Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

After having fun with the "most popular 50 Infinite albums and EPs in 2021" last week, I've decided to the same with my other 3 clans. So here they are for The Gateway, with the number of ratings and average score:

#1 Poppy - Eat (NXT Soundtrack) (2164 / 3.67)

#2 Limp Bizkit - Still Sucks (1813 / 2.73)

#3 Architects - For Those That Wish to Exist (1159 / 2.55)

#4 Spiritbox - Eternal Blue (1109 / 3.38)

#5 Chevelle - Niratias (832 / 3.44)

#6 Evanescence - The Bitter Truth (700 / 2.75)

#7 Lantlôs - Wildhund (683 / 3.28)

#8 Turnstile - Turnstile Love Connection (544 / 3.52)

#9 Whitechapel - Kin (495 / 3.44)

#10 Serj Tankian - Elasticity (331 / 2.74)

#11 Sleep Token - This Place Will Become Your Tomb (329 / 3.20)

#12 Bullet for My Valentine - Bullet for My Valentine (310 / 2.89)

#13 Beartooth - Below (278 / 3.08)

#14 Slaughter to Prevail - Kostolom (275 / 2.77)

#15 Coaltar of the Deepers - Revenge of the Visitors (273 / 3.28)

#16 While She Sleeps - Sleeps Society (256 / 3.14)

#17 The Gentle Men - The Evolution of Tears (175 / 2.83)

#18 Don Broco - Amazing Things (168 / 3.31)

#19 Atreyu - Baptize (164 / 2.49)

#20 The Bread Scientists - Troposphere (160 / 3.16)

#21 Twelve Foot Ninja - Vengeance (153 / 3.18)

#22 Tremonti - Marching in Time (144 / 3.46)

#23 The Plot in You - Swan Song (126 / 3.23)

#24 Times of Grace - Songs of Loss and Separation (115 / 3.19)

#25 Black Veil Brides - The Phantom Tomorrow (111 / 2.81)

#26 Love and Death - Perfectly Preserved (108 / 3.03)

#27 Tetrarch - Unstable (99 / 2.99)

#28 Sion - Sion (95 / 3.25)

#29 Blanket - Modern Escapism (92 / 3.28)

#30 Hacktivist - Hyperdialect (88 / 3.08)

#31 Imminence - Heaven in Hiding (83 / 3.47)

#32 Alien Weaponry - Tangaroa (79 / 2.89)

#33 The Gazette - Mass (76 / 3.23)

#34 Attila - Closure (75 / 1.93)

#35 Slope - Street Heat (73 / 3.35)

#36 ASkySoBlack - What Is Yet to Come? (68 / 3.52)

#37 Aborym - Hostile (65 / 2.14)

#38 LizZard - Eroded (65 / 3.09)

#39 Eisbrecher - Liebe Macht Monster (65 / 3.28)

#40 Loli in Early 20s - blood for evening (64 / 3.16)

#41 Bad Wolves - Dear Monsters (61 / 3.06)

#42 Dreamshade - A Pale Blue Dot (60 / 3.15)

#43 鬱P [Utsu-P] - Unique (54 / 3.59)

#44 Психея [Psiheya] - Видения (48 / 3.06)

#45 Sumo Cyco - Initiation (45 / 2.99)

#46 Blood Youth - Visions of Another Hell (45 / 3.11)

#47 Pain of Truth / Age of Apocalypse - Pain of Truth/Age of Apocalypse Split (43 / 3.26)

#48 ten56. - Downer Part 1 (42 / 3.25)

#49 MolyBaron -The Mutiny (39 / 3.60)

#50 Appalooza - The Holy of Holies (37 / 3.03)

I did not expect that Eisbrecher album to appear here. Neue Deutsche Härte apparently now covers alternative metal and industrial metal in RYM, instead of just the latter. Another RYM genre change to keep in mind...

After having fun with the "most popular 50 Infinite albums and EPs in 2021" last week, I've decided to the same with my other 3 clans. So here they are for The Guardians, with the number of ratings and average score:

#1 Iron Maiden - Senjutsu (2507 / 3.13)

#2 Helloween - Helloween (1388 / 3.53)

#3 Darkthrone - Eternal Hails...... (1315 / 3.25)

#4 Epica - Omega (706 / 3.43)

#5 First Fragment - Gloire éternelle (697 / 3.58)

#6 Accept - Too Mean to Die (542 / 3.25)

#7 Unto Others - Strength (500 / 3.47)

#8 Andrew W.K. - God Is Partying (456 / 3.24)

#9 Therion - Leviathan (391 / 3.09)

#10 Powerwolf - Call of the Wild (329 / 3.40)

#11 Dread Sovereign - Alchemical Warfare (327 / 3.30)

#12 Herzel - Le dernier rempart (268 / 3.47)

#13 KK's Priest - Sermons of the Sinner (257 / 3.14)

#14 Beast in Black - Dark Connection (250 / 3.43)

#15 Volbeat - Servant of the Mind (242 / 3.41)

#16 Eternity's End - Embers of War (226 / 3.65)

#17 Orden Ogan - Final Days (225 / 3.33)

#18 Cirith Ungol - Half Past Human (217 / 3.36)

#19 Various Artists - The Metallica Blacklist (214 / 3.50)

#20 Warrior Path - The Mad King (212 / 3.45)

#21 Vulture - Dealin' Death (199 / 3.34)

#22 Pharaoh - The Powers That Be (198 / 3.53)

#23 石渡太輔 [Daisuke Ishiwatari] - Guilty Gear -Strive- Digital Soundtrack (197 / 3.62)

#24 Heavy Sentence - Bang to Rights (192 / 3.52)

#25 Mechina - Siege (191 / 3.07)

#26 Dragony - Viribus Unitis (186 / 3.15)

#27 Seven Spires - Gods of Debauchery (176 / 3.47)

#28 Bewitcher - Cursed Be Thy Kingdom (170 / 3.26)

#29 Lovebites - Glory, Glory, to the World (169 / 3.56)

#30 Rhapsody of Fire - Glory for Salvation (168 / 3.29)

#31 Edu Falaschi - Vera Cruz (165 / 3.49)

#32 Black Label Society - Doom Crew Inc. (163 / 3.26)

#33 Silver Talon - Decadence and Decay (162 / 3.33)

#34 Labÿrinth - Welcome to the Absurd Circus (161 / 3.30)

#35 Blaze Bayley - War Within Me (157 / 3.41)

#36 Running Wild - Blood on Blood (155 / 3.14)

#37 Lucifer - Lucifer IV (155 / 3.39)

#38 Bloodbound - Creatures of the Dark Realm (151 / 3.41)

#39 Aephanemer - A Dream of Wilderness (150 / 3.56)

#40 Pentakill - III: Lost Chapter (149 / 3.10)

#41 Crystal Viper - The Cult (145 / 3.26)

#42 Rage - Resurrection Day (175 / 3.35)

#43 Sirenia - Riddles, Ruins & Revelations (139 / 2.92)

#44 Haunt - Beautiful Distraction (136 / 3.13)

#45 Significant Point - Into the Storm (135 / 3.29)

#46 Brainstorm - Wall of Skulls (132 / 3.63)

#47 Portrait - At One With None (127 / 3.39)

#48 Lunar Shadow - Wish to Leave (122 / 3.24)

#49 Bonehunter - Dark Blood Reincarnation System (120 / 3.43)

#50 Dalriada - Őszelő (117 / 3.47)

A few of these albums actually have just the speed metal label, but again, it's there because speed metal has been switched to a Heavy Metal subgenre in RYM, which has not yet taken effect here.

I'm back into the Revolution zone early, all!

After having fun with the "most popular 50 Infinite albums and EPs in 2021" last week, I've decided to the same with my other 3 clans. So here they are for The Revolution, with the number of ratings and average score:

#1 Between the Buried and Me - Colors II (2256 / 3.51)

#2 Poppy - Eat (NXT Soundtrack) (2164 / 3.67)

#3 Frontier - Oxidized (1992 / 3.50)

#4 Every Time I Die - Radical (1593 / 3.55)

#5 Knocked Loose - A Tear in the Fabric of Life (1578 / 3.77)

#6 Pupil Slicer - Mirrors (1163 / 3.41)

#7 Trivium - In the Court of the Dragon (938 / 3.47)

#8 SeeYouSpaceCowboy - The Romance of Affliction (807 / 3.46)

#9 Lorna Shore - ...And I Return to Nothingness (706 / 3.51)

#10 Sunami / Gulch - Sunami / Gulch (606 / 3.51)

#11 ERRA - ERRA (592 / 3.39)

#12 For Your Health - In Spite Of (578 / 3.24)

#13 Yautja - The Lurch (563 / 3.45)

#14 Anna Pest - Dark Arms Reach Skyward With Bone White Fingers (481 / 3.14)

#15 Humanity's Last Breath - Välde (435 / 3.30)

#16 SeeYouSpaceCowboy / If I Die First - A Sure Disaster (430 / 3.53)

#17 Brand of Sacrifice - Lifeblood (414 / 3.26)

#18 Ice Nine Kills - The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood (397 / 3.31)

#19 Death Goals - The Horrible and The Miserable (384 / 3.43)

#20 Zao - The Crimson Corridor (369 / 3.46)

#21 Jinjer - Wallflowers (366 / 3.29)

#22 The Devil Wears Prada - ZII (315 / 3.47)

#23 Fawn Limbs - Darwin Falls (311 / 3.35)

#24 Bullet for My Valentine - Bullet for My Valentine (310 / 2.89)

#25 Hazing Over - Pestilence (309 / 3.39)

#26 Born of Osiris - Angel or Alien (292 / 3.16)

#27 Slaughter to Prevail - Kostolom (275 / 2.77)

#28 Silent Planet - Iridescent (275 / 3.44)

#29 While She Sleeps - Sleeps Society (256 / 3.14)

#30 Dying Wish - Fragments of a Bitter Memory (251 / 3.46)

#31 Wristmeetrazor - Replica of a Strange Love (250 / 3.31)

#32 Circuit Circuit - Circuit Circuit (247 / 3.53)

#33 MouthBreather - I'm Sorry Mr. Salesman (244 / 3.48)

#34 God’s Hate - God’s Hate (239 / 3.27)

#35 Employed to Serve - Conquering (215 / 3.14)

#36 Kaonashi - Dear Lemon House, You Ruined Me: Senior Year (208 / 3.24)

#37 Darko - Darko (200 / 3.34)

#38 Skin Tension - Machinic Impulses of the Hyperreal (190 / 3.26)

#39 Wanderer - Liberation From a Brutalist Existence (181 / 3.40)

#40 Mental Cruelty - A Hill to Die Upon (179 / 3.28)

#41 Carnifex - Graveside Confessions (176 / 3.30)

#42 Wage War - Manic (175 / 3.35)

#43 Abiotic - Ikigai (174 / 3.14)

#44 Ghostemane - Fear Network II (161 / 2.58)

#45 Of Mice & Men - Echo (155 / 3.44)

#46 Bridge Burner - Disempath (140 / 3.44)

#47 Juan Bond - Womb (138 / 3.01)

#48 Waking the Cadaver - Authority Through Intimidation (126 / 3.32)

#49 LANDMVRKS - Lost in the Waves (125 / 3.12)

#50 Of Mice & Men - Timeless (124 / 3.34)

Wow. Sabbath are AOR!! Let's move this one to the "unpopular metal opinions" thread.

I didn't say Sabbath as a whole are or sound like AOR, just that one song. C'mon, you can't tell me you don't hear it, that song is super light compared to their usual fare.

I agree. This might've been a hint for the band's heaviness decreasing in their next 3 albums.

Am I the only one who thinks that there should be more acknowledgement of the two distinct types of death doom metal. There seems to me to be a world of difference between the gothic style of death doom practiced by MDB et al and the more heavily (heavenly) death metal vibes of Cianide, Rippikoulu, Asphyx, Atavisma and Coffins. Is a fan of My Dying Bride, Katatonia, Draconian and Paradise Lost necessarily going to get off on Autopsy and Winter? I'm not saying they wouldn't, but surely there is enough of a separation in overall sound and atmosphere to justify a gothic or maybe even melodic death doom tag. They sound as different to me as black metal and melodic black metal do, so if the purpose of tagging is to direct fans of a certain style to further releases or bands they might like why should these two quite differing styles be lumped together.

When I was still listening to death-doom, I thought of the subgenre as 3 distinct types; melodic (My Dying Bride, Katatonia), gothic (Draconian, Paradise Lost), and DEATH-doom (Autopsy, Winter). It makes a lot of sense, and if I really was into the doom side of death-doom that marked the former two categories, I wouldn't like the death side as much (and I've never had). Two metal genres can be combined as one, but what matters is which side gets more of the spotlight. So yeah, you're not alone there, Sonny.

Andi, please see this track from 1984 for an early example of heavily synthesizer-driven metal:

Hmmm... Yeah I can clearly hear a lot of background synths, but they're in more of an 80s new-wave level than symphonic in my opinion. If we really are checking on early examples of prominent synths in metal, here's another good one, mostly in the "Minuet" intro:

99% of symphonic bands are only using keyboards Andi. Besides, if you want to identify the first example of a metal band utilizing an orchestra then it goes way back to a time when there was only one metal band on the planet.

As a symphonic metal nerd, this whole discussion is very interesting and I wanna look at more of these examples of early symphonic metal, but I think maybe it's a stretch to call this a "symphonic metal" song considering how light the sound is on this track. It pretty much sounds like AOR (Boston, Journey, etc.) with Ozzy vocals, and rym seems to agree that this is more symphonic rock that symphonic metal. It's definitely worth noting, but I personally am going to refrain from calling it the "first symphonic metal song".

Back in the 70s, AOR was on the rise with bands like Boston, Journey, and Queen entering the scene, so it really does make more sense that the light strings used in the track have more in common with AOR in the past than symphonic metal today. I looked up the albums where the tracks I've chosen are from in RYM, and it seems like X Japan's Blue Blood and Savatage's Gutter Ballet are the earliest two albums to have the symphonic metal secondary tag, so by that logic, those two albums really would be the first ones to have genuine symphonic metal in at least one song.

Scarecrow, have you ever listened to Metallica's S&M, their live performance with a real orchestra? Normally, Metallica is in your least-listened-to clan The Pit, but in that live album, most of their songs are from their heavy metal albums, twisted with authentic orchestration. I didn't enjoy it so much, but perhaps you might. Give that one a go!

The apocalyptic climax of another perfect post-sludge album, with two guitarists from a pop rock band joining in. It's the Cult of the Phoenix!

I could not find the full "Anabasis" suite in one video, but that's OK because this part is superior, complete with soloing by two neo-classical guitar masters and a female vocalist that I've first heard of 10 years ago from the epic orchestral times of Two Steps From Hell. Fans of Leprous, Enslaved, and Opeth should dig this epic collaboration:

Ben, please add the new re-recording of Annihilator's Metal album, Metal II.

Ben, please add Evanescence. Their new album The Bitter Truth has the Alternative Metal tag that now fits the RYM 2:1 ratio (for: 30 - against: 15).

There are those "top 50 progressive metal releases in 2021" lists on other sites, so I decided to see what are indeed the most popular 50 of the Infinite in 2021 (including EPs) in RYM. I'm actually busy this weekend, but after that, I'll work on similar lists for my other 3 clans. So here they are, with the number of ratings and average score:

#1 Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - Bloodmoon: I (3077 / 3.57)

#2 Gojira - Fortitude (2983 / 3.24)

#3 Ad Nauseam - Imperative Imperceptible Impulse (2566 / 3.63)

#4 Between the Buried and Me - Colors II (2250 / 3.51)

#5 Mastodon - Hushed and Grim (2120 / 3.52)

#6 Papungu - Holoceno (1822 / 3.62)

#7 Thy Catafalque - Vadak (1368 / 3.56)

#8 Cult of Luna - The Raging River (1269 / 3.53)

#9 Kaatayra - Inpariquipê (1256 / 3.74)

#10 Atvm - Famine, Putrid and Fucking Endless (1243 / 3.60)

#11 Amenra - De doorn (1121 / 3.49)

#12 Dream Theater - A View From the Top of the World (1020 / 3.25)

#13 Kaya Dot - Moss Grew on the Swords and Plowshares Alike (1009 / 3.48)

#14 Portal - Avow (986 / 3.40)

#15 Dvne - Etemen Ænka (937 / 3.51)

#16 King Woman - Celestial Blues (905 / 3.49)

#17 Soen - Imperial (876 / 3.30)

#18 Diskord - Degenerations (865 / 3.53)

#19 VOLA - Witness (837 / 3.45)

#20 Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou - The Helm of Sorrow (762 / 3.42)

#21 So Hideous - None but a Pure Heart Can Sing (758 / 3.61)

#22 Genghis Tron - Dream Weapon (755 / 3.27)

#23 Cynic - Ascension Codes (712 / 3.32)

#24 Lantlôs - Wildhund (678 / 3.28)

#25 Kauan - Ice Fleet (639 / 3.45)

#26 Black Sheep Wall - Songs for the Enamel Queen (638 / 3.38)

#27 Plebeian Grandstand - Rien ne suffit (638 / 3.53)

#28 Rivers of Nihil - The Work (624 / 3.33)

#29 Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment 3 (604 / 3.49)

#30 ERRA - ERRA (590 / 3.39)

#31 Big Brave - Vital (565 / 3.37)

#32 Fire-Toolz - Eternal Home (551 / 3.42)

#33 Ænigmatum - Deconsecrate (523 / 3.54)

#34 Furia - w Śnialni (510 / 3.14)

#35 Vildhjarta - Måsstaden Under Vatten (505 / 3.45)

#36 Krallice - Demonic Wealth (502 / 3.29)

#37 Whitechapel - Kin (485 / 3.43)

#38 Victory Over the Sun - Nowherer (436 / 3.22)

#39 Year of No Light - Consolamentum (430 / 3.41)

#40 Iotunn - Access All Worlds (427 / 3.45)

#41 Dordeduh - Har (415 / 3.51)

#42 Effluence - Psychocephalic Spawning (379 / 3.66)

#43 Jinjer - Wallflowers (364 / 3.29)

#44 Evergrey - Escape of the Phoenix (350 / 3.40)

#45 Five the Hierophant - Through Aureate Void (343 / 3.38)

#46 Dola - Czasy (336 / 3.46)

#47 Bríi - Sem propósito (325 / 3.44)

#48 Fawn Limbs - Darwin Falls (310 / 3.34)

#49 Suffocate for Fuck Sake - Fyra (292 / 3.33)

#50 Enslaved - Caravans to the Outer Worlds (281 / 3.29)

You're absolutely right, Daniel! I have been thinking so much about those bands I've mentioned above and I didn't realize that the first ever metal band had also made what can be considered the first ever symphonic metal track, or at least proto-symphonic metal. Black Sabbath's "Spiral Architect" is clearly the winner!

Here are my overall ratings for the playlists I've reviewed this month (February):

1. Gateway playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: 11)

2. Guardians playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 10)

3. Infinite playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 9)

4. Revolution playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 27)

So far, I've only commented on 11 tracks in the Gateway playlist, 10 tracks in the Guardians playlist, and 9 tracks in the Infinite playlist, but I still enjoy the tracks that I had time for, and I'm grateful to Saxy and Xephyr for their playlist works all the same, and of course to Daniel for accepting those playlists. I really dig the Revolution playlist that I've made! That opinion might seem bad form, but let me even out by saying that I would recommend 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 my playlist! Good work on these playlists, all!

So far, I've only reviewed my two feature release submissions for this month; Chevelle's Wonder What's Next for The Gateway and Opeth's Still Life for The Infinite. I'm glad to see all this positive reaction from other members for those two. Those two releases may be the only featured releases I had time to review this month, but hopefully more next month to go with the one I'll submit...

I've never realized how easy industrial metalcore is for me to digest until this album with this killer highlight:

Inspired by Sonny sharing with us the top 20 most popular metal releases on RYM, I thought, what if we shared the most popular albums in each clan and judge which ones deserve their right in the list? So that's what I'm doing, starting with my main clans. Any of you please feel free to do the same with the other clans. Here are the 20 most popular releases in the Revolution, according to RYM, with the number of ratings and average score:

#1 Converge - Jane Doe (14389 / 3.94)

#2 Between the Buried and Me - Colors (6793 / 3.68)

#3 Mastodon - Remission (6487 / 3.66)

#4 Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind (6356 / 3.80)

#5 The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity (5996 / 3.67)

#6 Converge - You Fail Me (5852 / 3.81)

#7 Converge - Axe to Fall (5417 / 3.79)

#8 Converge - The Dusk in Us (4934 / 3.72)

#9 The Dillinger Escape Plan - Miss Machine (4620 / 3.67)

#10 The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works (4539 / 3.62)

#11 The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us Is the Killer (4265 / 3.74)

#12 Bring Me the Horizon - Sempiternal (4203 / 3.21)

#13 Botch - We Are the Romans (4118 / 3.82)

#14 Converge - No Heroes (3934 / 3.59)

#15 Daughters - Hell Songs (3860 / 3.36)

#16 Daughters - Canada Songs (3803 / 2.79)

#17 Between the Buried and Me - Alaska (3300 / 3.51)

#18 The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis (3217 / 3.56)

#19 Converge - Petitioning the Empty Sky (3059 / 3.60)

#20 Avenged Sevenfold - Waking the Fallen (3048 / 2.99)

Lots of great releases here, with Converge and The Dillinger Escape Plan dominating with almost all of their albums. I nearly laughed at Mastodon's Remission being up there because we never put the metalcore label on that album, let alone the band themselves. I should really check out those Daughters albums, like seriously, soon. So what do you all think?

Now let's extend the list to 30 and find some more cool releases:

#21 Loathe - I Let It In and It Took Everything (2965 / 3.47)

#22 Bring Me the Horizon - Suicide Season (2857 / 2.53)

#23 Code Orange - Underneath (2855 / 3.28)

#24 Bring Me the Horizon - There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret (2819 / 2.94)

#25 The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation (2795 / 3.65)

#26 Bring Me the Horizon - Count Your Blessings (2689 / 2.21)

#27 Vein - Errorzone (2677 / 3.56)

#28 Trivium - Ascendancy (2666 / 3.18)

#29 Bullet for My Valentine - The Poison (2658 / 2.78)

#30 Protest the Hero - Fortress (2643 / 3.51)

Glad to finally see some Trivium, Bullet for My Valentine, and Protest the Hero in here. I should really check out those albums by Code Orange and Vein.

The mighty finale of Tool's progressive comeback album:

Once again trying to push my limits into post-black metal, the 5th and final Agalloch album marked a half-decent end to their two-decade tenure, including this 12-minute final Crusade. This should be picked up by fans of Alcest, Oranssi Pazuzu, and 90s Ulver:

I changed the list above after reviewing a couple of the excluded releases from the previous edition. I might try listening to and reviewing the Tool and Agalloch albums, the latter to see if I'm still up to post-black metal or not after that Oranssi Pazuzu album.

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 decrease the minimum rating number to 13 and extend that list:

#14 Judas Priest - Stained Class (14 / 4.1)

#15 Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time (14 / 4.1)

#16 Iron Maiden - Killers (14 / 3.9)

#17 Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance (14 / 3.5)

#18 Judas Priest - British Steel (14 / 3.4)

#19 Metallica - Load (14 / 2.9)

#20 Metallica - Reload (14 / 2.7)

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

#22 Black Sabbath - Sabotage (13 / 3.9)

#23 Megadeth - Countdown to Extinction (13 / 3.7)

Glad to find a power metal release (Blind Guardian) here, though I'm still going to keep the power/symphonic/neoclassical metal lists.

Hope you and your family will enjoy your new home, Daniel!

Groovy new track from thrashy progressive metal masters Voivod. Thanks for this, Saxy! I've been quite busy lately, but hopefully next week I can get the new albums from Voivod, Cult of Luna, and Persefone. Not to mention Canadian thrash band Annihilator's Metal re-recording.

Already done that, Daniel!

As someone who normally avoids black metal, I'm stunned by how much I decently enjoy the latest Oranssi Pazuzu album, the avant-psychedelic Mestarin kynsi, though I'm one or two years late for the party. I'm glad to see the appeal of tracks like this and finally reach the other side:

Elemental progressive tech-death for fans of the early 90s eras of Coroner, Cynic, and Death:

So, I've finally decided to get out of the rat race. Been giving it a lot of thought for a while now and then I got into a blazing row with my boss on Wednesday and thought "Fuck it, I've had enough of this shit" and put my notice in today. Gonna give early retirement a chance and see how it goes. Looking forward to it now!

Good luck, Sonny!

I'm working on the next installment of the book series that I write, and it's an activity book. We also started selling reprinted copies of the first book in the series.

Now let's decrease the minimum rating number to 8 and extend that list:

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

#15 Enslaved - Below the Lights (9 / 3.7)

#16 Tool - Fear Inoculum (8 / 3.6)

#17 Agalloch - The Serpent & the Sphere (8 / 3.4)

Now let's decrease the minimum rating number to 9 and extend that list:

#22 Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance (9 / 4.2)

#23 Faith No More - Angel Dust (9 / 4.1)

#24 Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue (9 / 3.9)

#25 Rage Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles (9 / 3.7)

#26 Deftones - Adrenaline (9 / 3.1)

#27 Tool - Opiate (9 / 2.7)

In my opinion, Daughters knew how to do their chaotic grind-mathcore in a way that I can stand. Sure they have the mind-blowing drumming, high screechy vocals, short songs, and time/tempo changes, but the guitar talent being unique and listenable is what sets them apart from other bands of a similar style including Gulch and Inside the Beehive. And there's more melodic experimentation in Hell Songs while keeping the mathematical chaos that has dominated Canada Songs. That's the chaos I prefer!

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!