Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

My thoughts on some tracks:

Theatre Of Tragedy – “…A Distance There Is…” (from “Theatre Of Tragedy”, 1995)

4.5/5. Interesting how I felt like submitting a song that's more orchestral, but it still has the despair that can be found in gothic doom albums like this one. So beautiful yet depressive, with poetic lyrics from medieval English. Theatre of Tragedy was one of my favorite gothic metal bands from my earlier epic metal taste 5 years ago (and one of only few back then), and the lovely vocals of Liv Kristine are never to be dismissed. Her singing stirs up a scenario of a fairy held captive in a cage, hopelessly begging to be set free. Simply excellent, and could be a good song for when I'm dying in my bed. This is actual awesome gothic beauty, unlike the less serious emo sh*t. Her amazing voice can lead a wonderful choir! A beautiful soft song of enchantment...

Katatonia – “Relention” (from “Discouraged Ones”, 1998)

5/5. An incredible track with simple lyrics of emphasized despair ("I’m returning from something, to something"), as part of the lyrical theme of a lost search for hope. Worth listening to after checking out this month's Fallen featured release (the album before this one).

Saturnus – “Lost My Way” (from “Martyre”, 2000)

5/5. An awesome song of atmospheric death-doom! Enough said...

Sentenced – “Crumbling Down (Give Up Hope)” (from “Down”, 1996)

4.5/5. I've already given up on this band recently because of their earlier death metal sound, but I still revisit their gothic metal material. This is one of my favorite songs from its album Down, more nicely depressive than their previous transition album Amok. The vocals fit greatly for this band when moving to a more melodic sound. This is a d*mn amazing tune, and sadly, any possible chance of hearing more from this band is lost with the passing of founding guitarist Miika Tenkula. RIP... I'm still thankful for this song to love, probably more than Metallica.

Darkthrone – “Lost Arcane City of Uppakra” (from “Eternal Hails......”, 2021)

4/5. Oh it's that band, Darkthrone, part of black metal's second wave in Norway... The riff in the intro sounds so bad-a** like its from an alt-rock/metal band. It's good, but they seem to focus on raw brutality in the music and cover art more than actual production. A very nice banger, but anyone having listening to their previous album Old Star would be wondering what the f*** just happened. Very good, but some parts are a bit cr*ppy, and I'm still not into black metal, OK?!

Isis – “Hand Of Doom” (from “Sawblade” E.P., 1999)

4.5/5. This is from back when Isis had a more doomy sludge sound than their later post-sludge. This cover of a Black Sabbath classic is quite a doomy headbanger to please both fans of Isis and Sabbath. Horns up!

Bethlehem – “Allegoria” (from “Mein Weg”, 2004)

3.5/5. Not really one of the best songs in the playlist, but it's pretty great, I guess...

Septic Flesh – “Έσοπτρον” (from Έσοπτρον”, 1995)

4/5. Again with Septicflesh! Esoptron is one of the band's more doomy albums, while still having the usual symphonic death metal sound I've moved away from, along with programmed drums. Still a great song!

My Dying Bride – “The Forever People” (from “As The Flower Withers”, 1992)

4.5/5. This is more of an example of fast death metal with no gothic elements with fast tempo and wicked growls for a sinister mood. Good song but there they emphasize the death in death-doom. It's all just destructive death metal territory with nothing delicate. And yet it still fits well with this playlist's death-doom section....

My thoughts on some tracks:

Dordeduh – “De neam vergur” (from “Har”, 2021)

4/5. Dordeduh? Har? Not quite names to take seriously, but the opening epic of this playlist can be... You can make a magnificent trip to the edge of the world with this long track that has a bit of a magical classical-ish Killing Joke-like vibe. Interesting black-ish post-Viking metal right here!

Haken – “Celestial Elixir” (from “Aquarius”, 2010)

4.5/5. Haken is a band I used to listen to, and if you ever listen to this album while washing the dishes or doing anything water-related, it's gonna be an epic watery journey. There's an epic Dream Theater-like prog overture going on for 3 minutes with a bit of polka in the middle, and the rest is progressive history...

Pain Of Salvation – “Her Voices” (from “The Perfect Element I”, 2000)

4/5. Not the best song in this album, but a great introductory song for anyone new to Pain of Salvation. It begins with soft melodic pattern before a slow heavy chorus that's great in all the instruments including the bass, keyboards, and guitar. Again, the song reaches the climax at over the 4-minute mark as the instrumentation gets more creative and even extreme with a fast long solo. Then there's an epic violin bridge before ending smoothly back where it began.

Mastodon – “Oblivion” (from “Cracke The Sky”, 2009)

4.5/5. Also a great introductory song for Mastodon newcomers, especially if you wanna get used to a noticeable change in vocals. Bassist Troy Sanders' vocals are still there but different and less like a shouting caveman, and drummer Brann Dailor sings lead vocals for the first time.

Enslaved – “The Watcher” (from “Vertebrae”, 2008)

4/5. The keyboards being used on its own in the 15-second "ambient" intro was useless! What the f*** was that?!? I almost expected a PJ Harvey song right there!! So confusing! The rest of this song is really awesome though, and again for anyone finding this band for the first time...

Rivers Of Nihil – “Where Owls Know My Name” (from “Where Owls Know My Name”, 2018)

4.5/5. Similar to my Septicflesh submission for this month's Guardians playlist, I still like this song from this band that's now gone from me since my death metal departure because it sounds closer to another clan that album is in. So bleak yet brilliant! The lyrics are some of the best in this beautiful headbanging song, with a couple jazzy saxophone solos, such as the one in the two-minute mark. A d*mn great song of saxy tech-death/progressive metal!

Voivod – “D.N.A. (Don’t Know Anything)” (from “Negatron”, 1995)

3.5/5. This one is pretty good, one of my favorite songs in a more experimental Voivod album...without Snake! The vocals in this album and Phobos are performed by Eric Forrest, though in this song, the vocals are handled by JG Thirlwell. It's hard to get use to their temporary stay in a more industrial-like sound than the band's usual prog-thrash sound, but eventually you will. This song is one of the more industrial songs in the album, but it's still progressive enough to fit in this playlist. Though some of you might disagree. HAVE A NICE DAY....

Thy Catafalque – “Móló” (from “Vadak”, 2021)

3/5. There's slightly more experimentation here, too much for me to stand. Though it still has a few killer heavy parts...

Meshuggah – “I” (from “I” E.P., 2004)

5/5. Felt sneaky enough to bend the length rules by adding a 21-minute track, eh, Daniel? That's OK, because "I" is a tremendous metal achievement for Meshuggah. It's a really long song that helped popularize djent. I begins with low guitar that has almost the same tuning as the typical standard bass guitar, playing one note in constant drum marching. Not repetitive at all! The strange time-changing rhythm would get you pumped up and hanging onto your seat for the oncoming storm. Then after one and a half minutes, Jens Kidman unleashes a 20-second tortured scream. Then the song continues with heavy riffs and percussion, and vicious growls. Fredrik Thordendal does his first solo in the EP that's nicely dramatic. After those hypnotizing 3 and a half minutes, there's a crushing breakdown with guitars and drums over shattered time signatures, followed by more of those vicious growls. At the 5:40 mark, Thordendal unleashes a chaotic solo assault with incessant notes flying everywhere alongside the inhuman rampage of accuracy from drummer Tomas Haake. There's some disturbing reverb of odd notes that abruptly transition from the chaos to a massive soft soundscape the back to the chaos again. The riffing that comes shortly after the 10 and a half minute mark is so f***ing heavy which is probably the only moment where you can properly headbang without getting lost in confusion. Then there's a strange section at the 12-minute point where Kidman starts whispering diabolically, followed by a guitar solo that sounds like a beehive orchestra. Eventually after another soft break of dark arpeggios, at the 17-minute point, we head into the twisted guitars and drums of Nothing, all in standard djent rhythm before closing with lengthy stretched feedback. Holy mammoth, this track is an unstoppable monolith!

My thoughts on some tracks:

Battle Beast – “Neuromancer” (from “Battle Beast”, 2013)

5/5. For the first song of this playlist, what do you get when you heavy metal with cyberpunk (the novel genre, NOT cyber metal gone punk)? A fantastic combo! This song is what I like to hear; 80s Judas Priest/WASP-like vibes without actually heading to those bands, especially in the bad-a** solo. This would definitely make MTV more colorful (and more metal). And since one of this band's songs is covered by Sabaton (NOT this one), an actual Battle Beast/Sabaton collaboration would be a match made in metal heaven! This song is one of my favorites in Battle Beast's kick-A self-titled album. Noora's soft singing works greatly as well. Amazing songs from one of the best bands of the 2010s heavy/power metal period! It's kinda sad that this one of the last power metal bands in my high-school-age earlier epic metal taste before my big taste reset, but it's still a great memory, and it warms my Guardian heart. The guitar even reminds me a bit of Michael Jackson's "Beat It". Not a lot of people in my home country has heard of these bands, but this one has great possible potential of catching on. I also like the band's debut Steel though that album has a different female singer. Either way, that band really spiced up the blandness metal has nowadays. Thanks for accepting this song submission, Daniel!

Lovebites – “Dystopia Symphony” (from “Glory, Glory, To The World”, 2021)

5/5. Now this is another heavy metal masterpiece! Japanese anime symphonic power metal, but it's not just the singer who's female... It's the entire band!! Looking forward to more music to listen to from these metal girls...

Septic Flesh – “The Eldest Cosmonaut (Dark Version)” (from “A Fallen Temple”, 1998)

4.5/5. The song in the Spotify playlist is actually the original version, but that's fine. I used to enjoy Septicflesh a lot before my death metal departure, and this is one of the few earlier songs from the band to actually be more Therion-like symphonic metal than just death metal all the way. Fabulous memories from one or two years ago! The melody is kinda like what Egyptians use to summon ancient aliens. Excellent symphonic metal classic!

Angra – “Make Believe” (from “Holy Land”, 1996)

4.5/5. Too beautiful to describe in words! RIP Angra/Viper vocalist Andre Matos...

Freedom Call – “Farewell” (from “Crystal Empire”, 2001)

5/5. I haven't heard this one in 5 years, and it's great to hear some more f***ing pure power metal again! The song sounds so happy, as opposed to the anger of other bands and metal genres. Let the bells toll for this Helloween-inspired band! That's what I expect for this new generation of metal, to be happier and less depressing (not the doom kind of depressing). Hail to a happy power metal farewell! This band sits nicely somewhere in my list of old favorites of power metal; DragonForce, Gamma Ray, Stratovarius, Freedom Call, HammerFall, Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire, and Sabaton. Far better than Babymetal's kawaii sh*t taking over the scene today...

Machinae Supremacy – “Hero” (from “Origin”, 2001)

5/5. One of Machinae Supremacy's first songs! I actually like this original version slightly better than the newer version from 10 years later in Rise of a Digital Nation, the original has raw intensity. A couple of DragonForce's songs from their own debut were about Starfire and her evil sister Blackfire; This Machinae song is about video game heroes in general. How pleasantly fantastic! Back then, they were an underground band making music for a website before assembling their first official album. This would be awesome for a sci-fi remake of RuneScape! This is good heavenly sh*t to please the 8-bit metal community. This should have far more YouTube views than the dreaded Frozen's "Let It Go". This Machinae song has an awesome upbeat feeling, and would actually work well for Guitar Hero. Machinae Supremacy has also made the soundtrack for the Jets'n'Guns game, and this song should've been part of it as well. Nothing bad at all, just 8-bit-synth-powered metal in the face. Well done!

Epica – “Kingdom of Heaven Prt. 3 - The Antediluvian Universe” (from “Omega”, 2021)

5.5/5 (not exaggerating). Now it's time to put your video games aside and watch a real epic battle up close, with the closure of one of the greatest achieved trilogies of the millennium! The godly intro and chorus is so brilliant in this masterpiece. The vocals by Simone Simons are so hauntingly good, especially in the 9 and a half minute mark. So incredibly beautiful! With a few epic songs I found in this album, probably more than Avantasia's Moonglow, I really gotta check out the entire Omega album someday. A grand use of time during COVID lockdown! The orchestral intro and breaks in the middle remind me of their second album Consign to Oblivion. And g****mn, those choruses are so serene! Just like the Star Wars Skywalker Saga, a 3x3 multitude of tales have reached an epic conclusion, and so is my time in this month's Guardians playlist....

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

I had no idea what the phrase "Tall Poppy Syndrome" means until some pre-review research. Apparently it's a social phenomenon where people are criticized because of their genuine talents elevating them above and from their peers. That's what Leprous was doing with this album but guess what? Very few progressive peers despise that and they succeeded in the elevation! Resembling a combo of influences such as Opeth, Winds, and Porcupine Tree, the appeal of Leprous is undeniable. You can never place the band in a specific genre other than progressive metal. The band's progressive metal material is a well-crafted mix of odd structures, clean vocals, time changes, complex rhythms, and contrasting heaviness, all in dexterous writing. The band's most appealing moments are the heavier ones, but those are only employed sparingly while helped out by the cleaner sections. Sure it would be awesome if the music was more crushing, but that would make the material less memorable and more likely to suffer negative effects. One moment they briefly unleash early Dimmu Borgir-style melodic black metal with frantic screaming vocals and speedy tremolo, and the next there's melancholic jazzy progressive rock/metal. With that ebb and flow of those two styles, it sure gives Leprous the originality it has, all leading up to a glorious 11 and a half minute closing epic. It's pretty clear that I'm one of the very few people who love Tall Poppy Syndrome more than the other Leprous albums, or even most other progressive metal albums. This is quite a polarizing album but it immediately shows me the best forms of art. If you want to be more open-minded and look for something unique and less mundane, this is the album for you!

5/5

Recommended songs: "Passing", "He Will Kill Again", "Not Even a Name", "White"

For fans of: Haken, Opeth, late Porcupine Tree

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

I've tried listening to a few Katatonia songs in my happy melodic past a few years ago, but it was too dark and extreme for me at the time. Their early material is black-doom and their later albums are just depressing gothic rock/metal. I'm glad Brave Murder Day got recommended to me last year because this was in their in-between era of death-doom, which was common in the mid-90s for the Peaceville Three; Anathema, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost. Yeah, since I already enjoy those 3 bands, how am I not interested in Katatonia? However, something different about Katatonia at that time is, while the Peaceville Three played a romantic kind of atmospheric doom metal, this band has a raw hard-to-classify soundscape. And what makes it hard to classify is their change of style in each of their few albums. Like I said, Dance of December Souls is depressive black-doom, Brave Murder Day (this album) is death-doom, Discouraged Ones is gothic doom, and since Tonight's Decision, they play dark rock/alt-metal. Normally, genre labels aren't totally necessary but I was making a point there. However, Brave Murder Day is so diverse than anyone can interpret the sound to be anything else, not just death-doom. The diverse music is distorted and dark, sometimes mellow, sometimes aggressive. Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt does most of the lead vocals, growling in abrasive despair to tone down some melody. Jonas Renkse could no longer do any growls because of vocal issues, but he can still do clean singing, which occurs in only one soft song. Yes, there are acoustic passages instead of symphonic gothic metal keyboards and violins. Another uncommon element is the varying rhythms, some a little faster, some slow. All in all, Katatonia had stirred up a death-doom classic!

5/5

Recommended songs: "Brave", "Murder", "12" (you didn't think I would say "Day", would you?)

For fans of: October Tide, early 90s Paradise Lost, Swallow the Sun

Very rare demo from Japanese trancecore masters Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. While not in the best quality (obviously for demo releases), this trance-ified melodeath-ish metalcore demo is great for the heavier metalcore fans who are tired of hearing the autotuned cleans of So (who didn't join the band yet at the time), especially if they're fans of Amaranthe, As I Lay Dying, and Crossfaith:

Thanks Ben!

Thanks Ben!

I have a lot that I've learned throughout my time in Metal Academy, but here are some highlights... Of the nearly a decade of me listening to metal, my metal interest has developed and expanded a lot more during the past couple years than the years before. When I first joined the site, I was mostly listening to melodic death metal, metalcore, and progressive metal, but then my eyes were opened to great discoveries within the latter two genres and more. I've returned to my "Fallen" gothic metal roots, now expanded to include death-doom and a bit of sludge, and I've returned to my "Guardians" power metal roots (with a few symphonics), now expanded to include classic heavy metal. I've also done slight experimentation with listening to a bit of the "core" genres of clans, such as the industrial metal of Godflesh and Strapping Young Lad, the thrash metal of Coroner and Dark Angel, and the black metal of Enslaved and Woods of Ypres. At the moment, I'm currently thinking of revisiting the alternative/nu-metal of The Gateway that I was listening to when following my brother's footsteps before getting into what was considered "real" metal, a heavy balancing contrast to the melody of The Guardians and in good relation to The Infinite. If I ever feel like doing a different clan challenge to sacrifice my position in a clan of lost interest, The Gateway might be the new clan I would go for. I'm already in a good start with Dir En Grey and might continue with reviewing the majority of the August Gateway playlist that will arrive on Sunday morning. There are many things that I've done in this site that I haven't before, including ratings, reviews, release lists, track playlists, judgement submissions, feature release submissions, etc. And I'm lucky to have discovered this website that allows me to enjoy these privileges along with sharing and expanding the metal that I enjoy. Cheers all!

I actually have another album in mind that could be taken out of the Guardians, which you'll see in another judgement submission. Let's see how this one goes in the Hall...

I can probably check on RYM to see if there are any underground pre-Queensryche/Fates Warning progressive metal releases that aren't in this site, but the RYM server has been acting odd lately, so maybe later. Anyway, I also checked out that Fates Warning album, and it's another brilliant early example of 80s heavy/progressive metal. A very solid start, thanks Daniel! I think its closing track has pushed that of Queensryche's debut off the reign for the mightiest epic of that style and era:

Inspired by Daniel's top 10 favorite US power metal albums, I decided to check out one of them, the first Queensryche album The Warning! While mostly in the US power metal style, the album almost marks the birth of progressive metal in a few songs that drop prominent hints of the style. As a fan of progressive metal, no matter how extreme or melodic the style of the genre I prefer, this album is worth thanking, recommended for listeners of Black Sabbath, Sanctuary, and Dream Theater:

Well done, Tymell!

I prefer the US power metal movement rather than the old-school NWOBHM or defective glam metal, thank you very much.

Nicely done, Vinny!

Well done Vinny. I've just started hitting one if the Heavy Metal challenges myself. I've decided to go at the First Age challenge and see if I can lock The Guardians in as a fourth clan. I've found during initial spins of albums on the challenge that it has re-ignited my love of classic heavy metal and I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into this one.

Excellent choice, Sonny! The Guardians are waiting for you...

Here's my top 10 that I remember were my favorites of the genre before my departure from death metal:

10. Burn the Priest - Burn the Priest (1999)

9. Threat Signal - Under Reprisal (2006)

8. Revocation - The Outer Ones (2018)

7. Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name (2018)

6. Nightrage - A New Disease is Born (2007)

5. Cynic - Focus (1993)

4. In Mourning - The Weight of Oceans (2012)

3. Avatar - Hail the Apocalypse (2014)

2. In Flames - The Jester Race (1996)

1. At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul (1995)

Chaotic experimental alt-metal from Japan:

I enjoy Bruce Dickinson's solo material, along with Savatage who also took classic heavy metal to a new epic level.

Ben, please add the new Attila album Closure.

Thanks Ben!

Thanks Ben!

Classic heavy metal for fans of Iron Maiden, Dio & Halford.

From beautiful to aggressive... That's the kind of heavy metal song structure I'm up for!

Some of the best heavy metal to listen to from an Iron Maiden member's solo material. Cheers for the rec, Daniel! 5/5

This should be interesting, listening to some of Bruce Dickinson's material outside Iron Maiden. Listening and review coming up!

Lucifugum... That name sounds like a pack of chewing gum made by Lucifer or Satan, like in this Pearls Before Swine comic (and on its 15th anniversary!):

Behold the Cistercian symbol for the golden year of my metal genres:

Update on my list (now in different "ages" based on my opinion, might update later):

Beginning oldies (1978-1992):

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: Virgin Steele - Guardians of the Flame

1984: Voivod - War and Pain

1985: Accept - Metal Heart

1986: Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory

1987: Voivod - Killing Technology

1988: Riot - Thundersteel

1989: Running Wild - Death or Glory

1990: Sanctuary - Into the Mirror Black

1991: Dark Angel - Time Does Not Heal

1992: Sadus - A Vision of Misery

The golden classics (1993-2002):

1993: Savatage - Edge of Thorns

1994: Virgin Steele - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part I

1995: Virgin Steele - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part II

1996: Katatonia - Brave Murder Day

1997: Strapping Young Lad - City

1998: Meshuggah - Chaosphere

1999: Botch - We are the Romans

2000: Nevermore - Dead Heart in a Dead World

2001: Dolorian - Dolorian

2002: Isis - Oceanic

The silver guiding lights (2003-2012):

2003: Lost Horizon - A Flame to the Ground Beneath

2004: Disillusion - Back to Times of Splendor

2005: Rosetta - The Galilean Satellites

2006: Saturnus - Veronika Decides to Die

2007: Annihilator - Metal

2008: Dir En Grey - Uroboros

2009: Animals as Leaders - Animals as Leaders

2010: Virgin Steele - The Black Light Bacchanalia

2011: Trivium - In Waves

2012: Woods of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light

The bronze yet still great new (2013-2019):

2013: Bring Me the Horizon - Sempiternal

2014: Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

2015: Bullet for My Valentine - Venom

2016: Vektor - Terminal Redux

2017: Trivium - The Sin and the Sentence

2018: Voivod - The Wake

2019: Grand Magus - Wolf God

The newest to make up for the worst of the world (2020-present):

2020: Cryptic Shift - Visitations from Enceladus

2021 (so far): Born of Osiris - Angel or Alien

Albums I'm looking forward to getting:

Attila - Closure

Between the Buried and Me - Colors II (slight return to listening to that band for this album)

Leprous - Aphelion

Ice Nine Kills - The Silver Scream: Welcome to Horrorwood

Bullet for My Valentine - Bullet for My Valentine

This track is such a disappointment given the undeniable strength of some of the other material on Savatage's "Edge Of Thorns" album.

