal over into their hardcore, but Integrity helped bring life to a brand new world. Hardcore verses and metallic breakdowns are led by the original metalcore Dwid Hellion! For this album's violent soundscape to work, Dwid was born for this world to unleash his psychotic vocals. This unique approach was for many a complete anomaly. This bizarre delivery was unusual at that time, and somehow it still works greatly, with lyrics tackling every trick in the hardcore book. Those Who Fear Tomorrow is responsible for a metalcore tomorrow....today!

4.5/5

The birth of metalcore:

So now I'm heading into reviewing the earliest conventional metalcore releases, and what better way to start with the first ever release in The Revolution clan:

Here are my thoughts:

The revolutionary history of metalcore all began with this hardcore quintet from New Jersey. If you enjoy the sound developed and popularized by Converge or the recent noise-grind of Nails, Rorschach is the band to thank! Their debut Remain Sedate would bring a rebellious future to mankind. After the decadent 80s when metal and hardcore were two separate sides, the despondent 90s was when both genres have been united. Rorschach has made the perfect stylistic formula for the most brutal hardcore at that time, transcending into a newly invented sound. This is a relentless D-beat-inspired assault of crushing riffs and tormented screams like nothing before! The slithering bass and jackhammering drums share the stage with the guitars and vocals. This raw formation of a new sound while channeling their own horrors is kind of what Black Sabbath had done when inventing heavy metal. Like Sabbath, Rorschach was a will-testing pioneer of their own new genre. With this perfect offering, metalcore was born!

5/5

A 20-minute epic of sludgy mathcore to please fans of Neurosis, Botch, and Cult of Luna:

One last glimpse at mathcore for this journey before the next subgenre, and a step forward into sludge territory. RIP Didier Séverin... Here are my thoughts:

Lots of cool stuff you can find from Switzerland including metal bands Coroner, Samael, and Eluveitie, along with Tolberlone's triangular chocolates and Swiss Army Knives. Initially, the band only gained attention in Europe, but they would then be heard of in America thanks to Hydra Head Records releasing their first two releases. Challenger is an album that would challenger the Northern lands with unexpected expectations from their sludgy mathcore sound! Their songs often range from the mathcore groove of Botch and Coalesce to the ambient sludge of Neurosis and Cult of Luna, all guided by tempo changes, complex drums, and elevating intensity. The intensity has evolved into one of the best albums I've heard of sludgy mathcore. This excellent music with catch your ears with this pummeling record. It should really be picked up by fans of that sound, especially Neurosis, Keelhaul, and Cult of Luna. Add some sludge spice into your metallic hardcore with the perfect challenge that is Challenger!

5/5

Coming soon: A trek through the releases that started it all for The Revolution....

A speedy aggressive (later turned melodic) metal/mathcore ride:

A slight step down compared to the debut albums of those 3 metalcore/mathcore bands (Deadguy, Coalesce, Cave In) but very enjoyable nonetheless. Here are my thoughts:

From the shadows of Rock and Roll Killing Machine, Drowningman brought the right tools for the sound of this second album of theirs in a noisy mix of elements from hardcore punk and crossover thrash that formed metalcore. It is shocking to find the lack of appreciation this band gets for their strength. They even had the audacity to write a few long song titles, but the songs themselves are short and don't have to feel long because of the sharp relentless riffing attack and occasional melody. Rock and Roll Killing Machine reaches near-perfection with its caustic blend of melody and dissonance in the vocals and guitars, creating crazy monstrous hooks for noisy hardcore punk songs to morph with math metal into their own subgenre. Drowningman has proven that it's hard to replicate the Killing Machine that they are!

4.5/5

Deathcore used to be as problematic as death metal for me, but I started liking it more as I was programming the Revolution monthly playlists, with a few bands I've recently discovered having a more standard deathcore sound as opposed to the bands with progressive/symphonic elements that would fit in the STYLISTIC category of my Metalcore Pyramid Guide. Anyway, here's my top 10:

1. Embodyment - Embrace the Eternal (1998)

2. Make Them Suffer - Neverbloom (2012)

3. The Contortionist - Exoplanet (2010)

4. Born Of Osiris - The Discovery (2011)

5. Iwrestledabearonce - Hail Mary (2015)

6. Attila - Outlawed (2011)

7. Upon a Burning Body - Red. White. Green. (2012)

8. Within the Ruins - Elite (2013)

9. Winds of Plague - Decimate the Weak (2008)

10. Veil of Maya - The Common Man's Collapse (2008)

Slayer-riff-powered mathy metalcore. Start headbanging!

I shall continue with a few other bands with albums that are mathcore or helped develop the subgenre...

One band in the latter category, Cable is not yet added to Metal Academy. While I wait, I'll continue on with that category and the rest of the metalcore journey, starting with...

A progressive-ish mathy metalcore masterpiece from a group of talented musicians, including bassist Caleb Scofield who tragically lost his life a few years before today. RIP. Here are my thoughts:

Their debut Until Your Heart Stops shows what a boundary-breaking band they can be and would make you up for many listens. Instead of going as melodic as Killswitch Engage, expected is the violence of changing rhythms you might also hear in The Dillinger Escape Plan, Coalesce, and Converge, the latter's members Kurt Ballou and Jacob Bannon appearing a few times in the album. Many different elements form the uniqueness in Cave In's mighty sound, for a new underground attitude. The songs range from short hardcore tracks with Slayer-inspired riffing, to longer progressive epics, to one-minute noise interludes. The album is an interesting diverse addition to the metalcore revolution. It's the perfect way to start this band's career that would end up taking a less heavy turn. Don't let their legacy stop!

5/5

RIP bassist Caleb Scofield

Ben, please add Cable (also a Fallen band with their sludge metal albums).

I gave the first two Coalesce albums a listen, and Give Them Rope is one of the best I've heard so far in this journey, reaching a perfect 5 stars (the other one of the best being that Deadguy album)! It's a terrific early example of metallic mathcore, highly technical with underground production in a decent album length. However, their shorter second album Functioning on Impatience might be good for the impatient but not for those who want a full album, pretty much like the Daughter's Canada Songs of Coalesce in terms of length and quality. Maybe someday I'll keep listening to that band full-time and check out their last two albums, but I have other mathcore albums to look out for in my rediscovery saga. I shall continue it with a few other bands with albums that are mathcore or helped develop the subgenre...

I'm currently taking on the first two Coalesce albums, and I'm at another perfect start with the destructive Give Them Rope, with pummeling highlights like this one:

A killer track from the much better birth of mathcore (before the more popular league of Botch, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and 2000s Converge) while in perfect balance with standard metalcore:

Now back to my regular scheduled mathcore journey, where I take on something more standard-sounding and perfect...

My thoughts:

One band to really put the metal in metalcore and the math in mathcore is Deadguy (not to be confused with German power metallers Edguy). There are more popular bands of those genres, but a few of the less active bands would have you keep keep listening. Though I've already experienced Botch and Converge, Deadguy is what's missing for me! For their debut and only album, Fixation on a Coworker, we have the most real metallic hardcore you'll ever witness, with such beauty and chaos to inspire new bands. The production is quite grand yet sharp, as sharp as a razorblade! The angular riffs shred like buzzsaws alongside heavy tom hits. And there's never the need for any recycled emotion, it's just rage all the way through, with fast hardcore riff-wrath, thundering growls, and lots of time changes. With this much technical heaviness, Fixation on a Coworker is the right album for metalcore fans, and it's disappointing that this band ended too soon. Essential metal/mathcore that you can't skip in your life!

5/5

Coming soon: A couple slightly later albums from another essential early mathcore band, and albums from a few bands that are mathcore or helped develop the subgenre.

Here's my recommendation for you, Daniel, that's close enough to the experimental jazz/death metal/mathcore of Candiria. I'm more experienced with Car Bomb and can find my way through their experimental mathcore with hints of jazz and death metal. After your experience with this month's featured release, Mordial, their previous album Meta might be up your alley with those influences, especially a guest appearance from the vocalist of a certain band that took tech-death into more brutal lengths.

