Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

Hi, Ben. Thanks for adding those Blue Stahli albums I've requested. Now for one more thing... It seems you've overlooked my earlier request to add Celldweller's non-metal album Offworld to bridge the gap in their discography. Could you please add that soon? Thanks again!

Epic new single by this band from the league of hard rock/alt-metal/post-grunge that my brother enjoys, from the upcoming Breaking Benjamin album coming out next year:

Today I was checking on the anniversaries page, and it looks like October 14, 2014 was quite a day for metalcore, deathcore, and technical death metal:

Also on that day is the release of this EP by post-sludge metallers Rosetta:

Post-sludge/metalcore from a band formed by Jimmy Ryan, ex-vocalist of Haste the Day:

This two-track EP containing a 10-minute epic and a laid-back instrumental of almost the same length is best enjoyed as a full bombastic journey of symphonic cyber metal, though the instrumental is more balanced:

A perfect industrial highlight of David Draiman's strong vocals:

David Draiman still has his strength from Disturbed in the opening track of his side-project Device's solo album:

Ben, please add the new Motionless in White EP Reincarnate: 10 Year Anniversary.

I decided that I'll stop doing my monthly playlist total ratings in this thread, because they're all pretty much the same and haven't caused much discussion. All I'm gonna say about this month is, my playlists and songs I've listened to from Saxy's playlists have paid off again with a rating of 4.5 stars each. I recommend them to any fan of the clans' respective genres and anyone who isn't into those genres but wants to get into a great start in enjoying them. Thanks, Daniel, for accepting these playlists, and good work all!

THE GATEWAY: Falling in Reverse - Popular Monster (2024) 5/5

THE PIT: Extol - Synergy (2003) 4.5/5

THE REVOLUTION: Black Veil Brides - We Stitch These Wounds (2010) 5/5

THE SPHERE: Ministry - Filth Pig (1996) 3.5/5

Although the Sphere feature release is pretty good, the other feature releases I've checked out are fantastic and I would recommend them to fans of their respective genres. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...

The band stay true to what they are in the closing track of The Mourning EP:

The sequel track to one of the only enjoyable tracks in Set the World on Fire is so beautiful and one of my favorite songs by Black Veil Brides:

A heavy almost ballad-ish track with some of the best aspects of their latest album:

This awesome epic by Black Veil Brides is the longest song by the band, and probably the best one too:

This huge disappointment is perhaps the worst song the band has ever done:

One of the best songs by the band to really level things up:

I find literally no f***ing point in this useless interlude:

An amazing alt-metal anthem that can surpass that similarly-titled Linkin Park hit:

Ben, please add these Blue Stahli albums:

Blue Stahli (currently this album's industrial metal ratio in RYM is FOR: 18, AGAINST: 10, but I strongly believe it's metal enough to be added in to this site and for me to make a judgement submission if it doesn't appear in The Sphere)

Blue Stahli Instrumentals

B-Sides and Other Things I Forgot

The Devil (in The Gateway as alternative metal, but I find a lot of industrial metal in this release and will make a judgement submission for that as well)

Tenacity

The Devil (Remixes)

The Devil (Remixes) (Instrumentals)

And all of their non-metal albums in between to bridge the gap.

Ben, please add the new Attack Attack! EP Disaster.

Ben, please add the new Sylosis EP The Path.

Some more industrial metal/rock bands I enjoy nowadays are the Finnish equivalent to Neue Deutsch Harte, Ruoska:

And Arizona-based multi-genre project Blue Stahli:

Nu metal-infused metalcore/hardcore from Philadelphia:

A couple bands I enjoy now are the experimental jazz-metal of Norwegian band Shining (not to be confused with the Swedish DSBM band):

And the progressive groove-ish metalcore of Jinjer:

A couple death metal bands with some slight industrial tendencies:

I've done my review, here's its summary:

Everyone's gotta have past trauma sometime in their life. Even I had these kinds of painful experiences in the past. Sometimes you gotta battle those harrowing struggles or just accept them. You might get to move on, but if you're unable to do so, there are better ways in life than just taking the devastating but painless way out. Black Veil Brides' melodic metalcore debut will motivate you by detailing the somber sorrow while giving it optimistic light. It's the greatest the band has even been, alongside their 10th anniversary re-recording which I won't review because I'm not up for reviewing full-on album re-recordings. Andy Biersack can performed pleasant vocals, both cleans and screams. His cleans had yet to improve in quality, but that doesn't stop the perfect glory of this album. The drums and guitarwork are so catchy with enjoyable energy. The metaphorical motivational lyrics fit perfectly for anyone in the most dire situations. So if you're feeling down, overcome your struggles and look for as much help as you can. And this grand masterpiece of motivation can help be your savior!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "We Stitch These Wounds", "Beautiful Remains", "Perfect Weapon", "Knives and Pens", "All Your Hate", "Never Give In"

For fans of: The mid-2000s eras of Avenged Sevenfold, A Day to Remember, and Trivium

Here's my submission for the November Guardians playlist, and yes it sounds suitable there with its anthemic hard rock/glam/heavy metal sound:

Löded Diper - "Can You Smell Us Now" (from Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules Soundtrack, 2022)

Having just listened to the fan-made Loded Diper album, I gotta admit how much I enjoy the official songs from the Wimpy Kid movies, especially this mid-tempo heavy metal/hard rock banger from the live-action Rodrick Rules movie:

And this fun hard rock/glam/heavy metal tune from the animated Disney+ movie that I wish was in the album:

The perfect starting track of Extol's self-titled 2013 album, with a sense of danger and chaos to give you motivation in life:

Here's the other bonus track in the 20th anniversary remaster of Sybreed's Slave Design. This re-recording of "Bioactive" is so killer and can almost compete with the original:

The thrashy diversity sounds so excellent in this highlight that is the somewhat title track:

Many ideas are extracted from the 1990/1991 albums of Believer and Coroner, as well as Opeth in the more mellow sections:

I've done my review, here's its summary:

As I have embraced the greatness of Extol's discography throughout the past year and a half, Burial and Undeceived are a one-two punch of atmospheric technical/progressive death metal, the latter expanding on that sound with complex ideas. With that and the alt-ish prog-metal masterpiece that got me interested in this band, The Blueprint Dives, their catalog has truly made this band an unstoppable force! Their 2003 album Synergy is the band's first move to a different style from their earlier deathly sound, taking on more melodic thrash. This change of sound has turned away some earlier fans while winning some new fans who wanted to hear the continuation of progressive/tech-thrash after bands who have attempted that style in the early/mid-90s have faded out. It's safe to say that Extol took a lot of inspiration from fellow Christian progressive thrashers Believer. If Extol kept going with the violins from their deathly first two albums, they could've easily made "Dies Irae 2.0". At least they had first shown their Believer influences in songs like "And I Watch" and their cover of "Shadow of Death". Extol have executed their tech-thrash sound very well in Synergy, with ideas extracted from the early 90s albums of Believer and Coroner. The harsh vocals continue their blackened death range, while the cleans have sweet flavor as they shine in the Opeth-like mellow sections. You can definitely hear some early 90s Atheist in the guitarwork, ranging from a technical labyrinth to searing shredding, along with have some psychedelic balladry. Synergy has really shown the band dialing back the deathly brutality for some dynamic progressive tech-thrash with some Rush-like psychedelics. It also shows an early hint of the accessibility of The Blueprint Dives. There's barely anything awkward about Synergy, and Extol shall continue to delight their audience from time to time!

4.5/5

I find the heavy dissonance to be a little too weirdly used on that one, Daniel. Now that I think about it, "Crumbs" really would be a slightly better choice for this thread. It's too... crumby. Haha

A special playlist I've made to celebrate the third year of my monthly Revolution Spotify playlists: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1FQzoLLq4oQLjWKqYb7v1k

Here are my sneak peek submissions for the November Sphere playlist:

Circle of Dust - "Humanarchy" (5:00) from Machines of Our Disgrace (2016)

Code Orange - "The Above" (4:18) from The Above (2023)

Fear Factory - "Pisschrist" (5:25) from Demanufacture (1995)

PAIN - "Dancing With the Dead" (4:13) from Dancing With the Dead (2005)

Psyclon Nine - "We the Fallen" (5:24) from We the Fallen (2009)

Ruoska - "Alasin" (4:23) from Amortem (2006)

Total length: 28:43

Here are my sneak peek submissions for the November Revolution playlist:

As I Lay Dying - "The Cave We Fear to Enter" (5:07) from The Cave We Fear to Enter (2024)

Bury Your Dead - "Minority Report" (3:21) from We Are Bury Your Dead (2019)

The Devil Wears Prada - "To the Key of Evergreen" (5:07) from Transit Blues (2016)

Fit for a King - "TECHNIUM" (3:05) from TECHNIUM (2024)

Ice Nine Kills - "Rocking the Boat" (4:06) from The Silver Scream (2018)

The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "Like a Cat" (3:27) from Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear (2005)

Rings of Saturn - "Infused" (3:21) from Lugal Ki En (2014)

Total length: 27:34

Here are my submissions for the November Infinite playlist, having just two long epics in mind:

Sumac - "Will to Reach" (9:48) from What One Becomes (2016)

Textures - "Polars" (18:25) from Polars (2003)

Total length: 28:13

Here are my submissions for the November Gateway playlist:

All That Remains - "No Tomorrow" (4:40) from No Tomorrow (2024)

Daughtry, Lzzy Hale - "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" (5:16) from Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (2023)

Extreme - "He-Man Woman Hater" (6:20) from Extreme II: Pornograffitti (1990)

Mushroomhead - "Shame in a Basket" (8:22) from Call the Devil (2024)

Within Temptation - "Bleed Out" (4:30) from Bleed Out (2023)

Total length: 29:08

A deathly classic shaped up by early Believer as well as Trail of Tears and Underoath at that time:

This brilliant highlight might just go down as one of my favorite songs in all of progressive metal:

This highlight starts off in the first minute sounding somewhere between doomy and almost a slam deathcore breakdown, and then launches into the usual black-ish tech-death:

An amazing progressive track with clean/unclean vocals and lyrics of depression:

Another one of Mechina's mind-blowing covers, a Duran Duran ballad gone epic cyber metal:

This stinker fits well with its name, being far too weird for its own good:

The earlier experimentation fits greatly with the fantastic lyrics in this finale:

I've done my review, here's its summary:

Ministry have made it big in pioneering the American side of industrial metal, with their 3 albums from 1988 to 1992 being commercially successful. With their 1996 album Filth Pig, the band's sound became darker and heavier than before, almost reaching sludge territory. According to founder Al Jourgensen, people hated the album. They wanted the humor and electronics of Psalm 69, but the album doesn't have much of those. I still like the heaviness though. Darkness is often what I look for when I want to take a break from the brighter reality. And sometimes, darkness can be a bit intimidating. It can also have a bit of humor, from the literally meat-headed young American politician in the album cover. A whole lot you can find in the dark, from the marching riffs to the awesome lyrics in half the amount of songs here. Although I often like songs that are long and dark, several of the ones here don't sit too well for me, being a little weird and not something I would listen to on the daily. Still there's nothing with switching gears to a heavier sound. A lot of us here are up for something like that. I just think a few of the songs in the album could've had better execution....

3.5/5

Thanks, Xephyr.

Update on my training program: Today was the second-to-last day, and after the main program ends tomorrow, the graduation ceremony won't be until sometime next month. This means I might have to wait one or two months until I find out whether or not I get the paid job. With that, I don't have to take that break after all! At least until after the graduation ceremony. So I'll continue submitting feature releases and Revolution playlists, beginning with the ones for November and December. Whether or not I'll have a break from those activities for two or 3 months afterwards will depend on if I get the paid job following the ceremony. Let's hope for the best!

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Gothminister - "Stonehenge" from Anima Inferna (2011)

5/5. The opening track for its original album and playlist begins with heavy guitar crunch and interesting synth harmonies. Then the guitars calm down to let Brem's baritone vocals shine. Sounds quite evil for a then-recently-married and domestically happy man, proving his ability to maintain the earlier darkness. Optimistic lyrics ain't gonna make the gloomy vocals fade away in this battle of life and death.

Blue Stahli - "Prognosis" from Obsidian (2021)

5/5. The effects and lyrics astonish me, and I'm certainly up for more of this music from Blue Stahli.

Killing Joke - "Aeon" from Democracy (1996)

4.5/5. This 8-minute epic has a spectacular mix of the band's new wave/post-punk sound from the 80s with the industrial rock/metal style that shaped up Pandemonium. Probably the best song of its original album and by the band!

The Amenta - "Plague of Locus" from Plague of Locus (2023)

4/5. The title track of this Amenta cover album is its second original track, this one being a full song. The brutality hits hard with heavy riffs, synths, and vocals, growing harder as the song progresses.

Megaherz - "Kopf Durch Die Wand" from Wer Bist Du (1997)

3.5/5. Pretty nice, but as always, NDH isn't really for me. Next!

Eisbrecher - "Bombe" from Eiszeit (2010)

4/5. Quite the bomb, but still missing a bit of impact.

OOMPH! - "Sandmann" from Monster (2008)

4.5/5. The lyrics are quite interesting as they detail the horrors of children disappearing in Germany while Hungary has them all protected.

Motionless in White - "America" from Infamous (2012)

5/5. This awesome highlight expands the band's sound yet again. This is more like the gothic industrial metal of Gothminister, especially the deeper cleans in the verses. Michael Vampire of Vampires Everywhere! sings together with Chris in a sing-along gang chorus, one of the best of the genre! That song can definitely reach the hard rock/metal charts. America, F*** YEAH!!!!

Marilyn Manson - "The Nobodies" from Holy Wood (2000)

4.5/5. The lyrics for this song are quite deep as well, addressing the Columbine shooters whom the band was falsely accusing of influencing, and the song title taking a quote from John Lennon's murderer. A remix would appear next year in the film From Hell starring Johnny Depp.

Deathstars - "Metal" from The Greatest Hits on Earth (2011)

4/5. A great piece of cyber/industrial metal from the masters of the genre.

Genitorturers - "Falling Stars" from Blackheart Revolution (2009)

3.5/5. Then we have another nice alt-ish anthem that's more melodic while still heavy. The guitar distortion of their 90s material is blended with an old-school rhythm that can easily be tapped by tambourine.

Samael - "Us" from Eternal (1999)

4/5. This one soars through the industrial metal cosmos once again with a memorable chorus despite it being a bit too noise-ridden in the background.

KMFDM - "From Here on Out" from WWIII (2003)

4.5/5. "Don't risk your life and the lives of your comrades. Leave now and go home, watch your children learn." I enjoy those lyrics sung by Lucia Cifarelli in an excellent that can be both relaxing and kick-A.

In This Moment - "Fly Like an Eagle" from Mother (2020)

5/5. The band took a Steve Miller song and covered it to make it dark and beautiful. Maria Brink's vocal power is incredible! The intro itself is almost a cover of the Terminator theme. I f***ing love it!

Mnemic - "There's No Tomorrow" from Mnemesis (2012)

5/5. What really brings the band back to a time 25 years before this album is "There's No Tomorrow", the 6-minute epic that almost sounds like a power ballad ala Bon Jovi/Dokken. There's even a beautiful guitar soloing crescendo. Of course, the brutal growls are still in great passion.

Diabolos Rising - "Genocide-I Am God" from 666 (1994)

4.5/5. Creepy yet excellent blackened industrial metal right here, though I would never have listened to this in my early teen years.

Nik Nocturnal, Our Mirage - "NEIN!" (Rammstein parody track) from How to Metal, Vol. 1 (2023)

4/5. Any Rammstein-inspired song should end up in a Sphere playlist without a doubt. Slightly better than most of the songs from the band parodied here.

The Interbeing - "Perplexion" from Icon of the Hopeless (2022)

4.5/5. This one kicks up the heaviness like an upgrade from Fear Factory and Mnemic in the riffing while making room for the epic melodic chorus. Often the riffing takes a turn from industrial metal to leaning close to metalcore, which actually opens up more outer dimensions in the music-verse.

Tyrant of Death - "Gone Too Far" from Superior Firepower (2019)

4/5. Another f***ing sick cyber metal banger that shall take you through an alternate reality. It's so heavily stellar!

Mechina - "Tartarus" from Xenon (2014)

4.5/5. You can swim through different dimensions ranging from cyber to deathly, as a saga unfolds, almost competing with Marvel, Star Wars, and even The Elder Scrolls. A truly dark and ethereal collision!

Psyclon Nine - "Order of the Shadow (The Heretic Awakened)" from Order of the Shadow: Act 1 (2013)

4.5/5. F***ing amazing as h*ll this song is, probably the best of its original album! It is lightyears beyond the aggrotech sound of their debut. It would've been perfect if Nero Bellum's high shrieks had better improvement.

Celldweller - "Birthright" from Wish Upon a Blackstar (2012)

5/5. A slightly better one, and perhaps the best one of Wish Upon a Blackstar. Klayton is a true master of modern electro-industrial rock/metal!

Front Line Assembly - "Surface Patterns" from Millennium (1994)

4.5/5. This one uses samples from songs by other metal bands, with this one using that famous riff from "Walk" by Pantera, followed by "Don't Tread On Me" by Metallica.

Godhead - "Anybody Else" from Evolver (2003)

4.5/5. Excellent track, but I'm better off anywhere else.

Ruoska - "Rumavirsi" from Radium (2005)

5/5. D*mn awesome sh*t from this Finnish industrial metal band. Here's to another album in the future!

Ministry - "Ricky's Hand" from HOPIUM FOR THE MASSES (2024)

4.5/5. Sounds like Ministry is going back to their 90s/early 2000s material with this cover of an 80s synthpop hit. A bit more prominent guitar would've been necessary for me and the rest of the metal audience.

Napalm Death - "Contemptuous" from Utopia Banished (1992)

4/5. Ending this playlist is the second Napalm Death track suggestion submitted by Daniel, the first one from the Sphere playlist exactly one year ago. Sounds like the band has a little more creative freedom when experimenting with shoegaze-ish industrial metal. The band's usual violent deathgrind has been turned away for bleak industrial darkness of Godflesh. The riffing has beautiful atmosphere before leading into the final fading bass chords. I personally would pick this one and that other submission, "Evolved as One", over their more well-known grind that I'm not up for.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? I recommend this to any industrial metal fan and anyone who isn't into industrial metal but is up to getting into a great start for the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!