Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies
Here's my review summary:
Katatonia is known as one of the finest metal bands to come from Stockholm, Sweden. So why am I not getting into more of this action? See, they started as a death-doom band throughout the early/mid-90s, and they made a couple of the best albums of that genre. But when I left the Fallen clan, I distanced away from this band (among other death-doom bands), and the depressive lyrics they've had throughout their career kind of boosted my moving out motive. Interestingly, their albums from Viva Emptiness onwards are in the clan I switched into, The Gateway, with those albums considered dark alternative metal with post-/progressive elements. When I found out about their newest album Sky Void of Stars (the title sounds like a depressing take on a Coldplay single), I remembered the decently well-made City Burials from 3 years prior and my subsequent wonder of whether or not Jonas Renkse and co. could do better. And they've done it! They've made something close to a masterpiece of creativity. There's so much to discover the moment this offering started playing. They've enhanced their sound in this ongoing alt-metal era, continuing the mellowness of City Burials while eliminating the plodding factors and climbing back up towards the top. My concerns about if the depressiveness becomes too depressing is now out the window, and instead we have what might just be the best album Katatonia made in 25 years. The more progressive songs are complex in the riffing and rhythm while staying melodic. Drummer Daniel Moilanen makes his way through an impossibly big amount of time signatures. Bassist Niklas Sandin impressively keeps up with the fast technicality, into a bridge of mellow jazz. Guitar duo Anders Nyström and Roger Öjersson are the masters behind the riff complexity, with the latter performing a beautiful soloing. Of course, we can't forget about Jonas Renkse's warm vocal melodies, but while the unpredictability of the vocals can level up the impact, right from the beginning, it might catch you off guard at times. As the album goes on, you get find more of this melodic goth alt-metal throwing back to the band's 2000s albums and even as early as Discouraged Ones and Tonight's Decision. If you're not as experienced with Katatonia as I am (despite my break from that band for over a year), Sky Void of Stars wouldn't be easy for you initially unless you give a lot of listening time. Eventually, it'll be worth witnessing the album's brilliance. Katatonia had finally made their way back on top in their discography, and I look forward to more!
4.5/5
Recommended tracks: "Austerity", "Opaline", "Author", "Sclera", "Atrium", "No Beacon to Illuminate Our Fall"
For fans of: Alice in Chains, early-2000s Paradise Lost, Soen
Noise-powered industrial/nu metal with programmed drums hitting as hard as actual drums and impressive vocals:
Before I make the thread for my June feature releases and playlists, I'd like to share my thoughts about this feature release that I skipped but have not caught up. Here's my review summary:
The late Wayne Static, along with bassist Tony Campos, guitarist Koichi Fukuka, and drummer Ken Jay have made pretty good industrial/nu metal straight outta California. What's interesting is the album title, coming from the 1973 Michael Lesy book. The programmed drumming shows the band's noise-powered industrial metal tendencies, while being easily performed with actual drums. Static's vocal range is impressive, ranging from shouts to cleans without difficulty. The atmospheric synths and heavy riffing are also essential to the album's sound. In the end, we get to have a nice lookback at the first work of the band Wayne Static is mostly known for. RIP Wayne....
4/5
A brilliant closing track for this amazing industrial black metal journey:
A highlight from Danzig's gradual move away from electro-industrial back into the heavier metal, with Glenn Danzig's mind-blowing vocal talent:
Soar through the industrial metal cosmos with this memorable track:
Distorted sh*t that shouldn't have existed:
A dark-sounding highlight in a drum 'n' bass-littered industrial rock/metal album:
8-bit sounds and groove/thrash added into industrial/alternative metal ecstasy:
A long repetitive yet epic standout of industrial metal/post-sludge:
So I decided to listen to and review this album as I continue to expand my industrial metal horizons, and it's one of the very best I've heard from the genre and post-sludge! I also realized that this was an earlier Sphere feature release, and boy do I regret not checking out earlier when the feature release was still hot. Here's my review summary:
Some say going chronological when checking out a band's discography is one of the weaker methods because the earlier material before the famous era is often highly different. They may be correct, but HyBreed ended up being an exception to that rule. A newfound perfect favorite of mine as my industrial metal collection grows! HyBreed shows that the band is no longer as speedy as they were in their debut album and part of their second album. The album is slow in a lot of songs, and the tempo stays the same in even the long 10-minute epics, and there's never anything bad about that at all! Despite being a bit repetitive, that's the kind of repetition that appeals to me. They can just focus on one riff and one drum pattern and yet stay interesting. And even the two short fast tracks and two lengthy ambient tracks can have a great kick out of them. I know some people might not like it due to its heavy repetition and lengthiness and think this could cause a dent in the genre. However, this album has the motherload of many things that solidify the melody and dark ambience of industrial metal/post-sludge. The simply structured songs can keep you hooked until the end. Any fan of Red Harvest and industrial metal should get it, and if you want to appreciate it as much as I do, it just takes patience!
5/5
An 8-minute epic from this band's first album with the industrial metal sound they would be known for:
This Norwegian industrial metal band started out as avant-garde progressive/technical thrash that fans of Mekong Delta, Coroner, and late-80s Voivod shouldn't miss out on:
A brilliant highlight from the pioneering band of Neue Deutsche Härte:
A winning standout with the sharp riffing of industrial metal:
One of the darkest-sounding tracks I've heard in industrial metal, almost like funeral doom before that subgenre was fully developed:
A fantastic standout of synth-infused djenty metalcore variety from Veil of Maya's killer comeback album:
Unearth is back with a vengeance in this album that you can consider both the end of an era and the beginning of a new one:
Death is the most obvious one but I'd also nominate Converge & Gorguts.
Can't forget about Converge, though I say their greatness starts from their second album, Petitioning the Empty Sky, onwards.
Having done my reviewing journey through the Amorphis and Fear Factory discographies this month, I'm amazed by how solid these two bands are throughout each of their over 3-decade tenures. Their mid-90s classics are a few of the best masterpiece albums I've heard, and Amorphis restored some of that perfect glory in the second half of the 2010s. Even what is considered those bands' weakest albums from the mid-2000s still have some greatness in them, though they're not without one or two stinkers. And their 1992 death metal debuts are solid albums that I would recommend to fans of that genre. With so many amazing albums, it's no wonder Amorphis and Fear Factory are two of the most well-praised metal bands today! A couple other bands fitting this category that come to my mind include Annihilator and Kamelot, the latter having a 4-album perfect streak (from The Fourth Legacy to The Black Halo) which is one reason why I still haven't let go of that power metal band along with DragonForce.
No problem, Sonny! Glad to see that Amorphis release have good reception here.
Some more metalcore/deathcore bands I now enjoy thanks to what I discovered when assembling the Revolution playlists:
Ben, please add the new Deathstars album Everything Destroys You.
Ben, please add these new releases:
The Acacia Strain - Step Into the Light
The Amity Affliction - Not Without My Ghosts
Ben, please add the new The Ocean album Holocene.
Ben, please add these new releases:
Atreyu - The Hope of a Spark (EP)
The Amity Affliction - Everyone Loves You... Once You Leave Them
Ben, please add the new The Acacia Strain album Failure Will Follow.
For June could you add:
Ningen Isu - りんごの泪 (it's on two different albums, but it doesn't matter which one you pick)
Hey, Morpheus. I don't see your clans anymore, what happened to them?
Doom rock is apparently a nickname for occult rock, and a few early bands of the genre such as Blue Oyster Cult and Coven are considered influential in developing heavy metal, doom metal, sludge metal, and stoner metal. I've heard a few songs by Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, would they be considered doom rock, considering their slow tempo yet focused on rock more than metal in their recent material?
The godfather of death metal hard at work on Death's 1998 tour for the "The Sound of Perseverance" album.
Lots of mind-blowing rhythms, along with bass pumping through the thrashy yet technical heaviness with a bit of similarity to early Sadus.
I decided to give this live Death album some listening and a review to once again test out my interest in the band. The performance is highly focused on the band's 90s progressive/tech-death era, with only two songs from their 80s standard death metal albums. A lot of the progressiveness can be found in songs from the band's last two studio albums which cover over half of this release. So this entry is definitely getting a YES vote from me.
Forget any claims I've made about that Nirvana cover being Fear Factory's lowest point of the career, this is f***ing worse:
The metal covers I like are ones that metalize the original song, but this sh*tty attempt at a Nirvana cover is so not the way to do it:
One of the best songs by the band, though the quality of this album would then slowly descend:
They just had to taint an otherwise perfect album with some f***ing rap metal sh*t:
Similarly to Amorphis' Far From the Sun, I can find the best songs of this underrated Fear Factory album in both the standard edition...
...And the deluxe digipak edition:
A melodic standout anthem with a mighty chorus and riffing. I would recommend starting at the beginning of the album though if you're going the story route.
Despite the song name, this is a total industrial mind-smasher of epic drama:
1. Gateway playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 22)
2. Infinite playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 10)
3. Revolution playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 27)
4. Sphere playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 27)
For the clans I've made the monthly playlists for, along with the one for the Gateway, I've listened to the entire playlists! I'm grateful to Saxy and Daniel for their playlist works. I really dig the tracks I've reviewed in the Infinite playlists made by Saxy, and I'm glad all those other playlists I've reviewed paid off. 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: Klone - "Meanwhile" (2023) 4/5
THE GUARDIANS: Persuader - "When Eden Burns" (2006) 4.5/5
THE INFINITE: Amorphis - "Under the Red Cloud" (2015) 5/5
THE REVOLUTION: Gaza - "He Is Never Coming Back" (2009) 4/5
THE SPHERE: Fear Factory - "Soul of a New Machine" (1992) 4/5
This month has proven to be a pretty great one for my clans. My Infinite nomination shows the Tomi Joutsen era of Amorphis at their best, and I would recommend it to fans of that band and melodeath-infused progressive metal. That Persuader album is an excellent revisit. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...
Explosive death metal chaos from a band that would later become one of the master bands of modern industrial metal:
Clean vocals, deathly heaviness, industrial production, and groove riffing, all in one place:
I did my review, here's its summary:
In the somewhat distant past of the year 1992, metal genres were kind of at war. Before that year, thrash/speed metal were on the rise, and then came death metal/grindcore, and finally, industrial/alternative metal. Those 3 genre categories were competing for the reign, and the first one lost its fame, the second one became underground, and the third one became mainstream. One band was up to mixing the extreme underground with one of the metal genres hitting commercial success those days... Back then, most metal bands seemed to focus on making compositions based on a particular riff, rather than full-fledged arrangement. Released in the same year as the debut of another band that started as death metal (Amorphis), Fear Factory's debut Soul of a New Machine built their sound from a technological concept. The tone and arrangement are as important as the composition in the songs, and that then-rare aspect is what made this band unique in their debut, showing that there's a little more to metal than just guitars and vocals in front and bass and drums in back. Industrial ambience, spoken samples, and more bass prominence make their entrance! Many songs have the right balance between clean hooks and deathly heaviness. Some shows the band's more destructive side of explosive death metal chaos, a few still having melodic treasure to be found in the deathly sea. In the end, we have witnessed the band's idea of combining the industrial metal of Godflesh and the deathgrind of Napalm Death into their own unique mix with mechanical riffing with some bits of melodic alt-metal and groove metal. It's a pretty great fresh idea that was never tried before and has proven highly influential. Of course, the issue here is the big amount of tracks (17) that many people can't remember all of. However, it's so cryptic and unique that your mind won't turn away from such creativity and aggression that was uncommon outside the underground in the early 90s. Not too over-the-top while not too accessible, this band sure knows how to conceive and present such a game-changer. Once rare but now more common is unique genius....
4/5
PS: Even after that thorough listening for my review, I don't find enough groove metal in the debut to be a primary genre for the album. You are right about the songs you mentioned having groove metal riffing, Daniel ("Scapegoat", "Martyr", "Scumgrief"), but it's more of a secondary genre for this album along with grindcore and alternative metal. Industrial death metal is the primary sound for this band's debut.
This band Persuader, has pleased heavier power metal fans with their sound combo of Nevermore and Blind Guardian, the latter any of those fans know why:
Still awesome throughout the past two years! The latter year being when I was shutting myself off from most of power metal until just recently.
I did my review, here's its summary:
When Eden Burns still blows my mind away even after the downfall of my power metal interest revival! With melodic yet heavy riffing and amazing vocals, I'm glad to still recognize most of the greatness of this Swedish power metal band Persuader. Many songs are fast enough to almost be considered melodic thrash while the power metal sound dominates. The impressive vocals remind me of Blind Guardian's Hansi Kürsch (YES, I had to say it!). There's also a small amount of harsh vocals having a bit of a Children of Bodom vibe. All that's missing is keyboards for soloing, but that would cause too much cheese. With strong determination in their writing, When Eden Burns should've given this underrated band more attention!
4.5/5
A dark complex progressive alt-rock/metal epic in which all you can expect is the unexpected:
I did my review, here's its summary:
Klone has quite some brooding atmosphere in their music. Seeing how this band made 7 albums including this one in nearly two decades, I'm stunned by how little attention they've received, so much so that I haven't even heard of this band until now. Their new album Meanwhile shall keep you engaged to its technical emotion. Guitars and bass sweep nicely under the powerful vocal harmonies of Yann Linger. The songs each have an average length of over 5 minutes, while making interesting subtle changes in time signatures. The band can really have some confidence and control when it comes to that ability. And in the more complex parts, you can let go of any expectations and witness the unexpected magic happen. With this mournful yet powerful blend of guitars, bass, and vocals, Meanwhile shows how grand progressive alt-rock/metal can be. Despite a bit of hauling in a few tracks, you know how much confidence the band has when experimenting with darkness and light....
4/5
A sinister track of epic folk-ish melodeath-infused progressive metal that can fit well for a worldwide adventure:
Amorphis' Queen of Time shows that perfect lightning can strike twice, and then twice again, proven by epic highlights like this one:
A highlight from Amorphis' return to their mid-90s perfect glory: