Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

A mighty battle between the 90s metal/hardcore of Vision of Disorder and Burst and the European melodeath that would later reach bands like Neaera and Omnium Gatherum:

Ben, please add the Dawn of Orion compilation album A Celestial Ballad.

A true early example of melodic deathcore and its dark riffing:

The only track I like from this lo-fi mess of an EP is this beautiful highlight combining their brutal sound with dark melodies:

I've just checked their RYM page. Their EP Absence is black metal with the death metal secondary tag.

A wild fun standout from last month's Revolution playlist, leveling up the progressive metalcore of Protest the Hero and Sikth:

Instrumental djenty metalcore from Paris, France. Thank you for once, YouTube ads!

Ben, please add Oblivion Machine.

THE GATEWAY: Northlane - Mirror's Edge (2024) 4.5/5

THE INFINITE: Meshuggah - Catch Thirtythree (2005) 5/5

THE REVOLUTION: Converge - Petitioning the Empty Sky (1996) 4.5/5

THE SPHERE: Corrections House - Last City Zero (2013) 4/5

Although all of the feature releases for my clans were nominated by me (including one that I had to nominate in Saxy's place) and the only ones I've chosen to check out, they're all quite amazing and I would recommend them to fans of their respective genres. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! And please remember to submit them to Ben on time.

Thanks to YouTuber Michael Shea's better re-recording of Metallica's St. Anger, its closing track is finally living it up as a true 8-minute epic:

We all know what went wrong with St. Anger; the overlong songs, the poor production, the total lack of guitar solos, the inaudible bass, and that F***ING SNARE. But what if the album had almost none of those problems at all? Last year, YouTuber Michael Shea decided to create and upload this full-album re-recording of St. Anger, St. [b]Anger. As he stated in the description, "The songs are shorter, the production is better, and the snare drum is more tolerable. I took some creative liberties with the songs and did what I thought would benefit them. Everything has been re-recorded from the ground up, except for the vocals which were extracted from the original album."

The end result is indeed St. Anger but better! It really does sound like a more enjoyable alt-metal album, and a more enjoyable take on what Metallica has done. With most of the original problems eliminated, I like many of the songs more now, and even the worst songs sound cool. Most of them are trimmed down to 4 or 5 minutes, which shall work well for many music listeners, including those who prefer to hear them in more radio-friendly lengths.

There are still a few issues, a couple of which might've been added in by the re-recording. Since the vocals weren't re-recorded and instead we end up having the original vocals by James Hetfield, his nu metal-ish shouts still make me cringe a bit. At least the re-recording has an instrumental version. The shortening of a couple songs might've been too much, with "Frantic" and the title track becoming shorter than their original radio edits. The re-recording of "Frantic" would end up having an extended version along with the re-recording of "Invisible Kid". And the title track rules more than it already does, along with "Some Kind of Monster". The lengths of "Sweet Amber", "Purify", and "All Within My Hands" were barely affected, but that's OK because all 3 are turned into highlights, with "All Within My Hands" finally living it up as a true 8-minute epic.

So, is St. [b]Anger really St. Anger but actually good? I certainly think it's good, while still having a few things wrong. I don't know if it's something you all might be up for, but there's a high chance that you'll be like, "Oh yeah, this is what that sh*tty trainwreck should've sounded like." You might just win it all from this band after all....

Favorites: "St. Anger", "Some Kind of Monster", "Sweet Amber", "Purify", "All Within My Hands"

3.5/5

Thanks, Daniel. Could you please also post or pass this nomination: https://metal.academy/forum/28/thread/2488

With excellent riffing and a catchy chorus, this might just be my favorite track of Neurotech's new era:

Too much electronic sh*t in this awful stinker:

A deathly groove highlight from Cypecore's latest album:

Deathly djenty industrial/groove metal at its best that Cypecore fans would surely love:

The "Death Version" of this track is closer to metalcore than melodeath, which I can greatly accept and love more than the cleaner version:

Great harmonies and vocals in this more industrial track, and I love the bridge in the second half:

A chaotic groove metal opener to Cypecore's comeback EP, with vocals sounding like melodeath-ish metalcore gone Disturbed:

Along with the Swedish pioneers of djent:

Meshuggah

1. I (EP)

2. Catch Thirtythree

3. Destroy Erase Improve

4. Chaosphere

5. Nothing

6. Koloss

7. The Violent Sleep of Reason

8. None (EP)

9. ObZen

10. Immutable

11. Contradictions Collapse

12. Meshuggah (EP)

In Flames was really making a gradual descent in quality from the melodeath glory of the 90s to the alt-metal atrocity of the 2010s, around twice as many albums as the ones from each of the bands I've listed above. That's part of what made me gave up on listening to this band a few years ago, though they made a slightly better comeback to the in-between of the 2000s with their new album Foregone in 2023.

A playlist I've made based on the above list: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5LTu94tw97MMAlLfVGI5sJ

Here are my top 20 favorite tracks from melodic metalcore band All That Remains:

1. Two Weeks - Overcome (2008)

2. This Calling - The Fall of Ideals (2006)

3. The Last Time - ...For We Are Many (2010)

4. Blood & Stone - Antifragile (2025)

5. Chiron - Overcome (2008)

6. Divine - Antifragile (2025)

7. Not Alone - The Fall of Ideals (2006)

8. Madness - Madness (2017)

9. Victory Lap - The Order of Things (2015)

10. Stand Up - A War You Can Not Win (2012)

11. Behind Silence and Solitude - Behind Silence and Solitude (2002)

12. And Death in My Arms - This Darkened Heart (2004)

13. The Weak Willed - The Fall of Ideals (2006)

14. Focus Shall Not Fail - This Darkened Heart (2004)

15. A War You Can Not Win - A War You Can Not Win (2012)

16. Safe House - Madness (2017)

17. ...For We Are Many - ...For We Are Many (2010)

18. Victim of the New Disease - Victim of the New Disease (2018)

19. Tru-Kvlt-Metal - The Order of Things (2015)

20. Everything's Wrong - Victim of the New Disease (2018)

Nice lists, Rex! Now how about these Canadian forerunners of thrashy progressive metal:

Voivod

1. Dimension Hatross

2. Nothingface

3. Killing Technology

4. The Wake

5. Target Earth

6. Rrroooaaarrr

7. Synchro Anarchy

8. Morgoth Tales (re-recording album)

9. Angel Rat

10. The Outer Limits

11. War and Pain

12. Infini

13. Katorz

14. Voivod

15. Negatron

16. Phobos

Cool lists, guys! Death is known as not just the fathers of death metal, but also one of the technical death metal Big 4. Also in that Big 4 are the Dutch leaders of that death metal subgenre:

Pestilence

1. Spheres

2. Testimony of the Ancients

3. Exitivm

4. Consuming Impulse

5. Hadeon

6. Obsideo

7. Doctrine

8. Resurrection Macabre

9. Malleus Maleficarum

10. Levels of Perception (re-recording album)

The epic emotional closing track of All That Remains' brand-new masterpiece album is probably the best song they've done in a long time:

I was thinking about which clan to add this band known as the pioneering forces of post-sludge but have since been inactive due to a disgraced band member, but ultimately decided to do it here in The Fallen:

Neurosis

1. The Eye of Every Storm

2. Through Silver in Blood

3. A Sun That Never Sets

4. Times of Grace

5. Given to the Rising

6. Enemy of the Sun

7. Honor Found in Decay

8. Neurosis & Jarboe

9. Souls at Zero

10. Fires Within Fires

11. The Word as Law

12. Pain of Mind

A brand-new single of intense violin-infused metalcore by Imminence:

A Spotify playlist I've made based on my Mechina favorite tracks list: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/46x2HxpNaUfLUQrisTSXCn

After my Mechina album reviewing marathon, I thought I would share my top 20 favorite tracks from that band:

1. The Hyperion Threnody - Acheron (2015)

2. Elephtheria - Empyrean (2013)

3. Gene Heresy - Telesterion (2019)

4. Anagenesis - Progenitor (2016)

5. Earth-Born Axiom - Acheron (2015)

6. The Archivarius Chaos Ritual - Telesterion (2019)

7. The Assembly of Tyrants - The Assembly of Tyrants (2005)

8. Freedom Foregone - Siege (2021)

9. Reclamation of Mortal Nature - Tyrannical Resurrection (2007)

10. The Iron Law - Conqueror (2011)

11. Xenon - Xenon (2014)

12. Unearthing the Daedalian Ancient - As Embers Turn to Dust (2017)

13. When Virtue Meets Steel - Venator (2022)

14. The Horizon Effect - Progenitor (2016)

15. Asterion - Empyrean (2013)

16. Siege - Siege (2021)

17. Tartarus - Xenon (2014)

18. Venator - Venator (2022)

19. The Synesthesia Signal - As Embers Turn to Dust (2017)

20. The Grand Hunt - Cenotaph (2023)

Honorable mentions (non-album singles not available on Spotify):

1. To Coexist Is to Surrender (2014)

2. Cepheus (2013)

3. Andromeda (2011)

4. When Honor Meant Something (2024)

The re-recording of the title track of Mechina's debut has a proper sense of closure with its extended ending and should've been the finale of the Tyrannical Resurrection EP:

No full review from me for this Mechina EP as I generally don't review albums that are just demos or re-recordings of songs from a single album, whether all or some tracks. Two years after the band's debut The Assembly of Tyrants, they decided to re-record 5 of the songs from that album for this EP Tyrannical Resurrection. Basically everything except the death metal demo tracks, the interludes, and the "Clash" remix. The instrumentation and vocals are all slightly improved compared to their debut, which a much less "demo" quality". The songs here are also some of my favorite tracks from the debut. So why am I rating this EP 4 stars as opposed to 4.5 stars for the debut? Simply because it's not the entire album, and it's only two years after the debut. I'd love to hear the whole Assembly of Tyrants album re-recorded for its 20th anniversary, with Mel Rose singing the cleans, including the death metal demo tracks and the interludes, but minus the "Clash" remix. It was actually Sonny who brought up that idea when he reviewed the debut last week. Thanks for that, Sonny! Also it would be better if "Shattered Cry" was put in the beginning of the EP instead of the end, because the extended ending of "The Assembly of Tyrants" has a more proper sense of closure. Fingers crossed for that 20th anniversary full-album re-recording to be made this year....

4/5

The band's attempt at experimenting with major-key brightness make this sh*tter the worst they've done in 10 years, and it fits better in a Cynic/Devin Townsend album:

Nothing but pure grand djenty industrial metal in this instrumental of straight-on riffing fury:

Bombastic symphonics, kick-A rhythm, and glorious vocals reign again in this grand highlight:

An aggressive way to head out that can pulverize those earlier melodic tracks, complete with blast-beats, crushing riffs, and the return of growls:

Greater impact is added to this highlight, flowing smoothly through heaviness and melody:

Glad you're all having fun ranking Metallica albums, but how about this Canadian thrash band with a long discography that I think is consistent through and through:

Annihilator

1. Metal (including Metal II re-recording)

2. Alice in Hell

3. Waking the Fury

4. Never, Neverland

5. Criteria for a Black Widow

6. Schizo Deluxe

7. Carnival Diablos

8. Annihilator

9. Ballistic, Sadistic

10. Refresh the Demon

11. Feast

12. For the Demented

13. All for You

14. King of the Kill

15. Suicide Society

16. Remains

17. Set the World on Fire

The best of two cyber metal worlds! We need a Mechina remix next.

Cool ranking lists, guys! Now for my turn... Here's how I would rank all the albums from each of my never forgotten power metal heroes whom I'll never let go of:

DragonForce

1. Inhuman Rampage

2. Valley of the Damned

3. Extreme Power Metal

4. Reaching Into Infinity

5. Killer Elite (compilation)

6. Warp Speed Warriors

7. Ultra Beatdown

8. Sonic Firestorm

9. The Power Within

10. Maximum Overload

Kamelot

1. Epica

2. The Black Halo

3. Karma

4. The Fourth Legacy

5. The Awakening

6. Silverthorn

7. Ghost Opera

8. Siege Perilous

9. The Shadow Theory

10. Haven

11. Poetry for the Poisoned

12. Dominion

13. Eternity

I also plan to do the same thing with Mechina once I finish my reviewing journey for that band's discography and decide whether to do it here or in The Sphere.

Another one of the best tracks in Mechina's new era, with grand symphonics in the instrumentation:

This grand over 10-minute epic might just surpass "Anagenesis" as one of the greatest epics Mechina has ever done:

Another strong climatic composition of darkness and technicality:

An absolutely stunning standout for the more melodic side of Mechina, with more of those serene vocals by Mel Rose:

A symphonic cyber metal epic of absolute futuristic glory:

The first ever song I've heard from Mechina a couple years ago, and a true cosmic metal symphony:

Sometimes I care about album covers as much as I care about music. I agree that the cover art should fit well with the music, like fantasy for The Guardians or sci-fi for The Infinite and The Sphere. Mechina's cover artworks from Progenitor onwards are as epic as the music itself. The presence of the band's logo and album title are definitely important so people who and what they're listening to. I also don't think obscene real-life images belong in album covers, such as an actual decapitated head (Brujeria's Matando Gueros), suicide (Mayhem's Dawn of the Black Hearts), or a nude underage girl (Scorpions' Virgin Killer). But real or fictional, I still struggle with graphic violence/nudity/blasphemy in album covers, which is why I don't listen to the more brutal death metal bands like Cannibal Corpse or the more satanic black metal bands out there, and why it's hard for me to take the first 3 Type O Negative albums seriously. And if one of those albums has a clean cover, I would use it when discussing the album in threads.

Another thing to point out is the rise of AI-produced cover arts. I understand the hate going on towards that aspect from listeners pointing out all the bad ethics of AI art and being like "If you put all your effort in creating your music, should you do the same for your art instead of relying on this sloppy inhuman potentially copyright-infringing sh*t?" or "Your artwork is AI, I bet your music is too!" In response to the latter statement, not always. If you listen to the music before seeing the artwork, at least you know the band is still human, playing their instruments naturally. Sadly, a lot of people seem to judge a book by its cover and connect art to artist in these less horiffic situations. Personally, if an album by a long-running band has an AI cover art, that's fine with me, just as long as it looks good and they don't do it too often. And I can still accept the ongoing evolution of technology.

Update due to me having to nominate a last-minute Infinite feature release in Saxy's place (I also swapped Saxy and Xephyr's places in The Infinite for March and April to make March a little more fair, if that's OK):

THE FALLEN: SONNY, Vinny

THE GATEWAY: SAXY, Andi

THE GUARDIANS: XEPHYR, Karl

THE HORDE: SONNY, Karl, Vinny

THE INFINITE: SAXY, Xephyr, Andi

THE NORTH: XEPHYR, Sonny, Karl

THE PIT: VINNY, Sonny

THE REVOLUTION: ANDI

THE SPHERE: ANDI

REMINDER: Please submit your feature releases to Ben before the end of the month and have your feature releases' threads ready to be posted in the first one or two days of next month. I can't always do these last-minute nominations and Ben isn't able to chase you down. So if you miss the deadline, you'll lose your slot.

Here's my review summary:

Catch Thirty-Three is a concept album where all songs flow seamlessly together like an epic suite, similar to some Between the Buried and Me albums. A complete trek of a journey from start to finish, that you would want to do all over again. It's a djent journey not to be missed, with the usual downtuned guitars, bellowed vocals, and complex drumming (though it's programmed unlike the other albums). Lyrics, riffs, ambience, and seamless suite sections, all you can hear in this monstrous album. One word: brilliant!

5/5

Recommended tracks: The whole album, or if you just want separate tracks - "The Paradoxical Spiral", "Entrapment", "Mind’s Mirrors", "In Death" (both parts), "Shed", "Sum"

For fans of: Between the Buried and Me (for the "seamless album suite" aspect), Sikth, Textures

Sure, Vinny. Here's the updated roster for March, with your name added to The Fallen for April:

THE FALLEN: SONNY, Vinny

THE GATEWAY: SAXY, Andi

THE GUARDIANS: XEPHYR, Karl

THE HORDE: SONNY, Karl, Vinny

THE INFINITE: ANDI, Xephyr, Saxy

THE NORTH: XEPHYR, Sonny, Karl

THE PIT: VINNY, Sonny

THE REVOLUTION: ANDI

THE SPHERE: ANDI