Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Forum Replies
My thought on one more track:
Disillusion – “The Sleep Of Restless Hours” (from “Back To Times Of Splendor”, 2004)
12/10 (not exaggerating). It's a little odd starting this playlist with a 17-minute epic meant to be a grand finale for its original album, but it's an epic way to summarize the progressiveness to come in the rest of the playlist, so let's talk about it. This glorious track starts by building up an acoustic riff into fast heaviness, leading to the furious energy of the harsh vocals from Vurtox before a catchy beautiful chorus. After a few minutes of aggressive riffing, it all pauses for a soothing acoustic part before starting another chorus, this time with every bit of strength from Vurtox's clean singing, creating one of the greatest choruses ever heard in existence. After that chorus, the song halts into almost complete silence with very faint static. You might think that song is over already, and you're about to get ready to leave and think of what a glorious journey that was. But NOPE!! Opeth-like acoustic guitars build the song back up to a powerful mighty 4-minute outro. The band uses all their instrumental energy to create this crushing ending. Even when it fades out, this is not only the grand finale for this song, but also for its original album, a bit like Between the Buried and Me's Colors ("White Walls"). You'll definitely be wanting more after this adventurous epic!
I did my review, here's its summary:
As a mostly positive reviewer, I've stumbled upon albums so good, so great, that I give them the high ratings they may or may not deserve. However, there might be one album that goes beyond great, and I mean far beyond... In order for an album to reach this "beyond" status, it has to attract me enough to get the band's full discography ASAP so you can discover new stuff from this legendary group, stay in my playlist for at least 6 months of maybe for eternity, and keep listening to them during that period of time. And that album is... Disillusion's 2004 debut Back to Times of Splendor!! You won't believe how much I love this epic masterpiece with song lengths ranging from 5 to 17 minutes filled with strong riffs, fast drumming, clean melodic singing, aggressive growls, softer sections, heavier sections, and much more to create the ultimate progressive metal adventure! Anyone who doesn't love this album as much I do might be thinking, "He doesn't mean to really give the album 5 stars, he's probably just biased with so many albums rated like that." No, they're all real, especially my rating for this album. I wish I could give Back To Times of Splendor more than just 5 stars, maybe 6, 10, or over 9000! Every moment is excellent, perfectly helped out by the deep meaningful lyrics. Many magnificent influences and elements in and out of metal creates this epic masterpiece of splendor. This is so incredible! I don't know what else to say, other than...Thanks so much for the rec, Daniel. I thought the ultimate album would never come....but it came!
5/5
Twilight Force - Hydra from Dawn of the Dragonstar (2019)
Raven - Hung Drawn & Quartered from All For One (1983)
W.A.S.P. - Jack Action from The Last Command (1985)
"Hydra" was already in the September playlist. Hope you can think of another suggestion soon. Daniel will close the suggestion thread for December's playlist after tomorrow...
Why would you need to delete a cover rating? There's an update cover rating button already?
What if you don't like your own cover rating and wanna get rid of it altogether? That's what the delete button is for!
Here are my suggestions for December's playlist, Daniel. Once again, I love how you managed to keep 8 of my suggestions in November's playlist, but I don't wanna push my luck, so back to my usual 7:
August Burns Red - "Carol of the Bells" (from August Burns Red Presents: Sleddin' Hill, 2012) (perfect Christmas metalcore song for the December playlist)
Converge - "The Saddest Day" (from Petitioning the Empty Sky, 1996)
Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas - "Twilight" (from Dance & Scream, 2010)
God Forbid - "To the Fallen Hero" (from IV: Constitution of Treason, 2005)
Underoath - "Anyone Can Dig a Hole But It Takes a Real Man to Call It Home" (from Lost in the Sound of Separation, 2008)
Unearth - "Stronghold" (from The Stings of Conscience, 2001)
Within the Ruins - "Versus" (from Invade, 2010)
Here are my suggestions for December's playlist. Daniel, please choose these songs:
Between the Buried and Me - "Silent Flight Parliament" (from The Parallax II: Future Sequence, 2012)
Evergrey - "Hymns for the Broken" (from Hymns for the Broken, 2014)
Opeth - "The Drapery Falls" (from Blackwater Park, 2001)
Here are my suggestions for December's playlist. Daniel, please choose these songs:
HammerFall - "Blood Bound" (from Chapter V: Unbent Unbowed Unbroken, 2005)
Lord - "Chaos Raining" (from Fallen Idols, 2019)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - "Nutrocker" (from Night Castle, 2009) (great Christmas metal song to fit in the December playlist, I probably would've chosen a song from one of their Christmas albums, but none of those other albums are metal)
Here are my suggestions for December's playlist. Daniel, please choose these songs:
Cult of Luna / Julie Christmas - "Cygnus" (from Mariner, 2016) (Get it?? Christmas? Because it will be December? I think that song would fit as the final track of the December playlist to conclude the year.)
Lacuna Coil - "Heaven's a Lie" (from Comalies, 2002) (Only if there's room for one more gothic metal song. If not, please save it for a future playlist.)
My Dying Bride - "Sear Me III" (from The Light at the End of the World, 1999) (I was gonna pick the original "Sear Me" from their debut, but since the death-doom quota is full, I decided to suggest its doom metal incarnation instead.)
In a way this is one of the reasons I designed Metal Academy. The clans give us a different way to think about music classifications. The question of whether or not a release fits snugly into a specific genre isn't as relevant here as questions like "does this release feel right in it's current clan(s)". If it doesn't then, I'd also question whether that release's genre tags are actually relevant. Cradle of Filth is a perfect example. Does calling it Gothic Metal achieve the goal of allowing fans of Paradise Lost to find music they will likely enjoy?
Actually, this is a very apt discussion, as I just ran a best Gothic Metal chart on RYM. Below is the result. Everyone happy with a Cradle of Filth album topping the list?
I'm not totally happy that a symphonic black metal album is dominating a best gothic metal chart list, especially since it has less ratings than those other 3 gothic metal albums that are definitely some of the best albums I've listened to. I might give that Cradle of Filth album a listen and review to decide whether or not it stays in or out of The Fallen. I might not fully enjoy it, but the review is to help contribute to this small debate. My review shall help choose the genre's fate!
Sonny, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on where you think gothic metal should reside if not in The Fallen? I agree that it doesn't sit entirely comfortably there but I struggle to think of another clan that's more appropriate. It probably should be in the same one as symphonic metal though in my opinion. I actually don't see any reason why we should leave Cradle Of Filth releases in The Fallen. If we think they don't belong there (which I don't) then let's simply vote them out in the Hall of Judgement.
Daniel, I know you directed that question to Sonny, but as another gothic metal fan myself, I have some thoughts about whether or not that genre belongs in The Fallen, and I say it still does. Gothic metal originated from doom metal, especially for many bands starting off as doom/death-doom, such as Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Anathema (those first 3 bands forming the Peaceville Three), Type O Negative, Tiamat, Katatonia, The Gathering, and Theatre of Tragedy. However, gothic metal would later become a somewhat mainstream mix of heavy metal and gothic rock, with bands like Entwine and HIM. Gothic metal may be related to symphonic metal in some ways, whether a band mixes both genres together (Tristania), was originally gothic before switching to symphonic (Within Temptation), or just symphonic metal with some goth elements (Nightwish) but I'm not sure if that's enough to make gothic metal closer to symphonic than doom. I'm definitely not an expert in the knowledge of Cradle of Filth, let alone gothic black metal, but that one album from them I've listened to, Dusk...and Her Embrace, is already in the North as a black metal with symphonic gothic elements.
Looks like 2020 isn't such a quiet year for industrial metal after all. Here are some of the most recent industrial metal releases I've found in RYM, including a few of the more well-known bands of the genre and a couple well-known artists in general:
I don't know whether or not to agree with Xephyr here. On the one hand, I can see how out of place The Sphere is because there's never really a lot of notable industrial metal. If anyone wants a list of all the super-notable bands of that genre, it would have to consist of all and only the ones Xephyr mentioned in that last comment; Godflesh, Rammstein, Fear Factory, Ministry, Sybreed, and Strapping Young Lad. And many other industrial metal bands sound closer to industrial or rock, which I guess is why they banned that genre from the Metal Archives. So it would make some sense to have the classic alternative-industrial metal bands in The Gateway and the modern cyber-electronic metal bands like Sybreed in The Revolution. On the other hand, the clans that are currently up are great symbols of their respective metal genres, and I'm not sure if sacrificing one of the clans and the amount of hard work that might result in would be worth it. I think we should just wait until the end of this year for any new industrial metal releases (requesting bands and albums helps), and see if The Sphere is an active or dead clan. The turning of the year will decide on a sacrifice or victory!
By the way, it's a few days until the 15th. You all wanna get rolling with your playlist suggestions?
The ultimate Opeth epic, despite a few compositional flaws:
Update on my list (due to a 3-year extension of my metal taste range):
Classic oldies:
1987: Coroner - R.I.P.
1988: Sanctuary - Refuge Denied
1989: Annihilator - Alice in Hell
1990: Sanctuary - Into the Mirror Black
1991: Coroner - Mental Vortex
1992: Neurosis - Souls at Zero
1993: Sentenced - North From Here
1994: Tiamat - Wildhoney
1995: My Dying Bride - The Angel and the Dark River
Old-school but newer:
1996: Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood
1997: HIM - Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 (though not metal)
1998: Meshuggah - Chaosphere
1999: Botch - We are the Romans
2000: In Flames - Clayman
2001: Opeth - Blackwater Park
2002: Isis - Oceanic
2003: Darkest Hour - Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation
2004: Neurosis - The Eye of Every Storm
Higher original quality:
2005: Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor
2006: Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along the Highway
2007: Between the Buried and Me - Colors
2008: After the Burial - Rareform
2009: Vektor - Black Future
2010: Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy
2011: Trivium - In Waves
2012: Between the Buried and Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence
2013: The Ocean - Pelagial
New and improved:
2014: Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel
2015: Bullet for My Valentine - Venom
2016: Vektor - Terminal Redux
2017: Septicflesh - Codex Omega
2018: Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name
2019: Coldrain - The Side Effects
2020: Trivium - What the Dead Men Say
2020 albums I'm looking forward to getting:
My Dying Bride - Macabre Cabaret (EP)
Within the Ruins - Black Heart
I just gave that Opeth live album another listen and a review. Indeed one of the greatest, most mind-blowing progressive live releases ever! Though I feel like it would've been better if they've also done killer songs like "Serenity Painted Death" and "Wreath", the latter from Deliverance, the only album at that time to not have a song played in that performance. Oh well... Anyway, here's the original of that beautiful work in its equally magical studio form:
The Horde; the most dangerous land in the clan map (except the Eastern Lands of Death that no one can ever discover), a place filled with death, violence, and offensive album titles and cover arts, all to be kept away from the children and the weak... In other words, The Horde's main genres, death metal and grindcore, are often notorious for their outrageous album titles, cover arts, and even band names that has kept them only for sale in underground metal store caverns, never in Walmart or Target. The only death metal subgenres that don't have that for the most part are melodic death metal, symphonic death metal, and the progressive side of technical death metal, the 3 subgenres getting me into The Horde at first but later I got out of that clan. I chose to take the opportunity to leave The Horde because I avoid the standard death metal and grindcore (along with black metal) like the plague. If the visuals are as obscene as the audio, then count me out. My current metal taste has been mostly harmless with acceptable amounts of swearing and controversy here and there, but the band I enjoy that's closest to the edge is...Type O Negative! Obviously they're not death metal, but their gothic doom is unlike any other band of that mix of genres, often featuring lyrics of sexual symbolism and humor, especially in their earlier albums, but not as brutal as the violence and gore in death metal bands. So now it leads to the most outrageous album title and cover art in my metal palate (drum roll please...), Type O Negative's The Origin of the Feces! I'm not gonna post the album cover here but I'll put in the link where you can see and believe how amusingly repulsive it is: https://metal.academy/releases/934
Of course there are many 80s thrash classic hits, but when it comes to technical thrash, nothing beats this ultimate classic! Once again for fans of Vektor and the mid-80s eras of Venom and Voivod:
Another full review I now plan on doing (along with those other releases I've mentioned: https://metal.academy/forum/4/thread/547?page=1#topic_4654), even though I've already rated it and that recommendation wasn't directed to me. I'm gonna be in such a reviewing frenzy this week!
My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my suggested songs):
Amaranthe – “Invincible” (from “The Nexus”, 2013)
9/10. Another killer track from the awesome yet over-hated Amaranthe album The Nexus, displaying the band's Nightwish influences while mixing them with the trance metal sounds from other bands like Crossfaith and Blood Stain Child. An interesting example of such a genre! That chorus would make you scream "ONE MORE TIME!!!", which is what Andreas screams between the two parts of each chorus.
Strawberry Hospital – “A Confession, A Cadaver” (from “Strawberry Hospital” E.P., 2020)
8/10. Again it's hard for me to digest the overly experimental mix of electro-trance with ambient black/metalcore/screamo. It does sound somewhat enjoyable for anyone who wants to get in on this experimental action.
Trivium – “Like Light To The Flies” (from “Ascendancy”, 2005)
10/10. Yet another classic from Trivium's breakthrough album Ascendancy, and one of my personal favorite songs in the album, once again showing how good this band can possibly be. I wish I have my own iPod so I can listen to this song anytime, anywhere.
Between The Buried & Me – “Aspirations” (from “Between The Buried & Me”, 2002)
10/10. Another metalcore hit, this one from a band that would later fully switch to progressive metal. There's some fantastic performance from the two guitarists. Once again, despite starting out with some brutality, there's another melodic section that sounds like something you could hear in an Iron Maiden. At one point, there's a falsetto verse performed by... I think it was Tommy Rogers, because he performed it perfectly when the band was playing that song in the Colors Live DVD. That song is definitely one of the best in the album.
Prayer For Cleansing – “Feinbhas a Ghabhail” (from “Rain In Endless Fall”, 1999)
9/10. Right after commenting on a Between the Buried and Me song, I'm now commenting on a track by a band that had BTBAM members before that band's formation, Prayer for Cleansing! I love this song and album, though I wish it could have higher quality.
God Forbid – “Better Days” (from “Gone Forever”, 2004)
9/10. This song, originally released in its eponymous EP released a year earlier, has more prominent cleaning in the chorus than other songs in that God Forbid album and their earlier ones. That song has such an upbeat riff. Nice!
Threat Signal – “Rational Eyes” (from “Under Reprisal”, 2006)
8/10. I picked this song because this was the first one ever made by Threat Signal with a demo of the track first released on the internet. The song received many awards and the success created a following for the band even before playing live. Cool, right? It's a great starting point for anyone new to listening to this band. Same for me almost two years ago when I started listened to them, but now, not so much. The Demanufacture-era Fear Factory-like sound with more melody has recently become flat for me.
Gulch – “Self-Inflicted Mental Terror” (from “2019 Promo”, 2019)
7/10. Again with that band Gulch! This is a demo version of the song that appears in their album Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress. It does fit well with the title, sounding too much like it was written by a mentally ill terrorist. I'm sorry, but I just can't handle this brutal grind-metalcore...
Bleeding Through – “Rise” (from “Portrait Of The Goddess”, 2002)
9/10. Now this track I love much more. Like that Gulch track, it's really short at two minutes long, but it's basically the head-banging melodeath-influenced metalcore action I can stand, with John Pettibone of Himsa on guest vocals.
Winds Of Plague – “Drop The Match” (from “Against the World”, 2011)
10/10. An awesome brutal symphonic deathcore song! I can imagine this scenario; after graduating from college, a few arsonists decide to torch down their high school while playing this song on their stereo at maximum volume. Then when a cop shows up to try to stop them, he hears the music and says, "Ooh, is that Winds of Plague?! I'm a big fan of that band! Mind if I borrow this CD and return it to you later?", and the arsonist leader replies, "H*ll yeah you can." After the cop receives the CD, he drives away blasting the album on his radio, while the arsonists carry on with the school-burning. An unlikely but interesting scenario to fit with this killer song.
Holy cr*p, this is probably the biggest amount of tracks I've commented in any playlist so far (10), probably big enough to make a good little compilation album, and 8 of them are my suggestions new and leftover! Thanks Daniel for allowing all those songs into the playlist! I don't mean to look like I'm dominating your playlists, but seeing that I'm the only Revolution member who's currently active, I just want people who look for playlists like this to know that The Revolution is not a deserted clan, you don't have to find too many tracks that you might or might not enjoy, and someone in that clan (yours truly) is really passionate and wants to make the playlist more organic. I would probably suggest 8 more tracks for December, but I don't wanna push my luck, so maybe the usual 7. And of course, one of them will be a Christmas-y song, for the holidays!
My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my suggested songs):
Seventh Wonder – “The Promise (Studio Version)” (from “Welcome To Atlanta Live 2014”, 2016)
10/10. I already told you this before but Seventh Wonder is the band vocalist Tommy Karevik was (and still is) before becoming the new lead singer for Kamelot. I definitely enjoy Seventh Wonder's epic pieces like this one, "The Promise". I love the production balancing the bass audibility with the guitar volume. Besides production, the harmonics are melodies are also great and enjoyable. This band sure knows how to remove the rain from my heart and replace it with sunlight. I'm glad Tommy is able to be part of both Seventh Wonder and Kamelot. Not a lot of metal musicians/singers can handle two bands at once. In fact, this has caused Tommy to have better passion and greater vocal ability than ever before. Awesomeness overdrive!! This would be followed a couple years later by their new epic concept album Tiara, released in 2018, the same year as Kamelot's The Shadow Theory, and I already know which one of those albums is a massive work of art (hint: NOT Kamelot). Seventh Wonder might be the Wintersun of progressive power metal, both because of how epic the band is and all that "Development Hell" they've gone through. Let's hope we don't have to wait until 2023 for their upcoming album after Tiara. I would jump off a plane and parachute down to an ongoing Seventh Wonder outdoor concert if I could. This fantastic track is probably my favorite of all of 2016, a great tune reminiscent of the true epic progressive metal age 10 years prior. I definitely love the second half starting at the 5-minute mark, including the guitar/keyboard soloing duel and the long outro before fading out, Tommy's screamed notes before each part blowing you away. Super killer! This is one of their best songs, alone greater than double-albums like Dream Theater's The Astonishing. An awesome song of fantastic arrangement, amazing technique, beautiful melodies, and Tommy's perfect voice! Some might say the beginning sounds similar Stratovarius' "Anthem of the World" and Dream Theater's "Ytse Jam", but I think this combination has been made greater and more epic. Long live the greatness of the progressive power metal kings! It's super incredible how Tommy's vocals helped out both Seventh Wonder and Kamelot's concept albums. They really progress through great quality! I'm a newer fan of Seventh Wonder than Kamelot, the latter I've listened to much longer. Once again, Tommy is amazing in both bands! The guitar mix and drum tone could've been better, but the song is still stunningly terrific! "The Great Escape" would've also been a great song choice, but hey, no song over 20 minutes! Either way, thanks Daniel for including this masterpiece "The "Promise" in this playlist for other members to hear.
Ne Obliviscaris – “Intra Venus” (from “Urn”, 2017)
9/10. A great attention-seeker that has the best dueling vocal moment at the end! However, if one of the two-part suites like "Libera" or "Urn" are in one track instead of two, I probably would've chosen one of those epics instead, but never mind.
The Contortionist – “Flourish” (from “Exoplanet”, 2010)
8/10. This is a heavier one, sounding closer to progressive deathcore/djent, but there are beautiful moments like the instrumental breakdown and that shoegaze-like solo. After that, close to the 5-minute point, they turn back to the sharper djent sound. Its album Exoplanet was remastered in 2015, and even though the remaster caused some mixed reactions, I still think this song has cool djent on both versions.
Infant Island – “Stare Spells” (from “Beneath”, 2020)
7/10. Of course, I've learned to comment on at least one song that isn't one of my suggestions. This one didn't work quite right for me. I'm just not into the experimental hardcore screamo stuff like this band and Strawberry Hospital. Never really the best ending for this playlist. Anyone who wants more of this sound but isn't up for the earlier selection of progressive metal might have to look someplace else...
My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my suggested songs):
Avantasia – “Runaway Train” (from “The Wicked Symphony”, 2010)
10/10. Beautiful song from symphonic power metal-opera project Avantasia! This makes a great soundtrack for when I move out alone probably a few years from now and I have to decide which train that I can't control takes me to the airport and hope for the best to start a new life, whether it's a great long healthy life or one that is cut short if the path leads to being trapped in a drug alley. Man, I almost cried thinking of this whole scenario. It's so emotional and epic, a bit like one of the earlier Sonata Arctica ballads. A beautiful song as a farewell while you start a journey for a new life, hopefully not a drug-laden one.
Savatage – “Hall Of The Mountain King” (from “Hall of The Mountain King”, 1987)
9/10. This is an underrated 80s heavy metal classic. It works awesomely for an epic D&D session. Unbelievable! If you thought this track resembles Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King", nope! That's its intro "Prelude to Madness". The band's guitar king Criss Oliva does a great job there. RIP Criss. F*** that drunk driver! Great lyrics, good music, still a little too old for my taste range, unless my taste changes in the future...
Edenbridge – “Shine” (from “Shine”, 2004)
10/10. Edenbridge has served as another milestone in the bridge of symphonic fantasy after Nightwish, after Epica, after Two Steps From Hell (the latter being an epic trailer music company I used to listen to before my metal interest blasted off). This is one of my favorite Edenbridge songs with the enchanting voice of Sabine Edelsbacher in a shining direction especially in the epic crescendo chorus. I guess you can think of Edenbridge as Epica without the growling vocals. Wonderful song with a beautiful unique voice, and I still have that opinion since I first got hooked to listening to this band when I was around age 16 or 17. I think this song is about the circle of life throughout the universe and God's creations. Shine is one of my favorite Edenbridge albums and this song is an awesome progressive highlight with the best guitar talent from Lanvall and Sabine's expanding vocal range and passion. Around that time, Sabine guest-appeared in a couple songs on Angra's Temple of Shadows and Power Quest's Neverworld, two more excellent power metal albums! When I first listened to this song, album, and band, I've realized how well this band can make awesome masterpieces. One of the best bands in my earlier epic metal taste besides Symphony X, Avantasia, and of course, Nightwish and Epica! Her beautiful voice brightens up this marvelous composition. The lyrics are weird, but a good pretty type of weird. Pop artists like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber already had their fame, Edenbridge should have their turn! I say this band has an excellent combo of Sonata Arctica power metal, Within Temptation orchestration, and Lacuna Coil female vocals. Of course, my epic metal taste wasn't all just symphonic metal back then, there's of course the power metal of Sabaton, DragonForce, Stratovarius, and in my current arsenal, Lord. With all this talk about other bands, I'd like to make it clear that Edenbridge is unique symphonic power metal with female vocals, symphonic strings, and harmonic guitar solos. Thanks for including this glorious piece, Daniel!
Dream Evil – “Dream Evil” (from “Six”, 2017)
10/10. Dream Evil's glorious comeback after a 7-year gap between albums, and their potential new theme/anthem. Enough said!
Space Odyssey – “Embrace The Galaxy” (from “Embrace The Galaxy”, 2003)
9/10. First there was 2001: A Space Odyssey, and then there's 2003: Richard Andersson's Space Odyssey! Personally, I think this sounds a bit like another Yngwie/Dio collaboration with Rush. Beautiful song with nice vocals and spacey keys, and I probably would've perfectly loved it back in my earlier epic metal era, but now not too much.
Machinae Supremacy – “Laser Speed Force” (from “Rise Of A Digital Nation”, 2012)
10/10. Ah yes, Machinae Supremacy, a band that mixes power metal with 8-bit/trance synths. This song is a fantastic reason why they should've been more famous than they are currently, one of my favorite songs from them! When I first heard of this band 5 years ago, I decided to download a demo of Jets'n'Guns, the computer game with their own soundtrack. I gave up interest in that game after a few days but never that band, at least for a few years. If I ever have a smartphone instead of a Nokia, I would make this awesome song my ringtone. If this band ever comes to my country, you bet I will spend my money to see them live. I just love this fantastic tune with awesome lyrics! This would make great music for PVP on MMORPGs. Seriously, this is another great reason to consider metal "real" music. Still getting pumped with this song for gaming battles. It's really clear that Machinae Supremacy are the true masters of epic 8-bit metal. A solid jam for video game soundtrack fans and metalheads to love!
Gloryhammer – “Beneath Cowdenbeath” (from “Tales From The Kingdom Of Fife”, 2013)
8/10. That's interesting, Xephyr, choosing an instrumental song from an awesome epic concept album. That's perfectly fine because even though it would've been better with the sung narrations of Angus McFife, they leveled up the symphonic power metal instrumentation. If I was to choose a song from that album, I would probably picked one of their great hits like "Angus McFife", "Quest for the Hammer of Glory", or the 10-minute "Epic Rage of Furious Thunder". Either way, good song suggestions all!
My thoughts on some of the tracks (including my suggested songs):
Theatre Of Tragedy – “Venus” (from “Aegis”, 1998)
10/10. An ethereal keyboard-symphonic gothic doom highlight! Liv Kristine delivers a beautiful performance that really deserves winning a Best Female Vocals award, while Raymond Rohonyi does his growling vocals sounding closer to the death-doom of their first two albums. Great suggestion, Ben!
Katatonia – “Saw You Drown” (from “Discouraged Ones”, 1998)
10/10. My favorite song in Katatonia's last gothic metal album before descending into alt-rock/metal territory (which you can hear a sample in November's Gateway playlist). "Saw You Drown" has incredible effect and appropriately depressing lyrics.
Tiamat – “Cain” (from “Prey”, 2003)
9/10. A great song to start one of Tiamat's later gothic rock/metal albums! The song begins with a dark depressing riff that is repetitive but suitable for gothic metal, having an almost occult feeling. Unlike the band's early heavier material that encourages you to take brutal action against your enemies, this song is good for listeners sitting in a dark cave and thinking about the depression of life, which would carry as the album's theme. After a killer ending guitar solo, it just abruptly ends, mainly because it segues to the experimental interlude "Ten Thousand Tentacles", but never mind, I still like "Cain".
Cult Of Luna – “Ghost Trail” (from “Eternal Kingdom”, 2008)
10/10. An incredible song that continues keeping Cult of Luna's reign as one of the kings of post-sludge. The second quarter of the song (from the 3 to 6 minute marks) is one of the most brilliant moments in the history of music. I made the right recent choice of sealing my love for this cool band. This powerful emotional song might remind other post-doom fans of Ghost Brigade, and if they're into one of those metal TV shows, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil which I think this song was featured in. "Ghost Trail" is one of the best songs of post-sludge perfection, especially that kick-A breakdown shortly after the 9-minute point. Apparently, it is part of a concept album based on the diary of a madman who was locked up in a mental asylum after being falsely accused of murdering his wife by drowning her in the river of the Näcken. The diary would be contributed by creatures known as the "owl men" and the "tree men" to help clear his name. Interesting concept for one of the best ambient sludge metal albums! Only 2 months into listening to this band and I already know how awesome they are. Praise the Cult!!
My Dying Bride – “Catherine Blake” (from “Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light”, 2004)
11/10 (not exaggerating). This is truly a doom anthem with everything you expect to hear from the band. This album Songs of Darkness, Words of Light continues the elements of the previous two albums where they return to their trademark death-doom of Turn Loose the Swans but with keyboards instead of violins, this time in slower cleaner beauty, and one song that has it all is "Catherine Blake"! Absolutely memorable!
Welcome, Keleros! Have a great metal time here.
Hello, Metal Academy forums. This is Keleros posting for the first time. My favorite metal subgenres are Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, Power Metal, with some Progressive Metal and Symphonic Metal.
My current favorite metal subgenres as well, along with metalcore, gothic metal, and a bit of doom metal. We just might be able to share each other's favorite metal bands and discover different bands that one of us has listened to but not yet the other. Sounds good?
A couple incredible progressive thrash epics from Vektor albums Outer Isolation and Terminal Redux, two must-have albums for fans of older thrash releases like Venom's Possessed, Voivod's War and Pain, and Coroner's Mental Vortex (all those albums mentioned have 11 or 12 votes in the Hall of Judgement, so if you haven't voted yet, please do so and let the Hall of Judgement decide its fate and the releases with their voting closed have their own section).
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: