Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

Going back to the main topic, here's a Spotify playlist I just made to show what I'm talking about when I say the elements that shape up epic doom need to be emphasized on gothic/death-doom, like those songs I mentioned above: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/75EvbiKoz4Vyizs1Ix2SE2

Honestly, if southern metal were added here, I'd put it forward for The Pit more than The Fallen. To me, it's always sounded like more of a descendant of groove metal than anything doom-related. I think the muddied waters there comes more from the frequent overlap with stoner and sludge metal, but those themselves are already steps away from the core "doom metal" approach (sludge metal, for example, mixes doom with more hardcore influences, and those influences also appear as a common feature of groove metal).

Thanks for this suggestion, Tymell! Let's all stop these new clan ideas for a while and let The Fallen be. Southern metal might fit very well in The Pit, and it could also replace another Pit genre, speed metal. Of course, speed metal is still around, but it is now a Heavy Metal subgenre in RYM. That would pretty much cause speed metal to move to The Guardians as a subgenre to Heavy Metal. But then the Pit would be more of a mid-tempo groove clan than a speedy thrash one. We'll just see how it goes from there...

Currently there are 232 primarily voted Epic Doom releases in RYM, so I see some potential for the genre to appear in Metal Academy.

I've listened to a couple Volbeat tracks before (via music videos on TV), and with the "Metalbilly" parts of their sound, I'm genuinely surprised that nobody has added the Southern Metal tag to them, not even secondarily! Even though the band is from Denmark, rockabilly originated from the American South and is a key part of Southern rock. Volbeat is a band I would call "Danish Southern Heavy Metal". I still think if the southern metal genre gets added here as a primary genre, I don't think it can fit in The Fallen because that clan already has so many genres (currently 5), and while southern and its relatives sludge and stoner have their doom roots, a decent number of bands of those styles don't follow those roots for the most part and have their own unique style, whether it's the hardcore of sludge or the mid-tempo groove of southern and stoner. With that, southern metal might end up having its own clan, and sludge metal and stoner metal can move out of The Fallen into that new clan as well. So while doom metal, gothic metal, and drone metal stay in The Fallen, southern metal, stoner metal, and sludge metal would have their own clan which we can name... The South!

1985 and 1986 were the first two years of death metal with the earlier releases of Possessed, Sepultura, and Messiah. However, they also have the thrash metal tag, and while there's nothing wrong with death/thrash, I personally think that if a genre's "traditional" or "standard", it means it stands out as truly that genre without any other genre tying in. In that sense, Death's Scream Bloody Gore should be the starting point for traditional death metal because it's the first album to be pure thrash-less death metal.

Subgenres make a lot of sense because then it’s easier for people to listen to a descendant of a main genre they generally avoid, like how I used to listen to melodeath while avoiding the standard death metal, and how I listen to doom metal while avoiding funeral doom. Indeed, one of the problems with the Epic Doom Metal label is, bands with that tag (Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, and Solstice) are much closer to standard doom metal. While the only difference is the addition of classical-sounding keyboards, more operatic singing, and fantasy lyrics to add that "epic" sound, the traditional doom sound is still dominant. In my opinion, those "epic" additions really have to be emphasized in balance with the doom sound. Here are a few gothic/death-doom songs that demonstrate what I'm talking about and hopefully my idea would catch on:

Two things for me to talk about here:

1. Since we're discussing anniversaries, here's another special album having its x5 anniversary today:

Happy 15th anniversary to this grand progressive metalcore concept album! Though that's just for the US release. The original Canadian release for the album was in the previous year, but I won't argue.

2. We discussed this in an earlier thread, but I don't mind sharing my opinion again here. Epic Doom Metal really is an actual doom metal subgenre. I wasn't sure RYM would ever feel like using that subgenre because of the overuse of the term "Epic" to describe other genres for some bands in websites such as the Metal Archives (for example; "Bal-Sagoth = Symphonic/Epic Black Metal", "Battlelore = Epic Symphonic Metal", "Dethlehem = Epic Melodic Death Metal", "Ensiferum = Epic Folk Metal", "Manilla Road = Epic Heavy/Power Metal"). Yeah, overly adding the word "Epic" to genres for bands that are already epic enough can make that word a little less...epic. I'm glad that RYM now acknowledges Epic Doom Metal, but it's a subgenre for Traditional Doom Metal, a label some of us find redundant. I'm fine with Epic Doom Metal being a valid subgenre here, but Traditional Doom Metal releases should just be part of the conventional Doom Metal genre...

My thoughts on some tracks:

Evile – “The Thing (1982)” (from “Hell Unleashed”, 2021)

5/5. Evile is back with some more killer music, rising against the pandemic! This f***ing brutal song is a tribute to a certain classic sci-fi horror film directed by John Carpenter. This awesome THING basically sounds like Sadus gone Annihilator, though some might think of Slayer or Megadeth. The intro at around the 30-second part has a bit of groove. Probably the most amazing aggressive thrash song I've heard this year, enough to almost have my pants sh*t on. If there was another Thing remake, this good fast song should be part of the soundtrack. The bridge halfway through can induce absolute headbanging! Every awesome thing a thrash fan wants and more is right here including the tone, speed, and lyrical subject. An epic cure to drinking depression you just gotta f***ing love, all in amazing thrash splendor! Not even Gojira could go ultra-fast in a common basis. The speed is all in the vocals, guitars, bass and drums. They pretty much assimilated their influences way more than The Thing into a blend that can never be duplicated. Some of their vocabulary has not been used by anyone else, not even Eminem (like the word "transmogrified"). Once more, this is a great song based on a sci-fi horror classic. Well done guys! Thanks for this, Sonny and Daniel!

Lamb Of God – “Black Label” (from “New American Gospel”, 2000)

4.5/5. I had this one as a Revolution playlist suggestion, but I replaced it because its album New American Gospel is tough groove metal to my ears, with small hardcore elements borrowed from the Burn the Priest album. I'm not sure what I was thinking adding that song suggestion. I made a judgement submission for this album to be removed from The Revolution. Anyway, an example of a well-crafted songwriting moment is its opening buildup, which is filled with the groove moments and layers of screaming madness Lamb of God would be known for. Another notable thing is the lyrics that are basically screaming scat gibberish with lyrics fit in based on what they sound like. Love that song!

Anthrax – “Metal Thrashing Mad” (from “Fistful Of Metal”, 1984)

4.5/5. Another incredible song! This one has inspired the name thrash metal when Kerrang! writer Malcolm Dome coined the term for his review for the song's album Fistful of Metal. However, compared to that other thrash band Evile, I'm still not up to this band until I feel like I'm ready which would be a long while from now. Scr*w Nickelback, the voice of Neil Turbin is far better than the lead singer of a band many people are addicted to these days...

Exciter – “Delivering To The Master” (from “Violence & Force”, 1984)

5/5. Boy am I excited for this band! This is the best underrated true pioneering force of speed metal! I love the great singing from Dan Beehler who can multitask by also playing the drums even in live performances.

Cryptosis – “Game Of Souls” (from “Bionic Swarm”, 2021)

4.5/5. Once again showing the band is at the top of their progressive thrash game. That is all...

An almost completely sh*tty remix album that turned most of the songs from one of the band's weakest albums into something worse:

Hello again, MartinDavey87! I don't know whether or not you have listened to those two Linkin Park recommendations, but I hope you had because I have a couple more for you; their remix albums Reanimation and Collision Course! Also could you please help me vote in the Rap Metal subgenre for both releases? Seems a little tacky and I don't wanna spoil too much for you before your reviews, but many of the songs in each album, especially the latter, have a more hip-hop-ish metal sound with mostly or solely rapping in the vocals. You don't have to vote if you disagree, though it's very likely you'll find what I'm talking about. OK thanks Martin!

Couldn't these guys just add in some of Linkin Park's rock/metal music instead of only keeping the rapping ?!

Only Linkin Park knows how to make even a Jay-Z song appealing to my ears:

Cheers for the rec, Daniel! Here's my review summary:

An underrated band from Australia, Lucid Planet play a style of heavy-psych-prog-metal with bits of electronic trance, to be enjoyed whether or not you love progressive metal, that brings Tool into the minds of their listeners. Before this album, Lucid Planet made a more psychedelic rock debut, and while I haven't listened to that debut, I'm never really a fan of just psychedelia, so I'm not gonna try that one. If the psychedelia is elementally part of a progressive metal sound though, I can't say no to that. The band made an astounding mind-blowing evolution, though a few things seem a bit lumpy. While it's not entirely perfect, I would suggest passing it on to many more listeners who would enjoy it. It's up to us where and what the journey would bring....

4/5

Nearly a carbon copy of the original besides the vocals and additional programming:

The two most brilliant nu metal remixes you'll ever hear in your lifetime:

Continuing the theme of classic heavy metal songs that have developed speed metal, Tymell's recent review of Accept's Restless and Wild made me remember this fast song with its proto-thrash riffing and double-bass drumming:

The first ever Gateway recommendation goes to... MartinDavey87! I think you might dig Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory EP and The Hunting Party album as much as their other two metal albums. Also I have a favor to ask you about one of the releases; could you please help me vote in the Rap Metal subgenre for the Hybrid Theory EP? Seems a little tacky and I don't wanna spoil too much for you before your review, but half the amount of songs in the EP have a more hip-hop-ish metal sound with only Mike Shinoda's rapping in the vocals. You don't have to vote if you disagree, though it's very likely you'll find what I'm talking about. OK thanks Martin!

A weak angry half-rap half-metal song, followed by 6 minutes of static, then a decent but still poor "Ambient" hidden track. What order can be worse than this?

Linkin Park began their highly successful discography with the EP released when they still had the name Hybrid Theory, and it shines with a few killer songs like this one:

Here's my suggestion for the July Gateway playlist:

Linkin Park - "Guilty All the Same" (from The Hunting Party, 2014)

Here are my suggestions for July's Revolution playlist:

August Burns Red - "The Frost" (4:46) from Phantom Anthem (2017)

Between the Buried and Me - "Alaska" (4:00) from Alaska (2005)

Demon Hunter - "Artificial Light" (4:29) from Extremist (2014)

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Pig Latin" (3:31) from Irony is a Dead Scene (2002)

Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas - "Return to Zero" (3:43) from New Sunrise (2017)

Unearth - "Survivalist" (4:14) from Extinction(s) (2018)

Winds of Plague - "Never Alone" (4:25) from Blood of My Enemy (2017)

Total length: 29:08

Here are my suggestions for July's Infinite playlist:

Ayreon -  "Daniel's Descent Into Transitus" (2:40) from Transitus (2020)

Enslaved - "Return to Yggdrasill" (5:39) from Isa (2004)

Haken - "The Good Doctor" (3:55) from Vector (2018)

Pain of Salvation - "Restless Boy" (3:34) from Panther (2020)

Vektor - "Accelerating Universe" (13:31) from Black Future (2009)

Total length: 29:19

Here are my suggestions for July's Guardians playlist:

Angra - "Carry On" (5:03) from Angels Cry (1993)

Children of Bodom - "Everytime I Die" (4:02) from Follow the Reaper (2000)

Dragonland - "Shadow of the Mithril Mountains" (5:44) from Under the Grey Banner (2011)

Epica - "The Second Stone" (5:00) from The Quantum Enigma (2014)

Grand Magus - "Steel Versus Steel" (5:19) from Triumph and Power (2014)

Kamelot - "Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)" (4:19) from I Am the Empire – Live from the 013 (2020)

Total length: 29:27

I have a special request to make about the Dragonland and Kamelot submissions. They have been two of my favorite power metal songs since over 7 years ago and they sound so similar to each other in a good mashup kind of way, so I would really appreciate it if you could please position the Kamelot song to be right after the Dragonland one in the playlist track listing, so I can listen to the glory of those two tracks back to back. The original Kamelot song isn't on Spotify, but I found its recent live version. OK thanks!

Here are my suggestions for July's Fallen playlist:

Charon - "The Stone" (5:45) from Tearstained (2000)

The Gathering - "In Sickness and Health" (7:00) from Always... (1992)

Isis - "Carry" (6:46) from Oceanic (2002)

My Dying Bride - "Bring Me Victory" (4:08) from For Lies I Sire (2009)

Total length: 23:39

So Linkin Park had Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello along for their metal album ride, but instead of continuing Linkin Park's rock return, he does not play a single riff or chord, he just provides guitar ambience over a shuffle of piano, synths, and drums in an off-kilter mix. Talk about a missed opportunity!

Thanks Ben for adding Linkin Park's The Hunting Party album to the site, and sorry you had to go to the pain of adding their non-metal albums in between to bridge the gap. Behold the last ever song I've heard from Linkin Park in my brother's alt-rock/metal footsteps before fading out into my "real" metal interest. I still love it to this day because of how metal it is!

I did my review, here's its summary:

Once a Japanese Visual Kei/glam rock band, Dir En Grey toned down their earlier imagery and focused on becoming something greater and more modern. Their superb songwriting will surely persuade listeners to enter the Japanese alt-garde metal realm! Their 7th album Uroboros further establishes the unique genre the band has reinvented, all in emerging triumph. It is an exploration through new territory while staying familiar to earlier fans. They continue to expand on the earlier pop elements but twist it with the metal sound that would dominate this album in sonic talent. And seeing how I can better tolerate both Japanese metal bands and bands in other languages besides English, I should have no problem as I explore songs that range dark gothic prog-pop to thrashy death metal, whether both styles are together in one song or apart. If you enjoy this alt-garde metal kind of style, this would get you hooked. Dir En Grey have made one of the proudest achievements in the history of metal!

5/5

A wonderfully atmospheric & cerebral post-sludge excursion from the Massachusetts gods of metalcore.

An astonishing remarkable atmospheric collaboration with Genghis Tron and two other professional drummers!

My thoughts on some tracks (including my suggested ones):

After The Burial – “Your Troubles Will Cease & Fortune Will Smile Upon You” (from “In Dreams”, 2010)

4.5/5. Let's start this playlist with yet another band that I moved away from in my death metal departure. But why this band though? Deathcore isn't considered entirely a death metal subgenre, despite the "death" aspect. Either way, this song is still great!

All That Remains – “The Last Time” (from “…For We Are Many”, 2010)

5/5. Ah yeah, an awesome enjoyed by me and my brother! In fact, this is my second favorite by the band, behind "Two Weeks" from Overcome. It really brings their metalcore sound despite mostly clean vocals and the repetitive chorus.

Brand Of Sacrifice – “Animal” (from “Lifeblood”, 2021)

4/5. Great song, but too close on the experimental side at some points. Next!

Amaranthe – “Amaranthine” (from “Amaranthe”, 2011)

5.5/5 (not exaggerating). One of the most amazing songs from both this album and the band, and at the top of their ballads list in my opinion, which is why I felt a little hesitant about suggesting it at first. In fact, when I went with my friends from the outside world for a karaoke outing, I snuck in that song and sang it with two of my friends. Pretty rebellious, huh? When we sang it, I performed Andreas' screaming bridge.

Bullet For My Valentine – “The End” (from “The Promise”, 2005)

5/5. I really love the ending track to BFMV's highest pinnacle The Poison. It would work a great end to this metalcore playlist, but I'm fine with its position either way. More mellow and depressing but still stands out well. The guitar riff is so simple, Matt can focus on more emotion in his vocals in the cleaner verses. I wish he could keep doing that emotional technique but that would mean he would have to drop the guitar full-time. The song gets heavier but once again, there's no solo. Then it returns to the intro riff used as the outro with soft guitar harmony over it as it all fades out. Another personal favorite!

Converge – “Shingles” (from “Petitioning The Empty Sky”, 1996)

4.5/5. In an EP into a semi-studio album with all new tracks in the second side, that side starts with this track, marked by blazing tempo variations. A near-highlight to its release, Petitioning the Empty Sky!

Counterparts – “Only Anchors” (from “Prophets”, 2010)

5/5. "Whether you're stuck in the past, or lost in the future, this is for you", spoken from a lyrical metalcore master! This underrated band has just become another favorite of mine, and I need to listen to more of them. Such an incredible band, holy sh*t! It was only just now that I discovered the band's amazing awesomeness, having made me a new fan of theirs. I absolutely love it like a girlfriend, especially that breakdown. It has honestly continued sealing metalcore as the personal best genre for me, better than the post-hardcore of Silverstein that most people seem to know. An amazing life-saving metalcore band in chill progress! It's awesome to hear these unique sounds like the harmonic sweeps. The vocalist has more power (but less brutality) than Suicide Silence vocalist Mitch Lucker (RIP). This is grand modern melodic metallic hardcore right here in this song. F***ing sick (as in awesome), man! Thank you for including this, Daniel...

Crossfaith – “Catastrophe” (from “EX_MACHINA”, 2018)

5/5. I became interested in the Japanese metalcore scene thanks to a friend from the outside world, and this band Crossfaith a more recent example. This is really nice god-awesome heaviness. I love it so much!

Woe, Is Me – “(&) Deliquents” (from “Number(s)”, 2010)

5/5. The lead singer of this band sounds so beautiful, while the screaming vocalist sounds as brutal as he can be. Awesome song with nice lyrics, and that 30-second ending is probably one of the most touching sections of a metalcore song I've ever heard.

Underøath – “The Last” (from “Cries Of The Past”, 2000)

4.5/5. This is back in the older times when Underoath had a progressive black/death metal-influenced metalcore sound going on, and I love this song, though it's the first song of the album Cries of the Past, not the last. Sadly this year, guitarist Corey Steger passed away following a car accident. RIP

The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Fix Your Face” (from “Ire Works”, 2007)

5/5. This one commences the third Dillinger Escape Plan album in a brutal bang, an intense track of destructive perfection with guest vocals by original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis. What's more hardcore than that for TDEP??

Born Of Osiris – “Now Arise” (from “A Higher Place”, 2009)

5/5. Here there are some perfect heavy riffs, along with a black metal-like section with evil-sounding synths and blast beats, which makes the song another fun one to listen to, and similar to The Faceless while straying away from that kind of sound.

Abiotic – “Grief Eater, Tear Drinker” (from “Ikigai”, 2021)

3.5/5. This is a little too close to the technical death metal I've sworn away from. Let's move on...

Loathe – “Heavy Is the Head That Falls With the Weight of a Thousand Thoughts” (from “I Let It In & It Took Everything”, 2020)

5/5. The last song I'm gonna comment here is a f***ing killer track that starts with black metal hatred blending early Enslaved with Deafheaven, before the usual metalcore riff stomp. Loathe keeps twisting things up with technical-ish grooves with dynamic drama that are rare to happen in any other song.

My thoughts on some tracks (including my suggested ones):

Gojira – “Sphinx” (from “Fortitude”, 2021)

4.5/5. A great song to start the playlist, along with an eerie guitar solo, though my good times with Gojira are practically over due to my death metal departure, despite their recent albums have a progressive/groove metal sound.

Neurosis – “Crawl Back In” (from “A Sun That Never Sets”, 2001)

5/5. A hauntingly beautiful and awesome song of esoteric symbolism! Enough said...

Haken – “The Mind’s Eye” (from “Visions”, 2011)

4.5/5. A great song I used to enjoy that reminds a bit of Dream Theater gone Karnivool! But why would I move away from something so awesomely beautiful? No idea, but somehow it was part of my death metal departure, even though this band is not even close to death metal (except for a few songs with death growls). This album is what I think is closer to prog rock with metal influences, and I prefer to keep a progressive metal band's album ratings if they're entirely that genre, especially Dream Theater and their Train of Thought album for historical value. The second verse halfway through sounds surprisingly like a Seal song, but it is made up for by the Metropolis-sounding chords. I enjoy the vocals, though not strong enough in the dynamics.

Voivod – “The Unknown Knows” (from “Nothingface”, 1989)

5/5. This track starts with a short intro as you floating into the dreamy atmosphere in waves of space and time before touching down on the moon of heaviness. The song itself is progressive and heavy with an amazing chorus like no other. That song has the most detail I've heard from a sci-fi progressive metal band, more than another band can put in an album.

Mastodon – “Once More ‘Round The Sun” (from “Once More ‘Round The Sun”, 2014)

4/5. A good starter song for the more mainstream side of Mastodon, this one shows a straight Black Sabbath approach in the riffs and rhythms, but lighter and melodic resembling Rush in the sense that the band can worship Sabbath while the drummer runs wild.

Enslaved – “Clouds” (from “Vertebrae”, 2008)

4.5/5. If there's a killer song to continue this playlist, it's definitely the riff-oriented "Clouds". C'mon, give it a listen!

Devin Townsend – “Kingdom” (from “Physicist”, 2000)

4.5/5. This is a long yet mid-length song compared to the rest of this playlist. There are better verses than the chorus, along with fabulous drum kicks and great vocal lines. The song would have a more epic re-recording in DTP album Epicloud.

Chimp Spanner – “Bad Code” (from “At The Dream’s Edge”, 2010)

5/5. The song title was missing on the thread so I added it in my reply. Lol, "Bad Code" apparently seems like a bad code to add here! One of the best djent riffs ever gave me a better feeling than the previous 3 tracks I've commented. A bad-a** instrumental to make up for the sh*tty 2020s so far.

Meshuggah – “Inside What’s Within Behind” (from “Selfcaged” E.P., 1995)

4.5/5. This is a demo version of a song that would appear in the album Destroy Erase Improve. Like its later counterpart, it unleashes proto-djent chaos and fury, beginning with a pulsating rhythm then kicks in some crazy drum rhythms that would be an essential part of the band's career. Then after the midway point, a soft yet spooky break comes in before the heavy ending.

The Ocean – “Orosirian / For the Great Blue Cold Now Reigns” (from “Precambrian”, 2007)

5/5. A monstrous song that you can say is like a melodic doomy Gojira with devastating despair before a slow acoustic workout of violin and female vocals buried within the mix. The heaviness comes back again in awesome old-school-sounding sludge doom. There's some growling by Cave In bassist/vocalist Caleb Scofield who was recently killed in a car crash. RIP

Ne Obliviscaris – “Pyrrhic” (from “Citadel”, 2014)

5/5. In album of multi-track suites, this is that album's only single-part song, but it still fits the godly skills of Ne Obliviscaris. The drums are beyond incredible with seamless transitions and perfect rhythms in impressive passages. The rhythm riffing and harsh vocals give the song a violent atmosphere, while the lead melodies and violin give the atmosphere a sense of despair. After all that epic chaos, there's a quiet section with just soft marching drums and a bit of guitar. Then it carries on through an excellent transition to an emotional ending of beautiful screaming violins atop growling/screaming vocals.

Jute Gyte – “The Griding Sword With Discontinuous Wound” (from “Mitrealität”, 2021)

3.5/5. A bit like that Black Sheep Wall epic from this month's Fallen playlist, a decent long epic (this one to close this playlist), but I'm just not entirely into the whole avant-garde black metal style. It's just not entirely for me...

My thoughts on some tracks (including my suggested ones):

Epica – “Storm The Sorrow” (from “Requiem For The Indifferent”, 2012)

5/5. A cool amazing song good for live shows! Epica really conjured a symphonic metal storm...

Dio – “Wild One” (from “Lock Up The Wolves”, 1990)

4.5/5. A great song to remain immortal in the future for many generations to come far head! I still don't feel up to the more mainstream classic heavy metal bands, but it's still a cool top notch old classic. RIP DIO

Angra – “Nothing To Say” (from “Holy Land”, 1996)

5/5. Very beautiful song, especially the beginning with the Brazilian drumming. Even though the true centerpiece of the Holy Land album is the "Carolina IV" epic, the song I've shared here is still an absolutely perfect introductory song for people getting into Angra for the first time. Part of one of my former favorite power metal albums! I especially enjoy the vocals by the unforgotten Andre Matos. RIP

Edenbridge – “Evermore” (from “The Grand Design”, 2006)

4.5/5. Another beautiful song from an awesome album, this from prog-ish symphonic metallers Edenbridge with lyrics about eternal love. Such a cool song to love from this magnificent group that is Edenbridge!

Viper – “A Cry From The Edge” (from “Theatre Of Fate”, 1989)

5/5. A song from another band with Andre Matos, back when he was only 17. His metal legacy shall be honored. Once again, rest in peace, metal maestro warrior... Anyway, this is probably one of the best songs I've heard from a Brazilian metal band. I mean, besides that Angra track, but it once again stirs up memories from when I listened to Andre's era in Angra. Good times...

Riot – “Thundersteel” (from “Thundersteel”, 1988)

5/5. This metal battle from one of the metal gods rolls on with this h*lla fast track, which places the band as a friendly rival to Judas Priest. Probably one of my favorite classic heavy metal songs, and the reason I have part of its album artwork as my current profile pic.

MaYaN – “Bite The Bullet” (from “Quarterpast”, 2011)

4/5. Great song, but probably the last one I'll ever hear from this band as I continue my death metal departure. I love the vocals by Marcela Bovio.

Nevermore – “What Tomorrow Knows” (from “Nevermore”, 1995)

4.5/5. This is a top-notch groove-powered heavy metal track with a monstrous, heavy riff leading into great vocals. It just keeps going on in a good way until the end. Warrel Dane was another awesome vocalist who sadly recently passed away by heart attack. RIP

Lovebites – “Glory To The World” (from “Glory,Glory, To The World” E.P., 2021)

5/5. Epic Japanese anime female power metal! You just have to listen this amazing glory, trust me.

My thoughts on some tracks (including my suggested ones):

Moonspell – “The Hermit Saints” (from “Hermitage”, 2021)

4/5. The prog-ish gothic metal foundation is laid for, one of the heaviest, most bombastic songs Moonspell has done recently in their new album Hermitage. That's probably the best example of Pink Floyd meets Paradise Lost!

Divide & Dissolve – “We Are Really Worried About You” (from “Gas Lit”, 2021)

4.5/5. I have a few things to say about this fresh drone doom composition. It's quite and unforgettable track to listen to, with bulldozing guitar fuzz crawling and crushing everything in a path of blocked sunlight. It starts with an ambient illusion of lightness that fades into tiny harmonies that are steamrolled by massive doomy riffs and dense drums. The heaviness is helped out by the tempo changes. And the rest is spoken by the music...

KYPCK – “2017” (from “3epo”, 2016)

5/5. This doomy monster is also too awesome to put into words, so I'll let the music speak for itself.

My Dying Bride – “It Will Come” (from “Like Gods Of The Sun”, 1996)

4.5/5. Though it fits well as a separate doom song, it's almost a prelude to the big ambitious finale of its album Like Gods of the Sun (not including the album's orchestral outro). The ultra-unique guitars and sinister-sounding keyboards add to the oppressing doom mood with more of the elegant violin.

Black Sheep Wall – “Ren” (from “Songs For The Enamel Queen”, 2021)

3.5/5. This is a decent 10-minute epic, but I'm just not entirely into the whole avant-garde sludge style...

Cult Of Luna – “Leave Me Here” (from “Salvation”, 2004)

4.5/5. ...Except for post-sludge, of course! This one has a killer first verse, then it slows down for an amazing mellow beat going on for the next two minutes. Sometime during those two minutes, anyone expecting a buildup back to heaviness might be surprised that they didn't get it right away. The drums and vocal chants stop leaving the mellow riff there. Then the heaviness crashes in again. A lot of good unexpected parts can be found in the song, but it's all centered around a heavy changing riff.

Officium Triste – “Roses On My Grave” (from “The Pathway”, 2001)

4/5. Originally recorded in the two EPs before this album, the song begins fast then changes the tempo into heavy slowness. Quite a good opening song for its album The Pathway, and a good introductory song for newcomers.

Paradise Lost – “Medusa” (from “Medusa”, 2017)

4.5/5. Contemplative emptiness in crawling doom. Excellent suggestion, Ben!

Thanks Ben!

Thanks Ben!

Adding the Hardcore Punk tag would add plenty more to this site, but no, this isn't the Hardcore Academy, saxy. I'll just add your vote to the tab:

Metalcore: 0

Non-metal: 6

That Heccra track (please disregard the last 45 seconds of silence) doesn't sound as noise-ridden as the F***ing Werewolf track, but all I'm gonna say is, it's basically a short progressive punk track with video-game synths with no metal in sight. Also, with all this talk about that Horse the Band song being non-metal, looking back at it, I can hear that you're all right. Sure there are small bits of metal, but it's not enough to make a full metal song. So...

Metalcore: 0

Non-metal: 5

I think at this point, the Nintendocore subgenre becoming non-metal is inevitable. Daniel, please discuss with Ben before making our next move.

I did my review, here's its summary:

Throughout their 25-year active run (1989-2014), The Gathering had really made an odd sound evolution. They started in the early 90s as a death-doom band, but starting with their third album, they begin losing their extreme aspects, and by their fifth album, their metal sound is gone (similar to Anathema and Katatonia, but the latter would regain some metal elements later on). Even their extreme albums had this hard-to-describe weird spacey vibe. Perhaps it was the at first unusual mix of gothic metal and death metal; synthesizers and female singing put together with death metal riffs and growling. Feeling like moving away from death-doom, their second album, Almost a Dance was a full switch to cleaner gothic doom metal, which was fine except for the lead singer Neils Duffhues sounding like the REM singer if he was tone-deaf. Realizing how horrible he was at singing, they fired him and possibly the female vocalist Martine van Loon. It was then that they came to the conclusion that a female lead singer would sound much better than their earlier male vocalists and would make their atmospheric doom metal sound more uniquely fresh. Thus came Anneke van Giersbergen and their third album Mandylion! Sounds kinda odd but more in a unique fresh way instead of just weird. I'm not kidding about the weird parts of Mandylion. Like what's with the tiki head in the album cover, odd sounds such as mechanical breathing and synthesized doorbells, and the general unearthly atmosphere? Unusual, but I love it! I think this album might've inspired Anathema to move out of their death-doom style to the Dead Can Dance-esque dreamy darkwave-infused gothic metal next year in their third album Eternity. It's clear that Mandylion and Anathema's The Silent Enigma stand out as two of the best gothic doom metal albums in 1995, while the vocals are more inspired by Dead Can Dance singer Lisa Gerrard. A great inspiring gothic doom metal combination provided in 8 long yet super-interesting songs! Mandylion is often considered a gothic doom classic, recommended to explorers of ethereal atmosphere. Many modern bands have followed the brilliant path built by this album, even gothic rock band Fields of the Nephilim that later made their move to atmospheric melodic gothic rock/metal. Anyway, with clean female singing and haunting atmosphere, Mandylion is one of the most unique gothic doom releases ever!

5/5

Update due to Xephyr's vote:

Metalcore - 1

Non-metal - 4

Update on my list (I'll update when I listen to some more of the bands whose albums were recently recommended to me):

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 this separate thread reply: https://metal.academy/forum/28/thread/362#topic_6048)

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: Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory

1987: Voivod - Killing Technology

1988: Riot - Thundersteel

1989: Running Wild - Death or Glory

1990s (old-school but newer):

1990: Sanctuary - Into the Mirror Black

1991: Coroner - Mental Vortex

1992: Sadus - A Vision of Misery

1993: Katatonia - Dance of December Souls

1994: Running Wild - Black Hand Inn

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

2000s (higher original quality):

2000: Isis - Celestial

2001: Dolorian - Dolorian

2002: Isis - Oceanic

2003: Lost Horizon - A Flame to the Ground Beneath

2004: Disillusion - Back to Times of Splendor

2005: Rosetta - The Galilean Satellites

2006: Persuader - When Eden Burns

2007: Annihilator - Metal

2008: Grand Magus - Iron Will

2009: Animals as Leaders - Animals as Leaders

2010s (new and improved):

2010: Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy

2011: Trivium - In Waves

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

2013: Bring Me the Horizon - Sempiternal

2014: Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

2015: Bullet for My Valentine - Venom

2016: Vektor - Terminal Redux

2017: Enslaved - E

2018: Voivod - The Wake

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 (first half): Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment 3

2021 albums I'm looking forward to getting:

Born of Osiris - Angel or Alien

Attila - Closure

High quality US power metal from New York with a symphonic edge. For fans of Manowar, Savatage & Jag Panzer.

A great part of an album that proves how conceptual metal operas work away from the progressive metal field and add to the epic vibe of power metal...

Brilliant mid-80's heavy/power metal from Florida USA for fans of Queensryche, Savatage & Virgin Steele.

I won't lie, this track shows how much the band has done to make Iron Maiden and Judas Priest proud and the potential to share those bands' reign in the 80s classic heavy metal scene. I also look forward to reviewing that Virgin Steele album a couple posts above...

Update due to Vinny's vote:

Metalcore - 1

Non-metal - 3

So now that there are 3 votes for Nintendocore to be non-metal as opposed to the one vote for the subgenre to be related to metalcore, what's next, Daniel? Shall we keep going until we get a greater amount of votes, or shall we close the Nintendocore experiment, prevent any more Nintendocore bands from being added to the site, and move on to my trancecore/trance-metal experiment?