Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies
This band mixes alternative/nu metal with bits of electro-industrial in a way that I think would surely surpass Slipknot and Static-X by many miles:
Coldrain are back, and they are back strong with this perfect anthem:
Thanks, Daniel!
A Texas thrash metal anthem from my youth.
Interesting choice, Daniel. To me, it sounds fun yet forgettable, but what can I say? I'm not too fully immersed in this earlier groove/thrash, and my metal youth was much more recent. With that said though, this shred-tastic thrasher has made up for the album's mistakes:
Thanks, Daniel! I’d also like the Atheist and Trivium albums I’ve submitted last month sent to the Hall when possible please:
Ben, please add these new albums:
Betraying the Martyrs - Silver Lining (EP)
Bleeding Through - Rage (EP)
Coldrain - Nonnegative
Thinking a lot about that Pestilence album, aren't we?
Shoegazy, djenty alternative metal from Melbourne, Australia. Aussie Aussie Aussie.... Oi Oi Oi....
Cinematic alt-metal that can easily fit in a Hollywood film soundtrack!
I did my review, here's its summary:
I've noticed what an easily different journey Thornhill has taken in this album. They've boarded a new concept in the style and lyrics, heading into alt-metal territory in a similar yet less industrial manner to Northlane. I've enjoyed the majority of Heroine without letting my expectations run wild. Many of the songs here have a more cinematic take on alt-metal, sometimes mixed with bits of djent and metalcore, and in a few songs, combined with 90s grungy nostalgia, all in inspiring poetry and sound! It would be boring for the band to stay with their original sound whether or not that's what fans want, so don't dismiss something that's different. Just listen and learn!
4.5/5.
Classy Dutch progressive death metal from 1993.
What a prog-death trip this is, boldly expanding beyond death metal's boundaries where the genre had never gone before!
I did my review, here's its summary:
Dutch band Pestilence made a brilliant evolving revolution in the European death metal scene in the late 80s and early 90s. First they were thrash, then death, then tech-death... Then came top-notch original progressive death metal in Spheres, making the many elements that were in their first 3 albums possible! Patrick Maneli and co. bring their music to more imaginative realms beyond comprehension, despite disapproval from heavier fans and the band doubting their future, leading to their 15-year split. I really mean it when I say that I just found what might be my favorite Pestilence album and a true motivation to get me listening to this band full-time. Sure the music disappointed earlier extreme fans who prefer Testimony of the Ancients or earlier. While that album is great too, Spheres has a better understanding in attracting attention with its unique sound, and it would make open-minded listeners want more. It was a risky yet intriguing move for the band. Whether the consequences were good or bad for them, they've never lost their stylistic essence. Spheres is quite a spacy through dynamic thrash-ish prog-death, plus a few ambient interludes, and was the band's last attempt at changing their style into something phenomenal before their long hiatus. The album has placed this band in the tech-death league along with Cynic and Atheist, thanks to their combination of space and extreme. A unique masterpiece before their disappearance from activity!
5/5
Djent-ish industrial/alternative metal, from NSW, Australia:
THE FALLEN: Type O Negative - "World Coming Down" (1999) 4.5/5 (as I recall from the rating I had until last year)
THE GATEWAY: Thornhill - "Heroine" (2022) 4.5/5
THE HORDE: Pestilence - "Spheres" (1993) 5/5
THE INFINITE: Plini - "Homemade Cities" (2016) 5/5
THE REVOLUTION: Every Time I Die - "Radical" (2021) 5/5
My greatest discovery for this month Pestilence's Spheres, my own submission Every Time I Die's Radical, and one of Saxy's submissions Plini's Handmade Cities, all each receive a perfect 5 stars. I also commented on Daniel's Fallen feature release submission that I haven't listened to in over a year, Type O Negative's World Coming Down, that and Saxy's other submission Thornhill's Heroine are great enough for 4.5 stars. Glad to see some positive reaction for all those releases! It's been an awesome month. Though I'll skip out on The Sphere feature release because I've had enough of video game soundtracks disguising themselves as metal when they're aren't. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...
Here are my overall ratings for the playlists I've reviewed this month (July):
1. Gateway playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 21)
2. Guardians playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 5)
3. Infinite playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 17)
4. Revolution playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 30)
4. Sphere playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 24)
So far, I've only commented on 5 tracks in the Guardians playlist, but for my own clans I've listened to the entire playlists! I'm grateful to Saxy, Xephyr, and Daniel for their playlist works. I really dig the Gateway and Infinite playlists made by Saxy and the Revolution and Sphere playlists made by me. I would 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!
I have some suggestions for the August playlist...
Helloween - The Sage, The Fool, The Sinner
Manticora - 1944. Playing God
Mercyful Fate - Burn In Hell
Morpheus, I just found out that your Helloween track submission is not available on Spotify. If you're up to replacing that one with one or a few more submissions (as long as the total length of your submissions is under 30 minutes), please feel free to do so. I'm glad you're contributing more to this recently nearly-deserted clan, Morpheus. The Guardians need you!
An early wicked combo of groove-ish hardcore/metalcore and Deicide-like death metal:
Ben, please add Nineironspitfire. Their EP Seventh Soul Sacrificed is an early example of mathcore, was released as a CD, and can be found on Spotify.
Here are my sneak peek submissions for the August Sphere playlist (now at 3 of them):
Godflesh - "Gift from Heaven (Heavenly)" (10:11) from Love and Hate in Dub (1997)
Samael - "Jupiterian Vibe" (3:23) from Passage (1996)
Strapping Young Lad - "Wrong Side" (3:35) from The New Black (2006)
Total length: 17:09
Here are my sneak peek submissions for the August Revolution playlist:
Asking Alexandria - "Not the American Average" (4:39) from Stand Up and Scream (2009)
Born of Osiris - "Rosecrance" (2:11) from The New Reign (2007)
Converge - "Eagles Become Vultures" (2:10) from You Fail Me (2004)
Earth Crisis - "Firestorm/Forged in the Flames" (6:38) from Firestorm (1993)
Every Time I Die - "We Go Together" (5:02) from Radical (2021)
God Forbid - "Chains of Humanity" (4:03) from IV: Constitution of Treason (2005)
Underoath - "The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed" (3:09) from Lost in the Sound of Separation (2008)
Total length: 27:52
Here are my submissions for the August Infinite playlist:
Between the Buried and Me - "Specular Reflection" (11:21) from The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues (2011)
Dream Theater - "Hell's Kitchen" (4:16) from Falling Into Infinity (1997)
Leprous - "Restless" (3:30) from Bilateral (2011)
Seventh Wonder - "Victorious" (4:55) from Tiara (2018)
Veil of Maya - "Doublespeak" (4:12) from False Idol (2017)
Total length: 28:14
Here are my submissions for the August Gateway playlist:
36 Crazyfists - "Where Revenge Ends" (2:29) from Lanterns (2017)
Dir En Grey - "Beautiful Dirt" (2:33) from Withering to Death (2005)
Evanescence - "Sweet Sacrifice" (3:05) from The Open Door (2006)
Five Finger Death Punch - "Got Your Six" (2:58) from Got Your Six (2015)
Katatonia - "Buildings" (3:28) from Dead End Kings (2012)
Memphis May Fire - "Misery" (3:12) from Remade in Misery (2022)
Motionless in White - "Scoring the End of the World" (3:48) from Scoring the End of the World (2022)
Nekrogoblikon - "Bones" (4:11) from The Fundamental Slimes and Humours (2022)
While She Sleeps - "Call of the Void" (4:11) from Sleeps Society (2021)
Total length: 29:51
Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:
Godflesh - "Perfect Skin" from Slavestate (1991)
5/5. Ah, the perfect start to this Sphere playlist, continuing the never-ending chain of Sphere playlists containing a Godflesh song. It's amazing how talented Justin Broadrick has been since those days when he was younger than I am currently. All hail the f***ing beautiful sounds of Godflesh!
SPF1000 - "Horror Show" from Witch Hunt (2003)
4.5/5. This would be great for a horror movie franchise like Return of the Living Dead or that Cartoon Network series The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. A nice cool horror-themed industrial metal tune!
Treponem Pal - "Silico's Return" from Rockers' Vibes (2017)
3.5/5. Welcome back, Silico! Though I might not return to this one.
Vanity Beach - "Garden of Cruelty" from Garden of Cruelty (2007)
4/5. I like this one, sounding like a more industrial HIM.
Society 1 - "Nothing" from Exit Through Fear (2003)
4.5/5. Another slightly old song that shows this band's killer talent still on after all these years. There's a bit of a nu metal vibe that could get this band into Guitar Hero. That along with the Marilyn Manson-like instrumentation and aesthetics.
Deathstars - "Blitzkrieg" from Termination Bliss (2006)
5/5. This is blazing epic techno-metal fire complete with an awesome mix of voice samples, guitar distortion, and driving rhythm. Excellent single and probably the best in its original album and this playlist!
Lard - "Forkboy" from The Last Temptation of Reid (1990)
4.5/5. Lard is a side-project by ex-Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra and a few Ministry members, most notably Al Jourgensen. They're currently on hiatus, but they might continue the collaboration with a new album in the future. This is a fun riot-starting song to love. Thrash fans might recognize the Flotsam and Jetsam cover. There's a feeling of death and betrayal here, all in a fun listen.
Circus of Dead Squirrels - "16-Bit Piece of Shit" from Scary Melodies (2022)
4/5. Also a fun track, but I have other ways to revisit the 90s then just the lyrics...
Ap2 - "My Sympathies" from Suspension of Disbelief (2000)
5/5. Another awesome side-project of Celldweller's Klayton! Adding some nice touches in the vocal department is Mark Salomon of Stavesacre and The Crucified. Klayton has worked on many different projects, some of which are Christian. This one's much more soothing than the Circle of Dust track from my previous playlist. The vocals sound almost like Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor. There's actually a little more of techno/trance/drum n bass influences here, but it's still metal enough for my enjoyment!
Spectrum-X - "Gnomes Bones" from Darkest Night Ever (2008)
4.5/5. This song is different and catchy. I love the vocals and lyrics here that are weird yet good. This might be great for some RuneScape gnome-slaying! The chorus is quite funny to hear, "the gnomes are coming, they want to steal your pony, they'll take your heart and tear it all apart". As amazing as their doll-like aesthetics!
Punish Yourself - "Spin the Pig" from Spin the Pig (2017)
3.5/5. I enjoy a lot of the music scenes from the Western side of the world (American, French, and German), and this track has a slightly similar sound to Treponem Pal. I might not give this a lot of spins though.
Excessive Force - "Blitzkrieg (Sturzkampf)" from Gentle Death (1993)
4/5. Excessive Force was a short-lived side-project to KMFDM, with some sick kicks and licks from former KMFDM guitarist Günter Schulz and great industrial power from the rest of the crew. "Leather-clad warrior!"
Skrew - "Dark Ride" from Shadow of Doubt (1996)
3.5/5. A little too deep in darkness there. Next!
Strapping Young Lad - "Detox" from City (1997)
4/5. The heavier metalheads wanting to try some industrial might like this track from Devin Townsend's former project Strapping Young Lad. You just want to scream along to those lyrics. "Hey! Devo!"
Samael - "The Cross" from Eternal (1999)
4.5/5. People seem to mistake this song as a Christian hymn, even though the band was going for the opposite. A good reason for me to leave behind all of black metal earlier this year. Will I someday return?...
Thorns - "Underneath The Universe 1" from Thorns (2001)
5/5. Perhaps I might! The spooky atmosphere fits well for this mostly ambient industrial piece, which serves as a contrast to the black metal of Part 2 and the rest of this album. Thanks for this, Daniel!
Dawn of Ashes - "Hexcraft" from The Crypt Injection II (Non Serviam) (2019)
4.5/5. I give this song a good amount of points for the epic orchestral intro, then subtract some for the anti-climatic switch into what's basically metalized industrial techno. It's still very great though!
Unit:187 - "Threatened" from Out for Blood (2010)
4/5. I like this one, loading up some great industrial metal fury, though probably closer to the style of Front Line Assembly.
Turmion Kätilöt - "Faster Than God" from Universal Satan (2018)
3.5/5. Some really hard work they've made in this track, though running a little too wild.
Minority Sound - "Cyberkitty" from Analysis (2010)
3/5. Kinda overdosing on the cyber elements here, but fine.
Tanzwut - "Meer" from Ihr wolltet Spass (2003)
3.5/5. An interesting timeless mix of Neue Deutsche Härte and medieval folk. A pretty cool song to impress the industrial metal diehards, whom I would be happy to recommend this song to. These guys have worked things out quite well. Unfortunately, I still have trouble getting used to the whole Neue Deutsche Härte business. However, it's still a good song to like and that thought counts.
Metallspürhunde - "Alarm" from Moloch (2011)
3/5. I like this song where all the instrumentation and vocals fit like a glove, though I still struggle with the subgenre.
Neurotech - "Solace" from Solace (2021)
3.5/5. The title track of one of Neurotech's albums, I enjoy slightly better than the other subgenre tracks here. It's a good 8-minute cyber metal epic that listeners would have on repeat. It's almost close to uplifting rock trance! The starting guitar and bass is insanely cool! Some parts might be anti-climatic, but once it builds into the crescendo at over the 5-minute mark, the climax is filled with aggressive divinity. Some cyber metal listeners might be reminded of SyBreed. I think the remaining essential sci-fi industrial metal band I still haven't gotten a grasp on yet is Fear Factory, and perhaps I can when the next playlist assembly is in command.
Code Orange - "Underneath" from Underneath (2020)
4/5. This sounds almost as poppy as Nine Inch Nails. Still it's quite a satisfying ending to this futuristic industrial metal adventure.
Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite a few slight bumps in the second half... 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!
For this month's playlist, I decided to shine more of the spotlight on tracks from the 90s and early 2000s, since my earlier playlists barely have any songs from those eras like one or two per playlist. Part of the inspiration for that motive came from my rediscovery of bands from all different metalcore subgenres (except melodic metalcore when that subgenre wasn't a primary genre at that time), and I would sometimes feel up to adding more to my journey. I like the way this all turned out, so I might continue this for another playlist or so. Of course, I would have to control myself so I don't run out of options from those eras too fast. So here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:
Eighteen Visions - "1996" from 1996 (2021)
5/5. If we're going travel back to 1996 and its surrounding years, might as well start with a recent song about that year. This is heavy old-school-sounding metalcore that would have you party like it's that year!
Ice Nine Kills - "Funeral Derangements" from The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood (2021)
4.5/5. This is a heavy fast one based on Pet Sematary, in fact basing the music and lyrics on the score and sounds of the movie, the latter coming from a truck horn and a laughing child.
Coalesce - "Simulcast" from 002 (1996)
4/5. This is the only incredible song in that false start of an EP, with some changes into an occasional sludgy sound that would hint at the band's incoming technical experimentation and emotion.
Kublai Khan - "The Truest Love" from Absolute (2019)
3.5/5. Kublai Khan is one of the few bands still around to stay heavy instead of going soft. In fact, the only other band that has probably done the same is Knocked Loose. "FEET TO THE F***ING EARTH!"
Static Dress - "Fleahouse" from Rouge Carpet Disaster (2022)
4/5. This is a melodic starter for its album, bouncing through a noisy mix of singing choruses and harsh verses. It's the perfect setup for what to expect in the album. Things would keep expanding as it all goes on, as the crew stabilize the foundation.
Embodyment - "Religious Infamy" from Embrace the Eternal (1998)
4.5/5. Recorded from an earlier demo is this killer track with brutal growls from Bruce Fitzhugh of Living Sacrifice.
Reprisal - "The Shadow of Mankind" from Boundless Human Stupidity (2000)
3/5. This is the only song that really slightly stands out in this album, reminding me of Underoath at that time.
Caliban - "A Small Boy and a Grey Heaven" from A Small Boy and a Grey Heaven (1999)
3.5/5. This track has the hardcore bass crunch going on that's actually audible, though low and ominous. That's how early metalcore shall roll around here!
Threat Signal - "As I Destruct" from Under Reprisal (2006)
4/5. I loved Threat Signal quite a lot when I was still listening to melodeath mixed with metalcore. The riffs, solos, and drums can be violent in contrast to the melodic singing in the chorus and the awesome solo, probably the best in this playlist that, at this point, has so far gone down to 1996. It's so f***ing good and heavy! I can hear what caused ERRA to be. I would consider the track cyber-ish heavy metalcore.
Bullet for My Valentine - "You Want a Battle? (Here's a War)" from Venom (2015)
4.5/5. This stadium-ready gang-singing anthem really shows the band's higher strengths, having some potential as a theme for a WWE wrestling montage.
Strife - "Question Mark" from One Truth (1994)
4/5. This is the most f***ing metal track in this album, especially that shriek towards the end.
Attack Attack! - "What Happens If I Can't Check My Myspace When We Get There?" from Someday Came Suddenly (2008)
4.5/5. Honestly, this sounds like a mix of metalcore-era Avenged Sevenfold, Black Veil Brides, and Asking Alexandria, plus a bit of Underoath. This is a killer mix of metal and electronics, why exactly do people treat it like sh*t?!
Electric Callboy - "Spaceman" from Spaceman (2022)
4/5. OK, there might be a good amount of metalheads who might hate this, probably hate it far more than Elton John. Sure the instrumentation, vocals, and lyrics might sound ridiculous, but it's still quite fun, and my brother likes it, which is why I submitted this. "The universe is down for my rave attack!"
Integrity - "Jimson Isolation" from Den of Iniquity (1994)
4.5/5. This demo is a sneak peek to their next album System Overload, and has a nice Danzig/Sabbath influence in the pace.
Deadguy - "Die With Your Mask On" from Fixation on a Coworker (1995)
5/5. This mid-paced cruiser keeps up the standard-tuned riff wrath as you hear a ranting frenzy in the vocals ("so quick to deny and patronize"). That's a much better way to start mathcore than the overly experimental Candiria!
Car Bomb - "Vague Skies" from Meta (2019)
4.5/5. An unforgiving sonic crusher.
Damaged - "The Mirror Perils" from Token Remedies Research (1997)
4.5/5. This track is the best of its original album! It turns things around from the sh*tty first half of that album by mixing their deathgrind/deathcore sound with more extreme yet melodic influence than just nu metal.
Rorschach - "Pavlov's Dogs" from Remain Sedate (1990)
5/5. There's not much justice done if I describe in words a song from the very first metalcore album, but this one blasts out into metalcore fury right from its very creation. And those interrogators in Zero Dark Thirty though this music would be torture...
The Artificials - "Lone" from Parables of the Human Spirit (2019)
4.5/5. This is quite f***ing insane! It sounds so emotional, especially the female vocals and that scream over the one-minute mark. The last half-minute is so otherworldly, taking me to another dimension!
Oceans Ate Alaska - "Hansha" from Hikari (2017)
5/5. A different morph between metalcore and ambience. I love it!
Make Them Suffer - "Vortex (Interdimensional Spiral Hindering Inexplicable Euphoria)" from Worlds Apart (2017)
4.5/5. If you pay close attention to this track, the part where vocalist Sean Harmanis screams "A-A A-A-A A-A-A-A A-A A", that's actually Morse code for the subtitle's acronym "ISHIE". Cool, right?!
Betraying the Martyrs - "Black Hole" from Black Hole (2021)
5/5. Sensational new single from BTM! Gotta get the Silver Lining EP as soon as I can...
In Hearts Wake - "Timebomb" from Kaliyuga (2020)
5/5. Alongside the awesome breakdown, this song has a devastating mix of Parkway Drive verses and and Linkin Park choruses. I'm so thankful to find one of the best songs I've heard in this playlist! This amazing fiery banger is what I need to take my mind off the ongoing virus. I can definitely hear a bit of a Crystal Lake vibe in the vocals. The melodic guitars are quite fun as h*ll.
Memphis May Fire - "Sever the Ties" from This Light I Hold (2016)
4.5/5. Another insanely good track! Matty Mullins continues leveling up his vocal intensity.
Parkway Drive - "A Deathless Song" from Ire (2015)
4/5. This is a killer 6-minute finale to its original album, opening with an uplifting acoustic intro before the melody transcends into heavy overdrive. The lyrics are as epic as the song while having a few hilariously cheesy lines like "Let me be your drum of war and love." I still like it! The deluxe edition has a shortened version of the song with guest vocals by Jenna McDougall of Tonight Alive, along with a couple other bonus tracks. My brother likes that shortened version, and so do I. However, I just prefer the original epic, since it seems more Revolution-worthy.
Trivium - "Declaration" from Ascendancy (2005)
5/5. The epic of the pinnacle album of Trivium's career is the album’s 7-minute final track. Intense harmonies, lightning-fast beats and solid grooves mingle together to form a driving wall of sound, basically everything metal fans can surely enjoy. The vocals range from deep growls to higher clean vocals that will strike through the heart of any metal listener.
We Came as Romans - "I Knew You Were Trouble" from Punk Goes Pop, Vol. 6 (2014)
4.5/5. An odd song to choose here, but I still quite love this Taylor Swift cover and this band, We Came as Romans. It's an awesome motivator for when I something going on later today (as of this comment). In fact, much better than Taylor Swift's original song! Kyle Pavone really nailed the vocals here. RIP
Arkangel - "Killing to Keep the World Turning" from Arkangel is Your Enemy (2008)
4/5. Well, time for a few brutal songs to close this playlist. This one's quite killer.
Deformity - "177252: God Defined" from Misanthrope (1997)
3.5/5. working the best and most memorable in its original EP is this 4-minute riff-monster, actually adopting fast breakdowns and catchy vocal sections, despite lyrics of Alien-like extraterrestrial murder.
Unbroken - "Curtain" from Life. Love. Regret (1994)
4/5. This playlist ends with a 9-minute epic to shape up top-notch progressive hardcore/metalcore for a different metal future. Everything is wrapped up with long feedback outro to pleasantly end the short yet wholesome journey this band has made. I know the more hardcore fans would certainly look forward to give this playlist and the song's original album a spin again.
This playlist really worked well with this "early throwback" motive, despite a few slight bumps in the beginning, and I look forward to continuing that idea wisely. I sure would recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but wants to get into a great start in enjoying the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!
Here's my top 10:
1. Bullet for My Valentine - The Poison (2005)
2. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity (1999)
3. Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I (2012)
4. Leprous - Tall Poppy Syndrome (2009) (not including Aeolia though that demo's great too)
5. Make Them Suffer - Neverbloom (2012)
6. Prayer for Cleansing - The Rain in Endless Fall (1999) (don't know if it counts if it's a band's only album)
7. Disillusion - Back to Times of Splendor (2004)
8. Sadus - Illusions (1988)
9. Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine - Biomech (1997) (not including his one-album project Punky Bruster)
10. Wage War - Blueprints (2015)
July 2022
01. Cynic - "Mythical Serpents" (from Ascension Codes)
02. Evergrey - "The Orphean Testament" (from A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament))
03. Charlie Griffiths - "Luminous Beings" (from Luminous Beings)
04. Dream Theater - "The Shattered Fortress" (from Black Clouds & Silver Linings)
05. The Contortionist - "Early Grave" (from Our Bones)
06. Between the Buried and Me - "Prequel to the Sequel" (from Colors)
07. Kardashev - "Cellar of Ghosts" (from Liminal Rite)
08. Diablo Swing Orchestra - "Exit Strategy of a Wrecking Ball" (from Pandora's Pinata)
09. Isis - "Garden of Light" (from In the Absence of Truth)
10. Gojira - "Magma" (from Magma)
11. Vanden Plas - "Godmaker - Live" (from Godmaker (Live))
12. Dir En Grey - "Schadenfreude" (from Phalaris)
13. Mastodon - "Fallen Torches" (from Medium Rarities)
14. Symphony X - "Seven" (from Paradise Lost)
15. Polyphia - "Playing God" (from Playing God)
16. The Ocean - "The Grand Inquisitor I: Karamazov Baseness" (from Anthropocentric)
17. Novena - "Ghosts" (from Ghosts)
July 2022
01. Katatonia - "Soil's Song" (from The Great Cold Distance)
02. Avatar - "Bloody Angel" (from Hail the Apocalypse)
03. Spiritbox - "Rotoscope" (from Rotoscope)
04. New Years Day - "Crawling" (from Diary of a Creep)
05. Treyarch Sound - "115" (from Call of Duty: Black Ops - Zombies Soundtrack)
06. Sleep Token - "Hypnosis" (from This Place Will Become Your Tomb)
07. Bloodsimple - "Blood In Blood Out" (from A Cruel World)
08. Twelve Foot Ninja - "Portrait #1" (from New Dawn)
09. Time, the Valuator - "Black Water" (from Black Water)
10. System of a Down - "Lost in Hollywood" (from Mezmerize)
11. Disturbed - "Intoxication" (from Believe)
12. Alpha Wolf - "Akudama" (from A Quiet Place to Die)
13. Egypt Central - "White Rabbit" (from White Rabbit)
14. Embodyment - "Pendulum" (from The Narrow Scope of Things)
15. P.O.D. - "Lost in Forever" (from Murdered Love)
16. A Pale Horse Named Death - "As Black as My Heart" (from And Hell Will Follow Me)
17. Evanescence - "Everybody's Fool" (from Fallen)
18. Yakui the Maid - "Flock" (from Flock)
19. Cold - "Suffocate" (from Year of the Spider)
20. Nekrogoblikon - "This Is It" (from The Fundamental Slimes and Humours)
21. Blindside - "Superman" (from Blindside)
Saxy, let me just say, you have done such as incredible job assembling this month's Gateway and Infinite playlists! This tracklisting has encouraged me to go through the entire playlist and find excellent tracks from bands I already listen to along with different bands in which some of them I feel up to trying some more songs from them. Well done, please keep it up! So let's get my track thought journey started:
Cynic - "Mythical Serpents" (from Ascension Codes)
4.5/5. A great opening highlight to show each member's skill! This is actually also in the January playlist, but never mind. Moving on...
Evergrey - "The Orphean Testament" (from A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament))
4/5. Evergrey strikes again with a good heavy tune from their new album released only a year after the last.
Charlie Griffiths - "Luminous Beings" (from Luminous Beings)
4/5. I was only a Haken fan for about a year before realizing that band was better off being listened to by me 8 years ago when my melodic side of progressive metal was dominant. With that said, I'm still delighted by such a h*ll of a prog-metal experience from that band's guitarist. This song's pretty great and so is the cartoony video for any biology lovers out there. Monstrous Haken-like riffs can be found especially near the 4-minute mark and in the intro chord. Great guitar skills from this man, with some Allan Holdsworth influence. Amazing how creative he can be! The drums also rule, though I don't know who's performing them. Blessings to this beautiful yet monstrous piece, along with the video aesthetics reminding me of Spongebob Squarepants. Call this song prog, rock, or metal, but what matters is this journey with lyrics warning us about the darkness of extinction. Crawl, walk, run!
Dream Theater - "The Shattered Fortress" (from Black Clouds & Silver Linings)
4.5/5. This was one of my favorite melodic progressive metal epics that marks the end of the band's "Twelve-Step Suite" and eventually, Mike Portnoy leaving the band after 25 years, heart-breaking many DT listeners. There's a lot to mention, so here goes: The volume heads up at the 3 and a half minute mark, then two minutes we have a f***ing great riff. At the 7-minute mark we have a Metallica-ballad-like section with narration, before throwing back to Octavarium a minute and a half later, even sounding close to Black Sabbath after a minute. And after some Paul Gilbert-like soloing and one more verse ("I am responsible when anyone, anywhere reaches out for help, I want my hand to be there"), the opening of "The Glass Prison" is reprised, closing the suite in full circle. EPIC!
The Contortionist - "Early Grave" (from Our Bones)
4/5. This one continues the aggressive vs. mellow pattern. Then we reach a climatic post-metal bridge with an outro that's probably the band's heaviest since their Language album from 5 years prior!
Between the Buried and Me - "Prequel to the Sequel" (from Colors)
4.5/5. Between the Buried and Me is another band I loved for a few years but have not gotten in touch a lot recently, other than this album's recent sequel Colors II. This one's quite awesome despite the recent remaster making not a lot of difference, other than making the bass and keys sound better while lessening the power of Adam Fisher (Fear Before)'s screams. Life is constant happiness...
Kardashev - "Cellar of Ghosts" (from Liminal Rite)
4/5. This one's quite powerful from start to end. F***ing sick instrumentation and growls at times. Rock on!
Diablo Swing Orchestra - "Exit Strategy of a Wrecking Ball" (from Pandora's Pinata)
4.5/5. The lyrics here convey the feeling of betrayal and not seeing the one you love again. That inspiring lyrical theme might one day make me up to trying Diablo Swing Orchestra despite crossing them out after a short month. This is a band of musical geniuses! Who knew swing and metal fit like a glove?! There's even a slight death/nu-metal scream section towards the end. The lyrics should probably have thicker meaning though, but I can identify with that situation well. High-quality unique swing-infused progressive metal here, am I right? Still there are other bands for me to enjoy in my nearly a decade of listen to metal...
Isis - "Garden of Light" (from In the Absence of Truth)
5/5. Such as this band whom each instrument has their own significant parts. An incredibly epic song with a f***ing awesome intro and outro. The album this song is in shows a more melodic/experimental side that the Isis band members would have in their later band Palms with Deftones' Chino Moreno.
Symphony X - "Seven" (from Paradise Lost)
4/5. This was one of my favorite Symphony X songs from when I was still commonly listening to that band and Dream Theater. It's decently long at 7 minutes, but I guess it's short in comparison with the longer progressive epics out there.
Polyphia - "Playing God" (from Playing God)
3.5/5. The first time I heard the jazzy riffing, I had a confusing "WT*" look on my face, but the majority of this is a beautiful listening experience. Note that this band's earlier material was basically just jazzy prog-rock.
The Ocean - "The Grand Inquisitor I: Karamazov Baseness" (from Anthropocentric)
4/5. This is part of "The Grand Inquisitor" trilogy that has killer heaviness. Enough said!
Novena - "Ghosts" (from Ghosts)
3.5/5. This one ends the playlist in an almost similar direction to the end of the Gateway playlist, sounding the closest to hard rock. In saying that, the male and female vocals sound pretty good. Though there could've been a better end to this playlist in which the rest of it is awesome.
Saxy, let me just say, you have done such as incredible job assembling this month's Gateway and Infinite playlists! This tracklisting has encouraged me to go through the entire playlist and find excellent tracks from bands I already listen to along with different bands in which some of them I feel up to trying some more songs from them. Well done, please keep it up! So let's get my track thought journey started:
Katatonia - "Soil's Song" (from The Great Cold Distance)
4.5/5. Awesome eerie start to this playlist, with alternating guitar notes in the chorus. This was one of my favorite songs from Katatonia when I was still listening to them. I still love the powerful rhythms throwing back instrumentally to Brave Murder Day. The simple concept is about evaluation and its resulting crisis, though "Who's first?" makes me think of Abbott & Costello. It's annoying how underrated songs like this don't get as much attention as the more popular sh*t.
Avatar - "Bloody Angel" (from Hail the Apocalypse)
4/5. It's f***ing great hearing a slow gentle beat blend into hardcore-ish melodeath/alt-metal, comfortably ringing into my head. A couple songs from this band like this one and "Hail the Apocalypse" are what got my brother hooked, then got me hooked next until I left The Horde completely behind. Still this is something metalheads must hear. So crazy yet beautiful! Though it might remind some too much like Alice Cooper, both musically and aesthetically. A couple other genius albums from this band are their self-titled 3rd album and Black Waltz. To start headbanging, just wait until after the one-minute intro.
Spiritbox - "Rotoscope" (from Rotoscope)
4.5/5. Spiritbox is back with a great hysterical alt-metalcore tune!
New Years Day - "Crawling" (from Diary of a Creep)
4/5. RIP Chester Bennington. New Years Day made a beautiful tribute to him with this great synth-rock-ish cover. It's not highly horrible at all, but I still prefer the original Linkin Park song. Keep up those vocals, Ash! It would be interesting if we have just the vocal track for New Years Day's version to use for the instrumental of the original. Such a killer job Ash has done singing this! Not sure if the reception this has received is positive, but my feedback practically is. My brother is a fan of New Years Day and still likes them to this day. I also listened to them when I was still into Linkin Park before my "real" metal discovery. Still not as emotional as the original. I think the only weak part was still with the first chorus vocals without the intro before actually starting the music.
Treyarch Sound - "115" (from Call of Duty: Black Ops - Zombies Soundtrack)
4.5/5. Another song I still remember from long ago is the best part of the entire Call of Duty: Black Ops - Zombies soundtrack, and my first (melodic) metalcore encounter (though I submitted it to the Gateway playlist because, where else?). The first time I listened to this, the only "real" metal genres I knew were power/symphonic metal, so I probably said something cringe about this like "Epica without symphonic elements". Now here's my better real opinion about that track; blazing riffs and drumming, with vocal alternation between screams and cleans, make that song a memorable metalcore one.
Sleep Token - "Hypnosis" (from This Place Will Become Your Tomb)
4/5. Another underrated progressive alt-metal song that's worth a fortune!
Bloodsimple - "Blood In Blood Out" (from A Cruel World)
4.5/5. 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!
Twelve Foot Ninja - "Portrait #1" (from New Dawn)
5/5. First time finding this band and I can't get enough of this great gem. The star-shining bass is so mind-f***ing-blowing!
Time, the Valuator - "Black Water" (from Black Water)
4.5/5. The vocals are what you gotta love in this song!
System of a Down - "Lost in Hollywood" (from Mezmerize)
4/5. Sounds beautiful, having a bit of Beatles/Bauhaus influence. However, I'm still not into the nu-leaning alternative metal of other songs from this band. I got other kinds of alt-metal to listen to, and that band ain't it.
Disturbed - "Intoxication" (from Believe)
4.5/5. Of course, I wasn't strictly against that kind 10 years ago. Disturbed was an awesome band in my pre-"real"-metal times, including this f***ing hard-hitter. Of course, this might not reach church, while having such an extensive vocabulary in the lyrics.
Alpha Wolf - "Akudama" (from A Quiet Place to Die)
5/5. There are some killer moments like the breakdown teleporting you like a Magic the Gathering wizard into the asteroid explosion killing the dinosaurs. A great angry song that would never disappoint!
Egypt Central - "White Rabbit" (from White Rabbit)
4.5/5. Egypt Central! That's another band my brother likes and I used to. This is one of the best from this band, it's practically f***ing awesome! After this album, they split up for 7 years and are planning some new material. From my lyrical knowledge, this follows a similar theme to that Jefferson Airplane classic covered by Sanctuary ("We follow like Alice and just keep diving down the hole"). This band certainly knows how to express themselves via these mental metaphors. I can thank my brother for blasting this music for me to hear all those years ago. I was just hitting puberty the first time I listened to any of the 12 tracks in that album. This is as insane as the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit combined! You can just imagine this strange black-and-while world while stuck in this colorful reality. Though if anyone has nothing nice to say about this, they should just ignore it and move on. I was entering my teenage-hood when first encountering Egypt Central and other bands, but I was never so moody or mean unlike most other teens. I would also never do drugs, which is what any song titled "White Rabbit" is about. Yeah, those stereotypes can get annoying. I've never had the thought of the world trying to get us another just a couple year before the present when the virus started, and it is quite hard to escape that reality...
Embodyment - "Pendulum" (from The Narrow Scope of Things)
5/5. This is a more aggressive highlight, with bass Derrick Wadsworth's dominating work and the instrumentation and vocals sounding close to emocore.
P.O.D. - "Lost in Forever" (from Murdered Love)
4.5/5. Unlike those other bands I've listened to years ago, I've only heard one or two songs from P.O.D. I'm glad to hear good lyrics in this one, unlike the sh*tty you might expect from the most popular alt-/nu metal bands. God bless!
A Pale Horse Named Death - "As Black as My Heart" (from And Hell Will Follow Me)
5/5. Now this is super great! I haven't gotten back in touch with gothic metal since leaving that genre nearly a year ago, but I might return with this track from the revival of Type O Negative by that band's two drummers. RIP TON leader Peter Steele
Evanescence - "Everybody's Fool" (from Fallen)
4.5/5. Gothic vocal harmonies appear in this song that's basically about how celebrities keep sexualizing themselves for the sake of success, something that has bothered Amy Lee, especially when a little sister of her was badly influenced. An interesting lyrical message in another killer highlight.
Yakui the Maid - "Flock" (from Flock)
4/5. This one's pretty great and can fit well for an anime, though more digital-sounding and instrumental than the other tracks.
Cold - "Suffocate" (from Year of the Spider)
3.5/5. Beautiful skill here! Doesn't work quite well for me, but still a good job.
Nekrogoblikon - "This Is It" (from The Fundamental Slimes and Humours)
4/5. Excellent lyrics here, like d*mn good this song is! I can once again thank my brother for recommending me this along with one more song from that album for next playlist. Stay tuned for that...
Blindside - "Superman" (from Blindside)
3.5/5. This final time-travel into 25 years ago might not really make me a fan of Blindside or classic nu metal, not even 10 years ago when I was developing my taste closer to that style. It sounds too much like 311 gone hard rock. Of course, it's not totally sucky, but there could've been a better end to this playlist in which the rest of it is awesome.
A solid mix of funk, djent, and progressive rock, cooked up by this amazing Australian prog-metal guitarist:
I did my review, here's its summary:
Reviving progressive rock/metal in a djent-ish yet melodic wave, Plini has unleashed a calming storm from his own bedroom. I wish I could do that! Handmade Cities marks his full-length debut after several EPs, displaying his astonishing writing ability. While he has incredible strength throughout, it should be noted that a couple songs threaten to be close to generic or as scatterbrained as the cover art. But in the end, we have absolute true melodic instrumental prog-rock/metal! I would give this album just 96% with some slight fat needing trimming, but he's still at his very strongest!
5/5 (more specifically, 96%)
It is good to occasionally add in tracks from different genres and/or eras that don't get much of the spotlight. That's kind of what I've done with the 90s/early 2000s metalcore eras in this month's Revolution playlist. Anyway, once again I'm going to comment on a few tracks here that I still like, for memories' sake. Here are my thoughts:
HammerFall – “Steel Meets Steel” (from “Glory to the Brave”, 1997)
4.5/5. I loved HammerFall a lot when I was still heavily into power metal, though not as much, despite great classic songs like this. The lyrics in the bridge explain the song's concept, "In July in '99, the Holy City was stormed and won, Jerusalem was freed, we thanked the lord for our glory."
Within Temptation – “Iron” (from “The Unforgiving”, 2011)
5/5. This epic expressive song still touches my heart to this day with the angelic voice of Sharon den Adel. This is awesome music for symphonic metal lovers like I was. Such godly spectacular power! Sharon is very much one of the symphonic metal queens out there. An awesome song to play at full blast when driving an abandoned highway, and it reminds me of DragonForce's "Cry Thunder".
Nightwish – “Nemo” (from “Once", 2004)
5/5. Another brilliant symphonic metal classic piece! I loved this album back in my high-school-age teens. The sound is so amazing and lovable, with Tarja's beautiful voice. Those were my earlier days of orchestral metal magic. I feel like g****mn crying from the lyrics about loss and longing. And this album Once was the band's last with Tarja...
Stratovarius – “Infinity" (from “Infinite”, 2010)
4.5/5. I've heard of Stratovarius for a very long time, though not at long as the previous bands I've commented on, and this is still an excellent melodic progressive epic from that band. Any metalhead would enjoy this even with better songs in those listeners' arsenal! This could've really helped well with spreading awareness of the possible end of the world when the virus was on the rise. This song is so popular, though a few points are off due to the song and others from this album being plagiarized into Dragon Ball game soundtracks. That's OK if you wanna unleash your SUPER SAIYAN!!!
Iced Earth - "The Hunter" (from "The Dark Saga", 1996)
4.5/5. This one continues the classic streak with killer riffing and a soaring chorus, almost perfect for this playlist and its original album. There's more of this awesome glory to come in other songs, but that's all for now, good Guardians!
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...