I agree that this isn't really the best song here, but the emotional vocals by Zak Stevens stand out with great lyrics and maintain the perfect 5-star rating I've given to the highly strong remainder of the album.

I'm very surprised to hear myself saying that I genuinely adore this Savatage belter. For fans of Queensryche, Virgin Steele & Crimson Glory.

I love this one, especially the catchiest chorus in this album, soaring through singalong fun.

That's a challenge for each of my three clans completed, so now I have to determine which clan to go for as a fourth. I am still not sure and that makes me wonder if I should even have a fourth clan if I can't commit to one or the other. Of the six remaining, The Gateway, Revolution and Sphere are out for me. The Guardians, Horde and Infinite all have plenty of albums I love, but also a lot that I'm not keen on. I still intend to keep on with the challenges, but I may not seek a fourth clan at the end of it.

Skimming through the lists of your reviews per clan, you have more Guardians reviews than The Horde and Infinite, and most of them are positive, with nothing as low as 0.5 or one star. I think you'll have no trouble doing one of the Guardians clan challenges, Sonny, specifically heavy metal.

I've saved my top 10s (or more) for my main clans. Clans I'm not familiar with like The Gateway or The North I leave my lists at top 5. But that might change for the Gateway...

As a metalhead who's not really into black metal, avoiding the satanic part of the genre like the plague, here are my top 5, each from one of only 5 bands that I like to have at least one black metal album:

5. Moonspell - Under the Moonspell (1994)

4. Underoath - Cries of the Past (2000)

3. Sólstafir - Í Blóði og Anda (2002)

2. Woods of Ypres - Woods III: The Deepest Roots and Darkest Blues (2007)

1. Enslaved - Isa (2004)

6. "Living After Midnight" is an absolute shocker.

6. This is a true statement. Although it's not as bad as Take on the World or the truly execrable United (in fact British Steel as a whole is their most overrated album).

I agree with both of you! However, I don't think the rest of British Steel is as overrated as most other Priest albums, maybe even Iron Maiden (the kind of opinion that might have metalheads from the early half of the 80s yell "Off with his head!!"). If I want true underrated classic heavy metal from the late 70s and 80s, at least I have Riot, Accept, Running Wild, Virgin Steele, and Crimson Glory.

No matter how popular or unpopular our metal opinions are, they're lost in the shadows of painfully overrated opinions from those who enjoy radio pop:

28. Dæmonarch (NORTH)

29. Hirilorn (NORTH)

30. Darkwoods My Betrothed (NORTH)

Dæmonarch and Darkwoods My Betrothed I haven't listened to but I know they were black metal spinoffs to the more famous ongoing metal bands Moonspell and Nightwish, respectively, and I forgot about them until they just got added. Black metal still isn't my thing, but still, thanks Ben!

Update on my journey to discover my Gateway potential: Reviewing all the Coldrain albums and EPs was quite a wild ride, and my overall opinion on this band is quite mixed. Two of the albums reach a perfect 5 stars, while one ended up slumping down to 2.5 stars, and the albums in between are pretty good and great. The next step for this journey is to explore a few more Gateway bands (or at least bands with at least one Gateway album), and I already have a good head start with Dir En Grey's Uroboros which is last month's Gateway feature release, and a couple songs from this month's Gateway playlist when I took the suggestion to check out more of that playlist (thanks for that, Daniel). I still have a long way to go before I truly earn the key to unlocking The Gateway...

The song that got me interested in Coldrain, and I'm sure it might get you interested in this band as well along with their perfect alt-metalcore album The Side Effects:

Coldrain's Fateless turned out to be a flop compared to their other albums that are way better, and their attempt to metalize an Alanis Morissette single didn't help at all:

Love songs are a heavily overrated theme in any type of music, and this sh*tter doesn't change that opinion/fact:

Coldrain's 4th album Vena shows the band unleashing more metalcore than before in killer songs like this one:

Some of the best lyrics and most awesome alt-metalcore to bring exciting entertainment to the tough times of the virus:

Small update to my top 5:

5. Disturbed - The Lost Children (2011)

4. Linkin Park - Meteora (2003)

3. Coldrain - The Enemy Inside (2011)

2. Coldrain - The Side Effects (2019)

1. Dir En Grey - Uroboros (2008)

This is far better than that sh*tty Helloween song of the same title, and part of an album that is a big improvement compared to Coldrain's earlier releases:

A killer Coldrain song to start with, but the rest of the band's debut doesn't reach its heaviness:

I changed the Gateway playlist rating to include the 10 additional songs I've commented on there, though it caused the total rating to be a half-star lower than the other 4 playlists. The Linkin Park track was a perfect throwback to probably the last LP song I've listened to on my own before purifying my "real" metal interest. The Architects and 36 Crazyfists tracks earned 5 stars from me as well. They each come from an alt-metal album from two metalcore bands I've heard of but did not reach my height of interest until possibly those two tracks. 3 of the 4 tracks that earned 4.5 stars are also flashbacks to the bands that my brother and/or I used to listen to. There are a few more that I liked more that I thought I would, but aren't as awesome as the aforesaid A/A+ graded songs. And I agree that the Korn track is on the bad side of nu metal that people hate, though I give it a few extra points for heaviness. In conclusion, The Gateway works best for me with occasional flashbacks and bands that are closer to the genres I'm familiar with like metalcore. And yes, as I've said elsewhere, I've thought of my new Gateway suggestion...

My thoughts on some more tracks:

Sevendust – “Criminal” (from “Blood & Stone”, 2020)

4.5/5. Sevendust is one of my brother's recent favorite bands, and this song is a downright soft one that would fit greatly as a single. What an emotional blessing! The poetic lyrics and powerful harmony help fuel up this amazingly written song. Beautiful! I've listened to a few songs that I sent to my brother when he asked to transfer some of their songs to him, and just listening to this one, this is probably the greatest and most underrated song in this band's 25-year career. I just love the harmony being so stellar. They've really nailed the fantastic song! They even had a streaming concert to celebrate the album's release. This heavy metal/alt-rock band should be more appreciated after make a d*mn right good song. It might even work well as the soundtrack to an emotional scene in My Hero Academia. This song shows what a f***ing solid band Sevendust is for fans of their sound. But does it get me hooked on this band, along with other such bands like Breaking Benjamin and Disturbed? NAH. They're for my bro...

Luxtorpeda – “Autystyczny” (from “Luxtorpeda”, 2011)

3.5/5. I don't understand this Polish-sung song at all, but I like just a small bit of it. Despite having the alt-metal label, this sounds closer to stoner-ish hard rock, so I wouldn't count on this band being on this site.

Grey Waters – “Below The Ever Setting Sun” (from “Below The Ever Setting Sun” E.P. (2010)

4.5/5. This one has more mind-blowing atmosphere. Amazing song with a fantastic outro! This might be a great song to listen to forget about the death metal past I left behind and remember something different. It sounds like what would happen if Woods of Ypres is still active and their founder David Gold is still alive but moved in the same alt-metal path as Katatonia. Still I would have to finalize some stylistic changes before going down this path...

Architects – “Dead Butterflies” (from “For Those That Wish To Exist”, 2021)

5/5. I love this! Best alt-metalcore song in ages!! I've been trying to find my key to interest in this band since I first starting diving into metalcore in my late teens, and with this killer song, I might just have the chance!

Infectious Grooves – “Turtle Wax (Funkaholics Anonymous)” (from “Sarsippius’ Ark (Limited Edition)”, 1993)

4/5. This one is a static b*ll shock-like wake-up call of funk-groove. This is probably my favorite funk metal song, and by that I mean it's far better than what other bands of the genre like Mr. Bungle would make. The awesome riff and good groove are what make this song OK for me. Of course, this isn't 1997 anymore, most metalheads want something more than the funk f***ing up metal back then.

Serj Tankian – “How Many Times?” (from “Elasticity” E.P., 2021)

3.5/5. Serj is known as an alt-metal genius and part of one of what many consider the master bands of the genre. I say it starts fantastic in the intro sounding like an emotional ballad, but then it fakes its way into a mid-tempo song. Seems a bit anti-climatic...

36 Crazyfists – “Slit Wrist Theory” (from “Bitterness The Star”, 2002)

5/5. Definitely an underrated band that should have more fame through the nearly two decades since its release. Seriously I love this!! Though the nu metal sound would p*ss off many metal purists. I would probably do a vocal cover of this song to test my vocal range if not for suggestive lyrics and swearing. This amazing song has an iconic riff. Some music channels shorten the song name to "Wrist Theory", most likely to eliminate the reference of self-harm/suicide, but also probably because "Slit" looks like a mix of two S-swears. The amazing vocals have a bit of an emo vibe especially when in the "Lace me up" part. I might just return to listening to this band full-time...

The Bread Scientists – “Vaporous” (from “Troposphere”, 2021)

4/5. I can't deny how good this song is, but I can't accept the instrumental shoegazing alt-rock/metal sound either. Next!

Korn – “Love & Meth” (from “The Paradigm Shift”, 2013)

3/5. A nu metal song promoting drugs, specifically raw meth? What the h*ll, man?! Look, I am sober when it comes to drugs, having never taken any drugs, and this isn't the stoner rock of Luxtorpeda, this is nu metal! And not the kind of nu metal made well by Linkin Park. Korn is just not my thing, OK? I'll still give the song points for its heaviness.

Disturbed – “Prayer” (from “Believe”, 2002)

4.5/5. Let's wrap up my commenting with a song from a Disturbed album that my brother and I have probably listened to the least. I can't believe what I missed nearly a decade ago! This is better than the overrated single "Down With the Sickness" and has bit of a Dope vibe. The singing in the vocals sound heavenly. In fact, this could even be an actual prayer about the hopeless struggles in life. Hope you like this song when I send it to you, my bro!

D*mn, forgot about that Dir En Grey album. Thanks for reminding me, Daniel! I'll make a slight change to my list above. Coldrain is another Japanese alternative metal band, but they mix the melody and singing of the genre with the heaviness and screaming of post-hardcore/metalcore, as opposed to Dir En Grey's wildly stylistic alt-garde metal style. Coldrain's latest album The Side Effects marks the perfect balance of alternative metal and metalcore that they had slowly built up since their punk-ish debut Final Destination from a decade prior. One song from the Side Effects album, "Revolution" (my August Gateway playlist suggestion) is beyond d*mn right good, and what got me interested in the band when a friend from the outside world showed me that song and mentioned that it was used as the theme song for Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs 2. Anyway, I plan on reviewing their albums, so you can read them and see whether or not they seem like a band for you to try listening to.

I've never realized how suitable The Gateway is for me! To look back at The Gateway albums I've rated, most of them are from bands of other genres, a couple of them (Machine Head and Stuck Mojo) were failures from an unofficial challenge (they have the only two albums that aren't non-metal to get 2.5 stars from me), a couple more, Disturbed and Linkin Park, were throwbacks to when I was following my brother's music footsteps before getting into "real" metal, the latter, Linkin Park I've reviewed all their albums in the site as a special memory-lane-like project, and of course, I told you about Coldrain. With most of The Gateway releases I listened to connected to bands of other genres and rated weak or average (in my rating system) with only a few perfect 5-star ratings, I didn't know the potential I can have in this clan, but now I might! The clan's heaviness can be a balancing contrast to the melody of The Guardians, and The Gateway can practically be like The Infinite's sibling! I might need to adjust my interest a bit more before going all in, so I'll start with listening to and commenting on the tracks between the 3 that I've already commented in this month's The Gateway playlist. And if I ever feel like sacrificing my position in a clan that I've lost interest in or if the ability to gain a 5th clan via the clan challenges gets implemented, I might take on one of the two Gateway challenges. This whole time I thought the key to the Gateway wasn't for me, but it's in my hands and I didn't know it until today...

I’m not really a fan of The Gateway as much as the clans I have, so here are 5 Gateway albums coming to my mind, rated from low to high (#1 being the highest):

5. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory (2000)

4. Disturbed - Asylum (2010)

3. Linkin Park - Meteora (2003)

2. Coldrain - The Side Effects (2019)

1. Dir En Grey - Uroboros (2008)

Trivium's epic new single and music video (maybe a hint at their next album?):

One of my recent reviews mentioning Coldrain gave me an idea for a suggestion for the August Gateway playlist, so here it is:

Coldrain - "Revolution" (from The Side Effects, 2019)

Here are my ratings for this month's feature releases for all my clans plus The Sphere, and a quick summary:

The Guardians: Gamma Ray - Power Plant (1999) - 5/5

The Infinite: Altesia - Paragon Circus (2019) - 4/5

The Revolution: Converge - You Fail Me (2004) - 5/5

The Sphere: Ministry - The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste (1989) - 4.5/5

Another great month for feature releases, again probably because of the releases submitted by us Metal Academy members (including myself). The one for The Infinite is great but could've been slightly better. My feature release submission for The Guardians and The Revolution deserve a perfect 5 stars and great classics for their respective genres, and I would recommend it to any fan of power metal or metalcore. The Sphere feature release I've reviewed 6 months ago in a DIS vs DAT debate and hold a 4.5 star rating, despite two sh*tters holding back the perfection the album would have otherwise. Thanks for these amazing feature releases, everyone! Looking forward to more of this cool activity, along with feature release submissions for next month coming in via private message...