Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

Besides continuing the Release of the Year awards, I just thought of something in the site that could be awarded. We have the monthly Spotify clan playlists for over a year now, and while many of them have positive reception, it would be interesting to see which one of the 12 playlists throughout the year for each clan really stands out and deserves the Playlist of the Year award for each clan. So here's what I propose: Each member who is assembling the playlists for their respective clan revisits the 12 playlists throughout the year for that clan for at least one full listen per playlist, then decides which one is the best of them all and deserving of the award. For example, I revisit the 2021 playlists for The Revolution and decide which one would be the winner, while you, Daniel, do the same for The Horde (what you enjoy) and The Sphere (what no one else enjoys). Quite some more work, but should be rewarding for the value of these playlists. I think my Playlist of the Year award idea is a good one, does anyone else agree?

Superbly chunky progressive metal for Seattle, USA. For fans of Sanctuary, Communic & Warrel Dane.

The heaviest, most technical song on the album, probably by the band. The intro and part of the first verse both have a crazily technical riff, and there's a killer guitar solo battle in the middle of the song.

I agree with Xephyr about Mastodon returning to grace with their new album Hushed and Grim, and a great amount of songs in the album are, for me, incredible including this 8 and a half minute epic. Fans of Leprous and the recent albums from Gojira and Opeth should give this two-disc album a try.

I just finished my review for a brand-new modern groove/alt-metal album from Bad Wolves that I would recommend to fans of Disturbed, Spiritbox, and Five Finger Death Punch, especially with several killer tracks in the album like this one:

Bullet for My Valentine is back with a vengeance, heavier than ever before! The pure modern thrashy metalcore of this track and album will surely bring joy to fans of Trivium, There is a Hell/Post Human-era Bring Me the Horizon, and late 2000s Machine Head:

Vektor's Outer Isolation hits ten years old today.  Noticed a couple of these more modern releases hitting their first key milestones lately.  I tend to think that records that I acknowledge in the daily Anniversaries section (one of my favourite parts of the site) are the ones that have left a lasting impression on me as I recognise their maturity on their anniversary date.  Remember finding this a tad of a step down from the debut album yet still enjoyable enough.

Another perfect album from one of my absolute favorite progressive thrash metal bands! And here's one more album celebrating its 10th anniversary today:

An amazing recap of the first 3 fifths of this power-ish progressive metal band's 25-year ongoing tenure. I bet in 5 years from now, if the band is still active then, they'll probably make a second compilation, "Another Decade in a Half" that would compile albums 9 to 13 or 14, similar to Edenbridge's Chronicle of Eden compilations.

I've enjoyed what I've done with my semi-official username logo and decided to make something similar, this time as an unofficial Metal Academy logo, so here it is. Enjoy!

Here's a Big Nate comic parody that's basically my like for metal and some outside-world people's hate against metal in a nutshell:

A genuine death metal classic for fans of Deicide, Cannabis Corpse & Monstrosity.

If you think Cannibal Corpse is too brutal to appear in a comedy film, this Ace Ventura clip would say otherwise (I know because my mother likes to watch that movie, except for this part):

Here are my ratings for this month's feature releases for all my clans, and a quick summary:

The Gateway: Spiritbox - Eternal Blue (2021) - 5/5

The Guardians: W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children (1989) - 4.5/5

The Infinite: Persefone - Core (2006) - 5/5

The Revolution: Trivium - In the Court of the Dragon (2021) - 5/5

Great month for feature releases, again probably because of the releases submitted by us Metal Academy members (including myself). My feature release submissions for The Infinite and The Revolution both deserve a perfect 5 stars, and are excellent albums that I would recommend to any fan of progressive metal and/or metalcore, respectively. The Gateway release is also perfect, and I look forward to listening to more of that band Spiritbox. The Guardians release is also great, but a half-star short of perfection due to an unappealing ballad and WASP's association with the glam metal scene. Thanks for these amazing feature releases, guys! Looking forward to more of this cool activity, along with feature release submissions for next month coming in via private message...

Unlike their glam metal peers, W.A.S.P. has made real heavy metal and mature serious lyrics, and this song shows how it should be made:

I did my review, here's its summary:

I'm glad to start hearing what WASP is about with not their shaggy earlier material but instead an album where they get more serious and heavy. There's no need to question their metal sound nor f***ing compare it to their peers, except for maybe a guitarist drink-off with Metallica. The Headless Children shows the band ascending into more mature consistency, and that's what I like. WASP has done pretty much all of it right to bring their metal to the stratosphere. There's tons of heavy energy, and Blackie takes over on rhythm guitar, allowing Chris Holmes to let his leads rip through the excitement of vibrant soloing and insane effects. There are also occasional organ melodies good for any classic hard rock fans worshipping Uriah Heep. I agree that the ballad "Forever Free" isn't that appealing. Either way, this is real heavy metal of f***ing brilliance. The Headless Children might not be entirely perfect, but it's still amazing and beats many other albums of the glam metal scene by a mile. Maturity pays off!

4.5/5

Djenty metalcore-infused Canadian alternative metal for fans of Bad Wolves, Loathe & Northlane.

One of the most brutal songs of the album and maybe even the band. Courtney delivers her incendiary vocals while the guitar scope is widen by the electronic drama in thunderous mechanical rage. A killer alt-metal/djent-core collision!

Cheers for the rec, Daniel! Here's my review summary:

It's amazing how sounds from a few years ago can be resurrected into a new unique sound, and their debut Eternal Blue has brightened up the year for me! With songs that range from heavy crushers to beautiful bliss-makers, Eternal Blue is a dizzying spin that would frighten your ears with chaos then cleanse them with beauty. Once you dive deep enough to find your place for it, you're in for a journey that levels up the album's interesting factor. Heavy darkness enters with shades of beauty, perfect for when humanity is trying to restart. I've found my place within the Spiritbox, and maybe you can too. See you on the other side!

