Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies
My thoughts on some tracks (including my one suggestion):
Godflesh – “Pulp” (from “The Earache Peel Sessions” E.P., 2014)
5/5. The original version in Streetcleaner is one of my industrial metal favorites that can pulverize you into a pulp with the bass and drum machine rolling under the burning guitar slashing through vocals in a hopeless crescendo yelling "PULP" repeatedly until the last breath.
Strapping Young Lad – “The New Black” (from “The New Black”, 2006)
5/5. There's no better way to end my song-commenting journey through this month's playlists with a killer ending to the final album by progressive industrial metal band Strapping Young Lad! The intro riff at over the 30-second mark and the chorus nearly two minutes later are worth repeating. I f***ing love the lyrics and bad-a** vocal range. What's also satisfying is the drumming. It's a wonder this album that's metal as f*** isn't hitting the charts. Long live the music of one of the best bands of all time, Strapping Young Lad! Now that the band is over, the heavy world was bleak...until the heavier part of the Devin Townsend Project.
My thoughts on some tracks (including my suggested ones):
Within The Ruins – “Ataxia II” (from “Elite”, 2013)
5/5. While this isn't the first song of the playlist, it's a good intro for the selected amount of songs I'm commenting. Within the Ruins are known for their Ataxia instrumentals that they've had in every album except Creature, and this part continues that killer streak. An incredible technical death/metalcore instrumental attack!
Amaranthe – “Maximize” (from “Maximalism”, 2016)
4.5/5. This is one of the better highlights of the album Maximalism, a fantastic synth-rocker with some of the best vocals from Elize Ryd while varying with the other two vocalists. I'm glad that this song was chosen instead of one of the weak poppy songs later on in the album.
Underøath – “Emergency Broadcast / The End Is Near” (from “Lost In The Sound Of Separation”, 2008)
5.5/5. (not exaggerating) This is a heavy song, one of the heaviest songs in the metalcore scene! The bassline at the one-minute mark builds up until unleashing the chaos. This is probably the most epic song of Lost in the Sound of Separation, especially that 45-second moment with shiver-inducing guitar, one minute after that bassline. The singing by drummer Aaron Gillespie helps level up the song, though that album without him after this one is great too. F***ing amazing! And my true like for Underoath all started because TheOdd1sOut used another song from Lost in the Sound of Separation in one of his videos. The Cult of Luna influence that they had in Define the Great Line can definitely be found in this sick song. Well done, guys!
Bullet For My Valentine – “Your Betrayal” (from “Fever”, 2010)
4.5/5. Simple yet killer! It starts with a military marching drum intro for soldiers to prepare for war with a mood similar to a song from The Poison. The simple elements continue on including drop-C tuned guitars, screams and whispers. After the second chorus, the middle section is different from your typical BFMV song. No guitar solo, just siren-like wailing vocals over heavy guitar. It does show some maturity, but it would've been better if the guitar solo does the siren-like wailing.
Trivium – “In Waves” (from “In Waves”, 2011)
6/5 (not exaggerating). Sonny suggested this one as his submission for this month's playlist, and even though I already submitted that one as part of the first ever Revolution playlist, I won't argue here. It's my favorite song from this album and possibly of metalcore in general. It starts off with an Ascendancy-like metalcore breakdown with Matt Heafy repeatedly screaming the name of the song, then it leads to a melodic Crusade-like chorus. There's also a complicated solo in the middle, but other than that, the riffs are simple yet catchy. That's what I like! During my original epic power metal taste a few years ago, I found the music video for the song "In Waves" on TV, then about a year later, the friend I told you about in my first forum thread introduced me to a heavier modern side of metal starting with this band. For that, I owe him big-time!
Demon Hunter – “Not Ready To Die” (from “Summer Of Darkness”, 2004)
4.5/5. Exploding right into the metalcore action of Summer of Darkness after their self-titled nu metal debut, Ryan Clark does his screaming/growling in the verses before moving to the melodic chanting chorus. The song has dark lyrics about what life is like before the end and the music has almost everything the band has in one song. "If only 33 years can save my life, I have 23 more to make things right..." Was Ryan 10 years old when he wrote those anti-optimistic lyrics?!
Born Of Osiris – “Empires Erased” (from “The New Reign”, 2007)
4/5. A good song to listen to, not the best but still good for anyone starting their technical deathcore interest anew. It has a catchy main riff, along with harmonized guitar and speedy bass. The groovier parts are the best, but what really hits the spot is the epic video game-like keyboarding.
Parkway Drive – “Sleepwalker” (from “Deep Blue”, 2010)
4/5. This single is nothing like most of the other songs I've commented above, or songs from the previous album Horizons like "Boneyards", but it still has a great amount of excellent riffing and amazing ending soloing.
Converge – “The High Cost Of Playing God” (from “When Forever Comes Crashing”, 1998)
4.5/5. You'll find a huge heap of berserk metalcore until it ends with strange melodic chords with vocalist Jacob Bannon's whining cries. It's not my favorite song of the album, but it's still a prime example of 90s metalcore.
God Forbid – “Article I: The Twilight of Civilization, Section I: The End of the World” (from “IV: Constitution of Treason”, 2005)
5/5. We've come to the end of my commenting section with "The End of the World" that happens to be the epic beginning of a metalcore concept album. The song begins with an epic acoustic rising to electric intro as a sign of everyone first hearing of a deadly virus that's spreading all over the world. As the actual heaviness begins, everyone outside panics and begins running to their respective homes, unaware that the virus has caught up with most of them. Yeah, I was a little scared of the virus when it started hitting my country and we were gonna be put in lockdown. Check out my review for this album for the scenario I made: https://metal.academy/reviews/5715/6250
My thoughts on some tracks (including my suggested ones):
Opeth – “The Funeral Portrait” (from “Blackwater Park”, 2001)
4.5/5. A brutally good song with crushing progressive riffs from one of the greatest progressive metal albums to begin the 21st Century. Yet another great way to start a playlist that would contain other good and better songs!
Ayreon – “Day Eleven: Love” (from “The Human Equation”, 2004)
5/5. A marvelous song with manic serenity! There's an amazing story told throughout this song and concept album, but I guess you would have to listen to the album on your own to find out the whole story.
The Contortionist – “Follow” (from “Our Bones” E.P., 2019)
4.5/5. The Contortionist is one of those progressive metal bands that started extreme (djent or otherwise) then the extreme part starts to fade into something more melodic. Fortunately, this song shows that The Contortionist still have a bit of their earlier heaviness while having progressive melody. Hope their fanbase is still following!
Cara Neir – “Floodgates Of Doom” (from Phase Out”, 2021)
3.5/5. HORSE the Band gone post-black/experimental noisegrind? Sounds pretty killer, but f*** it! Let's move on...
Animals As Leaders – “Song Of Solomon” (from “Animals As Leaders”, 2009)
5/5. Now this is a much better song, filled with jazzed-up heaviness and synth patterns. Whoever this Solomon dude is, he would be so proud of this band for such a gift. Still looking forward to getting the rest of their discography!
Neurosis – “Souls At Zero” (from “Souls At Zero”, 1992)
4.5/5. A great song to play from your surround sound system until the police tell you to turn it down to not disturb the peace! Neurosis need more recognition after starting a new revolution, the beginning of post-metal and post-sludge! Also, anyone else think the main riff in the intro and outro sounds like that of "Carol of the Bells"?
Ne Obliviscaris – “Forget Not” (from “Portal Of I”, 2012)
5/5. The title of this track is the English translation for the band name Ne Obliviscaris. The first half is a long quiet atmospheric passage that tries to build up to heaviness but ends up falling back down. Then in a second attempt, it gets up much higher and closer to metal, and by the midway point, it made it! The violin stops and let the instrumentation and vocals do their work for the rest of this song.
Evergrey – “Leaden Saints” (from “Escape Of Phoenix”, 2021)
5/5. AMAZING SONG!!! More about it in my review for this album...
Meshuggah – “Marrow” (from “Koloss”, 2012)
4/5. This one is predatory eccentricity. Maybe a little too eccentric to be my absolute favorite song of this album. Either way, this is a good introductory song for anyone stumbling upon Meshuggah and wanting to hear more of the band.
My thoughts on some tracks:
Bolt Thrower – “What Dwells Within” (from “War Master”, 1991)
4.5/5. A brutal start to this playlist! This is probably my favorite song in early 90s standard death metal, but that doesn't mean I'm interesting in that scene. Though the drums are off-time, a d*mn strong solo sears through at the 3-minute mark, then a minute later comes a brutal ending.
Scar Symmetry – “Slaves To The Subliminal” (from “Pitch Black Progress”, 2006)
5/5. This one is a phenomenal melodeath song with a dream chorus similar to power metal with Trivium-like clean and harsh vocals. Still amazing me ever since first listening to them 5 years ago in my earlier epic metal taste!
Cryptic Shift – “(Petrified in The) Hypogean Gaol” (from “Visitations From Enceladus”, 2020)
4/5. Excellent but too brutal. Enough said!
Dark Tranquillity – “Standstill” (from “Moment”, 2020)
3.5/5. UGH... No offense but the song choice from Dark Tranquillity's newest album Moment could've been far better. The name "Standstill" fits well for the song itself, sounding a bit too ballad-like compared to other songs. At least its melody helps balances out the brutality, so I'll give it a higher points for that.
Septic Flesh – “Mystic Places Of Dawn” (from “Mystic Places Of Dawn”, 1994)
4.5/5. This epic death metal band's tenure begins with this track, and it has some great challenging power to show what a fantastic song this is! Heroic verses and moving chorus are backed up by bleak leads. This is definitely more Paradise Lost inspired and it proves how great Septicflesh is at both music taste and melody. But there's some straight death metal to come later on.
A couple extra notes:
The songs I've commented above are pretty great, thanks guys! I still think these playlists should start with a quick brutal introduction then a few melodic songs, so it would be a good starting point for anyone new to death metal or metal in general to begin with the more melodic stuff before digging deeper into death metal's gory brutality. However, switching back and forth between brutality and melody might catch them off-guard. If it was up to me, the Cryptic Shift song probably should've been track #2 before the Scar Symmetry one, then after that, the Septic Flesh song should've been track #4 before the Dark Tranquillity one. Despite its original odd position, this playlist would be a great journey for Horde members from melodic to brutal and I approve of that track listing. They'll like it!
The other thing is, I'm actually considering moving completely away from death metal and most of The Horde for good. There are a few good reasons for that, and I'll tell it all to you in an official announcement when I feel ready to confirm in, say, less than 3 weeks from now. In the meantime, enjoy what may be some of my last thoughts of these songs from The Horde before I possibly make my official move...
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1qfZsURBI7IfACttcr8EDd?si=nG2ngXF7RvaVHp4HpUtF7w
Tracklisting:
01. Bolt Thrower – “What Dwells Within” (from “War Master”, 1991) [Submitted by MacabreEternal]
02. Scar Symmetry – “Slaves To The Subliminal” (from “Pitch Black Progress”, 2006) [Submitted by Ben]
03. Cryptic Shift – “(Petrified in The) Hypogean Gaol” (from “Visitations From Enceladus”, 2020)
04. Dark Tranquillity – “Standstill” (from “Moment”, 2020)
05. Pan.Thy.Monium – “The Battle Of Geeheeb” (from “Khaooohs & Kon-Fus-Ion”, 1996) [Submitted by Ben]
06. Holocausto – “Regimento de Morte” (from “Campo de exterminio”, 1987) [Submitted by Daniel]
07. Septic Flesh – “Mystic Places Of Dawn” (from “Mystic Places Of Dawn”, 1994) [Submitted by Ben]
08. The Chasm – “Architects Of Melancholic Apocalypse” (from “Procession To The Infraworld”, 2000) [Submitted by MacabreEternal]
09. Pyrrhon – “Another Day In Paradise” (from “Abscess Time”, 2020)
10. Morbid Angel – “Rebel Lands” (from “Blessed Are The Sick”, 1991) [Submitted by MacabreEternal]
11. Gravesend – “Needle Park” (from “Methods Of Human Disposal”, 2021)
12. Deathgoat – “Rotten Salvation” (from “Regurgitated Into Existence”, 2021)
13. Altered Dead – “Return To Life” (from “Returned To Life”, 2021)
14. Immolation – “Rival The Eminent” (from “Unholy Cult”, 2002) [Submitted by Daniel]
15. Hemdale – “Demented Surgical Incest” (from “In The Name Of Gore” split album with Exhumed, 1996)
16. Malevolent Creation – “Slaughter Of Innocence” (from “Retribution”, 1992) [Submitted by Ben]
17. Heaven Shall Burn – “Counterweight” (from “Deaf To Our Prayers”, 2006) [Submitted by Daniel]
18. Eximperituserqethhzebibšiptugakkathšulweliarzaxułum – “Utpāda” (from “Šahrartu”, 2021)
19. Fractal Generator – “Macrocosmos” (from “Macrocosmos”, 2021)
20. Misery Index – “The Carrion Call” (from “Heirs To Thievery”, 2010) [Submitted by Daniel]
21. Agoraphobic Nosebleed – “Vexed” (from “Honky Reduction”, 1998)
22. Krisiun – “A Thousand Graves” (from “Scourge Of The Enthroned”, 2018) [Submitted by MacabreEternal]
23. Dead Congregation – “Teeth Into Red” (from “Graves Of The Archangels”, 2008) [Submitted by MacabreEternal]
24. Unseen Terror – “Burned Beyond Recognition” (from “The Peel Sessions” E.P., 1989) [Submitted by Daniel]
25. Knoll – “Earth’s Iron Lung” (from “Interstice”, 2021)
26. Aborted – “Meticulous Invagination” (from “Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done”, 2003) [Submitted by Ben]
27. Abominable Putridity – “Non Infinite Sequence” (from “Parasitic Metamorphosis Manifestation”, 2021)
Looks like that Holocausto track is no longer available
It is for me, but the Immolation track is gone as well.
I actually like some of the tracks before the Holocausto one, so look out for my comments to those songs coming soon...
My thoughts on some tracks (including my suggested ones):
Accept – “Zombie Apocalypse” (from “Too Mean To Die”, 2021)
4.5/5. The opener of this playlist and the new Accept album, this song rules! The band's influences from Judas Priest (specifically the Painkiller era) really shine in this cool song. Indeed beginning the playlist in a bang!
Persuader – “Judas Immortal” (from “When Eden Burns”, 2006)
5/5. Wow... This one is also awesome! It starts with a Nevermore-like rapid-fire thrash intro, then the vocals come in reminding me of Blind Guardian's Hansi Kürsch. That's the kind of speedy power metal adrenaline I'm still up for, from this underrated killer band!
Epica – “Code Of Life” (from “Omega”, 2021)
5/5. An epic part of Epica's comeback album Omega! The third extended chorus that covers over the last minute is probably one of the most epic choruses I've heard, with the amazing vocal technique making this song probably Epica's best one yet! As if this song isn't miraculous enough, Zaher Zorgati (Myrath) provides the Arabic lyrics and chanting that would mesmerize you into oblivion. The song continues the band's powerful mix of beauty and brutality. The amazing lyrics and Arabian vibes are great for a desert battle scene. I have a good feeling that their new album Omega would make for the slight disappointment of the new Nightwish album from last year....
Nightwish – “Harvest” (from “Hvman. :||: Natvre.”, 2020)
3.5/5. Troy Donockley really takes the stage in this single, both in the folk instrumentation and singing. It's a bit upbeat, but not in a heavy way. It's a little weak, and more suitable as the next "Baba Yetu" (that Civilization theme), but it's a good start to anyone wanting to get into folk-ish symphonic metal.
Stratovarius – “Hunting High & Low” (from “Infinite”, 2000)
5.5/5 (not exaggerating). Stratovarius' ultimate anthem hit! The chorus has possessed my soul into listening to the song many times in my earlier epic metal taste. I just love it! The greatness starts from the intro and doesn't stop until the end. If my voice was higher instead of lower, I would definitely wanna sing it! Oh the motivational nostalgia... Very well done! Did I mention this is my favorite Stratovarius song? The song makes sure metal never dies. It's been over 3 years since I last listened to that song, and it's still g****mn f***ing awesome! Apparently, the Dragon Ball Z Budokai theme is based on the song, which is cool, I guess. Great job, guys!!
Edguy – “Key To My Fate” (from “Savage Poetry”, 1995)
4/5. The song in the Spotify playlist is actually from the 2000 re-recorded version of Savage Poetry. It's not Edguy's super best song, but a great introductory song for anyone finding this band for the first time. I understand the powerful lyrics that are about the suffering struggle to control your own life. The soloing that starts at exactly 3-minute mark reminds me of DragonForce, which definitely saves the song from being mediocre and lets me make that song suggestion.
Todd La Torre – “Hellbound & Down” (from “Rejoice In the Suffering”, 2021)
5/5. Yet another song where everything about it is perfect, from the sound to the engineering! Todd La Torre is an insanely great vocalist who can perform both Halford-like falsetto powerful growls, all fitting well with the great guitar. Todd's singing has already gotten me hooked with his brilliant phenomenal vocal range. If this album came out 5 years ago in my teenage years when I was still in my earlier epic metal taste, I would've gotten it in a heartbeat. He and Craig Blackwell did a great job with this kick-A song, and I feel like getting the whole album including bonus tracks. The heavy vibe makes this song probably the best so far this year. I probably love his falsetto style a little more than Geoff Tate (whom Todd replaced when joining Queensrÿche) and Bruce Dickinson, probably more than when Tate and Dee Snider guest-performed in the Avantasia album Ghostlights. La Torre's vocals have powerful expression to go with the a**-kicking Nevermore-like heavy tone. His voice before the guitar solo had a bit of a Dimmu Borgir vibe. I'm still amazed by the amount of technique in the vocals. The older sound of metal has been reborn from the underworld, allowing the earlier metalheads to look back at different memories of Judas Priest, Savatage, and Iron Maiden being resurrected. The intro reminds me of In Flames, and the rest is thrash-like heavy metal history...
HammerFall – “Heeding The Call” (from “Legacy Of Kings”, 1998)
4.5/5. One of my favorite classic HammerFall tracks, characterizing what the band is about, especially in one of their best choruses. The backup choir vocals are used tastefully and subtly and never overpower the powerful vocals of lead singer Joacim Cans. Besides that, there are nice surprises such as fast drum kicks and searing riffs.
Avantasia – “The Final Sacrifice” (from “The Metal Opera Pt. II”, 2002)
5/5. A killer beast of a song! Tobias Sammet does insanely amazing singing in the first verse and chorus, then Dave ‘the Lion’ Defeis (Virgin Steele) does his vocals ranging from brief black metal-like hisses to gravelly singing like a mix of ZP Theart and Tom Waits. F***ing brilliant!! This is probably the best and heaviest song of The Metal Opera Part II. The singing and riffing is so great! I can definitely hear some inspiration for Edguy's Hellfire Club. Insane screaming thrash-infused heavy metal right here!
Orden Ogan – “Come With Me To The Other Side” (from “Gunmen”, 2017)
4/5. This one is pretty cool, starting with a soft intro by Liv Kristine (from Leaves' Eyes, formerly Theatre of Tragedy), then the heavy action begins, all suitable for a book or movie like Alice in Wonderland. Despite how epic this is, the song doesn't hit me as much as the other songs I've commented.
DragonForce – “Revolution Deathsquad” from “Inhuman Rampage”, 2006)
4.5/5. The only song that could top off that Orden Ogan song as the ending of this playlist is this awesome song by the legendary DragonForce, though this one has a small generic flaw. I mean It's got catchy verses and a glorious chorus, along with background harsh vocals, but the long guitar soloing could've been better shorter. I still love this song though. Thank you Daniel for saving this awesome song for last and also including its album as this month's Guardians feature release!
My thoughts on some tracks (including my suggested ones):
Spelljammer – “Abyssal Trip” (from “Abyssal Trip”, 2021)
4/5. So beginning this playlist is the stoner doom spell of Spelljammer, the kind that would melt your face, but this doesn't blow my mind a lot. If I was offered to take a trip that isn't so abyssal, I would say "H*ll yes please!" Still really killer though...
Mastodon – “Sleeping Giant” (from “Blood Mountain”, 2006)
4.5/5. More of Mastodon's mainstream reputation is evident on this track, but the latter half of the song has twists of guitar melodies, drum fills, and music switches to please the more progressive fans like myself.
Lacuna Coil – “Swamped” (from “Comalies”, 2002)
5/5. The opening of this gothic masterpiece starts with traditional Italian instrumentation before switching to guitars and the harmonious vocals of Cristina Scabbia. Male vocalist Andrea Ferro sings his vocals, beginning your gothic metal adventure.
Light Field Reverie – “Another World” (from “Another World”, 2020)
3.5/5. Has the great gothic doom of Tragic Idol-era Paradise Lost and the ambience of Gojira's interludes, mixed with female vocals similar to Draconian (that band's new vocalist Heike Langhans sings here) and Within Temptation, but the song seems too pop-ish and I might not return to this band anytime soon.
Within Temptation – “Deep Within” (from “Enter”, 1997)
4/5. I chose this track because it may please the heavier doom listeners around here as the only song from this album and this band with solely harsh vocals.
Cult Of Luna – “Hollow” (from “Cult Of Luna”, 2001)
4.5/5. Continuing the recollections of early-90s post-sludge Neurosis, this bad-a** song starts with a rude awakening riff beginning a 10-minute brutal post-sludge development continuously snapping your neck until your head is left dangling. Relentless darkness and unstoppable rage goes on with no escape, except for a soothing violin break in the middle. That shows how much this album can infect your ears and mind.
Paradise Lost – “The Longest Winter” (from “Medusa”, 2017)
4/5. In the general sense of crawling doom metal, this track more clearly outlines the chance for Gregor Mackintosh to let out more enchanting effects, but with very few notes as possible to guide the song's progression in a more wintry result.
I did my review, here's its summary:
Ever since their 1997 formation, The Dillinger Escape Plan have combined death metal, hardcore, and art-prog to spawn the genre mathcore, or more specifically grind-tech-math-metalcore. They've released 5 awesome albums at that point, and one of them is another killer album, One of Us is the Killer! On their fifth album, TDEP have a lot of extreme in their hands, but some of it is lost to construct songs with more melodic motifs. Their song-craft journey that they can still poly-rhythmic thrash metalcore choruses more barbaric than Conan the Barbarian while making more poppy numbers that would allow them to guest appear in Conan the talk show. It may sound selling out, but they can still be as extreme as they want to be. Just listen to these intense songs that range from melodic to sludgy to chaotic, and you'll hear what I mean. Unlike other hardcore metalheads who can cause abuse to the innocent with their music and lyrics, TDEP knows who or mostly what they can take their abuse out on. TDEP are no longer a college hardcore band, they have evolved into functioning adults who have unleashed their precision with no denial of fun chaos. They released an album that has a little more slow melody balanced with the usual contorted rage. You'll definitely be headbanging at some extreme choruses like metalheads always do....
4.5/5
I did my review, here's its summary:
In just one year, one of my new favorite musicians Devin Townsend released two albums that marked the beginning of the Devin Townsend Project. However, while they both were somewhat pleasant, they alienated his fanbase. Of course I have nothing against Ki, and definitely nothing against this album, Addicted. Well sure, this second album of the project has his more familiar trademark sound dating back to Ocean Machine and the more melodic side of Strapping Young Lad, but he has added a twist... This album can be described more as alt-dance-metal as opposed to the usual progressive metal. There's heavier emphasis on catchy hooks, melodies, and dance elements that is kind of the album's double-edge sword. Surprisingly, the album works well played as a whole, and can be fun to listen to. However, many of the songs don't seem that appealing to me, but the ones that do include the songs that have ex-The Gathering singer Anneke van Giersbergen into Devin's material, complimenting Devin's melody-craft with her soft beauty and otherwise putrid pop choruses. Absolutely stunning! She doesn't appear in the epic "Awake!!", but that's still a great song all the same. Another album done in his "Project", Devin Townsend has shown his genuine music knowledge, though only a few songs here are super great. After the intelligent yet dull ambience of Ki and the tunes of Addicted that mix alt-metal with dance-pop, the next album Deconstruction would be what I think is the real heavier start of his project, one that your ears will never forget....
3/5
Thank you Daniel for accepting my Fallen feature release submission, here's my summary:
Enter Within Temptation with their dark debut Enter! It's much different from their later symphonic metal work, being a gothic metal album. The Lacuna Coil style of gothic metal? Nope, I'm talking about symphonic gothic doom metal following the "Beauty and the Beast" vocals inspired by Theatre of Tragedy. The songs are longer with inspired composition work and great atmosphere. The structures are not complex but are unpredictable with the instrumental sections being long and the vocals alternating between female singing and male growling. All of this instrumental space has paid off with the added mysterious atmosphere. The guitars play nice decent riffs that help the dark heavy atmosphere of songs. The keyboards are an important part of their symphonic sound, making it more complete. Throughout most of these 8 songs, you'll hear the angelic voice of Sharon den Adel, along with the death-doom growls of Robert Westerholt that you would rarely find in any of their later albums. Two songs stand out as a death-growls-only song sung by Westerholt and Orphanage vocalist George Oosthoek, and an instrumental. Enter captures the strong 90s gothic metal magic with haunting melody and dark atmosphere. Within Temptation might not have made a debut masterpiece, but the album really stands for its pure simple sincerity. Enter the dark portal....
4/5
Recommended songs: "Restless", "Enter", "Deep Within", "Gatekeeper", "Candles"
For fans of: Draconian, and the 90s eras of Theatre of Tragedy and Tristania
Welcome Joseph! I see you enjoy a few bands that are some of my favorites as well; Fallen bands like My Dying Bride and Neurosis, and Infinite bands like Cynic and Devin Townsend. We might just get on really well and be able to share each other's favorite metal bands, possibly discovering different bands that one of us has listened to but not yet the other. Sounds good? Enjoy this site, Jobro!
Happy 45th anniversary to the album that established Judas Priest as the second true heavy metal band!! And here are 3 more less famous but still notable Guardians bands having their x5-year anniversaries today:
Angra and Power Quest were two of my favorite power metal bands back in my earlier epic metal taste, and those two albums (Holy Land and Blood Alliance) are pretty awesome. They also happen to be the second-to-last albums with Angra vocalist Andre Matos and Power Quest bassist Paul Finnie, both of whom have suffered a fatal heart attack in 2019, within months away from each other. RIP...
High class German heavy metal for fans of Grave Digger, Judas Priest & Accept.
Solid heavy metal majesty that would inspire a few metal bands like Alestorm to develop their own pirate lyrical themes!
Realizing I haven't listened to Blind Guardian's Queen cover, I decided to give it a listen, and well...many Blind Guardian fans know that the band is heavily influenced by Queen, but I think they tried too hard to show their influence, especially Hansi Kürsch sounding a bit strained when trying to reach the same cadence as Freddie Mercury. So without that sh*tty bonus track and possibly the two other ones in that album, I still think the original vinyl version of Somewhere Far Beyond is perfect (when listening to the "Bard's Songs" as a full suite)!
That Running Wild track shared here that I've also decided to listen to is actually "Störtebeker", that's probably why it sounded much different from the "Chains and Leather" song you were thinking of. Clearly there was a little mix-up... "Störtebeker" is pretty cool though, of course not the best, but good enough for me to give Death or Glory a listen and review. Seems like my newfound interest in heavy metal bands like Accept and Riot is craving for more....
Of course you can enjoy the acoustic folk beauty of that piece, but I personally think the two "Bard's Songs" work together as a full two-part suite. That's why I was p*ssed when the last 4 minutes of the Live version of "In the Forest" was crowd cheer instead.
RIP former Underoath guitarist Corey Steger...
Here are my overall ratings for the playlists I've reviewed this month (March):
1. Fallen playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 5)
2. Guardians playlist - 5/5 (number of songs commented: 8)
3. Infinite playlist - 4.5/5 (number of songs commented: 9)
4. Revolution playlist - 4/5 (number of songs commented: 11 (formerly 12))
Another rewarding playlist month for me, though this time it's more about the quality than quantity. The 8 songs in the Guardians playlist I've commented are really awesome, including my own requests, though that's probably my earlier epic metal taste talking. The Fallen and Infinite playlists both have a decent amount of tracks I've commented that are very good. I reviewed a massive amount of tracks in the Revolution playlist, ranging from perfect to good to too incomprehensible for an average 4 stars. I've reviewed 12 songs in the Infinite playlist, but I ending up taking one song off the list of songs I've commented. Still a good month!
I've managed to review the March feature releases for all my clans plus The Gateway. Here are my ratings and a quick summary:
The Gateway: Linkin Park - Meteora (2003) - 4/5
The Guardians: Avantasia - The Metal Opera (2001) - 5/5
The Infinite: Animals as Leaders - Animals as Leaders (2009) - 5/5
The Revolution: Trivium - In Waves (2011) - 5/5, maybe even 6/5
Man, this month was a great one for feature releases, and I think it's because of the releases submitted by us Metal Academy members (including myself). For my clans, the releases are perfect, whether they are albums from bands I've never listened to before but became love at first sight for me, or albums from different eras of my metal taste that have marked milestones for me, especially the Trivium album. The latter category includes The Gateway feature release, Linkin Park's Meteora, which was part of when I was following my brother's alt-rock/metal footsteps before I became interested in "real" metal, and I'm grateful for Linkin Park's nu metal era setting my path towards where I am today. Thanks for these amazing feature releases, everyone, including the one who started this new concept, Daniel! Looking forward to more of this cool activity and my feature release submissions for next month coming in...
It might be commercially successful but this Linkin Park mega-hit still really does it for me. For fans of Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach & P.O.D.
Where did I hear this song before?... Oh yeah, SO D*MN MANY TIMES!!! But that's OK, because I definitely believe "Numb" is Linkin Park's ultimate anthem!
Happy 30th anniversary to the very first release of one of the true masters of death-doom! I still don't think The Horde clan is suitable for this release though, see this thread: https://metal.academy/forum/28/thread/689
Welcome, Theo! We have a forum for each clan where you can submit addition requests for the clan your requested release is in, so Ben can keep track of them easily. Here are a couple links to them for your clans:
The Gateway: https://metal.academy/forum/8/thread/100
The Revolution: https://metal.academy/forum/14/thread/104
OK, we'll see how I feel after I give this album a listen and review...
My submission for April's playlist is the title track from Trivium's In Waves album.
Even though I’ve already submitted this track for an earlier playlist, I won’t argue here. It’s your treat after all, Sonny, and the song is what I think is the best of the best!
Thanks, Xephyr and Daniel! Here's my review summary:
I've never really gained full interest in completely instrumental metal bands before, and sometimes I like to take instrumental songs (metal or otherwise) and write lyrics for those songs. I think it's really cool because then you can sing/scream along the lyrics to the songs you think would be empty without lyrics. A huge heap of ideas might spawn for me after checking out an album from instrumental djenty jazz-metal band from Washington DC, Animals as Leaders! This project, led by bassist/guitarist Tobin Abasi, perform energetic riffing and solid drumming, and their debut marks the beginning of more of them to come. The songs range from short and calm to long and intense, all according to their jazz-djent plan. Not every band's debut album can be consistent or flawless, but for Animals as Leaders, this is certainly different. Here you can find energetic consistency and masterful performance. I don't think there's any flaw in here, that's how perfect the album is. The guitar riffs might be a bit repetitive, but they're still enjoyable. Animals as Leaders' debut is one of the best progressive/djent releases, and I can just imagine the lyrics I'm gonna write for this wave of jazz-djent babies!
5/5
One of the highlights tracks from Animals As Leaders' self-titled debut. For fans of Plini, Mestis & Arch Echo.
With this killer instrumental, I can just imagine my own lyrics sung/growled in the vocal style of Meshuggah and Focus-era Cynic...
Here's my suggestion for the April Gateway playlist:
Linkin Park - "Don't Stay" (from Meteora, 2003)
Interesting. I find "Built To Fall" to be one of the less appealing tracks on the album to be honest. This one was my clear favourite:
This one is also good! An extreme strictly screaming song that reminds me of old-school Trivium.
Sonny had already called dibs on submitting a track from In Waves into the April Revolution playlist, but that's OK. I can just share another one of my favorite songs from the album in this thread. Here's an awesome single:
I've never been too sure about the release year for Riot's Rock City being 1977, despite popular belief. Barely anyone has heard of them until at least 1978, which was the year they started selling a decently prominent amount of copies and performed with AC/DC and Molly Hatchet, and then later right when they were about to lose momentum, DJ Neal Kay of the Bandwagon Soundhouse helped spread the word about them in the UK, earning the band a higher fanbase and encouraging them to continue. And even though the original vinyl label says 1977, that's not highly reliable because some CD/vinyl publishing years might be slightly false (like for example, Symphony X's The Divine Wings of Tragedy has the release year label 1996 even though its official release year is 1997). With that, I'd like the release year for Riot's Rock City to be changed to 1978.
And by the way, sure this album is mostly hard rock, but I think there's plenty of the heavy metal you would find in bands like Accept and the more popular Iron Maiden...
Update on my list (due to an extension of my metal year taste range):
Late 1970s/1980s (classic oldies):
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 a separate thread reply)
1979: Accept - Accept
1980: Accept - I'm a Rebel
1981: Accept - Breaker
1982: Accept - Restless and Wild
1983: Accept - Balls to the Wall
1984: Voivod - War and Pain
1985: Accept - Metal Heart
1986: Voivod - Rrröööaaarrr
1987: Voivod - Killing Technology
1988: Riot - Thundersteel
1989: Godflesh - Streetcleaner
1990s (old-school but newer):
1990: Sanctuary - Into the Mirror Black
1991: Coroner - Mental Vortex
1992: Sadus - A Vision of Misery
1993: Sentenced - North From Here
1994: Tiamat - Wildhoney
1995: My Dying Bride - The Angel and the Dark River
1996: Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood
1997: Strapping Young Lad - City
1998: Meshuggah - Chaosphere
1999: Botch - We are the Romans
2000s (higher original quality):
2000: In Flames - Clayman
2001: Devin Townsend - Terria
2002: Isis - Oceanic
2003: Enslaved - Below the Lights
2004: Disillusion - Back to Times of Splendor
2005: Rosetta - The Galilean Satellites
2006: Gaza - I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die
2007: Between the Buried and Me - Colors
2008: KYPCK - Черно
2009: Vektor - Black Future
2010s (new and improved):
2010: Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy
2011: Trivium - In Waves
2012: Woods of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light
2013: The Ocean - Pelagial
2014: Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel
2015: Bullet for My Valentine - Venom
2016: Vektor - Terminal Redux
2017: Septicflesh - Codex Omega
2018: Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name
2019: Grand Magus - Wolf God
2020s (the newest and greatest to make up for the worst of the world):
2020: Trivium - What the Dead Men Say
2021 (so far): Cult of Luna - The Raging River
2021 albums I'm looking forward to getting:
Bodom After Midnight - Paint the Sky with Blood (EP) (as a last goodbye to Alexi Laiho, RIP)
Gojira - Fortitude
RIP Lars Göran Petrov (Entombed). Here's one of my former favorite melodeath songs, in which he contributed his own growls:
Here are my suggestions for April's playlist, following the 5 tracks in 30 minutes rule that I've applied to when I'm submitting for my 4 clans:
Born of Osiris - "Empires Erased" (3:26) from The New Reign (2007)
Demon Hunter - "Not Ready to Die" (5:03) from Summer of Darkness (2004)
God Forbid - "The End of the World" (6:09) from IV: Constitution of Treason (2005)
Underoath - "Emergency Broadcast :: The End is Near" (5:44) from Lost in the Sound of Separation (2008)
Within the Ruins - "Ataxia II" (5:09) from Elite (2013)
Total length: 25:31
Here are my suggestions for April's playlist, following the 5 tracks in 30 minutes rule that I've applied to when I'm submitting for my 4 clans:
Animals as Leaders - "Song of Solomon" (4:16) from Animals as Leaders (2009)
Ayreon - "Day Eleven: Love" (4:18) from The Human Equation (2004)
The Contortionist - "Follow" (3:47) from Our Bones (2019)
Meshuggah - "Marrow" (5:37) from Koloss (2012)
Neurosis - "Souls at Zero" (9:18) from Souls at Zero (1992)
Total length: 27:16
Here are my suggestions for April's playlist, following the 5 tracks in 30 minutes rule that I've applied to when I'm submitting for my 4 clans:
DragonForce - "Revolution Deathsquad" (7:51) from Inhuman Rampage (2006)
Edguy - "Key to My Fate" (4:34) from The Savage Poetry (2000)
HammerFall - "Heeding the Call" (4:30) from Legacy of Kings (1998)
Nightwish - "Harvest" (5:13) from Hvman. :||: Natvre (2020)
Stratovarius - "Hunting High and Low" (4:08) from Infinite (2000)
Total length: 26:16
Here are my suggestions for April's playlist, following the 5 tracks in 30 minutes rule that I've applied to when I'm submitting for my 4 clans:
Cult of Luna - "Hollow" (9:59) from Cult of Luna (2001)
Lacuna Coil - "Swamped" (4:00) from Comalies (2002)
Mastodon - "Sleeping Giant" (5:36) from Blood Mountain (2006)
Paradise Lost - "The Longest Winter" (4:31) from Medusa (2017)
Within Temptation - "Deep Within" (4:30) from Enter (1997)
Total length: 28:36
Pretty blatant Dio worship going on here but I can't help but fall for the strength of the massive chorus hook. For fans of Kamelot, Edguy & Stratovarius.
Massive chorus, amazing vocals, spectacular soloing... This is power metal at its full glory! I applaud Xephyr's Guardians featured release submission.
I've expanded my year range further down to the late 70s with classic heavy metal bands like Accept and Riot (RIP Mark Reale), but I still do not have any intention in checking out the more popular bands from that time like Iron Maiden or Motorhead, but maybe in the future...
And another classic-ish heavy metal band, Grand Magus, formed in the 2000s and more doom-laden: