Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

A true atmospheric black/melodeath highlight in which Skirge's emotion in his growls and screams help out the song's modern epicness:

I enjoy the vocals that give this song its Dark Tranquillity/In Vain vibe:

While the rest of this Shylmagoghnar album isn't progressive enough for The Infinite, this opening highlight alone certainly is, as everything shines in beautiful melancholy:

A perfect exploration through the more progressive side of the industrial/groove metal sound:

This highlight sounds nicely like a sequel to the title track of Mechina's "The Assembly of Tyrants", also having a Xerath-esque blend of symphonics and groove elements:

Ben, please add the new Sold Soul album Just Like That, I Disappear Entirely.

One of the heaviest most apocalyptic tracks of djenty deathcore:

A dark complex blend of brutal dissonance and accessible melody:

Thanks, Daniel.

The worst track of this f***ing tech-deathcore fiasco is like a badly-designed attempt at a tech-death Korn, probably worse:

A far better blend of brutality of dissonance, tearing down the walls the way technical deathcore is meant to:

One of only a couple songs in The Unspoken King that are deathly and enjoyable:

Although we're not up to splitting subgenres at the moment, I actually agree here, Rex. Tech-death is, like most other death metal subgenres, kind of an iffy genre for me to explore. It can either be the brutal side with bands like Suffocation, Cryptopsy, Nile, and Dying Fetus, or the melodic/progressive side (the side that I prefer) with bands like Allegaeon, Fallujah, Job for a Cowboy (2010s and later), and Obscura. I would call the former sound brutal tech-death and the latter sound progressive tech-death. I wouldn't be up to naming a sub-subgenre after a band though. That really makes it sound like a band of that style sounds similar to the band who pioneered the sound and really decreases its uniqueness. And that kind of thing has been done to death on social media.

Here's my top 10, though they're all just crossing over between The Horde and other clans, and I only include deathcore if a release of that subgenre is in The Horde as well:

1. Persefone - Core (progressive death metal) (more suitable for The Infinite than The Horde, but I'm adding it anyway)

2. Embodyment - Embrace the Eternal (death metal/deathcore)

3. The Red Chord - Fused Together in Revolving Doors (deathgrind/deathcore)

4. Trail of Tears - Bloodstained Endurance (melodic death/gothic metal)

5. Ryujin - Ryujin (melodic death/power metal)

6. Becoming the Archetype - The Physics of Fire (melodic death/progressive metal)

7. The Amenta - Flesh is Heir (industrial death metal)

8. 7 Horns 7 Eyes - Throes of Absolution (progressive/technical death metal)

9. Shadow of Intent - Melancholy (symphonic/melodic death metal/deathcore)

10. Cypecore - The Alliance (melodic death/groove metal)

Edge of Sanity and Septicflesh can also make some honorable mentions, but it's been a long time since I've last been in touch with most of their material.

Ben, please add Conflиct.

Deadguy is not dead! A few years after reforming, these legends of old-school metalcore/mathcore will unleash their first new music in nearly 3 decades next month with their second full-length album Near-Death Travel Services. Here's a single that can provide you a sneak peek of the album and what to expect:

Update: As soon as I made this post, my dad showed me the poster for the upcoming DreamWorks film The Bad Guys 2. In my mind, I thought "D*mn, that song can actually fit well for that movie, not just because of the band name sounding a bit similar."

Two brutally glorious new singles from the upcoming albums of these two master bands of epic deathcore:

Here are some bands and releases that have the melodic death metal tag, but the melodic side is overshadowed by the deathly side:

Allegaeon (technical/melodic death metal but their 2010s material and earlier is less melodic)

Becoming the Archetype's 2010s material (much less melodic than their surrounding works)

Dethklok (melodic death metal yet focused less on melody in many songs, especially in Dethalbum IV)

Obscura (technical/melodic death metal but their 2010s material and earlier is less melodic)

Stortregn - Finitude (technical/melodic death metal in the same ratio as the 2010s material of Allegaeon and Obscura)

Vicious new single by these NSW-based masters of melodic metalcore/alt-metal:

Two kick-A metalhead YouTubers unite with former Crystal Lake vocalist Ryo Kinoshita to make a modern alt-metal anthem:

Highlights like this one don't need to have a lot to sound awesome:

An intense progressive instrumental that should be remembered:

An odd yet cool track that's one of my favorites in Kong's debut:

Radio Free Innsmouth... I haven't heard of that channel before but might check it out as well. Thanks for the rec!

I might check out the Terminus and Bunsen Burner podcasts someday. Thanks, Miles!

I've been watching a lot of metal YouTube channels lately, and I even like the funny ones like Bradley Hall. If you're looking for something cool and serious with only a slight tolerable bit of humor, here's a channel I would recommend if you haven't heard of them yet, Thralls of Metal: https://youtube.com/channel/UC8VqWeeSTw2nwksWKUArTvA

The best saved for last that shall leave listeners wanting more of its brutality and emotion:

Hyper nu metalcore rage not for the faint of heart:

Leaves' Eyes keyboardist/harsh vocalist Alex Krull's vocal contrast with Andy B. Franck is far too much of a stretch. And the guitar solo is barely memorable. All of that make an epic f***ing fail.

One of only two standouts in the new Brainstorm album, thanks to the impressive singing of Leaves' Eyes clean vocalist Elina Siirala:

Another climatic story-ending melodeath epic:

The melodeath/metalcore sound is blended with the progressiveness of Extol and the symphonics of Xerath in this glorious highlight:

The climatic end of this conceptual journey, with all of the previous tracks' characters involved:

One of the best and most brutal songs in the band's one-off exploration into standard death metal/deathcore:

The one track I strongly dislike from this band and album, a disappoint mellow electronica interlude sounding like a sh*tty leftover from Celestial Progression:

Another paid-off attempt at making a long 3-part epic, with epic technicality and Jason's vocals of wrath:

Update to my list:

1. Dir En Grey - Uroboros (2008)

2. Coldrain - The Side Effects (2019)

3. Karnivool - Themata (2005)

4. Northlane - Obsidian (2022)

5. Mushroomhead - The Righteous & the Butterfly (2014)

6. Sleep Token - Take Me Back to Eden (2023)

7. Soilwork - Övergivenheten (2022)

8. Bad Omens - Finding God Before God Finds Me (2019)

9. Any Given Sin - War Within (2023)

10. Apocalyptica - Worlds Collide (2007)

An excellent melodeath cover of an old Christian hymn, sounding as if it's their own song:

The most progressive and stylistically diverse way out of Becoming the Archetype's debut:

Cool production and massive instrumentation is this melodeath/metalcore highlight:

A true 11-minute progressive melodeath/metalcore epic that can fit well in a battle between Heaven and Hell:

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

Terminate Damnation is one of the most battle-ready gems in the Christian metal/NWOAHM side of things. Despite Extol and Living Sacrifice having their temporary spilt-ups shortly after, Solid State followers ended up having another band to headbang to! I really enjoy the heavy melodeath riffing and fast soloing here, along with frontman Jason Wisdom doing some killer death growls and Matt Heafy-like metalcore bellows. And we can't forget the metalcore breakdowns and progressive structures. And oh yeah, audible bass, which is a great bonus. And double oh yeah, the wicked art of death metal cover artist Dan Seagrave. Some parts of this album remind me a bit of one of the albums Mr. Seagrave has contributed artwork for, Edge of Sanity's The Spectral Sorrows. Anyone looking for talented Christian extreme metal, here it is. An offering for the ages!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "Into Oblivion", "Elegy", "Night's Sorrow", "Beyond Adaptation", "No Fall Too Far", "The Trivial Paroxysm"

For fans of: Edge of Sanity, Extol, Trivium

A sign of more progressiveness to come for this band that would become Becoming the Archetype:

Thanks, Saxy. I'll add in the Bleeding Through track for the June playlist but save the Shadow of Intent one for July.

The more symphonic side of this massive 10-minute epic:

The more progressive side of this massive 10-minute epic:

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

In 2014, Xerath released their third album (and last before their 7-year split) titled, you guessed it, III. This immersive masterpiece has revolutionized modern progressive metal, just like their first two albums have, but with more intriguing ideas in their inventory. This is true blazing epic extreme metal right here! Xerath III has production magic from well-known Mercenary/Volbeat producer Jacob Hansen. His golden touch has helped with the perfection of this blend of orchestral drama and metal structures, creating something so unique and apocalyptic. Many tracks have the fascinating talent of vocalist Richard Thomson, with his black metal-ish shrieks and operatic cleans making this track come out like an epic progressive take on both Children of Bodom and Soilwork. The incredible shredding by guitarist Conor McGouran has such diverse technicality. The ability to combine film score-style orchestra with metal pays off, adding beautiful harmony to this apocalyptic chaos. I'm glad to find an exceptional masterpiece from this band, one that I can consider the best album of 2014!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "I Hold Dominion", "I Hunt for the Weak", "Death Defiant", "Sentinels", "Demigod Doctrine", "The Chaos Reign", "Veil" (both parts)

For fans of: Devin Townsend Project, Mechina, Textures

The "Reform" suite continues with this djenty symphonic metal highlight:

The more progressive side of this massive 8-minute epic:

The more symphonic side of this massive 8-minute epic:

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

Celldweller - "Blackstar" (4:10) from Wish Upon a Blackstar (2012)

Circle of Dust - "Dust to Dust" (5:49) from Dust to Dust (2017)

Illidiance - "Defying Gravity" (4:08) from The Iconoclast (2019)

Mechina - "Anagenesis" (8:19) from Progenitor (2016)

Psyclon Nine - "I Choose Violence" (2:50) from And Then Oblivion (2025)

Sybreed - "Doomsday Party" (4:19) from The Pulse of Awakening (2009)

Total length: 29:35