5/5

Enjoy your vacation, Ben! Please remember my new release requests next week.

All right, I'm looking forward to completing this month's feature release journey for my clans. Listen and review for this album coming soon...

Thanks again for all these incredible recommendations, Daniel! Now it's my turn to recommend a Revolution album to you. The new Silent Planet album Iridescent is a real mind-blower and might surely please you with a more modern progressive-ish take on the slight ambient-infused metalcore of Skycamefalling and Hopesfall, given your good feelings about them. Please feel free to check this out and, once Ben adds it to the site, write a review for it.

That would have to be the first thing I do every month after I wake up which, based on time-zones, is a few hours after you wake up, Daniel, but I shall make those threads!

Also since I'm here, here are my overall ratings for the playlists I've reviewed this month (November):

1. Gateway playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: 10)

2. Guardians playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 10)

3. Infinite playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 17)

4. Revolution playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 30)

So far, I've only commented on 10 tracks each in the Gateway and Guardians playlists, and while The Gateway playlist is slightly less than the other 3 playlists at just 4 stars, Guardians playlist brings things up to the 4.5 stars that the Infinite and Revolution playlists also have. I've managed to comment on every single track from the Infinite and Revolution playlists! Saxy has done an incredible job assembling this month's Infinite playlist! This tracklisting has encouraged me to go through the entire playlist and find excellent tracks from bands I already listen to along with different bands in which some of them I feel up to trying some more songs from them. I really dig the Revolution playlist that I've made! That opinion might seem bad form, but let me even out by saying that I would recommend any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but wants to get into a great start in enjoy the genre. Thanks, Daniel, for accepting my playlist! I'll privately send you the one for next month and its track listing as soon as I can, along with my Gateway feature release submission. Also it might be a while before I'm ready to post my feature release outcomes, because so far I only reviewed two November feature releases, those being my own submissions, but maybe I would be up to checking out more of them this month. Good work on these playlists, all!

A killer track from the brand new album from Californian atmospheric metalcore band Silent Planet, worth a search for a mix of Every Time I Die, Within the Ruins, and occasional The Ocean-like atmosphere:

Ben, please add these new albums:

Bullet for My Valentine - Bullet for My Valentine (new self-titled album)

Silent Planet - Iridescent

Ben, please add the new Bad Wolves album Dear Monsters.

I'm always catching up with new releases from the bands I listen to, but I've been so busy the past couple weeks that I haven't had the chance to catch up with a few new albums, so here they are, to finally be caught up this weekend:

Bad Wolves - Dear Monsters (slight return to listening to that band for this album)

Mastodon - Hushed and Grim

Running Wild - Blood on Blood

Bullet for My Valentine - Bullet for My Valentine

Silent Planet - Iridescent (self-recommendation)

And several more albums to get a few more weeks from now:

Converge and Chelsea Wolfe - Bloodmoon: I

Cynic - Ascension Codes (slight return to listening to that band for this album)

In Mourning - The Bleeding Veil (slight return to listening to that band for this album)

Rhapsody of Fire - Glory for Salvation (slight return to listening to that band for this album)

Devin Townsend - The Puzzle/Snuggles

I just remembered that today is Remembrance Day. Let us have a minute of silence for those who sacrificed their lives for their countries, then enjoy this glorious song:

Since I got a new mouse with a back button right near my thumb I have lost reviews numerous times this past few months.  Now taken to writing in Word and pasting over when done.

I use Notepad.

Just a minor thing, but it might be nice if the hall voting buttons came up with some sort of "Are you sure?" pop-up to confirm, just since your votes in them can't (as far as I'm aware) be undone once cast. I haven't had it happen to me, but I could see someone accidentally clicking the wrong option.

I like that idea, Tymell. Can we please also have that sort of pop-up when leaving a page with a forum thread that hasn't been posted or a review that hasn't been updated, and when deleting an existing forum thread or review? There's nothing worse than writing a lengthy thread or review and then having it disappear before you can save it because you accidentally either delete it, go back a page with the backspace key (on some browsers), or click the close button on a tab or window.

Thanks Ben!

Thanks, Ben!

Orlando-based melodic metalcore for fans of Shadows Fall, As I Lay Dying & God Forbid.

There's killer strength and maturity that levels this song up more than the similar mid-tempo songs from The Crusade. The balance between heaviness and melody continues to suit the album and makes sure it's not just a sequel to the one from last year.

I came back to this old thread to share my Revolution playlist promotion video that could help spread the word about the playlist and Metal Academy:

A belter of an opening track from the brand new album from this Buffalo-based metaclore outfit. For fans of Coalesce, Ithaca & Drowningman.

A furious frenzy in higher heights of heaviness!

Indeed a radical comeback album for Every Time I Die. Cheers for the rec, Daniel! 5/5

After reviewing Persefone's Core, I continued my album review journey from there, ending with one of the most climatic 20-minute epics in progressive metal, to delight fans of Dream Theater, Ne Obliviscaris, and Two Steps From Hell:

Here are my submissions for the December Guardians playlist:

Accept - "Princess of the Dawn" (6:15) from Restless and Wild (1982)

Blind Guardian - "Journey Through the Dark" (4:45) from Somewhere Far Beyond (1992)

DragonForce - "The Last Journey Home" (8:12) from Ultra Beatdown (2008)

Rhapsody of Fire - "Unholy Warcry" (5:53) from Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret (2004)

Savatage - "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)" (3:24) from Dead Winter Dead (1995) (a special submission to celebrate Christmas month)

Total length: 28:29

Chris, I hope you're still around. I just came back to this old thread to ask you something... Are you across this:

Today we celebrate a fantastic 4 cool albums' anniversaries:

HammerFall and Dark Tranquillity, despite being completely different in sound, have quite some things in common, besides both releasing albums on the same day; They're both from Gothenburg (Swedish melodeath central), vocalist Mikael Stanne was involved in both bands (he was the original HammerFall lead singer (before Joacim Cans) until he left due to increased activity in his main band Dark Tranquillity), and those two albums were the last I've heard before abandoning my like for them for the most part when leaving my earlier epic metal taste. All of these coincidences? I think NOT.

Unlike the other albums I'm mentioning that were released in 2016, the Animals as Leaders album was released 5 years prior (exactly 10 years before today). A cool jazzy instrumental progressive metal album!

Attila's album Chaos is where they've gotten much less serious than before in their nu-ish metalcore sound with occasional rapping. Not a lot of people might like it, but I say it's really cool as long as they know what they're doing. Rapping in metal is fine as long as it's proper! While I haven't listened to that ASP album, well... Remember when Chris Van Etten was searching for Neue Deutschland Harte bands besides Rammstein: https://metal.academy/forum/15/thread/460 I think I found a good suggestion...

Even though I am now in full control of assembling the Revolution monthly playlists, I'm still up to submitting 7 Revolution tracks publicly for each month, as a sneak peek for the other members and so I could build up the private (until the beginning of the next month) rest of the playlist from those tracks, so here they are:

Between the Buried and Me - "Ad a dglgmut" (7:38) from The Silent Circus (2003)

Botch - "Saint Matthew Returns to the Womb" (3:04) from We Are the Romans (1999)

Darkest Hour - "Doomsayer (the Beginning of the End)" (4:33) from Deliver Us (2007)

Ice Nine Kills - "Merry Axe-mas" (3:18) from The Silver Scream (2018)

Parkway Drive - "Crushed" (4:36) from Ire (2015)

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Panasonic Youth" (2:27) from Miss Machine (2004)

Unearth - "Lifetime in Ruins" (4:12) from Watchers of Rule (2014)

Total length: 29:48

Here are my submissions for the December Infinite playlist:

Evergrey - "Forever Outsider" (4:09) from Escape of the Phoenix (2021)

Leprous - "Contaminate Me" (9:02) from Coal (2013)

Maudlin of the Well - "Birth Pains of Astral Projection" (10:34) from Bath (2001)

Pain of Salvation - "To the End" (4:57) from Entropia (1997)

Total length: 28:42

Here are my submissions for the December Gateway playlist (still slowly expanding my number of Gateway suggestions, now at 6 of them):

Breaking Benjamin - "So Cold" (4:33) from We Are Not Alone (2004)

Coldrain - "Die Tomorrow" (3:06) from Nothing Lasts Forever (2010)

Dir En Grey - "Dozing Green" (4:05) from Uroboros (2008)

Katatonia - "Deliberation" (4:00) from The Great Cold Distance (2006)

Lacuna Coil - "Delirium" (3:16) from Delirium (2016)

We Came as Romans - "Who Will Pray?" (3:23) from We Came as Romans (2015)

Total length: 22:23

I did my review, here's its summary:

With an album name like Core, you might expect the band to add some metalcore/hardcore/grindcore... I wish! Though what I ended up getting is perfect too. See, what this album centers around is the legend of Core (pronounced "KOR-ee"), the female maiden goddess of life and death, whose other name, Persephone is the inspiration for the band's name with a slight different spelling, Persefone. The part of the legend dealt with here is her abduction and exile to the underworld, very fitting for the music aspect... Two years after their debut that started as a demo but became a full-length album, Truth Inside the Shades, Core evolves the sound from a unique album into something greater. Simply in greater depth, the addition of female vocals, and consisting of 3 long songs that could fill in a 3-part mini-TV-series! Besides those elements, the heaviness often calms for something softer and restrained, and that's good because if you're gonna make three 20+ minute epics, you gotta add some variety. Clean guitars are more prominent with Hispanic vibe from famous composers in countries surrounding their homeland of Andorra, such as Emilio Pujol from Spain. The guitar soloing can be a bit bluesy, but in a pleasant way. The lead and rhythm guitars are what power up the nice riffing. There's prominent bass, and nice piano and keyboards. Is it just me or are there 4 vocalists in this album? A growler, a screamer, a male singer, and a female singer... I bet this ambitious aspect inspired Amaranthe's multi-vocalist style. All these vocal styles share the spotlight, shining at different moments after moments, though while I enjoy the unclean vocals, the clean vocals fit better for the atmosphere. I'm used to the balance of clean and unclean vocals since Trivium. And did I mention the epic progressive length of beyond 20 minutes?? And they're all split into multiple parts, split even further in the lyrics, which you can find in a long-a** portion of my review: https://metal.academy/reviews/5872/7336 (don't get bored!!) Of course, there are also a couple editions that each have a short bonus treat (for one of them, do you like Star Wars?). All in all, I would recommend Core to any metalhead, especially if the album's sound deathly progressive metal with symphonic gothic metal elements is your thing. How can you ever dislike something so good that it deserves more recognition? Get it now!

5/5

Recommended songs: The whole album, but my personal favorite is "Seed (Core & Persefone)" (though the other two long tracks are also epic)

For fans of: Dream Theater, Ne Obliviscaris, Opeth

Maybe next month we can find some avant-garde music that is more up your alley...

Yeah, I hope so too. Maybe something similar to Maudlin of the Well or Dir En Grey...

Story behind playlist order (so you know what to expect when going through the playlist):

The playlist order will help you visualize yourself as a warrior in a post-apocalyptic Earth on a mission to defeat the demonic forces of the underground. The more intense, brutal, and complex the music, the deeper down the underground you go and the stronger and more powerful the monsters are. You start your mission by fighting the monsters on the Earth's surface (the first 4 melodic metalcore tracks). After that you start heading down the caverns from whence they came and slaying more monsters along the way. The metalcore tracks 5-18 (including one mathcore track, one more melodic metalcore track, and a 9-minute soft intermission for a break from the action) signify the normal cavern layer where the monsters are more powerful than on the surface. Then when deathcore tracks arrive from track 19 onward, while the mostly clean yet still intense metalcore and mathcore remains up to track 22, you're in the more dangerous lava cavern layer, where there's lava all around and the monsters are even more powerful. The 4 "explicit" tracks in a row, tracks 23-26 (one metalcore, three deathcore) are for your battle with the first incarnation with the mighty powerful boss in the lava-covered pit at the earth's core. When you defeat the first incarnation, the boss would revive itself as a second incarnation beyond more powerful than any of the monsters you've fought before. It starts burning a hole up through the crust to travel up to the surface. You use a grappling hook to get a hold of its leg. You keep fighting the boss and some more monsters as you hold on travel at a fast speed (mathcore tracks 27-29). And finally, at the end of track 29, when you reach the surface, you deliver a final hit on the boss to defeat it once and for all. When the boss dies, the earth is restored back to its normal self, but you're still above the hole, and you fall right back in just before it closes up, and land in the lava below. You lose your life and end up in the "Astral Heaven" (track 30, the trancecore outro to the playlist) to remain there peacefully as a hero.

So basically I made this entire playlist play out like an epic hero story that could fit well in a movie or a video game, which I think could make the playlist more interesting, along with more appealing based on the order, for anyone up to listening to a long 2-hour playlist, but that's just what I think. Enjoy! Of course, since I'm the one who assembled this playlist, I'm gonna share with you my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

All That Remains - "This Calling" (from "The Fall of Ideals", 2006)

5/5. Let's start this album with a scream, literally! this song starts with a high menacing metalcore/close to black metal scream from Phil Labonte over chugging metalcore riffs. After a killer verse, the catchy chorus comes in, then another scream to continue the same path. After the second chorus, the duel guitars keep playing a melodic riff until a breakdown with Labonte's screaming. And finally, a pretty short guitar solo and the final chorus before the closing outro.

Bullet for My Valentine - "Scream Aim Fire" (from "Scream Aim Fire", 2008)

5/5. Then we go to the furious title track of BFMV's second album, containing pounding drums, fired-up screams in the breakdown ("Scream! Aim!! FIRE!!!"), and a signature guitar solo that's #1 in that album!

Unearth - "Watch It Burn" (from "Darkness in the Light", 2011)

4.5/5. Another great extreme starting track in this metalcore journey, containing lots of melody, plus clean vocals rarely heard from this band until the album the song is in. The punishing open-chord breakdown is the best breakdown in this album.

Trivium - "In the Court of the Dragon" (from "In the Court of the Dragon", 2021)

6/5 (not exaggerating). The furious title track of Trivium's latest album erupts with Matt Heafy's f***ing beastly growling vocals. The blast-beat onslaught carries on into the cleanly-sung chorus, occurring before a brutal breakdown. The shredding soloing makes you visualize a bad-a** battle with the dragon in the pit, with your weapon being that guitar soloing. A tune of heavy brilliance that might just be my ultimate favorite song since "In Waves"!

Attack Attack! - "Press F" (from "Press F", 2021)

5/5. And this might be one of my favorite songs from a band I haven't listened to yet (other than "Stick Stickly")! I press Enter to continue...

Invent Animate - "The Sun Sleeps" (from "The Sun Sleeps", 2021)

4.5/5. Another piece of headbanging talent, with guitar riffing and a chorus to love and stay alive! Though it doesn't really push my metalcore era further into including this band in my listen-list...

Lucrecia - "Sleeping Slaves of Fate" (from "Sleeping Slaves of Fate", 2021)

4/5. I'll be honest, I'm not really into anime-influenced female-fronted metalcore, though this song is quite killer. Next!

Iwrestledabearonce - "You Know That Aint Them Dogs' Real Voice" (from "Ruining It for Everybody", 2011)

5/5. Now this is the female-fronted metalcore/mathcore I prefer, influenced from Mr. Bungle and grindcore! Krysta Cameron has done a great job her superb mix of cleans and screams, though this would be her last album with the band. This is as delicious as the "ruined" cake on the album cover. Beyond amazing! I think the "skin-shedding" lyrics might've helped the metalcore-tattoo scene expand for all the right and wrong reasons. Nice beauty in f***ing awesome brutality! It is very impressive when a female does all the vocal work. Just like that cake, some things the unprepared might consider gross but turn out great when you're ready. Paramore would be blown away...

Void of Vision - "THE LONELY PEOPLE" (from "THE LONELY PEOPLE", 2021)

5/5. The Australian metalcore scene is really pulverizing everything in its path, and Void of Vision is doing a chaotic job cranking up the distorted destruction to 11. Anyone not in the same tolerance level as me, listen at your own risk!

Aviana - "Rage" (from "Rage", 2021)

4.5/5. A headbanger built up from a famous quote from a Dylan Thomas poem. Enough said!

Wage War - "High Horse" (from "Manic", 2021)

5/5. This song my brother was listening to, and why not? This is a catchy killer song to love, especially in lyrics such as "Caught the scent, took the bait, now the hunter is the prey". Definitely worth headbanging to!

August Burns Red - "Coordinates" (from "Phantom Anthem", 2017)

4.5/5. This one shows vocalist Jake Luhrs trying clean vocals for the first prominent time. The song itself has some twangy blues vibes, and while I'm not normally into those kinds of vibes, I know other fans of ABR's experimentation can enjoy it.

Skycamefalling - "10.21" (from "10.21", 2000)

5/5. Thanks Daniel for the idea of a soft intermission in this playlist! The instrumental title epic of the only Skycamefalling album contains 9 minutes of acoustic guitar, clean piano sounding a bit Eastern, and light percussion, leading to an ending crescendo. A soft break while you breathe in the flames of creativity!

We Came as Romans - "Darkbloom" (from "Darkbloom", 2021)

5.5/5 (not exaggerating). While assembling the playlist, I've been hooked by some of the bands I haven't listened to yet, and this song really struck out higher than the rest. A f***ing amazing banger in the heart of dark fire!

Structures - "Extinction" (from "Life Through a Window", 2014)

5/5. A more melodic song while staying heavy, compared to the heaviness of most of the previous songs. A better change of pace!

Sleep Waker - "Serenity" (from "Alias", 2021)

4.5/5. Another crazy progressive-ish metalcore song that deserves some recognition, despite the brutality. The 15-second section in the middle is all fired up and heavy as sh*t. The ending kinda gets me off-guard though. A modern headbanger that would surely surpass Korn!

Spirit Breaker - "The Mountain Between Us" (from "Cura Nata", 2021)

4/5. This might take time to get used to, at least for me anyway, but it does stir up nostalgic vibes of at least 10 years ago when prog-ish metalcore was being developed. A good exciting insane song to get you pumped with early In Hearts Wake vibes. I love the fantastic chorus that's just on fire, while the rest of the song is a d*mn good straight banger. Though the high screams I'm not so sure. Still a decently great song to love.

Caliban - "Army of Me" (from "The Undying Darkness", 2006)

4.5/5. This is an interesting one, a bad-a** metalcore cover of a Bjork song. Sensational beauty right here! Not entirely though, since the only slight flaw is the female voice who, while doing a good job imitating Bjork, lacks power.

Betraying the Martyrs - "Tapestry of Me" (from "Breathe in Life", 2011)

5/5. I love this band, with the best brutal growls from Aaron Matts, who would unfortunately leave the band recently. This is probably, for me, the best song of its album Breathe in Life with a f***ing amazing blend of heavy and clean. The chorus is the catchiest of that album, and everything else is awesome! I really love the perfect clean vocals. Unlike Born of Osiris and Periphery, they add a bit of orchestration in place of progressiveness for their metalcore/deathcore. So incredible! Let's see what else I can describe here... Some think they the instrumentation is so mixed up, but it's still wicked for me, a great improvement from their 5-song EP. That 30-second section starting at the one-minute mark is so f***ing bad-a** that I should be careful walking the streets when listening on an iPod, if I had one. This kind of music we should spread the word about! This is great soundtrack the virus apocalypse we're trapped in. For anyone feeling suicidal, the lyrics encourage to never give up.

Make Them Suffer - "Drown With Me" (from "How to Survive a Funeral", 2020)

4/5. This song I don't mind, a straight heavy song released as one of this album's in-advance singles. When I first heard it, I thought it was one of the most radical recent songs by the band, but now that I've heard the other wilder tracks in the album, it's now my d*mn least favorite song in the album. It just doesn't hold up! Booka Nile's chorus in that song is the weakest here. Still great for recent Make Them Suffer fans!

Shadow of Intent - "The Indexing" (from "Primordial", 2016)

4.5/5. Another dope song! Think of this like a killer blend of Betraying the Martyrs, At the Gates, and Yngwie Malmsteen.

Psyopus - "The Burning Halo" (from "Odd Senses", 2009)

5/5. Holy f***ing sh*t!!! I love this mathcore madness!! With a crazy riff! Things get epically insane at 0:42, then 42 more seconds later is where things get way better. The high-screeching riffs might annoy those who aren't in the same level as me, but it's a brilliant assault for my ears. Towards the end, a preacher who sounds like Marco Hietala from Nightwish yells "Demon...WHO ARE YOU??!" before a final pulverizing breakdown. I would say this track is math-death-cyber-grindcore. Truly chaotic!! Apparently, this is about Anneliese Michel, a victim to abusive exorcism by her religious parents. As an avant-garde mathcore band, Psyopus has done what their fans have expected, and that's what I like about this, though I'm not a fan...YET.

Defocus - "Disease" (from "Disease", 2021)

4.5/5. Another metalcore banger! Enough said...

Bound in Fear - "Saint of Sorrow" (from "The Hand of Violence", 2019)

3.5/5. This is more of an intro song to the album's original release, but it's a f***ing tough one that acts as the first part of the brutal deathcore trio. Even the strongest would be disturbed! Listen at your own risk, seriously!

Brand of Sacrifice - "The Branded" (from "God Hand", 2019)

4/5. Probably one of the heaviest deathcore bands on Planet f***ing Earth! Anyone listening to this might feel the urge to go berserk and slay as many demons as they can, ripping the demons' guts and shoving them up the demons' a**es.

Darko US - "(Devine Void)" (from "Pt. 1 Dethmask", 2020)

4.5/5. Another powerful deathcore track with big rhythm! What else is there to say?

Car Bomb - "Dissect Yourself" (from "Mordial", 2019)

5/5. Another perfect quantum-physical mathcore track that can shoot more powerful than planet-destroying laser beams! Think of this like Gaza, Gojira, and the more brutal Lamb of God all mixed in one cauldron.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Sandbox Magician" (from "Under the Running Board", 1998)

4.5/5. Still amazing mathcore/metalcore lovers since its release slightly before I was born, with a cool ending past the two-minute mark.

Converge - "Thaw" (from "Jane Doe", 2001)

5/5. Then it flows to this wonderful gem. You can feel the intense vocal emotion overpower you as he screams over the brutal instrumentation. I would've suggested the 11-minute title epic, but I wasn't up to taking up too much space. Maybe next time...

Crossfaith - "Astral Heaven" (from "Xeno", 2015)

4.5/5. And finally we end with a killer outro from the one Revolution subgenre I hadn't tackled yet, trancecore. Anyone having survived the rest of my playlist, enjoy the cool trance of this outro. You've earned it!

Wow, I really dig this playlist that I've made! That opinion might seem bad form, but let me even out by saying that I would recommend any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but wants to get into a great start in enjoy the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting my playlist, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

Saxy, let me just say, you have done a hail of an incredible job assembling this month's Infinite playlist! This tracklisting has encouraged me to go through the entire playlist and find excellent tracks from bands I already listen to along with different bands in which some of them I feel up to trying some more songs from them. Well done, please keep it up! So without further ado, let's get my track thought journey started:

Evergrey - "Misled" (from "In Search Of Truth", 2001)

4/5. The journey begins where this album's story ends, a straight but not too simple piece of the emotional Evergrey sound spectrum. I chose this as a pleasant way for any newcomers to get used to Evergrey.

Enslaved - "Caravans to the Other World" (from "Utgard", 2021)

4.5/5. An awesome Enslaved track as usual, never droning around. Enslaved has really evolved their sound throughout their 30-year tenure, getting more progressive release after release while keeping some of their black metal roots. The evolution continues in this EP!

Ne Obliviscaris - "And Plagues Flower the Kalidescope" (from "Portal Of I", 2012)

5/5. This one shows what the band's music is about, beautifully sinister words over fantastic music that make time fly for the first 10+ minute epic this playlist has. I'm a little surprised by the small amount of big epics here, but the playlist is still brilliant so far!

Plini - "Pan" (from "Impulse Voices", 2020)

5/5. Ah yeah, jazzy instrumental progressive rock/metal in a similar vein to Animals as Leaders! The best part of this great piece is the saxophone solo that's so saxy (pun not intended, but if it is, I hope you don't mind). I wish I could close my eyes and drift away, but as of writing this comment, I'm in an online history class so I have something that I need to focus on alongside the music. Anyway, this is one of the most incredible songs with a bad-a** mix of guitar heaviness with saxophone jazz. The last two minutes give me crying chills and the urge to become a symphony conductor. F***ing amazing, beyond good! The last minute has superb Dream Theater-like soloing.

Pain of Salvation - "On A Tuesday" (from "In The Passing Light Of Day", 2017)

4.5/5. Smokin' hot astonishing progressive metal! And it all came from the mind of Daniel Gildenlöw during his battle with a life-threatening disease...

Dream Theater - "Scene Seven: I. The Dance of Eternity" (from "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory", 1999)

5/5. The first part of "Scene Seven" is an incredible progressive work of art. It references "Metropolis" Part 1 a lot and has great soloing from guitar, keyboards, and bass. It's Dream Theater's Crusade! Despite the guilt from lying to his brother, Edward decides that love is his greater emotion for Victoria and seduces her to point of vulnerability.

Unreqvited - "Autumn & Everly" (from "Beautiful Ghosts", 2021)

4.5/5. Similarly with Lantlos, this band mixes orchestral post-metal with genres other than sludge metal, in this case with blackgaze, a genre I'm still not really up for. Nonetheless, that's the kind of great beauty I feel up to hearing in the afternoon. Dark Autumn aggression is mixed with delicate Winter poetry. Eternal glory is delivered spiritually even during these dark times on Earth. So wonderful that I'm speechless! Even the cover art is beautiful.

Imperial Triumphant - "Transmission to Mercury" (from "Alphaville", 2020)

4/5. This is a bit killer, but mixing technical death metal with avant-garde black metal doesn't quite cut it for me. Let's see what's next...

Seventh Wonder - "Unbreakable" (from "Mercy Falls", 2008)

4.5/5. Another song that makes me jump for joy! It has a happy chorus, plus a soft part with a very good bass solo.

Canvas Solaris - "Renormalization" (from "Chromosphere", 2021)

4/5. Cool jazzy progressive rock/metal in a similar vein to Plini, but with more speed ahead.

Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas - "Chevron" (from "Mariner", 2016)

4.5/5. This one is more equal-sounding in terms of involvement. In this song, Julie Christmas' vocals warps from girlish singing to coherent shouting, as if Avril Lavigne joined a post-sludge band. Yet there's plenty of space for Cult of Luna's illustrative grooves and luminous electronics.

Ostura - "Deathless" (from "The Room", 2018)

4.5/5. There are songs that are so good that they deserve more attention. This is one of them, to be heard by the progressive/symphonic metal community. Don't confuse it with progressive DEATH metal band Obscura! Basically, it sounds like a mix of Savatage, Ayreon, Dream Theater. I've especially included Ayreon because a guest vocalist for some of that project's albums, Mike Mills does the majority of vocals in this song. Great song, though probably too close-sounding to my earlier more melodic taste. Marco Sfogli does amazing guitar here to turn a chaotic mess into a something beautiful. Absolutely great progressive/symphonic metal single! I love it, though my hat of full-on melody is off. If I recommend this song to the rest of you, Saxy and I shall say "You're welcome!"

Voivod - "Experiment" (from "Dimension Hatross", 1988)

4/5. The experimentation continues after this song's turbulent intro, and while not the best, it's something Voivod fans should be familiar with.

Rivers of Nihil - "Dreaming Black Clockwork" (from "The Work", 2021)

4.5/5. This is the extreme tech-death riff-wrath to enjoy! However, after only over a minute of that, the soft instrumentation returns to unfairly steal the spotlight. But hold on to your seats, because there's still more extreme to the prog to continue, while switching back and forth. A killer highlight!

An Abstract Illusion - "Drop This Planet of Dust " (from "Illuminate The Path", 2016)

4.5/5. I love the clean vocals when they blend well with the progressive melodic black/death elements, especially that dimensional section from the 4 and a half minute mark onwards. I might get tired of it if I over-listen, but there are fantastic progressive influences from Omnium Gatherum and Persefone that would inspire me to do my album review marathon for the latter band. Delightful melodeath-inspired progressive metal!

Textures - "Reaching Home" (from "Dualism", 2011)

5/5. One of the most awesome captivating songs without a chorus! Perhaps this could be a shining moment to get into this band after a few attempts over the years. I have my fingers crossed for this hope.

Thy Catafalque "Köszöntsd a hajnalt" (from "Vadak", 2021)

3.5/5. Again, avant-garde black metal isn't my kind of thing, especially when there's Hungarian lyrics and folk elements. Not quite the expected ending, but I'm still grateful...

Good work on this playlist, Xephyr! Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Unto Others – “Heroin” (from “Strength", 2021)

4/5. A great emotional start to this playlist, though not really the best because of the gothic metal-ish sound I've departed from. Still f***ing bad-a** killer though! The singer has quite a creepy laugh during one of the headbanging parts that makes you think of Tom G. Warrior. This is not even close to DragonForce at all, but a fast heavy tune nonetheless. The sweet harmonies and solo throughout the last minute can remind some of Slayer. Basically this is the faster Type O Negative gone classic heavy metal!

Crimson Glory – “Red Sharks” (from “Transcendence”, 1988)

4.5/5. This frantic track shows a more abrasive side while still mostly melodic.

Angra – "The Course of Nature" (from “Aurora Consurgens”, 2006)

5/5. This album continues Edu Falaschi-era Angra's grand album streak since the mighty Rebirth and the conceptual Temple of Shadows. This is my favorite song Aurora Consurgens, an album I loved so much that has celebrated its 15th anniversary a couple days before writing this comment. So good! Apparently, the intro is absent in some versions. The album has massive high-quality details in majority. Aurora is, in my opinion, superior to their next couple albums, Aqua and Secret Garden. Angra has made some of the best progressive-ish power metal fresh out of Brazil.

Battlelore – “Doombound” (from “Doombound”, 2011)

5/5. Now here's a song that's one of the doomiest-sounding symphonic metal tracks I've heard, as one more farewell to The Fallen without engaging in the clan I've already severed ties from, and it's the last full song of the last album before Battlelore's hiatus (except for a reunion show a few years later). The second half of this song is one of the most touching and saddest moments of metal for me 6 years ago shortly before starting my venture into gothic metal, with the amazing angelic voice of Kaisa Jouhki, especially in the 5 and a half minute mark. That part, along with the main riff, is epic! Holy sh*t, this is pure poetry that only the true fans of Battlelore would expect. Seriously, where is that band?!? Please come back!!

Edguy – “Nailed to the Wheel” (from “Mandrake”, 2001)

4.5/5. Another song to love with sublime soloing, one of the best from this band! Edguy was more relevant back then before they started joking around in albums after this one. The soft intro might've inspired some songs by Civil War. F***ing heavy power metal that shall sweep the nation!

Running Wild – “Little Big Horn” (from “Blazon Stone - Remastered”, 2017)

4.5/5. What is with these "Little Big" titles? They don't really make sense! Is it little or big?! JUST PICK ONE!!! Anyway, all jokes set aside, this great song lets out a glimpse of hope. The band's bassist during this pirate metal starter trilogy, Jens Becker can really master his fantastic 5-string bass blasts, which was uncommon in metal but starting to catch on. A f***ing neat classic! The refrain guitar makes you thirsty for rum, or if you're a non-alcoholic like me, mountain dew as a victory drink. At some points, Rolf Kasparek can remind some of Blaze Bayley.

Gamma Ray – “Land of the Free” (from “Land of the Free - Anniversary Edition”, 2017)

5/5. Another true highlight, a real power metal anthem with guest vocals by former Helloween member Michael Kiske.

Twilight Force – “Gates of Glory” (from “Tales of Ancient Prophecies”, 2014)

4.5/5. Summon the tanks to fight against dragons in the fantasy land of power metal! Twilight Force has brought in Sabaton's Joakim Brodén for some heavy power in the vocals. I can understand the lyrics quite well. Satan would very well be in a battle against Sauron for supreme evil elsewhere. Twilight Force's lead vocalist Christian Eriksson (Chrileon) does amazing falsettos, but sadly he's out of the band.

Trivium - "Silence In The Snow" (from "Silence In The Snow", 2015)

4/5. This song is from an album by a band that would normally be thrashy metalcore, but ended up in a one-time heavy metal style due to temporary growling loss. It was also a last-minute entry to replace a different song not internationally available on Spotify. This one casts a great surge of immediacy and riffing.

Atlantean Kodex - "A Secret Byzantium - Numbered as Sand and the Stars" (from "The Course Of Empire", 2019)

3.5/5. Again I would've liked the gothic/doom-influenced heavy metal style better if I didn't lose most interest in gothic/doom metal, but there's still good beauty in melodic force, and it's quite cool ending the playlist in nearly the same style as the beginning.

My thoughts on some tracks:

While She Sleeps – “Anti-Social” (from “So What?”, 2019)

5/5. Let's start this playlist with a song with some of the most honesty in humanity. I love this, especially the f***ing catchy chorus! Probably the best of its album So What?, with great lyrics. The Sleeps Society awakens!!

Papa Roach – “Time & Time Again” (from “Lovehatetragedy”, 2002)

4.5/5. I remember in my pre-high-school-days, this was one of the alt-metal bands my brother and I used to listen to, but mainly just their hit single "Last Resort". This song, "Time & Time Again" is what I think should've been part of The Matrix Reloaded soundtrack, and I think it might just be my favorite song from them besides the nostalgia-inducing "Last Resort". There's a bit of a Faith No More influence in there. As great as a well-balanced diet of pizza and salad!

Body Count – “Institutionalized 2014” (from “Manslaughter”, 2014)

4/5. Is there hope for the Gateway humanity?! Rap metal is not really what I'm up for when expanding my Gateway palate. This is still kinda great though, revisiting a Suicidal Tendencies classic. Ice-T rants angrily in the verses with lyrics worth laughing at, like for example, "I COULDNT GIVE A F*** IF YOU EAT SAWDUST, MOTHERF***ER!!!!" and a tangent about whether or not ham could kill you if you shoot it out of a gun. This is guaranteed to wake up the neighbors with either the music's loudness or your laughing or both. A wicked tune for people wanting to blow up their anger like a f***ing deadly bomb, though I might not return to this band anytime soon.

Disturbed – “A Reason To Fight” (from “Evolution”, 2018)

3.5/5. Then after that massive rant-fest, you begin to wonder if there is a reason to fight, or if it would just lead to something worse. This tear-jerking ballad is good for any anxiety-ridden person, like I was a couple months ago.

The Gentle Men – “2004 Breakup (Remastered)” (from :The Evolution Of Tears”, 2021)

4/5. This is another good song to enjoy, reminiscent of the alt-rock/metal you might find in the year 2004. Nicely done!

Lacuna Coil – “Closer” (from “Karmacode”, 2006)

4.5/5. Lacuna Coil was one of the bands I've left behind in my gothic/doom metal departure, and that's too bad because of their later alt-metal albums like this one, Karmacode, the album with the slightly nightmare-inducing cover art. This is an amazing song that actually has some Europop vibes that might've influenced Amaranthe. Years since my last full listen of this song, and it remains immortal in my memory. I enjoy the bad-a** bass intro and outro, though the guitars are still worth bringing in. These lyrics hit me like a train in this awesome song, especially when the first chorus starts at the one-minute mark. This might be tied with Disturbed's "Stricken" as two historical modern alt-metal songs for me, and they still have that energy in subsequent decades. Guitar Hero players know that song for sure...

Linkin Park – “Pushing Me Away” (from “Hybrid Theory”, 2000)

4/5. The perfect formula of the Hybrid Theory singles continue once more in the closing song of the album, which I still like since first listening nearly a decade ago. Oh how I wish that was a single...

The Bread Scientists – “!!!” (from “Troposphere”, 2021)

3.5/5. ??? This track is sick (as in killer) and all, but too experimental. Next!

Katatonia – “Lethean” (from “Dead End Kings”, 2012)

4/5. Similarly with Lacuna Coil, Katatonia's first 3 albums were in The Fallen, which is why they're another band I've left behind in my gothic/doom metal departure, but later they switched to alt-metal while maintaining the gloomy lyrics. Beautiful vocals as the cold shivering tree of depression continues to grow.

Green Carnation – “The Quiet Offspring” (from “The Quiet Offspring”, 2005)

3.5/5. I skipped ahead to track 24 for one more of my submissions, a song from Green Carnation's hard rock/alt-metal album that was part of their constant style-switching. Not really the best, but a good one for those who wanna hear that kind of style much better executed than Metallica's Load albums.

Thanks Daniel for accepting my Revolution feature release for this month! Here's its summary:

With their 2005 sophomore breakthrough Ascendancy and since 2008's Shogun, Trivium has marked their spot as one of the greatest discography-expanding bands of modern times, despite the flaws of albums #1 and #3. The slightly underrated 2011 masterpiece In Waves began their venture to show great concepts and executions that would carry on in subsequent albums, except in 2015's Silence in the Snow when vocalist Matt Heafy temporarily lost his growling ability. So where does it all lead? Into the Court of the Dragon! In 2020 after the previous album What the Dead Men Say, when Trivium was in lockdown during the virus and couldn't do any live performances, they decided to not waste any time. They spent the rest of that year writing an album that would later be recorded as almost a sequel to the epic thrash-metalcore of Shogun with greater hints of its surrounding albums' sounds. While staying stellar as ever, their performance is probably the most powerful since Ascendancy. The guitars have more fire and crunch than the spiciest crunchiest KFC meal. The drumming is more brutal as well, and the vocals add a greater blend of mature cleans and convincing screams. All of that you can find in 9 songs (after an orchestral intro) that can range from a short swift 4 minutes to an average 5 minutes to an epic 7 minutes, with the epic finale track in relation to one of the greatest video game franchises today, The Elder Scrolls. So going out on a whim here, In the Court of the Dragon marks the band's best and strongest album since In Waves. I would recommend this to anyone who has followed the band far through their over two-decade career. The band's later greatness continues in power and glory. An amazing masterpiece that's probably, for me, the best of the year!

5/5 (maybe even 6/5)

Recommended songs: "In the Court of the Dragon", "Like a Sword of Damocles", "The Shadow of the Abattoir", "Fall Into Your Hands", "The Phalanx"

For fans of (this album is so perfect that it can be for everyone, but just in case...): All That Remains, Unearth, Nevermore

Thanks Daniel for accepting my Infinite feature release for this month! My review for this album shall come sometime this week as part of my own Persefone album review marathon, so stay tuned for that...

Another radical recommendation from you, Daniel! I shall give this album a listen and a review as soon as I can... 

My Post-Sludge Elemental Star Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/59Sf6o9TJg2z7sjVzQkMcp

What better way for me to celebrate Halloween than review the latest Ice Nine Kills album! This grand offering of horror-themed metalcore shall please people looking for a cauldron blend of Motionless in White, Winds of Plague, and Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!