Saxy, I know you aren't fond of Mordial, but Meta has a bit more melody and "death metal" stuff that could make you like mathcore slightly more, so this might also be for you. Of course you don't have to proceed further if it's more than you can take.

(Later...)

Well, Daniel, the mathcore professionals say that even though experimentation is key in mathcore, it's hard for even them to find a band other than Candiria that mixes the genre with influences from as much jazz/death metal as Atheist. But there is one album that is close enough, though it's about two decades later and I don't want it to interfere with what I've planned for this journey, So I'll transfer it to the recommendation thread. Hang on...

A wild experimental blend of the earliest mathcore, progressive jazz, and brutal slam-tech-death:

Well, I checked out the two 1995 "deathcore" releases. Notice how I put "deathcore" in quotes? That's because I generally don't think they sound like deathcore as a primary genre. There are influences that would influential in deathcore, but that's not their sound as a whole. The first of those two is an EP by Australian deathgrinders Damaged, which for that aforementioned reason, I didn't mention in this thread. And now for the second of the two...

My thoughts:

I had not known much of this band before this encounter, and it's quite incredibly strange having come across this album for the first time, as if the cover art and title wasn't enough of a tip-off. Many fans have praised this band, but little did they know the existence of this offering! Some things are quite notable when you catch up with the context of the sonic music. It's quite a bizarre combination that works sometimes. There's also lots of death metal groove here, but is this really enough to create deathcore? Well the style I would say is progressive mathcore, and this album is the first of that style, but is more of a mix with that and technical death metal, along with jazz interludes. The album is also known as their only one without longtime guitarist John LaMacchia. Instead they had the late Chris Puma (RIP) who also wrote some guitar parts for their second album that were performed by LaMacchia. Puma's guitar work was quite impressive in those heavier tracks. Though there are a few progressive jazz interludes in which my enjoyment for them is around 50/50, and when the jazz is mixed with the heaviness of the metal tracks, that's where the progressive metal comes in. I'm sure longtime fans of the band would love this offering to bits and probably finally give it the credit and praise that has been missing all these years. But for someone who has just discovered this today, it would have to take a very long time to get used to it before I like it more. There's more than meets the ears, and you would find a lot more if you're a professional listener of experimental jazz/death metal/mathcore....

3.5/5

Since this was quite a false start on the deathcore part of the journey, with the two early albums I was shooting for not actually part of that genre, I'll postpone that part and focus on the other metalcore subgenres, starting with mathcore which is the more suitable primary genre for that Candiria album. The other first ever mathcore album I shall soon listen and write about...

Ben, Daniel, Vinny... This EP from Australian deathgrinders Damaged is a little too intense for my liking, but I'm sure you guys will like it way more than I do. And please let me know whether or not you agree that it barely sounds like deathcore at all. Sonny, I don't know if you're up to adding deathgrind to your death metal rediscovery voyage, but this might be a good test for when you reach the mid-90s.

Apparently, this deathgrind EP was considered one of the earliest deathcore releases. Umm... NO. There are a few slight deathcore elements, but that's not the subgenre I would call this release. Check out this Bathory cover and listen out for if they turned that song into deathcore. I'm sure not...

Winter's sole album Into Darkness is better than the other two death-doom albums I've reviewed, but is it enough to get me to return to doom metal and other Fallen genres? Not right now... I'm actually stunned by the funeral doom tag this album has. Sure it would inspire bands like Esoteric, Funeral, and Thergothon to make albums that brought funeral doom to the light of day, but I think that's more of a secondary genre for Into Darkness. It's not entirely like that because of the occasional bursts of speed that are part of death-doom, like in this highlight below. If any of you Fallen members agree with me here, please vote against the funeral doom subgenre tag. Sorry about this, Ben...

Ben, Daniel, Vinny... The sole album from Delirium is definitely worth pumping up a bit of doomy death metal into you guys' Horde minds. You'll love the majority of this slightly more than I could. Sonny, this could also be another great addition to the 1990 part of your death metal voyage of rediscovery once you get to that year.

Another early death-doom epic, for those who wish to hear a mix of Death's death metal, Cathedral's doom metal, and Celtic Frost's in-between pace:

Another early death-doom album! Just like the Sempiternal Deathreign album, it has mostly the best examples of death-doom but not without a couple duds. My thoughts:

For the sole album from Delirium, Zzooouhh (wow, that wacky title sounds like some kind of snore), we have the smashing guitar, growls, and groove of death metal that then collapses into the slow monstrous doom metal, a captivating mix also done by Winter the same year. It's strange how this style barely caught on as much as other genres like thrash metal. With that said, Delirium's Zzooouhh sounds so fresh and inspiring, with the harsh guitar, riff variation, and tempo changes pleasing heavier metalheads who want more. It's obvious how much the fast-doom ratio has been influenced from other bands like Celtic Frost and Death. The later tracks (from track #5 onward) are prime examples of early death-doom, but a couple ones (track 4 and before), range from slow and doomy to fast and furious, but do not have the same potential as the other category. Still this is essential death-doom for fans of the subgenre and Celtic Frost. Pretty neat if you just start at track 5 and not think too much of the strange album title....

4/5

After one more important early death-doom album that only resides in The Fallen, tomorrow I'm going to continue my rediscovery journey in a much different genre that I know more of and wish to know the most (NOT doom). You can probably guess, but now...that's all in my rediscovery of death metal thread, folks!

One of the earliest death doom epics from Holland's Sempiternal Deathreign

Death metal speed sections and old-school-inspired doom metal rhythms UNITE!!!

One last subgenre stop in my death metal rediscovery is death-doom, and I'm exploring the first 3 releases of the subgenre. I didn't include Paradise Lost because I've already written reviews for their albums that were all deleted when I moved away from most of The Fallen, and I don't intend to check on the bands I already knew. Those other 3 death-doom releases from 1989 and 1990 seem closer to death metal in two of the bands, and that's good for when I'm up for exploring the deathly side of the subgenre. The first one of those 3 bands is...

Coincidentally, I was planning this album ahead before Sonny gave it a review, so I guess now it's my turn to share my thoughts of the first death-doom release ever:

The underground is barely known to the mainstream public, and one band from those illusive caverns would invent atmospheric death-doom. In Sempiternal Deathreign's only album The Spooky Gloom, you can hear slow doomy epics ranging up to 10 minutes and shorter death metal attacks. It's more varied than just a standard mix... There's raw production in the guitar crunch with the equalizing bass fitting right in and sounding audible. So, nothing too special about that bass then... The excellent drumming varies from grind beats to slow doomy power, the latter leveling up the monolithic riffing. There's wild growling vocals all around, and fortunately, the lyrics can be read online in case you don't understand them just from listening. All in all, a great dark instrumentation setup. The longer epics are prime examples of the earliest death-doom, but a couple of the shorter ones, specifically tracks 4 and 5, are fast and furious but do not have the same potential as the other category. Still a very unique album when it came out, practically giving birth to death-doom while different from what you'd expect in the subgenre. This is what your ears crave in the deathly side of death-doom....

4/5

Cool review, Sonny! Coincidentally, I was already thinking of giving the first 3 official death-doom releases a listen, including that Sempiternal Deathreign album, as part of my own ongoing death metal rediscovery.

Get well soon, Daniel.

So I've reviewed albums from technical death metal bands like Atheist, Death, and Pestilence, but what about the one band that's obviously not tech-death but would inspire those bands and many more to mix tech-death with pieces of progressive jazz? Watchtower is that perfect spark of influence, including this 8-minute epic:

Glad you enjoy these feature releases, Daniel, including my submissions! I agree that it is shocking when the bands from my greater clans (Gateway, Infinite, Revolution) aren’t deemed suitable for Metal Archives. A good reason why I quit that site before I first entered the Metal Academy. Anyway, keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more…

The remaining essential album to review from tech-death's first two years heavily relies on alternating between songs and interludes while having great flow. My thoughts:

Two thrashy death metal albums into their career, Dutch band Pestilence decided to test out conjuring a more melodic-ish technical spell in their sound with their 3rd album Testimony of the Ancients. The aggravated atonality of hatred in the genre is expanded by some experimentation. Besides the more technical guitars and bass, the drums are close to Slayer's style, fast while far from blast beats, and there are extreme vocals, slightly surpassing Obituary and Death. The album has an interesting structure of full songs that are each followed by a short instrumental, something Cynic would similarly do 3 decades later in Ascension Codes. Both track categories have a horror element, probably more of that than most of the other early 90s tech-death albums I've reviewed. Obscure riffs play amongst atmospheric power chords and dramatic synths, with some experimental groove to remind some of Morbid Angel. The eerie interludes have the most of the horror feeling, whether it's Psycho-ish strings, screams over dissonant keyboards, or church bell ambiance. So it's easy to find the balance between ritual-sounding and ravaging, alternating between full songs and interludes. Any fan of the genre can identify any of these tracks in a blink of an eye....

4/5

Death at their best tech-death without a doubt:

Besides Atheist making progressive tech-death history in 1991, Death would also go that complex experimental route starting the same year with Human. My thoughts:

Death is a band that is well-respected in the death metal community. I don't intend to explore their earlier standard death metal albums, but I know that Human is essential for me to check out as part of my tech-death expedition. The talented Chuck Schuldiner knew his songwriting ability very well. Pretty much nothing is unnecessary in this bold early example of progressive technical death metal! In the travelling circus of Death, Schuldiner was the ringmaster. For this lineup, backing him up is lead guitarist Paul Masvidal, drummer Sean Reinert (those two later focusing on Cynic), and Sadus bassist Steve Di Giorgio. All in all, a heavenly lineup to unleash hellbent fury of killer tech-death, performing extreme sections of mind-blowing rhythms and unbeatable riffing/soloing, with the occasional catchy while still brutal chorus hook. It's amazing how Death is not only one of the pioneering forces of death metal but also its subgenre tech-death. And it's not just regular tech-death either, it has a great amount of progressive tendencies. They can change their style while sounding original. Any death metal fan should pick up Human. You know the band to thank later!

4.5/5

Coming soon: Two more albums to complete the tech-death chapter, one being another example of the genre and the other not really part of that genre but would inspire it.

I gave the first two Atheist albums a listen, and they're both two of the best I've heard so far in this journey, with Unquestionable Presence reaching a perfect 5 stars! They're both terrific early examples of tech-death alongside the blazing thrash of Piece of Time and the jazzy progressiveness of Unquestionable Presence. Maybe someday I'll keep listening to that band full-time and check out the one Atheist album I haven't reviewed yet, Jupiter, but the early 90s tech-death chapter of this rediscovery saga is still on. I shall continue it with Death's Human and find out how progressive that album is for me...

A highlight from the establishing pinnacle of progressive technical death metal:

Currently I'm taking on the first two Atheist albums, and their debut Piece of Time is probably THE first tech-death album, recorded two years before the other two 1990 tech-death albums. Still there are thrashy Slayer-like tendencies in highlights like this one:

Here's my top 10:

1. August Burns Red - Constellations (2009)

2. Converge - You Fail Me (2004)

3. Every Time I Die - Radical (2021)

4. Underoath - Lost in the Sound of Separation (2008)

5. The Ghost Inside - Dear Youth (2014)

6. Memphis May Fire - The Hollow (2011)

7. Upon a Burning Body - Fury (2022)

8. Motionless in White - Creatures (2010)

9. Polaris - The Death of Me (2020)

10. Make Them Suffer - How to Survive a Funeral (2020)

Strong growl-along early tech-death for extreme metalheads wondering what Atheist, Death, and early Cynic would sound like if more focused on riffing than experimentation: