Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

Another hit from those Welsh melodic metalcore masters:

I guess the "titles" would only measure how much "studying" we've done in our own clans.  Actually, a way to maintain clan integrity would be to make sure certain titles pertaining to completing outside list (meaning lists outside your clans) could NOT be achieved until you've completed a certain number of challenges from your own clans.  Obviously, completing ALL of them would have to be avoided considering that some clans have far more challenges than others.  The Sphere's industrial metal would need more challenge lists.  I can probably make a cyber metal one, but there aren't enough bands for New Dutch.  Of course, melodic metalcore and deathcore lists for the Revolution will be easy.  There's plenty of that going around.

Melodic metalcore has already been done, unless you want to expand on that: https://metal.academy/lists/single/56

Cyber metal and deathcore would make some great subgenre challenge lists, though there probably would only be enough for one list per subgenre. I would definitely like Deathstars in the former and Lorna Shore in the latter.

And this is coming from the autistic one.

You're autistic??? I thought I was the only one here! High-5!

Ben, please add Opeth's 2010 live album In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall. At least two CD issues of the release can be found in RYM.

A live take on one of BTBAM's earlier classic hits:

An epic diverse progressive metalcore journey within a journey, in its live glory:

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

When I was still enjoying this band, their 2002 self-titled debut was a solid start that showed their metalcore side at their rawest. The Silent Circus began to display their more progressive tendencies. Then Alaska was a perfect phenomenon of progressive metalcore innovation. This is only surpassed by a few points by the stunning diamond gem that was Colors, in which their experimental deathly progressive metalcore sound is in full prodigious force throughout basically a 64-minute epic split into 8 tracks. And then came this live rendition of that colorful journey, as you get to hear to all the different twists into other genres while standing by their progressive metalcore. Pretty much all of the instruments and vocals have different variations that seamlessly transcend from one place to another, all in a range from beauty to brutality. The DVD version includes their second set songs from their first 3 albums voted by fans in a special online poll. And it's an amazing selection, I must say, a trip through their earlier, more metalcore days. Colors Live is a monstrous live experience like none other from this modern progressive metal fivesome BTBAM. This is an excellent live journey you just gotta hear to believe!

4.5/5

So are you five gonna call yourselves the Pentagram?

Actually, Rex, there are 4 of them, so how about the Extreme Foursome?

Killer melodic deathcore from Los Angeles, if you're up for a band similar to All Shall Perish and the 2000s eras of The Acacia Strain and Bring Me the Horizon:

Good lists, Rex! I think those can be good replacements for the one official Sphere clan challenge. Please talk to Ben about that idea. Anyway, I approve of those lists, except Samael's earlier black metal was still dominant in Ceremony of Opposites, maybe replace that album with Passage or Eternal?

Here are my submissions for the October Sphere playlist:

Code Orange - "Autumn and Carbine" (3:27) from Underneath (2020)

Fear Factory - "Powershifter" (3:49) from Mechanize (2010)

Godflesh - "Locust Furnace" (4:45) from Streetcleaner (1989)

Red Harvest - "Symbol of Decay" (7:46) from Internal Punishment Programs (2004)

Strapping Young Lad - "In the Rainy Season" (4:37) from Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing (1995)

The Kovenant - "New World Order" (4:30) from Animatronic (1999)

Total length: 28:54

Here are my submissions for the October Revolution playlist:

Crossfaith - "Xeno" (4:12) from Xeno (2015)

Earth Crisis - "All Out War" (2:45) from All Out War (1992)

Electric Callboy - "Parasite" (3:03) from Tekkno (2022)

Enda Vinera - "Unholy Incarnate" (8:07) from Unholy Incarnate (2023)

Miss May I - "Under Fire" (3:17) from Shadows Inside (2017)

Parkway Drive - "Atlas" (4:08) from Atlas (2012)

Trivium - "Beauty in the Sorrow" (4:31) from The Sin and the Sentence (2017)

Total length: 30:03 (pardon the slight overtime)

Here are my submissions for the October Infinite playlist:

Ayreon - "Collision" (3:26) from The Theory of Everything (2013) (though the album is non-metal, there's a lot of metal energy from the instrumentation and a couple vocalists from power metal bands, enough to justify being in an Infinite playlist)

Meshuggah - "Sane" (3:48) from Chaosphere (1998)

Sikth - "Days Are Dreamed" (6:15) from Opacities (2015)

The Ocean - "Isla Del Sol" (10:32) from Fluxion (2004)

Voivod - "Golem" (4:33) from Angel Rat (1991)

Total length: 28:34

Here are my submissions for the October Gateway playlist:

Annisokay - "Calamity" (2:53) from Calamity (2023)

Beartooth - "Doubt Me" (3:10) from Doubt Me (2023)

Breaking Benjamin - "Hollow" (3:51) from Dark Before Dawn (2015)

Five Finger Death Punch - "The Agony of Regret" (1:41) from The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Volume 2 (2013)

In This Moment - "Black Wedding" (4:07) from Ritual (2017)

Mushroomhead - "Qwerty" (3:30) from The Righteous & the Butterfly (2014)

Soilwork - "Övergivenheten" (5:46) from Övergivenheten (2022)

Spiritbox - "Circle With Me" (3:57) from Eternal Blue (2021)

Total length: 28:55

An iconic highlight of Welsh melodic metalcore:

Impressive, Sonny! Looks like you're ready to enter the Horde.

A few awesome melodic death metal bands whose music I've encountered in the past, but was never fully interested in them until recently:

Ben, please add these new releases:

Asking Alexandria - Where Do We Go From Here?

Polaris - Fatalism

The Word Alive - Hard Reset

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Circle of Dust - "Exploration - Redux" from Circle of Dust (1995, 2016 remaster)

4.5/5. For 30 years, Klayton has pleased fans of electronica and/or metal with his original project Circle of Dust. This band's material makes up to checking out other projects of his like Argyle Park and the more popular Celldweller. Thanks so d*mn much, Klayton! Seriously!

Deathstars - "Tongues" from Termination Bliss (2006)

5/5. In contrast to that speedy opener, this is a slow melodic awesome song to get you pumped for incoming darkness. The deep dark voice sticks with the heavy electronic rhythm. I also enjoy the chorus and the female singing before it.

In This Moment - "THE PURGE" from THE PURGE (2023)

5/5. Maria Brink and co. are back with a powerful hint at their latest addition to their nearly two-decade discography, Godmode! I can hear quite a similar vibe to the more electronic material of Bring Me the Horizon and Motionless in White. The lyrics are quite eerie and fit well with the demonic-ish music. The more classic metalheads might know this band from their single "Black Wedding" featuring Judas Priest's Rob Halford.

Godflesh - "Land Lord" from Purge (2023)

5/5. Another true standout for me, having some killer harmonic bends in the strings.

Fear Factory - "New Messiah" from Re-Industrialized (2023)

4.5/5. There's more of the catchy majesty in this track with an epic chorus, from a revised version of the album The Industrialist.

OOMPH! - "Krüppel" from Wunschkind (1996)

4/5. Here's a song worth talking about! Dero's vocals sound close to growling as he details a story about getting kicked, punched, crippled... basically getting beaten up by vicious bullies. Now this is the Oomph I need in the lyrics that are heavy as the gradually distorted music. The emotion is what makes the song special in its own right. Sadly, there's no later song like that in its original album.

Rammstein - "Du riechst so gut" from Herzeleid (1995)

3.5/5. Another pretty good early example of Neue Deutsche Härte, despite recent allegations against frontman Till Lindemann.

KMFDM - "Ultra" from Nihil (1995)

4/5. Busting through is this nearly flawless track that you might know from the Street Fighter II animated movie.

Ministry - "N.W.O." from ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ [Psalm 69] (1992)

4.5/5. Opening things up in madness, this one starts with a sample of a siren alarm over the first riff, and the band set up the stage.

Gothminister - "Star" from Star (2022)

5/5. Now this one will get you hooked. The melody is an addictive throwback to the band's 2000s era that was more focused on electronics while still having a lot of metal.

Schwarzer Engel - "Requiem" from Kult der Krähe (2018)

4.5/5. Neue Deutsche Härte and gothic doom metal actually make a very cool mix. Keep it up!

Omega Lithium - "Hollow March" from Dreams in Formaline (2009)

5/5. The industrial/gothic metal blend is still on, albeit in a quick epic pace. D*mn, this band is so underrated!

3TEETH, Mick Gordon - "Merchant of the Void" from Merchant of the Void (2023)

4.5/5. Industrial fans are going crazy over this impressive collaboration between 3TEETH and Mick Gordon. Smashing!

Megaherz - "Jagdzeit" from Götterdämmerung (2012)

4/5. Some more kick-A NDH similar to their popular peers Rammstein.

Lindemann - "Platz Eins" from F & M (2019)

3.5/5. Speaking of Rammstein... Another song with Till Lindemann?!? Well, I already made this clear: Separate art from artist! F&M is different from the project's debut Skills in Pills, reverting back to Rammstein's NDH, instead of English-speaking industrial metal. This might have potential to be used in one of Seth MacFarlane's cartoons.

Red Harvest - "Beyond the Limits of Physical Xperience" from A Greater Darkness (2007)

4/5. SO DARK!!! Enough said...

Author & Punisher - "Women & Children" from Women & Children (2013)

3.5/5. And there's more of that freaky doomy darkness, this time from this one-man band formed by Tristan Shone.

The Interbeing - "Sins of the Mechanical" from Among the Amorphous (2017)

4/5. Although Sybreed, Mnemic, and Raunchy (sort of) are gone, this band The Interbeing has made up for that and gotten fans of those earlier bands f***ing mind-blown. There's even some atmospheric meat here! Of course, you can thank The Kovenant for inventing the subgenre this band has, cyber metal. And this song's original album isn't the f***ing last of this band, as there's another album released recently.

Breach the Void - "Digital Structure" from the Monochromatic Era (2010)

4.5/5. This almost reaches the top with those golden drums and vocals! Breach the Void is another band in the modern cyber metal league led by Sybreed, with ex-Sybreed drummer Alex Anxionaz being part of this band. And it makes me feel more energized than when I had my peanut butter sandwich for lunch earlier today (as of this comment). As much as I would consider this song a pinnacle of modern industrial/cyber metal, the only problem that keeps this away from perfection, the clean vocals sound a bit inferior to the guttural ones. Nonetheless, the band has some original talent right there!

Digimortal - "Сто ночей" from Сто ночей (2013)

4/5. Now this track is a tribute to the K-141 submarine tragedy. This song has some wonderful power, I must say. It will leave your soul in tears, that's how strong it is! The chorus stands out well and fits in with the terrible disaster detailed in the Russian lyrics. One other band that can make such a tribute is Finnish doom metallers KYPCK.

Seth Ect - "Orison" from Godspeak (2011)

3.5/5. This one's also underrated with pretty good lyrics.

Combichrist - "We Were Made to Love You" from We Love You (2014)

3/5. OK, this song deserves a bit of attention for its attempt to mix breakdowns of both metal and dubstep. However, despite the vocals having the right level of grittiness, the vocals come out as unclear sh*t. Still it should've fit well in the Avengers: Age of Ultron soundtrack. I wouldn't say this is the worst song I've ever heard, but it's the lowest point of this playlist in my opinion.

Zaraza - "Heart.ov.the.Goat" from No Paradise to Lose (2003)

3.5/5. You might think this track would continue that lowness streak, considering it's more of an experimental spoken word track. But it's a nice transition in the middle of this part of the playlist that I would consider the "dark love trilogy", and I would give it some pointage for that. That Combichrist song is the first part of the trilogy, of course.

SKYND - "Katherine Knight" from Chapter II (2019)

4/5. The emotional last third of both its original EP and my aforementioned "dark love trilogy" has a bit of a Lady Gaga-like pop vibe. It's based on a woman who murdered her husband and was intending to make herself and her children cannibals to that man. So crazy, yet the song mesmerizes me.

Scorn - "Deep In-Eaten Over and Over" from Vae Solis (1992)

4.5/5. This exceptional song is one of the most dreadful-sounding tracks I've heard in industrial metal, almost like funeral doom before the genre was fully developed, though some might be reminded more of Swans than Skepticism. The solid departure from the earlier fast pounders of this playlist continues. Thanks for this submission, Daniel!

Pain - "Season of the Reaper" from You Only Live Twice (2011)

5/5. You know how much I love this band Pain, and g****mn, what a way to end this playlist and its original album!

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite some bumpiness in some places. Anyway, 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!

Another highlight, from ambient metalcore band Invent Animate:

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Rorschach - "Mandible" from Protestant (1993)

4.5/5. Let's start this playlist with abrasive guitar that might make you think of the industrial metal wave that was also shaping up at that time. However, the band is still in the metalcore zone with hysterical shrieks to accompany the abstract madness that gets more melodic midway through.

Trivium - "The Sin and the Sentence" from The Sin and the Sentence (2017)

5/5. This track begins with a 30-second build-up intro that was removed on Spotify, before heading straight to the song itself, which brings back a lot about Trivium you've missed; searing screaming vocals, greatly fired-up guitar solos, and blazing blast beats.

Converge - "The Broken Vow" from Jane Doe (2001)

4.5/5. This one has remarkable lyrics from not just Bannon but also from other hardcore vocalists like Kevin Baker (The Hope Conspiracy), Tre McCarthy (Deathwish Inc.), and Caleb Scofield (Cave In) (RIP), especially during the final screaming line, "I'll take my love to the grave!!"

Botch - "Mondrian was a Liar" from We are the Romans (1999)

4.5/5. I'm not lying when I say there's a jazz passage here. You gotta listen to believe!

Burst - "Two-Faced" from Two-Faced (1997)

5/5. This highlight has a simpler direction than what they would have later, while more adventurous than many of the more traditional hardcore bands out there. There's some melody in the music while having the usual vocal aggression that would be lessened as the band progresses.

Earth Crisis - "Unseen Holocaust" from Firestorm (1993)

4.5/5. This one has a catatonic breakdown, but the rest of the song drives on through the sonic assault of Karl's vocals as he addresses indigenous people and their risk of genocide and relocation.

Unbroken - "The Setup" from Life. Love. Regret (1994)

4.5/5. Here we have the best setup for some of the most explosive music in this album.

Vision of Disorder - "D.T.O." from Vision of Disorder (1996)

5/5. Another heavy highlight, recently covered by Eighteen Visions in their own cover album named after the year the Vision of Disorder album was released, 1996.

Living Sacrifice - "180" from Reborn (1997)

5/5. This one shows the band's 180-turn away from their earlier death metal while keeping a bit of the much earlier thrash rhythm.

The Number Twelve Looks Like You - "Texas Dolly" from Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear. (2005)

4.5/5. Now here's a great mathcore creation I enjoy. There are some people who started listening to this band as young as age 14, though I was listening to an entirely different metal genre when I was that age. I might try singing/screaming this song some time. One similar band that I haven't fully checked out yet is The Fall of Troy. #12's lineup since reuniting is not as big as it was originally. This band and Horse the Band should have more material to make up for both bands' hiatus. At over the one-minute mark, there's a brief soft break before the f***ing sudden return of the heaviness. Then there's some grindcore for 40 seconds. After that, the other vocalist steps in and descends into Vader-like brutality (both the death metal band and Darth Vader's voice). Now for those who don't know, Texas Dolly is the nickname of a famous poker player Doyle Brunson who passed away just 4 months before this comment. RIP

Demon Hunter - "Storm the Gates of Hell" from Storm the Gates of Hell (2007)

5/5. A brutal thrash-metalcore feast of screams and blasting chorus that would give you a headbanging headache. That song starts its original concept with an army of Christian angel warriors storming the gates of Hell to battle Satan's demon knights. Killer beginning!

36 Crazyfists - "Kenai" from A Snow Capped Romance (2004)

4.5/5. Another great band performing amazing tracks like this, hailing from Anchorage, Alaska.

Strife - "Will to Die" from In This Defiance (1997)

5/5. This amazing highlight has a bit of a Black Sabbath kind of soundscape, with a few prominent guests assisting in the action; ex-Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera, Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares, and most notably, Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno.

Morning Again - "Minus One" from The Cleanest War (1996)

5/5. This grand 6-minute epic marks the perfect blend of beautiful and heavy.

Ice Nine Kills - "The Nature of the Beast" from Every Trick in the Book (2015)

5/5. In an Animal Farm, a circus ringleader (lead vocalist Spencer Charnas) invites you to the act that opens the album. Spencer and co-frontman Justin DeBlieck sing the evocative chorus for the first time, as you begin to realize that the audience aren't people, they're animals! As Spencer begins his screaming, the ringleader reveals himself to be a wild boar, and you've been tricked into a trap by the animal rebellion. Through the twisting and turning epic chaos, the animals chase you all over the farm, determined to seize control and destroy any humans who get in their way. A compelling start to the album!

Bullet for My Valentine - "Eye of the Storm" from Scream Aim Fire (2008)

4.5/5. This one continues the thrash-metalcore action with a thunderous riff and another signature guitar solo.

Amaranthe - "Dynamite" from Massive Addictive (2014)

5/5. This one has an explosive start! After lighting the fuse, it explodes into a very powerful trance-metal song. Elize's vocal performance is energetic and overpowers the other vocalists who still sound great.

The Browning - "Cryosleep" from Isolation (2016)

4.5/5. H*ll yeah, some more trance-metalcore in the house!

Parkway Drive - "The River" from Atlas (2012)

5/5. This song can be considered the long middle epic of its original album, a bit like the previous album's "Alone", except there's a longer song later in that album. The intro sounds similar to that song's intro, this time with clean female background vocals. After that intro, the next couple minutes with the riff, verse, and chorus are a great blend of epic and extreme. More clean female vocals come later in this song.

Polaris - "No Rest" from The Guilt and The Grief (2016)

4.5/5. If I had more time to change this song to a slightly more appropriate one after the passing of guitarist Ryan Siew, I would've done that. Then again, it fits well for that difficult struggle for the band, and relates to anyone whose life is f***ed up by the loss of a friend/bandmate. From the fantastic intro onwards, you get to hear some amazing sh*t to make you pleased. Intense emotional metalcore right here, especially in the underrated breakdown under the 3-minute mark. F***ing strong melody in this song! This band, along with other metalcore bands, can make songs that fit well in 3 categories; short, fast, and loud. I'm telling you, that intro is filled with entrancing heaven! This band has definitely made up for Bring Me the Horizon's move out of metalcore. You can almost think of this as Currents with Lamb of God-like unclean vocals. RIP Ryan

As I Lay Dying - "Shaped by Fire" from Shaped by Fire (2019)

4.5/5. This track is heavier, sounding closer to djent. It's a fun djenty song to listen to for some low-tuned headbanging joy.

Make Them Suffer - "Ghost of Me" from Ghost of Me (2023)

5/5. A well-done standout single with amazing lyrics! Sean's incredible vocals help maintain the band's bad-a** single streak they've had alongside "Contraband" and "Doomswitch". Absolutely marvelous!

Any Given Day - "Diamonds" from Diamonds (2022)

4.5/5. H*ll yeah, you know how much I love these kinds of metal covers, full-on metalizing pop songs! This cover is actually from 10 years ago. I can definitely recommend this track to my brother who enjoys this band. It's so powerful that it can obliterate the original Rihanna song. Quite a hammering banger! Now I need to check out their other cover, the one of Scorpions' "Winds of Change". Metal can definitely enhance any pop/R&B hit.

Brojob, Enda Vinera - "BARBIE GIRL" from BARBIE GIRL (2023)

4/5. Now this is quite wild! Two deathcore bands have collaborated with each other to turn a 90s pop single about the popular doll into a deathcore track. And it's already f***ing different with its brutal breakdown in the last 30 minutes or so. One other Brojob song I've heard is "Teenie Weenie". And yes, I've seen the Barbie movie.

Shadow of Intent - "The Coming Fire" from Elegy (2022)

4.5/5. The ending of this track is one of the most memorable parts of its original album. It's "Gravesinger 2.0" (yes, I've listened to that song as part of the playlists)!

Whitechapel - "Breeding Violence" from A New Era of Corruption (2010)

5/5. The guitar soloing that should level up deathcore's appealing factor appears in this violently pleasant highlight.

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "Vicki Mayhem" from Danza 3: The Series of Unfortunate Events (2010)

4.5/5. Again I probably would've chosen a different song after the passing of TDTE guitarist Brad Thomson who performed with the band in the two albums before this one. RIP... This band can unleash unique talented mayhem. Things get physical at near the one and a half minute mark, then 45 seconds later, there's one of my favorite parts of a a TDTE song! This band is filled with brutal experimental mathcore in 7-string slaughter. "THEY. WILL. NEVER. TAKE US ALIVE!!!" You can almost think of this as Whitechapel gone Animals as Leaders, with a bit of BTBAM and Hatebreed.

Iwrestledabearonce - "Button It Up" from Ruining It for Everybody (2011)

4/5. Now here's a clever entertaining mathcore adventure to make your day and not have to worry about what other people think. Ruining It for Everybody is filled with weird yet fun songs. So come join this party in your head! I'm glad their material is in major streaming platforms like Spotify.

Invent Animate - "Immolation of Night" from Heavener (2023)

4.5/5. Some g****mn sick djenty metalcore with great lyrics and effective breakdown. Emotional fury right there!

Lorna Shore - "Pain Remains III: In a Sea of Fire" from Pain Remains (2022)

5/5. The climatic final part of this epic suite, its original album, and this playlist, is a highlight you can never skip. It shows the band at their most epic, then wraps it all up with a soft outro of ethereal atmosphere. The dream is over, wake up!

HOLY SH*T, this is probably close to the best metalcore playlist I've ever done, with every track ranging from 4.5 to 5 stars, except for a few tracks towards the end. I sure would recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but wants to get into a great start in enjoying 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! I'm also glad to finally catch up with all of my July playlists, along with having just entered the last month of my busy schedule, so look out for my usual playlist thoughts for all of my clans continuing next month...

Here's my review summary:

Sore Throat was known as a classic band in the crust/grindcore scene, delivering avalanche after avalanche of short fast tunes. Their over 40-minute single-track concept album Inde$troy is essentially an 8-part ambient industrial sludge epic with barely any of their crust/grind roots. And it's not the best album of that style either, but it's enjoyable in a few parts... The highlights I would specifically point out are the long ambient intro and outro, and the standard hardcore heaviness of the "Air" section. Basically those highlights take up half of the album with absolute power. The ambient sections work out as an easy-listening soundtrack to the apocalypse of a dystopian society. Yet the in-between-sounding parts don't do well for me. Anyway, if you're looking for an earlier, more ambient/industrial attempt at a grindcore band's sludge epic than Pig Destroyer's Natasha, here you go....

3/5

Now this looks like a good album to revisit this band's progressive metalcore material that I've lost contact with after Colors II. The first Colors album performed live entirely along with some tracks from their first 3 albums. My review and summary coming soon...

Although I don't find this EP to be awesome as you do, Daniel, I'll still thank you for this. Here's my review summary:

The Mosquito Control has been made great by its raw heaviness. This is more chaotic than Isis' more evolved works. If the earliest Isis album you have is Oceanic and you want something from them that's deadlier and heavier, just start with Celestial then head down to their EPs leading up to their first, this one! Indeed there are 4 dark pieces of savage sludge, filled with heavy riff chaos with enraged vocals from the mosquito king (Aaron Turner). However, if you end up getting the Japanese edition, consider yourself lucky, as you can hear their incredible cover of the industrial sludge classic title track of Godflesh's Streetcleaner. If you're a new Isis fan, even though this is their very first release, this is not the right place to start. You might get too attached to the heaviness of their EPs and not enjoy their full-length masterpieces. Of course, fans of Isis' full albums will see the grand difference. Though not the best start, this is where Isis' true innovation had just begun....

4/5

September 2023

1. Circle of Dust - "Exploration - Redux" from Circle of Dust (1995, 2016 remaster) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

2. Deathstars - "Tongues" from Termination Bliss (2006) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

3. In This Moment - "THE PURGE" from THE PURGE (2023)

4. Godflesh - "Land Lord" from Purge (2023) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

5. Fear Factory - "New Messiah" from Re-Industrialized (2023) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

6. OOMPH! - "Krüppel" from Wunschkind (1996)

7. Rammstein - "Du riechst so gut" from Herzeleid (1995)

8. KMFDM - "Ultra" from Nihil (1995)

9. Ministry - "N.W.O." from ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ [Psalm 69] (1992)

10. Gothminister - "Star" from Star (2022)

11. Schwarzer Engel - "Requiem" from Kult der Krähe (2018)

12. Omega Lithium - "Hollow March" from Dreams in Formaline (2009)

13. 3TEETH, Mick Gordon - "Merchant of the Void" from Merchant of the Void (2023)

14. Megaherz - "Jagdzeit" from Götterdämmerung (2012)

15. Lindemann - "Platz Eins" from F & M (2019)

16. Red Harvest - "Beyond the Limits of Physical Xperience" from A Greater Darkness (2007)

17. Author & Punisher - "Women & Children" from Women & Children (2013)

18. The Interbeing - "Sins of the Mechanical" from Among the Amorphous (2017)

19. Breach the Void - "Digital Structure" from the Monochromatic Era (2010)

20. Digimortal - "Сто ночей" from Сто ночей (2013)

21. Seth Ect - "Orison" from Godspeak (2011)

22. Combichrist - "We Were Made to Love You" from We Love You (2014)

23. Zaraza - "Heart.ov.the.Goat" from No Paradise to Lose (2003)

24. SKYND - "Katherine Knight" from Chapter II (2019) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

25. Scorn - "Deep In-Eaten Over and Over" from Vae Solis (1992) [submitted by Daniel]

26. Pain - "Season of the Reaper" from You Only Live Twice (2011) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

Here's my submission for the October Guardians playlist:

Elvenking - "Your Heroes Are Dead" (from Red Silent Tides, 2010)

Cool lists, Sonny! Now for my turn... Here are my top 20 tracks from each of my never forgotten power metal heroes of my metal interest whom I'll never let go of:

DragonForce

1. Through the Fire and Flames - Inhuman Rampage (2006)

2. Highway to Oblivion - Extreme Power Metal (2019)

3. Revolution Deathsquad - Inhuman Rampage (2006)

4. Operation Ground and Pound - Inhuman Rampage (2006)

5. Soldiers of the Wasteland - Sonic Firestorm (2004)

6. Cry Thunder - The Power Within (2012)

7. Fury of the Storm - Sonic Firestorm (2004)

8. Valley of the Damned - Valley of the Damned (2003)

9. Pixel Prison - Warp Speed Warriors (2024)

10. E.P.M. (Extreme Power Metal) - Ultra Beatdown (2008)

11. The Edge of the World - Reaching into Infinity (2017)

12. Disciples of Babylon - Valley of the Damned (2003)

13. The Game - Maximum Overload (2014)

14. My Heart Will Go On - Extreme Power Metal (2019)

15. Heroes of Our Time - Ultra Beatdown (2008)

16. Where Dragons Rule - Valley of the Damned (2003)

17. The Last Journey Home - Ultra Beatdown (2008)

18. Burning Heart - Warp Speed Warriors (2024)

19. Hatred and Revenge - Reaching into Infinity (2017)

20. Astral Warrior Anthem - Warp Speed Warriors (2024)

Kamelot (Roy Khan era)

1. Memento Mori - The Black Halo (2005)

2. Nights of Arabia - The Fourth Legacy (1999)

3. Hunter's Season - Poetry for the Poisoned (2010)

4. The Black Halo - The Black Halo (2005)

5. March of Mephisto - The Black Halo (2005)

6. Serenade - The Black Halo (2005)

7. Center of the Universe - Epica (2003)

8. The Haunting (Somewhere in Time) - The Black Halo (2005)

9. Ghost Opera - Ghost Opera (2007)

10. Karma - Karma (2001)

11. The Great Pandemonium - Poetry for the Poisoned (2010)

12. Abandoned - The Black Halo (2005)

13. The Fourth Legacy - The Fourth Legacy (1999)

14. This Pain - The Black Halo (2005)

15. Lunar Sanctum - The Fourth Legacy (1999)

16. The Shadow of Uther - The Fourth Legacy (1999)

17. Until Kingdom Come - The Fourth Legacy (1999)

18. Forever - Karma (2001)

19. III Ways To Epica - Epica (2003)

20. Providence - Siege Perilous (1998)

Exactly one year ago, August 28, 2022, I discovered this glorious band when my brother was blasting this EP (among other songs) in a not-so-ordinary family car ride. As I give this epic extreme release another listen on the one-year anniversary of that historical event, I'd like to once again thank my brother for this incredible discovery:

After doing my top 20 list of favorite tracks by Trivium, I decided to do a genre analysis of each and every track from my list to see if they really live up to their melodic metalcore sound that I enjoy so much. Though I won't do the same with August Burns Red because their metalcore sound stays almost the same in each song, nor Strapping Young Lad because their sound has different sounds all over the place, making it difficult to dissect. Anyway, here's how I would tag the genres in these 20 Trivium tracks:

1. In Waves - melodic metalcore

2. Becoming the Dragon - thrash/melodic metalcore

3. Strife - heavy/thrash/melodic metalcore

4. The Sin and the Sentence - melodic metalcore/thrash metal

5. Watch the World Burn - melodic metalcore/thrash/progressive metal

6. The Heart From Your Hate - heavy metal

7. Ember to Inferno - melodic metalcore/thrash/melodic death metal

8. Forsake Not the Dream - melodic metalcore/thrash metal

9. Pillars of Serpents - melodic metalcore

10. Like Light to the Flies - melodic metalcore

11. Throes of Perdition - melodic metalcore/heavy/progressive metal

12. Endless Night - heavy metal/hard rock

13. In the Court of the Dragon - melodic metalcore

14. Inception of the End - melodic metalcore/thrash metal

15. Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr - melodic metalcore

16. Silence in the Snow - heavy/power metal

17. Built to Fall - heavy/melodic metalcore

18. The Shadow of the Abattoir - heavy/power/symphonic/melodic metalcore

19. Blind Leading the Blind - heavy metal

20. What the Dead Men Say - melodic metalcore/thrash metal

So based on what I've analyzed, I enjoy a lot of Trivium's melodic metalcore sound, which is the main genre in most of their albums. Though there's a solid amount of classic heavy/thrash metal tracks from this band that I enjoy. They also seem to experiment with progressive/power metal, and to a lesser one-time extent, melodic death/symphonic metal/hard rock. All in all, Trivium still reigns as one of the most diverse melodic metalcore bands around, and I'm glad their music still touches my metal heart.

I have a confession to make: I don't really like the sound of straightforward black metal. I find it to be too much about texture or filthy production instead of creating something memorable. It takes the one thing that hardcore punk had going for it and left it as a hollow shell of noise.

You're not alone there, Saxy. Besides the filthy production and noise, I also have some moral struggles with the genre due to its common usage of satanic/anti-religious lyrics. That being said, I don't mind if some bands start off as black metal in their first one or a few albums before moving to a different genre, like In the Woods..., Dodheimsgard, and The Kovenant. And I enjoy the blend of metalcore/deathcore with melodic/symphonic black metal in albums like Underoath's Cries of the Past, Abigail Williams' Legend, and Mental Cruelty's Zwelicht. I can definitely recognize Dodheimsgard's 666 International and The Kovenant's Nexus Polaris as industrial black metal classic masterpieces, something rare for a black metal release to achieve in my metal palate.

A true classic metalcore highlight. Although the song is based on a horrific tour bus crash caused by a drunk driver that killed two members of an earlier band Compromise, the song title reminded me of my Summer break being cut short by my busy schedule:

A Spotify playlist I've made based on my Strapping Young Lad favorite tracks list, including a few extra songs: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/10V7S9PZXwlUkXMkaAttaq

A couple Spotify playlists I've made based on those two lists, including a few extra songs in each playlist:

Trivium - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Mo15LhBBqDuWx4QdUhzVa

August Burns Red - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/79N4Mmrs66n4IrIqnpBKeX

Cool intro, killer riffing, speedy soloing... All you can ask for in this doomy death metal track's live rendition:

The eerie slowness of Clouds is nicely represented in this live EP:

Ben, please add the new Through Fire album Devil's Got You Dreamin'.

A prog-ish power metal highlight with some speedy Iron Maiden-infused riffing and vocal glory:

An 8-minute piece of dark early progressive/power metal:

I've given this Adramelch album some listening and a review to test out my strength in the progressive power metal I once loved, and to be honest, I'm not sure if fully-fledged progressive metal would be what I would call this offering. There are a few full-on power metal tracks with speedy Iron Maiden-infused riffing and wide-ranged singing, and sure the rest of this album has the early progressive metal of Queensryche/Fates Warning, but even the more progressive tracks are as melodic as power metal in some sections. So I might have to vote NO for this Hall entry.

My world has been thrown into complete disarray this week after I was made redundant after 28 years of service at my company. It came completely out of the blue & seems to be complete madness from an operational point of view given that the work that I do is still very much required. The whole business is in uproar over it & I'll receive a very large pay-out which certainly softens the blow a touch but my ego has copped a significant amount of bruising & it hasn't come at a good time for my personal life so I'm doing it a bit tough at the moment.

Sorry to hear, Daniel. Life can be tough, but I'm sure you'll stand strong.

Hi all! I have one month left in my college course (last day on September 19) and my work internship (last day on September 21). However, on September 25, 26, and 27, I have an all-day each-day special event in a different company that is thinking about hiring me based on my performance in an assessment I took last week. Then after the event, I plan to have a few days to rest after wrapping up my busy 3 months. So I still can't work on The Revolution monthly playlists until the beginning of October, but at least I'll be on time to work on the November Revolution playlist onwards. I think my schedule has cleared slightly to the point where I might be able to continue feature release submissions starting with the ones for October. And of course, I still have the time to do The Sphere clan playlists. So my semi-hiatus in on slightly longer, but restrictions are more relaxed. Once again, I can still do The Sphere monthly playlists, and possibly feature release submissions from the October ones onwards, but not the Revolution playlists. The end of my semi-hiatus is near, but not near enough...

There are a couple albums in which I question their status as studio albums, the first two Daughters albums (and only ones metal enough to be in this site), Canada Songs and Hell Songs. Canada Songs follows the grindcore aspect of having 10 songs each with an average one minute in length. The 11-minute release is far too short to be a full-length album in my opinion. Hell Songs is only twice as long as Canada Songs, with a slightly more acceptable length to be a full-length album. Still I think of those two releases as one 34-minute studio album split into two sides, with each side recorded in a different time and style.

As for long "EPs", one example I can think of is Bring Me the Horizon's Music to Listen To... If it's over 75 minutes in length, why is it being marketed as an EP? Personally I think of it as more of a remix album sampling some songs from Amo. There are even a few long experimental tracks including "Underground Big {HEADFULOFHYENA}" which goes on for 24 minutes (only a minute longer than the entire Daughters album Hell Songs), with the last 3 quarters being a hypnotic loop caused by a computer crash and Sykes recording a monologue over it. Well, seeing how The Gathering's album Afterwords is considered a remix album and even an EP, I'll let it slide. Same with Post Human: Survival Horror for its short 32-minute length. But if Post Human: Nex Gen ends up in the same length as each of BTMH's first 6 albums or longer, I hope it will be considered a studio album way more than an EP...

Holy sh*t! New ERRA single?! You bet I'm up for some more awesome progressive metalcore action:

Here's my updated list:

Beginning oldies (1984-1989)/B.M. (Before Metalcore):

1984: Voivod - War and Pain

1985: Watchtower - Energetic Disassembly

1986: Dark Angel - Darkness Descends

1987: Voivod - Killing Technology

1988: Sadus - Illusions

1989: Godflesh - Streetcleaner

Old golden classics and millennium transition highlights (1990-2001)/Metalcore's humble beginnings and light of day-seeing classics:

1990: Rorschach - Remain Sedate

1991: Old - Lo Flux Tube

1992: Sadus - A Vision of Misery

1993: Old - The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak

1994: Circle of Dust - Brainchild

1995: Waltari - Big Bang

1996: Red Harvest - HyBreed

1997: Waltari - Space Avenue

1998: Embodyment - Embrace the Eternal

1999: Botch - We Are The Romans

2000: Extol - Undeceived

2001: Candiria - 300 Percent Density

Modern favorites (2002-2013)/Rise of the full Revolution:

2002: Red Harvest - Sick Transit Gloria Mundi

2003: Animosity - Shut It Down

2004: ISIS – Panopticon

2005: Trivium - Ascendancy

2006: Dog Fashion Disco - Adultery

2007: Dethklok - The Dethalbum

2008: In This Moment - The Dream

2009: Vektor - Black Future

2010: Whitechapel - A New Era of Corruption

2011: Trivium - In Waves

2012: Bury Tomorrow - The Union of Crowns

2013: Dethklok - The Doomstar Requiem: A Klok Opera

The best of the most recent (2014-present)/A greater new uprising:

2014: The Acacia Strain - Coma Witch

2015: Sikth - Opacities

2016: Insomnium - Winter's Gate

2017: Brendon Small - II: Become the Storm

2018: Fit for a King - Dark Skies

2019: Northlane - Alien

2020: Code Orange - Underneath

2021: Trivium - In the Court of the Dragon

2022: Lorna Shore - Pain Remains

2023 so far: Dødheimsgard - Black Medium Current

2023 albums I'm looking forward to getting:

Atreyu - The Moment You Find Your Flame

Dethklok - Dethalbum IV/Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar

Asking Alexandria - Where Do We Go from Here?

The Word Alive - Hard Rest

Polaris - Fatalism

Code Orange - The Above

Of Mice & Men - Tether

Beartooth - The Surface

In This Moment - Godmode

Paradise Lost - Icon 30 (revisiting this band for a 30th anniversary album recording)

A once-thought-impossible blend of the speedy power metal of DragonForce and the epic melodic deathcore of Shadow of Intent in such a combination as cinematic as Dethklok's Doomstar Requiem:

Norwegian epic extreme gothic/symphonic death metal that should be no trouble for fans of Epica, Septicflesh, and Tristania:

Crushing melodic death-doom from two of the guys from Katatonia, one of whom would unfortunately lose the growling part of his voice afterwards:

The Crimson Chin! (not my guess, just recognized who that character is)

A dark slow 8-minute trip through industrial metal popularized by this band and album:

Impressive list, Daniel!

Another metalcore guitarist has fallen, Brad Thomson, formerly of mathcore band The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza. He was known "as one helluva guitar player", and fans of the band have been grateful to hear his mighty guitar skills in the first two TDTE albums. RIP