Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

I did my review, here's its summary:

Author & Punisher is a solo project by Tristan Shone, reaching beyond the limits of his extreme mix of industrial metal and doom. He made his own instruments that would help him achieve all that's possible in extreme experimentation. His machinery and sound has continuously been refined from his raw earlier material to his deeper recent albums. His identity has evolved further with more nightmarish metal within his heart and mind... Different aspects fill up this offering, from the most devastating industrial doom to the less pleasant bits of electronica and shoegaze, and helping out in martial structures in a couple tracks are TOOL members bassist Justin Chancellor and drummer Danny Carey. Within the darkness is a brighter light that you need to find. Author & Punisher would take you on this powerful journey that is Kruller, before that destination....

3.5/5

This one starts as a slow serene ballad, but the horrible auto-tuned singing ruins everything:

A couple fantastic highlights from the new album of Neue Deutsche Härte kings Rammstein:

Hey there, Daniel. Since you enjoy that Admiral Angry album, and you have a good feeling about Knut's Challenger based on earlier monthly playlist research, this Today is the Day album might just make your day:

A twisted horrifying experimental noise-sludge highlight, not for those with the faint of heart or a fear of bugs:

An absolute highlight of brutal technical death metal/core hellfire, something fans of The Red Chord, Gorguts, and Cryptopsy should try before they judge:

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

Excessive Force - "Divebomb" (6:04) from Gentle Death (1993)

Godflesh - "Spite" (4:31) from Pure (1992)

Gothminister - "Nachtzehrer" (5:33) from Empire of Dark Salvation (2005)

Motionless in White - "Not My Type: Dead as Fuck 2" (4:22) from Graveyard Shift (2017)

Northlane - "Talking Heads" (3:50) from Alien (2019)

Strapping Young Lad - "Almost Again" (3:43) from The New Black (2006)

Total length: 28:03

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

August Burns Red - "Bones" (4:15) from Guardians (2020)

Botch - "Transitions from Persona to Object" (6:04) from We Are the Romans (1999)

Crystal Lake - "Fabricated Refuge" (3:23) from The Voyages (2020)

Dead to Fall - "Villainy and Virtue" (3:04) from Villainy and Virtue (2004)

Earth Crisis - "Broken Foundation" (4:02) from Gomorrah's Season Ends (1996)

Hatebreed - "Refuse/Resist" (3:07) from For the Lions (2009)

Trivium - "Shattering the Skies Above" (4:45) from In Waves (2011)

Total length: 28:40

Here are my submissions for the February Infinite playlist:

Caligula's Horse - "Into the White" (8:19) from The Tide, the Thief & River's End (2013)

Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - "Lord of Liars" (3:23) from Bloodmoon: I (2021)

Enslaved - "Havenless" (5:35) from Below the Lights (2003)

In Mourning - "Isle of Solace" (4:54) from The Weight of Oceans (2012)

Sikth - "Tupelo" (7:11) from How May I Help You? (2002)

Total length: 29:22

Here are my submissions for the February Gateway playlist:

Atreyu - "Untouchable" (3:05) from Baptize (2021)

Breaking Benjamin - "Blood" (3:09) from Ember (2018)

Candiria - "Down" (3:31) from What Doesn't Kill You... (2004)

Demon Hunter - "Heaven Don't Cry" (4:25) from Exile (2022)

Disturbed - "Won't Back Down" (2:52) from Divisive (2022)

I Prevail - "There’s Fear in Letting Go" (3:54) from True Power (2022)

Twelve Foot Ninja - "Oxygen" (4:24) from Outlier (2016)

Within Temptation - "The Reckoning" (4:11) from Resist (2019)

Total length: 29:31

Wild fantastic progressive metal/mathcore that should appeal to fans of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Protest the Hero, and early 2000s Between the Buried and Me:

I've done my review for that Sikth release. Here's the link to my review: https://metal.academy/reviews/28495/3152

And here's its summary:

I can't believe I haven't fully discovered one of Sikth's releases until now. This band has really cranked up their talent higher than 11! While this might not be for everyone, the heavier metal/hardcore fans of bands like Converge and The Dillinger Escape Plan can and should really get onboard. There's a crazy lot of guitar shredding and screaming babbling in a way that I love, all fantastic with no need for improvement. Their Nick Cave song cover does the original justice while keeping Sikth's identity. One of the vocalists, Mikee Goodman is awesome at his work. He's as energetic as the rest of the group, all determined to shake up their live performances. The 3 songs were all re-recorded for their debut album The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild. Listen to this band and witness how hard-hitting they can be!

5/5

I decided to give this album some listening and a review as another attempt to explore some blackgaze, and while I can definitely hear those post-rock sections, the black metal side is more dominant. Roads to Judah is a clear example of black metal in a much more atmospheric light, enough to warrant its place in the blackgaze realm, and to consider it post-metal would be a big inaccuracy. So I agree that Roads to Judah is a more appropriate album for The North than The Infinite. Vote coming up!

I've heard about this band Sikth who are one of the earliest bands besides Meshuggah to develop the djent technique, while mixing that sound with experimental metalcore. I've checked out a couple songs from this band but never a full release, so now would be a great time to listen to and review one of their releases for the first time. Yeah, I'm going with Sikth's How May I Help You?.

Your turn, Saxy!

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Samael - "Solar Soul" (from Solar Soul, 2007)

4/5. Let's start with something so dark yet so bright! The background details such as the short screams really emphasize the song. A pretty great banger! The lyrics are at its best when they tell you to push aside yesterday and tomorrow. Longtime fans would surely have some good memories. Crank up the volume!

Circle of Dust - "Waste of Time" (from Disengage, 1998)

4.5/5. Klayton has been active in the music scene even before his more well-known project Celldweller, and this song is never a waste of time! I especially enjoy the rap-ish metal verse and its lyrics.

Pitchshifter - "Gritter" (from Submit, 1992)

4/5. This is a brilliant favorite of mine from this EP. It brings in some groove momentum and their earlier deathly vibe, the latter caused by crushing downtuned riffing and deep growling vocals. However, it sounds closer to Godflesh than the more deathly Dead World. JS Clayden took over on vocals after his brother MD put his focus on bass.

Fear Factory - "Invisible Wounds (Dark Bodies)" (from Digimortal, 2001)

4.5/5. Another amazing song, having pleased many longtime Fear Factory fans for so many years. The best part is the heavier bridge at over the two-minute mark. Other than that, it sounds closer to some of my brother's favorite alt-rock/metal bands that I've discovered when I was middle-school-age, and it might be good for one of our car rides. This should really be shared to the world!

Ministry - "Shove" (from Animositisomina, 2003)

4/5. Another underrated satisfying track, this one from Ministry. Apparently, Animositisomina is Al Jourgensen's least favorite album alongside their synthpop debut With Sympathy, though obviously both albums are different like chalk and cheese. I don't know what the symbols on the cover art represent, but you can take a guess.

Marilyn Manson - "Man That You Fear" (from Antichrist Superstar, 1996)

3.5/5. "When all of your wishes are granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed." This repeated line has haunted many listeners of this album for over two and a half decades. Call Marilyn Manson what you would like besides industrial metal; grunge, emo, goth, irreligious or even inspiring mass murderers... Unnecessary labels can hurt, but he ain't affected by them. And why bother? Just enjoy the music without harsh criticism.

Godflesh - "Endgames" (from Us and Them, 1999)

4/5. This one has something I might enjoy in Godflesh's most controversial album, with dark layers of bass textures.

Gothminister - "Utopia" (from Utopia, 2013)

4.5/5. I definitely prefer to get my gothic-infused industrial metal from Gothminister, and this song is a great example.

Rob Zombie - "The Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man" (from The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, 2021)

4/5. I would recommend this sick track to fans of Rob Zombie and his material. AAHHOOO YEAH!!!

OOMPH! - "Die Schlinge" (from GlaubeLiebeTod, 2006)

4.5/5. Apocalyptica fans can thank Oomph! for featuring that cello metal band in this track. It's really great!

Old - "Freak Now" (from The Musical Dimension of Sleastak, 1993)

5/5. More of the experimentation commences in this freaky highlight. That song was used in the soundtrack for the film Brainscan.

Necromorphic Despair - "The Only Thing They Fear Is You" (from The Only Thing They Fear Is You, 2022)

4.5/5. You know that song from the DOOM Eternal soundtrack? I found a cover of that track by Necromorphic Despair, with lyrics and growls added. It's so f***ing brutal! Necromorphic Despair is not yet in RYM, but I can definitely hear this as deathly industrial metal at its finest.

Scorn - "Scum After Death (Dub)" (from Vae Solis, 1992)

4/5. Napalm Death fans might recognize the opening bass from their song "Scum", and it makes sense since the 3 musicians who performed in the first side of that album perform here. The 3 voice samples that appear in the song are all from I Drink Your Blood: "Do we pray?" "Satan was an acid head." "Together we'll all freak out!"

Excessive Force - "Ride the Bomb" (from Conquer Your World, 1991)

3.5/5. The only decently great track from a sh*tty dance album that has blown me off instead of blown me away....

Emigrate - "Silent So Long" (from Silent So Long, 2014)

3/5. This isn't really a song I love, though I like the 80s-sounding solo and the guest vocals from Jonathan Davis from Korn. However, some lyrics are in Latin, specifically in over the 3-minute mark, and most of the riffing Richard Kruspe is at a low level. Bummer...

Xe-NONE - "Summertime" (from Dancefloration, 2011)

3.5/5. This one's slightly better, with the cyber metal instrumentation and vocals leveling up like a boss.

Seth Ect - "E.C.T." (from Godspeak, 2011)

4/5. Anyone having trouble finding a killer cyber metal bands? The search is over! This band has a bit of f***ing talent!

Code Orange - "A Sliver" (from Underneath, 2020)

4.5/5. This one shows that Gojira is not the only band in the world that can mix melodic ambience with extreme heavy matter so easily, though obviously not the same style.

Sybreed - "A.E.O.N." (from The Pulse of Awakening, 2009)

4/5. Good cyber-industrial metal genius talent from Switzerland! The synth-ambience really adds some that cyber effect.

Eisbrecher - "Verrückt" (from Die Hölle muss warten, 2012)

3.5/5. It's hard for me to understand German, but the music is quite enough for the radio.

Schwarzer Engel - "Schwarze Sonne" (from In Brennenden Himmeln, 2013)

4/5. Real superb addition of symphonic gothic metal elements while staying in Neue Deutsche Harte. The operatic female verse at the one-and-a-half-minute is the best part with flowing texture, probably more than Tarja.

Killing Joke - "Exorcism" (from Pandemonium, 1994)

4.5/5. An astounding tune from one of Killing Joke's heavier releases. Jaz Coleman encourages listeners to "Let it out, let it rise, let it-" (literally coughs and wheezes, f***ing amusing). The theme of exorcism can be associated with Babylonian religion.

Mnemic - "The Eye on Your Back" (from Passenger, 2007)

5/5. Making up a lot for the slight bit of mediocrity, the closing epic is bound to keep you awake with its cycling through some of the best vocals, keyboards, and riffs in this offering. The power that makes up most of Passenger is revisited, while not as Meshuggah-infused as their earlier albums.

Morbid Angel - "Profundis - Mea Culpa" (from Illud Divinum Insanus, 2011)

4.5/5. The closing song of this playlist is the best track in its original album. The industrial rhythm and metal complexity are combined very well, David Vincent's vocals are very captivating, and there's none of that sh*tty rock in sight.

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite a few slight bumps throughout... Anyway, I sure would recommend this to any industrial metal fan and anyone who isn't into industrial metal but is up to getting 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!

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Phinehas - "Eternally Apart" (from The Fire Itself, 2021)

5/5. I'm proud of this band for showing great evolution with perhaps their best song since "Crowns" to open their first album since 2017's Dark Flag. Nicely done! One of the masters of Christian metalcore shall continue their reign.

Converge - "Conduit" (from When Forever Comes Crashing, 1998)

4.5/5. This is a crushing metalcore tune that starts with fast chaos, and I swear, the brief riff fiddling that appears a few times sounds exactly like that of the last part of My Dying Bride's "Vast Choirs". I think I'm the only one who has noticed that because of my interest in both metalcore and formerly death-doom. Anyway, that song has slow breakdowns as well, due to the band's mind-blowing ability to change the tempo and time signature.

Starkweather - "Lazarus Runs" (from Crossbearer, 1992)

4/5. This one runs at a slow sludgy pace before leveling it up towards the end.

Misery Signals - "Coma" (from Controller, 2008)

4.5/5. I need to continue revisiting this album along with their other ones like Ultraviolet. The music and even the growled vocals are all beautiful! I kinda like the dark vibe the album has. The lyric "Reach into her guts, take back what's tangled up, I wasted it on you" sounds morbid, but it's a metaphor for the regret of conceiving a child when your wife doesn't want it. Also I hear what might later influence ERRA.

Zao - "Times of Separation" (from The Splinter Shards the Birth of Separation, 1997)

5/5. Considering how similar the intro is to that of Every Time I Die's Radical, you might think the latter made a tribute. Anyway, Shawn's long screaming is often what levels up the quality.

Vision of Disorder - "Element" (from Vision of Disorder, 1996)

5/5. This highlight has lots of angry heaviness. Enough said!

Strife - "Am I the Only One" (from One Truth, 1994)

4.5/5. This one is more hardcore, but it's an awesome anthemic standout!

Earth Crisis - "Forced March" (from Destroy the Machines, 1995)

5/5. This brilliant metalcore track shows you what the album is gonna be about. It was later covered by Between the Buried and Me in their own cover album.

Born of Osiris - "Singularity" (from The Discovery, 2011)

4.5/5. This is one of the best songs of the album and a killer album opening with strong soaring melodies through busy original compositions.

Iwrestledabearonce - "Erase It All" (from Hail Mary, 2015)

4/5. It's too bad this band ended right when they were skyrocketing in fame, with vocalist Courtney LaPlante and guitarist Mike Stringer moving on to Spiritbox. Mike adds in a bit of a Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza-like vibe to the guitar. All Shall Perish/Suicide Silence vocalist Eddie Hermida delivers a fantastic brutal guest appearance.

Winds of Plague - "Decimate the Weak" (from Decimate the Weak, 2008)

4.5/5. The album cover has already shown promise to the music's brutality. The band has that epic deathcore sound that would later be developed in all its glory by other bands like Lorna Shore. The weak, beware...

Upon a Burning Body - "Predators" (from Red. White. Green., 2012)

4/5. Then we have more of Winds of Plague vocalist Johnny Plague's beastly vocals in a guest appearance for one of Upon a Burning Body's song of eternal lyrical power.

Abnegation - "Blanket of Black" (from Abnegation / Chapter split, 1996)

4.5/5. Abnegation began their transition from hardcore to metal around that time, and what helped out is this highlight showing more of a speedy deathly metalcore sound. This was considered the most metallic/Slayer-sounding any hardcore band has gone before. It was thanks to this band and that song that every metalcore band would start emphasizing the metal part of their template.

Lorna Shore - "Of the Abyss" (from ...And I Return to Nothingness, 2021)

5/5. This is a 6-minute epic that can really pack some punches right through. Will Ramos warms up his vocals while the band rises from the cinematic orchestral inferno while still attacking from the deepest pits of Hell. This is symphonic black/technical deathcore we're talking about at its most epic, and it might be a new style to add to my metal arsenal. There are new standards in the drumming that just never stop, maintaining its power in every beat. They shoot like a machine-gun above the guitars, bass, and orchestration. In the middle is a spectacular breakdown with perfect vocal precision from Ramos. Super wonderful production once again ensures that the album is one of the best releases of deathcore and perhaps all of metal.

DAGames - "One by One (Doom Song)" (from One by One (Doom Song), 2016)

4.5/5. I love this song, and so does my brother. This is amazing thrashy metalcore suitable for the new DOOM games!

Annisokay - "I Saw What You Did" (from Aurora, 2021)

4/5. Another metalcore song my brother likes, though he was initially confused by the djenty opening that also has a Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza-like vibe.

Wage War - "Alive" (from Blueprints, 2015)

4.5/5. This band is capable of writing killer hits like this one, although metal purists might not see them that way.

Northlane - "Vultures" (from Alien, 2019)

5/5. Marcus Bridge is really having more influence from the band whom Northlane named one of their songs after, Architects, including adding melody to his screaming. So insanely epic, continuing the writing of Mesmer while restoring their earlier riff-wrath.

After the Burial - "44891" (from Evergreen, 2019)

4.5/5. The song title is actually "11/26". I'm not quite sure what was up with Spotify over there. Remove the "2" and it would be 11/6, the date a couple months ago when an outside-world friend of mine passed away. He was good at singing and inspired me to continue singing practice at home. Although this song contains only growls/screams which I practice as well. I've managed to hold back my tears as I'm writing this. I just wish I could listen to this band more instead of abandoning this amazing music from them. RIP my outside-world friend. And RIP their former guitarist Justin Lowe.

Car Bomb - "The Oppressor" (from Meta, 2016)

5/5. This one maintains the mathcore feel while heading back and forth to a ballad-like song. Joe Duplantier of Gojira makes another guest appearance, albeit with just clean vocals in those softer sections to set an excellent mood. Near the end there's brutal immense sludge for a riff-powered climax. One of the most experimental tracks here!

Frontierer - "This Magnetic Drift" (from Oxidized, 2021)

4.5/5. F***ing brutal mathcore! I think the guest appearance from Will Haven is what gave me the incentive to listen to and review one of that band's albums.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Dead as History" (from Ire Works, 2007)

5/5. This highlight starts with some static noises before beginning some cool riffing and chord progressions that almost come out as a Coheed and Cambria song. Perhaps it's a nice tribute to Chris Pennie leaving Dillinger for Coheed and Cambria, though some of the heavier listeners might hate it.

Bleeding Through - "Damage Done" (from Rage, 2022)

4.5/5. This one reminds me of 2000s-era Dark Tranquillity with more of Peterson's enchanting keyboards, melodeath-ish riffing/soloing, and melancholic atmosphere. The chorus is definitely worth singing along to and makes a modern classic moment, alongside lyrics of love and hate. The final hardcore breakdown crashes through to instantly start a moshpit.

The Browning - "Skybreaker" (from Geist, 2018)

5/5. Wow... WOW!!! When I first listened to this song when my brother played it, it sounded to me like an Emigrate-ish electro-industrial rock/metal ballad. Then sometime later, my brother played another Browning song "Standing on the Edge" that sounds closer to what I'm familiar with in The Revolution. After enjoying that song and finding out that "Skybreaker" is made by the same band, I knew I had to find more of this band, and that I shall do. Thanks bro! The lyrics are the best.

Amaranthe - "Act of Desperation" (from Amaranthe, 2011)

4.5/5. Another great song I love! I still think this band was metalcore back then.

All That Remains - "Hold On" (from For We Are Many, 2010)

4/5. Thundering drumming and merciless pounding rolls in on and once again balances heaviness with melody.

Cookiebreed & Boyinaband - "The Vox" (from The Vox, 2013)

4.5/5. Parodies are often better than originals, and this fun one is no exception, parodying Ylvis' "The Fox" with a lesson about metalcore vocals. Although Cookiebreed makes the vocal noises quite impressively, it's Boyinaband who really takes the spotlight, both in the song and in general fame. He has performed songs with different YouTubers like PewDiePie, TheOdd1sOut, and Jaiden Animations. Having watched videos from the latter two when I was still watching YouTube animator videos, discovering Boyinaband's metal material is an epic double treat! "WHAT DO YOU SAY?!?"

Trivium - "Incineration: The Broken World" (from Vengeance Falls, 2013)

5/5. This track is part of what I consider the epic trilogy of Vengeance Falls. They are longer than the previous songs in the album with the latter two each reaching nearly 6 minutes. They break out of the Disturbed formula. The clean vocals and screams are back to their equal balance. The key signature varies with more than just D-flat minor. And they maintain their signature thrash-metalcore sound. Those 3 songs really bring this album to a pleasantly heavy end.

From Autumn to Ashes - "Abandon Your Friends" (from Abandon Your Friends, 2005)

4.5/5. It really is around this year 2005 when the older metalcore followers start listening to From Autumn to Ashes, despite the softness of songs like this one and "Short Stories with Tragic Endings". The somber atmosphere of this song is what really makes it amazing, suitable for Winter, even though my country doesn't have snow. The band has already gotten back together, I wonder if they'll make more material. This is actually suitable for a situation last week when I left a Discord server that I was in for almost a year due to a big argument, so the song is kind of my therapy for a toxic end of an era. The piano melody might work for the soundtrack of computer games like Resident Evil or Silent Hill. Honestly, emo/post-hardcore does not deserve to be stoned (the stone-throwing kind) just because they think it's more flash than substance. Amazing works of art like this (before low-tuned breakdowns took the reign) shouldn't be taken for granted. These guys are real music geniuses. To h*ll with Rebecca Black!

HOLY SH*T, this is probably one of the best metalcore playlists I've ever done, with all tracks ranging from 4 to 5 stars. 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 agree that power metal is the more dominant genre for this album. However, while I understand that it's too melodic for The Revolution, a few songs sound close to their earlier trance-metalcore in the albums leading up to Massive Addictive, such as "Fearless" and "BOOM!". So I'm not too sure about just dropping melodic metalcore from this release. But if that does happen, that's OK too.

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Haken – The Alphabet of Me (2022)

4.5/5. A weird yet very enjoyable start of this playlist, bringing back the wackiness of the band's earlier recordings while maintaining their recent power. Probably the most wonderous and creative electro-jazz-infused progressive metal blend since some of Plini's works!

Caligula’s Horse – The Tempest (2020)

5/5. Caligula's Horse has done their melodic progressive metal sound quite as well as, and even slightly better than, Haken. If you enjoy their earlier pieces like "Into the White", surely you can't miss this.

Altesia – Amidst the Smoke (2019) 

4.5/5. This one starts heavy before changing into beauty with polyphonic vocals. Clément Darrieu sings amazing melodies and great harmonies to combine with the rhythm.

Dream Theater – You Not Me (1997)

4/5. I used to really love this band back when I first started listening to progressive metal, beginning my journey with the genre's more melodic side. Good song, and I especially like the keyboards at the one-and-a-half-minute mark before the second verse.

Ostura – Duality (2018) 

4.5/5. A killer 12-minute progressive piece with a huge stunning sound! It's quite impressive how my 10-year metal journey led me from DragonForce and a small bit of Metallica all the way up to something almost massive.

Evergrey – The Essence of Conviction (2004)

4/5. Another good track from when my progressive metal interest was more melodic.

Xanthochroid – The Sound Which Has No Name (2017)

4.5/5. This is the cinematic finale of that album where the band has mastered it all. This is symphonic black metal within the orchestration, tremolos, and blast-beats, along with vocals ranging from unclean to clean, and the epic progressiveness is added once again to the brutality enough for to be proven worthy in The Infinite.

Textures – Singularity (2011)

5/5. I didn't become fully interested in this band until over a year ago, and I wish I could've found this band much earlier. The metaphorical imagery of water can really be associated with the artwork and lyrics.

Protest the Hero – From the Sky (2020)

4.5/5. This one continues going through the album's theatrics with hefty bass and riff energy taking the stage. A soothing piano section leads up to the song's glorious ending climax.

Ne Obliviscaris – Equus (2022) 

5/5. Ne Obliviscaris is back and staying as glorious as ever! The song and its video is dedicated to the victims of the 2019/2020 Australia wildfires that affected many people and animals there. I look forward to hearing more of this album Exul and all the epicness it has to offer. What better way to end this playlist is there?

Saxy, let me just say, you have done such as incredible job assembling this month's Gateway and Infinite playlists! This tracklisting has encouraged me to go through the entire playlist and find good tracks from bands I already listen to along with different bands in which some of them I feel up to trying some more songs from them. Well done, please keep it up! So let's get my track thought journey started:

Thornhill – Red Summer (2019)

4/5. A beautiful good way to start this playlist. The climax shows the band go all out in tear-jerking tension. So atmospheric! This sounds closer to one of Northlane's less heavy while still powerful songs, a great break from the brutality of other bands I listen to like Chelsea Grin.

Bring Me The Horizon – Itch For The Cure (When Will We Be Free?) (2020)

3.5/5. I was think of this one being the starting track of this playlist, but it works as a transition out of that Thornhill song. It's much better than that Linkin Park instrumental the name of this otherworldly track comes from.

Time, The Valuator – Binary Pulse (2022)

3/5. A good heavy track while still dreamy. Not really the best for me though...

Bullet For My Valentine – Coma (2018)

2.5/5. This frustrating generic song is too light to make an impact. That's enough to make me fall into a coma! I'm not sure what I was thinking when suggesting that one, but it is good for the more curious alternative metal fans.

Cave In – Trepanning (2005)

3/5. Another otherworldly song, and standing out is the massive screaming for their late bassist/vocalist Caleb Scofield. I'm glad to discover this band a few months ago, but I prefer the heavier furious metalcore of their 1998 debut. This is the kind of band people would discover in high school, but when I was high-school-age, my heart was set on power metal. I think the first I heard Caleb's vocals was in a song by post-sludge band Isis. RIP

Disturbed – Liberate (2002)

3.5/5. It's been many years, like over 10 years, and I enjoy a small bit of one of my brother's favorite alt-metal bands Disturbed. He hasn't really listened to a lot of this album, but it has some decent classics like this one.

Saliva – Badass (2011)

4/5. This one's quite bad-a**! This could almost work as the soundtrack to a WWE fight against Darth Vader. The quality's very good.

Fight The Fury – Still Burning (2018)

3.5/5. This one restores grace for the EP, once again reminding me of Collide and the heavier direction Skillet should've taken after that album. The lyrics in the song are a great improvement compared to the earlier weakness.

Pyogenesis – I Have Seen My Soul (2017)

4/5. Great emotion in this song to get you f***ing hooked!

Primus - Jerry Was A Racecar Driver (1991)

3.5/5. Interesting song telling the sad tale about a racecar driver who was killed in a car wreck whilst drunk driving. The lyrics explain the story. Don't drink and drive, peeps!

Tallah – Telescope (2022)

4/5. New extreme era for nu metal?! Rightly so!

I Prevail – Lifelines (2016)

4.5/5. Another underrated band and one of my brother's favorites! I would say that my brother and I discovered this in around my middle-school-age, but the truth is, that was nearly 5 years before this album was released, so it's a more recent band that we started hearing of, when we're now both young adults in our 20s.

P.O.D. – Boom (2001)

4/5. Long-time nu metal fans might find some nostalgic memories from this band, but I'm not one of them. It's still quite good. Here comes the boom!

Katatonia – Consternation (2006)

4.5/5. One of my favorite songs when I still listening to this album! Still killer!!! What interpretation is there??? I don't care, as long as I can hear Jonas Renkse's unforgettable vocals! The gothic/doom metal of their earlier material is what turned me away from this band though.

Taproot – I (2000)

4/5. This is one of those songs that can help remedy a depressive dark time you might have, but I had other songs to listen to when I was in quarantine last month. I'm like 20 years later than any other person who has found enjoyment in this song. This band toured with fellow then-nu metal bands Linkin Park, Papa Roach, and Static-X during that era. I personally like myself far more than I hate myself. It's almost like an anthem against dark times! Great song, but perhaps if it was sped up, it wouldn't have a bit of droning quality. It still works!

Saint Asonia – Break the Mold (2022)

4.5/5. A highlight of melancholic groove!

Soilwork – Nerve (2005)

5/5. Now we're talking! During those earlier high-school-age epic metal phase, I was starting to get into melodic death metal. I tried to get into listening to Soilwork, but the band didn't really fit my taste at that time. Now this one absolutely kickstarts my interest in the band. The beginning reminds me of that of Fear Factory's "Slave Labor".

The Raven Age – The Day The World Stood Still (2019)

4.5/5. This is one of my brother's current favorite songs, and throughout the different times he played it during one of my car rides with him driving, it has grown on me to the point that I like it too. Although it's closer to the alt-rock/metal that he likes while having a bit of melodic metalcore elements, it's so great and powerful! The music is quite impressive, and the lyrics are so dramatic. Absolutely beautiful!

Destiny Potato – Indifferent (2014)

4/5. Here we have the more djenty vibe of Periphery and Intervals in the guitar. In fact, it's almost like an Animals as Leaders song with female vocals, both cleans and screams. A more djenty Paramore, if you will. The action really boosts halfway through.

Avatar – A Statue of the King (2018)

4.5/5. Although I haven't really been listening to a lot of this band lately, this one is still worth headbanging. This one ends this playlist far better than DragonForce's sh*tty cover of "Ring of Fire" that ended the standard edition of their album Maximum Overload.

January 2023

1. Samael - "Solar Soul" (from Solar Soul, 2007)

2. Circle of Dust - "Waste of Time" (from Disengage, 1998) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

3. Pitchshifter - "Gritter" (from Submit, 1992) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

4. Fear Factory - "Invisible Wounds (Dark Bodies)" (from Digimortal, 2001)

5. Ministry - "Shove" (from Animositisomina, 2003)

6. Marilyn Manson - "Man That You Fear" (from Antichrist Superstar, 1996)

7. Godflesh - "Endgames" (from Us and Them, 1999) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

8. Gothminister - "Utopia" (from Utopia, 2013) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

9. Rob Zombie - "The Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man" (from The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, 2021)

10. OOMPH! - "Die Schlinge" (from GlaubeLiebeTod, 2006)

11. Old - "Freak Now" (from The Musical Dimension of Sleastak, 1993) [submitted by Daniel]

12. Necromorphic Despair - "The Only Thing They Fear Is You" (from The Only Thing They Fear Is You, 2022)

13. Scorn - "Scum After Death (Dub)" (from Vae Solis, 1992)

14. Excessive Force - "Ride the Bomb" (from Conquer Your World, 1991)

15. Emigrate - "Silent So Long" (from Silent So Long, 2014)

16. Xe-NONE - "Summertime" (from Dancefloration, 2011)

17. Seth Ect - "E.C.T." (from Godspeak, 2011)

18. Code Orange - "A Sliver" (from Underneath, 2020) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

19. Sybreed - "A.E.O.N." (from The Pulse of Awakening, 2009)

20. Eisbrecher - "Verrückt" (from Die Hölle muss warten, 2012)

21. Schwarzer Engel - "Schwarze Sonne" (from In Brennenden Himmeln, 2013)

22. Killing Joke - "Exorcism" (from Pandemonium, 1994)

23. Mnemic - "The Eye on Your Back" (from Passenger, 2007) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

24. Morbid Angel - "Profundis - Mea Culpa" (from Illud Divinum Insanus, 2011)

January 2023

1. Phinehas - "Eternally Apart" (from The Fire Itself, 2021) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

2. Converge - "Conduit" (from When Forever Comes Crashing, 1998)

3. Starkweather - "Lazarus Runs" (from Crossbearer, 1992)

4. Misery Signals - "Coma" (from Controller, 2008) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

5. Zao - "Times of Separation" (from The Splinter Shards the Birth of Separation, 1997)

6. Vision of Disorder - "Element" (from Vision of Disorder, 1996)

7. Strife - "Am I the Only One" (from One Truth, 1994)

8. Earth Crisis - "Forced March" (from Destroy the Machines, 1995)

9. Born of Osiris - "Singularity" (from The Discovery, 2011) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

10. Iwrestledabearonce - "Erase It All" (from Hail Mary, 2015)

11. Winds of Plague - "Decimate the Weak" (from Decimate the Weak, 2008) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

12. Upon a Burning Body - "Predators" (from Red. White. Green., 2012)

13. Abnegation - "Blanket of Black" (from Abnegation / Chapter split, 1996)

14. Lorna Shore - "Of the Abyss" (from ...And I Return to Nothingness, 2021)

15. DAGames - "One by One (Doom Song)" (from One by One (Doom Song), 2016)

16. Annisokay - "I Saw What You Did" (from Aurora, 2021)

17. Wage War - "Alive" (from Blueprints, 2015)

18. Northlane - "Vultures" (from Alien, 2019) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

19. After the Burial - "44891" (from Evergreen, 2019)

20. Car Bomb - "The Oppressor" (from Meta, 2016)

21. Frontierer - "This Magnetic Drift" (from Oxidized, 2021)

22. The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Dead as History" (from Ire Works, 2007)

23. Bleeding Through - "Damage Done" (from Rage, 2022)

24. The Browning - "Skybreaker" (from Geist, 2018)

25. Amaranthe - "Act of Desperation" (from Amaranthe, 2011) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

26. All That Remains - "Hold On" (from For We Are Many, 2010)

27. Cookiebreed & Boyinaband - "The Vox" (from The Vox, 2013)

28. Trivium - "Incineration: The Broken World" (from Vengeance Falls, 2013) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

29. From Autumn to Ashes - "Abandon Your Friends" (from Abandon Your Friends, 2005)

Here's my review summary:

Lots of cool stuff you can find from Switzerland including metal bands Coroner, Samael, and Eluveitie, along with Tolberlone's triangular chocolates and Swiss Army Knives. Initially, the band only gained attention in Europe, but they would then be heard of in America thanks to Hydra Head Records releasing their first two releases. Challenger is an album that would challenge the Northern lands with unexpected expectations from their sludgy mathcore sound! One moment they have a Botch-like math-metalcore groove, and the next is slow sludgy intensity. The songs are decently short, each lasting up to 5 minutes, except for a monstrous 20-minute epic saved for last. All in all, it is expected to be unexpected. The intense music has evolved into one of the best albums I've heard of sludgy mathcore. This excellent music will catch your ears with this pummeling record, the perfect challenge that is Challenger!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "Whacked Out", "El Niño", "Neon Guide", "Ice Will", "March"

For fans of: Botch, Coalesce, Cult of Luna's 2001 self-titled debut

Hi Xephyr, now that the complete DragonForce discography is available on Spotify, I thought I would seize the chance to request a song from one of the formerly unavailable DragonForce albums (The Power Within, Maximum Overload, Reaching Into Infinity), so here's my rare Guardians suggestion, for the February playlist:

DragonForce - "The Edge of the World" (from Reaching Into Infinity, 2017)

I also agree. If any of us clan playlist creators want to check on playlist tracks that have appeared in the past few months to make sure they don't repeat too many too soon, that's what the past tracklistings threads are for.

This is one of my brother's current favorite songs, and throughout the different times he played it during one of my car rides with him driving, it has grown on me to the point that I like it too. Although it's closer to the alt-rock/metal that he likes while having a bit of melodic metalcore elements, it's good enough for me to request the song to be added to the January Gateway playlist that will appear this Sunday.

The new video game Metal Hellsinger has a soundtrack of original metal songs featuring several well-known metal vocalists, and those songs play an important role in the game where you can shoot and reload to the beat for extra points. These two tracks, featuring Mikael Stanne and Alissa White-Gluz, respectively, has some epic heavy melodeath that sounds almost like a much heavier take on their respective bands:

The new video game Metal Hellsinger has a soundtrack of original metal songs featuring several well-known metal vocalists, and those songs play an important role in the game where you can shoot and reload to the beat for extra points. This one, featuring Serj Tankian, sounds like a more epic take on his band System of a Down while keeping some of the band's humor:

The sad part about a taste in a genre changing is when a song you once enjoyed in the past you consider a weak stinker today. This was the case for this Johnny Cash cover that I now find the weakest point of the band's discography and probably the only DragonForce song to qualify in this thread:

Maximum Overload is a mostly enjoyable DragonForce album with lots of enjoyable tracks such as hyperspeed thrash assault featuring Trivium's Matt Heafy:

And this vicious highlight in the deluxe edition's bonus section:

10 years since I first listened to this glorious song, and it still screams epicness:

I've decided to revisit a few albums from one of the only two power metal bands I still want to keep in my memory, DragonForce (the other band being Kamelot), to complete my discography reviewing journey for this band. This highlight, only available in the Japanese special edition, really should've been in the standard album, with keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov taking the spotlight:

Nothing but a sh*tty lengthy rant from a foul-mouthed cop:

A superb old-school industrial metal cover of a Black Sabbath tune:

To quote one of my earlier posts, while a good amount of metalcore lovers also enjoy a bit of trance metal, some might get confused about trance metal being in the same clan as metalcore. The Revolution's superior genre, metalcore has their roots from mixing metal with hardcore punk and lyrics of rebellion, and if trance metal bands like Amaranthe have an electronic-infused sound that leans more towards symphonic/power metal than metalcore, that would cause quite an issue. Then again, I still believe Amaranthe often has some melodic metalcore going on, especially in the earlier material. So I agree that it makes sense to have trance metal taken out of the site, with all those bands/releases you've reviewed for this thread moved to whichever clan/genre they fit well in. A trancecore deep dive would be a good idea to see which releases belong in melodic metalcore or not, but for now, you've earned your rest from deep diving. The fate of trance metal is nigh!

Merry metal Christmas! This is one of my favorite songs from August Burns Red's Christmas EP Winter Wilderness, and a great selection for the December Revolution playlist:

Good to hear, Sonny!

Sure thing, Daniel.

As you and I have noticed, there are elements of different genres within the trancecore sound, one of them being metalcore, which can be found in some of the vocals and instrumentation, most notably in the highlight I've shared above. For this reason, I'm not entirely comfortable with deeming Clarity a non-metal album. The heavily trancecore-focused bands such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and 2000s-era Enter Shikari I believe has melodic metalcore prominence in the more notable songs in those releases, so I wouldn't want them to be considered non-metal just like that, so I think their move to melodic metalcore might've been the right choice there. But if you don't think of Clarity as a metal album, I won't stop you from making your own judgement submission, it's your call.

To quote my judgement submission, there's more emphasis on both the hardcore and melodic sides, with the former including the riffing, harsh vocals, and occasional breakdowns, and the latter including the synths, clean vocals, and J-pop influences. So this is more of a trancecore album, but trancecore has been deemed a hardcore subgenre and taken out of the site, with all the trancecore releases being moved to melodic metalcore. With that, and not wanting to completely lose the trance metal subgenre for the album, I've done what you've suggested in your submission for Northlane's Obsidian, which is to propose adding the melodic metalcore subgenre next to trance metal.

Well, Daniel, I've done my listening and reviewing for that PassCode album, and it's indeed J-pop-infused trancecore, basically what Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas sounds like with a Babymetal-like lineup. It's certainly different what you can hear from the majority of Amaranthe. With emphasis on both the hardcore and melodic sides, I wouldn't think of Clarity as just a trance metal album, and it deserves a judgement submission nice and early. Coming right up!

Here's one of their heavier highlights (you've already shared this before, Daniel, but I still strongly agree here):

A true sludgy highlight of tight tough heaviness:

The only track from that Admiral Angry album Buster to come close to qualifying for The Revolution in the riffing and drumming, while still primarily sludgy:

I agree, Daniel. A lot of the album's sound is slow heavy downtuned sludge, often as djenty as Meshuggah, with a few occasional brief hardcore speed-ups. Only one of the songs, "Plastic Bath" sounds close enough to metalcore in the drumming and riffing. When this release ends up in a Hall entry, I'm definitely voting yes.

I did my review, here's its summary:

Formed in San Francisco, Admiral Angry can feed listeners some anger that might be terrifying for the inexperienced. Originally a grindcore band, they then switched to their own sound that combines the sludge of Neurosis, the hardcore of Black Flag, and the doom-ish heavy metal of Black Sabbath. Vocalist Chris Lindblad delivers some of the most tortured-sounding vocals in extreme metal/hardcore. The sludgy low tempo shows some talent in writing, while being a bit restrained. What you can expect is slow heavy downtuned sludge, often as djenty as Meshuggah, with a few occasional brief hardcore speed-ups. In fact, there really isn't any metalcore prominence, and only one of the songs sounds close enough to metalcore in the drumming and riffing. The rest is tight tough heaviness you wish for more of from the band members. Sadly, founding guitarist Daniel Krauss passed away from cystic fibrosis at age 22 after recording this album and one more EP. I felt some pain in my heart when I found out because I lost an outside-world friend of mine last month (as of this review), same age, similar cause of death. In the beginning of my full review, I asked you all to remember the work of this band and their fallen guitarist. Buster is a good album with some of the heaviest dread. RIP those two young fellows gone too soon; Daniel Krauss and my outside-world friend....

4/5

OK, thanks Daniel.

Epic progressive/symphonic black metal to please the extreme progressive metal masses:

I've given Act I a review, here's its summary:

Do you ever wonder if bands combine the epicness of symphonic black metal and complexity of progressive metal? This band can! They've done it with great magic that many other bands of similar styles lost over the years. However, it's not like a Christmas present that I've really desired (and it is close to Christmas as of this review) in some parts, but there's no way this will ever make me as disappointed as I was about Opeth's prog-rock era. Of Erthe and Axen (Act I) is quite an exciting thrill-ride, and it was definitely worth the 5-year wait fans of the band had since their debut. This is kind of a throwback to around the time of the album's release, when I was an older teen listening to other band of the more epic progressive metal shortly between switching to its extreme side and more modern genres. It really satisfies what I've expected! The band members have done a brilliant job turning this album into a near-perfect masterpiece. While I hear a good amount of symphonic black metal, the album is not entirely like that, balanced out with tremendous progressive metal. Even the story is planned out to be as structural as the music, setting up a climatic tale from beginning to end, told through heavier metal songs and softer acoustic/orchestral ballads. The heavier tracks showcase the symphonic black metal sound in the orchestration, tremolos, and blast-beats, along with vocals ranging from unclean to clean, and the progressiveness is added to the brutality. In the end, we have a beautiful first part of the Of Erthe and Axen saga. Will I ever be up to checking out the exciting conclusion? Not today, but perhaps one day when I'm fully up to exploring more of non-satanic black metal and the more cinematic progressive metal. And this epic offering has given me a bit of motivation!

4.5/5

1. Gateway playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: 12)

2. Infinite playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 6)

3. Revolution playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 30)

4. Sphere playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 25)

So far, I've only commented on 12 tracks in the Gateway playlist and 6 tracks in the Infinite playlist, but for the other 2 of my own clans I've listened to the entire playlists! I'm grateful to Saxy and Daniel for their playlist works. I really dig what I've listened to in the Gateway and Infinite playlists made by Saxy, and I'm glad the Revolution and Sphere playlists made by me paid off. I recommend them to any fan of those 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: Parkway Drive - "Darker Still" (2022) 4/5

THE GUARDIANS: Virgin Steele - "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Part One" (1994) 4.5/5 (as I recall from the rating I had until last year)

THE INFINITE: Xanthochroid - "Of Erthe and Axen: Act I" (2017) 4.5/5

THE REVOLUTION: Admiral Angry - "Buster" (2009) 4/5

THE SPHERE: Mnemic - "Mechanical Spin Phenomena" (2003) 4/5

Both of my feature release submissions, Parkway Drive's Darker Still and Mnemic's Mechanical Spin Phenomena, along with Admiral Angry's Buster each receive a great 4 stars. They're not the best but they're really enjoyable, and I would recommend them to fans of their respective genres. I also commented on Daniel's Guardians feature release submission that I haven't listened to in nearly a year, Virgin Steele's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Part One, and I stand by my 4.5-star rating. Xanthochroid's Of Erthe and Axen: Act I is also a near-perfect epic masterpiece that deserves 4.5 stars. It's been a great month so far. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...

Hope you recover soon, Vinny.