Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies

This Philadelphia outfit has possibly delivered the best post-metal track I've ever heard in my life. For fans of Isis, Cult Of Luna & Pelican.

It sure is!! "Au Pays Natal", "Sol", both tracks combined, they're all the best I've heard in post-sludge!

Update on my list (still alphabetized and still at Bruno Terrosa's 55):

1. After the Burial - Rareform (2008)

2. All That Remains - Overcome (2008)

3. Annihilator - Alice in Hell (1989)

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

5. August Burns Red - Constellations (2009)

6. Ava Inferi - Onyx (2011)

7. Before the Dawn - Rise of the Phoenix (2012)

8. Between the Buried and Me - Colors (2007)

9. Bleeding Through - Love Will Kill All (2018)

10. Botch - We are the Romans (1999)

11. Bullet for My Valentine - The Poison (2005)

12. Charon - Songs for the Sinners (2005)

13. Coroner - Mental Vortex (1991)

14. Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along the Highway (2006)

15. Darkest Hour - Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation (2003)

16. Demon Hunter - The World is a Thorn (2010)

17. Disillusion - Back to Times of Splendor (2004)

18. Gaza - I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die (2006)

19. God Forbid - IV: Constitution of Treason (2005)

20. Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage (2012)

21. Ice Nine Kills - The Silver Scream (2018)

22. In Flames - The Jester Race (2006)

23. In Mourning - Shrouded Divine (2008)

24. Isis - Panopticon (2004)

25. Katatonia - Brave Murder Day (1996)

26. Lamb of God - Ashes of the Wake (2004)

27. Leprous - Tall Poppy Syndrome (2009)

28. Lord - Fallen Idols (2019)

29. Mastodon - Leviathan (2004)

30. Maudlin of the Well - Bath (2001)

31. Meshuggah - Catch Thirty-Three (2005)

32. Moonspell - Irreligious (1996)

33. My Dying Bride - Turn Loose the Swans (1993)

34. Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I (2012)

35. Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood (1996)

36. Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)

37. Paradise Lost - Draconian Times (1995)

38. Persefone - Spiritual Migration (2013)

39. Protest the Hero - Kezia (2005)

40. Revocation - Existence is Futile (2009)

41. Rosetta - The Galilean Satellites (2005)

42. Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls (2008)

43. Shadows Fall - The War Within (2004)

44. Sólstafir - Köld (2009)

45. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity (1999)

46. The Ocean - Pelagial (2013)

47. Threat Signal - Under Reprisal (2006)

48. Tiamat - Wildhoney (1994)

49. Trivium - In Waves (2011)

50. Type O Negative - October Rust (1996)

51. Veil of Maya - [id] (2010)

52. Vektor - Black Future (2009)

53. Voivod - Killing Technology (1987)

54. Within the Ruins - Elite (2013)

55. Woods of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light (2012)

I did my review, here's its summary:

If you wanna know what this album, The Galilean Satellites is about, the nearly blank booklet explains it all in one sentence... "These songs are about a space man." If you wanna know more than just a simple sentence, just press play and you'll find yourself as an astronaut eternally stranded in space with no other surrounding lifeforce. The Galilean Satellites contains two discs; one filled with monolithic dirges of spacey post-sludge not for the faint-hearted, and the other filled with desperate ambient tracks of strange beauty. And when you time both discs to play at the same time, they fit like a glove! A bit like Neurosis' Times of Grace and its ambient counterpart. Although I totally enjoyed the heavy first disc It's interesting how I, a heavier metalheads who's not usually into ambient music, feel more immersed by the second disc. It's an aural adventure well-crafted! Whether one of the two discs or both at the same time, the listener has to be absolutely determined. Clearly, it wasn't made easy with all tracks going over 8 minutes, but it sure looks like it was. The Galilean Satellites is no easy task. If you're driving while listening to the album on your radio, it's not for a small errand trip, it's for a cross-state road trip made epic. But it's better to listen to the album at home on your computer or MP3 player if you really want a perfect post-sludge trip out of reality!

5/5

Yeah, those other 7 songs are some of the best industrial metal tracks I've listened to, but the album's perfection was ruined by those two stinkers and that caused me to vote for Godflesh's Streetcleaner (also 4.5 stars and I respect it as the starting album of the industrial metal genre) in the DIS vs DAT Sphere Thread: https://metal.academy/forum/15/thread/354?page=1#topic_5375

Leave it to two terrible sh*t-wipes of songs to ruin what would've been my entryway album to industrial metal:

I've just listened to and reviewed both of those 1989 Sphere albums, and I consider them both great 4.5-star releases that help pioneer industrial metal. But the one I prefer is... Godflesh's Streetcleaner! Yeah, I definitely agree about Godflesh's debut having premiered the entire genre and being their finest hour. That Ministry album is a great classic too; most of the songs in that album are perfect and would've made my real entryway into industrial metal...if it weren't for two meddling stinkers towards the end that made the rating plummet slightly lower than that Godflesh album. With that, Godflesh makes my vote!

Godflesh - 2

Ministry - 0

My thoughts on some of the tracks:

Hexen – “Gas Chamber” (from “State Of Insurgency”, 2008)

9/10. Ooh, listen to that, a brutal thrash song to start the playlist! Well even though I'm not usually into thrash this brutal, this is still an excellent killer song with blazing blast beats and searing soloing. A nice extreme start!

Lamb Of God – “Ruin” (from “As The Palaces Burn”, 2003)

10/10. This song starts with heavy guitar and bass, then Randy Blythe lets rips one of the best screams ever in metal, lasting 15 seconds! That might be his third-longest scream behind the ones in the next album's "Laid to Rest" and Burn the Priest's "Departure Hymn". Some people think of his raspy growls as scratchy, but it sounds really cool to me. Soon the guitars sound more brutal sounding like in Meshuggah in Drop-D, followed by a more brutal slow ending part. One of the best songs in As the Palaces Burn!

Voivod – “Live For Violence” (from “War & Pain”, 1984)

8/10. For this one, it crawls into one ear, violently bursts out the other, and vice versa, back and forth. The main riff of the song is powerful, along with some parts displaying the band's future experimentation. A great heavy song!

Revocation – “No Funeral” (from “Chaos Of Forms”, 2011)

10/10. From start to finish, this song speeds through your a** and out your mouth with epic vocals in the chorus along the way. If I was in the US at the time that I'm writing my comments on this song, I would be snowboarding to this killer piece. Both the instrumentation and vocals seem to be inspired by Voivod, with the instrumentation also having some influences by both Poison and The Cure, and the vocals having the aggression of Randy Blythe. One of the best songs in their first 3 or 4 albums!

Slayer – “Chemical Warfare” (from “Haunting The Chapel” E.P., 1984)

9/10. Listen, I'm not that devoted to the classic heavier thrash stuff like Slayer (at least not right now). If you were to quiz me on some lesser-known things about Slayer, I would be useless as Gene Hoglan on roadie duty (no offense, Hoglan). This is still a killer song though!

Sadus – “The Wake” (from “Swallowed In Black”, 1990)

10/10. The kind of thrash I like is the technical thrash that sounds influenced from other thrash/death metal bands but with a technical twist. This sounds like when Obituary and Sepultura at that time unite and add some technicality that's better than death. A great underrated tune! Seriously, you read that!? This is the technical thrash I like that's underrated compared to the more popular classic heavier thrash!!

Merciless – “Pure Hate” (from “The Awakening”, 1990)

7/10. Ending this playlist is probably the heaviest thrash song I've ever heard, heavier than that Hexen track! I kinda like it, but it's too much on the aggressive deathrash side of Massacra and Agressor. Death metal mixed with thrash is just not the right style for me unless it's technical.

My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my suggested songs):

Coroner – “Internal Conflicts” (from “Grin”, 1993)

8/10. Interesting song to start this playlist, though this is from Coroner's most experimental album. The usual energetic thrash enters the groove arena with lively proposition and pounding atmosphere without ruining too much.

Sólstafir – “Fjara” (from “Svartir Sandar”, 2011)

7/10. A beautiful song, though it sounds more like an Icelandic Pink Floyd gone grunge. Done talking about this one!

Dream Theater – “Lie” (from “Awake”, 1994)

9/10. One of the best Dream Theater songs ever, besides the ones from their other 90s albums! The riffs by John Petrucci sound massive and dark, inducing great amounts of headbanging. Killer song from a great album and band, including that solo and ending! Though the singer sounds a bit like Ian Astbury from The Cult (band). The solo near the 4-minute mark has one of the great balances of melody and technicality, showing Petrucci's impressive virtuosity. Then after another chorus with clear bass, at over the 5-minute mark is a small metalcore-ish breakdown before those were a thing. Also there's a bit of an early Tool influence. Love this song!

The Ocean Collective – “Jurassic / Cretaceous” (from “Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic”, 2020)

10/10. Not The Ocean song I've submitted, but I won't bite. This is The Ocean's epic comeback to continue their Phanerozoic saga with guest vocals by Katatonia's Jonas Renkse. This is almost like Dream Theater's "Lie" on steroids, enough to put that Dream Theater song to shame! I got no other words to describe this supermassive epic. Please, just listen to that piece!

Nevermore – “Optimist or Pessimist” (from “In Memory” E.P., 1996)

9/10. A short but killer progressive piece, with killer guitar playing by Jeff Loomis and amazing vocals by Warrel Dane. The lineup for this EP had already recently fallen apart with the passing of Warrel Dane (RIP), and temporary guitarist Pat O'Brien's arrest for breaking into a woman's house and attacking her.

Meshuggah – New Millennium Cyanide Christ” (from “Chaosphere”, 1998)

10/10. The best song of Chaosphere, with drummer Tomas Haake's shining lyric writing. Those lyrics aren't as complicated as they are clever. That's my second favorite Meshuggah song behind "Future Breed Machine"!

My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my suggested songs):

Nightwish – “Noise” (from “Hvman. :||: Natvre.”, 2020)

10/10. One of the heavier metal songs in an otherwise highly symphonic album. This one represents a bit of the Tarja-era Nightwish sound at its best. Make some noise for the true Nightwish!

Kamelot – “III Ways To Epica” (from “Epica”, 2003)

10/10. This song marks the epic emotional end of the first album of one of the best two-part sagas of metal. 7 years ago, after being introduced to the world of metal via power metal bands such as DragonForce, Dragonland, and Power Quest, I felt the need to expand it with more than just speed. That was when this band Kamelot came in with epic songs like this one, opening a symphonic dimension for my power metal, leading to more terrific bands of that style like Within Temptation, Epica, After Forever, and of course, Nightwish. Symphonic power metal had been such a beautiful inspiration genre. I loved it, loved this band, and still love this song!

Dragonland – “Holy War” (from “Holy War”, 2002)

11/10 (not exaggerating). The most bad-a** power metal song I've listened to over 7 years ago besides DragonForce! This band and song has pretty much kickstarted my path to become a power metal. I think I played this song while playing Skyrim during a few of the in-game battles. The epic organ intro might remind some of Castlevania. Some parts have reminded me how much I used to love power metal, including when the soloing starts at the two and a half minute mark. I especially love the voice of singer Jonas Heidgert. This band would lead to more awesome bands like Avantasia, Dragonland, and Stratovarius. The whole reason this was my first song from this band, at the time probably when I was in late middle school (age, not actually in school), was because the band was mislabeled as DragonForce (the band that got me into power metal), a hilarious misunderstand led to a glorious discovery! Seriously, this is real music, not that mundane radio pop sh*t. It wasn't until late high school-ish years when I forgot about this song when I started making my move out of the earlier epic metal taste, but now a bit of my power metal past is back! I heard that this song was used in the Counter-Strike frag video Pubmasters 2. Also, a more recent DragonForce song "Symphony of the Night" kinda reminded me of this one, which is why I love them both. Those two Dragon-bands have changed my life and swept away my earlier days of listening to nothing but Breaking Benjamin and Disturbed when following my brother's music footsteps. Not only do I love Jonas' voice, but I also enjoy his catchy drums performed in the first two albums. The keyboard/guitar soloing are some of the best I've heard! Some people think power metal is cheesy, but I found that genre brilliant. Dragonland has made some of the most awesome power metal songs including their own Helloween song cover. This band does very d*mn epic power metal with great soloing of creative dimensions! It has been years since my last full listen of this song, and it still sounds epic as f***, and I felt proud of the power metal journey I had. All hail Dragonland!! Along with DragonForce! This song does sound a bit like DragonForce and Stratovarius, along with other progressive power metal bands all around. I think it was my recent interest in Sanctuary that brought back some power metal memories. The Dragonland concept is a bit similar to Game of Thrones, and should be part of its soundtrack. Maybe the Dragonland Chronicles should have its own movie series! Both Dragon-bands have their own unique sound while staying in the same genre. Dragonland has probably also been known for covering a Mozart piece. I'm still enjoying the pure melodic power metal epicness! I also enjoy the speed, and other bands that followed. Now I'm over 21 and have already moved on from my gateway metal genre for a more mature and heavier taste instead of just Bach-inspired metal epic cheesiness. Still can't believe I got attracted to this band for the most unlikely reason, because some jacka** confused the band with DragonForce, but worth it! And that was long before the screaming heavier metal that I like now. I shall ignore any complainers and enjoy the music! Thank you, Daniel, for including this small historical monument of a track....

My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my suggested songs):

Officium Triste – “Your Eyes” (from “Giving Yourself Away”, 2007)

10/10. Perfect start to this playlist and the album this song was in! Officium Triste is one of a few death-doom bands I really love, and this song is a great awesome one of that genre. I don't have to find the meaning of the lyrics, the band tells it all! Some stories you don't have to see but hear, almost like a depressive demonic fairytale. This is the kind of death-doom, Anathema and My Dying Bride had in the early 90s but altered it in different directions. Well done, Officium Triste!

The Ocean – “Rhyacian / Untimely Meditations” (from “Precambrian”, 2007)

11/10 (not exaggerating). Another one of the greatest Fallen tracks ever! The vocals never detract and are instead dark and subversive enough to immerse you in. The bells, piano, and clean guitars stay comfy in the softer parts. Then the heavier parts with riffs and screams help organize the heavier side of progressive sludge. Shortly after the 6-minute mark, most of the atmosphere is decimated by what might be the f***ing heaviest moment in progressive metal, more chaotic than early BTBAM, who also released an amazing masterpiece album that same year. By the grace of The Ocean!!

Anathema – “Far Away” (from “Eternity”, 1996)

8/10. From Anathema's last metal album. Apparently, this stunning song is about letting go of fallen loved ones. Anathema was one of the earliest bands I've enjoyed to have at least a couple death-doom albums. I still can't believe they're now in a mix of prog/indie/electronic/classic rock. The heavier memories are now far away...

After Forever – “Beyond Me” (from “Prison Of Desire”, 2000)

9/10. Two of the most beautiful female symphonic metal vocalists unite early on in their careers! Sharon Den Adel's nice voice adds dark gloom. The beautiful melody tries to avert the darkness but falls into glorious defeat.

Moonspell – “Nocturna” (from “Darkness & Hope”, 2001)

7/10. Just a poppy song with good drive. OK, but not enough to discuss more.

My Dying Bride – “The Return To The Beautiful” (from “The Dreadful Hours”, 2001)

10/10. Another perfect song to end this playlist and the album this song was in! Re-recorded from As the Flower Withers, the epic is extended to over 14 minutes, but you know how the parts go. First part "The Silence" has the usual death-doom. In the second part "The Sadness", it soon descends into a sad funeral doom-ish dirge. Third part "The Lust" switches to a quick groove before slowing down back to the death-doom. Then in the fourth part "The Battle", the instrumentation collapses into the screaming sounds of war before starting a death metal battle. Fifth part "The Return" returns to that dirge and groove with Aaron narrating his last lines.

I do not object to the playlist order in any way, but if I could make a small change to the order, I would probably make the Witchfinder General and Saint Vitus tracks 5 and 6 and the Anathema and After Forever tracks 8 and 9 to fit in The Perfect Metal Album Storm (https://metal.academy/forum/23/thread/442).

I did my review, here's it's summary:

Botch was a chaotic metallic hardcore band like no other. Their chaos is more controllable and never annoying, it's systematic chaos! This EP has concluded the band's career in a mind-blowing ending. There's a chill of mathcore magnitude in An Anthology of Dead Ends! A lot of anger could be found in the 4 songs that are 3 to 4 minutes long, and a bit of mellowness especially in the 7-minute epic "Afghamistam". All of the song titles are each named after a different country, but all the N's are replaced with M's. Not quite creative naming, but it works. If you're a hardcore fan like I am, you should totally get this EP. I was prepared for that sonic assault, yet still surprised more than any other band. It might sound mellow and restrained, but it sounds great with all that maturity and inspiring emotion mixed with the usual chaos. A great mathcore swansong! Botch is gone but shall remain #1.....

4.5/5

I did my review, here's its summary:

The Great Cold Distance is another step into Katatonia's mainstream alt-metal nature that started with Viva Emptiness, an album that has downhearted lyrics, somber vocals, and occasional fast changes. The Great Cold Distance continues those easily accessible elements in a way that's still not great, lacking some things just like the previous album. While some songs have good consistency, the same cannot be said for the fairly weak atmospheres explored. Remember at the end of Dream Theater's Octavarium where it's mentioned that "everything ends where it began"? The Great Cold Distance is an album that begins where it ends. The album is more aggressive in a few parts, yet most of the time, it spirals back and forth from the atmospheric undertow to the soundscape surface. While there are a few great gems in The Great Cold Distance, a little more than in the previous album, here showing that Katatonia still has their deep dark side even at a slightly lighter alt-metal sound, the experimentation still didn't win back a lot of their earlier fanbase. The pace is kept steady by those song's fantastic rhythms, strong sounds, and solid songwriting. It still stays in the same poor level as their previous 3 albums. Either way, those gems are the backbone of higher quality in this album caught in the mainstream slipstream....

3/5

Update due to Daniel's vote:

Godflesh - 1

Ministry - 0

I plan on reviewing both albums to see which one I would vote for, but not right now, since I'm still on my break from listening to full albums, so I'll review them on New Year's Day. Another interesting reviewing challenge coming up for me...

Inspired by seeing only two Sphere releases have 10 ratings, I decided to continue this DIS vs DAT tournament with one of those two Sphere releases and another Ministry album. Ministry already won the previous round, so if that band wins this one, then they win the tournament. If the other band wins, then the tournament would continue with that band. So here they are, two industrial metal classics released in 1989! Which one has the greater edge? Choose one and explain the reason!

I've rated that album when I was listening to it as part of DIS vs DAT related challenge, and it looks OK. When I was checking the chart for The Sphere, I'm still quite amazed by how unpopular that clan is. 155 releases with at least one rating, 20 releases with at least 5 ratings, and only two releases with 10 ratings (Ministry's Psalm 69 and Godflesh's Streetcleaner)! However, one release in the chart bothers me for being in that clan, and that is Voivod's Phobos! More info about that in this thread: https://metal.academy/forum/28/thread/589

The new track from Arizona progressive thrash metal legends Vektor.

Wow... Vektor has changed a lot since we last heard of them! First off, they set the tuning to the standard E, as opposed to the slightly higher F tuning in all their previous releases, and that's a bummer because I was kinda hoping for them to pick up some C-tuned 7-string guitars for a heavier yet ethereal sound. Second, the vocals! David DiSanto has been known for his high shrieking, yet the vocals here are mainly more melodic and clean, with a small bit of the shrieks only in the background. I think he lost most of his screaming ability after using it all up on his ex-wife (sorry, I know, poor taste). Anyway, with the E tuning and mostly cleaner vocals, this song sounds closer to the 80s albums of Voivod and Coroner (both bands I enjoy) than the unique style Vektor has been known for. If it's just for this song, would the other song "Dead By Dawn", from their spilt EP with Cryptosis, have this new sound as well or their unique style from before? And if they both have this new sound, is it just one-off for that split EP, or will it affect their upcoming album and become permanent?? Only time will tell.... But for now, I'll say that "Activate" is, in my opinion, the band's third-worst song (behind "Collapse" and "Mountains Above the Sun"), though it's not bad enough to be a sh*tter and it still remains solid.

3.5/5

The most deathgrind-sounding technical thrash song!? Probably... I'm glad that their current incarnation, Revocation has a more pleasant tech-death/thrash mix.

Hey everyone! I decided to slightly lift the rest of my 18-day metal break, so I can listen to a little more metal again under these conditions; just listening to individual songs, not full albums, and doing small metal-related things, not yet continuing my History of Heavy Metal commentary. So I can still do some forum posts and help out this website, but don't expect any reviews from me until New Year's Day. With that, here's a Christmas metalcore (instrumental) cover song. Merry Christmas!

That is an incredible amount of work Ben and your dedication is amazing. Thanks 25,000 times for all your stellar efforts to provide your members with a satisfying experience.

In these crazy times we are all living in, it is fantastic to have a place where you can just "hang out" and shoot the shit with like- (or sometimes unlike-) minded individuals about music, nothing more and nothing less. No pandemic, no mentally unhinged politicians, just talking with (and hopefully listening to) others about something we all love. Many, many thanks to both you, Ben and Daniel for all the hours you both must spend to provide this all for us.

Best wishes to both of you and your families for Xmas and the New Year and also to all the Academy members.

Seconded.

Thirded!

My Dying Bride - "The Dreadful Hours" (2001) 5/5

Gamma Ray - "Blast From The Past" (2000) 4.5/5

Two excellent albums, each a classic of their respective genre! Though the Gamma Ray release could've been slightly better... Great choices, Daniel! I'm glad to revisit those two albums, and right before I started my small break from metal (https://metal.academy/forum/23/thread/620?page=1#topic_5230). I'll be back around New Year's. Later!

- Shadowdoom9/Andi

Right now it's just gonna be a synthwave Christmas for me because of my break from metal (https://metal.academy/forum/23/thread/620?page=1#topic_5230). Happy holidays, and see you all in the new year!

- Shadowdoom9/Andi

Some of the synth-wave artists my brother and I have been enjoying during my break so far:

Patrick Russell - YouTuber known for his synthwave covers of rock/metal songs.

Dynatron - Danish synthwave music producer since 2012.

So we're a couple of years down the track with the Metal Academy website now. I'm interested to hear what you think of the clan setup now after you've had a bit of time to get used to it. Did we get it right? Are there clans whose configuration frustrates you? If so, how would YOU have done them differently? Did we get the number right? Which ones did we absolutely nail?

I have to admit that I'm very surprised that no one mentioned the clan that I've had the most concern about in recent times & that's The North. It certainly seemed like the right call at the time but I've struggled with the fact that we have folk metal lumped in with black metal for some time now & it's one of the primary reasons that I elected to remove myself from The North. This was particularly evident when creating the initial playlists because the subgenres of folk metal (i.e. Celtic metal & medieval folk metal) have absolutely nothing to do with black metal & neither does a portion of folk metal as a whole so their playlist inclusions sound drastically out of place most of the time. I feel like we would have been better off separating folk metal & Viking metal into it's own clan even though it may have struggled for numbers. What does everyone think about this? Do you think it's fine as it is? What would you have done differently? Is there any other subgenres that would have fit nicely with folk metal & Viking metal?

The other main area of annoyance for me is with niche subgenres like trance metal, Nintendocore & trancecore which I feel really don't have all that much to do with the rest of The Revolution subgenres & (in the case of Nintendocore & trancecore) are borderline metal at all. Given my experiences since putting together the clans, I may have pushed for alternative solution for those although I can't really think of a better solution at the moment.

I know a lot of death metal fans struggle with the grindcore part of The Horde but to my ears it makes perfect sense. Any thoughts on that?

4 of the most recent bands I've discovered are subjects to this debate. Viking metal started as just Viking-themed black metal, coming from early Enslaved (and of course we can't forget Bathory). And whether or not another black metal band is also folk metal, that band Woods of Ypres has prominent folk elements here and there (if you wanna hear both black metal and folk metal, maybe try Moonsorrow). So I think The North is fine at its current subgenres. HORSE the Band is known for their Nintendocore sound that mixes metalcore with 8-bit video-game synths. And I think if trancecore is related to melodic metalcore, should it be related to trance metal as well? They're both related to trance! Other bands I listen to with similar elements like Amaranthe and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (two examples I would suggest for you, Sonny) shouldn't be kept apart. Speaking of Amaranthe, their trance metal still has metalcore elements like the harsh vocals and a few occasional breakdowns. So I think the better solution is to keep those niche subgenres intact. Grindcore is perfectly fine in the same clan as death metal, which is another reason why I chose to leave The Horde. However, Gaza is in the Revolution, yet it is also in The Horde because a couple of their releases are grindcore, and I'm not sure I feel comfortable about that (obviously different from what I think of Gulch). My opinion won't affect The Horde, but would affect some (just SOME) Revolution releases. Also according to the Metal Archives, grindcore power metal is a thing: Apofigeus (United States) - Death Metal/Grindcore with Melodic and Power Metal elements; Wisdom (Spain) - Power/Thrash Metal (early), Death Metal/Grindcore (later).

A direct quote from my review of some months ago - "In fact, I hear very little black metal on here other than in the vocals. " So I absolutely agree with you on this one Daniel. The question then is, does only having a vocal relationship with black metal constitute a strong enough case for inclusion in the North. When I refer to them as a black metal band, I do so in the same way I would refer to Enslaved, as a band that has developed from black metal beginnings that still retain a vestigial link back to their origins. In both band's cases I think it is also fair to say that even in the early days they were already stretching beyond the genre's confines.

Enslaved is in The North for their first 5 releases (including Hordanes Land), both The Infinite and The North in their next 5, and The Infinite in all subsequent releases. Makes sense because of their origins as a black metal, transition to a more progressive sound, and progressive metal with (same as your quote) "very little black metal on here other than in the vocals." Those recent albums are why I started listening to that band that I probably wouldn't around 5 years ago but I've gained more leeway. I also agree with even their earlier black metal albums stretching beyond bounds, including over-10-minute songs and Scandinavian Norse lyrics that, unlike other black metal bands, never mention Satan. With that, I think Enslaved is a great band for anyone who enjoys non-satanic extreme progressive metal. Who needs the Devil when you have Enslaved!?

Update on my list (still alphabetized and still at Bruno Terrosa's 55):

1. After the Burial - Rareform (2008)

2. All That Remains - Overcome (2008)

3. Annihilator - Alice in Hell (1989)

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

5. August Burns Red - Constellations (2009)

6. Ava Inferi - Onyx (2011)

7. Before the Dawn - Rise of the Phoenix (2012)

8. Between the Buried and Me - Colors (2007)

9. Bleeding Through - Love Will Kill All (2018)

10. Botch - We are the Romans (1999)

11. Bullet for My Valentine - The Poison (2005)

12. Charon - Songs for the Sinners (2005)

13. Coroner - Mental Vortex (1991)

14. Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along the Highway (2006)

15. Darkest Hour - Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation (2003)

16. Demon Hunter - The World is a Thorn (2010)

17. Disillusion - Back to Times of Splendor (2004)

18. Gaza - I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die (2006)

19. God Forbid - IV: Constitution of Treason (2005)

20. Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage (2012)

21. Ice Nine Kills - The Silver Scream (2018)

22. In Flames - The Jester Race (2006)

23. In Mourning - Shrouded Divine (2008)

24. Isis - Panopticon (2004)

25. Katatonia - Brave Murder Day (1996)

26. Lamb of God - Ashes of the Wake (2004)

27. Leprous - Tall Poppy Syndrome (2009)

28. Lord - Fallen Idols (2019)

29. Mastodon - Leviathan (2004)

30. Maudlin of the Well - Bath (2001)

31. Meshuggah - Catch Thirty-Three (2005)

32. Moonspell - Irreligious (1996)

33. My Dying Bride - Turn Loose the Swans (1993)

34. Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I (2012)

35. Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood (1996)

36. Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)

37. Paradise Lost - Draconian Times (1995)

38. Persefone - Spiritual Migration (2013)

39. Protest the Hero - Kezia (2005)

40. Revocation - Existence is Futile (2009)

41. Sentenced - North From Here (1993)

42. Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls (2008)

43. Shadows Fall - The War Within (2004)

44. Sólstafir - Köld (2009)

45. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity (1999)

46. The Ocean - Pelagial (2013)

47. Threat Signal - Under Reprisal (2006)

48. Tiamat - Wildhoney (1994)

49. Trivium - In Waves (2011)

50. Type O Negative - October Rust (1996)

51. Veil of Maya - [id] (2010)

52. Vektor - Black Future (2009)

53. Voivod - Killing Technology (1987)

54. Within the Ruins - Elite (2013)

55. Woods of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light (2012)

While I like a couple North bands now, that's mainly because they were only in The North for the first half of their tenures and I like the albums after they started moving out of black metal (https://metal.academy/forum/12/thread/191?page=1#topic_5129). I also like Solstafir, from their black metal debut to their subsequent albums of post-metal, including this epic from their newest album:

Surprisingly, this song wasn't in Gamma Ray's Blast From the Past Part 2 video I was reviewing (maybe because back then they keep banning the second-to-last songs of metal albums from YouTube for copyright, but why specifically the penultimate songs?! WHY?!?). Fortunately, I found the song in a separate video. A catchy melodic anthem!

Finally did my review! Here's its summary:

This compilation is never ordinary. The first disc has songs from the era of their first vocalist Ralf Scheepers, while the second disc has songs from the vocal era of no other than Kai Hansen! All selected songs from the Ralf Scheepers era and Land of the Free were re-recorded (possibly to fit with E-flat tuning, though some songs have to stuck to the original E tuning). Are ya curious? Look no further and find many of the greatest hits, along with a few sh*ts including the weak ballad "The Silence". Despite a few flawed tracks, everything else is some of the best songs in the first decade of Gamma Ray's career. Personally, if I were to pick two songs, each for one of the discs, to be added in, they would be the cover of the "Gamma Ray" song the band was named after, and the "It's a Sin" cover. Both great covers! Blast From the Past is a greatest hits album the way it was meant to be done; an awesome overview of mostly their best songs, with the older songs re-recorded to please both newer and older fans. Highly recommended for power metal fans as big as I used to be. Indeed a blast from my power metal past!

4.5/5

Here are my suggestions for January's playlist, Daniel. Because I hit a big jackpot in the December playlist, a massive 23 songs I've reviewed including my own suggestions, other songs from bands I like, and songs from bands I haven't heard before, I think these Revolution playlists can sure help me and fans of metalcore, mathcore, deathcore, and trancecore enjoy their songs from bands in the clan and explore different bands. Not only that, the suggestions from the lone Revolution submitter (me) help keep the playlist organic and save the playlist assembler (you) from having to go through bands you know or don't know just for way more than 3 quarters of a playlist. So yeah, I'm gonna do 8 suggestions this time instead of 7, with the eighth one being the ultimate test of pushing that limit. Here they are:

Amaranthe - "The Nexus" (from The Nexus, 2013)

August Burns Red - "Your Little Suburbia Is in Ruins" (from Thrill Seeker, 2005)

Bleeding Through - "Set Me Free" (from Love Will Kill All, 2018)

Born of Osiris - "Follow the Signs" (from The Discovery, 2011)

Horse the Band - "Lord Gold Throneroom" (from The Mechanical Hand, 2005)

The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Prancer" (from One of Us Is the Killer, 2013)

Trivium - "Pillars of Serpents" (from Ember to Inferno, 2003)

Underoath - "Writing on the Walls" (Define the Great Line, 2006)

OK here's the thing about that last song, Underoath's "Writing on the Walls". The album that song is in, Define the Great Line, is not in this site yet because it's non-metal due to its Metalcore genre not fitting the 1:2 ratio in RYM, but I think that album is definitely metalcore for the most part with Christian lyrics and post-metal influences from bands like Neurosis, and that song is a great example of that style along with foreshadowing the heaviness of their next two albums. So please ask Ben to add that album into the site, and their other non-metal album, They're Only Chasing Safety, to bridge the gap, and once they get added, I'll explain more in a judgement submission. I don't know if you would approve of a song from that album going into this playlist, but it's a good test to see if you can do that and accept 8 suggestions rather than just 7...

Here are my suggestions for January's playlist. Daniel, please choose these songs:

Dream Theater -  "Lie" (from Awake, 1994)

Meshuggah - "New Millennium Cyanide Christ" (from Chaosphere, 1998)

The Ocean - "She Was the Universe" (from Anthropocentric, 2010)

Here are my suggestions for January's playlist. Daniel, please choose these songs:

Dragonland - "Holy War" (from Holy War, 2002)

Gamma Ray - "Rich and Famous" (from Sigh No More, 1991)

Kamelot - "III Ways to Epica" (from Epica, 2003)

Here are my suggestions for January's playlist. Daniel, please choose these songs:

After Forever - "Beyond Me" (from Prison of Desire, 2000)

Anathema - "Far Away" (from Eternity, 1996)

Officium Triste - "Your Eyes" (from Giving Yourself Away, 2007)

Great, thanks Daniel!

Great message! Here's my 2020 metal story:

This year has indeed been a sh*tty one because of COVID, but I'm also fortunate to be in a safe healthy family and to have great friends from the outside world. I'm definitely glad to be in this site where we can share metal to one another, review albums, make suggestions for things like monthly playlists (hint hint) and other cool features to help develop the website for a bigger brighter future. It's nice to have positivity during this dark time. Of course I also had to stay home for a couple few-month-long periods of time. That used to be a big challenge for me because I was not used to not going out for a few days or more, but now I can handle it just fine because of the many things I could do at home. I don't have a job but I'm living with my parents who already have jobs. I guess you can call my massive amount of reviewing, "jobless work". Heh heh...

It is sad when your hearing is damaged and can't fully function anymore, but my hearing is actually still very good. Since my days of youth, not to brag but I'm pretty smart at figuring out the proper volume when listening to metal. My computer volume is at 5% and I'm wearing my big Beats headphones, but it's still a pleasantly loud volume. I still can't stand things that are much louder than my computer at full maximum blast, like thunder which I'm still a bit scared of (don't laugh). Wearing earplugs when there's thunder and cleaning them every couple weeks is what prevents my ears from being deafened or infected. I'm very protective of my hearing and make sure they never get damaged because even though it's possible to listen to metal with damaged hearing, I fear that I might go deaf and never be able to enjoy metal again. Whenever I go out during the virus, not only do I wear a face mask but also big industrial earphones because I think the ears are important to protect from the virus too.* Lol! Anyway, I've also had happy moments when listening to metal as an underage teenager, but those were my earlier epic melodic metal days and they're now long gone, though you guys helped me bring a bit of power metal back to my life. My current routine for my home days is filled with metal and a bit of writing. All of my metal is in my computer and a spare hard drive in case it breaks. My computer time is limited but sometimes I go a little overboard. I can't pay full attention when absorbing albums except in special occasions and when I have to, like when I'm writing reviews, so I just take what I think are the greatest hits from each album and somehow be able to absorb them while playing Minecraft.

*(Hey people, ears are part of your face, they need protection too, if you don't want them to be infected! And while you're at it, please start calling the virus COVID-20, don't let the first year that did nothing take all the blame!!)

Well I do have responsibilities, but as a 21-years-old living with his parents, they're not as big as the later part of adulthood when I move out in the future. My time and focus on music is still around. In fact, while I'm still connected to my music, 2020 is indeed a big metal year for me because thanks to all of you in Metal Academy and the site itself, I've discovered way more bands now than I've ever done in the 5+ years before I joined the site, and I never had to make another drastic change of taste. My metal taste range has even been extended to more than my original 30-year limit with a few bands from the 80s, though I'm still don't feel ready for the 80s thrash giants like Metallica, Slayer, or Sepultura. The new releases that I pick up are either some of the best or just not the same as earlier material, but I'm glad to keep building my collection.

In conclusion, the world may be coming down while struggling to get back up during the virus and some people might recognize good resulting benefits while having some setbacks, but in the end, what matters is, our lives are worth appreciating all the same.

And to wrap up this life lesson, in case you're wondering what I'm writing, it's my own personal commentary for this book I got last month, Andrew O'Neill's History of Heavy Metal! I enjoyed reading it so much that I'm writing my own personal commentary for the book, agreeing and disagreeing with Andrew's heavy metal facts and opinions. After I finish my commentary and get some planned album reviews out of my way, I plan on reviewing that book (my first (and possibly the site's first) book review!). Stay tuned...

Yes I know, the album this song is in is not in The Infinite, not even in this site because it's non-metal, but it seemed fitting for this sad time, so there. RIP Sean Reinert and Malone );

I've been a bit busy the past couple weeks but I definitely look forward to reviewing this re-recording/compilation album (among other releases I plan on reviewing). I have a feeling this would also be a nice blast from my power metal past...

Here are the types of cover arts I've observed and think fit best in each clan:

The Fallen - Dark, specifically goth (gothic and doom metal), emo (NOT the music) (the more depressing doom like funeral doom), creepy/scary/horror (Fallen bands that take on a bit of horror theme, such as The Vision Bleak and Theatres des Vampires)

The Gateway - Not sure exactly what themes they have, but some Gateway bands rely on humorous cover arts, so we'll go with humor.

The Guardians - Fantasy (common in power, symphonic, and neoclassical metal, plus some heavy metal bands like Saxon), plus dark fantasy for bands with darker themes.

The Horde - Violence/blood/gore (all death metal subgenres (plus deathcore) except melodeath and the more progressive side of tech-death)

The Infinite - Abstract and sci-fi (both common in progressive metal and djent, and a bit of avant-garde metal, rarely post-metal), plus sci-fi fantasy for bands with fantasy themes and/or are also in The Guardians (Symphony X)

The North - Viking fantasy (Viking and folk metal), dark fantasy (the more fantasy-like symphonic black metal like Bal-Sagoth), anti-religious/blasphemous/satanic (common in many black metal bands)

The Pit - For some thrash metal bands, the violence of The Horde toned down some and mixed with the humor of The Gateway.

The Revolution - Like Ben said, this is difficult because its covers don't follow any representing themes. There are different styles like rebellion, fantasy, dark, emo, violence, abstract, humor, heartbreak, and a girl in lingerie (Atreyu).

The Sphere - Abstract and sci-fi (similar to The Infinite) but more futuristic.

Since most of my descriptions here seem to very accurately suit the respective clans that I'm in, I think my clans would be the same, except I'm never really a fan of creepy/scary/horror. And with all the violence/blood/gore in The Horde, I'm glad to be out of that clan. I'm not sure if the clans can really be based on cover art, but it's interesting to imagine what this concept would be like...

PS: There's only less than a week left before Daniel closes the playlist suggestions for this month, please don't miss out!

Finally got interested in HORSE the Band, thanks to Daniel including one of their songs in this month's Revolution playlist, "Shapeshift" for a round 2!! However, the song I'm sharing here is from an earlier playlist that I enjoyed, "Cutsman"! This band is for fans of Enter Shikari, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and Machinae Supremacy.

Ever since I started listening to post-metallers Solstafir, their black metal debut Í Blóði og Anda gave me a little more leeway to tolerating the other unholy satanic black metal; now it's fine as long as only the first one or a few of a band's albums is traditional black metal and for the rest they head through a different direction while keeping some of their black metal. Here are a couple bands like that; progressive black metallers Enslaved (from this month's Infinite playlist, thanks Daniel!)...

...And doomy black metallers Woods of Ypres. (RIP David Gold)