Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

December 2024

1. Blue Stahli - "Obsidian" from Obsidian (2021) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

2. Celldweller - "The Last Firstborn" from Celldweller (2003) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

3. Psyclon Nine - "Crown of the Worm" from Icon of the Adversary (2017)

4. Dawn of Ashes - "Poisoning the Steps of Babel" from Anathema (2013)

5. Red Queen - "Naked" from Star Blood (2016)

6. Marilyn Manson - "In the Shadow of the Valley of Death" from Holy Wood (2000)

7. OOMPH! - "Es ist nichts, wie es scheint" from Richter und Henker (2023)

8. Rammstein - "Angst" from Zeit (2022)

9. Static-X - "Cold" from Machine (2001)

10. Meathook Seed - "Cling to an Image" from Embedded (1993)

11. Fear Factory – "Scumgrief (Deep Dub Trauma Mix)" from Fear is the Mindkiller E.P. (1993) [submitted by Daniel]

12. Red Harvest - "Beyond the End" from Sick Transit Gloria Mundi (2002) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

13. The CNK - "Total Eclipse of Dead Europa" from L'hymne à la joie (2007)

14. Dodheimsgard - "Foe X Foe" from Supervillain Outcast (2007)

15. In This Moment - "Mother" from Mother (2020) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

16. PAIN - "On and On" from Rebirth (1999) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

17. Luminous Vault - "Earth Daemon" from Animate the Emptiness (2022)

18. Neurotech - "We are the Last" from Antagonist (2011)

19. Mechina - "Elephtheria" from Empyrean (2013)

20. Turmion Katilot - "Verta Sataa" from Perstechnique (2011) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

21. Deathstars - "Trinity Fields" from Termination Bliss (2006)

22. Black Magnet - "Hegemon" from Hallucination Scene (2020)

23. Unheilig - "Schneller, höher, weiter" from Astronaut (2006)

24. Samsas Traum - "Es tut uns leid" from Poesie: Friedrichs Geschichte (2015)

25. Ministry - "Cult of Suffering" from HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES (2024)

26. Sybreed - "System Debaser" from Slave Design (20th Anniversary Edition) (2024)

December 2024

1. Merauder – "Time Ends" from Master Killer (1995) [submitted by Daniel]

2. Structures - "The Worst of Both Worlds" from Life Through a Window (2014) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

3. Becoming the Archetype - "The Time Bender" from I Am (2012)

4. Lorna Shore - "White Noise" from Psalms (2015)

5. Slaughter to Prevail - "Zavali Ebalo" from Kostolom (2021)

6. As I Lay Dying - "We are the Dead (feat. Alex Terrible, Tom Barber)" from We are the Dead (2024)

7. Wage War - "Stitch" from Deadweight (2017) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

8. Ice Nine Kills - "So This is My Future" from Safe is Just a Shadow (2010)

9. Thrown - "Guilt" from EXCESSIVE GUILT (2024)

10. Jeris Johnson - "Siren Song" from Dragonborn (2024)

11. Oh, Sleeper - "The Siren's Song" from When I Am God (2007) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

12. Atreyu - "Right Side of the Bed" The Curse (2004)

13. Haste the Day - "One Life to Live" from Burning Bridges (2004) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

14. Aviana - "Overcome" from Corporation (2022)

15. Alleviate - "Broken" from DMNS (2024)

16. Out of Vision - "Disintegrate" from Deceiving Lights (2024)

17. Jinjer - "Kafka" from Kafka (2024) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

18. Silent Planet - "Dreamwalker" from SUPERBLOOM (2023)

19. Imminence - "Surrender" from Heaven in Hiding (2021)

20. Monasteries - "Final Note 2 You" from Ominous (2023)

21. Brand of Sacrifice, Will Ramos - "Lifeblood" from Lifeblood (2021)

22. Converge - "Plagues" from No Heroes (2006)

23. Botch - "Swimming the Channel vs. Driving the Chunnel" from We are the Romans (1999)

24. The Chariot - "Then Came to Kill" from The Fiancée (2007)

25. Bullet for My Valentine - "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)" from The Poison (2005)

26. Dead by April - "Lost" from Incomparable (2011) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

27. Bleed from Within - "Alive" from Era (2018)

28. Norma Jean - "IV. The Nexus" from Polar Similar (2016)

29. Eighteen Visions - "Dead Rose" from The Best of (2001) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

Here's my review summary:

Atheist is a special band to appear in the early 90s. Together with Cynic, they shook the harsh death metal world by jazzing it up with jazz elements. And what an amazing perfect product this band has created! Atheist had their own unique writing going on. Bassist Roger Patterson wrote the bass lines for the guitars to be structured upon for a different unconventional interplay. Sadly, he's gone, after a vehicular accident. RIP... Helping out the band is the massive delivery of Tony Choy. We also have the mighty guitar skills of Rand Burkey and Kelly Shaefer, the latter providing clean yet aggressive vocals reminiscent of the later Death albums. And who would forget Steve Flynn's perfectly pattern-less drumming variety? The band have a lot of metal riffing fury in their arsenal to go with the jazzy bass. The rhythmic twists will blow your mind alongside the epic melody and desperate speed. This band has clearly established the jazzy progressive tech-death that was first hinted in Piece of Time and fully formed in Unquestionable Presence. One of the most influential classics in the progressive/death metal realms!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "Mother Man", "Unquestionable Presence", "Enthralled in Essence", "An Incarnation's Dream", "Brains"

For fans of: Cynic's Focus, 90s-era Death, Sadist

Here's my review summary:

For over a decade, I've considered myself to be a metal nerd. Not to brag, but I know a lot about the different metal bands and genres I've listened to all these years. Even when I seem to distance myself from a genre or at least bands from a genre and have done it for a few years, I can still remember many of my experiences with those bands' material. One of those artists is Devin Townsend. With his new album PowerNerd, he once again explores different genres while standing by his prog/alt-metal. Some tracks are filled with anthemic and joyful rock, while a couple others are soft and spacey. Devin Townsend fans are once again reminded of what a progressive metal superhero he is. While I have my own metal heroes, I don't mind revisiting this musical genius once in a while and checking out amazing offerings like this one. Creativity can be anyone's superpower, but he isn't just anyone!

4.5/5

Recommended tracks: "PowerNerd", "Knuckledragger", "Ubelia", "Jainism", "Glacier", "Goodbye"

For fans of: the 2009 albums of Devin Townsend Project, Strapping Young Lad, Nothing More

Here's my submission for the January Guardians playlist:

Nightwish - "Ghost Love Score" (from Once, 2004)

Although Novembre's 1994 debut suffers from poor production and execution, this track isn't all that bad, in fact having some of the best moments of this ill-fated album:

I've given this album some listening and a review in an attempt to revisit this band whose material I've only spent time with briefly, and well, that was a good reason why the time I've spent was brief. Poor production and execution aside, I agree that there's never really any doom, let alone death-doom, in this release. The expansive complex aspects of progressive metal reign alongside what I hear is the melodic and upbeat while still dark and melancholic atmosphere of gothic metal, a blend that they would explore further in Arte Novecento while eliminating the black metal elements that cover the debut. I'll make an additional judgement submission shortly, but for now I'll vote YES for this one.

Also since this album has already been added to The Infinite, could you please remove this Hall entry that I submitted earlier: https://metal.academy/hall/502 Thanks, Daniel.

I've just extended my list to a top 10, moving the Job for a Cowboy and ERRA albums up slightly:

1. Madder Mortem - Old Eyes, New Heart

2. Job for a Cowboy - Moon Healer

3. SUMAC - The Healer

4. SUMAC - The Keeper's Tongue

5. ERRA - Cure

6. Northlane - Mirror's Edge

7. Within the Ruins - Phenomena II

8. Opeth - The Last Will and Testament

9. VOLA - Friend of a Phantom

10. Persefone - Lingua Ignota: Part I

On the topic of page-loading speeds, I've noticed that the Metal Academy homepage sometimes has difficulty loading, while every other page in the site is still OK. Does anyone else have that issue or is it just me? If it is a general issue, it might have something to do with any websites that are featured in the page like X (Twitter). What do you all think?

We really should consider an "Are you sure you wanna delete this post?" prompt at some point.

Yes please, Daniel! Maybe also an "Are you sure you wanna delete this review?" prompt because I don't wanna lose one of my reviews and the hard work I put on it with a simple accidental click on the red button.

Welcome back to the realms of deathly heaviness, Opeth!

Gothic melodeath with touches of the Norwegian black metal scene and Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery:

The original demo version, ruling as much as the one that appears in the debut album:

My journey through Trail of Tears' discography didn't completely end 4 months ago. I've just breezed through their demos that includes this heavenly highlight:

I was planning on just sharing my thoughts on Trail of Tears' 1997 demo When Silence Cries, but then I finally found their rare 1996 demo from when they were originally called Natt, so let's check them both of them out...

Natt (Norwegian for "Night") was the earliest incarnation of Trail of Tears, formed in 1994. They were much different from the Trail of Tears we know. There's barely, if at all, any of the orchestral synths that have marked an important aspect of their later sound. The harsh/female vocal ratio is closer to that of Free Fall Into Fear and Existentia, with the small amount of female singing coming from vocalist Ales Vik, not bad but can't surpass the later female vocalists. The sound itself can be considered melodic death-doom in a similar vein to Amorphis' Tales from the Thousand Lakes and 90s October Tide, rather than Trail of Tears' brand of epic extreme gothic metal. It's a decent demo, though I won't say many of the songs would be considered highlights. The ones I enjoy are in the B-side; "Once a Paradise" (later re-recorded as a bonus track for Trail of Tears' debut Disclosure in Red) and "Sadness". Nice demo, but not worth returning to....

Favorites: "Once a Paradise", "Sadness"

3/5

One year later, the band consisting of bassist Kjell Rune Hagen, guitarists Terje Heiseldal and Michael S. Krumins, and vocalist Ronny Thorsen had the name changed to Trail of Tears and recorded the demo When Silence Cries. I was actually able to find this demo easily when I first got fully interested in this band a year before this comment, that's how common it was compared to the Natt demo. Background synths became more prominently used, though they sound a little odd here. Helena Iren Michaelsen comes in with her operatic soprano that, like I said above, can surpass Ales Vik. The gothic/melodeath sound that is who they are is in full force, kinda like Katatonia's Brave Murder Day with a twist by Epica (Helena would later join that band when they were starting out as Sahara Dust). I love the songs here that are demo versions of some highlights from Disclosure in Red. If you've read my review for that album, you know what I think of those songs. A better beginning for this wonderous band....

Favorites: "Mournful Pigeon", "When Silence Cries"

3.5/5

Too tame and lame to exist outside that sh*tty-quality demo:

Linkin Park's earliest version of "Runaway" is the highlight of their Xero demo:

"From Zero, like, from...nothing?... Oh wait, your first band name was Xero!" Linkin Park's new vocalist Emily Armstrong has almost reminded all of us in the intro of the new album From Zero that the band started off as Xero. Today I decided to check out the band's earliest demo with their original name. Back then, 5 of the 6 members of the well-known lineup had first gotten together and recorded in a studio set up in Mike Shinoda's home bedroom in 1997. They had a different lead vocalist, Mark Wakefield. Quality is sh*tty but understandable considering it's a lo-fi demo. Wakefield's vocals are OK but sound too close to Korn and Limp Bizkit for me. The late great Chester Bennington could do it all better. Side A contains two tracks; "Rhinestone" (an early demo of "Forgotten") and "Reading My Eyes", both sounding far too tame and lame. Side B contains two tracks; "Fuse" and "Stick N' Move" (an early demo of "Runaway") that are better and my two favorite tracks of the demo. All in all, a decent demo, but not one to return to....

Favorites: "Fuse", "Stick N' Move"

3/5

The post had been set to Enable Admin Only, which is why you could add to it Daniel but others couldn't. You and I are the only ones that can enable that, so perhaps you clicked it accidentally (I haven't been to that thread in a long time). I've removed the Enable Admin Only option on the thread, so should be all good now.

Secondly, the thread loads really quickly for me (a couple of seconds per page). I can't see any issue, either on my PC or my phone.

Thanks, Ben. Glad that error is fixed now.

The thread also loads pretty quickly for me...at least on my computer. There are some times when I'm using the site on my Android phone, and threads with many large album cover images end up taking so long to load that the tab would crash, and my phone having a lot of lag doesn't really help. That's another reason why I'm thinking of reducing image sizes in future posts, for the Android users around here.

An epic extreme highlight in which technical deathcore practically combines with symphonic power metal guitarwork. If the clean vocals were higher and more operatic, this band would've beaten Dragoncorpse in that game.

The only Shadow of Intent song to qualify for this thread has the whiny clean singing to blame, sounding almost like that guy from The Gathering's Almost a Dance:

The opening track of this symphonic deathcore offering blends the genre with a more epic brutal take on the Finnish melodeath of Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum:

This sh*tty drop of quality with lack of variation is the only Sybreed track to qualify for this thread:

The 10-minute finale of Sybreed's last album marks the perfect farewell from this band, at least until their recent Slave Design remaster:

I usually get the album cover images from their respective release pages in this site, but if that's what causing all these issues, I can reduce their size for future posts.

I first discovered Sybreed a couple years ago via this Killing Joke cover that I really love. Props to this band for greatly standing by the "metalizing the original song" rule!

I'm experiencing the issue in that thread too. Yet every other thread I can still reply in. That is weird...

A prime example of aggressive deathly electro-industrial metal in one of the most rage-filled songs I've heard in the genre:

Part of Alchemist's very early one-off exploration in tech-thrash:

An early demo of the experimental title track of Jar of Kingdom:

I've just listened to that Alchemist demo, and it certainly sounds different from the Alchemist we've known. I agree that it's a progressive thrash release as opposed to their later progressive/death metal, sounding closer to Voivod and Coroner. Instead of the death growls by Adam Agius, we have the thrashy cleans of Murray Neill. The two best tracks for me here are the "Jar of Kingdom" demo track "Kill for It" and the title closer. The other two songs are quite amazing too, and I would rate this higher than 4 stars if not for the lo-fi production. It is a demo after all, an impressive demo from the earliest underground depths of Alchemist....

Favorites: "Kill for It", "Eternal Wedlock"

4/5

The awesome new Make Them Suffer album ends with the best the band has to offer, from both the vocalists and the impressive instrumentalists that help run the machine:

After reviewing the new Linkin Park album From Zero, I decided it was time for me to share my thoughts on the band's final album with Chester Bennington, One More Light. The world was struck by a sudden tragedy when Chester committed suicide just two months after this album's release. So One More Light ended up being his swansong album. Now here's something I don't wanna say, but I feel like I should for my true opinion... F*** THIS. I never asked them to replace their nu/rap metal/rock with this radio pop sh*t. I swear some of these songs sound like they were written by Justin Bieber.

Only a couple of these tracks I can stand, one of them being "Good Goodbye", with its strike of synergy within the rap verses by Mike Shinoda, Pusha T, and Stormzy. Interesting how a rap track is one of the only appealing songs in this album for me, but it is what it is. The other one of those two tracks, the title track is the final released single from that album and having all its soft emotional melancholy, it's enough to make even the toughest music listener shed tears. I miss Chester so much...

Everything else here can range from meh to g****mn awful, with the reggae-ish "Invisible", the sample-filled "Sorry for Now", the half-baked "Halfway Right", and the folk-esque "Sharp Edges". An unused track from this album's sessions, "Friendly Fire" would later be completed and appear in the compilation album Papercuts. It's actually a true highlight for that compilation and Chester's vocals give me a pleasant feeling of both sorrow and bliss. If that song was able to make into One More Light as its closing track, I would give this album an extra half-star or whole star in the rating.

It's hard to criticize someone's final work before their death without sounding like an a**, but what else can I say about the disasterpiece that is One More Light? As much as I agree that Chester was an incredible part of Linkin Park and the modern rock/metal scene who shall have our respect, this is not the farewell that I, along with longtime fans, really want from him. May he rest in peace, and this sh*tty offering rust in pieces....

2/5

Favorites (only tracks I like): "Good Goodbye", "One More Light"

There's also Bastard, which has a lot of references, and generally fits the whole dark fantasy vibe a lot of metal goes for. I didn't read it yet, so I can't tell you the specifics.

Coldrain made a theme song for the anime that is a cool thought-evoking anthem:

Basically a better revamp of "Figure.09" with killer heavy riffing, plus an awesome "One Step Closer"-esque yell-fest in the bridge:

I honestly wasn't expecting Linkin Park to come back after the tragic passing of Chester Bennington, but 7 years later, here we are. Linkin Park shocked the world with their reformation with new members vocalist Emily Armstrong (from Dead Sara) with drummer Colin Brittain (replacing Rob Bourdon who declined to return). It was a good shock for many, but longtime fans weren't pleased. Replacing Chester was considered blasphemous enough, but replacing him with a scientologist associated with a convicted rapist?! Emily would later clarify that she condemns the crimes of the person in question, Danny Masterson. The band would also make it clear that Emily won't be a direct replacement for Chester, but rather a brand new chapter for the band while never forgetting Chester's legacy. And I agree with the band there!

From the first singles of their new album From Zero to the new higher-tuned live renditions of the band's classic hits, Emily has proven to be a powerhouse vocalist while respectfully not hogging the spotlight from Chester. One moment she can sing pleasant poppy singing, and the next she can unleash some vicious metal screams. For the music... Well, to recap the band's journey with Chester, we have the nu metal of Hybrid Theory and Meteora, the more alternative Minutes to Midnight, the experimental A Thousand Suns, the electronic Living Things, the return to heaviness in The Hunting Party, and the weak poppy One More Light. From Zero very well throws back to all those eras.

The songs I enjoy are (of course) the heavier ones. "The Emptiness Machine" is more of a punky alt-rock track, but it's the perfect single to mark Emily's incredible debut. The rest of the album's heavy side is the only metal you're getting here, not enough to primarily count as metal. "Heavy is the Crown", which is the main theme song for this year's League of Legends World Championship, greatly throws back to "Faint" in the pace and instrumentation, along with "Given Up" in the massive 16-second scream in the bridge, "THIS IS WHAT YOU ASKED FOOOOOOOORRRRRR!!!!!!" The raw heavy "Casualty" is a short metallic riff monster, sounding fresh out of The Hunting Party. "Two Faced" is my favorite track of the album, basically a better revamp of "Figure.09" with killer heavy riffing. In the bridge, Emily quietly whispers "I can’t hear myself think" before launching into an awesome "One Step Closer"-esque yell-fest, "STOP YELLING AT ME!!!" The only song from the heavy side I'm not too fond of is "IGYEIH" which isn't well-executed.

The softer side is, for the most part, the weaker side for me. "Cut the Bridge" doesn't have the right structural flow, and it sounds too much like the awful "Bleed It Out". Pop-rocker "Over Each Other" has some anthemic vibes, but I just find it OK. "Overflow" is the weakest track here, like a dark trap blend of A Thousand Suns and One More Light. "Stained" I can do without Emily's attempt to sound like Rihanna in the chorus. The only song from the soft side I like is the epic emotional closing track, "Good Things Go".

From Zero marks a decent comeback for arguably the biggest rock band today. They've reminded us greatly about what they have been from their early days as Xero to the present day. Though it would've been better (and more metal) if they replaced a couple soft tracks with heavy ones. Nonetheless, welcome back, Linkin Park! RIP Chester....

3/5

Favorites (only tracks I really like): "The Emptiness Machine", "Heavy is the Crown", "Casualty", "Two Faced", "Good Things Go"

I read comics! Though the comics I read are more like children's chapter novels (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Big Nate) and newspaper comic strip collections (Pearls Before Swine, FoxTrot). I suppose the most metal thing about the comics I've mentioned is the Wimpy Kid main character Greg's brother Rodrick being the drummer of a metal band. I actually write and draw a children's chapter novel series myself, and the book I'm currently working on is a spin-off centered around metal and its golden classic age of the 80s. If you're up for some science fantasy comics with a metal aesthetic, David, I would recommend the Heavy Metal comics magazine. A friend of mine likes that comics magazine, and it's pretty cool, though the explicit content is in the same level as Game of Thrones. There are even a couple movies based on those comics.

Welcome, David! I would recommend the Iced Earth album The Dark Saga. It's a thrashy heavy/power metal concept album based on Spawn.

Noted. Thanks, Ben.

A couple bands I enjoy now are the progressive/power metal of Almah, side-project of ex-Angra vocalist Edu Falaschi:

And the modern ambient progressive rock/metal of VOLA:

My renewed interest in melodic/symphonic death metal really shows as I discover more bands of that sound such as the ones in these videos below, a couple of which I've heard of long ago but hadn't reached that spark until recently:

Ben, please add these new albums:

As I Lay Dying - Through Storms Ahead

The Browning - OMNI

Thanks Daniel.

A wonderful German remix of the debut's "Teurastaja", featuring Chris Harms of Lord of the Lost, that I might just love more than the original:

A few motivational epic electronic alt-rock ballads that I like from another one of my brother's favorite bands:

Here are a couple more bands after I've reviewed at least 5 of each band's albums:

Black Veil Brides - half the amount of songs from Set the World on Fire, "Abeyance", "Done for You", "Stolen Omen", "Drag Me to the Grave", "Our Destiny"

Mechina - "[Error 36:48.58/Connection Lost]", "Internecion", "Catechism", "[Cryostasis_simulation__2632_01]", "Terrea", "Lethean Waves", "Adrasteia"

A true masterpiece highlight that greatly foreshadows what's to come later for Mechina:

A rather terrible sh*tter going back to the messy side of the previous two albums:

A truly dark ethereal collision of symphonic/cyber metal: