Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

Daniel, here's another Revolution recommendation that I think would fit your taste of the ultra-extreme metal/mathcore of Gulch, Fawn Limbs, Inside the Beehive. The first two releases by Daughters; Canada Songs and Hell Songs. Please feel free to check them out, both albums as one. They'll surely blow you away:

Chaotic grind-infused mathcore that should work well for fans of The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Locust, and The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza:

Thank you so much, Sonny, for those recs. After all these years, now I can finally enter the realm of the Iced Earth fanbase! Those first two recommendations were OK, but the live album Alive in Athens gave the songs a massive boost in quality. I'm up to rewriting my lost reviews for Burnt Offerings and The Dark Saga, the latter especially because of one of the most emotional epics of all metal, enhanced greatly in this live setting:

I appreciate the genuine sentiment in "Nothing Else Matters", but it sounds more like a Poison power ballad, and the orchestra still doesn't help there. Perhaps I'm just not into glam-influenced heavy metal ballads, a good reason why I still have a bit of doubt about staying in The Guardians. Maybe that will change when I check out that Iced Earth live album Alive in Athens...

As if the odd arrangement wasn't bad enough, this sh*t-dip should not exist:

Two albums down, one to go! A very "Wicked" song trilogy after the oddly-arranged so-so rest of this album:

One album down, two to go! Forget the original version, the Barlow-sung version of the band's theme is a greater improvement:

When it comes to mixing metal with orchestra, some things just should not be:

Speaking of live CDs, the new songs in Metallica's S&M I think work better than just playing their earlier songs with the orchestra in the background, like this grand piece:

These seem good. Count me in! My journey to get fully interested in Iced Earth continues with that trio of their late 90s releases...

This epic opener of Iced Earth's second album begins with a keyboard-orchestral intro that would inspire that of Kamelot's Eternity, then a couple acoustic verses, and finally fast heavy thrash riffing influenced by Dark Angel and Death Angel along with the vocals of John Greely that's lightyears better than that of Gene Adam. Don't believe me? Give this song a listen and you'll hear it all:

Someone call Thor and ask him to strike this man down with lightning or at least bless him with a much better voice:

I've decided to exclude releases I've rated, not only to see what the ratings would be like without me, kinda like an "It's a Wonderful Life" experiment, but also in case any of you find some good recommendations. Here they are, still at minimum 5 ratings, sorted by rating number (includes earlier ratings I've deleted because I've moved away from the albums' bands):

#1 Between the Buried and Me - Colors (7 / 3.9)

#2 Code Orange - Underneath (6 / 3.6)

#3 Heaven Shall Burn - Iconoclast (6 / 3.5)

#4 Earth Crisis - Destroy the Machines (5 / 4.0)

#5 Integrity - Those Who Fear Tomorrow (5 / 3.7)

#6 Serpent Column - Endless Detainment (5 / 3.7)

#7 Between the Buried and Me - Alaska (5 / 2.7)

I've decided to exclude releases I've rated, not only to see what the ratings would be like without me, kinda like an "It's a Wonderful Life" experiment, but also in case any of you find some good recommendations. Here they are, still at minimum 10 ratings, sorted by rating number (includes earlier ratings I've deleted because I've moved away from the albums' bands):

#1 Agalloch - The Mantle (14 / 4.0)

#2 Atheist - Unquestionable Presence (13 / 4.2)

#3 Cynic - Focus (12 / 4.3)

#4 Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain (12 / 4.1)

#5 Gojira - Magma (12 / 3.4)

#6 Deafheaven - Sunbather (12 / 3.2)

#7 Gojira - From Mars to Sirius (11 / 4.4)

#8 Gojira - The Way of All Flesh (11 / 4.0)

#9 Edge of Sanity - Crimson (11 / 3.9)

#10 Celtic Frost - Into the Pandemonium (11 / 3.3)

#11 Gorguts - Obscura (10 / 4.1)

#12 Deathspell Omega - Paracletus (10 / 4.0)

#13 Gojira - L'enfant sauvage (10 / 3.7)

That's right, Daniel, and those 3 releases you've mentioned from DragonForce, Rhapsody of Fire, and Gamma Ray were my own Guardians feature releases, so that's kind of an unfair advantage. With that, I've decided to exclude releases I've rated, not only to see what the ratings would be like without me, kinda like an "It's a Wonderful Life" experiment, but also in case any of you find some good recommendations. Here they are, with minimum 5 ratings, sorted by rating number (includes earlier ratings I've deleted because I've moved away from the albums' bands):

#1 Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors (9 / 3.9)

#2 Iced Earth - Night of the Stormrider (8 / 4.1)

#3 Iced Earth - Iced Earth (8 / 3.8)

#4 Metallica - S&M (8 / 3.6)

#5 Wintersun - Wintersun (8 / 3.3)

#6 Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper (7 / 3.4)

#7 Iced Earth - Burnt Offerings (6 / 4.3)

#8 Iced Earth - Something Wicked This Way Comes (6 / 3.9)

#9 Helloween - Helloween (6 / 3.9)

#10 Unleash the Archers - Apex (6 / 3.8)

#11 Helstar - Nosferatu (6 / 3.3)

#12 Therion - Theli (5 / 4.2)

#13 Therion - Secret of the Runes (5 / 4.0)

#14 Iced Earth - The Dark Saga (5 / 3.9)

#15 Helloween - Straight Out of Hell (5 / 3.9)

#16 Iced Earth - Horror Show (5 / 3.7)

#17 Septicflesh - The Great Mass (5 / 3.7)

#18 Brothers of Metal - Emblas Saga (5 / 3.6)

#19 Septicflesh - Communion (5 / 3.5)

#20 Within Temptation - Hydra (5 / 3.4)

#21 Jason Becker - Perpetual Burn (5 / 3.3)

#22 Fleshgod Apocalypse - Veleno (5 / 3.3)

#23 Helloween - Helloween (5 / 3.3)

#24 Fleshgod Apocalypse - King (5 / 3.1)

A few more Helloween and Iced Earth albums have appeared here, along with albums from a few other bands I haven't listened to before and used to but completely moved away from.

Well here's my power/symphonic/neoclassical Metal Academy chart list with minimum 8 ratings, sorted by rating number:

#1 Blind Guardian - Imaginations From the Other Side (13 / 4.6)

#2 Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth (12 / 4.1)

#3 Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond (11 / 4.2)

#4 Blind Guardian - Battalions of Fear (10 / 3.8)

#5 Blind Guardian - Follow the Blind (10 / 3.7)

#6 Running Wild - Death or Glory (9 / 4.2)

#7 Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II (9 / 3.9)

#8 Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors (9 / 3.9)

#9 Gamma Ray - Power Plant (9 / 3.8)

#10 Nightwish - Dark Passion Play (9 / 3.7)

#11 Nightwish - Oceanborn (8 / 4.3)

#12 Nightwish - Wishmaster (8 / 4.3)

#13 Blind Guardian - At the Edge of Time (8 / 4.3)

#14 Gamma Ray - Land of the Free (8 / 4.2)

#15 Iced Earth - Night of the Stormrider (8 / 4.1)

#16 Blind Guardian - Tales From the Twilight World (8 / 4.1)

#17 Gamma Ray - Somewhere Out in Space (8 / 4.0)

#18 Rhapsody of Fire - Dawn of Victory (8 / 3.9)

#19 Iced Earth - Iced Earth (8 / 3.8)

#20 Blind Guardian - Beyond the Red Mirror (8 / 3.7)

#21 Metallica - S&M (8 / 3.6)

#22 Helloween - Walls of Jericho (8 / 3.6)

#23 Wintersun - Wintersun (8 / 3.3)

#24 DragonForce - Inhuman Rampage (8 / 2.8)

Wow, I see most of the Blind Guardians albums in here! Also appearing in the list are Running Wild's Death or Glory, Rhapsody of Fire's Dawn of Victory, and a few Gamma Ray classics. After that wild review ride through the first two Helloween albums, I feel like doing the same with the first two Iced Earth albums. Might also try Metallica's S&M, known as an orchestral metal retelling of their greatest hits!

Got it. Thanks for the heads-up, Daniel! Power/symphonic/neoclassical Metal Academy chart list coming soon...

Now let's check on the Metal Academy charts and see the differences. Here are all the Revolution releases with minimum 5 ratings, sorted by rating number:

#1 Converge - Jane Doe (11 / 4.0)

#2 Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind (10 / 4.4)

#3 The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us Is the Killer (10 / 3.6)

#4 Trivium - In Waves (9 / 3.1)

#5 Converge - You Fail Me (8 / 4.1)

#6 Protest the Hero - Kezia (8 / 3.5)

#7 Botch - We Are the Romans (7 / 4.2)

#8 Converge - The Dusk in Us (7 / 4.1)

#9 Converge - Petitioning the Empty Sky (7 / 4.0)

#10 Between the Buried and Me - Colors (7 / 3.9)

#11 Protest the Hero - Fortress (7 / 3.6)

#12 The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity (7 / 3.5)

#13 The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation (7 / 3.5)

#14 Gaza - No Absolutes in Human Suffering (6 / 3.8)

#15 The Dillinger Escape Plan - Irony Is a Dead Scene (6 / 3.6)

#16 Code Orange - Underneath (6 / 3.6)

#17 Gulch - Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress (6 / 3.6)

#18 Heaven Shall Burn - Iconoclast (6 / 3.5)

#19 Gaza - I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die (6 / 3.5)

#20 Trivium - Shogun (6 / 3.3)

#21 The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis (6 / 3.3)

#22 Killswitch Engage - Alive or Just Breathing (6 / 3.2)

#23 Born of Osiris - The Discovery (6 / 3.2)

#24 The Dillinger Escape Plan - Miss Machine (6 / 3.1)

#25 Converge - Axe to Fall (5 / 4.5)

#26 Converge - When Forever Comes Crashing (5 / 4.4)

#27 Earth Crisis - Destroy the Machines (5 / 4.0)

#28 Integrity - Those Who Fear Tomorrow (5 / 3.7)

#29 Serpent Column - Endless Detainment (5 / 3.7)

#30 All That Remains - The Fall of Ideals (5 / 3.6)

#31 The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works (5 / 3.6)

#32 Trivium - In the Court of the Dragon (5 / 3.4)

#33 Bullet for My Valentine - The Poison (5 / 2.9)

#34 Bullet for My Valentine - Scream Aim Fire (5 / 2.9)

#35 Between the Buried and Me - Alaska (5 / 2.7)

Wow, there are a lot more Revolution releases I enjoy that have appeared here, from bands like Trivium (In Waves is at #4, WOOO!!!!), Protest the Hero, Gaza, Born of Osiris, All That Remains, and Bullet for My Valentine.

Now let's check on the Metal Academy charts and see the differences. Here are all the Infinite releases with minimum 10 ratings, sorted by rating number:

#1 Opeth - Blackwater Park (15 / 4.5)

#2 Dream Theater - Images and Words (14 / 4.4)

#3 Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood (14 / 4.4)

#4 Agalloch - The Mantle (14 / 4.0)

#5 Opeth - Still Life (13 / 4.4)

#6 Atheist - Unquestionable Presence (13 / 4.2)

#7 Cynic - Focus (12 / 4.3)

#8 Mastodon - Crack the Skye (12 / 4.3)

#9 Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain (12 / 4.1)

#10 Neurosis - Times of Grace (12 / 4.0)

#11 Isis - Panopticon (12 / 4.0)

#12 Mastodon - Leviathan (12 / 4.0)

#13 Voivod - Dimension Hatröss (12 / 4.0)

#14 Opeth - Orchid (12 / 3.9)

#15 Gojira - Magma (12 / 3.4)

#16 Deafheaven - Sunbather (12 / 3.2)

#17 Gojira - From Mars to Sirius (11 / 4.4)

#18 Opeth - Ghost Reveries (11 / 4.4)

#19 Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime (11/4.2)

#20 Gojira - The Way of All Flesh (11 / 4.0)

#21 Edge of Sanity - Crimson (11 / 3.9)

#22 Celtic Frost - Into the Pandemonium (11 / 3.3)

#23 Coroner - Mental Vortex (10 / 4.4)

#24 Opeth - Deliverance (10 / 4.4)

#25 Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory (10 / 4.3)

#26 Vektor - Black Future (10 / 4.3)

#27 Neurosis - Souls at Zero (10 / 4.1)

#28 Gorguts - Obscura (10 / 4.1)

#29 Deathspell Omega - Paracletus (10 / 4.0)

#30 Opeth - Morningrise (10 / 3.9)

#31 Fates Warning - The Spectre Within (10 / 3.9)

#32 Alcest - Écailles de lune (10 / 3.8)

#33 Gojira - L'enfant sauvage (10 / 3.7)

It's interesting seeing some more albums in this list, now from progressive death metal bands Atheist, Cynic, and Edge of Sanity, and progressive thrash metal bands Voivod, Coroner, and Vektor, along with pioneering works of their respective genres such as progressive metal for the Queensryche and Fates Warning albums, and avant-garde metal for Celtic Frost's Into the Pandemonium. I am a little surprised about Gorguts and Deathspell Omega appearing on the list.

Now let's check on the Metal Academy charts and see the differences. Here are all the Guardians releases with minimum 15 ratings, sorted by rating number:

#1 Black Sabbath - Paranoid (22 / 4.4)

#2 Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (22 / 4.1)

#3 Iron Maiden - Powerslave (18 / 4.4)

#4 Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (18 / 4.3)

#5 Metallica - Metallica [Black Album] (18 / 3.8)

#6 Black Sabbath - Master of Reality (17 / 4.4)

#7 Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast (17 / 4.1)

#8 Judas Priest - Painkiller (16 / 4.5)

#9 Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny (16 / 4.0)

#10 Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden (16 / 3.8)

#11 Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind (15 / 4.2)

#12 Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (15 / 4.1)

#13 Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath Vol. 4 (15 / 3.8)

Not a lot of difference with just 5 Black Sabbath albums, 5 Iron Maiden albums, two Judas Priest albums, and Metallica's Black Album. It would probably be easier seeing which power/symphonic/neoclassical metal albums reign in the charts if we could be able to filter the albums by genres instead of clans there. Ben, if you're reading this, please implement that ability!

Now let's check on the Metal Academy charts and see the differences. Here are all the Gateway releases with minimum 10 ratings, sorted by rating number:

#1 Tool - Lateralus (17 / 3.9)

#2 Alice in Chains - Dirt (16 / 4.3)

#3 Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine (14 / 3.5)

#4 Tool - Ænima (13 / 4.0)

#5 System of a Down - Toxicity (13 / 3.7)

#6 Slipknot - Slipknot (13 / 3.5)

#7 Metallica - St. Anger (13 / 2.0)

#8 Tool - 10,000 Days (12 / 3.9)

#9 Korn - Korn (12 / 3.6)

#10 Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind (12 / 3.2)

#11 Deftones - White Pony (11 / 4.2)

#12 Alice in Chains - Alice in Chains (11 / 3.9)

#13 Tool - Undertow (11 / 3.8)

#14 Alice in Chains - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (11 / 3.7)

#15 Alice in Chains - Facelift (11 / 3.6)

#16 Deftones - Around the Fur (10 / 4.1)

#17 Linkin Park - Meteora (10 / 3.8)

#18 Devin Townsend - Addicted (10 / 3.8)

#19 Slipknot - Iowa (10 / 3.4)

#20 System of a Down - System of a Down (10 / 3.2)

#21 Slipknot - Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) (10 / 3.2)

I see a few more Slipknot albums here, along with the Devin Townsend Project album Addicted.

What do you get when you travel back to the 80s and take with you some classic metal and synth-pop from that decade? Finnish heavy/power metallers Battle Beast! This should remind you of a mix of Judas Priest, Beyond the Black, and Power Quest:

Here's my updated list:

Beginning oldies (1978-1989)/B.M. (Before Metalcore):

1978: Riot - Rock City (yes I know, everyone says the year is 1977, but I don't quite suspect that as its true release year, more info about that in this separate thread reply: https://metal.academy/forum/28/thread/362#topic_6048)

1979: Riot - Narita

1980: Accept - I'm a Rebel

1981: Accept - Breaker

1982: Virgin Steele - Virgin Steele

1983: Savatage - Sirens

1984: Queensryche - The Warning

1985: Fates Warning - The Spectre Within

1986: Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory

1987: Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King

1988: Riot - Thundersteel

1989: Running Wild - Death or Glory

Old golden classics (1990-1997)/Humble metalcore beginnings:

1990: Demolition Hammer - Tortured Existence

1991: Dark Angel - Time Does Not Heal

1992: Sadus - A Vision of Misery

1993: X Japan - Art of Life

1994: Savatage - Handful of Rain

1995: Savatage - Dead Winter Dead

1996: Converge - Petitioning the Empty Sky

1997: Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth

Millennium transition highlights (1998-2005)/Light of day-seeing metalcore classics:

1998: Meshuggah - Chaosphere

1999: Botch - We are the Romans

2000: Skycamefalling - 10.21

2001: Converge - Jane Doe

2002: Hopesfall - The Satellite Years

2003: The Lord Weird Slough Feg - Traveller

2004: Wuthering Heights - Far From the Madding Crowd

2005: Trivium - Ascendancy

Modern favorites (2006-2013)/Rise of the full Revolution:

2006: Wuthering Heights - The Shadow Cabinet

2007: The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works

2008: Textures - Silhouettes

2009: August Burns Red - Constellations

2010: Attack Attack! - Attack Attack!

2011: Trivium - In Waves

2012: Skyharbor - Blinding White Noise: Illusion and Chaos

2013: We Came as Romans - Tracing Back Roots

The best of the most recent (2014-2021)/A greater new uprising:

2014: Structures - Life Through a Window

2015: Wage War - Blueprints

2016: Car Bomb - Meta

2017: Trivium - The Sin and the Sentence

2018: Silent Planet - When the End Began

2019: Devin Townsend - Empath

2020: Trivium - What the Dead Men Say

2021: Trivium - In the Court of the Dragon

The promising present (2022 onwards)/metalcore revival (thanks to Underoath)?:

2022 (so far): Battle Beast - Circus of Doom

2022 albums I'm looking forward to getting:

Persefone - Metanoia

Cult of Luna - The Long Road North

Voivod - Synchro Anarchy

Annihilator - Metal II (nearly entire re-recording of their Metal album)

Animals as Leaders - Parrhesia

Meshuggah - Immutable

Memphis May Fire - Remade in Misery

Halestorm - Back From the Dead

Three Days Grace - Explosions

Note: the latter two bands are not metal, but felt like taking a small return to my pre-metal alt-rock past.

Lots of heavy metal and thrash metal in the Metal Academy list, along with a few Bathory albums and Tool's Lateralus. Quite accurate here in a metal-oriented site. A lot of metalheads in RYM seem to like or at least try alternative metal.

Here's an extension to 25 more of the most popular Infinite albums according to RYM:

#21 Alcest - Écailles de lune (7488 / 3.64)

#22 Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood (7445 / 3.91)

#23 Dream Theater - Awake (7399 / 3.63)

#24 Isis - Oceanic (7385 / 3.85)

#25 Opeth - Watershed (7382 / 3.70)

Unlike that other Alcest album, Écailles de lune seems to fit well in the post-metal and blackgaze label according to the genre votes, and I might check that one out, despite my recent departure from black metal.

Though the Helloween albums weren't perfect for me (would've been if I found them 5 years ago but I didn't), I had fun reviewing them, so let's extend both lists to 25 and look out for more.

Heavy metal:

#21 Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance (8709 / 3.88)

#22 Dio - Holy Diver (8591 / 3.86)

#23 Rainbow - Rising (8329 / 3.92)

#24 Slayer - Show No Mercy (8012 / 3.72)

#25 Judas Priest - British Steel (7985 / 3.65)

WITHOUT heavy metal:

#21 Children of Bodom - Something Wild (2564 / 3.33)

#22 Blind Guardian - A Night at the Opera (2494 / 3.56)

#23 Kamelot - The Black Halo (2424 / 3.74)

#24 Blind Guardian - Tales from the Twilight World (2396 / 3.67)

#25 Septicflesh - Communion (2252 / 3.68)

I'm quite stunned at Slayer's Show No Mercy ending up in the heavy metal list, but it's there because speed metal has been switched to a Heavy Metal subgenre in RYM, which has not yet taken effect here. It's also a bit surprising to see usually death metal bands Children of Bodom and Septicflesh on the list.

That's right, Sonny! Albums from other well-known bands like Soundgarden, Slipknot, and Korn are missing from the Popular 20. But if we extend the list to 25:

#21 Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger (9180 / 3.77)

#22 Slipknot - Slipknot (9149 / 3.24)

#23 Faith No More - The Real Thing (8490 / 3.75)

#24 Alice in Chains - Alice in Chains (8276 / 3.66)

#25 Korn - Korn (8237 / 3.37)

At least we have also two more albums from bands in the Popular 20; Faith No More's The Real Thing and Alice in Chains' self-titled album.

UGH, this is another one of Helloween's singles that I end up hearing as embarrassing cheesy sh*t:

The first ever 13-minute power metal epic, and probably this band's theme:

I think I found the ultimate anthem for this clan, for anyone wanting an early speedy power metal album inspired by Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and early Metallica:

I decided that while I'm still doing my Wuthering Heights (plus new Battle Beast album) journey, I am going to continue my Guardians-related activities, but distant myself from a few other bands I'm not that interested in anymore, which I'll discuss later. Anyway, this 20-minute epic trio of songs is one of the reasons for my decision to stay:

A 14-minute epic of folk-ish progressive power metal, to please fans of that style and bands like Falconer, Rhapsody (of Fire), and Symphony X:

I'm trying to prevent the burnout from going any further, and if it seems like I might be heading that way, I just test out writing a few reviews to see if there's still some hope in motivation. While many of the Guardians albums I've listened to at least 5 years ago, they were some of the most enjoyable albums back then and I felt like they should keep that honor, same for some of the Gateway albums from 10 years before today that I listened to before starting my path through "true" metal. Anyway, for some of the recently-listened-to albums, I still enjoy some of their highlights, and one post in The Guardians Track of the Day thread now has my decision for how I'm gonna handle my Guardians journey: https://metal.academy/forum/9/thread/189?page=5#topic_9615

This list is quite accurate. After all, classic heavy metal (1970-1982), thrash metal (1983-1991), and alternative metal (1992-2001) were reaching quite the heights of fame in their respective eras. It is quite surprising that albums from some of the big developing bands of the genre like Judas Priest and Motorhead haven't reached the top 20, and two black metal albums (from Deafheaven and Burzum) end up on this list. Seems like the popularity of the once mostly underground genre of black metal has boosted thanks to internet sharing. It would be quite interesting to see what the top 20 list is for one of the clans' metal genres and judge which releases are in an accurate position in those lists. I'm gonna start those threads with my own clans, any of you feel free to do the same with the other clans.

I do still enjoy those Guardians releases, but like Vinny says, burnout is inevitable. I might feel burned out with heavy/power metal at times mainly because I haven't made power metal my primary target of interest in over 4 years, yet at the same time, I try to build up that part of my metal taste based on recs and what I might like. Kinda like when my dad cooks for dinner some stir-fry chicken that I used to like and even though I've lost some of its appeal, I would eat it anyway. Sooo... I'm going to give some of the 14 Guardians releases I've rated since October each a good review and see if that's enough to motivate me to continue my Guardians submissions beyond my ones for March. Time to check if I still have the heart of a Guardian!

My thoughts on a couple more tracks (as part of my Revolution playlist band catchup):

Every Time I Die – “Moor” (from “From Parts Unknown”, 2014)

4.5/5. A sick underrated song! Enough said.

The Ghost Inside – “Aftermath” (from “The Ghost Inside”, 2020)

5/5. YES!!! My second attempt to try this song and it's still solid! Some might be reminded of Stick to Your Guns at some points. The last minute and a half hit hard. I'm glad the band is still going strong after recovering from that bus crash, including Andrew Tkaczyk, who lost one of his legs in the crash, still having his impressive drumming skills.

Of the 2 new Underoath albums since they reformed, here's what I prefer:

Here are my sneak peek submissions for the March Revolution playlist (now back in the 7 limit!):

All That Remains - "Two Weeks" (4:17) from Overcome (2008)

Amaranthe - "Leave Everything Behind" (3:17) from Amaranthe (2011) (despite the trance metal debate, I still think this track is closer to melodic metalcore and I'm submitting it as one of the last trance metal tracks here before the genre's fate)

August Burns Red - "Indonesia" (3:34) from Constellations (2009)

Bring Me the Horizon - "Pray for Plagues" (4:21) from Count Your Blessings (2006)

Gaza - "Gristle" (4:17) from I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die (2006)

Trivium - "Sever the Hand" (5:26) from The Sin and the Sentence (2017)

Within the Ruins - "Feeding Frenzy" (3:41) from Elite (2013)

Total length: 28:53

Here are my submissions for the March Guardians playlist:

Angra - "The Voice Commanding You" (5:28) from Aurora Consurgens (2006)

Dream Evil - "Children of the Night" (4:44) from Evilized (2003)

Lord - "Set in Stone" (5:13) from Set in Stone (2009)

Running Wild - "Riding the Storm" (6:30) from Death or Glory (1989)

Sabaton - "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" (3:02) from The Great War (2019)

Savatage - "Not What You See" (5:02) from Dead Winter Dead (1995)

Total length: 29:59

Here are my submissions for the March Gateway playlist (finally reached the 8 limit!):

Attila - "Day Drinking" (3:27) from Closure (2021)

Chevelle - "The Red" (3:58) from Wonder What's Next (2002)

Dir En Grey - "The IIID Empire" (3:03) from Vulgar (2003)

Escape the Fate - "Issues" (2:42) from Escape the Fate (2010)

Lacuna Coil - "Our Truth" (4:03) from Karmacode (2006)

Mark Morton - "Cross Off" (4:14) from Anesthetic (2019)

Memphis May Fire - "The Old Me" (3:09) from Broken (2018)

Wage War - "Grave" (3:14) from Pressure (2019)

Total length: 27:50

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

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

5/5. The title track of Ice Nine Kills' latest album begins the playlist similarly to Every Trick in the Book, with Spencer Charnas' vocals, piano, and strings (“ink fills the page, a classic killer completes the cast”). Then the quietness is broken by a guttural scream and furious drum pounding. The song isn't based on any horror films, but establishes what to expect in the album; film violence that sometimes bleeds into reality, all part of the album's main concept. So continuing the story from my Silver Scream review, you leave the theater and find yourself in a mysterious town known as Horrorwood, where violence from movies is real and you have to stay alive and not get killed. You successfully avoid the brutal madness and escape the town. To be continued in my review for that album.

Demon Hunter - "Collapsing" (from The World is a Thorn, 2010)

5/5. After that extreme opener, we have one of the strongest and greatest tracks of its album and the playlist. This is the first of 3 sneak peek tracks I've submitted because of my usually alt-rock-loving brother listening to them, this one having gotten me into listening to Demon Hunter. The vocals are mostly clean singing from Ryan Clark and guest member Björn "Speed" Strid of Soilwork, while keeping the song's heaviness along with a delightful guitar solo.

Parkway Drive - "Sleepwalker" (from Deep Blue, 2010)

4.5/5. Up next is this album's single, which is nothing like the previous two tracks while still having excellent riffing and amazing ending soloing.

Trivium - "Amongst the Shadows & the Stones" (from What the Dead Men Say, 2020)

4.5/5. This one is filled with crushing technical fury. The brutal chorus would grind you to dust and eat your remains like a motherf***er. And that's the last of the metalcore trio of songs that my brother likes, but there's more to come, so stay in your seats.

If I Were You - "False Reality" (from Radiant Dark, 2020)

4/5. I appreciate the hard work this band puts into their music, especially the f***ing grinding breakdown at over the two and a half minute mark. However, it still doesn't beat any of the earlier tracks.

Novelists FR - "Modern Slave" (from C'est La Vie, 2020)

4.5/5. This is Polaris-like sh*t to love. I can be quite a slave to modern metalcore.

Crystal Lake - "Daylight" (from The Voyages, 2020)

5/5. Know what I mean in that last comment? I hope to hear more of this crystalline Japanese metalcore band.

Memphis May Fire - "Left for Dead" (from Left for Dead, 2021)

5/5. A tremendous powerful song! Memphis May Fire was not yet a metalcore band I had to listen to, but I'm glad to start feeling up for this band thanks to this song. Simply excellent! A f***ing great comeback to the band's heaviness as part of their upcoming album Remade in Misery, coming out in less than 3 months.

Invent Animate - "As If It Never Was" (from The Sun Sleeps, As If It Never Was, 2021)

4.5/5. The recent two-track EP/single from this band continues with this song to make sure this pair stays f***ing great. What's especially great is at the one and a half minute mark, the start of an epic one-minute section that reminds me of Silent Planet.

Cold As Life - "All Alone" (from Born To Land Hard, 1998)

4/5. A brief time-travel to the 90s when metalcore was really hitting hard. Thanks Daniel!

Employed to Serve - "Exist" (from Conquering, 2021)

4.5/5. This one's quite a banger. This band was touring with Gojira and must've gotten their groove from them. Sick slaying right there! This kick-A hellfire of amazingness should reach the stratosphere for great attention. Despite not surpassing Trivium's early 2020s albums, it's still a strong killer monster of a track. This heavy brutal banger is for fans of groove-laden hardcore metal with some Sepultura/Slipknot vibes, probably greater fans that I am. Honestly, it just rips hard, and this f***ing good journey of mine for new music isn't ending any time soon. Think of this like Code Orange and Prong in a slightly thrashy turn. The vocals are a bit of a struggle though. Anyway, thanks Vinny!

Iwrestledabearonce - "Alaskan Flounder Basket" (from Iwrestledabearonce, 2007)

5/5. It wasn't until 15 years after this EP's release when I finally came across this band via this song and another one from a different playlist. This one starts with an audio sample from Scary Movie 2 ("Im'a p*ss on yo face, and Im'a fart in yo mouth, yeah, and Im'a sh*t on these b*lls, ray, ooh!"), a bit f***ing odd, but the rest of this song is perfect and I'm glad to start listening to this band and its "descendant" Spiritbox.

Convictions - "Hurricane" (from I Won't Survive, 2021)

4.5/5. Convictions is another underrated band. Christian metalcore bands can really people get their lives on track again. The bass has some good talent, and I love the clean vocals that take the genre to a higher level while keeping the heaviness.

Tasters - "Jakarta" (from De Rerum Natura, 2017)

4/5. Another groove-ish metalcore song. The soft 12-second intro is a good sound. Amazing extremeness here! The g****mn guitar grinds greatly, but the growling is a bit out of place. This is the second metalcore song to remind me of Jakarta, Indonesia, that I went to over 3 years ago, the other being August Burns Red's "Indonesia".

Thornhill - "Coven" (from The Dark Pool, 2019)

4.5/5. Then we started to unreal depths of power. This might just help 23-year-old me get through any anxiety I might suffer at times. The insane breakdown 2 minutes in rules. If I can listen to more Karnivool and Northlane, I might dig this slightly more. The harsh-melodic mix of metalcore never fails! UNFD continues reaching the top of the metalcore record label hill along with Sharptone. The ending is slightly more DOOMy (the game soundtrack not the metal genre). The great melody is more serene, while the djent vibes still remain, inspired by Tesseract and Monuments. This is indeed useful for breaking out of the dark abyss of anxiety with your screams released.

Polaris - "Masochist" (from The Death of Me, 2020)

5/5. This is a f***ing phenomenal song to share, with metallic hardcore vibes from Bring Me the Horizon, Periphery, and Loathe. I'm loving this underrated sh*t that might just be one of my recent favorite metalcore songs! F*** BTS, this should go viral!

Bleeding Through - "Dearly Demented" (from The Truth, 2006)

4.5/5. This song can kinda be the sequel to the previous album's "Number Seven With a Bullet"; it's over 5 minutes long and has more prominent keyboard parts. The chorus features haunting guest vocals by Nick 13 from psychobilly band Tiger Army. At one point, there is a moshing breakdown before focusing on a riff that would fit well in an Iced Earth album along with said haunting chorus.

Make Them Suffer - "Neverbloom" (from Neverbloom, 2012)

5/5. The massive title track of Make Them Suffer's deathcore debut Neverbloom starts with actual riffing instead of just the overused breakdown. The song is so epic and brutal, and even though it still has the breakdown, the one used in this song is the best in the entire album. There's a lot to progress in this 6 and a half minute monster (a couple longer epics would appear later in this playlist). I love how the bass doesn't cause the rest of the music to be heavily distorted. The piano is also great! It sounds so real, even though it's probably just electronic keyboard. Keyboardist/pianist Louisa Burton is really talented, offering great soft piano contrast to the deathcore breakdowns and riffing, playing actual piano melody instead of just a few keys. She also provided background vocals in this song, similar to Skillet drummer/vocalist Jen Ledger in their album Awake. Both her piano and vocals add the melodic beauty of their sound. That epic has the essence of perfection!

Born of Osiris - "The New Reign" (from The New Reign, 2007)

3.5/5. The title track for Born of Osiris' EP is not bad but not appealing enough. At least there's another video game-like keyboard break and melodic breakdown that I would recommend to Born of Osiris newcomers.

Psyopus - "The Pig Keeperis Daughter" (from Our Puzzling Encounters Considered, 2007)

5/5. I'm glad to find one of the best mathcore bands around, and this band is probably more chaotic than Cattle Decapitation.

I, Valiance - "Thrown to Belial" (from The Reject of Humanity, 2015)

4.5/5. Psychedelic-ish progressive deathcore, I can give this band some credit. They know how to tell a story in the lyrics through some of the most f***ing complex music elements in deathcore to keep engage through these 6 minutes. And halfway through that amount of time is a sick groove. Throw some punches in the golden moshpit! The synths help keep this song and band unique. D*mn, what a ride!

Bound in Fear - "Left to Drown" (from Eternal, 2021)

4/5. Another attempt to fit in the new epic deathcore generation with killer breakdowns and crushing riffing. However, I'm slightly disappointed about skipping out on most of the epicness of the previous track for the genre's typical brutality.

Rolo Tomassi - "Cloaked" (from Cloaked, 2021)

4.5/5. The drumming and guitar riffing are insane in this beautiful metallic mathcore song.

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "The Alpha the Omega" (from Danza 4: The Alpha- the Omega, 2012)

5/5. This spine-chilling piece of chaos might also be one of my new favorite mathcore songs! What really adds golden perfection here is the guest vocals from the lead vocalists of two deathcore bands, Whitechapel (Phil Bozeman) and Despised Icon (Alex Erian). Brutally loud like a motherf***er, to get you ready for a g****mn fight. This chaotic -core style pummels heavier than a sledgehammer. The final minute explodes like TNT into madness, with a brutal breakdown more aggressive than Pantera! Likely to be my favorite Revolution song since All That Remains' "Two Weeks"! 8-string guitars can be used in more than just djent.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "One of Us Is the Killer" (from One of Us Is the Killer, 2013)

4.5/5. Here's some straight-forward experimentation in this playlist, with dreamy jazz verses and more catchy than extreme choruses. Despite the song sounding a bit different, it still feels like something TDEP would do.

God Forbid - "Earthsblood" (from Earthsblood, 2009)

5/5. This track and the one after are the two longest songs of the playlist at 9 and 7 minutes, respectively. It is also the longest God Forbid song! They have more traditional progressive dynamics than ever before, alternating between the band's usual thick heavy riffs and different atmospheric passages. And they both have superb standout moments! What makes the title track stand out is the epic-sounding acoustic intro.

Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas - "Stay as Who You Are" (from Phase 2, 2014)

4.5/5. And finally, we end this playlist with the longest song by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas, their so far only attempt at 7-minute 3-part epic, all in good power, especially that third and final part in the last 3 minutes. Enjoy this final nightclub dance as your reward for making it through this entire playlist!

Wow, this playlist turned out pretty well! I'm glad to have some good help from Daniel and Vinny. Great submissions, guys! I look forward to listening to more of the bands that are perfect for me. I would recommend this to any metalcore fan and anyone who isn't into metalcore but wants to get into a great start in enjoying the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Animals As Leaders – Thoroughly at Home (2009)

4.5/5. Cool intro for this playlist, an intense song worth checking out.

Mastodon – Crack the Skye (2009)

5.5. The title track for Mastodon's January Infinite feature release is certainly NOT an instrumental song! Guest appearing as usual in at least song from most Mastodon albums, Neurosis' Scott Kelly does more screaming that would be mostly abandoned in later albums. He dominates the vocals along with Brann Dailor and a little bit of Troy's vocals. The word "Skye" being spelled with an "e" is in memory of Brann's late one-year-younger sister Skye who killed herself at age 14, almost two decades before this album. It's very sad to lose a sibling, and I'm glad to still have my older brother who, like I said before, first inspired my general interest in metal.

The Human Abstract – Faust (2011)

5/5. Oh h*ll yes, neo-classical-influenced progressive metalcore! The arpeggio riff at the 3-minute mark is gold as f***. I'm glad to find more of this killer music I've missed. A.J. Minette is clearly a master at that kind of technique inspired by Bach and Beethoven, and has even covered the entire "Moonlight Sonata" in a later EP from that band. Avenged Sevenfold might have those similar traits but that band has always had heavy metal (metalcore in their earlier albums) as their main sound, whereas The Human Abstract take it all the way, with a bit of the post-hardcore/metalcore of Falling in Reverse. Timing is everything, including how they handled that f***ing addictive breakdown. You can clearly hear the early A7X influences in the chorus that's first heard over half a minute in, and then another half-minute later, the melodic pace. This awesome talent made me remember the band's debut Nocturne that I reviewed as part of the Melodic Metalcore clan challenge and now feel up to checking out again. After that breakdown that starts 4 and a half minute mark, more of those classical influences keep pouring out. The vocals fit so f***ing well with the lyrics. So put aside any classical/metal arguments and appreciate what this band has to offer!

Meshuggah – The Abysmal Eye (2022)

5/5. Meshuggah is back with a song from their new album blasting into your face! H*lla killer sh*t right here! You could reassemble the music and lyrics and it would still be legit Meshuggah. Definitely some heavy fire they still have since Koloss, maybe even Nothing. I just love this groove-ish djent style that you can play loud. I seriously like it! This wakes me up way more than coffee and tea. The ending riff pulls off some sick heavy burn. I recommend this song to djent fans all around!

Devin Townsend – Borderlands (2019)

4.5/5. An 11-minute epic with some of the most organic moments ever made by Devin, though it can't beat "Singularity".

ISIS – Hand of the Host (2009)

5/5. Another super incredible 11-minute epic, this one from Isis' final album before splitting up. RIP this band

Gojira – Oroborus (2008)

4.5/5. Gojira was a band I needed in my life, with moving progressive instrumentation. Awesome song with lyrics about... well, you know what it's about based on the title. However, I've moved on from the devouring death metal this band once had.

Leprous – The Valley (2013)

4/5. A breathtaking masterpiece! Though it's not enough to make your jaw drop, it's enough for a good recommendation.

Opeth – Serenity Painted Death (1999)

5/5. Another killer track with some of the best harsh vocals I've ever heard, especially when they have their own chorus: "White face haggard grin, this serenity painted death, with a halo of bitter disease, black paragon in lingering breath" I definitely like the growl at the end of that last line. The song is so great that if they shorten it to half its length for the radio, I wouldn't be p*ssed off but still prefer the original length. It would've been slightly better to end the playlist with the 10-minute epic "White Cluster", but this still works. I look forward to seeing what everyone else here thinks of this album as this month's Infinite feature release.

By the way, Saxy, what do the numbers mean next to the years in the submissions that weren't requested by me? Here's an example:

1. Animals As Leaders – Thoroughly at Home (2009) Requested by Andi

2. Mastodon – Crack the Skye (2009) (album feature)

3. The Human Abstract – Faust (2011) (27)

4. Meshuggah – The Abysmal Eye (2022) (53)

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Nightwish - The Poet and the Pendulum (from The Poet and the Pendulum, 2007)

5/5. Ah yeah, let's start this playlist with one of the greatest symphonic metal album opening epics! 5 parts go on through an incredible 14 minutes. But why should I describe them all? It's too beautiful for words. Just listen and learn!

Eternity's End - Bane of the Black Sword (from Embers of War, 2021)

4.5/5. This one is slightly more mid-paced, escalating through the pre-chorus before the chorus where Sanson's vocals march with the two-man Iron Savior army (background choir-like vocals by two Iron Savior members, Piet Sielck and Jan-Soren Eckert).

Sonata Arctica - 8th Commandment (from Ecliptica, 1999)

4/5. A slightly weak but still awesome song, the instrumentation isn't super great, but what makes up for it is the cool intro riff, good chorus, and catchy soloing. Still a good recommendation for Sonata Arctica fans and newcomers.

HammerFall - Hearts on Fire (from Crimson Thunder, 2002)

5/5. There's room for another signature classic, a fist-pumping power metal anthem with great chorus lines.

ANGRA - Mystery Machine (from Fireworks, 1998)

4.5/5. I loved the albums that had Andre Matos. RIP... It's great songs like this that makes Fireworks an amazing classic album. What an excellent masterful king of Brazilian power metal vocals this man was. There's an amazing solo too! Scooby Doo, where the f*** are you!?

Blind Guardian - Follow the Blind (from Follow the Blind, 1989) 

5/5. Another brilliant piece from one of the early power metal masters! If there ever is a Lord of the Rings-like medieval fantasy film with Blind Guardian songs as soundtrack, let me have a ticket to watch it!

Nevermore - The River Dragon Has Come (from Dead Heart In a Dead World, 2000)

4.5/5. This is one of the more popular Nevermore songs. An "unstoppable flood" digs everyone into his grave with no shelter or salvation. The whole "River Dragon" metaphor is a good idea with its dragon theme similar to "Becoming the Dragon" by Trivium, but the chorus is too repetitive with its same lamenting tone.

Helstar - Harker's Tale (Mass Of Death) (from Nosferatu, 1989)

4/5. Dracula-inspired power metal with a killer solo by André Corbin. It is quite underrated, but I don't see too much grace this band could potentially have. But never mind, the Dickinson-like vocals are bad-a**, though the attempts for the vocals to go high is slightly pathetic. Some of the darker songs like this one might've inspired Death's Chuck Schuldiner to add more technicality to his band's sound. I probably would dig this band more about 5 years ago, seriously.

DragonForce - My Heart Will Go On (from Extreme Power Metal, 2019)

5/5. What's really amazing is the band's cover of the Celine Dion hit song. After a 30-second 8-bit intro, the chaos booms in as the band plays the cover, sounding nearly twice as fast as the original Celine Dion song! That's way better than their cover of "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash from Maximum Overload.

Sabaton - Bismarck (Bismarck, 2019)

4.5/5. Amazing song with great words of historical war wisdom! This is quite as interesting as their recent albums along with Attero Dominatus. Nice baritone vocals from Joakim Brodén. Sabaton fan army, look out for their next album this year, The War to End All Wars!

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Breaking Benjamin – Torn in Two (2018)

4.5/5. A killer song to start this playlist! This is one of my brother's favorite Breaking Benjamin songs, and it's probably now one of my favorites too when my brother was playing in a car ride that was in with him. This massive boss battle theme is what really gets me hyped. "Broken I crawl back to life..."

Karnivool – Mauseum (2005)

5/5. The heaviness builds up again with this slower highlight. I found that song and someone's orchestral version a few years ago.

Bullet For My Valentine – Piece of Me (2018)

3.5/5. This one has some breakdowns and screams similar to their older material, but everything else falls into the electronic sea, similar to Asking Alexandria. Fortunately, their recent self-titled album made up for the mistakes made in Gravity.

Linkin Park – Krwlng (2002)

4/5. Further distancing from most of the hip-hop sh*t in Reanimation is what you've all been waiting for, an epic dramatic revisit of "Crawling", with Staind singer Aaron Lewis, where the beat and brief rapping have earned a greater edge for a crossover with less emphasis on hip-hop. Well done, guys...

Bad Wolves – Springfield Summer (2021)

3/5. Nice acoustic country, but it doesn't really work for the most part. Next!

Machinae Supremacy – A View from the End of the World (2010)

4/5. To tell you the truth, I loved this song more 5 years ago when my taste in power metal was still at height, but this band has an amazing mix of that genre, alt-metal, and 8-bit synths. Deep lyrics fit well for these astral video game metal heroes. In the alt-metal side, this band really separates itself from other bands who keep focusing on hip-hop and dubstep. Yet I caught all of this band like all that Pokemon sh*t much more back in those earlier days...

Spiritbox – Eternal Blue (2021)

4.5/5. The title track of the first and so far only Spiritbox album clearly calms down the metal wolf for ethereal clarity. Mike continues his heavy and melancholic soloing, and Courtney wishes that her "blood would slow down".

Dir En Grey - 輪郭 (Rinkaku) (2014)

5/5. I'm still stunned by how amazing this band is, especially the vocal range of Kyo that goes in different levels, from low to mid to high. Bad-a** amazing fun! I still have my faith in one of my favorite Japanese metal bands. I also sense a bit of Yakuza-like jazziness.

Motionless in White – Another Life (2019)

4.5/5. This hits me with wonderful beauty and great lyrics that could shed me to tears. F***ing fascinating!

While She Sleeps – Division Street (2021)

4/5. Sleeps Society is another good album in 2021, and we've had several songs from the album, each one in one of the Gateway playlists last year. This one is a soft ballad that I thought would break things up a bit, and I like that it's saved for one of the last.

3rd Strike – No Light (2002)

3.5/5. Thanks for this playlist, Saxy. This song is quite good, but it's not really how I wanted to end it. A pseudo-rap metal track right after a soft ballad that would've nicely sealed the ending better. 3rd Strike is not a charm, despite some cool potential.

Thanks Daniel for accepting my feature release submission! Here's my review summary:

My Arms Your Hearse might've been the first part of Opeth's perfect album streak, but this album is where their true balance of progressive and death metal really kicks off. Behold the absolute gem, Still Life! However, it's not until their following album Blackwater Park where the band reaches the ultimate pinnacle of their discography. Still Life helped create the blueprints for its sequel that would shine them a light from the flame of fame. While both albums have a perfect cauldron of complex riffs, haunting acoustics, and overall, groove-ish prog-death metal, Still Life has slightly more replay value. You can definitely listen to this album so many times whenever you want. Many songs have a nice contrast between beautiful blues-ish parts with clean singing and death metal sections with brutal screams. The concept of Still Life is told in a formula of love and death. You can enjoy listening to both the music and the story. Still Life is one of Opeth's most glorious masterpieces. This album's legacy is still alive!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "The Moor", "Benighted", "Serenity Painted Death", "White Cluster"

For fans of: Gojira, Disillusion, 2010s Enslaved

Thanks Daniel for accepting my feature release submission! Here's my review summary:

This is another album in which one of the songs I remember from 10 years ago, before I started my "true" metal interest. There was ONE SONG my brother likes and can play on his guitar, which I'll tell you soon. So while my brother played a song he enjoyed, I was reviewing the album that song is in. There is some lack of talent, plus a bit of repetition, but what to expect is catchy enjoyable hard rock/alt-metal... Speaking of brothers, that's what the 3 members of this Chicago-based band are. The band consisted of drummer Sam, vocalist/guitarist Pete, and (ex-)bassist Joe. When Chevelle formed in 1995, they played in small parties and clubs all over Chicago for 4 years, and made their 1999 debut Point #1, to some success. They were then signed to Epic Records for their second album. Wonder What's Next is a platinum-hitting album that gave some of their singles mainstream radio-play. This hard rock/alt-metal band displays Pete's dynamic vocal style that is enjoyable despite some repetition, reminding some of Tool and Breaking Benjamin. Any fan of those bands should dig the guitar ranging from soft strumming to hard rock riffing and Pete's vocals that can range from loud as a cat's screams and sharp as a cat's claws to as soft as a mouse. "The Red" is one of those great tracks, and that's the ONE SONG from the album my brother can play on guitar. I'm glad to still enjoy this song from my first time listening 10 years ago. I can definitely recommend the rest of this album to him and other alternative music fans. It will really make you WONDER WHAT'S NEXT....

3.5/5

Recommended tracks: "Family System", "Send the Pain Below", "The Red", "Wonder What's Next", "Forfeit", "An Evening With El Diablo"

For fans of: Tool, Breaking Benjamin, Karnivool

February 2022

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

2. Demon Hunter - "Collapsing" (from The World is a Thorn, 2010) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

3. Parkway Drive - "Sleepwalker" (from Deep Blue, 2010) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

4. Trivium - "Amongst the Shadows & the Stones" (from What the Dead Men Say, 2020) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

5. If I Were You - "False Reality" (from Radiant Dark, 2020)

6. Novelists FR - "Modern Slave" (from C'est La Vie, 2020)

7. Crystal Lake - "Daylight" (from The Voyages, 2020)

8. Memphis May Fire - "Left for Dead" (from Left for Dead, 2021)

9. Invent Animate - "As If It Never Was" (from The Sun Sleeps, As If It Never Was, 2021)

10. Cold As Life - "All Alone" (from Born To Land Hard, 1998) [Submitted by Daniel]

11. Employed to Serve - "Exist" (from Conquering, 2021) [Submitted by Vinny]

12. Iwrestledabearonce - "Alaskan Flounder Basket" (from Iwrestledabearonce, 2007)

13. Convictions - "Hurricane" (from I Won't Survive, 2021)

14. Tasters - "Jakarta" (from De Rerum Natura, 2017)

15. Thornhill - "Coven" (from The Dark Pool, 2019)

16. Polaris - "Masochist" (from The Death of Me, 2020)

17. Bleeding Through - "Dearly Demented" (from The Truth, 2006) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

18. Make Them Suffer - "Neverbloom" (from Neverbloom, 2012) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

19. Born of Osiris - "The New Reign" (from The New Reign, 2007) [Submitted by shadowdoom9 (Andi)]

20. Psyopus - "The Pig Keeperis Daughter" (from Our Puzzling Encounters Considered, 2007)

21. I, Valiance - "Thrown to Belial" (from The Reject of Humanity, 2015)

22. Bound in Fear - "Left to Drown" (from Eternal, 2021)

23. Rolo Tomassi - "Cloaked" (from Cloaked, 2021)

24. The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - "The Alpha the Omega" (from Danza 4: The Alpha- the Omega, 2012)

25. The Dillinger Escape Plan - "One of Us Is the Killer" (from One of Us Is the Killer, 2013)

26. God Forbid - "Earthsblood" (from Earthsblood, 2009)

27. Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas - "Stay as Who You Are" (from Phase 2, 2014)

Oh yeah, I agree, Daniel. There are a few Priest-inspired heavy metal/power metal/hard rock tracks, but the majority of the album has the complexity, time changes, and heavy intrinsic riffing that can be found in progressive metal. Probably one of the most progressive soundtracks I've heard today!

My thoughts on two more tracks (as part of my Revolution band catchup):

Enter Shikari – “Rat Race” (from “Rat Race” E.P., 2013)

5/5. This one's very cool! This might be my chance to catch up with this band and start listening to them for real.

HORSE The Band – “Anti-Pizza” (from “Pizza” E.P., 2006)

4.5/5. HORSE the Band provides some of the mightiest Nintendocore in existence. Just imagine yourself skateboarding all over the town to find a pizza restaurant. "JUST GIVE ME SOME F***ING PIZZA!!!"

Some chunky heavy metal from this South African-based video game soundtrack producer.

The sound of some of the most metal video game soundtrack I've heard! I've not yet started playing this game, but maybe I will. Definitely some Devin Townsend/Nevermore/Judas Priest vibes in this theme.