Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies
A six-minute epic of hope for the 90s metalcore scene in Florida:
Oh wow! This next release is a huge positive twist in my rediscovery journey. Let me give you a summary on this...
Morning Again are legends in the metal/hardcore scene. At that time, their frontman was Damien Moyal, a straight-edge vocalist who was also in Shai Hulud at that time. It's thanks to those two bands that the Floridian music scene has expanded to more than just death metal and *shudder* Backstreet Boys and Disney, paving the way for other metalcore bands like Trivium. Morning Again broke up after one official album, but they've since reunited multiple times and released a couple more EPs. However, Moyal moved on to melodic hardcore band As Friends Rust, and he remained vocalist for that band except for those 6 years when the other members performed as Salem. Anyway, Hand of Hope is a perfect compilation of demos from Morning Again, worth money from the buyer. There are 7 songs in 30 minutes, and I almost think of Hand of Hope as a full mini-album. So great with lots of heavy tracks! Props to Morning Again for this incredible work! If you enjoy Shai Hulud and other metallic hardcore, surely you wouldn't wanna miss this. It's an album of hardcore insanity!
5/5
I seem to currently have a bit of turbulence in my journey, with a couple demo EPs that turn out to be mostly stinkers for me. Here's the second one of those:
The Absolve EP sounds nice, but the production is jacked up in a bad way, which along with the overuse of samples in the beginning, doesn't make me up for it so much. "Bleeding" is the only highlight here, having a brutal Suffocation-like slam death metal breakdown. A f***ing crusher in a mostly f***ing bland trash-fest....
2/5
OK, so back to my rediscovery journey... This EP I've listened to and tried reviewing 6 months ago, but I didn't like it enough to do it. Having just given it another listen today, I've made a second attempt at a review, and well...
This EP is really old, and while I have no trouble with the metalcore oldies, which is why I'm doing my earlier metalcore rediscovery journey, it's the quality that matters. This EP is pretty difficult to listen to. In my opinion, most of the metalcore demos aren't exactly well-produced, with this one from Breach being one example. If you think I'm only up for the new complex style of metalcore, you would be wrong, I do like the rock-out hardcore songs, such as this EP's title track, a hard classic that's pretty much the only highlight here. However, there are much better releases than this poor sh*t, if you wanna please your metallic hardcore soul....
2.5/5
Ben, please the Split EP by Training for Utopia and Zao.
The YouTube commenter who recommended that I listen to Zao suggested the original demo version of "Skin Like Winter". Unfortunately, I honestly think it's a poorly done demo, and that the album version from Liberate Te Ex Inferis does better justice. There should've been some proper time and budget to work on this version in my opinion:
There are heavier and more humorous highlights in Dead to Fall's final album before this 10-year split, but this one's a mellow heart-toucher:
Another metalcore masterpiece concludes with what can be considered the "sludgy metalcore Crusade":
From hardcore to metallic, a new era began for this band, recommended for metalcore fans who love the music of Converge, Underoath, and As I Lay Dying:
A couple grand highlights from an album that made me remember the more melodic progressive fan I used to be:
Another YouTube commenter recommended that I listen to Zao, one of the earliest metalcore bands to still be active today. This incredible song that I've looked up has blown me away, and I look forward to checking out the rest of its album and the band:
After finding a recent comment for one of my videos, talking about a Ne Obliviscaris song giving the commenter Caligula's Horse vibes, I remembered a review I've made for one of the Caligula's Horse albums as part of The Infinite Progressive Metal Modern Era clan challenge nearly 3 years ago and decided to check out one of its highlights. This is a song for anyone who's into progressive rock/metal, and I might just find a bit of melodic light from this band that I want more of, while focusing on more extreme bands.
Although The Ocean is known for their blend of post-sludge and progressive metal, Pelagial is definitely a more progressive ocean. You can only find a small bit of ambience around the surface, and a couple sludgy tracks at the crushing bottom, with practically everything else in between being as progressive as progressive metal can be. So I agree with you on this one, Daniel.
1. Gateway playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 9)
2. Revolution playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 29)
3. Sphere playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 26)
So far, I've only commented on 9 tracks in the Gateway playlist and skipped out on 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 playlist 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!
Here's what I've reviewed so far:
THE HORDE: Edge of Sanity - "Purgatory Afterglow" (1994) 4.5/5 (as I recall from the rating I had until last year)
THE INFINITE: The Ocean - "Pelagial" (2013) 5/5
THE REVOLUTION: Lorna Shore - "...And I Return to Nothingness" (2021) 5/5
THE SPHERE: OLD - "The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak" (1993) 5/5
Both of my feature release submissions; The Ocean's Pelagial and Lorna Shore's And I Return to Nothingness, plus Daniel's Sphere submission OLD's The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, all each receive a perfect 5 stars, and I would recommend them to fans of their respective genres. I also commented on Daniel's Horde feature release submission that I haven't listened to in over a year, Edge of Sanity's Purgatory Afterglow, and I stand by my 4.5-star rating. It's been an awesome month so far. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...
Despite being a decade later than Oceano and Whitechapel, and serious drama involving the band and their vocalist at the time, it's songs in this album like this that shall earn them immortality in the deathcore realm:
A fantastic highlight that adds more balance to the breakdowns and guitarwork than in a couple songs from their debut:
An anthem of deathcore devastation, mixing the melody, brutality, and technicality of The Black Dahlia Murder, Thy Art is Murder, and Wretched, respectively:
A 10-minute experimental industrial metal epic, listenable for fans of that style:
I did my review, here's its summary:
The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak is filled with experimental madness! Basically a weird yet awesome mix of metal and electronics from the brilliant James Plotkin and the shrieking Alan Dubin. This is another original album ahead of time. They experiment with different styles, more than just metal, letting go of restrictive conventions and patterns so what they create can run free. Throughout these 9 tracks, the experimental instrumentation can flow nice and smoothly, while staying surreal. That's the kind of sound I would recommend to those up for a challenge through experimental noise-powered industrial metal, like I am now. Enjoy the weirdness!
5/5
Although I like Saxy's idea of the clan playlists for December entirely compiling the best of 2022, I won't do the same for my clans because it would be quite restrictive in The Sphere, and I got a lot of good ideas for these playlists. So here are my usual sneak peek submissions, for the December Sphere playlist:
Dawn of Ashes - "Carnal Consummation in the Empty Space (To Mega Therion Mix)" (4:28) from Farewell to the Flesh (2012)
Gothminister - "Gothic Anthem" (3:48) from Gothic Electronic Anthems (2003)
Mnemic - "Mechanical Spin Phenomenon" (4:58) from Mechanical Spin Phenomena (2003)
Motionless in White - "Final Dictvm" (5:06) from Reincarnate (2014)
Psyclon Nine - "Crwn Thy Frnicatr" (4:33) from Crwn Thy Frnicatr (2006) (although this is from one of the band's earlier aggrotech albums, it really foreshadows the band's later industrial metal material, and it reminds me of a couple of Dawn of Ashes songs from my previous playlists)
Samael - "Rite of Renewal" (4:31) from Hegemony (2017)
Total length: 27:24
Although I like Saxy's idea of the clan playlists for December entirely compiling the best of 2022, I won't do the same for my clans because it would be quite restrictive in The Sphere, and I got a lot of good ideas for these playlists. So here are my usual sneak peek submissions, for the December Revolution playlist:
Attila - "Jumanji" (3:59) from Rage (2010)
Bring Me the Horizon - "Can You Feel My Heart" (3:47) from Sempiternal (2013)
ERRA - "Divisionary" (3:41) from ERRA (2021)
Parkway Drive - "The Sound of Violence" (3:24) from Ire (2015)
Shadows Fall - "The First Noble Truth" (4:14) from Of One Blood (2000)
Trivium - "Betrayer" (5:27) from The Sin and the Sentence (2017)
We Came as Romans - "To Plant a Seed" (3:51) from To Plant a Seed (2009)
Total length: 28:23
Here are my submissions for the December Best of 2022 Infinite playlist:
Animals as Leaders - "Gordian Naught" (4:48) from Parrhesia
Cult of Luna - "Blood Upon Stone" (11:39) from The Long Road North
Persefone - "Merkabah" (5:59) from Metanoia
Seventh Wonder - "Invincible" (3:39) from The Testament
Voivod - "Synchro Anarchy" (4:25) from Synchro Anarchy
Total length: 30:30 (pardon the slight overtime)
Here are my submissions for the December Best of 2022 Gateway playlist:
Architects - "Burn Down My House" (4:19) from The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit
Cave In - "Blood Spiller" (4:01) from Heavy Pendulum
Dir En Grey - "The Perfume of Sins" (4:18) from Phalaris
I Prevail - "Bad Things" (3:48) from True Power
Memphis May Fire - "Only Human" (3:02) from Remade in Misery
Motionless in White - "Masterpiece" (3:26) from Scoring the End of the World
Northlane - "Is This a Test?" (3:30) from Obsidian
Parkway Drive - "Soul Bleach" (3:31) from Darker Still
Total length: 29:55
Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:
Killing Joke - "The Death & Resurrection Show" (from Killing Joke, 2003)
4.5/5. How's this for a Sphere playlist opener? This is part of the Killing Joke 2003 album where they had Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters beating the drums, and I heard this song is featured in the soundtrack for Need For Speed Underground 2. People following this band since their late 70s formation would have their minds blown.
Northlane - "Clarity" (from Obsidian, 2022)
5/5. This one starts optimistic-sounding, all light and gentle in the electronic without immediately starting in a bang while many other albums in a similar style would. After one and a half minutes, BOOM!! The heaviness kicks into high gear! Switching from melodic vocals and electronics to screams and technical riffs, you're buckled up for this wild ride like no other. A very strong starter track! Building through this 6-minute track, it's not until the 4-minute mark when the breakdown the more hardcore fans are hungry for strikes and gets you hooked in the remain two minutes. Every member shines with the instruments in their own ways. The drumming makes that song a standout!
Bile - "Remove the Head" (from Built to Fuck, Born to Kill, 2014)
4.5/5. It's good to hear a song by Bile released long after the previous song I've heard from them. You can tell the difference very quickly while you still hear the dark entertainment. The aforementioned earlier song "In League" is in the Strangeland soundtrack, and if there's ever a remake for that movie, they should use this song. F***ing killer song for working out in the gym!
Deathstars - "Explode" (from The Perfect Cult, 2014)
4/5. Fabulous cyber metal! The band haven't released an album in 8 years, and their most recent one still pumps me up high. The ethereal darkness actually fits well in Final Fantasy. This is like the English-singing Eisbrecher. Hail the Deathstars!
Ministry - "Golden Dawn" (from The Land of Rape and Honey, 1988)
4.5/5. This is a highly different instrumental trip. It is the first of a few tracks in the album to use samples, including from the horror-drama film The Devils ("The antichrist!!") and chanting from Aleister Crowley and Israel Regardie. An excellent loopy instrumental! I could recommend this to anyone starting out this band for the first time.
Godflesh - "Head Dirt" (from Streetcleaner, 1989)
5/5. Another awesome standout. They continue playing lower riffs that sometimes hang in the background behind bass and drums, but the guitar can never go unnoticed!
Samael - "Telepath" (from Telepath, 2004)
4.5/5. It's amazing to hear this symphonic industrial metal sound bright and clear. I didn't enjoy this band for a super long time because of their earlier black metal, but they should have much more attention than Rammstein.
Strapping Young Lad - "Shitstorm" (from Alien, 2005)
5/5. The song that many people have heard the most is surprisingly the one with swearing in the title and the lyrics. Devin Townsend sounds f***ing p*ssed and determined to stab your eardrums (already done by the music in a way I like). The entirely shouted vocals threaten you with crazy lyrics. The song is fast with good riffs and fantastic keyboards. The choirs diversify this amazing song. Can this album get better?!
Wayne Static - "Assassins of Youth" (from PIGHAMMER, 2011)
4.5/5. OK, not completely better, but this is a really great heavy industrial metal piece, from Wayne Static's only solo album and last overall album before his untimely death. The lyrics sound quite poetic. The "sheriff" intro is from the 1980 horror film Motel Hell. RIP Static...
Crossbreed - "Nothing" (from KE 101, 2009)
4/5. I still can't believe good industrial metal is hard to find nowadays. This is the kind of alt-/industrial metal blend Mushroomhead had in Savior Sorrow. Quite underrated!
Pitchshifter - "Microwaved" (from www.pitchshifter.com, 1998)
3.5/5. Any racing video game fan might hear this song in Test Drive 5 and Twisted Metal 3. The surreal bridge at the two-minute mark perfectly fits well for those games.
Pigface - "Bitch" (from Easy Listening, 2003)
3/5. Come on baby! A powerful f***er, but quite hard for me to take seriously. It's a cover of a song by Dope that would end up in that band's third album Group Therapy.
Apartment 26 - "Backwards" (from Hallucinating, 2000)
3.5/5. I was far too young to enjoy the nu metal era when it was on. I didn't hear about that genre until over a decade after that album. This song is in the soundtrack for Mission Impossible 2 and the video game Gekido. Yet another song I gotta show to my brother for some interesting car traveling. And what's more, vocalist Terence "Biff" Butler is the song of Geezer Butler, bassist for Black Sabbath! The song is not really massive for me though and is the closest in sound to Pitchshifter. Still cool in the verses!
Gravity Kills - "Goodbye" (from Gravity Kills, 1996)
4/5. Another great song from an underrated industrial/alt-rock/metal band. I don't have anyone I really hate, but for those who do, use this song against them ("I'M F***ING TIRED AND I'M SAYING GOODBYE!!!!"). Anyone who thinks The Prodigy is THE 90s electro-rock band might stand corrected. I can do without the background noises though.
KMFDM - "Disobedience" (from Nihil, 1995)
4.5/5. This is perhaps what really stands out the most in the album. It's not a ballad, but it sounds the closest to one. In saying that, it's one of the greatest highlights here.
Celldweller - "Into the Void" (from Into the Void, 2019)
5/5. Over 50 years old (around the same age as my parents), Klayton is still going super strong with his sound! He should collaborate with Mick Gordon sometime.
Circle of Dust - "Outside In" (from Machines of Our Disgrace, 2016)
5/5. I have this band and Argyle Park to thank for getting me into listening to Klayton's projects. I love this beautiful song so d*mn much. Bless the void!
Dead World - "180" (from The Machine, 1993)
4.5/5. This is a 180 from what I'm used, but I find it nicely bleak.
Nine Inch Nails - "Reptile" (from The Downward Spiral, 1994)
4/5. A well-done metallic track from the album where Nine Inch Nails began making their move from the heaviness of Broken. It's no surprise how much this band has dominated the industrial music scene. There are some bad-a** lyrics here like "Angels bleed from the tainted touch of my caress". People probably would've heard of NIN more in the 90s/2000s. This sounds so disturbing yet stellar. I might get in some more of what I'm missing in The Downward Spiral, but then again, I prefer heavier bands in the industrial metal realms. Still it's quite well done here. Who knew darkness can have light and faith!? There are 3 other songs from this album that would form the album's metallic square, and I've already shown you what they are in the Track of the Day thread. This should've fit well in a Twin Peaks episode.
Dagoba - "4.2 Destroy" (from Dagoba, 2003)
4.5/5. Lots of hardcore power in this song! Like Hatebreed would yell, "DESTROY EVERYTHING!!!"
Kong - "2.14" (from Mute Poet Vocalizer, 1990)
4/5. An older more progressive instrumental that sounds good but not the best. Next!
Unzucht - "Nein" (from Jenseits der Welt, 2020)
3.5/5. I know what "Nein" means, it's German for "No", which is my answer to whether or not this peaks my interest. Still sounds good though.
b.o.s.c.h. - "Mehr" (from Einsam, 2010)
3/5. Same with this one. Slight goodness, but I got other music to check out. If I want to find something that isn't just barely understandable sh*t, I just have to keep digging.
Stoneman - "Mord ist Kunst" (from Goldmarie, 2014)
3.5/5. A better song to rock out to, but if only they had lyrics that I can read and understand. But I guess it would be useful if I ever one day decided to learn German. The Mozart-like beginning adds a classical edge to the Rammstein-like sound, but I still find that "meh".
Trust Obey - "Hands of Glory" (from Hands of Ash, 1996)
4/5. This 12-minute epic is worth part of the CD's runtime, though not as impressive as the 12-minute epic I've submitted to this month's Gateway playlist.
Rob Zombie - "Crow Killer Blues" (from The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, 2021)
4.5/5. A killer ending to this playlist, sounding like a mix of Avatar, White Zombie, and the Doors. The lyrics greatly match the music! Then after it's over and the apocalypse wipes everything out, during the last 30 seconds, a sinister evil is lurking around and waiting to be unleashed. To be continued...
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:
Underoath - "Heart of Stone" (from Act of Depression, 1999)
4.5/5. After some strange witch-cackling, the opener for this playlist and Underoath's most deathly album, Act of Depression, starts off the extreme metalcore action greatly. That's what I expect for this album!
Code Orange - "Forever" (from Forever, 2017)
5/5. This one starts a spectacular gauntlet, opening with a furious fistful of riffing. You can't ignore all that confidence, especially with the declaration of "CODE ORANGE IS FOREVER!!!" and the brutal breakdown that follows.
Silent Planet - "The New Eternity" (from When the End Began, 2018)
4.5/5. Insane drumming and an insane amount of lyrical references in this song. This band rules!
After the Burial - "In Flux" (from Evergreen, 2019)
4/5. I really need to return to listening to this band someday. This is a purely insane banger with good vocals.
Clear - "Falling Into Ashes" (from Deeper Than Blood, 1999)
3.5/5. The only good track in a sh*tty album that I wonder why I even reviewed it.
One Second Thought - "Step Back" (from Self Inflicted, 1999)
3/5. Same with this one.
Lorna Shore - "Death Portrait" (from Immortal, 2020)
5/5. Now this is the epicness I prefer rather than the symphonic power metal I've brushed aside! This is a brutal work of splendor to fit well with a dangerous battle against demons on top of a snow mountain under a solar eclipse. Probably the most impressive deathcore band for me by many miles! The vocals sound filthy and disgusting. However, what's really filthy and disgusting is what this album's vocalist has done that got him fired. Nonetheless, this song shows deathcore's transcendence to fame.
Caliban - "Partisan" (from The Split Program, 2000)
3.5/5. This cover of a Heaven Shall Burn's song is very good, though not as much as most of those bands' split EP.
The Human Abstract - "Crossing the Rubicon" (from Nocturne, 2006)
4/5. This one continues the complex time changes while getting caught in guitar tornadoes. An 8-bit version was used as the theme song for Youtuber AngryJoeShow.
From Autumn to Ashes - "Short for Show" (from Abandon Your Friends, 2005)
4.5/5. Starting off with an early Avenged Sevenfold-like metalcore riff, and...well, the rest of this song is metalcore too in an excellent heavy example.
Trivium - "The Defiant" (from What the Dead Men Say, 2020)
5/5. I absolute love this one. It is my second-favorite track in its original album (behind the title track), recalling the older days of Ascendancy, blending with the modern songwriting and fantastic lyrics found in this album. Even the unclean vocals are beautiful. With all that and the perfect instrumentation overall, that would make older fans ecstatic and newer fans in love.
Coalesce - "Have Patience" (from Give Them Rope, 1997)
4.5/5. This impressive assault blasts off and has made quite an impact for my first time with this album, delivering heaviness beyond 11. If anyone thought Spinal Tap made heavy history, that track would prove them wrong.
The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "The Electric Boogaloo" (from Danza II: Electric Boogaloo, 2007)
4/5. I miss this song, and while this isn't their absolute best song, what levels this track up is the vocals by Bruce Fitzhugh of Living Sacrifice, a band I gotta hear more of because I f***ing enjoy his vocals.
Candiria - "Year One" (from Beyond Reasonable Doubt, 1997)
4.5/5. An irresistible blend of metal and jazz continues to form with incisive riffs and rhythms as changes surround the sound.
The Showdown - "Dagon Undone (The Reckoning)" (from A Chorus of Obliteration, 2004)
5/5. Hear what I mean about Bruce Fitzhugh's guest vocals?! This is one of the best Christian metalcore songs I've discovered, and I'm up for much more...
Demon Hunter - "Sixteen" (from Storm the Gates of Hell, 2007)
4.5/5. This one sounds more original, starting with a long experimental chamber cello/guitar one and a half minute intro before vocals come in, including those awesome edgy guest vocals by Bruce Fitzhugh of Living Sacrifice in the pre-chorus, in contrast to the clean chorus. The breakdown has interesting lyrics.
Integrity - "Evacuate" (from Den of Iniquity, 1994)
4/5. This Negative Approach cover closes the band's 1994 compilation smoothly, but there's more in this playlist to come...
Strife - "Calm the Fire" (from One Truth, 1994)
3.5/5. This one is not so calm for the most part, but there's heavier fire here to end this close-to-mediocre hardcore offering. Again, there's more left in this playlist...
All That Remains - "What If I Was Nothing" (from A War You Cannot Win, 2012)
4/5. Let's break things up a bit with this ballad that has a similar vibe to Five Finger Death Punch ballads.
Starkweather - "Tumult" (from Crossbearer, 1992)
4.5/5. You'll definitely hear p*ssed-off metalcore starting shortly after the intro verse of the opener of the first album to mix metalcore with alt-metal.
Deformity - "Misanthrope" (from Murder Within Sin, 1999)
4/5. Taking its name from an earlier EP, this is an athletic hooker where brutal breakdowns are in great balance with the other aspects.
Scarlet - "The Joy Decoys are Coming" (from Cult Classic, 2004)
4.5/5. I f***ing love this kind of metallic mathcore, and this is almost guaranteed to make a cult classic.
Uni/Vs - "Ghost of Me" (from Ghost of Me, 2022)
4/5. The YouTube algorithm has once again worked the great rare way and given me a song close to what I like via an ad! Great guitar and drums, with both the unclean and clean vocals filled with clear emotion. It's not everyday that someone from a slightly remote country like Malaysia (that someone being me) can find great metalcore from different parts of the globe. Heavy fast verses and soft slow sections all around in a f***ing cool balance. This should be worth giving to my brother for another one of our city drives, and he might enjoy it slightly more. You can definitely hear some vibes from August Burns Red, Fit for a King, and definitely Architects here.
Architects - "A New Moral Low Ground" (from A New Moral Low Ground, 2022)
3.5/5. Speaking of Architects, this is a good metalcore anthem from their new alt-/industrial metal album, though not as glorious as songs from their metalcore releases.
Wage War - "Youngblood" (from Blueprints, 2015)
4/5. It's a little weird that I, a metalcore fan, started listening to this band thanks to my alt-metal-loving brother, though of course, it's a different song, not this one. There's nothing bad about this song at all, and it makes sure the band will never be forgotten.
Asking Alexandria - "The Lost Souls" (from The Black, 2016)
4.5/5. This symphonic anthem has perfectly delicate reflections of the band's past.
Issues - "Someone Who Does" (from Headspace, 2016)
5/5. Now here's some poppy alt-metalcore magic right here! This, along with "Coma", are my two favorite songs in that album.
The Word Alive - "Dark Matter" (from Dark Matter, 2016)
5/5. Continuing that poppy metalcore vibe with a darker audio aesthetic. I love it!
Botch - "Hives" (from American Nervoso, 1998)
4.5/5. This is a killer closer to this playlist and a good album of mathcore madness, but I wish it would have a more interesting ending like a piano melody or something after the rest of the instrumentation fades, but that didn't happen. Oh well...
Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite a few slight bumps throughout... Anyway, 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 I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!
Here are my thoughts on some tracks:
Atomship - "Mothra" (from The Crash of '47)
5/5. One of my favorite kinds of alt-metal is when it's mixed with progressive metal, sounding more progressive while staying alternative, and this has suddenly become one of the best examples of that kind for me. Underrated kick-A art! RIP Nathan Slade and Joey Culver...
Carpenter Brut - "Imaginary Fire" (from Leather Terror)
4.5/5. Darksynth master Carpenter Brut gone alt-metal with vocals by The Dillinger Escape Plan's Greg Puciato! Who would've thought, right?! After the brutally beautiful intro, the vocals help animate the jam. The last 40 seconds or so is where the vocals reach their sick killer point.
Cave In - "Wavering Angel" (from Heavy Pendulum)
5/5. This song can catch Gateway listeners off-guard because of the 12-minute length, but as the more progressive fan I am, I'm quite used to that kind of length. The bass is crystal clear and the opening chords are so d*mn good. The song itself is the perfect ending epic for Cave In's recent album, so it's an amazing reward for someone like me who only found this band about 20 years after their highest peak of success. This recording can surpass even Soundgarden for me, and I can consider this song probably my personal alt-metal track of the year. Absolute perfection! Caleb Scofield would be proud. RIP
Katatonia - "Atrium" (from Atrium)
4.5/5. Another band I've only started listening to about 20 years after their highest peak of success, but one that I've taken a break from listening to for a year. A great dark throwback to their late-90s albums.
Poppy - "Fill the Crown" (from I Disagree)
4/5. If you think Poppy would be the kind of alt-metal artist I would be interested in, let me tell you... I DISAGREE. Though this experimental mix of metal and dark pop is unique enough to make her a modern legend.
Chevelle - "Take Out the Gun Man" (from La Gargola)
3.5/5. The mix kicks a**, but it sounds more like TOOL with lyrics sounding a little too obvious. Moving on...
Disturbed - "Hey You" (from Hey You)
4/5. Disturbed is probably one of the first ever bands I've listened to with all their albums qualifying as metal here, as part of the alt-rock/metal league of bands I was listening to 10 years ago that my brother likes. There's f***ing great bad-a** power in the band's first single from their upcoming album Divisive, reminding me of the late-2000s era of this band. It's definitely an original song instead of a cover for a certain Bachman Turner Overdrive song. Thumbs up for that! There's a divisive line in heavier alternative music between the metal of this band and the rock of Shinedown, and I prefer to stay in the former side. But the real division is what this song describes in the lyrics, such as ongoing wars and protests, so wake up and fight the division!
Bloodsimple - "Blood In Blood Out" (from A Cruel World)
4.5/5. This was one of my playlist submissions from a few months back, but I don't mind a repeat of this killer song. Bloodsimple is a band that deserves to continue making these kinds of metal rampages from the crime-filled streets of New York. This is a black hole that only the strongest (like myself) can survive. This album continued the alt-metal twist from Tim Williams' other band Vision of Disorder's alt-metal twist. Might remind some of Dope!
Parkway Drive - "Darker Still" (from Darker Still)
5/5. This centerpiece, surpassing the previous album's "Chronos" as the longest and probably most epic song by the band, is a prime example of reinvention for the band. It's basically filled with pieces of acoustic balladry and whistling, with Winston singing some Nick Cave-like cleans. It's obviously not as heavy as the more metallic tracks, but there's deeper texture glory than before!
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 breaking away from the more melodic genres from The Guardians, I want to ease up a bit on progressive metal, especially bands with a more melodic sound. I'm also currently busier than ever in the outside world on some days, and I need to put more focus on what's happening and not get my brain all whacked out from all the complexity the genre has, which I still like. Don't worry, I'm maintaining my place in The Infinite, but I just need to pace myself if I want my time in the clan for be more bearable for myself. With that said though, I'm still up to doing playlist suggestions and already have some in mind for next month's best of 2022 Infinite playlist. Plus I'm planning to comment on a good amount of songs in the Gateway playlist, so stay tuned for that...
November 2022
01. Atomship - "Mothra" (from The Crash of '47)
02. Carpenter Brut - "Imaginary Fire" (from Leather Terror)
03. Reliqa - "The Ritualist" (from I Don't Know What I Am)
04. Alter Bridge - "Fable of the Silent Son" (from Pawns & Kings)
05. Faith No More - "Malpractice" (from Angel Dust)
06. Cave In - "Wavering Angel" (from Heavy Pendulum)
07. Katatonia - "Atrium" (from Atrium)
08. Poppy - "Fill the Crown" (from I Disagree)
09. Chevelle - "Take Out the Gun Man" (from La Gargola)
10. Disturbed - "Hey You" (from Hey You)
11. Clawfinger - "Hate Yourself with Style" (from Hate Yourself with Style)
12. Exotic Animal Petting Zoo - "You Make Wonderful Pictures" (from Tree of Tongues)
13. From Ashes to New - "Through It All" (from Day One)
14. Yakui the Maid - "Goodnight World" (from Goodnight World)
15. Bloodsimple - "Blood In Blood Out" (from A Cruel World)
16. Parkway Drive - "Darker Still" (from Darker Still)
17. (Hed) P.E. - "Represent" (from Only in Amerika)
18. Wednesday 13 - "Put Your Death Mask On" (from Skeletons)
November 2022
01. Between the Buried and Me - "Extremophile Elite" (from The Parallax II: Future Sequence)
02. Parius - "The Human Molecule" (from The Signal Heard Throughout Space)
03. Psychonaut - "All Your Gods Have Gone" (from All Your Gods Have Gone)
04. Protest the Hero - "All Hands" (from Palimpsest)
05. Teramaze - "For the Thrill" (from Flight of the Wounded)
06. Devin Townsend - "Singularity" (from Empath)
07. Gojira - "Our Time is Now" (from Our Time is Now)
08. Leprous - "White" (from Tall Poppy Syndrome)
09. Pomegranate Tiger - "The Cryptographer" (from The Cryptographer)
10. VOLA - "Future Bird" (from Witness)
11. Vildhjarta - "sunset sunrise" (from Måsstaden Under Vatten)
November 2022
1. Killing Joke - "The Death & Resurrection Show" (from Killing Joke, 2003)
2. Northlane - "Clarity" (from Obsidian, 2022) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
3. Bile - "Remove the Head" (from Built to Fuck, Born to Kill, 2014)
4. Deathstars - "Explode" (from The Perfect Cult, 2014) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
5. Ministry - "Golden Dawn" (from The Land of Rape and Honey, 1988) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
6. Godflesh - "Head Dirt" (from Streetcleaner, 1989) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
7. Samael - "Telepath" (from Telepath, 2004)
8. Strapping Young Lad - "Shitstorm" (from Alien, 2005)
9. Wayne Static - "Assassins of Youth" (from PIGHAMMER, 2011)
10. Crossbreed - "Nothing" (from KE 101, 2009)
11. Pitchshifter - "Microwaved" (from www.pitchshifter.com, 1998)
12. Pigface - "Bitch" (from Easy Listening, 2003)
13. Apartment 26 - "Backwards" (from Hallucinating, 2000)
14. Gravity Kills - "Goodbye" (from Gravity Kills, 1996)
15. KMFDM - "Disobedience" (from Nihil, 1995)
16. Celldweller - "Into the Void" (from Into the Void, 2019)
17. Circle of Dust - "Outside In" (from Machines of Our Disgrace, 2016)
18. Dead World - "180" (4:06) (from The Machine, 1993)
19. Nine Inch Nails - "Reptile" (from The Downward Spiral, 1994) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
20. Dagoba - "4.2 Destroy" (from Dagoba, 2003)
21. Kong - "2.14" (from Mute Poet Vocalizer, 1990)
22. Unzucht - "Nein" (from Jenseits der Welt, 2020)
23. b.o.s.c.h. - "Mehr" (from Einsam, 2010)
24. Stoneman - "Mord ist Kunst" (from Goldmarie, 2014)
25. Trust Obey - "Hands of Glory" (from Hands of Ash, 1996)
26. Rob Zombie - "Crow Killer Blues" (from The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, 2021)
November 2022
1. Underoath - "Heart of Stone" (from Act of Depression, 1999)
2. Code Orange - "Forever" (from Forever, 2017) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
3. Silent Planet - "The New Eternity" (from When the End Began, 2018) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
4. After the Burial - "In Flux" (from Evergreen, 2019)
5. Clear - "Falling Into Ashes" (from Deeper Than Blood, 1999) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
6. One Second Thought - "Step Back" (from Self Inflicted, 1999)
7. Lorna Shore - "Death Portrait" (from Immortal, 2020)
8. Caliban - "Partisan" (from The Split Program, 2000)
9. The Human Abstract - "Crossing the Rubicon" (from Nocturne, 2006) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
10. From Autumn to Ashes - "Short for Show" (from Abandon Your Friends, 2005) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
11. Trivium - "The Defiant" (from What the Dead Men Say, 2020) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
12. Coalesce - "Have Patience" (from Give Them Rope, 1997)
13. The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "The Electric Boogaloo" (from Danza II: Electric Boogaloo, 2007) [submitted by Shadowdoom9 (Andi)]
14. Candiria - "Year One" (from Beyond Reasonable Doubt, 1997)
15. The Showdown - "Dagon Undone (The Reckoning)" (from A Chorus of Obliteration, 2004)
16. Demon Hunter - "Sixteen" (from Storm the Gates of Hell, 2007)
17. Integrity - "Evacuate" (from Den of Iniquity, 1994)
18. Strife - "Calm the Fire" (from One Truth, 1994)
19. All That Remains - "What If I Was Nothing" (from A War You Cannot Win, 2012)
20. Starkweather - "Tumult" (from Crossbearer, 1992)
21. Deformity - "Misanthrope" (from Murder Within Sin, 1999)
22. Scarlet - "The Joy Decoys are Coming" (from Cult Classic, 2004)
23. Uni/Vs - "Ghost of Me" (from Ghost of Me, 2022)
24. Architects - "A New Moral Low Ground" (from A New Moral Low Ground, 2022)
25. Wage War - "Youngblood" (from Blueprints, 2015)
26. Asking Alexandria - "The Lost Souls" (from The Black, 2016)
27. Issues - "Someone Who Does" (from Headspace, 2016)
28. The Word Alive - "Dark Matter" (from Dark Matter, 2016)
29. Botch - "Hives" (from American Nervoso, 1998)
Here's my review summary:
A couple months ago, I had a not-so-ordinary family car ride, with the driver, my usually alt-rock/metal-loving brother, blasting this EP (among other songs) along the way, and holy mother, this was one of the most epic and brutal at the same time EPs I've heard recently! I recognized one of the songs and remembered where it's from, so I knew I had to find the right time to listen to it at home. I was prepared for a full listen to this EP by myself, and let me just say, this is THE deathcore EP of 2021, and facing it head-on is demanded if you haven't given a listen in the year since release! You know how much the sh*t is real from the start. Lorna Shore has let go of two vocalists, one for another band Chelsea Grin, and the other due to abuse allegations. Enter Will Ramos, a young yet monstrous vocalist whom his first song with the band has become their entryway to popularity. Here we have three 6-minute pieces of symphonic black/technical deathcore epicness filled with berserk vocals, shredding guitar, machine-gun drumming, grand orchestra, and don't forget... breakdowns, brutal pulverizing breakdowns. I can't believe how incredible this is! If you're a deathcore fan enjoying this as much as me and my brother, you definitely need it. If you're like my indifferent-to-extremeness parents, you're better off elsewhere. This deathcore gem has made history for a epic brutal future!
5/5
Recommended tracks: ALL 3 tracks, though I would especially recommend the title track
For fans of: Shadow of Intent, Brand of Sacrifice, Chelsea Grin
Here's my review summary:
The oceans are vast, deep, powerful, making up 70% of the entire planet Earth, has wrapped around the land, and are a whole different world within our world. Soothing calm seas can make an explosive transformation from the unexplored depths. An entirely fitting metaphor for this German collective, The Ocean! This band, founded in 2000 by guitarist Robin Staps, has created an Ocean of unique genuine metal soundscapes. A good reason to call them a collective is, throughout their career, there has been various members of the band heading in and out of the lineup to help with their post-progressive metal talent and ingenuity. It's a beautiful deep Ocean of passion and creative ability. Soon the band remained a 5-member group led by Staps. The Ocean's deep sound has been re-emerged with Pelagial! This album is a prime example of The Ocean's musically capable emotional depths. Apparently, Pelagial was originally meant to be an instrumental album because singer Loic Rossetti was on hiatus due to vocal health problems. Well there were guest vocals from Tomas Hallbom in a couple songs. Then when Rossetti fully recovered and returned to the band, they decided to record his vocals, turning Pelagial into a full album. The instrumental version is available as a bonus disc in some versions, but in an alternate mix. The end result is an amazing well-executed progressive design. As the record plays, it's as if you're brought back to the surface for a little then dragged back down to the deep descending realms. Each song segues to one another with no breaks to create a big overall album atmosphere, but that does NOT mean it's one long song because of the subtle gentle transitions. It is an 11-track album that is played as 7 songs with 3 of the longer songs split into two or three tracks. These songs are powerful enough for their own definition, thanks to the well-envisioned production. The intensity matches the depths of the ocean, starting meditative and smooth, before getting heavier song after song until you finally reach the dark crushing bottom. The Ocean has performed a fully embodied masterpiece that is Pelagial. The band shall continue their pathway of progressive perfection in amazing grace. Pelagial is the pinnacle for The Ocean and one of the strongest metal masterpieces ever made. However, there are more underwater depths to discover, and despite the need to breathe, this band shall just keep swimming and exploring!
5/5
Recommended tracks: "Mesopelagic: The Uncanny", "Bathyalpelagic I: Impasses", "Abyssopelagic II: Signals of Anxiety", "Hadopelagic II: Let Them Believe", "Demersal: Cognitive Dissonance"
For fans of: Gojira, Mastodon, Neurosis
Purgatory Afterglow is known as the album where Edge of Sanity have solidified their melodeath sound before the progressive 40-minute epic that is their next album Crimson. I haven't listened to this band and album since my hiatus from death metal that started a year and a half ago, but now that I'm already rebuilding a bit of my death metal interest starting with a few progressive tech-death bands, maybe I can someday make my return trip to melodeath and give good Horde releases like this one another chance...
Try it on a computer if you use one.
My latest YouTube video has an important description that explains my departure from symphonic/power metal, and then some. Please check it out:
My grand move out of symphonic/power metal commences later today. Farewell to those genres...
Thrash fans, get ready for the return of a band we haven't heard new material from for over a decade and a half, coming sometime next month: https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/sadus_to_release_video_for_first_song_in_16_years_in_november.html
Congrats, Vinny, and have a good honeymoon!
OK, thanks Daniel.
Probably the absolute worst of those Dawn of Ashes remixes, far more suitable for the dance-floor than an extreme metal moshpit:
The only remix I like from that Dawn of Ashes EP, for those curious to hear what Psyclon Nine with Therion symphonics would sound like:
A wicked piece of industrial-infused symphonic black metal for those looking for a mix of Dimmu Borgir, Agathodaimon, and Fear Factory:
I should've saved my 2022 submissions for December, but I think they're already in the November playlist that has been submitted, so it's too late to change that. I'm up for this challenge in the Gateway and Infinite playlists, and I got some good 2022 track suggestions coming soon...
Yesterday I've given Watchtower's Energetic Disassembly a listen and a review, and even though I've referred to that album as progressive/technical thrash, I've just realized that it might be closer to speed metal than I thought because of that 5th option:
5. Fast metal that utilizes predominantly thrash metal techniques only the riffs are kept a lot simpler in order to act as an accompaniment for the vocal hooks rather than to act as a rhythmic protagonist. Stronger focus on song-writing & often offers a bit more melody than thrash. This is the brand that European power metal borrows from the most.
The only main differences are, at times when the riffs don't accompany the vocal hooks, they add in the technical complexity that would ignite the spark of influence for tech-thrash and even tech-death, and it's more borrowable for progressive metal bands than power metal. Now that I've thought about it more clearly, my initial description for the album's sound is quite off. It's more of a technical mix of progressive metal and speed metal, with elements of the technical thrash genre that wouldn't take full form until at least Coroner's R.I.P. Judgement submission coming soon!
Continuing my earlier speed metal clan comparison:
The Guardians - 4
The Pit - 2
Seems like The Guardians still has a higher edge than The Pit for me on where speed metal should go, but I'll let the other members share their thoughts on this.
Also, I've noticed something in one of your earlier posts in this thread, Daniel. You don't think of neoclassical metal as a legit genre. That's not really an opinion I can agree to. Neoclassical metal is basically a very technical and classical-based metal genre, with the classical-influenced compositions played in guitar instead of orchestra, and that's different enough to be its own genre. I used to listen to Symphony X, and that band is a quintessential example of that genre mixed with progressive metal. If neoclassical metal isn't a genre, what would you consider artists like Yngwie Malmsteen then? I think that's another issue that would have to be sorted out, though sometime next month or so. A good rest is what you need after your speed metal deep dive. Slow down the speed!
Part of an energetic mind-blowing beginning for thrashy technical progressive metal:
OK, thanks Daniel!
Remember one of my favorite songs by metalcore band Architects:
Although it was originally a swan-song for the band's late guitarist Tom Searle who passed away a few months after the release of its album All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us (RIP Tom), one of the sampled quotes from Alan Watts actually form a metaphor for my taste changing, and no matter how much some of you wanted me to revisit the symphonic/power metal of my past, I'm already floating in the stream of my current clans (Gateway, Infinite, Revolution, Sphere), and I can't keep fighting and resisting it to go back to a past I'm drifting farther away. I feel it's more natural for my taste to let the modern heaviness of my clans take form, especially metalcore and industrial metal, which I'm making playlists for, to continue letting myself and other curious fans of those genres explore and discover.
"Change, and everything is change, nothing can be held onto. To the degree that you go with a stream, you see, you are still. You are floating with it. But to the degree that you resist the stream. Then you notice that the current is rushing past you and fighting you. So swim with it. Go with it. And you're there. You're at rest." - Alan Watts (1915-1973)
Farewell soon, symphonic/power metal...
Some more fantastic bands I've discovered and listened through, thanks to the songs included in the playlists that I've assembled, along with separate discoveries, from the futuristic industrial/groove metal of Mnemic:
To the goth-influenced industrial metal of Gothminister:
Along with the dark blackened industrial rock/metal of Psyclon Nine:
And finally, Klayton's pre-Celldweller project Circle of Dust:
Some more fantastic bands I've discovered and listened through, thanks to the songs included in the playlists that I've assembled. In terms of my Metalcore Pyramid Guide (https://metal.academy/forum/14/thread/1219), here are those bands, from the MELODIC pop-influenced alt-metalcore of Issues:
To the STYLISTIC djenty metalcore of Architects:
Along with the STANDARD-influenced metalcore/hardcore of Beartooth:
And finally the epic blackened deathcore of Lorna Shore: