Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

World Coming Down is known as Type O Negative's darkest hour (or 74 minutes), and was pretty much one of the most depressive albums I've heard when I was still listening to gothic/doom metal last year. That was at the time when the virus was still quite heavy in my country, and with this album frequently relating to deaths of loved ones, which was what I feared if the virus ever reached my family (fortunately never), that's one reason for my departure from The Fallen. Back to the present, the virus is becoming much less severe, and I can do some of the things I enjoy again that I couldn't do then. And maybe I can someday give good Fallen releases like this one another chance...

Here's my review summary:

So what do you get when you blend southern metal and hardcore punk together into a heroic unique style of metalcore? Every Time I Die! They've observed that timing is everything for the best results. Their radical album Radical was completed in early 2020... Then the virus of damnation attacked. COVID changed everything and prevented concerts from opening. The band waited until they could start touring to release the album, and after playing a couple shows, they decided that it was time... In the human race's battle against the pandemic, Every Time I Die have observed the progress. And finally, the 5-year wait for a new album is over. The 16 songs waiting to be have been unleashed to pummel the world like a raging monster and wipe out the virus for good! OK, maybe not that last part. You can hear quite furious frenzy in higher heights of heaviness with fierce guitar and primal screamed vocals, alongside theatrical vocal experimentation and an occasional dip into the calm. All right here in this savage ravage marking their short-lived comeback!

5/5

Recommended songs: "Dark Distance", "Sly", "Post-Boredom", "All This and War", "Thing with Feathers", "AWOL", "White Void", "We Go Together"

For fans of: Coalesce, Knocked Loose, Norma Jean

Here's my submission for the August Guardians playlist:

Dark Moor - "Somewhere in Dreams" (from The Hall of the Olden Dreams, 2000)

Side-note: I was a little shocked when I saw the saw the total playlist length, "1 hr 47 min". I was thinking, "Did Daniel forget to add a few songs?" Then I noticed that all 30 songs are in, so I was confused. Turns out a few of the tracks had the length reduced to 29 seconds for some reason. Must be a Spotify glitch. At least if that happens or there's a song from another playlist that isn't available in my country, I have another way to check it out... YouTube! Anyway, stay tuned for my track thoughts....

July 2022

1. Godflesh - "Perfect Skin" from Slavestate (1991) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

2. SPF1000 - "Horror Show" from Witch Hunt (2003)

3. Treponem Pal - "Silico's Return" from Rockers' Vibes (2017)

4. Vanity Beach - "Garden of Cruelty" from Garden of Cruelty (2007)

5. Society 1 - "Nothing" from Exit Through Fear (2003)

6. Deathstars - "Blitzkrieg" from Termination Bliss (2006)

7. Lard - "Forkboy" from The Last Temptation of Reid (1990)

8. Circus of Dead Squirrels - "16-Bit Piece of Shit" from Scary Melodies (2022)

9. Ap2 - "My Sympathies" from Suspension of Disbelief (2000)

10. Spectrum-X - "Gnomes Bones" from Darkest Night Ever (2008)

11. Punish Yourself - "Spin the Pig" from Spin the Pig (2017)

12. Excessive Force - "Blitzkrieg (Sturzkampf)" from Gentle Death (1993)

13. Skrew - "Dark Ride" from Shadow of Doubt (1996)

14. Strapping Young Lad - "Detox" from City (1997)

15. Samael - "The Cross" from Eternal (1999) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

16. Thorns - "Underneath The Universe 1" from Thorns (2001) [submitted by Daniel)]

17. Dawn of Ashes - "Hexcraft" from The Crypt Injection II (Non Serviam) (2019)

18. Unit:187 - "Threatened" from Out for Blood (2010)

19. Turmion Kätilöt - "Faster Than God" from Universal Satan (2018)

20. Minority Sound - "Cyberkitty" from Analysis (2010)

21. Tanzwut - "Meer" from Ihr wolltet Spass (2003)

22. Metallspürhunde - "Alarm" from Moloch (2011)

23. Neurotech - "Solace" from Solace (2021)

24. Code Orange - "Underneath" from Underneath (2020)

July 2022

1. Eighteen Visions - "1996" from 1996 (2021) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

2. Ice Nine Kills - "Funeral Derangements" from The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood (2021)

3. Coalesce - "Simulcast" from 002 (1996) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

4. Kublai Khan - "The Truest Love" from Absolute (2019)

5. Static Dress - "Fleahouse" from Rouge Carpet Disaster (2022)

6. Embodyment - "Religious Infamy" from Embrace the Eternal (1998)

7. Reprisal - "The Shadow of Mankind" from Boundless Human Stupidity (2000)

8. Caliban - "A Small Boy and a Grey Heaven" from A Small Boy and a Grey Heaven (1999)

9. Threat Signal - "As I Destruct" from Under Reprisal (2006)

10. Bullet for My Valentine - "You Want a Battle? (Here's a War)" from Venom (2015) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

11. Strife - "Question Mark" from One Truth (1994)

12. Attack Attack! - "What Happens If I Can't Check My Myspace When We Get There?" from Someday Came Suddenly (2008)

13. Electric Callboy - "Spaceman" from Spaceman (2022)

14. Integrity - "Jimson Isolation" from Den of Iniquity (1994)

15. Deadguy - "Die With Your Mask On" from Fixation on a Coworker (1995)

16. Car Bomb - "Vague Skies" from Meta (2019) [submitted by Daniel]

17. Damaged - "The Mirror Perils" from Token Remedies Research (1997) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

18. Rorschach - "Pavlov's Dogs" from Remain Sedate (1990)

19. The Artificials - "Lone" from Parables of the Human Spirit (2019)

20. Oceans Ate Alaska - "Hansha" from Hikari (2017)

21. Make Them Suffer - "Vortex (Interdimensional Spiral Hindering Inexplicable Euphoria)" from Worlds Apart (2017)

22. Betraying the Martyrs - "Black Hole" from Black Hole (2021)

23. In Hearts Wake - "Timebomb" from Kaliyuga (2020)

24. Memphis May Fire - "Sever the Ties" from This Light I Hold (2016)

25. Parkway Drive - "A Deathless Song" from Ire (2015)

26. Trivium - "Declaration" from Ascendancy (2005) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

27. We Came as Romans - "I Knew You Were Trouble" from Punk Goes Pop, Vol. 6 (2014) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

28. Arkangel - "Killing to Keep the World Turning" from Arkangel is Your Enemy (2008)

29. Deformity - "177252: God Defined" from Misanthrope (1997)

30. Unbroken - "Curtain" from Life. Love. Regret (1994)

Sorry, Daniel, I already included Code Orange's "Underneath" as the final song of the July Sphere playlist, hope you have another good track submission. Also, Sinisstar's "Freak of Nature" has not yet been moved out of the current playlist into the June one, so could you please take care of that? Thanks!

Jan Johansson - "Jazz på svenska" (1964)

A pretty cool, laidback jazz record from this highly regarded Swedish pianist. It's basically just piano & double bass & makes for great dinner music (or dinner-making music after a hard day at work which is how I've listened to it).

It's tragic that Jan Johansson was killed in a car crash, just a couple years before the beginning of heavy metal... but look what a legacy he left behind for the metal future! His sons have performed in a few notable Swedish power metal bands; ex-Hammerfall drummer Anders and Stratovarius keyboardist Jens. Progressive masters Opeth have noted Jan Johansson as an influence on the title intro for that band's move away from metal, Heritage. RIP this highly influential pianist...

Ben, please add the Helmet album Strap It On. Its Alternative Metal tag now fits the RYM 2:1 ratio (for: 82 - against: 40).

I checked out the rest of the top 100. The first page that shows #100-#51 is quite strong, covering classics from a diverse variety of genres, including some of my favorites and former favorites from bands like Gojira, Lamb of God, Meshuggah, Godflesh, and Opeth. However, the #50-#1 part, not so much. Over there we have two sludgy classics from Neurosis and Mastodon, plus a few for other bands' respective genres, then the rest is just classic heavy metal, standard thrash, the more mainstream alternative metal, and the forbidden glam metal, all mostly in the US and UK! It's as if only The Gateway, The Guardians, and The Pit clans exist and they're only from those two countries. Anyone who just wants the real diverse not-too-mainstream classics, only the #100-#51 part is for you. Let them shine in their slightly underrated light!

OK. See you later, Xephyr!

If it wasn't already apparent I'm going to be on a "hiatus" for a few months. I think I mentioned that I have an engineering exam coming up and now that it's 4 months out I've been buckling down and found out that there's no way my brain can handle learning all this new crap as well as thinking critically about music for reviews. I'll still be listening to a ton of music but I doubt I'll be penning too much stuff until this is all over with. 

Good luck, Xephyr! When you're taking your few-month break, does this include not just reviews but also your feature release submissions and Guardians monthly playlists? I'm just asking, to check on any Guardians-sized voids to fill.

I enjoyed my attempt in genre-tagging the tracks in Trivium's The Crusade last week, so much that I felt like doing the same for another one of the most stylistically divided albums, this one from a former favorite band of mine and, while this album is non-metal, I still put it in the Infinite thread because of my judgement submission:

I have never really listened to a lot of BTBAM (including this cover album) for over a year, but when I was still listening to them, I submitted The Anatomy Of to the Hall of Judgement to be added to The Gateway and The Infinite because it possesses the alternative metal and progressive metal genres in RYM despite not reaching the 2:1 ratio and I agreed that it sounds close to those two genres. But how close?! I decided to revisit this album after over a year of abandoning it to see if my judgement submission is still valid or if it needs any changes or an additional submission. So before I declare Judgement Submission Day on this album, here's how I would tag the genres and the clans in the 14 tracks:

1. Blackened (Metallica cover) - thrash/progressive/technical death metal - The Horde/Infinite/Pit

2. Kickstart My Heart (Mötley Crüe cover) - glam/classic heavy metal - The Guardians

3. The Day I Tried to Live (Soundgarden cover) - grunge/hard rock/alternative metal - The Gateway

4. Bicycle Race (Queen cover) - hard/pop/progressive rock with slight metal tendencies - non-metal

5. Three of a Perfect Pair (King Crimson cover) - progressive rock - non-metal

6. Us and Them (Pink Floyd cover) - progressive rock with a bit of jazz instrumentation - non-metal

7. Geek U.S.A. (Smashing Pumpkins cover) - grunge/alternative rock edging into metal territory - non-metal

8. Forced March (Earth Crisis cover) - sludge-ish metalcore/hardcore - The Revolution

9. Territory (Sepultura cover) - groove/thrash/progressive metal - The Infinite/Pit

10. Change (Blind Melon cover) - acoustic/alternative rock - non-metal

11. Malpractice (Faith No More cover) - alternative/progressive metal - The Gateway/Infinite

12. Little 15 (Depeche Mode cover) - synth-pop/alternative rock - non-metal

13. Cemetery Gates (Pantera cover) - classic heavy/groove metal - The Guardians/Pit

14. Colorblind (Counting Crows cover) - acoustic/alternative rock - non-metal

Wow, this album is much less metal than I thought. Based on what I've analyzed, I can consider Between the Buried and Me's The Anatomy Of a mix alternative/progressive rock/metal with secondary influences from various genres such as classic heavy metal, thrash metal, groove metal, grunge, hard rock, and acoustic rock. Lots of rock and metal genres, though half of this album is non-metal, but at least it's close to those RYM-voted genres. So I'll just keep my earlier judgement submission up and wait for the fate to be decided by listeners of this offering in the future....

A few colleagues who came to Florida have since gone down with COVID upon return (I am not among the infected thankfully).  Florida was stupid hot (95 degrees Fahrenheit at one point) but was still a blast even though I had to work. Mad busy since getting back just over a week ago as been working in Scotland this past week so had little time to shake the jet-lag before getting out on the road.  Only this coming week to go then a long weekend in cabin near Snowdonia in Wales that has a hot tub so I will plonk myself in that for four days and enjoy some long overdue downtime.

You've earned yourself a good break, Vinny. Enjoy!

Blazing epic techno-metal fire, as a sneak peek for the July Sphere industrial metal playlist premiering on Friday:

Joe Terry = Fabio Lione

Aggressive metalcore greatness:

Can also be (barely) heard in the Vin Diesel film xXx (throughout the first half of this video):

This early deathcore/death metal album is never really close to best in originality and production, but this brutal highlight rules:

After seeing Daniel's reviews and genre-taggings in the Southern Metal thread, I felt like doing the same thing for one of the most stylistically divided albums I've heard from one of my favorite bands:

It's been 3 years since I've reviewed this album where after the modern metalcore sound of their first 2 albums, Trivium branched out into mostly a scream-reduced thrash metal Crusade with their third album. I had never really submitted this album to the Hall of Judgement because 1. I had a couple other judgement submissions in my mind that each involved a Trivium album, and 2. I respect their status as a metalcore band and at the time didn't dare to propose getting one of their albums removed from The Revolution. So before I declare Judgement Submission Day on this album, here's how I would tag the genres in the 13 tracks:

1. Ignition - technical thrash metal

2. Detonation - technical thrash/progressive metal

3. Entrance of the Conflagration - technical thrash/speed metal

4. Anthem (We are the Fire) - classic heavy/speed metal

5. Unrepentant - thrash metal

6. And Sadness Will Sear - mid-tempo heavy metal

7. Becoming the Dragon - thrash metal with melodic metalcore bridge and power metal lyrics

8. To the Rats - thrash metal

9. This World Can't Tear Us Apart - 7-string heavy metal semi-ballad

10. Tread the Floods - technical thrash/progressive metal

11. Contempt Breeds Contamination - thrash/groove metal

12. The Rising - arena rock-style heavy metal

13. The Crusade - 7-string instrumental progressive/technical thrash/speed/heavy metal

So based on what I've analyzed, I can consider Trivium's The Crusade a mix of genuine thrash, tech-thrash, and classic heavy metal with some secondary speed/progressive metal influences. The closest thing to metalcore this album even remotely has in the screamed pre-solo bridge in "Becoming the Dragon", so I have no idea what came to dozens of RYM users' minds to vote in melodic metalcore. So yeah, it's time for another judgement submission coming soon...

1. Yes. Southern metal is a thing, with bands like Down, Corrosion of Conformity, Black Label Society, and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster.

2. It's Southern rock influences are much more prominent than other genres, so it's definitely identifiable and different.

3. Many of Maylene and the Sons of Disaster's releases for sure.

4. It's a descendant of Southern rock, but it stands out as its own genre.

5. I've mentioned this before, but Southern metal should have its own clan, The South. It has nothing to do with the traditional doom metal, gothic metal, and drone metal of the clan, and there are currently so many genres in that clan (5 genres). And because of Southern metal's relation with sludge metal and stoner metal, I think those two genres can be taken out of The Fallen and reside in The South as well.

6. Black Label Society and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster do NOT belong in The Fallen. Black Label Society is comfortable in its place in The Guardians for their heavy metal sound mixed with Southern metal that would get them in hypothetically The South.

7. That, of course, is where The South clan comes in.

So those are my answers based on my Southern metal knowledge (which isn't much, by the way), and I hope to have given you enough info, Daniel. Good luck and take it easy!

Atrocity! I forgot about their debut Hallucinations that I also recommended to Sonny last month. Thanks for the (indirect) reminder, Ben!

A massive comeback for the kings of American progressive tech-death:

The Delirium album I've recommended to you last month seems like a good addition, Sonny.

Another early metalcore/mathcore classic:

A weird yet highly chaotic mix of early metalcore with some tech-thrash and doom influences:

I gotta say how both stunned and glad I am by this change. On the one hand, I was quite used to metalcore being used split into two genres with one of them reserved for the more melodic subgenres. On the other hand, throughout my time of listening to metalcore, I've always thought of melodic metalcore as a metalcore subgenre like the melodic death metal subgenre for death metal. Either way that I think, this approach seems like the right call for the future of metalcore in this site, and I applaud that move. However, of course that means the amount of primary genres in The Revolution has been reduced, and with that and the removal of the Nintendocore and Trancecore subgenres, I'm gonna have to re-assemble the subgenre ration for my Revolution playlists, but I won't judge. Now one more Revolution question remains, what would be the fate of trance metal? https://metal.academy/forum/14/thread/1097?page=1#topic_9334

Ben, please add the new Deadguy live album Buyer's Remorse.

Ben, please add the new Seventh Wonder album The Testament.

Ben, please add these new albums:

Memphis May Fire - Remade in Misery

Motionless in White - Scoring the End of the World

Hey there, Daniel! I thought I would let you know that the deluxe version of the Treyarch Sound's "Call of Duty: Black Ops - Zombies Soundtrack" includes 3 bonus tracks that are all metal, none of the non-metal OST sounds from most of the standard edition's main tracks. These bonus tracks are heavier than even the standard edition's metal tracks, with the last of the 3 approaching ultra-heavy punky death metal during the harsh-vocal parts. There's no chance that you would ever change your mind about the soundtrack being non-metal, but please check out these bonus tracks and let us know what you think. Saxy, I would recommend them to you as well:

If I had given this album a closer listen before, not just after, choosing this album as this month's Gateway feature release so I would remember more than just those metal tracks from all those years ago, I probably would chosen a different release. Memories can be tricky that way, huh? So I would have to agree with you on this one, Daniel, along with your submission for Code Orange's Underneath that offers far more than that band's earlier metalcore. We'll see the fate of those releases' clan positions in the Hall.

This closing instrumental progressive rock shredder was my pick from the album Andi:

Probably the best non-vocal track for me in this soundtrack.

This band shows how to revive post-hardcore/metalcore from 20 years ago while staying unique and fresh for a new generation:

Static Dress - Rouge Carpet Disaster

I know Andi enjoys the romp of a mid 2000s post-hardcore/metalcore record, so I'm guessing you'll enjoy this trip down nostalgia lane from this new UK outlet.

https://staticdress.bandcamp.com/album/rouge-carpet-disaster

You're right about me enjoying this, Saxy. A couple songs have some vulnerable weaknesses, but it's highly enjoyable. Thanks for this! This band revived the scene from 20 years ago with fresh sounds to make their own sound more unique and less tiring. Rouge Carpet Disaster might just be the start of a new emo generation!

4.5/5

Ben, please add Crawlspace (very early deathcore band, mixed with death metal that would also qualify in The Horde).

A brutal early blend of death metal and deathcore, showing that they improved a lot since the Misanthrope EP:

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks in my first ever assembled Sphere playlist:

Code Orange - "Out for Blood" from Out for Blood (2021)

5/5. What a headbanger to start this playlist! It's thanks to this band that helped expand my like for industrial metal to point where I can join this clan and create this playlist. They could tour with Corey Feldman if they had the chance! F***ing powerful industrial metal! This is like Guilty Kills in the same metal level as Slipknot, particularly a song that we'll soon be talking about...

Scum of the Earth - "Pornstar Champion (We Will Rock You)" from Blah...Blah...Blah...Love Songs for the New Millennium (2004)

4.5/5. This is a clever song to love, making their own distorted cover/remix of Queen's "We Will Rock You". You can't argue with something as fantastic as this! RIP Freddie Mercury... This is probably slightly better than Three Days Grace's Michael Jackson cover!

Gravity Kills - "Guilty" from Gravity Kills (1996)

4/5. This is that Gravity Kills song I hinted about, "Guilty"! It's an older song that somehow I never discovered until a few weeks ago when making this playlist. This is good song to jam to, and they might've been an influence to Spineshank, whom we'll talk about one of their songs later in the playlist. The reason for that Code Orange comparison above was because this band sounds closer to the style of Orgy and Nine Inch Nails. It's quite cool, and not as controversial as the more well-known industrial metal songs out there.

Emigrate - "My World" from Emigrate (2007)

4.5/5. This song has quite some fire here! Frontman Richard Kruspe is also the guitarist from Rammstein. This song also ended up in the soundtracks for the movies Resident Evil: Extinction and True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet.

Circle of Dust - "Machines of Our Disgrace" from Machines of Our Disgrace (2016)

5/5. Oh man, this is so great! I gotta listen to more of Klayton's projects.

The Clay People - "Awake" from The Clay People (1998)

4.5/5. This is quite cool, still pleasing industrial metal fans since the late 90s.

Spineshank - "New Disease" from The Height of Callousness (2000)

4/5. The early 2000s was when alternative/industrial metal was on the rise, and when songs like this one were sports video games. I did not like metal during my kiddy years of the 2000s. It wasn't until the 2010s when my metal interest took off. Still this can give fans of this style of metal quite a bit of nostalgia.

Bile - "In League" from Sex Reflex (1999)

3.5/5. Listen to this, another song featured in a movie, Dee Snider's Strangeland. This is underground industrial metal that should have slightly more attention. Those lyrics are fun to listen to, "We are the dead... We are the doctors of low self-esteem". Sounds like a psycho hospital story there, plus a bit of a Ghostemane vibe.

Ministry - "Antifa" from Amerikkkant (2018)

3/5. This is quite a well-done tune, but the lyrics seem both hilarious and disappointing. It fits well for the Trump era of the US that was happening when the album was released. So grab your popcorn and enjoy the band fighting against political power.

Blue Stahli - "Eat the Light" from Quartz (2020)

3.5/5. This one's a heavy fast rocker that should be recognized more. Blue Stahli is one of a few bands that can mix old and new electronics and metal together quite well, alongside Klayton's projects. Quartz is part of a trilogy of albums that includes Copper and Obsidian. The chorus is quite heavenly, and the techno-metal influences are most likely adopted from Circle of Dust, even going as fast as that band. This would go well for a Terminator-DOOM crossover or something.

Rorschach Test - "Satan" from The Eleventh (1994)

3/5. See, this is the kind of music, besides black metal, that my concerned mom would burn in the fires of Mount Doom. When this album was released, Benjamin Anderson was still in the band. I'm quite disappointed about this song being slightly weak, but it shows that the underground is not always chaotic.

Die Krupps - "Vision 2020 Vision" from Vision 2020 Vision (2019)

3.5/5. A slightly less disappointing song. Clearly they saw the f***ing virus-ridden reality of 2020 coming. So yeah, this song's quite good.

Sinisstar - "Freak of Nature" from Future Shock (2002)

4/5. 20 years and still hitting industrial metal fans hard. Let's tear this f***ing place down!

Skrew - "Mouthful of Dust" from Dusted (1994)

4.5/5. Another great kick-A track pleasing industrial metal fans for so many years, filled with monk-like chanting.

Gothminister - "Red Christ" from The Other Side (2017)

5/5. Words can't do this perfect epic song justice. Just listen to believe!

Klank - "Downside" from Still Suffering (1995)

4.5/5. Also amazing, though it can't beat the previous song's reign.

N17 - "Kontrol" from Trust No One (1997)

4/5. Another cool band, this one still active but haven't been releasing any new material. They can battle against sadness and depression with hope and power! There's a bit of a Marilyn Manson vibe here. This is the kind of sound Judas Priest's Rob Halford would experiment on in his side-project Two. It also helps up get over the f***ing virus.

1000 Homo DJs - "Supernaut" from Supernaut (1990)

4.5/5. "Practically every one of the top 40 records being played on every radio station in the United States is a communication to the children to take a trip, to cop out, to groove. The psychedelic jackets on the record albums have their own hidden symbols and messages as well as the lyrics to all the top rock songs and they all sing the same refrain: It's fun to take a trip, put acid in your veins." Well said for this amazing old-school industrial metal cover of a Black Sabbath tune.

Psyclon Nine - "Beware the Wolves" from Icon of the Adversary (2018)

5/5. I need to listen to more of this album after this song. This is brilliant!

Illidiance - "Hi-Tech Terror" from Damage Theory (2010)

4.5/5. Now this is a nice tune of cyber metal! This should've fit well in Tron Legacy.

Re:Aktor - "Damage Zone" from Zero Order (2003)

4/5. Despite living on the other side of the world, I can definitely enjoy some industrial/cyber metal from the western lands, this band reminding some of Fear Factory and Machine Head. Quite a bit of f***ing killer metal here!

Minority Sound - "Toxin" from Toxin (2019)

3.5/5. This is some h*lla groovy cyber metal here. Enough said!

Schwarzer Engel - "Ewig Leben" from Sieben (2022)

3/5. This is a catchy tune with an OK melody. I'm not sure what else to say that would make a positive comment, but this is some enchanting magic and beauty in this song. I wouldn't be give this so many spins despite the f***ing mesmerizing emotion. I'm just not into much of the Rammstein-style NDH.

Eisbrecher - "Eisbar" from Sturmfahrt (2017)

3.5/5. A slightly more well-done catchy NDH tune. This should be Ice Bear (from We Bare Bears)'s theme song!

OOMPH! - "TRRR – FCKN – HTLR" from Ritual (2019)

3/5. OOMPH, this is a hard song for me to enjoy at its fullest. The song title, if we restore the vowels is "TERROR F***ING HITLER".

Voivod - "21st Century Schizoid Man" from Phobos (1997)

3.5/5. A better cover, this one tackling that King Crimson hit. I don't really hate it, but it could use some improvement. This was after all from the E-Force era where the band experimented with other territories, though the rest of that album isn't industrial metal. Still this sounds quite progressive.

Godflesh - "Flowers" from Merciless (EP) (1994)

4/5. Lastly, "Flowers" is just a strange drone instrumental based on "Don't Bring Me Flowers" from the Pure album. It can work as both an eerie piece of music in a dark haunted house and relaxing background music when chilling in a lounge. Good ending for this playlist!

Although my reception for this playlist is a little more mixed, it turned out quite well. I had fun assembling the playlist and look forward to continuing my duty of creating monthly playlists for this clan and The Revolution. I would recommend this to any industrial metal fan and anyone who isn't into industrial metal 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!

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

We Came as Romans/Brand of Sacrifice - "Darkbloom" (Reimagined) from Darkbloom (2022)

5/5. Let's start with a killer deathcore-infused remake of We Came as Romans' new epic metalcore single, so I thought I would add it as a tribute to one of my favorite songs from my first assembled Revolution playlist from November. A f***ing amazing banger in the heart of dark fire!

All That Remains - "Madness" from Madness (2017)

4.5/5. This is a heavy groove song that was a good choice for a single. The political lyrics are somewhat repetitive, but the rest of the song is pure heavy metal madness, enjoyed by me and my brother!

Ice Nine Kills - "Assault & Batteries" from The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood (2021)

5/5. The experimentation continues in this track, based on the Chucky series (Child's Play), where after a couple news broadcast samples, child singing adds to the incoming terror. While mostly referring to the first Chucky film, his bride is sometimes mentioned ("stitched back together it seems, by the evil bride of his dreams"), further expanding the concept to the rest of the franchise. I thought the "Hey Andy..." part spooked me a bit, since that's close to my name.

Currents - "Delusion" from The Place I Feel Safest (2017)

4.5/5. Another good band that deserves to be more popular. This is quite d*mn sick as f*** with a good amount to love in this tune, especially the djent soloing in under the 3-minute mark. It's much more deserving than that overrated pop/rap cr*p.

Among Them - "Still" from Coming and Going (2018)

4.5/5. This one has quite some meaning in the lyrics, along with killer depth in the growls and djent influence. This band has potential to go big in fame. Probably the best part is near the 3 and a half minute mark when the guitar harmony and bass have heavy emotion. F***ing sick, man! I should keep my eyes and ears for more modern djenty metalcore like this and listen to them. However, a minute before that best part is the second-best, a brutal yet emotional breakdown. Nice!

For the Fallen Dreams - "10 Years" from Six (2018)

5/5. Now this is an awesome band! Holy f***ing h*ll, I love this furious fire! My brother has listened to a few songs from this band around the time of this album's release, but somehow I never got around there until now.

Northlane - "Colourwave" from Mesmer (2017)

5/5. The breakdown here is one of the best, and it has stirred up a new favorite song and band here. I'm so pumped up for more of this album and band entering my comfort zone. I've reached a good street in the metalcore highway.

Upon a Burning Body - "A New Responsibility" from Fury (2022)

5/5. Let's f***ing roll with another killer band that's a recent favorite of mine!

Demon Hunter - The Negative" from War (2019)

4.5/5. This one's excellent, showing more of the vicious growls/screams in ways never usually heard from the band.

Dreamwake - "Paradise" from Virtual Reality (2022)

4/5. I found this song via a YouTube ad, and I like this quite a bit. Who knew you can add saxophone to an ending metal breakdown?!

Invent Animate - "Shapeshifter" from Greyview (2020)

4.5/5. D*mn, there's a bit of Cult of Luna-like clean ambience while still being upbeat metalcore. This combination with the vocals of Garrett Russell from Silent Planet works like a boss. I especially love the bridge at the two and a half minute mark before the last chorus. The lyrics are slightly heavier than the music and never disappoint. While I enjoy the Garrett's vocals, the rest of the song is still silver and enjoyable. It definitely puts the band near the top trio of Architects, Northlane, and In Hearts Wake, helped out by the middle breakdown. They should go on tour with Polaris!

Crystal Lake - "Freewill" from The Voyages (2020)

5/5. I can't put to words how perfect this is. Listen for yourself!

Born of Osiris - "Throw Me in the Jungle" from Soul Sphere (2015)

4.5/5. This one has some of the most varying vocal styles in a Born of Osiris song; lows, mids, highs, cleans, you name it. However, the harsh/clean dueling chorus is a little flat and the lyrics can be a bit confusing, but that doesn't affect the rest of the track.

Employed to Serve - "I Spend My Days" from The Warmth of a Dying Sun (2017)

4/5. Another automatically recommendation, this time from Spotify when I was assembling this playlist. D*mn, this sounds almost as f***ing brutal as Gojira. Some pretty good bad-a** sh*t right here!

War From A Harlots Mouth - "The Polyglutamine Pact" from MMX (2010)

4.5/5. This is definitely the best track here with riffs crushing through frantic drumming. Great choice, Daniel!

Converge - "Trespasses" from All We Love We Leave Behind (2012)

4.5/5. This one punches in a full assault of blazing percussion, indecipherable screaming, and intricate guitars and bass. The ugly and nasty production gives the track an excellent advantage. The tremendous speed works much better than the earlier calculated rhythm.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Calculating Infinity" from Calculating Infinity (1999)

4/5. This interlude is softer with some guitar crunch before building up building into the maximum tension needed for the later tracks.

Car Bomb - "HeLa" from Mordial (2019)

4.5/5. This is a basic mathy metalcore song that's isn't bad at all. Good break from the unique heavy intensity while keeping a bit of it.

Gaza - "Cult" from I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die (2006)

4.5/5. Also not as highly insane as the first two mathcore tracks, but it does have some funny lyrics ("Hey kids, the Jesus-reaper wears a cowboy hat!!!!") and a guest appearance Trevor Strnad of The Black Dahlia Murder with his own shrieking verse. RIP...

The Contortionist - "Oscillator" from Exoplanet (2010)

5/5. This is the only re-recording from this band's EP Apparition to keep the original title and practically be the same as the original, yet it has better production that further lightens up the drum talent and the song's epic outro lead solo.

Enter Shikari - "Adieu" from Take to the Skies (2007)

4.5/5. This is one of the most beautiful ballads from a Revolution album I've heard. This band is the best at making pleasant surprises for the listeners. A beautiful soft break from all that intensity before it makes a sinister return in the next song...

Polaris - "The Descent" from The Death of Me (2020)

5/5. The metalcore power returns, hitting you like a bullet-train. F***ING INCREDIBLE!!! It's moments like the last third of the track that makes you wonder why this band isn't so highly popular. Absolutely underrated!

Emmure - "203" from Hindsight (2020)

5/5. This is the kind of music I can probably make when I start making my own metal compositions, simple yet deep in the meaning while giving you a dark blast in the face. I love this one and there's more I gotta find from this band!

Make Them Suffer - "How to Survive a Funeral" from How to Survive a Funeral (2020)

4.5/5. This track's drum beats, piano melodies, and soft vocals show a different side of Make Them Suffer, as if it's something new yet something old. I'm OK with that! All those dynamic changes integrated sound greatly thought-out to the point where the next album should have deeper experimentation, just as long as they stand by the sound that they've been known for.

Chelsea Grin - "Hostage" from Eternal Nightmare (2018)

4.5/5. This is some sick deathcore in this song for you to fight the world at war. At the two and a half minute mark is a short soft ambient section that would work for a trap remix, not that I would ever be a fan of trap music. The new vocalist f***ing rules! Do you see your demons?!

Embodyment - "Golgotha" from Embrace the Eternal (1998)

5/5. This is another song re-recorded from a demo. It really stays true to the deathcore sound this album has spawned, and is one of the best here.

Trivium - "Shogun" from Shogun (2008)

5.5/5 (not exaggerating). The title track of Trivium's 4th album Shogun is the longest track they've ever made at nearly 12 minutes. It is the most epic and progressive song of the album, pretty much partly inspired by Dream Theater. The guitar work in the verses is a little sludgy, but once again contains some battling contrasts between clean vocals and screams, and the chorus is as well-done as steak. Then after a few minutes of soft vocals and soloing, the song builds up to an epic climax featuring lightning fast soloing, chaotic drums, and Heafy's vocals become more powerful than ever before. Then it's back to the chorus followed by the repetitive yet still nice outro. Here's how I would describe the song in an epic fantasy tale: 0:00-3:54 - A knight goes on a huge journey to track down an evil overlord and his army threatening to destroy the land. The knight fights some monsters on the way. 3:54-7:13 - The knight reaches the overlord's lair and goes around finding some allies willing to form an army for the knight. 7:13-7:43 - The knight and his assembled army are ready to fight the overlord's army. 7:43-9:40 - An epic battle commences between the two armies and between the knight and the overlord. 9:40-end - The overlord and his army are defeated, the knight's army wins in victory, peace is restored, and the knight heads off into the unknown.

Motionless in White - "Eternally Yours" from Graveyard Shift (2017)

5/5. Then the knight finds the princess of the kingdom and elopes with her, living eternally ever after. Very much some alt-metalcore fire before calming down for a final outro to pleasantly end this playlist.

Holy wars, this is probably the best Revolution playlist I've assembled, with all songs reaching 4 to 5 stars! To make sure my opinion doesn't sound selfish or bad form, I 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!

Here are my thoughts on most of the tracks in this playlist:

Breaking Benjamin - "Breakdown" (from We Are Not Alone)

4.5/5. After a "Fur Elise"-like piano intro, Burnley screams "BREAKDOWN!!!" to begin a hardcore riffing part of the intro similar to the heavy parts of their debut. That should've been a single!

TOOL - "Prison Sex" (from Undertow)

4/5. OK, there's a bit of disturbing groove sh*t, but it's dominated by amazing riffs and melodies.

Evanescence - "Better Without You" (from The Bitter Truth)

3.5/5. This one starts off with a soft synthesized music box before an industrial earthquake.

Coldrain - "RUNAWAY" (from Vena)

4/5. Masato sounds just fine in this song, but when Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix butts in, he really has his vocal power that make that song another highlight. However, if you thought this was intense, another Japanese metal song I'm gonna comment on would be even more...

Dir En Grey - "AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS" (from THE MARROW OF A BONE)

4.5/5. This one's absolutely killer, pure brutal alt-metalcore right here! The music video is also cool, though some viewers would be like "WT*?!" This is over-the-top madness, much different from the band's softer "empty" ballads.

MAXIMUM THE HORMONE - "Seritsuwa Kannazukiwo Korasu Kion" (from Kusoban)

5/5. Who else but this band can make lyrics about "physiological pain" and "freezing temperature" in the same song? I'm not usually in the more funk-oriented alt-metal, but this is so brilliant I can cry!

Five Finger Death Punch - "Under and Over It" (from American Capitalist)

4.5/5. This one fulfills the band's resolution with their revolution against critics.

In Flames - "Where the Dead Ships Dwell" (from Sounds of a Playground Fading)

4/5. In Flames was a band that gave me good alt-metal/melodeath in the times when I was up for them. I can still hear the anger and sadness in the chilling lyrics ("I won't let the world break me, so I need to change direction..."). This amazing song hits me with unique beauty much more than bands like Killswitch Engage. This modern alternative sound they've been having since Soundtrack to Your Escape. Maybe I will return to this band someday when I'm fully back in my melodeath sound...

Vanilla Ice - "Too Cold" (from Hard to Swallow)

3.5/5. Wow, I didn't expect the "Ice Ice Baby" dude to appear here, but it makes sense because of his nu/rap metal material, which I'm not usually fond of. This one's a good hard-hitter though, so it's fine.

Lacuna Coil - "Within Me" (from Karmacode)

4/5. A good song for post-breakup woes of loneliness, bring back good memories of when I used to listen to this band full-time. This band still exists in activity, and I'm glad about that, though their earlier gothic years are far behind them.

Cave In - "New Reality" (from Heavy Pendulum)

5/5. H*ll yes, another awesome discovery for me from this band. It sounds so zany and they have good relation with Converge, with that band's guitarist Kurt Ballou manning the album's production and Nate Newton as their new bassist after Caleb Scofield's fatal car crash. RIP...

Linkin Park - "Somewhere I Belong" (from Meteora)

4/5. This one is more melodic with incredible emotion. There's powerful guitar along with great vocals alternating between rapping and singing. The lyrics are a bit forced and unable to flow well, but the song is still awesome.

Machine Supremacy - "Anthem Apocalyptica" (from Origin)

4.5/5. This one I still love as a potential fight-preparation song. The music fits well by itself without any lyrics. I discovered this band 7 years ago when I was still in the power metal zone. This was before their debut Deus ex Machinae when they creating singular tracks to upload on their website. It's still quite, including that calm beginning. I think this should've been in the movie Ready Player One. While I enjoyed the instrumentals, same goes for the real songs despite the whininess in the vocals. I also enjoyed playing the demo of the Jets'n'Guns game they composed music for. A great outro to end this playlist!

I'd like to once again thank Saxy for allowing me to create the threads for his Gateway and Infinite playlists each month and including my really long submission in this one. However, I will skip out on commenting in this month's Infinite playlist. After that incident last month that happened because I didn't ask for permission that time (among other reasons), I'm still not sure about commenting on tracks from clans with the more melodic genres (except for a few tracks that I still like from this month's Guardians playlist). I'm currently more focused on my other 3 clans, but don't worry, I'm still staying in The Infinite, I just need to pace myself if I want my time in the clan for be more bearable for myself and others. With that said though, I've already submitted track suggestions for next month's Infinite playlist, which I'm still up to doing. Plus I'm planning to comment on the majority of the Gateway playlist, so stay tuned for that...

June 2022

01. Jason Richardson, Luke Holland - "p00mbachu" (from p00mbachu)

02. Dream Theater - "Take the Time" (from Images and Words)

03. Gojira - "Clone" (from Terra Incognita)

04. Seventh Wonder - "The Light" (from The Light)

05. Spheric Universe Experience - "Where We Belong" (from Where We Belong)

06. Liquid Tension Experiment - "Three Minute Warning" (from Liquid Tension Experiment)

07. Voyager - "Entropy" (from Colours in the Sun)

08. The Odious - "Mono No Aware" (from Vesica Piscis)

09. Anciients - "Buried in Sand" (from Voice of the Void)

10. Kardashev - "Glass Phantoms" (from Glass Phantoms)

11. Intronaut - "Speaking of Orbs" (from Fluid Existential Inversions)

12. Chaosbay, Siamese - "What is War" (from What is War)

13. Pain of Salvation - "The Perfect Element" (from The Perfect Element, Pt. 1)

June 2022

01. System of a Down - "Question!" (from Mezmerize)

02. Northlane - "Clockwork" (from Obsidian)

03. Breaking Benjamin - "Breakdown" (from We Are Not Alone)

04. TOOL - "Prison Sex" (from Undertow)

05. Evanescence - "Better Without You" (from The Bitter Truth)

06. Coldrain - "RUNAWAY" (from Vena)

07. Mudvayne - "Happy?" (from Lost and Found)

08. Taproot - "Calling" (from Blue-Sky Research)

09. Dir En Grey - "AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS" (from THE MARROW OF A BONE)

10. MAXIMUM THE HORMONE - "Seritsuwa Kannazukiwo Korasu Kion" (from Kusoban)

11. Five Finger Death Punch - "Under and Over It" (from American Capitalist)

12. Gone is Gone - "Violescent" (from Gone is Gone)

13. Fair to Midland - "Uh-Oh" (from Arrows & Anchors)

14. In Flames - "Where the Dead Ships Dwell" (from Sounds of a Playground Fading)

15. Vanilla Ice - "Too Cold" (from Hard to Swallow)

16. Lacuna Coil - "Within Me" (from Karmacode)

17. Cave In - "New Reality" (from Heavy Pendulum)

18. Linkin Park - "Somewhere I Belong" (from Meteora)

19. Skindred - "Electric Avenue" (from Shark Bites and Dog Fights)

20. Faith No More - "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies" (from King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime)

21. Machine Supremacy - "Anthem Apocalyptica" (from Origin)

Funny song title, scary lyrics (for newcomers), metalcore/mathcore greatness:

Here are my sneak peek submissions for the July Sphere playlist (starting at 2 before gradually building up to a set maximum):

Godflesh - "Perfect Skin" (7:37) from Slavestate (1991)

Samael - "The Cross" (3:21) from Eternal (1999)

Total length: 10:58

June 2022

1. Code Orange - "Out for Blood" from Out for Blood (2021) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

2. Scum of the Earth - "Pornstar Champion (We Will Rock You)" from Blah...Blah...Blah...Love Songs for the New Millennium (2004)

3. Gravity Kills - "Guilty" from Gravity Kills (1996)

4. Emigrate - "My World" from Emigrate (2007)

5. Circle of Dust - "Machines of Our Disgrace" from Machines of Our Disgrace (2016)

6. The Clay People - "Awake" from The Clay People (1998)

7. Spineshank - "New Disease" from The Height of Callousness (2000)

8. Bile - "In League" from Sex Reflex (1999)

9. Ministry - "Antifa" from Amerikkkant (2018)

10. Blue Stahli - "Eat the Light" from Quartz (2020)

11. Rorschach Test - "Satan" from The Eleventh (1994)

12. Die Krupps - "Vision 2020 Vision" from Vision 2020 Vision (2019)

13. Sinisstar - "Freak of Nature" from Future Shock (2002)

14. Skrew - "Mouthful of Dust" from Dusted (1994)

15. Gothminister - "Red Christ" from The Other Side (2017)

16. Klank - "Downside" from Still Suffering (1995)

17. N17 - "Kontrol" from Trust No One (1997)

18. 1000 Homo DJs - "Supernaut" from Supernaut (1990)

19. Psyclon Nine - "Beware the Wolves" from Icon of the Adversary (2018)

20. Illidiance - "Hi-Tech Terror" from Damage Theory (2010)

21. Re:Aktor - "Damage Zone" from Zero Order (2003)

22. Minority Sound - "Toxin" from Toxin (2019)

23. Schwarzer Engel - "Ewig Leben" from Sieben (2022)

24. Eisbrecher - "Eisbar" from Sturmfahrt (2017)

25. OOMPH! - "TRRR – FCKN – HTLR" from Ritual (2019)

26. Voivod - "21st Century Schizoid Man" from Phobos (1997)

27. Godflesh - "Flowers" from Merciless (EP) (1994) [submitted by Daniel]

June 2022

1. We Came as Romans/Brand of Sacrifice - "Darkbloom" (Reimagined) from Darkbloom (2022) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

2. All That Remains - "Madness" from Madness (2017) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

3. Ice Nine Kills - "Assault & Batteries" from The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood (2021)

4. Currents - "Delusion" from The Place I Feel Safest (2017)

5. Among Them - "Still" from Coming and Going (2018)

6. For the Fallen Dreams - "10 Years" from Six (2018)

7. Northlane - "Colourwave" from Mesmer (2017)

8. Upon a Burning Body - "A New Responsibility" from Fury (2022)

9. Demon Hunter - The Negative" from War (2019) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

10. Dreamwake - "Paradise" from Virtual Reality (2022)

11. Invent Animate - "Shapeshifter" from Greyview (2020)

12. Crystal Lake - "Freewill" from The Voyages (2020)

13. Born of Osiris - "Throw Me in the Jungle" from Soul Sphere (2015) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

14. Employed to Serve - "I Spend My Days" from The Warmth of a Dying Sun (2017)

15. War From A Harlots Mouth - "The Polyglutamine Pact" from MMX (2010) [submitted by Daniel]

16. Converge - "Trespasses" from All We Love We Leave Behind (2012) [submitted by Sonny]

17. The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Calculating Infinity" from Calculating Infinity (1999)

18. Car Bomb - "HeLa" from Mordial (2019)

19. Gaza - "Cult" from I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die (2006)

20. The Contortionist - "Oscillator" from Exoplanet (2010)

21. Enter Shikari - "Adieu" from Take to the Skies (2007) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

22. Polaris - "The Descent" from The Death of Me (2020)

23. Emmure - "203" from Hindsight (2020)

24. Make Them Suffer - "How to Survive a Funeral" from How to Survive a Funeral (2020)

25. Chelsea Grin - "Hostage" from Eternal Nightmare (2018) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

26. Embodyment - "Golgotha" from Embrace the Eternal (1998)

27. Trivium - "Shogun" from Shogun (2008)

28. Motionless in White - "Eternally Yours" from Graveyard Shift (2017) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

Thanks, Daniel!

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

Bullet for My Valentine - "You Want a Battle? (Here's a War)" (4:14) from Venom (2015)

Coalesce - "Simulcast" (4:33) from 002 (1996)

Damaged - "The Mirror Perils" (3:51) from Token Remedies Research (1997)

Eighteen Visions - "1996" (3:25) from 1996 (2021)

Trivium - "Declaration" (7:00) from Ascendancy (2005)

We Came as Romans - "I Knew You Were Trouble" (3:38) from Punk Goes Pop, Vol. 6 (2014) (thought I would have some fun by submitting one of the Punk Goes Pop covers, and that compilation has the valid Metalcore tag in RYM)

Total length: 26:41

Here are my submissions for the July Infinite playlist:

Dream Theater - "The Shattered Fortress" (12:49) from Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)

Gojira - "Magma" (6:42) from Magma (2016)

Mastodon - "Fallen Torches" (4:22) from Medium Rarities (2020)

The Ocean - "The Grand Inquisitor I: Karamazov Baseness" (5:02) from Anthropocentric (2010)

Total length: 28:55

Here are my submissions for the July Gateway playlist:

Avatar - "Bloody Angel" (6:04) from Hail the Apocalypse (2014) (this album has the alternative metal genre and conventional subgenre, but The Gateway clan is missing from view, plus the song sounds close enough to alt-metal that I personally think would qualify)

Bloodsimple - "Blood in Blood Out" (2:20) from A Cruel World (2005)

Disturbed - "Intoxication" (3:14) from Believe (2002)

Embodyment - "Pendulum" (3:39) from The Narrow Scope of Things (2000)

Evanescence - "Everybody's Fool" (3:16) from Fallen (2003)

Nekrogoblikon - "This Is It" (4:00) from The Fundamental Slimes and Humours (2022)

New Years Day - "Crawling" (3:21) from Diary of a Creep (2018)

Treyarch Sound - "115" (3:48) from Call of Duty: Black Ops - Zombies Soundtrack (2011)

Total length: 29:42