Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies
There are so many aspects that are exciting for me and have kept me in the site throughout the almost one and a half years I've been here, so here are some of them:
Forums - My favorite forums are the interactive ones where you get to share the metal music you like (or dislike in the "Stinkers Threads") with other members such as the "Track of the Day" threads, "Recommendation to Fellow Clan Members" threads, and the monthly Clan Playlists. Those threads allow me to share and recommend the metal songs and albums I enjoy, suggest tracks that can fit well with the clan playlists, and give feedback to both my suggested tracks and other different ones in the playlists, and they help me discover bands I haven't listened to before or have heard of but not yet fully interested. It's a total win-win!
Reviews - One of the crucial elements of any metal community website is, of course, reviews! I'm on quite a roll with reviewing albums from my current favorite bands and different releases that have been recommended to me. I actually have a few releases that I plan on reviewing next week (the two Coroner studio albums left for me to review, Twilight Force's Dawn of the Dragonstar, and HammerFall's Live! Against the World), and given how much fun I had reviewing approximately 523 releases (holy f***, that much!??), those next 4 releases should be a piece of metal cake!
Ratings - And yes, ratings are also included, review or no review. I enjoy both rating releases and covers, especially rating covers because of how unique that feature is. You can finally show how much you like or dislike a piece of art that has accompanied a metal CD, ranging from an epic viking battle that deserves a high rating (Amon Amarth) to a pointlessly offensive image with its sole purpose of making someone lose their lunch (early Type O Negative).
Anniversaries - A great way to celebrate the x5-year anniversaries of metal releases! And I think October really is THE month to celebrate metal anniversary Fridays, because besides those other two special Fridays, today we celebrate a bad-a**-whopping 28 releases in the Anniversaries celebration including two of my earlier favorite releases (Children of Bodom's Follow the Reaper and Amaranthe's Breaking Point - B-Sides 2011-2015 (the latter being mostly an acoustic album but I enjoy those last two songs that were originally bonus tracks in the deluxe edition of their debut album)). Excellent feature, but it does make some of us feel old. Not me though, the only thing that makes me feel old is when high-school-age teens have more metal talent than I wish I could (Alien Weaponry, anyone?).
Hall of Judgement - This is a very interesting idea, so that way a member can submit an album they think is different from the clan or genre the release is in with a valid reason and other members can vote YES or NO. My submissions weren't so easy or clear for the most part, but I still like that helpful feature.
And for any aspects I have no interest with... NONE!! I like them all, and I certainly care about rating covers and anniversaries for the reasons mentioned above. As for any new feature ideas or different changes, I have a few suggestions, Ben. The first few ideas are about the Gallery and I suggested them before but you never seemed to get around them. First off, PLEASE implement the ability to delete cover ratings! I know we talked about this earlier and you didn't think it was necessary, but that cover rating I changed my mind about I feel it's still haunting me, and what if I change my mind about a band and wanna get rid of my ratings for both its albums and covers? Am I gonna be stuck with a cover rating I thought I liked but didn't and wanted nothing to do with, for the rest of my life?! Anyway, next, I like that suggestion by SilentScream213 about editing the minimum of ratings for both charts and the Gallery to different options like 1, 5, 10, etc, better than having to stick with a set number. Can you please implement that if you still haven't planned on doing that? Same with the "Exclude release I've rated" option that's not in the charts yet, please add that too. And finally, this idea is for the Hall of Judgement, and it's in the long run; after a few more of the highest-voted releases get the 15 votes they each needed for the Hall to decide their fate (Vektor's Outer Isolation and Terminal Redux, Venom's Possessed, Voivod's War and Pain, and Coroner's Mental Vortex), whether we ask members who haven't voted for them yet to vote or just wait for them to vote, can you please add a separate section for the finished releases instead of being in the same place as the ones that are ongoing? The idea to put the finished releases in a separate section would make the Hall look less messy and easier to find releases to vote. Thanks Ben! You and Daniel are doing a great job building the site, keeping it interesting, and letting members help keep Metal Academy alive with suggestions, threads, reviews, and much more to come. Keep it up!
Here's a symphonic metal compilation video I found on YouTube. Enjoy its classic form while it's still around!
When I did my review for Gojira's The Way of All Flesh, I initially didn't think one of the songs "Yama's Messengers" stood out well because it was too sludgy for me at the time, but thanks to my tolerance for sludge improving, I now enjoy that song! And that alone has made me realize that album's true perfection.
Hey there, Xephyr! Yeah, that new Kamelot studio album The Shadow Theory was not the Kamelot release we wanted, but maybe its new live album is! I Am the Empire – Live from the 013 has many of the band's greatest hits all played in an epic performance, and the only songs from The Shadow Theory that were performed are what you consider the highlights or "a cut above the rest" ("Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire)", "Ravenlight", "Burns to Embrace"). Just ignore the unnecessary extensions and the fact that some songs are in their radio edits and you'll have a grand time with this live offering.
And how about some live heavy/power metal as well with the new HammerFall live release Live! Against the World! I haven't given it a full listen or review yet but I have a great feeling about it, and maybe you will too.
3 incredible Infinite bands I started to enjoy and listen to, spanning across over 3 decades, from the late 80s/90s progressive groove/thrash of Coroner...
...to the 2000s progressive post-sludge of Isis...
...and finally, the 2010s progressive metal/rock of Haken:
Swedish heavy/power metal to be enjoyed by fans of bands like Battle Beast, Iron Maiden, and Lord. Looking forward to getting the new HammerFall release, Live! Against the World, tomorrow as another small comeback to my earlier epic metal taste.
My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my suggested songs):
Nevermore – “This Godless Endeavor” (from “This Godless Endeavor”, 2005)
9/10. Well that's interesting, adding a climatic epic right in the middle of the first half of the playlist. Either way, it's an amazing progressive thrash epic, starting with an acoustic intro, before switching to irresistible heaviness, and it has the best sweeping passage of the album right before the climactic ending.
Coroner – “Divine Step” (from “Mental Vortex”, 1991)
10/10. Oh yeah, a song I initially thought was a stinker for myself, but I now recognize as the enormous starter progressive/thrash metalheads really love. It frantically yet decently punches through the discordant verses and riffs, powerful enough to blow my mind harder than a head-shot through the temple. I also enjoy the mellow bridge that contrasts against the typical heaviness and metallic guitar strength. What I thought was too out of place is now in place again!
Annihilator – “Armed To The Teeth” (from “Ballistic, Sadistic”, 2020)
10/10. Holy h*ll, this is incredible!! This is basically ballistic tech-ish thrash similar to early Coroner alongside main founder Jeff Waters channeling his inner James Hetfield (both the vocals and guitars)! Absolutely KILLER!!!!
Lamb Of God – “Laid To Rest” (from “Ashes Of the Wake”, 2004)
11/10 (not exaggerated). My absolute favorite song from a band in The Pit, though Lamb of God is more of a groove/thrash metal band unlike the 3 progressive/thrash metal bands I've commented on. It's an awesome standout with a meaner vibe than the other songs I've mentioned. The spoken narration during the intro is a nice unique addition. The riff in the bridge as Blythe yells "SEE WHO GIVES A F***!!" is fantastic. And of course, we can't forget about the infamous long "FAILURE!!!" scream. Excellent song!
Those songs are really great, thanks Ben and Daniel! However, I won't immediately start listening to the rest of Annihilator's discography. I'm still new to thrash metal going back to the late 80s (other than early Neurosis which is more on the hardcore side), and about a week or two from now, I plan on getting a couple other band discographies, including Coroner, which would be a good starting point for me before I get to the further Annihilator side of the tech-thrash bridge that I plan on crossing a couple weeks after. I'm taking my slow time... I'm heading toward thrash metal's golden age without my taste going too deep into the old!
So I've just listened to and reviewed that Coroner album R.I.P. since I'm a fan of Vektor and have already reviewed two Voivod albums, and that album alone made me flip my opinion about Coroner around 180! I've tested that theory by listening to one of their later songs that was originally a stinker for me yet a favorite for most other fans of the band and the genre, and wouldn't you know it, I actually love it now, indeed one of the best songs from the band and all of progressive metal! I think it was Neurosis' late-80s thrashy hardcore albums that made me realize the older metal potential. So yeah, thanks Daniel for helping push my metal age limit a little further and indirectly getting me interested in a band that I thought didn't work out for me but does now. Here's the song that I'm talking about, that I now see as a true progressive thrash classic:
Pretty much all of the common longtime Fallen members (including myself) have listened to at least one of the true masters of a doom metal genre; Draconian (gothic doom), My Dying Bride (death-doom), and Cult of Luna (post-sludge doom). However, there might be a few new Fallen members who are new to doom metal and any of its subgenres, in need of a little doom education. So for those new Fallen members, I present...The Fallen introductory transitional trilogy!
This order goes from classic to experimental, starting with the death-growling (with occasional female singing) gothic doom of Arcane Rain Fell, adding male clean vocals into the death-doom of The Light at the End of the World, and ending with post-sludge doom of Somewhere Along the Highway with hardcore yelling. These albums really make me remember my strong passion for The Fallen clan and some of its bands of different genres despite their slow melancholy, and maybe they can influence you to discover much more within The Fallen and become a Fallen master like some of us. Remember, this is for new Fallen members to enjoy and be educated!
A grand progressive post-sludge epic from the latest Ocean album, featuring the voice of Katatonia's Jonas Renkse:
Here are my suggestions for November's playlist. Since I'm currently the only active Revolution member, and you were able to accept almost all my suggestions for previous playlists, I'm gonna keep adding more than 3 suggestions. However, since it looks like my Revolution playlist suggestion limit has gone slightly lower in October, for November's playlist, I'm gonna suggest 6 songs instead of 7.
Amaranthe - "Invincible" (from The Nexus, 2013)
Between the Buried and Me - "Aspirations" (from Between the Buried and Me, 2002)
Bleeding Through - "Rise" (from Portrait of the Goddess, 2002)
Prayer for Cleansing - "Feinbhas a Ghabhail" (from Rain in Endless Fall, 1999)
Threat Signal - "Rational Eyes" (from Under Reprisal, 2006)
Winds of Plague - "Drop the Match" (from Against the World, 2011)
Here are my suggestions for November's playlist. Daniel, please choose these songs:
Ne Obliviscaris - "Intra Venus" (from Urn, 2017)
Seventh Wonder - "The Promise (Studio version)" (from Welcome to Atlanta Live 2014, 2016)
The Contortionist - "Flourish" (from Exoplanet, 2010)
Here are my suggestions for November's playlist. Daniel, please choose these songs:
Dream Evil - "Dream Evil" (from Six, 2017)
Edenbridge - "Shine" (from Shine, 2004)
Machinae Supremacy - "Laser Speed Force" (from Rise of a Digital Nation, 2012)
Here are my suggestions for November's playlist. Daniel, please choose these songs:
Cult of Luna - "Ghost Trail" (from Eternal Kingdom, 2008)
Katatonia - "Saw You Drown" (from Discouraged Ones, 1998)
Tiamat - "Cain" (from Prey, 2003)
Also on this day:
A classic power metal album from my earlier epic metal taste! D*mn, this album is almost the same age as me. And seeing how many albums are having their anniversaries today, a total of 16, including those other two special albums, we can consider October 9 a special day for metal!
My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my suggested songs):
Shadows Fall – “The Unknown” (from “Fire From The Sky”, 2012)
10/10. One of the best Shadows Fall songs ever! Shredding licks, a singable chorus, dual vocals, and superb song structuring, this song has them all and is how a lot of the album Fire From the Sky goes.
All That Remains – “The Deepest Gray” (from “This Darkened Heart”, 2004)
8/10. Not as awesome as that Shadows Fall song, but I still enjoy this. It has a double-edge sword in vocals with one edge being the rough grunts and screams and the other edge being the melodic clean vocals. Labonte's clean vocals come in during the chorus at the same time as low grunts and high screams.
Between The Buried & Me – “Mordecai” (from “The Silent Circus”, 2003)
10/10. This was back when BTBAM was more metalcore than the progressive metal that would dominate their later releases. It is the high point of the album The Silent Circus. It begins with the technical death metal from bands like Suffocation and Misery Index and, after a brief 5-second Steve Vai/Frank Zappa riffing, the relentless action of The Dillinger Escape Plan. Then there's a bit of a melodic death/groove metal section. After that, everything changes with guitars switching from distorted to clean, and Tommy Rogers delivers his first ever clean vocals in a soft style similar to Thom Yorke. Keyboards and heavy chords come in before the song becomes a full-on metalcore power ballad, with Rogers' emotive singing and clean guitars from Paul Waggoner.
Ice Nine Kills – “Stabbing In The Dark” (from “The Silver Scream”, 2018)
10/10. A killer song perfect for October's playlist because it's directly based on the horror film Halloween. The music transits from soft and beautiful to a brutal onslaught of growling vocals, intricate guitars, and heavy drums as the horror goes on. You know how I said that there's a music video my alt-rock-loving brother recommended I watch and listen that made interested in Ice Nine Kills. That video is this song! I care more about the music than the videos, so I skipped the video and went onto the song which is incredible! There's also a recent acoustic version featuring Matt Heafy from Trivium whom I think would fit better in the originally heavy version.
Converge – “The Broken Vow” (from “Jane Doe”, 2001)
9/10. This is a song from one of the greatest non-melodic metalcore albums ever, Converge's Jane Doe! has remarkable lyrics from not just Bannon but also from other hardcore vocalists like Kevin Baker (The Hope Conspiracy), Tre McCarthy (Deathwish Inc.), and Caleb Scofield (Cave In), especially during the final screaming line, "I'll take my love to the grave!!" Yes I am commenting on another track that features the late Caleb Scofield. RIP
Misery Signals – “Set In Motion” (from “Controller”, 2008)
10/10. I knew getting interested in Misery Signals was the right move. I love this one! Especially the guitar tones that might remind some of Himsa. Thanks for including this perfect song, Daniel, along with my suggestions!
My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my suggested songs):
ISIS – “1,000 Shards” (from “In The Absence Of Truth”, 2006)
10/10. Attempt #2 at getting interested in Isis (because of my newly growing interest in ambient sludge), and IT'S GOOD!! Hopefully I won't change my mind later. This is great for when you're chilling at home at a time when the virus is making a comeback and you can't walk around the city. You can be able to travel into amazing beautiful dimension without leaving your home! There are some cool parts to highlight like the fantastic transition at the one and a half minute mark and the chilling section at the three and a half minute mark. There's also great guest vocals by the late Caleb Scofield (from Cave In). After his death, Isis performed a special reunion show dedicated to him (under a new name Celestial, to not be confused with that terrorist group). If you're even in a distant rain-forest contemplating eternal discoveries of the universe, this is a special song written for that. You might think of this as similar to Tool, and that kinda makes sense, except Tool is more on the alt-metal side (NOT nu metal like Slipknot). This song shows how much the band can blend all their instruments into a stew of beautiful brilliant ambiance worth praising. After finally getting interested in Neurosis, I knew this band would be my next step in my post-sludge journey. Isis is one of those bands whose style you might instantly love at first listen, and that's how I felt when I made my first try but somehow did a quick 180 and didn't return to listening to this band. Too bad this beautiful-sounding band already split up, but at least there are other projects for some of the members to focus on like Bryant Clifford Meyer in Red Sparrowes. This song is so incredibly intricate that I wanna have the chance to explore all their other albums in any random order. Both the music and lyrics are emotionally top-notch! I also like that snare sound that guides through this fantastic experience. This can very well be one of my favorite post-progressive metal songs. They don't need to go as brutal as Edge or Sanity or Augury to be progressive. It's just blows me away to hear all this awesome diversity. An amazing mesmerizing song for even the most brutal metalheads! I think The Ocean is slightly below this genius band. This song can take you into a world of imagination much better than those other bands that claim to do so but really don't such as nu metal bands like Korn. Isis should have more history than old rock bands like The Beatles, same with Agalloch, Intronaut, and especially Cult of Luna with similar harmonic structure. Isis and those 3 other bands, along with Neurosis are true post-metal heroes. Now if only I can give Panopticon another go. Thanks Xephyr for submitting this shining post-sludge star, and Daniel for including it!
Dream Theater – “As I Am” (from “Train Of Thought”, 2003)
9/10. A killer song from Dream Theater's heaviest album Train of Thought. Enough said!
Opeth – “Demon Of The Fall” (from “My Arms, Your Hearse”, 1998)
10/10. A splendid song to end this playlist. Another heavier progressive metal song and one of the best masterpieces in that genre! It's my favorite in that album with many riffs ranging beautiful and mighty to hellish and powerful. It's dark and heavy throughout, leading up to a sad but hopeful ending riff. Evil yet beautiful! With more dark and calm moments coming the next few songs in this album, it's impossible not to love this progressive death metal diamond heart. And I'm listening to this in Autumn, a great season for dark melodic songs like this. It's great hearing these diabolical growls that have recently been disposed of in their 2011 softer Mastodon-like album Heritage. The last two minutes leading to the outro riff can bring you tears. Seriously, those deathly screams are now timeless memories and can remind you of a mythological demon in darkness. Great perfect progressive death metal right there, despite an annoying kick sound. Thanks again Daniel for including it and save this best song for last!
My thoughts on some of the tracks:
In Mourning – “Past October Skies (The Black Lodge Revisited)” (from “Shrouded Divine”, 2008)
8/10. An excellent way to start this playlist, revisiting the epicness of its prequel, "The Black Lodge" in a great ending to one of the best progressive/melodeath albums ever! I like "The Black Lodge" slightly better though.
Septicflesh – “Virtues Of The Beast” (from “Sumerian Daemons”, 2003)
9/10. Another excellent epic melodeath tune, a majestic song with a creepy tune lurking in an old cave, followed by haunting vocals and synths that rise from the epic death-doom fires then fall back down.
Black Breath – “Feast Of The Damned” (from “Sentenced To life”, 2012)
7/10. REALLY?!? Interrupt a pleasant melodeath beginning with a death-thrash track?! Well I kinda like its Slayer vibe, but it's a little too intense for me and anyone wanting to start melodic before going extra-spicy! But I would like to say... RIP Elijah Nelson.
At The Gates – “Blinded By Fear” (from “Slaughter Of The Soul”, 1995)
10/10. Now this is the kind of intensity I enjoy, when it's mixed with melody. "Blinded by Fear" is one of the greatest melodeath songs of all time! It crashes in with some incredibly lightning fast action without ever slowing down. Guitarist Anders Bjorler and Martin Larsson make some incinerating impossible to head-bang guitar work. Drummer Adrian Erlandsson manages to blast through the blistering fast tempo. Tomas Lindberg screams with true majestic rage in his voice. Fantastic!
The first few songs are pretty great, thanks Ben and Daniel! I'm not kidding when I say that this playlist should've started a little more melodic. Starting with a few melodeath songs is 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, that Black Breath track might catch them off-guard, a brutal death-thrash song in the middle of a melodeath beginning. That song probably should've been track #6 after the Insomnium and Wolfheart ones. Other than that, good playlist, Daniel!
My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my suggested songs):
Freedom Call – “The Darkness” (from “Legend Of The Shadowking”, 2010)
9/10. This is one of the darkest power metal songs I've heard in my earlier epic metal taste. I suppose anyone can say Powerwolf is darker than this but for some reason I've never really listened to that band back then, so we'll go with this Freedom Call track that I was more familiar with. This one starts with a doomy intro before switching to a typical power metal song with a dark vibe. I chose that one because it seems so Halloween-ish enough for the October playlist.
DragonForce – “Cry Thunder” (from “The Power Within”, 2012)
11/10 (not exaggerated). Another one of my favorite DragonForce songs, and my favorite with their new vocalist Marc Hudson! An amazing song worth playing air-guitar until your fingers break and headbanging until you sprain your neck. Its mid-tempo pace (unlike their usual faster songs) reminds me of Irish folk and especially the Skyrim theme. This would fit well for when Thor has his own army to lead him into war and fight. Seriously, it's that awesome!! You can't miss this! It fits well not just for Skyrim or Final Fantasy but also for any MMORPG that has ever existed. I agree with anyone who says this is nice and beautiful. It's really good for when medieval dragons face off against space aliens. An epic hit that has established DragonForce as one of the greatest modern power metal bands besides Alestorm. Well done, DF!
Blind Guardian – “Majesty” (from “Battalions Of Fear”, 1988)
10/10. The one song that opened Blind Guardian's career in their own big bang, a speed metal classic chosen for this playlist because it foreshadows their more majestic power metal sound. But what's with the odd circus organ intro though!? This is the ultimate opener for a speed/power metal band's discography, as grand as how Black Sabbath made their grand opening of heavy metal with the first track of their first album back in 1970. The mix of Lord of the Rings lyrics with speed metal is known as a prototype for their power metal sound, and is tied with "Valhalla" as their best song from their earlier speed metal era, both caught in a 3-way tie with "Mirror Mirror" for the ultimate Blind Guardian song. The last two minutes are absolutely killer with amazing majesty and speedy force, especially the drums. It's enough to even make Metallica surprised by how superb this band is. A majestic beginning of a band's glorious journey!
My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my sole suggestion):
Neurosis – “No River To Take Me Home” (from “The Eye Of Every Storm”, 2004)
10/10. This Neurosis song is one of the most clever mixes of extreme and ambient you would ever come across. It opens with a searing riff of mourning loss, then develops into flowing mid-paced guitars, followed by a quiet smoothing duet between the two vocalists/guitarists Steve Von Till and Scott Kelly (the latter I know more about since his frequent collaborations with Mastodon).
Type O Negative – “Creepy Green Light” (from “World Coming Down”, 1999)
9/10. Another familiar tale of losing a loved one by untimely death. I chose that song because it is one of their more popular singles despite having been rarely played live and it also fits for this month's playlist due to its Halloween reference ("Halloween in Heaven" would've been better but that song wasn't on Spotify). "Creepy Green Light" let us see the light of gothic doom metal and the tragedies within the lyrics we can kinda relate to.
Here's a complete list of instrumentals from tech-death/thrashers Revocation (including their time as Cryptic Warning) for you to consider which ONE or a FEW to include in your possible Spotify playlist:
1. Thrashterpiece Theatre
2. Man in the Dark
3. Alliance and Tyranny
4. Stillness
5. Enter the Hall
6. Across Forests and Fjords
7. Fractal Entity
8. Spastic
9. Apex
10. The Exaltation
11. Ex Nihilo
Many of these instrumentals are thrashy to fit in with the other instrumentals here! Not only that, if I can make my own Spotify playlist, I might include this list as an unofficial compilation of all Revocation instrumentals, or I can write my own lyrics based on them to test my lyric-writing skills (evident in this project: https://metal.academy/forum/23/thread/509). But since this is your playlist, Sonny, please feel free to choose just ONE or a FEW from my list. Enjoy!
Finally listening to more of post-sludge legends Neurosis! Here's a good song from them:
Here are a couple metalcore bands that I love one of their songs so much to enjoy the rest of their discographies. This first band is Coldrain, alternative metalcore from Japan for fans of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, early-2010s Bring Me the Horizon, and early-2000s Linkin Park (even this video is inspired by one of Linkin Park's videos):
The other band is Misery Signals, melodic progressive-ish metalcore from Wisconsin (where my dad's from!) for fans of August Burns Red, After the Burial, and late-2000s Protest the Hero:
An amazing example of progressive doom/death from Massachusetts, USA.
That song is indeed amazing! I sense some prominent Wildhoney influences in there...
Thanks Ben! Yeah I was a bit eager to put in multiple releases at once in a single thread when I could've put each one in different relevant clan forums which I thought would be some hard work. Just like that "Tracks of the Day - Multi-Clan Edition" thread, I shall stop using this one and stick with the single-clan threads. This multi-clan thread is over!
Ben, please add these new albums:
Avatar - Hunter Gatherer (I was going to suggest that album when it come out two months ago but I forgot)
The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic (if you end up including it with The Fallen clan and Sludge Metal label, please put in the Hall of Judgement with the proposal of removing that clan and genre tag, reasons mentioned here: https://metal.academy/forum/28/thread/385?page=1#topic_4402)
Amaranthe - Manifest (will be released tomorrow)
I did my review, here's its summary:
I've listened to a few songs from Insomnium before writing the original review, but I still don't really feel any interest in this band. But how can that be? They're like a Finnish Amon Amarth with the viking lyrics taken out and acoustic atmospheric elements taking their place. Their largely consistent style is close to early Gothenburg-style melodeath with slight occasion helpings of other Finnish melodeath bands such as Kalmah and Norther. Their appealing taste comes from the ability to deliver their sound just right, staying in one element for a decent amount of time before switch to the next without any overtly progressive pretension. Apparently, their audience really likes rage and sorrow, so that's what the band has given them, all bottled up in a disc. Here they picked up the pace and a slight power metal-like approach. They have a highly effective attempt to avoid any common repetition and the mundane verse-chorus formula that has infected Swedish melodeath bands like Amon Amarth and sometimes The Crown. Recurring themes occur often but the embodied ambiguity makes clear choruses not too obvious. While catchy and memorable, the flow of melody isn't clearly symmetric in design, though the broad acoustic sections each mark a cadence in the sound of separation. Though there are a few flaws, many of the songs come together in a dark epic journey creating a well-formulated adventure without being too adventurous. This melodeath is something any metal band can appreciate for a mix of melodic and extreme without any excess similarities to other bands. The only flaw is their sound not being expanded. However if every melodeath band expand that genre, it would lose its unique recognition. So enjoy the awesome melodeath while it's still around!
4.5/5
Two-Week Quarantine (All That Remains COVID parody about the risk of quarantine)
RIP former Trivium bassist Brent Young );
Anime techno-rave trance-metalcore from Japan to please fans of Amaranthe, Dir En Grey, Enter Shikari and a bit of anime theme music:
Type O Negative - "Halloween in Heaven" (from Dead Again, 2007) (Since it's gonna be October, that last song would fit greatly in the playlist, so please remove my earlier requested Type O Negative song ("Creepy Green Light") and add this one instead.)
Andi, this track is not on Spotify as far as I can see..
Hmmm... Is "Creepy Green Light" available on Spotify? (see my (again) edited list above)