Saxy S's Forum Replies
April 2022
1. Linkin Park – Session (2003) Requested by Andi
2. Hum – In the Den (2020)
3. 36 Crazyfists – Better To Burn (2017)
4. Demon Hunter – Infected (2002) Requested by Andi
5. Fire From The Gods – Excuse Me (2016)
6. FEVER 333 – SUPREMACY (2020)
7. Chevelle – Family System (2002) Requested by Daniel
8. Breaking Benjamin – The Diary of Jane (2006) Requested by Andi
9. Tool – Opiate2 (2022)
10. Dog Fashion Disco – Wait (2017)
11. In This Moment – Forever (2008)
12. MAXIMUM THE HORMONE – REREREREREREREREMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA (2005)
13. Dir En Grey – Unraveling (2013) Requested by Andi
14. Prophets Of Rage – The Party’s Over (2016)
15. Disturbed – Perfect Insanity (2008)
16. Evanescence – Use My Voice (2021) Requested by Andi
17. Atreyu – Save Us (2021)
18. Stone Sour – Rose Red Violent Blue (This Song Is Dumb & so Am I) (2017)
19. In Flames – I, The Mask (2019) Requested by Andi
20. Dope – Survive (2005)
21. Lacuna Coil – Blood, Tears, Dust (2016) Requested by Andi
22. Architects – Black Lungs (2021)
23. Machinae Supremacy – Gimmie More (SID) (2008) Requested by Andi
April 2022
1. Hath - The Million Violations (2022)
2. Converge & Chelsea Wolfe – Coil (2021) Requested by Andi
3. Slice The Cake – Unending Waltz (2016)
4. Earthside – Crater (2015) Requested by Xephyr
5. Meshuggah – Light the Shortening Fuse (2022)
6. Opeth – Burden (2008) Requested by Andi
7. Periphery – Catch Fire (2016)
8. Enslaved – The Dead Stare (2003) Requested by Xephyr
9. Playgrounded – Rituals (2022)
10. Plini – Handmade Cities (2016) Requested by Andi
11. Alcest – Les jardins de minuit (2019)
12. Skyharbor – Synthetic Hands (2018) Requested by Andi
13. Monuments – False Providence (2022)
14. Toundra – Ruinas (2022) Requested by Xephyr
15. Liquid Tension Experiment – Rhapsody in Blue (2021)
16. Voivod – Brain Scan (1988) Requested by Andi
17. Animals As Leaders – Red Miso (2022)
18. Eight Bells – Premonition (2022) Requested by Xephyr
19. Haken – As Death Embraces (2013)
...Anyways, my list for this clan is incredibly easy to run out:
1. Alice in Chains - Rooster
2. Faith No More - Be Aggressive
3. Deftones - Diamond Eyes
4. System of a Down - B.Y.O.B.
5. Slipknot - Psychosocial
6. Linkin Park - Faint
7. Rage Against the Machine - Guerilla Radio
8. Helmet - Unsung
9. Karnivool - Mauseum
10. Living Colour - Cult of Personality
To be far Andi, I decided to make this challenge for the Infinite clan exclusively because it is such a vast environment that covers so much ground that it would seem almost impossible for someone new to approach it without some sort of curtailing to preferred preference. I have no problem with including personal bias/preferences into these types of lists; they could not exist without them. But trying to pull a full one-eighty from a subjective list (The Guardians) to a completely objective list (The Gateway) was not the original intention. That's the main reason why I included the addendum "They can be metal fans from other subgenres" to the rules. Not everyone gets "into" music the same way. Think of it more as a "how to get into ___", but from your point of experience. I think Sonny gets this and their list is proof of this. Some easily recognizable names with a couple of big hits from FNM, SOAD and Helmet, whilst also including deeper cuts from AiC, Slipknot and Soundgarden.
Good lists. I appreciate Sonny's list since it really plays into the last of my stipulations about getting into Prog while already being a metal fan. The inclusion of heavier, extreme metal divisions like Oranssi Pazuzu and Blood Incantation are a nice touch. But the inclusion of the Ihsahn track at the end makes a lot of sense!
I think in general, putting this kind of a list together for the Infinite clan is much harder than any other genre due to extended runtime, which is where Sonny's list could push a few people away. I think Andi's list is probably the closest to how I would put a list together, but with some slight alterations. It would probably look like this:
1. Dream Theater - Pull Me Under
2. Queensryche - Eyes of a Stranger
3. Tool - Schism
4. Mastodon - Blood and Thunder
5. Opeth - Face of Melinda
6. Devin Townsend - Deadhead
7. ISIS - So Did We
8. Agalloch - Not Unlike the Waves
9. Leprous - The Price
10. Animals As Leaders - Physical Education
I have a general idea for what I would include, but cannot round out the bottom of the list. I'll think it through and post my thoughts later.
I cannot get into this either. I must admit that my knowledge of metal acts incorporating classical instrumentation like this is quite limited. I know Folk and Neoclassical Metal, but this specifically is reserved basically for Haggard and Obesquiae. But even I can tell from a general knowledge of metal that this record does not sound very good. There is a severe lacking of bass presence on this record, making the heavier portions quite lackluster. It has so many of the same production issues that early 90s death metal, but with this being more doom metal, it comes across really flat since the kick drum is not double bass blistering.
The vocals are....there. The harsh vocals sound phoned in and lazy. The clean vocals sound cool and provide much needed substance that is missing in the low end. As for the symphonic elements, they are the best part of the album. Haggard may have been better off just making an album of Renaissance music; without the guitar and drums, the instrumentals can be fully appreciated with an independent bass line. They still aren't very good though, as the keyboards constantly eclipse the winds and strings.
I feel like I should credit Haggard for bringing attention to a different style of symphonic metal that I never cared to search out before. The use of classical songwriting techniques over a style that is not power metal is a nice change of pace, but the way in which it is executed leaves a lot to be desired.
5/10
Emperor are usually among the short list of bands in the black metal genre that are among essential listening for getting into. And, like with so many others, In The Nightside Eclipse and Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk are excellent records. Although I will admit, digging further into the Emperor rabbit hole and hearing the quasi prog/avant-garde leanings of Prometheus left me fascinated what this band could do beyond symphonic black metal.
The shame is of course the band disbanding very shortly after that album released. After a recovery window, frontman and brains of that band, Ihsahn, went on to form his own solo project that could double down on the progressive tendencies and not be bogged down by the former bands legacy. And angL is a fascinating album; not quite as good as the best solo projects like the far more successful follow up After, but you can hear strides leading them down the path.
I think my biggest complaint with this album is how much is sounds like an Opeth record circa 2001. I'm sure this is not meant to be a surprise considering Mikael Åkerfeldt actually shows up "Unhealer" and the two of them have some really strong chemistry. And that's before mentioning how well the track blends its styles and themes together. It's very well done and mimics the best parts of Opeth songwriting, without resorting to the ten-plus-minute epic trope.
That said, I cannot wrap my head around tracks like "Elevator" and "Scarab". Both songs are really good with "Scarab" being an album highlight, but they both use the similar songwriting tropes of a Blackwater Park with soaring open chord harmonies in the guitars, alternating harsh and sung vocals, and slow, comfortable grooves not allowing the percussion to truly break free. Honestly I question myself if this is a good thing or not: "if it worked so well for Opeth, why not just replicate it" I think. And sure that is a valid point, but Ihsahn could really do a lot more with the sound than just play it straight.
As Sonny alluded to, this album's three outliers are "Misanthrope", "Malediction" and "Monolith". These tracks are much heavier on the black metal tones; tremolo guitar melodies, sweeping rhythm chords, blast beats and primarily harsh screaming. They sound much cleaner than some of the later Emperor cuts on Prometheus, and ditch the symphonic tones for technical prowess; a sound that Ihsahn pulls off remarkably well. The alternating time and style changes, especially on "Monolith" do not sound phoned in.
angL has the feeling of a test run for me. It's Ihsahn trying to see how much he can get away with without disappointing or outright insulting the black metal fanbase, before going full balls to the wall progressive black metal on After a couple of years later. I think the shorter song structures and runtime only play into this albums benefit, since Ihsahn is such a proficient writer, he can make tracks feel like they could go longer. The production is solid and the tracks flows smoothly into one another. But sounding like an Opeth album instead of a...y'know...an Ihashn album, does leave it a tick lower in my books.
7/10
Can we add the newest album from Vein.fm (formerly known as Vein) This World Is Going to Ruin You
Izthmi - Leaving This World, Leaving it All Behind
Very happy to see this Seattle based black metal band back with their follow-up to the excellent debut The Arrows of Our Ways.
https://izthmiseattle.bandcamp.com/album/leaving-this-world-leaving-it-all-behind
I was a little bit worried when I read Vinny's review of this album and felt like I might need to write an apology letter after this one. I mentioned a few months ago that if you see a newer album requested by me in the featured album section, it's most likely an album that I have a faint interest in listening to, rather than an album that I want to show off.
So with trepidation I listened to Troposphere and...well it isn't as bad as I anticipated. It isn't very good, but I can tell that there was at least some kind of effort put in to make a record that sounded unique on its own terms. And I'll be damned if it does not sound unique in the way that it blends industrial, drum and bass ("Helios"), math rock and post-metal/shoegaze ("Starburst") together. After coming off of my Zeal & Ardor review, it's fascinating to see how different the avant-garde tag can really be.
It's a damn shame the album sounds awful. As Vinny eluded to, without a vocalist, these songs quickly lose momentum when they rely heavily on texture rather than melody. The guitar has a low pass filter on it that sounds like its fading in and out of each track by accident. And the overall compression of that guitar line is enough to make my skin crawl. These post-metal passages on "Vaporous" are supposed to sound massive and epic, but end up feeling half baked as if not to wake up the neighbours.
Perhaps what keeps this album from unbearable is the bass lines. I wish more metal bands had the cahones to have bass lines in their music that were as prominent, tight and independent as these. The rest of it? There was an attempt at something promising, but more than likely its monetary restrictions keeping this below average, and that's a real shame.
4/10
March 2022
1. Attila – Day Drinking (2021)
2. [AMATORY] - Дыши со мной (2008)
3. Coal Chamber – Shock the Monkey (1999)
4. Chevelle – The Red (2002)
5. Sevendust – Thank You (2015)
6. Drowning Pool – Step Up (2004)
7. Dir En Grey – The IID Empire (2003)
8. bloodsimple – Straight Hate (2005)
9. Godsmack – Cryin’ Like A Bitch!! (2010)
10. Escape the Fate – Issues (2010)
11. Nothingface – Ether (2003)
12. Prophets Of Rage – Unfuck The World (2017)
13. Karnivool – Synops (2005)
14. Hacktivist – (Rock) Superstar (2016)
15. Life Of Agony – Love to Let You Down (2005)
16. Lacuna Coil – Our Truth (2006)
17. The Bread Scientists – Starburst (2021)
18. coldrain – We’re not alone (2010)
19. Mark Morton – Cross Off (2019)
20. Tremonti – Radical Change (2015)
21. Thousand Foot Krutch – Untraveled Road (2014)
22. Memphis May Fire – The Old Me (2018)
23. Times Of Grace – The Burden of Belief (2021)
24. Deftones – Digital Bath (2000)
25. Wage War – Grave (2019)
26. Green Carnation – Pile of Doubt (2005)
27. Ra – Don’t Turn Away (2008)
March 2022
1. Moon Tooth – Carry Me Home (2022)
2. Angra – Black Widow’s Web (2018)
3. Aviations – Dizziness Explained (2018)
4. Amenra – Children of the Eye (2017)
5. Zeal & Ardor – Death to the Holy (2022)
6. Diablo Swing Orchestra – Justice For Saint Mary (2012)
7. Between the Buried and Me – The Ectopic Stroll (2015)
8. Amorphis – When The God’s Came (2022)
9. Enslaved – Isa (2004)
10. Slugdge – Salt Thrower (2018)
11. Cult of Luna – An Offering To The Wild (2022)
12. Rolo Tomassi – Mutual Ruin (2022)
13. Queensryche – Eyes Of A Stranger (1988)
14. Leprous – Coal (2013)
15. Allegaeon – Called Home (2022)
16. Voivod – Iconspiracy (2018)
17. Jinjer – Home Back (2019)
18. Persefone – Architecture of the I (2022)
Allegaeon - DAMNUM
One of my favourite bands blending melodic and technical death metal together are back with album number six. I've been impressed so far by what I've heard. If you are a fan of Opeth and you have not heard "Called Home" yet, either get on that right now, or wait until next months Infinite playlist. You'll thank me later.
Buy/stream the album here:
https://allegaeon.bandcamp.com/album/damnum
Is that really two Christian death metal bands featured in the same month?
7 Horns 7 Eyes brand of progressive death metal is heavily doom influenced, groovy and melodic. Perhaps it is to the album disadvantage then that I expected this to hit with a little bit more force. As I discussed in my brief review of the Revolution featured album for the month, deathcore was not my scene during my formative years, but all my friends were getting into it. I was exploring the world of Djent at the time and The Contortionist was one of the few acts that I could honestly enjoy bridging the gap for. Breakdown sections during songs like "Phumis: The Falsehood of Affliction", "A Finite Grasp of Infinite Disillusion" and "Delusions" sound as if they were borrowed right out of The Contortionist playbook. The later of those two songs contains a very elaborate guitar solo during its second half over a death doom instrumental in an attempt to appeal to the guitar elitists.
I think it becomes the most apparent to me as the album is coming to its conclusion, from around "The Winnowing" through "Regeneration". Nothing in the death metal playbook says that it has to be blistering fast tempos 100% of the time. But here's the thing: I started losing interest as the album was just going to play it safe the rest of the way. There are no deviances from the formula displayed on the first seven tracks: no extended breakdowns, no atomic drops, no blast beats. And it infuriated me further as I went back and listened to the album again and noticed that the rest of the album felt exactly the same! "The Winnowing" plays such a tease during its bridge, then returns right back to the same paint by numbers formula as before.
But the album's closer "Regeneration" set it in stone: this is a guitar wank album. Not that there is anything wrong with guitar wank albums; they can be done incredibly well if given the proper focus. And I still do like this; I fall into a similar position as Xephyr when it comes to the kind of technical/progressive death metal we prefer. And hearing what is essentially Swallow The Sun/My Dying Bride with uncommon time signatures and quasi Djent breakdown passages is pretty damn cool. But it fails to keep me engrossed for its entire runtime. Another fine example of "great in moments, but not as a full album" I'm afraid.
7/10
Deathcore played a minor role in my formative years. Even though I never turned out to be a huge fan of it, I know plenty of people who were in the same metalcore circles as me who were able to use this new found trend as an excuse to get on board with the unfiltered, heavy as fuck world of technical death metal. As they moved in one direction, I found myself getting more into Djent with bands like After the Burial and later Periphery.
What I never understood from this new crop of bands was how disjointed it all felt. Even more so than it's two original influences. Something about the blistering fast tempos, preceded by a whiplash tempo change to a disgusting breakdown never flowed with me. Which leads up to Impending Doom, a band who were left behind by the metalcore community, even if I will admit, their earlier discography is probably the most consistent in the subgenre. Their fourth album, Baptized In Filth continues in the same trend as those first two albums with a heavier focus on melody. Well maybe that's an overstatement; it's still deathcore with a heavy emphasis on breakdown and atomic drops, but "Murderer" and "Deceiver" have strong shout choruses to go along with the groovy as hell breakdowns that anchor it all together. The final track "Death. Ascension. Resurrection" may as well be a melodic metalcore song!
Impending Doom also have the ability to bring songs down in tempo for those breakdowns with conviction rather than resorting to whiplash. "Chaos: Reborn" is a good example of how breakdowns can be implemented as part of a whole, making it much more effective. It also allows for the track to retain its identity, an issue seldom addressed in tech death or metalcore!
With all of that said, the record is quite basic in construction. I mean, I was never going to fall head over heels for this purest form of deathcore; atomic drops that disjoint the mix in preposterous ways, same-y vocal delivery for every track that never deviates, formulaic instrumentals, and breakdowns that rely more on odd guitar techniques (pinch harmonics, scrapes, etc.) than any motif or idea. But once again, I am approaching this from a very different place than those who actively listened to deathcore during the late 2000s.
As it is, if I was ever looking for a brand of melodic deathcore that didn't require me to throw on my pretentious pants and just wanted to enjoy some simple, arguably stupid, moshing fun, Impending Doom is a good place to go. When metalcore got more dank, they added the one thing from tech-death that I never wanted in my metalcore music: musical nothingness. Baptized In Filth is not going to impress anyone who knows this sound, but at least it's memorable.
7/10
Hey Andi. Guess who just released a new album today??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4hDSNieOnA&ab_channel=CenturyMediaRecords
Got a bunch of new releases for 11 February so let's get to them quickly
Cult of Luna - The Long Road North
We start off with the hotly anticipated new album from Swedish Post-metal giants Cult of Luna's newest album of atmospheric bliss:
https://cultofluna.bandcamp.com/album/the-long-road-north
Amorphis - Halo
Consistent Progressive Folk Metal band from Finland.
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/3EATOOixZ8TxrSqvbtF46A?si=pS-sU1HQQ5m4T5d_0WlO8A
Zeal & Ardor - S/T
Avant-Garde with elements of industrial, black metal, spirituals and blues. No description can do this band the right amount of service.
https://zealandardor.bandcamp.com/album/zeal-ardor-3
Tersivel - To The Orphic Void
Finally it's sludge metal in the vein of The Ocean/Mastodon. I've never heard of this group before. Let's see if anyone else finds use for it.
Yep, this is a power metal album alright.
7/10
...well I guess I should elaborate. Hammer King are German with power metal leanings, so expect a lot of songwriting techniques taken right out of the Blind Guardian/Helloween playbook. Thankfully Hammer King are not about to just make an album that sounds like it could have been written in the 1990s. They use a lot of techniques and motifs that are indebted to heavy metal OG's Judas Priest as well. Riffage is varied, but falls into a very comfortable lane that sounds like it has a lot of Evergrey influence, and maybe even some Avantasia.
None of these are negative traits on their own; I like how a newer artist can take influence from heavy metal behemoth's and transform each of those sounds into something that sounds fresh, while still maintaining the fundamentals of what made them iconic in the first place. But I found it actively distracting as I could pick apart each track on this album and guess what source material each riff, melody and solo came from. Not so much that Hammer King were permutating the sound, but rather combining pieces from different puzzles together that somehow fit.
The least distracting tunes were "Baptized by the Hammer", "Atlantis (Epilogue)" "Ashes to Ashes". Nothing here is outright offensive and it does make for a consistent listening experience. But if you want a new power metal sound, this isn't it. It's more enjoyable than Alestorm/Gloryhammer, but these guys have some work to do if they want to challenge Spirit Adrift or even Cirith Ungol.
Rolo Tomassi - Where Myth Becomes Memory
The British metalcore band Rolo Tomassi seem to have gone the way of Converge and made a full blown Post-Metal album in 2022.
Stream/download/buy the album here:
https://rolotomassi.bandcamp.com/album/where-myth-becomes-memory
"The numbers Mason. What do they mean?"
I forgot to axe them when I copy/pasted them into the forum. They're just categorization numbers; basically making sure that I cover relevant content in addition to not just filling a list with obscure acts that no ones heard of before.
Persefone - Metanoia
The newest album from Andorran prog metal outfit Persefone dropped today. I'll be checking it out this weekend and see if they can maintain the momentum they gained from Aathma a few years ago.
Stream/download the album here:
https://persefone.bandcamp.com/album/metanoia
WOW This is opening up a can of nostalgia!
I remember Chevelle being one of the first bands discovering and getting into back in the mid 2000s as I was just starting to get into metal. I approached them even without all of the grungy, pre-teen angst that was so prominent in nu-metal at the time. And you know what? I enjoyed it quite a bit. They knew how to write a decent pop song with heavy guitars, and a taste of ambiguity that is not all that uncommon in metal music.
After a while though, Chevelle just sort of...fell off my radar. Nothing that they did changed my opinion of them, but rather I just got caught up in more interesting music. Apparently they continue to make music to this day and I'm sure it's good, but I haven't found the time or effort to listen to it. So going back to 2002's Wonder What's Next reminds as to why I enjoyed this band at first.
It's quite repetitive, simplistic and the heavier moments do not hit with the same intensity as nu-metal does from Slipknot, Linkin Park and Mudvayne. But they do know a way around a hook, with "The Red" being one of those throwback tunes that hits me with true nostalgia endorphins, not the faux nostalgia of liking a trend but never truly being apart of the core fanbase. The sound of the record is very good as well. The vocals are mostly performed authentically, but vocal layering is added for additional effect. Instrumentally the guitars take center stage and with only a few exceptions (i.e. the bridge on "Send the Pain Below"), they are uncompressed allowing for the full effect of the down tuning, as well as bass to be felt.
7/10
The album art for The Call Of The Wretched Sea is very similar to that of Mastodon's Leviathan from only two years prior. That must have put quite a bit of pressure on Ahab to put together a special album. And the result is a tale that is incredibly dense, brooding and hopeless. What Ahab are able to accomplish here is textured, but not isolated enough to ignore the basic fundamentals of what makes a song memorable. There are some very simple melodies that exist on this record throughout it's six "songs", and while they may not develop themselves, the ensemble around them is robust and can turn tracks into something completely different; whether that be through key changes, tempo shifts, unique synth countermelodies, or lyrics. Where Ahab gets it right is the fundamentals; the bass and drums are pummeling even though they technically are quite simplistic.
Unfortunately, the vocals are quite weak overall. I understand conceptually that the vocals are stylistically pushed back in the mix behind much of the instrumentals because it is supposed to evoke a feeling of hopelessness, like being drowned. But track like "The Pacific" are told from the third person and has no real connection to the tale, other than a tribute to the mighty waters. There is no reason that I can tell, why the spoken word samples that sporadically appear throughout the record are more audible than Daniel Droste's vocals. Ahab would eventually solve this problem on later records, but here it just sounds like a miscalculation.
A few months ago when another Funeral Doom album was featured (Monolithe II to be precise), I lambasted the album for taking the piss out of the doom genre and leaving it an empty shell of texture rather than anything remotely interesting or memorable. I questioned whether or not I was being too hard on that record and Funeral Doom as a subgenre. But then I remembered what Ahab has been able to accomplish without ever having to resort to twenty-plus minute epic's that have no idea what they want to do. Mastodon is a good comparison point, because both tell the same story very well, but from two very different perspectives. These waves are worth the long and treacherous sail.
8/10
P.S. I prefer The Boats of the Glen Carrig slightly more than this, mostly due to the vocals not being the best. I understand why they are this way and I appreciate the effort, but they don't help the atmosphere in the same way.
I must admit, I would not have included "Serenity Painted Death" on my monthly playlist if I had known that Still Life was going to be your featured album of choice Andi. And I must come clean: Still Life is my favourite Opeth album. An all time classic that has no faults, no matter how many times I go back to it. The atmosphere is unbelievable, the production is is prime form and the lyricism is absolutely haunting. It's the kind of loneliness that other artists can only dream of replicating. What pushes it over the edge for me is that it helped pave the way for the far more commercially successful Blackwater Park while seemingly doing nothing drastically different from that record structurally. This record gets slept on far too often when speaking about the almost decade long run of My Arms, Your Hearse through Ghost Reveries. I will have to give this one a proper review before months end.
10/10
February 2022
1. Animals As Leaders – Thoroughly at Home (2009) Requested by Andi
2. Mastodon – Crack the Skye (2009) (album feature)
3. The Human Abstract – Faust (2011) (27)
4. Meshuggah – The Abysmal Eye (2022) (53)
5. Devin Townsend – Borderlands (2019) Requested by Andi
6. Tetrafusion – Sisyphus (2017) (15)
7. Voyager – Dreamer (2022) (15)
8. Tool – Fear Inoculum (2019) (47)
9. ISIS – Hand of the Host (2009) (17)
10. Gojira – Oroborus (2008) Requested by Andi
11. Caligula’s Horse – Slow Violence (2020) (24)
12. Allegaeon – Of Beasts and Worms (2022) (12)
13. Leprous – The Valley (2013) Requested by Andi
14. Wilderun – Distraction II (2022) (14)
15. Haunted Shores – Hellfire (2022) (24)
16. Opeth – Serenity Painted Death (1999) (23)
February 2022 obviously
February 2022
1. Breaking Benjamin – Torn in Two (2018) Requested by Andi
2. Karnivool – Mauseum (2005) (album feature)
3. Loathe – Dimorphous Display (2022)
4. Kittie – Brackish (2000)
5. Mushroomhead – Come One (2010)
6. Bullet For My Valentine – Piece of Me (2018) Requested by Andi
7. Powerman 5000 – Neckbone (1997)
8. Tool – Die Eier Von Satan (1996)
9. Linkin Park – Krwlng (2002) Requested by Andi
10. Skinlab – Venomous (2019)
11. King 810 – Killem All (2014)
12. Bad Wolves – Springfield Summer (2021) Requested by Daniel
13. Tourniquet – If I Was There (1997)
14. Muse – Won’t Stand Down (2022)
15. Dark new Day – Fist from the Sky (2012)
16. Machinae Supremacy – A View from the End of the World (2010) Requested by Andi
17. Motograter – Dorian (2017)
18. Girugamesh – Drain (2013)
19. Spiritbox – Eternal Blue (2021)
20. Slipknot – Unsainted (2019)
21. Head Control System – Masterpiece (of Art) (2006)
22. Dir En Grey - 輪郭 (Rinkaku) (2014) Requested by Andi
23. Korn – Cold (2019)
24. Deftones – Ohms (2020)
25. Motionless in White – Another Life (2019) Requested by Andi
26. Ra – Do You Call My Name (2002)
27. Soilwork – Stabbing the Drama (2005)
28. Sevendust – All I Really Know (2021) Requested by Vinny
29. While She Sleeps – Division Street (2021) Requested by Andi
30. 3rd Strike – No Light (2002)
The last of the clan's AOTY charts I have a vested interest in and it might be the strongest of the bunch.
Ethereal Shroud almost stole this one at the end of the year, but I have to give it to old reliable Austin Lunn and Panopticon's ...And Again Into the Light. If I had more time with Ethereal Shroud I might have given it top honors, but do not let that deter you; it is a great album. Panopticon's album is of the quality one has come to expect from Lunn with progressive songwriting and I greatly appreciate it.
wow I missed a lot of Guardians music in 2021 didn't I? Powerwolf? Really?
Anyways, "Robot King" from Helloween is still a banger and Epica's Omega was a triumphant return following a long layover while other symphonic metal giants (Nightwish and Within Temptation) laid an egg.
Thy Catafalque exemplify what it means to be progressive in 2021 and the easy winners in this category for me. Papangu was pretty solid as well for much of the same reasons. I had the same problem with Ad Nauseam that Xephyr did. Meanwhile, BTBAM was more of a nostalgia trip to the glory days rather than a transcendent experience; still a good album, but far from their best.
Glow On is the full length album of Turnstile's in which all of the tracks on Turnstile Love Connection can be found. I also agree with Xephyr that the full album should be here if the EP is. If we are making our choices based on these choices, Turnstile wins in spades, even though I would call it hardcore punk over metal.
As for the Poppy discussion, I actually enjoy the records like Poppy Computer when she was in her full electropop phase and lost favour with her as heavy metal elements were added on subsequent albums in 2018 and 2020. This year's Flux was significantly more developed and unique than the NXT soundtrack...and that record was more rock than metal. I suggest that you take the new Poppy records and treat them as rock albums instead of metal albums Xephyr. I reckon you might find something different. Then again, Poppy could divert your expectations and make a full blown country album next, so what do I know?
I didn't listen to this album last year, but did come across "Parasite" on a whim, and being very surprised by the drastic change in direction after being swallowed whole by the "Imagine Dragon" on their last album. This was heavier, less electronics, fast and lots of harsh vocals. When I listened to the album and saw "Parasite" as the opener, followed by snippets of BFMV's greatest hits, I saw the band hinting at changing their sound; either to the applause or disdain of their fans. I appreciated it because they could always hold a melody together and "Parasite" is a good opener.
The rest of the album? Well it has moments; the more thrash adjacent stuff like "Paralysed" near the top of that department. "Can't Escape The Waves" is a mid album "ballad" that harkens back to "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)" with a surprising style change during the intro. It does feel like a little bit too much going on, but the faint sustain triads in the lead guitar bring it all together. And "Shatter" for having a solid melodic chorus to go along with a Bring Me The Horizon meets Pantera instrumental that was very well done.
This albums has a lot of harsh vocals on it...perhaps a little too much. There were quite a few points on this record, most notably in "Knives" and "Bastards" where the constant swapping between Matt's cleans singing and harsh screaming is kind of bad; like the band wanted to sound heavy so they threw in as many screamed vocals as possible, when in reality, BFMV were never this egregious with it. The heaviest moments on The Poison like "Hand of Blood" had harsh vocals, but they felt deserved and not shoehorned in. Beyond that "Bastards" sounds like a rejected Three Days Grace song, "My Reverie" is incredibly basic fundamentally, the thematic arc of this record is anti-authority, but could have used a couple more rough drafts as they feel interchangeable with anti-authority records by Muse. And production wise, it sounds a lot more open with its space than either Spiritbox or Trivium's last albums, but if you can hear the bass during some of the isolated moments, you're ears are far more equipped than mine. Why it does not feel as dense during the softer portions is beyond me.
In the end, this is a great improvement from 2018's Gravity. But Bullet For My Valentine's recent venture's after changing label's from Sony to UMG has had them kill their personality with Gravity, and now this feels like the apology tour. Unfortunately this apology feels half assed as it tries to lure you in with its chugging guitars and harsh vocals, while anyone who knows what BFMV once sounded knows that this is only for the clout.
6/10
I feel like heavy metal is in good hands as we stand in the first half of the 2020s. I can honestly say that my horizons have greatly expanded since joining the Metal Academy back in late 2019 and a large portion of that has to do with everyone's unique approach to heavy metal music. I have found a lot of great music in both the Fallen and Horde clans thanks to contributions by Sonny, Vinny and Daniel and for that I am grateful and I cannot wait to hear what new trends you guys have for us in the future.
However, I would be remised if I did not bring up the very real problem that a lot of musical styles have in regards to nostalgia. Mainstream rock radio stations have a huge issue of not promoting smaller names creating underground traction and would rather play the same AC/DC/Led Zeppelin/Nirvana songs instead of the new Wolf Alice/Cloud Nothings/Frank Carter. It creates a very stale climate where acts like Greta Van Fleet can ascend to the top of the charts without actually doing anything unique. The same problem exists in metal. I have made it clear that modern thrash is not very engaging anymore, and progressive metal is far more interested in copying Dream Theater/Opeth into oblivion than actually being progressive.
None of this is affected by anyone here at Metal Academy. But what we enjoy in heavy metal music is not going to be the same thing as what gets commercially successful. For as great as Ulcerate's Stare into Death and Be Still was, it isn't a jumping on point and too many would be sacred off by the timbre. I still think it is too early in the decade to declare a decisive sound that will embody the decade, but it needs to be successful beyond JUST the heavy metal community. I look forward to the day when the next band to come along like Bullet for my Valentine was for metalcore in the 2000s, and Alcest was for black metal in the 2010s, regardless of what you think of them as musicians.
It will, in a way, come down to what becomes popular in heavy metal and how popular it will get. There are groups willing to try and one only needs to look at the massive acclaim Spiritbox has received in the last three years as evidence of that. But I know that some will say that accessibility is the antithesis to metal culture; it's meant to be from the other side of the tracks and "not for everyone". Perhaps ironically, these same people also whine about why their beloved genre of music does not get the same amount of sales/streams as the popular trend chasing TikTok song.
I guess I'll end with this: don't ostracize new metal fans because they like the popular metal trend. In my experience, hipster culture is the one factor above all else that has distanced me from popular trends. Acceptance is what leads newbies to expand their listening experience beyond their comfort zone. You never know; the next giant in heavy metal might not even listen to metal at this moment. Just give them time to get there.
This album forced me to do some soul searching (I seem to have done a lot of that lately). Not because this record is bad; in fact, I would say that this album is great and at the very least, bordering on transcendent status. No this record has me questioning what I appreciate in a heavy album release. I have made no friends with my disdain for sloppily mixed, performed and designed thrash metal albums in recent years, but I also understand that is part of its appeal with its blatant 1980s worship. I have also made the claim that Ride the Lightning is my favourite Metallica album; the grittier version of Master of Puppets.
I bring all of this up because Supernaturals - Record One is a gritty album. The guitars all collapse in on one another many times throughout this release, no instance more noticeable than the almost ten minute "Painful Burns Smoke as the..." with its elongated instrumental outro. But I cannot help but get sucked into its universe by the way in which this duo reaches that point. The slow building on "Maestoso" encapsulates the feeling of being brought back down to earth after a trip infused with hallucinogens. And as the ending slowly builds up a chugging guitar and percussion groove, the song ends and enters immediately into "The Overload", a return back to the bliss of post-metal texture, and sludgy grooves.
I also think that is worth mentioning how progressive this record is. Post-Metal of the sludgy variety does tend to get locked up in its own texture and atmosphere after a while. But Ufomammut and Lento move the sound in a number of different directions and locations throughout the record six tracks. "Painful Burns Smoke as the..." uses microtonality for its main melodic hook. The thickness of the bass that swamps the guitar on "Infect Two", the minimal vocals allowing the leitmotifs to take center stage, the bridge of "Maestoso" as direction instead of interlude. The arc of this record is splendid and not experimented with enough in the mainstream post-metal universe.
I think what it all boils down to is that heavy metal is a complicated genre. It is supposed to be grimy and uncomfortable, but many modern acts are unwilling to make the adjustments necessary to make it worthwhile. Supernaturals - Record One is an example of a record that gets that. It sticks in your head after its conclusion for its melody, texture, groove, concept. And the way this duo can pull it off without compromising the metal "edge" is commendable.
9/10
P.S. This record has an alarming amount of resonance without hallucinogens so I decided to bump my original score up one point. I can see this ending up in the same category as Light of Day, Day of Darkness in the future.
Rhapsody (of Fire) is a band that has suffered a lot in recent years due to oversaturation. And unfortunately it has affected some of the older music as well. Having never been a very big fan of theirs before in comparison to other prominent power/symphonic metal acts, at least I can say that I mostly enjoyed Dawn of Victory. It's pretty basic, but "Holy Thunderforce", "Triumph for My Magic Steel" and "Dragor, Shadowlord of the Black Mountain" are fun, high energy power metal songs. "The Village of Dwarves" has a pretty awful synth lead, the guitar and keys solos are unmemorable as they mostly resort to noodling instead of building on the original melodic motifs. The symphonic elements are bombastic and enjoyable, but sometimes they can get in the way of the purely metal foundation such as "The Last Winged Unicorn" and it just becomes overwhelming. Still, a decent power metal album that goes over the top with the symphonic stylings, making it memorable, but even the hooks that we do get are nowhere near as poignant as similar timeframe Blind Guardian or Kamelot.
7/10
Consistency is key and I cannot think of a band that best portrays that more than Borknagar. Even as the band moved away from the black metal roots to incorporate more progressive tones, the quality remained intact. As for the debut, it isn't a full blown black metal assault from start to finish because it doesn't have to be. The crescendos are expertly included to make the heaviest portions stand out from the rest. And the acoustic interludes sound gorgeous as interludes in addition to pulling out some of the bands folk influences. The compression of the guitar is a baffling choice for something this dense and ethereal. But there is a lot to like here and shows a lot of influence with other folkened black metal bands like Moonsorrow and Agalloch.
7/10
Sadus need to slow down if they don't wanna get pulled over by the cops!
In all seriousness though, Sadus' debut record Illusions is one that tries to do too much in the name of progressive thrash metal, but misses the mark by having some of the worst framing I've heard in a late 80s thrash metal album. Songs will sporadically change tempos, forms and styles on a whim with nothing to suggest there was even a hint of a through line considered in the writing process. Every song begins with a moderate groove and may turn into something great, but without warning the tunes deviate into this blistering fast thrash groove that is persistent throughout the track. The intro's are rarely referenced again, either lyrically or thematically and it makes them feel like Sadus just wasting our time.
The production is clean and you can hear every single note played by the guitar, percussion and even bass. And while I am a little more lenient towards unbridled noise collages by the lead guitar solos in this thrash metal style, the vocals sound fucking atrocious! It's everything that I hate about Tom Araya's slurred vocals on the first three Slayer album's, but on a line of blow. There is zero diction to the delivery. I could perform the vocals on this record with the same level of proficiency on the day I had my wisdom teeth pulled out and my mouth was filled with cotton swabs.
I think that in 2022, with bands like Vektor now apart of the lexicon of tech-thrash, I have become increasingly intrigued by the tag of that subgenre as being more progressive. However, like with death metal, that might not always be the case. This is bog standard thrash metal that is propped up only by some cleaner production than its contemporaries. Those opening grooves at the beginning of each track make me hopeful that Sadus might do something unique, but every time it just goes back to the same idea as before. For me, Illusions is the equivalent of a restaurant with good food but horrible service; you may ask yourself why you don't go back to that place on the corner as often because the food is really good, but then you meet the people who work there. And in this case, I continue to fall for it nine more times. When will you learn your lesson?
5/10
The new album, Epigone, from New Englanders Wilderun is finally here!
I'm glad you describe this album as "the elite of the genre" Daniel, because I don't know if I could come up with a better descriptor myself.
I knew within the first two tracks of my first playthrough in 2009 that Crack the Skye was something special; even further beyond what the band had already achieved throughout the decade. But it was track four: "The Czar" that confirmed it. Something about the way that track in particular begins softly and comforting, grows into a sludge metal bridge and then comes back down to a reprise of the opening theme with elements of the sludgy bridge was spectacular.
Mastodon went to work on this album and it shows with how precise it all is. Each track on the album is very unique from one another, but not in a way that makes each song sound like it was written for a different artist. It makes the connectivity of the whole thing very fluent; you can tell you're listening to a Mastodon record while also knowing exactly where you are. The leit motifs that Mastodon uses throughout are impressionable, but surprisingly get stuck in your head quickly. In contrast to other Mastodon album's, Crack the Skye is not as direct with its hook driven formula, but is just as effective. Songs like the single "Oblivion", as well as the excellent title track and "Divinations". Hell, even the extended "The Czar" and "The Last Baron" hold together remarkably well.
The album sounds brilliant. The mixing of the vocals have a psychedelic flare, so it is easy to get lost in them, especially during the long songs. But the melodies are so simple, direct and recurrent that I almost feel like getting lost in a trance. Bass work is phenomenal; the low end of "The Last Baron" and "Ghost of Karelia" give the mix a punch that so many modern metal bands lack. The guitar leads are, like the vocals, impressionist in nature, but just as effective, while the rhythm is chunky, groovy and is not relegated to backup bass duty. I think that Brann's drums are some of the best in Mastodon's discography. They are technical, but they never feel like they are oppressing the rest of the mix.
The impressionist value of the melodies is symbolic since most of the lyrics of this album are shrouded in secrecy (minus "The Czar"), and Mastodon is able to carry the emotional weight of transcendence through the darkest of times and make them stronger. What I love about the album is how it manages to be progressive without the use of technical wankery and shredding; instead using minimalist textures and writing to tell a story, while still incorporating techniques that Mastodon have been known for over the last ten years.
In comparison to other prog albums around the same time, many of which I do like (Colors, Ghost Reveries, Axioma Ethica Odini etc.), it is Crack the Skye that stands out above the rest. Mastodon provided us with an opus that cannot be understated how fresh it feels, even today. While Dream Theater were spending their 2000s releasing the same album ad nauseum every two years, Mastodon were reaching for the stars. One of the my favourite progressive metal albums and the album that solidified Mastodon as household names in metal during the 2010s, and rightfully so.
9/10
I chose this album for the month after hearing that Karnivool were releasing a new album early in 2022, and felt I needed a refresher beforehand. It's been a while since I gave this album a spin and I'm glad I came back to it. I think the first thing to notice it that it is a product of its time. While it does have influence from a band like TOOL such as "L1FEL1KE" and "Roquefort", and songs like "Scarabs" are heavily indebted to nu metal such as Slipknot, I think it does just enough to make its mark as a cut above those bands. The title track, "Fear of the Sky" "Sewn and Silent" are littered with influence, but also contain many progressive tropes, such as uncommon time signatures and simple, repetitive musical motifs that lead you into a trance. I think "Mauseum" has a Chevelle influence and you may even pick up on some System of a Down on "Synops". A lot of times (most notably with Linkin Park's The Hunting Party) it felt like a mish mash of ideas stuck together for nostalgia purposes. With this, Karnivool use those bands as blueprints and then create their own sound beyond it. It's quite impressive all things considered.
But, this album is hilariously front loaded. After the big opener "C.O.T.E." and the title track, it feels like this is gonna be a solid run, but you can almost feel the band not caring as much beyond "Scarabs" as the songs become more texture than melody. And I like "Sewn and Silent" and "Mauseum", but I would never recommend them first. They poorly represent the bands identity and maybe I'd let it slide since they are deep cuts. But then you have "Synops" with its out of nowhere distorted, blown out guitar that becomes more horrendous with each repeat of the main theme. The album ends with atmospheric texture on "Change (Part 1)" that does not resolve to a completion, but rather makes you wonder where is track 13?
The album gets credit for engineering and feels very spacious. The bass lines are prominent and efficient (as expected from TOOL imitators), the vocals are unique and melodic, while the guitar work is not overbearing (minus "Synops") and never comes across as sounding like a constant wall of noise. In the end, the progressive elements on display do make it a worthy addition in alternative metal, and this record helped lay down the foundation that fellow countrymen Caligula's Horse would develop further through the 2010s.
7/10
In a strange way Ben, I can see why you would have requested this as a featured release. I don't know if you've actually heard the album yet and this is just an excuse to listen to a new OSDM album (as many of my featured releases turn out to be). But given that most of the death metal you identify as "classic" is either of the progressive or melodic variety, this was not that bad. I like how the album does not resort to the bog standard "fast riffage then, suddenly, breakdown" that is commonplace in modern metal, but Malignant Altar are just comfortable playing a slower and brooding form of pummeling death metal; much more inline with death doom. It certainly makes it stand out!
That being said, one of my biggest issues with DM songwriting is the lack of melodic focus. This album does not contain very many hooks and as a result, some tunes just sort meander. And that's not even getting into the fact that some tunes become indistinguishable from one another. At least the album is short. Not the tracks; which average at about six minutes each. But they don't feel bogged down by having too much stuff that goes nowhere. It's good, but I wouldn't go much farther than that.
7/10
Thanks for the help Andi. For the record, I was going to post this later today, but Spotify does a really shitty job of informing me when the playlists have been made public. I'll just have to make personal reminders for myself in the future!
You know I couldn't let the season pass by without some holiday cheer cheese!
Don't know where to put this, but saw in the r/progmetal subreddit a couple of days ago. Features members of Haken, Dream Theater, Protest the Hero, Cradle of Filth and Inhuman Condition
Sleigher - Seasons Greeting in the Abyss and yes, it cheesy as fuck
Yep, this is a thrash metal album alright...
Look, my opinions on thrash are very well known at this point and if they aren't, look to my Reign in Blood review from a few weeks ago. I tired to like this album, I swear. But I am so sick and tired of the lack of effort that is being brought forth in thrash metal now three decades removed from its golden era. Every song sounds exactly the same; a quasi reminder of the grooves from records like Kill "Em All and Show No Mercy, but blown out into this mess of a mix where drums, guitar (rhythm and solos) and vocals are fighting each other for screen time. Any attempt at a lead is obliterated by its consistent tremolo picking rhythm guitar and Bråthen"s blackened death screeches. And worst of all, they go on forever without any growth to the intensity. Sure, songs like "83 Days of Radiation" and "Horrifier" start off slow, but that last for less than a minute, and once that skank beat comes in the drums, and the tremolo guitars begin, you're stuck there for the full five and change.
The only redeemable moments are the second track "Riders of Violence" for not overstaying its welcome, and the actual attempt at a hook on "83 Days of Radiation", but falls off a cliff for me when the drummer forgets how a metronome works and it becomes just another thrasher. I'll throw this one into the same pile and a band like Warbringer. This is in one ear and out the other I'm afraid.
5/10
P.S. At least Condor know how to track a bass properly.
The slower tempos that are tradition in doom metal are surprisingly absent on Rapture's debut album. They feel more like rock grooves then metal ones. It makes guitar leads like the one on "This Is Where I Am" sound not too far off from classic Iron Maiden riffs! That being said, the instrumentation and the composition's do have more in common with the MDM subgenre as they incorporate plenty of polyphony between the death metal howls of the vocalist, and the pretty guitar leads. I would say texturally this record goes down super smooth; it has its formula and Futile are going to show everything that they have!
I think that the fundamentals are solid, but do have a bit of an independence issue. The percussion is fairly solid in the mixing, but occasionally loses some of its momentum when it goes into autopilot on "While The World Sleeps". As for the bass, it is there, but again, independence from the rhythm guitars would have been more tasteful. A lot of doom metal records have a habit of falling into routine and never deviating away from that routine for long periods of time (see my Monolithe II review). Rapture do have some variety in their music, making it memorable during the last two tracks "Someone I (Don't) Know)" and "(About) Leaving). And more than likely helped popularize this style of gothic doom before Swallow the Sun.
7/10
My first impressions of Moss Grew on the Swords and Plowshares Alike was pretty underwhelming. Toby Driver has made a reputation of not conforming to "traditional" progressive normality with projects like maudlin of the well and Kayo Dot. And I was less than impressed with Blasphemy so I had limited expectations. My first impressions were of a better production, but far less progressive than previous records from the band.
That is until I got to the second go around. And I found the songwriting to be significantly more diverse between individual tracks. Maybe not as diverse as Hubardo, but the avant-garde tag in this case is not in reference to its quirkiness, as has become commonplace in the genre lately. There is atonality, but it all makes sense together as part of a greater work. While "Void in Virgo (The Nature of Sacrifice)" is predominantly post-metal, the growth and obtuseness of the following track, "Spectrum of One Colour" with its heavier vocals, advanced harmony and busier fundamental is where this album shines brightest. On most albums, these would feel like major whiplash as it jumps sporadically between styles, but here they all seem to connect together. The primary formula is maintained through the genre swapping and is commendable.
The production is vastly improved as they remembered to turn on the bass amp during the recordings! The varying vocal stylings of Toby Driver are balanced well. The guitar melodies are fruitful and memorable, even as the solos descend into a darker place with atonality aplenty. The post-metal rhythm guitars and synths are textured well, and the percussion manages to be deceptively technical. My biggest issue, like with all Kayo Dot albums, is the length. Lots of good ideas can only prop up an album so much when they are primarily contained to the middle of the record. Although with this, unlike other Kayo Dot albums, it doesn't overstay its runtime with obnoxiously long tracks consistently. Only one track surpasses ten minutes and it's the closer "Epipsychidion". I liked this album quite a bit, but it took a few tries before it finally clicked with me. It may only be a seed, but it will sprawl to life with enough care.
8/10
I was intrigued by this month's featured album as it featured atmospheric black metal with a distinct folk flare. Given me and my history with black metal, this should come as no surprise. And Wodensthrone did make some compelling black metal during their time. It feels very spacious with the sprawling tremolo chords in the guitars and solid low end with a more than acceptable bass presence, and percussion that is pummeling when it has to be, but shows quite a bit of restraint and holding off on the double kick pedal and blast beats. The vocals have a unique timbre to them; a little too much treble for my taste and could definitely use some more girth as displayed during the multi-layered vocals mid-way through "Black Moss".
But where I lose this album is in its keys and synths. Many of the choirs and string accompaniment are provided by the synthesizer's and it isn't so much that they fall flat, but rather they just sound so blocky and janky as if they were thrown in as an afterthought, but needed to be heavily pronounced in the mixing to make the overall record feel more folk/pagan. Because of that prominence, it is challenging for me to like this record more than I do.
As a black metal record, the atmospherics are super robust and has a lot of similarities to blackgaze. Because the percussion is not blistering and the tonality is quite pleasant, it would be hard for a "true kvlt" black metal fan to accept this. This is closer to Moonsorrow than Saor. If that sparks your interest, then Loss is a good album. Just don't expect to be blown away like those other names.
7/10