Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

My time with progressive/avant-garde/post-metal has been rather turbulent this year while still staying in my position in The Infinite, so I didn't find as many new Infinite albums that would stick with me long as I thought I would, but I can do a top 5:

1. Seventh Wonder - The Testament

2. Dir En Grey - Phalaris

3. Voivod - Synchro Anarchy

4. Persefone - Metanoia

5. Meshuggah - Immutable

One honorable mention is the new In The Woods... album Diversum that I really enjoy, but I would need to give it more listening before it can end up somewhere in my list.

This is the first part of the Marriage of Heaven and Hell saga that would continue with Part II then end with Invictus. I haven't listened to this band and album since I moved out of the classic heavy/power metal sound I was burned out of, but maybe I can someday make my return trip to those metal genres and give good Guardians releases like this one another chance...

Here's my top 10:

1. Northlane - Obsidian

2. Dir En Grey - Phalaris

3. Cave In - Heavy Pendulum

4. Motionless in White - Scoring the End of the World

5. Coldrain - Nonnegative

6. Parkway Drive - Darker Still

7. I Prevail - True Power

8. Memphis May Fire - Remade in Misery

9. Disturbed - Divisive

10. Five Finger Death Punch - AfterLife

An honorable mention is Demon Hunter's Exile, but I plan to give that album a little more listening and wait for it to appear in the site before adding it somewhere in my list.

Hmm... It's mentioned as a CD or CD-R. If it is just a demo that can't be accepted, that's OK. I still would like the other releases I've requested added here when possible please.

Solid blend of metalcore and pop punk:

Ben, alongside the A Day to Remember albums I've requested above, please also add these albums:

Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas - Cocoon for the Golden Future

Chelsea Grin - Suffer in Hell

Dead to Fall - For the Memories

Ben, please add these new albums:

In the Woods... - Diversum

Voivod - Ultraman (EP)

Ben, please add these new albums:

Demon Hunter - Exile

Saint Asonia - Extrovert

I've given that Saint Asonia EP some listening and, to be honest, it's kind of like a heavier Three Days Grace (frontman Adam Gontier's previous band) in almost a similar vein to Fight the Fury. I consider the EP a mix of alt-rock/metal and post-grunge, and I've voted in those genres for the EP in RYM. However, whether or not Extrovert can be added to Metal Academy depends on if the EP's Alternative Metal tag gets more FOR or AGAINST votes.

Thanks, Daniel. In my country, a COVID victim has to isolate in their room at home, or if it's really bad, in a hospital. So far for me, it's only been the former.

Bad news: I have COVID. Passed down from my grandmother, then grandfather, then brother, then me. Please wish me the best of luck that I survive and recover within the next week or two. And maybe then I'll be better enough to comment on next month's clan playlists and feature releases, and work on January's feature releases and Revolution and Sphere playlists.

Sneak peek for the December Sphere monthly playlist premiering next week, another killer track from Burton C. Bell's final album with Fear Factory before leaving the band:

The 16-year drought from new Sadus material is over, thrash fans! Sadus is back with a taste of their classic thrash/tech-thrash to get you pumped up for their next album:

The scattered interludes really killed the intense energy of this Spread the Disease album, and this one is a poor ending for this band's career, consisting of just prank calls:

Two of the most awesome late 90s extreme metal/deathcore songs I've heard, working better as a couple separate tracks instead of an album littered in useless interludes:

Ben, please add the A Day to Remember album Old Record, and their non-metal albums before Bad Vibrations to bridge the gap.

A nearly 8-minute metalcore epic from Ryan Clark's pre-Demon Hunter band sharing the same EP as Zao:

I thought there would never be a remix as atrocious as that Dawn of Ashes stinker above, but I was wrong:

Two highlights from the second and final album from KMFDM side-project Excessive Force:

Excellent deathly industrial metal, though sounding closer to Godflesh than the more deathly Dead World:

An amazing highlight of metallic hardcore fury, with a few prominent guests including the Deftones vocalist:

To be honest, I wasn't sure about giving this Strife album In This Defiance a listen and a review because their debut One Truth wasn't all that great and I even thought it was too hardcore to be metal, hence that judgement submission. But when I put this album on play, boy was I blown away! This is a higher, more metallic step from their debut, and it has just what I'm looking for from this band. Everything is at the right tone for Strife. This is a full tight metallic hardcore sound with brisk tempos. Rick Rodney has his hardcore bellowing skills that are often hard to understand, but at the same time, so compelling, all in 10 songs of metal/hardcore fury. There are a few prominent guests assisting in the action; ex-Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera, Fear Factory guitarist Igor Cavalera, and most notably, Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno. The two other tracks each from separate ends of the album are just horror movie sound effects that almost makes the album a soundtrack for such a film, though those pointless interludes don't affect the rest of this album perfection that makes In This Defiance an astonishing stunner. This is standard E-tuned thrashy metal/hardcore at its best. I'm glad to find the greatness of Strife!

5/5

And that's the last of these albums that I had planned for this metalcore rediscovery voyage. Once again, I'm gonna try discovering a few extra releases from those times to add more year variety in later Revolution playlists, and that would be a different small journey that isn't part of this thread. Anyway...that's all in this thread, folks!

Moving to an entirely different sound away from one that they're tired of, while having a bit of the old-school rhythm, if you know what I mean:

If there's one album that sealed the deal for a band's stylistic direction, it would be 1997's stunning brutal metalcore in Living Sacrifice's career, Reborn! The cathartic power of this genre was shining for the band ever since guitarist Bruce Fitzhugh started doing growling vocals. Apparently, the band wanted to make an album with a unique sound unlike any other bands. The band released 3 albums before this with original vocalist Darren Johnson, the Big 4-inspired thrash self-titled debut and two Malevolent Creation-esque death metal albums Nonexistent and Inhabit. Reborn can indeed be considered Living Sacrifice's rebirth, taking on strong metalcore with a bit of their earlier thrash rhythm. With lots of heavy and empowering tracks, Living Sacrifice should really has much fame as P.O.D., and this album Reborn is the reason!

5/5

Man, this rediscovery journey has really gone up and down for me, with perfect masterpieces alternating with awful stinkers. I'm back into the perfect album zone with this band from Sweden that would later evolve through a more progressive direction:

In the 90s, Burst was in the metallic hardcore realm. The primal riff delivery laid the groundwork for the band's later sound. In a way, you can consider the band's 5 albums like the first 5 of Neurosis in terms of their stylistic evolution, starting hardcore before a more Infinite sound, except Burst's sound has a dissonant metalcore backbone throughout. This perfect offering stands out with a hardcore stampede of drumming, riffs, and shouts. Burst made grand progress in their debut with their songwriting and performing in unison. The quality is tight while in top-notch production, with solid crispy support of the bass and that metalcore backbone. Patrik Hultin might very well be a new favorite drummer of mine with his eclectic skills. His drumming is wilder than the guitars, in calculating alignment with the riff groove. The blazing fast, aggressive yet melodic short songs and one 5-minute monstrous epic are what made this album such a great beast, probably more metallic than Strife's debut. The enclosed tightness is dusted off by Burst in their most hardcore bloom!

5/5

Just when I thought the rediscovery journey would be back to greatness, it made another downward turn. In my 5 years of listening to metalcore, I never thought there would be a band that I find bad, like absolutely sh*tty stinker "can die in an acid volcano" bad. That is, until I found this band, perhaps the first Japanese metalcore band, State Craft. All 3 releases I've rated ranging from one to two stars. Of course, there are awesome metalcore bands from Japan like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Coldrain, Crossfaith, Crystal Lake, etc. But this band, State Craft? NAH. The quality is often too weak, and their only album To Celebrate the Forlorn Seasons has cheesy synth-orchestral sh*t that doesn't seem appropriate in most of metalcore. There are only 3 songs I like from that band, listed starting from the #1 best (or least bad):

1. "Season's End"

2. "Break the Cycle"

3. "After This Morning"

Here's the link to the band's releases. Beware the poor badness of the band: https://metal.academy/bands/7065

A six-minute epic of hope for the 90s metalcore scene in Florida:

Oh wow! This next release is a huge positive twist in my rediscovery journey. Let me give you a summary on this...

Morning Again are legends in the metal/hardcore scene. At that time, their frontman was Damien Moyal, a straight-edge vocalist who was also in Shai Hulud at that time. It's thanks to those two bands that the Floridian music scene has expanded to more than just death metal and *shudder* Backstreet Boys and Disney, paving the way for other metalcore bands like Trivium. Morning Again broke up after one official album, but they've since reunited multiple times and released a couple more EPs. However, Moyal moved on to melodic hardcore band As Friends Rust, and he remained vocalist for that band except for those 6 years when the other members performed as Salem. Anyway, Hand of Hope is a perfect compilation of demos from Morning Again, worth money from the buyer. There are 7 songs in 30 minutes, and I almost think of Hand of Hope as a full mini-album. So great with lots of heavy tracks! Props to Morning Again for this incredible work! If you enjoy Shai Hulud and other metallic hardcore, surely you wouldn't wanna miss this. It's an album of hardcore insanity!

5/5

I seem to currently have a bit of turbulence in my journey, with a couple demo EPs that turn out to be mostly stinkers for me. Here's the second one of those:

The Absolve EP sounds nice, but the production is jacked up in a bad way, which along with the overuse of samples in the beginning, doesn't make me up for it so much. "Bleeding" is the only highlight here, having a brutal Suffocation-like slam death metal breakdown. A f***ing crusher in a mostly f***ing bland trash-fest....

2/5

OK, so back to my rediscovery journey... This EP I've listened to and tried reviewing 6 months ago, but I didn't like it enough to do it. Having just given it another listen today, I've made a second attempt at a review, and well...

This EP is really old, and while I have no trouble with the metalcore oldies, which is why I'm doing my earlier metalcore rediscovery journey, it's the quality that matters. This EP is pretty difficult to listen to. In my opinion, most of the metalcore demos aren't exactly well-produced, with this one from Breach being one example. If you think I'm only up for the new complex style of metalcore, you would be wrong, I do like the rock-out hardcore songs, such as this EP's title track, a hard classic that's pretty much the only highlight here. However, there are much better releases than this poor sh*t, if you wanna please your metallic hardcore soul....

2.5/5

Ben, please the Split EP by Training for Utopia and Zao.

The YouTube commenter who recommended that I listen to Zao suggested the original demo version of "Skin Like Winter". Unfortunately, I honestly think it's a poorly done demo, and that the album version from Liberate Te Ex Inferis does better justice. There should've been some proper time and budget to work on this version in my opinion:

There are heavier and more humorous highlights in Dead to Fall's final album before this 10-year split, but this one's a mellow heart-toucher:

Another metalcore masterpiece concludes with what can be considered the "sludgy metalcore Crusade":

From hardcore to metallic, a new era began for this band, recommended for metalcore fans who love the music of Converge, Underoath, and As I Lay Dying:

A couple grand highlights from an album that made me remember the more melodic progressive fan I used to be:

Another YouTube commenter recommended that I listen to Zao, one of the earliest metalcore bands to still be active today. This incredible song that I've looked up has blown me away, and I look forward to checking out the rest of its album and the band:

After finding a recent comment for one of my videos, talking about a Ne Obliviscaris song giving the commenter Caligula's Horse vibes, I remembered a review I've made for one of the Caligula's Horse albums as part of The Infinite Progressive Metal Modern Era clan challenge nearly 3 years ago and decided to check out one of its highlights. This is a song for anyone who's into progressive rock/metal, and I might just find a bit of melodic light from this band that I want more of, while focusing on more extreme bands.

Although The Ocean is known for their blend of post-sludge and progressive metal, Pelagial is definitely a more progressive ocean. You can only find a small bit of ambience around the surface, and a couple sludgy tracks at the crushing bottom, with practically everything else in between being as progressive as progressive metal can be. So I agree with you on this one, Daniel.

1. Gateway playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 9)

2. Revolution playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 29)

3. Sphere playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: ALL 26)

So far, I've only commented on 9 tracks in the Gateway playlist and skipped out on the Infinite playlist, but for the other 2 of my own clans I've listened to the entire playlists! I'm grateful to Saxy and Daniel for their playlist works. I really dig what I've listened to in the Gateway playlist made by Saxy, and I'm glad the Revolution and Sphere playlists made by me paid off. I recommend them to any fan of those respective genres and anyone who isn't into those genres but wants to get into a great start in enjoying them. Thanks, Daniel, for accepting these playlists, and good work all!

Here's what I've reviewed so far:

THE HORDE: Edge of Sanity - "Purgatory Afterglow" (1994) 4.5/5 (as I recall from the rating I had until last year)

THE INFINITE: The Ocean - "Pelagial" (2013) 5/5

THE REVOLUTION: Lorna Shore - "...And I Return to Nothingness" (2021) 5/5

THE SPHERE: OLD - "The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak" (1993) 5/5

Both of my feature release submissions; The Ocean's Pelagial and Lorna Shore's And I Return to Nothingness, plus Daniel's Sphere submission OLD's The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, all each receive a perfect 5 stars, and I would recommend them to fans of their respective genres. I also commented on Daniel's Horde feature release submission that I haven't listened to in over a year, Edge of Sanity's Purgatory Afterglow, and I stand by my 4.5-star rating. It's been an awesome month so far. Keep up the good work on the feature releases, all! I look forward to more...

Despite being a decade later than Oceano and Whitechapel, and serious drama involving the band and their vocalist at the time, it's songs in this album like this that shall earn them immortality in the deathcore realm:

A fantastic highlight that adds more balance to the breakdowns and guitarwork than in a couple songs from their debut:

An anthem of deathcore devastation, mixing the melody, brutality, and technicality of The Black Dahlia Murder, Thy Art is Murder, and Wretched, respectively:

A 10-minute experimental industrial metal epic, listenable for fans of that style:

I did my review, here's its summary:

The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak is filled with experimental madness! Basically a weird yet awesome mix of metal and electronics from the brilliant James Plotkin and the shrieking Alan Dubin. This is another original album ahead of time. They experiment with different styles, more than just metal, letting go of restrictive conventions and patterns so what they create can run free. Throughout these 9 tracks, the experimental instrumentation can flow nice and smoothly, while staying surreal. That's the kind of sound I would recommend to those up for a challenge through experimental noise-powered industrial metal, like I am now. Enjoy the weirdness!

5/5

Although I like Saxy's idea of the clan playlists for December entirely compiling the best of 2022, I won't do the same for my clans because it would be quite restrictive in The Sphere, and I got a lot of good ideas for these playlists. So here are my usual sneak peek submissions, for the December Sphere playlist:

Dawn of Ashes - "Carnal Consummation in the Empty Space (To Mega Therion Mix)" (4:28) from Farewell to the Flesh (2012)

Gothminister - "Gothic Anthem" (3:48) from Gothic Electronic Anthems (2003)

Mnemic - "Mechanical Spin Phenomenon" (4:58) from Mechanical Spin Phenomena (2003)

Motionless in White - "Final Dictvm" (5:06) from Reincarnate (2014)

Psyclon Nine - "Crwn Thy Frnicatr" (4:33) from Crwn Thy Frnicatr (2006) (although this is from one of the band's earlier aggrotech albums, it really foreshadows the band's later industrial metal material, and it reminds me of a couple of Dawn of Ashes songs from my previous playlists)

Samael - "Rite of Renewal" (4:31) from Hegemony (2017)

Total length: 27:24

Although I like Saxy's idea of the clan playlists for December entirely compiling the best of 2022, I won't do the same for my clans because it would be quite restrictive in The Sphere, and I got a lot of good ideas for these playlists. So here are my usual sneak peek submissions, for the December Revolution playlist:

Attila - "Jumanji" (3:59) from Rage (2010)

Bring Me the Horizon - "Can You Feel My Heart" (3:47) from Sempiternal (2013)

ERRA - "Divisionary" (3:41) from ERRA (2021)

Parkway Drive - "The Sound of Violence" (3:24) from Ire (2015)

Shadows Fall - "The First Noble Truth" (4:14) from Of One Blood (2000)

Trivium - "Betrayer" (5:27) from The Sin and the Sentence (2017)

We Came as Romans - "To Plant a Seed" (3:51) from To Plant a Seed (2009)

Total length: 28:23

Here are my submissions for the December Best of 2022 Infinite playlist:

Animals as Leaders - "Gordian Naught" (4:48) from Parrhesia

Cult of Luna - "Blood Upon Stone" (11:39) from The Long Road North

Persefone - "Merkabah" (5:59) from Metanoia

Seventh Wonder - "Invincible" (3:39) from The Testament

Voivod - "Synchro Anarchy" (4:25) from Synchro Anarchy

Total length: 30:30 (pardon the slight overtime)

Here are my submissions for the December Best of 2022 Gateway playlist:

Architects - "Burn Down My House" (4:19) from The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit

Cave In - "Blood Spiller" (4:01) from Heavy Pendulum

Dir En Grey - "The Perfume of Sins" (4:18) from Phalaris

I Prevail - "Bad Things" (3:48) from True Power

Memphis May Fire - "Only Human" (3:02) from Remade in Misery

Motionless in White - "Masterpiece" (3:26) from Scoring the End of the World

Northlane - "Is This a Test?" (3:30) from Obsidian

Parkway Drive - "Soul Bleach" (3:31) from Darker Still

Total length: 29:55

Here are my thoughts on all the selected tracks:

Killing Joke - "The Death & Resurrection Show" (from Killing Joke, 2003)

4.5/5. How's this for a Sphere playlist opener? This is part of the Killing Joke 2003 album where they had Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters beating the drums, and I heard this song is featured in the soundtrack for Need For Speed Underground 2. People following this band since their late 70s formation would have their minds blown.

Northlane - "Clarity" (from Obsidian, 2022)

5/5. This one starts optimistic-sounding, all light and gentle in the electronic without immediately starting in a bang while many other albums in a similar style would. After one and a half minutes, BOOM!! The heaviness kicks into high gear! Switching from melodic vocals and electronics to screams and technical riffs, you're buckled up for this wild ride like no other. A very strong starter track! Building through this 6-minute track, it's not until the 4-minute mark when the breakdown the more hardcore fans are hungry for strikes and gets you hooked in the remain two minutes. Every member shines with the instruments in their own ways. The drumming makes that song a standout!

Bile - "Remove the Head" (from Built to Fuck, Born to Kill, 2014)

4.5/5. It's good to hear a song by Bile released long after the previous song I've heard from them. You can tell the difference very quickly while you still hear the dark entertainment. The aforementioned earlier song "In League" is in the Strangeland soundtrack, and if there's ever a remake for that movie, they should use this song. F***ing killer song for working out in the gym!

Deathstars - "Explode" (from The Perfect Cult, 2014)

4/5. Fabulous cyber metal! The band haven't released an album in 8 years, and their most recent one still pumps me up high. The ethereal darkness actually fits well in Final Fantasy. This is like the English-singing Eisbrecher. Hail the Deathstars!

Ministry - "Golden Dawn" (from The Land of Rape and Honey, 1988)

4.5/5. This is a highly different instrumental trip. It is the first of a few tracks in the album to use samples, including from the horror-drama film The Devils ("The antichrist!!") and chanting from Aleister Crowley and Israel Regardie. An excellent loopy instrumental! I could recommend this to anyone starting out this band for the first time.

Godflesh - "Head Dirt" (from Streetcleaner, 1989)

5/5. Another awesome standout. They continue playing lower riffs that sometimes hang in the background behind bass and drums, but the guitar can never go unnoticed!

Samael - "Telepath" (from Telepath, 2004)

4.5/5. It's amazing to hear this symphonic industrial metal sound bright and clear. I didn't enjoy this band for a super long time because of their earlier black metal, but they should have much more attention than Rammstein.

Strapping Young Lad - "Shitstorm" (from Alien, 2005)

5/5. The song that many people have heard the most is surprisingly the one with swearing in the title and the lyrics. Devin Townsend sounds f***ing p*ssed and determined to stab your eardrums (already done by the music in a way I like). The entirely shouted vocals threaten you with crazy lyrics. The song is fast with good riffs and fantastic keyboards. The choirs diversify this amazing song. Can this album get better?!

Wayne Static - "Assassins of Youth" (from PIGHAMMER, 2011)

4.5/5. OK, not completely better, but this is a really great heavy industrial metal piece, from Wayne Static's only solo album and last overall album before his untimely death. The lyrics sound quite poetic. The "sheriff" intro is from the 1980 horror film Motel Hell. RIP Static...

Crossbreed - "Nothing" (from KE 101, 2009)

4/5. I still can't believe good industrial metal is hard to find nowadays. This is the kind of alt-/industrial metal blend Mushroomhead had in Savior Sorrow. Quite underrated!

Pitchshifter - "Microwaved" (from www.pitchshifter.com, 1998)

3.5/5. Any racing video game fan might hear this song in Test Drive 5 and Twisted Metal 3. The surreal bridge at the two-minute mark perfectly fits well for those games.

Pigface - "Bitch" (from Easy Listening, 2003)

3/5. Come on baby! A powerful f***er, but quite hard for me to take seriously. It's a cover of a song by Dope that would end up in that band's third album Group Therapy.

Apartment 26 - "Backwards" (from Hallucinating, 2000)

3.5/5. I was far too young to enjoy the nu metal era when it was on. I didn't hear about that genre until over a decade after that album. This song is in the soundtrack for Mission Impossible 2 and the video game Gekido. Yet another song I gotta show to my brother for some interesting car traveling. And what's more, vocalist Terence "Biff" Butler is the song of Geezer Butler, bassist for Black Sabbath! The song is not really massive for me though and is the closest in sound to Pitchshifter. Still cool in the verses!

Gravity Kills - "Goodbye" (from Gravity Kills, 1996)

4/5. Another great song from an underrated industrial/alt-rock/metal band. I don't have anyone I really hate, but for those who do, use this song against them ("I'M F***ING TIRED AND I'M SAYING GOODBYE!!!!"). Anyone who thinks The Prodigy is THE 90s electro-rock band might stand corrected. I can do without the background noises though.

KMFDM - "Disobedience" (from Nihil, 1995)

4.5/5. This is perhaps what really stands out the most in the album. It's not a ballad, but it sounds the closest to one. In saying that, it's one of the greatest highlights here.

Celldweller - "Into the Void" (from Into the Void, 2019)

5/5. Over 50 years old (around the same age as my parents), Klayton is still going super strong with his sound! He should collaborate with Mick Gordon sometime.

Circle of Dust - "Outside In" (from Machines of Our Disgrace, 2016)

5/5. I have this band and Argyle Park to thank for getting me into listening to Klayton's projects. I love this beautiful song so d*mn much. Bless the void!

Dead World - "180" (from The Machine, 1993)

4.5/5. This is a 180 from what I'm used, but I find it nicely bleak.

Nine Inch Nails - "Reptile" (from The Downward Spiral, 1994)

4/5. A well-done metallic track from the album where Nine Inch Nails began making their move from the heaviness of Broken. It's no surprise how much this band has dominated the industrial music scene. There are some bad-a** lyrics here like "Angels bleed from the tainted touch of my caress". People probably would've heard of NIN more in the 90s/2000s. This sounds so disturbing yet stellar. I might get in some more of what I'm missing in The Downward Spiral, but then again, I prefer heavier bands in the industrial metal realms. Still it's quite well done here. Who knew darkness can have light and faith!? There are 3 other songs from this album that would form the album's metallic square, and I've already shown you what they are in the Track of the Day thread. This should've fit well in a Twin Peaks episode.

Dagoba - "4.2 Destroy" (from Dagoba, 2003)

4.5/5. Lots of hardcore power in this song! Like Hatebreed would yell, "DESTROY EVERYTHING!!!"

Kong - "2.14" (from Mute Poet Vocalizer, 1990)

4/5. An older more progressive instrumental that sounds good but not the best. Next!

Unzucht - "Nein" (from Jenseits der Welt, 2020)

3.5/5. I know what "Nein" means, it's German for "No", which is my answer to whether or not this peaks my interest. Still sounds good though.

b.o.s.c.h. - "Mehr" (from Einsam, 2010)

3/5. Same with this one. Slight goodness, but I got other music to check out. If I want to find something that isn't just barely understandable sh*t, I just have to keep digging.

Stoneman - "Mord ist Kunst" (from Goldmarie, 2014)

3.5/5. A better song to rock out to, but if only they had lyrics that I can read and understand. But I guess it would be useful if I ever one day decided to learn German. The Mozart-like beginning adds a classical edge to the Rammstein-like sound, but I still find that "meh".

Trust Obey - "Hands of Glory" (from Hands of Ash, 1996)

4/5. This 12-minute epic is worth part of the CD's runtime, though not as impressive as the 12-minute epic I've submitted to this month's Gateway playlist.

Rob Zombie - "Crow Killer Blues" (from The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, 2021)

4.5/5. A killer ending to this playlist, sounding like a mix of Avatar, White Zombie, and the Doors. The lyrics greatly match the music! Then after it's over and the apocalypse wipes everything out, during the last 30 seconds, a sinister evil is lurking around and waiting to be unleashed. To be continued...

Pretty good playlist I've made, huh? Despite a few slight bumps throughout... Anyway, I sure would recommend this to any industrial metal fan and anyone who isn't into industrial metal but is up to getting into a great start in enjoying the genre. Thanks Daniel for accepting this and your help with your submission, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it like I've had!