Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Reviews

Before this band's switch into industrial rock/metal, Killing Joke started their 45-year tenure as an intense addition to the post-punk scene in the 80s. The band has pleased numerous fans of the scene with their earlier releases, despite a downward turn with the trance-pop Outside the Gate. But that's just part of their broad appeal, right from the start with their first single "Wardance". As much as their 80s era gained lots attention, so did their 2003 album which brought the band back from the shadows. Of course, we can't forget about the two albums in between, Pandemonium and Democracy, and you wouldn't believe how well the songs in the former album turned out...

The release of Pandemonium marked the end of a 4-year gap since the previous album Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions, and it has a heavier mood. The members seem to add in some elements of their side-projects, with the electronics that bassist Youth explored, and vocalist Jaz Coleman's trip to the Middle East (music, not the region, although he recorded his vocals in Egypt). So there's a more ambient/world tone added alongside their new industrial rock/metal direction.

The title opener is a heavy song that needs more attention, maybe more than their earlier rock hits. "Exorcism" is another astounding heavy tune. Jaz Coleman encourages listeners to "Let it out, let it rise, let it-" (literally coughs and wheezes, f***ing amusing). The theme of exorcism can be associated with Babylonian religion. The catchy "Millennium" allowed Killing Joke a rare chance to hit the airwaves in the U.S. The epic highlight "Communion" has more of the Egyptian vibe than before to add more uniqueness to the album's style, as Kevin Walker's chords are in perfect blend with the percussion and violin.

"Black Moon" begins the more brooding second half, in which some of the earlier momentum is lost. There's a bit of redemption in "Labyrinth", but that's not enough. The more poppy "Jana" is too much of just a simple rock song that doesn't really fit the earlier heavy vibe.

Then we return to the heavier chaos for real with "Whiteout". That's the kind of energy I needed to make sure the second half doesn't bore me to death. However, I can't say the same thing about "Pleasures of the Flesh" which is just dull and doesn't please me at all. "Mathematics of Chaos" takes you into a metallic trance, as the wizardry of the instrumentation is in clear production, thanks to Youth.

After Pandemonium, the band made their next album Democracy and then go on a 7-year hiatus before their 2003 album that features the legendary Dave Grohl on drums. I wouldn't say Pandemonium is highly essential, nor is it a waste of time, but it's another chapter in the band's evolution, and their post-punk-focused days are long gone....

Favorites: "Pandemonium", "Exorcism", "Communion", "Whiteout", "Mathematics of Chaos"

Now this is the album I need to revisit this band that I've distanced from their music for a couple years! Colors Live is a Between the Buried and Me live album in which they perform the entirety of what was once a favorite masterpiece of mine, Colors, followed by some songs from their first 3 albums voted by fans in a special online poll.

When I was still enjoying this band, their 2002 self-titled debut was a solid start that showed their metalcore side at their rawest. The Silent Circus began to display their more progressive tendencies. Then Alaska was a perfect phenomenon of progressive metalcore innovation. This is only surpassed by a few points by the stunning diamond gem that was Colors, in which their experimental deathly progressive metalcore sound is in full prodigious force throughout basically a 64-minute epic split into 8 tracks.

The live rendition of that colorful journey begins as it should, with the smooth piano and clean singing of "Foam Born (A) The Backtrack". Then the drums crash in and the guitars follow as uplifting spiraling synths enter the picture. Then it makes a dark twist into melodic death/black metal, almost like Dissection/Emperor possessed their minds for 30 seconds. The crushing deathly heaviness is maintained as it segues into "(B) The Decade of Statues" as their finest hour kicks off for real in the speed. An atmospheric Middle-Eastern guitar melody opens "Informal Gluttony". With that and the deathly fire that comes after, you might almost be reminded of the band Nile. There's an epic chorus later on before ending on tribal drumming. The gigantic 11-minute marathon epic "Sun of Nothing" has some moments to highlight, such as a nice Beatles-like melody, a weird piano section, and a beautiful climax that looks back at Pink Floyd's "Dark Side" that rises up until the band stampede through from that track into another, and it's another epic that can be considered the centerpiece of Colors...

The 13-minute epic "Ants of the Sky" has wonderful aspects of blues groove and organ, with some hard rock/thrash added in, as the soloing ranges from jazz to Queen-esque to country. Soon it leads to an epic slow bridge that then quiets down for a bit of clean soloing. And then another country-like moment, this time with banjo-like guitars and a background bar fight (WHAT?!), before ending with an uplifting neoclassical outro similar to Pachelbel's Canon. It then leads to "Prequel to the Sequel", continuing the sweet twists. One moment they play some aggressive soloing, and the next... We have a moment of wacky polka/cabaret. The rising/brutal section after that originally had Fear Before vocalist Adam Fisher screaming his own verse and then a growling/screaming showdown with BTBAM vocalist Tommy Rogers. The live version shows Rogers doing it all himself, before another uplifting clean outro. Bassist Dan Briggs's shining instrumental "Viridian" plays as all is relaxed a bit before the towering finale... The legendary 14-minute "White Walls" pretty much summarizes all that is central to the album's sound. All I'm gonna note is how majestic the ending is, when the band unleash all their power before collapsing and concluding it all with the last bit of piano, just like in the beginning.

However, the entire live experience ain't over yet, as after an intermission, the band strike again with their earlier material, beginning with "Mordecai", perhaps the highlight of this second half. It starts with brutal tech-death that can remind some of Suffocation and Misery Index, followed by a 5-second Zappa-like transition into relentless mathcore ala The Dillinger Escape Plan, and a bit of melodeath/groove. The distorted heaviness fades away, and taking its place is a soft bridge of clean guitar, falsetto singing, and beautiful keyboards. This can be almost consider a progressive metalcore ballad, especially when Rogers' emotional singing rises and guitarist Paul Waggoner performs splendorous soloing. That stylistic switch from brutality and beauty has left me speechless since first listen. I love it! "Shevanel Cut a Flip" is the 9-minute closer of the first BTBAM album, and it starts with some of the most extreme chaos the band has had, only interrupted by another brief jazzy riff over another background bar fight (seriously WHAT?!?), before some more heaviness and bass. But the real change comes 3 and a half minutes in, when it all switches to quiet softness, as if you suddenly end up from darkness to light. The clean vocals and harmonies were sung by ex-drummer Will Goodyear in the original album, sung by Waggoner and Rogers in this live version. Also in the original is that quiet ending extended for 3 minutes before a white-noise fadeout. It's actually good that they didn't include that extended ending, as I would probably get bored to death if I hear the soft drumming and riffing for that long. "Backwards Marathon" continues the band's chaotic side with groove and speed, before a switch into a jazzy ethereal bridge that almost reminds me of Dream Theater's "Trial of Tears" ("It's raining...").

"Ad a dglgmut" is another epic track with a powerful climax. It first bursts in blast-beat/riffing fury, as the times change through wild cacophony, while Tommy screams "SCREAM LOUD! LOUD!! LOUD!!! LOUD!!!!" Then everything changes into an uplifting mellow bridge with more of his pleasant singing, "It all makes sense, we're capable of beauty, through sounds which make one cringe, the dogs only hear us now". Next track "Aspirations" showed the band making unexpected twists even in those earlier days. They start off with melodic metalcore riffing that then turn into crushing rhythm. The guitar becomes more melodic, as the bass shines again. Then the cool metalcore riffing returns, and a delightful twist is Tommy performing some high falsetto for a brief verse. Again, the softer clean singing was originally by Will Goodyear in the original debut. "Selkies: The Endless Obsession" concludes the entire set on a grand note. It begins with groovy keyboards, before some more of the annihilating deathly madness. Soon we get to a dreamy bridge of clean singing, bluesy soloing, and soft piano. And finally, they end it all with a few-minute climax of glorious neoclassical soloing that is as much of a moment fans have been looking for as graduation day for college students. What a treat to wrap things up! As the live video ends and the credits roll, the outro for Alaska, "Laser Speed" plays, as a sweet jazzy elevator music interlude.

Colors Live is a monstrous live experience like none other from this modern progressive metal fivesome BTBAM. I really need to get back in touch with the music of this band and Opeth if I want to maintain my Infinite street cred. This is an excellent live journey you just gotta hear to believe!

Favorites: "Informal Gluttony", "Sun of Nothing", "Ants of the Sky", "White Walls", "Mordecai", "Aspirations", "Selkies: The Endless Obsession"

As with the gap between the band's first and second albums, As Blood Runs Black had suffered some misfortunes before their 3rd album came to be. This included changes in lineup, record label, and even getting robbed. It all became too much for the band to take, and after the release of this album Ground Zero, they would embark on a final tour and split up for 7 years. So how does Ground Zero stand out?

Yet another powerful offering from this band! As Hector De Santiago (drums), Nick Stewart (bass), and guitar duo Greg Kirkpatrick and Dan Sugarman carry on, they've brought in the versatile Chris Bartholomew as their new vocalist.

We have a kick-A punchy intro in "City Limits", though it's more like a short song unlike the previous intro tracks. Then we get into "Insomniac" which already introduces some new aspects for the band, including clean singing by Bartholomew and even some odd yet nice violin at the end. The title track is a true anthem, complete with chanting from members of bands Volumes and Thy Art is Murder. "Vision" is a prime example of the band's impressive sound. Epic breakdowns, plus a clean chorus to balance things out.

"All of Nothing" perfectly unleashes relentless music and lyrics. "Chapters" is a nice interlude to set things up before the next track. "An Oath" is a slow clean song unlike any of the band's other songs. Probably the most ballad-ish song they've ever written!

Then the speed really comes back up in "Eulogy", which is the closest you're gonna get to the earlier melodeath-infused roots. "Surrender" continues the earlier chants. It's a sweet yet heavy track, though I feel like some things are kinda hitting a wall. "Survival Rights" has more of that motivational energy. It really wraps up the album and the initial part of their career on a heavy note.

All drama aside, you gotta appreciate the greatness As Blood Runs Black has had over the years. I think the lyrics could've have a little better, but at least I enjoy those new aspects like clean singing and occasional violin. While they ended up unfolding after this album, their recent reformation shows that their journey is not yet finished!

Favorites: "Ground Zero", "Vision", "All or Nothing", "Eulogy", "Survival Rights"

Similarly to Vildhjarta, As Blood Runs Black has had a long gap between their first and second albums, and a shorter gap before their third one. Well, this band's album gaps aren't as long as Vildhjarta's, but there are still multiple setbacks the band has had in these intervals, and lineup changes are to blame amongst other things. However, when the band gets their lineup right, they get it WAY right. More heaviness awaits in their second album Instinct!

While the band's melodic deathcore sound has picked up where it left off from Allegiance, there's less of their straight-up melodeath side. The two remaining members from the debut, drummer Hector De Santiago and bassist Nick Stewart can adapt to the new lineup's different ideas, allowing their sound to progress further.

"Triumph" opens the album as a brief intro of technical brutality. Then the highlight "Legacy" blasts off in intense fire. They continue to expand their sound in "Resist", which comes with a melodic solo in the sea of heaviness. In "Angel City Gamble", the band is willing to "RISK. IT. ALL!!!!!" to combine melodic death metal with deathcore, and it paid off with a wicked heavy sound that shall never die. Absolutely phenomenal! The riffing melody shines at the start of the last third of the track before a face-punching ending breakdown with a f***ing killer scream of "DO NOT FEAR THE FAILURES!" Another deathcore band that can blend melody and brutality in the riffing like that is All Shall Perish. That band and this one are proof that deathcore can still be metal despite what pure metalheads believe. "WILL YOU PURSUE?!"

"Reborn" combines the melodic-ish death metal of Grave and Hypocrisy with the metalcore of Living Sacrifice. Just like the previous album, this one has a soft instrumental intermission, "Tribulations". I like it better than that other interlude, this one having just atmospheric piano and strings to better suit the haunting landscape before returning to heaviness. "Divided" has some of the heavier aspects of Fear of Domination without any of that band's dance-trance side. "King of Thieves" sounds almost as chaotic as Zao, and the vocals even remind me of that band.

There's more technical drumming in "In Honor", along with a well-achieved aspect of the guitar and bass in perfect synchronization. "Echoes of an Era" is another winning track when it comes to the band's evolution. However, I feel like the guitar riffing could've been stronger, including in the breakdowns. It's still great though. The closing title track perfectly blends brutality and melody, keeping things nice and tight.

After 5 years in the void, As Blood Runs Black come back strong as ever! Instinct shall last long together with Allegiance as melodic deathcore classics. So what the f*** are you waiting for?!?!? Get this album and unleash your metal instinct!

Favorites: "Legacy", "Angel City Gamble", "Reborn", "In Honor", "Instinct"

There has been some talk about As Blood Runs Black's debut Allegiance being similar to The Black Dahlia Murder. I haven't listened to a lot of that band, but based on the few songs I've heard from TBDM, I can totally understand. Allegiance I would consider more of a blend of deathcore and melodeath. And everything is in perfect place, including the breakdowns! This is also back when melodic deathcore was more deathly and less blackened/symphonic than their younger peers.

Allegiance has the fast guitarwork, melodic soloing, and brutal breakdowns to expect in any metalcore/deathcore album. Vocals range from blackened to deathly. Lots of blast beats are used in the drumming. And the songs are all under 5 minutes in length, so don't expect any progressive epics.

The "Intro" is quite kick-A, though quite short at under a minute. It segues to "In Dying Days", a classic of melodic awesomeness in deathcore, giving me a reason to enjoy that subgenre. BRING THE MOTHERF***IN' RUCKUS! Speedy bass and drums occur in "My Fears Have Become Phobias", with some of the fastest kicks in the second half. The breakdowns actually have audible bass which isn't quite common here. Melodeath-fueled riffing covers "Hester Prynne" alongside more of those diverse harsh vocals.

The acoustic interlude "Pouring Reign" is beautiful, but I don't think it fits well in this album which would've been 100% perfect but ends up getting a couple percentage points knocked off for that. "The Brighter Side of Suffering" is another one of the best songs in melodic deathcore. The next track "The Beautiful Mistake" is another solid track. Sure the lyrics of a failed romance may be cheesy, but it somehow fits well in deathcore/melodeath, right from the intro, "I looked into the eyes of a broken heart pride that’s made of stone!" Amusing but still suitable.

"Strife (Chug Chug)" has fantastic drumming, and once again, the otherwise inaudible bass can be heard in the ending breakdown. "Beneath the Surface" is quite interesting. Right at the 3 and a half minute mark, the song comes to a quick stop, and just when you think it's over, a brutal breakdown comes on for you to headbang to. Finally, "Legends Never Die" is one last highlight I would recommend to fans of Black Dahlia-core.

Allegiance is the best place for anyone wanting to test out deathcore for the first time without going into the popular new wave of symphonic blackened deathcore. I just hope As Blood Runs Black would return with another masterpiece like this without any acoustic interludes. We need more straight-up melodic deathcore, seriously!

Favorites: "In Dying Days", "My Fears Have Become Phobias", "The Brighter Side of Suffering", "Strife (Chug Chug)", "Legends Never Die"

First of all, let me just say (again) how amazing and painfully underrated this band is! Trail of Tears is a band that I regret waiting until only last year to check out. Their brand of extreme gothic metal has struck me as much as other modern legends like the thrashy metalcore of Trivium and the epic deathcore of Lorna Shore. Trail of Tears started off as a mournful gothic melodeath band with the operatic Helena Iren Michaelsen (later temporarily joining Sahara Dust (Epica)). Then the gothic side took a haunting symphonic turn in A New Dimension of Might with the rock-on Cathrine Paulsen. The next two releases had a greater emphasis on melodeath with male vocals by Kjetil Nordhus (also in Green Carnation), though one of those releases, Existentia brings back female singing in a few tracks, sung by Emmanuelle Zoldan (Sirenia (as a session member, later full-time). Finally, Cathrine returns for a perfect one-two punch of albums, and Oscillation is one of those albums! Sadly it ended up becoming their swansong release because the internal conflicts that decimated the band's lineup before the release of Existentia happened again, this time between Thorsen and Paulsen with her partner guitarist Bjørn Erik Næss by her side. With that, drummer Cato Jensen, and the band leaving Napalm Records for Massacre, the band fell apart and was no more.

Oscillation can very well be the perfect ending statement. The deathly symphonic gothic metal sound has been nailed down in the writing Ronny Thorsen and Paulsen. Pretty much everything they've had in the music and lyrics has been delivered smoothly. Darkness, heaviness, catchiness... All to make their extreme gothic metal sound the way it's meant to be! If it's possible for the band see the future and witness the devastating tail end of production in advance, they've done it. And when the sweet beauty comes in towards the end, it is part of the farewell they would sing to their fans.

It starts with "Waves of Existence", a metal pounder right off the bat. Excellent solid production here! The atmosphere is as bleak and cold as the album cover by Jan Yrlund, stunningly resembling that of Rammstein's Rosenrot. Everything this album has is given a sneak peek. Ronny's growling fury is in perfect balance with Cathrine's operatic drama. You can't deny the remorse that comes from the lyrics, especially reminds us that "Nothing lasts forever..." Melancholic doom covers "Scream Out Loud" with Cathrine's vocal emotion in full display. She unleashes her feelings of anger and pain out loud. "Crimson Leads on the Trail of Tears" can be considered the band's theme song, though in this case, it's more like the theme song for the band's final season. Before the music comes in, we hear what sounds like a revolution of youth. The death-growled lyrics sound more prophetic than anything done before, "We were destined to prove all the things that we say". The title track has some heavier guitar thrash, as Thorsen's harsh growls and Paulsen's clean singing open up different dimensions.

"Path of Destruction" is a 6-minute epic with gothic atmosphere and the best vocals by Paulsen. The music certainly sounds close to late 90s Anathema/The Gathering while more metallic. However, "Vultures Guard My Shadow" hits some slight turbulence, sounding more typical than special. The perfection is still stabilized though. "The Dawning" begins with some excellent guitar as the harsh and clean vocals battle against each other. "Room 306" may not be the strongest metal song title, but it's a haunting standout with soothing female choir and more of the emotional singing. It is more of a rock-on track rather than the usual symphonic death/gothic metal, while having some structural complexity. I enjoy Ronny's growls in the chorus, "Realize all is lost/dead/gone". Then "Our Grave Philosophy" loses some specialty though it's not really a grave error.

"Lost in Life" is more of a ballad with beautiful keyboards and cleans. Finally, "Eradicate" marks a desperate yet perfect way out, with a final lyrical message of "Prepare to fall!!!" The digipak edition has two bonus tracks that throw back to earlier albums, the first one being "Sleep Forever" with the great gloomy atmosphere of Existentia. "Quick Fix of Shame" has the eeriness of A New Dimension of Might all over.

ALL OVER... Two simple words that are hard to say but it was true. A band that was active for nearly two decades, with strong musicians and vocalists, gone just like that. So thank you, Ronny, for all this awesome music like in this masterpiece album.... And thanks for coming back for more. Up next: my thoughts on their recent comeback EP!

Favorites: "Waves of Existence", "Crimson Leads on the Trail of Tears", "Path of Destruction", "The Dawning", "Room 306", "Eradicate", "Sleep Forever"

Not often does a symphonic gothic melodeath band continue their winning streak building up with every release better than the last, but how else can I describe the music of Trail of Tears? Existentia shows the band going back to some of their earlier gothic roots with more keyboard orchestration and the return of female singing in some songs. And at the time of its release, it was what atmospheric gothic metal fans needed after The Gathering and Green Carnation were softening their respective sounds.

And holy sh*t, the heaviness is still up in Existentia! The crushing guitars and growls continue on from their previous album Free Fall Into Fear. What's different is, there's more of the soft drama from their earlier albums for better flow.

"Deceptive Mirrors" begins the album with killer riffing and Kjetil Nordhus' clean singing, keeping up what the band has in Free Fall Into Fear, before switching into the piano and female singing of the albums before then. The female vocals are done by session member Emmanuelle Zoldan, known as part of the band Sirenia, originally in the Sirenian Choir for 15 years before joining that band full-time. With that kind of contrast in this album, I had a grand feeling about it. "My Comfort" is also great with a catchy midtempo chorus. The song is a little restrained in its 4 and a half minute length. Oh yeah, every song here is within the 4-minute track length. Then we have the killer highlight "Venom Inside My Head", packing some venomous punches, as Ronny Thorsen's growls are in perfect battle with the clean melodies of Nordhus.

"Decadence Becomes Me" is a total rocker though the chorus practically pays homage to Candlemass' "Solitude". Then "She Weaves Shadows" makes a dramatic entrance sounding similar to Green Carnation back when Nordhus was still making that band heavy. "The Closing Walls" has wonderful atmosphere. I wish I could give the album the remaining half-star needed for total perfection, but unfortunately... "Empty Room" is a poor attempt at looking back at the early years of Trail of Tears and Tristania when try to put operatic singing and keyboards up front. But it's never really a stinker, otherwise the rating would be lower.

Next track "Poisonous Tongues" is a better gem. Lots of excellent drama in the bridge there. You can hear killer riffing in "As It Penetrates", with more symphonic synths and piano as Kjetil's vocals fit right in. "Shades of Yesterday" starts with some strange electronics that almost made me think this was gonna lead into something like Dead by April, but nope, we still have the last bit of the epic gothic melodeath for this album, and the last bit of Kjetil's vocals for his time in the band.

Anyone who has followed Trail of Tears and known its history would be aware of their initial fallout. The main members of the band who recorded the album besides Ronny and Kjetil were guitarist Runar Hansen, bassist Kjell Rune Hagen, and drummer Jonathan Perez, all 3 of whom plus Kjetil left shortly before the album was released. But shortly after, Thorsen would assemble a new lineup, including the return of female vocalist Cathrine Paulsen, all ready for a fantastic duo of albums. Existentia is still quite amazing though and it's for anyone who wants to hear Kjetil's work outside his other band Green Carnation. He and the other departed members have done their job well!

Favorites: "Deceptive Mirrors", "Venom Inside My Head", "She Weaves Shadows", "Poisonous Tongues", "Shades of Yesterday"

There comes a time when a band would make severe changes to their own sound, and not often can they still sound good. For this band Trail of Tears, all they did was replace female clean vocals with male ones, drop the tuning 3 semitones lower, and added more deathly riffs to the mix. So different yet darker and heavier! And those changes came to fruition after Cathrine Paulsen temporarily left the band and session vocalist Kjetil Nordhus (Green Carnation) joined full-time.

Kjetil and unclean vocalist Ronny Thorsen transformed this band from Beauty and the Beast gothic metal to Devil and Angel melodeath, more specifically, symphonic extreme gothic melodeath. Free Fall Into Fear is more aggressive than the band's surrounding works while having lots of variation.

Starting things off with perhaps the best track here, the fantastic "Joyless Trance of Winter" is a prime example of symphonic gothic melodeath with groove-ish riffing and a beautiful clean chorus. The melodic "Carrier of the Scars of Life" sounds almost like Nightrage's debut Sweet Vengeance, particularly one of the songs where that band has Evergrey's Tom S. Englund performing cleans. "Frail Expectations" has more of a gothic atmosphere while sounding eerily close to Wintersun's "Time" epic.

Then we have the power metal-ish melodeath fury of "Cold Hand of Retribution", not too far off from Into Eternity. It's also the only song in the entire album to have female vocals, sung by guest vocalist Astri Skarpengland. The menacing keyboards shine in "Watch Your Fall" while the guitar duo pull off crushing work and the cleans and growls continue their battle. We also have the technical "The Architect of My Downfall" which practically brings back Soilwork's melodeath fire that they dropped most of in their own album Stabbing the Drama that year. Doom-filled "Drink Away the Demons" is a little slower than the rest.

"Point Zero" has a heavy breakdown with some interesting keyboard surprises. That also occurs in "Dry Well of Life", a highlight of melodeath rage. With all those amazing songs, is there one track that can be a slight downer? That would have to be the closing track "The Face of Jealousy". I mean it has great energy, but it doesn't stand out as much as the others. Still a satisfying album ending all the same.

Trail of Tears has once again proven to be masters of symphonic extreme gothic melodeath, even with a different sound. It doesn't please a lot of metalheads, but it really should. This is the kind of dark work that deserves more appreciation!

Favorites: "Joyless Trance of Winter", "Carrier of the Scars of Life", "Cold Hand of Retribution", "The Architect of My Downfall", "Dry Well of Life"

Trail of Tears started off with their first two albums Disclosure in Red and Profoundemonium, both with female vocalist Helena Iren Michaelsen. Helena left the band in the time between the recording and the release of the latter album. She would later briefly join Dutch symphonic metallers Epica (then named Sahara Dust). While Helena was great at her singing, her replacement Cathrine Paulsen is more top-notch! She can perform operatic soprano and rock-like singing in a greater perfect balance.

I still can't believe how unheard this underrated album is. Sure this blackened symphonic gothic metal sound may turn away purists, but it works well and shouldn't be ignored. The normally tiring Beauty and the Beast style of vocals is actually quite strong, from Cathrine and Ronny Thorsen. Plus some nice cleans by Kjetil Nordhus.

The opening track "Ecstatic" kicks things off with lots of different vocalists, starting with a male choir, before the aforementioned 3 vocalists perform their respective parts. The choir sounds so emotionless yet they paint the atmosphere with emotion. You don't really hear a lot of extreme gothic metallers add electronic synth effects to turn this place into a haunted carnival, but it's what they do in that epic banger. And that's just the beginning of the adventure... "A Fate Sealed in Red" seals that eerie stylistic motive further, with the orchestrated synths and female singing not too far off from Dark Moor at that time. "Crashing Down" crashes through and speeds along as if you're in a deadly maze trying to find a way out. "Obedience in the Absence of Logic" has nothing absent in the sound the band has constructed.

"Liquid View" brings back some of the melodeath from the first two albums, though of course, it's never the fast thrashy style ala The Haunted/Disarmonia Mundi. Then we head into "Denial and Pride" which is exceptional but barely reaching standout status. "The Call of Lust" is filled with gothic energy, fitting with its title.

"Splendid Coma Visions" has the strongest synergy in music and lyrics to make this song memorable. You can't help but shout along to the "DIE!" bridge and risk sounding like a psycho. While the growls sound electronic, there isn't much vocal distortion involved. "Bloodred Trance" closes the original album in mighty drama. The bonus Faith No More cover "Caffeine" is an odd choice for a serious band, but I'm glad they had fun. Kjetil's cleans are f***ing spot on, and Mike Patton would certainly praise that cover.

All in all, A New Dimension of Might is worth getting for some epic extreme gothic metal treats. Cathrine left the band after this album, but she would come back for the one-two glory punch of Bloodstained Endurance and Oscillation. And in between are two albums with a different side of Trail of Tears. Step into this dark dimension!

Favorites: "Ecstatic", "A Fate Sealed in Red", "Liquid View", "Splendid Coma Visions", "Bloodred Trance"

The gothic melodeath of Trail of Tears continues in their sophomore album Profoundemonium! However, the melodeath now has much more in common with 90s Dark Tranquillity than the more deathly bands out there, exemplified by the guitar harmonies and acoustic/electric interplay. The deathly side also sounds more blackened, in battle between fast and slow. The band sure know how to take their sound seriously, in contrast to the cover art that's practically a towel model photoshoot...

Profoundemonium has more ideas explored than Disclosure in Red, particularly in the orchestration and vocals. Female vocalist Helena Michaelsen lets out her singing for the last time before leaving the band after recording (later joining Epica when they were still named Sahara Dust), replaced by Cathrine Paulsen shortly after.

"Countdown to Ruin" is an epic synth-orchestral intro that should really fit well in a climatic video game scene. Then "Driven Through the Ruins" drives through with the usual gothic melodeath, picking up where their debut left off. "Fragile Emotional Disorder" also has clean singing, this time coming from guest vocalist Kjetil Nordhus, best known as the lead vocalist of Green Carnation, and having a more prominent role in Trail of Tears' next 3 albums.

We get a cool standout in the title track to level up the flow with Jonathan Perez's powerful drumming to keep things moving. "Sign of the Shameless" shows that there's no shame in what the band can do with their sound. "In Frustration's Preludium" is another interlude, and what's interesting is, the piano melody at 0:40 sounds a lot like the intro riff melody that kicks off Amorphis' "Into Hiding". Although it can be considered a coincidence, I can totally understand if Amorphis left a profound influential mark in Trail of Tears' sound. It segues to highlight "In Frustration's Web" which has strong Sabbath-ish riffing. Also, at over 3 and a half minutes in, it's that "Into Hiding" melody again!

The otherwise great soprano vocals of Helena seem to take a toll in "Released at Last". It's not bad, but there could've been better control. "Image of Hope" has more of the gothic melodies of Edge of Sanity and mid-90s Paradise Lost. "Disappointment's True Face" is the ultimate highlight for me, with the riffing and vocals sounding industrial without altering much of the usual sound. "The Haunted" once again shows that melodeath doesn't have to be as thrashy as the band The Haunted.

Profoundemonium is another step in the journey of Trail of Tears with a little more to offer than Disclosure in Red. This is the kind of deathly symphonic gothic metal I need without it having to be as overly melodic as Sirenia and Tristania. The second time can make a promising sign....

Favorites: "Driven Through the Ruins", "Profoundemonium", "In Frustration's Web", "Image of Hope", "Disappointment's True Face"

We all have the kind of music to, y'know, be able to concentrate deeply and escape into another world. For many outsiders out there, it might be jazz or classical, right? But for us metalheads, you know what we like. And I have the go-to band for this kind of escapism...

Trail of Tears stand out with their own beautiful sound of atmospheric gothic melodeath. Their debut Disclosure in Red and follow-up Profoundemonium start off their sound smoothly. I'm not as big of a fan of epic gothic metal as I was in my teens, but here it's blended with dark melodeath for enchanting majesty! Sweet melodies with angelic singing fit together alongside deathly rhythms and demonic growls. Helena Iren Michaelsen can even switch from operatic soprano to Cranberries-style rock vocals at ease.

The band crashes in right away with "When Silence Cries" with black metal-ish riffing that clearly shows the Norwegian black metal scene bleeding crimson into the band's influences, alongside Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery with its E-flat tuning, occasional blasts, and the alternation between growls and female singing. A truly powerful start! Some retro synths can be heard in "The Daughters of Innocence" to make things more interesting, as opposed to the orchestration and piano in subsequent albums. There's more vocal variation in "The Day We Drowned" with Helena's operatic side sounding quite impressive. Heavenly bliss flows through the acoustic bridge of "Mournful Pigeon".

"Swallowed Tears" once again has a bit of black metal elements in the arpeggios and blast beats. "Illusion?" is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful tracks I heard in gothic metal, and that's saying something considering I'm not into a lot of ballads. A dark serenade of lost love and depression. "Enigma of the Absolute" continues those clean sections of orchestrated synths and Helena's emotional singing while making room for some heaviness.

"Words of the Fly" is another melodic track with Helena singing beautifully like an angel, practically outshining The Gathering's Anneke van Giersbergen. "Temptress" brings in a bit of the gothic doom of Within Temptation at that time with a magic touch. "The Burden" is the band's longest song at 8 minutes, giving the album a nice somber ending.

Disclosure in Red is all about the interplay, including the alternation between female singing and male growling, and the keyboards and guitars, all in gentle flow. It's rare for any death metal subgenre to have such soothing mournful breaks. Opeth is another band that can go from deathly to soft so easily, and that aspect was quite plain to hear at that time. It's astonishing how much my appreciation for Trail of Tears grew in just less than a year. Their debut shall be for anyone with sense of darkness and diversity....

Favorites: "When Silence Cries", "The Day We Drowned", "Mournful Pigeon", "Illusion?", "Words of the Fly"

Having kept a distance away from Tiamat for over a couple years, I decided it was time to get back in touch with this band's material, starting with their live EP The Sleeping Beauty. The show was recorded 30 years before this review in Israel, the one country I'm forbidden from entering. The recording is raw with no overdubs or mixing, resulting in lo-fi production that still sounds nice and clear.

The EP is overlooked and underrated, and fans of the band's earlier material should give it a listen. The 5 songs are from the albums The Astral Sleep and Clouds. Maybe someday I can check out the band's live rendition of the Wildhoney album, but for now, let's look back at those good ol' death-doom days...

Opening the show is Clouds' first track "In a Dream", starting with crushing slowness before speeding up in the riffing and soloing. Some nice synth-keys segue into "Ancient Entity" from The Astral Sleep, which is quite awesome and straight. Midway through is a cool breakdown.

The title track of this release, "The Sleeping Beauty" continues the eerie slowness of Clouds. A nice atmosphere is added from the leads. "Mountain of Doom" reigns as the best highlight here. The cool intro leads to killer riffing. There's even a speedy solo later on in the song. "Angels Far Beyond" is a solid finale for the show, with great riffing in the middle. Afterwards, there are two minutes of silence before a mysterious synth outro that sounds like it can be the intro for My Dying Bride's "The Cry of Mankind".

The Sleeping Beauty: Live in Israel is a great recommendation for fans of early Tiamat. It's definitely worth picking up for those fans. As much as I like this release though, there are other bands to look out for with that kind of beauty....

Favorites (one per album): "The Sleeping Beauty", "Mountain of Doom"

When progressive metal was first starting off in the 80s, it was more melodic than in subsequent decades. Those were the times when the two founding bands of the genre, Queensryche and Fates Warning were associated with classic heavy metal, though Dream Theater would then sever those ties with their pure melodic progressive metal sound. In between was an album from a band that would mix the genre with another Guardians genre, one that would've appealed to me more 10 years ago... Power metal.

You know how happy power metal sounds in their riffs, leads, and choruses to sing along to, but back then, bands of that style had a darker direction. Fates Warning at that time added some heavy riffing and lyrics of death and religion to their power-ish progressive metal. Adramelch does the same here. Not as heavy, but quite dark...

"Fearful Visions" begins ominously with mysterious keys and choir that have a bit of a gothic vibe. Then the progressive/power metal action kicks off, and Vittorio Ballerio starts singing. While not hitting the highs as powerfully as Queensryche's Geoff Tate, his accented desperation fits well with the song's theme of a desolated city of peasants. It's a great opening track to let you know what to expect in the album, high-level riffing leading up to a climatic ending. Seriously, I love the riffing that takes me through the Black Death without actually experiencing the deadly plague. There's more of this divine music in "Zephirus". The title track shines very well in the progressiveness, while not drifting too far off from the power metal side.

"Lamento" is kind of a bland acoustic interlude. Despite its blandness, there is a medieval atmosphere that actually sounds promising and can work well as a soundtrack to a Dungeons and Dragons fantasy game, but it just fades out. So yeah, quite anticlimactic. This is made up for by "Decay (Saver Comes)" with solid wailing vocals, especially in the ending over a gloomy melody as it fades out more appropriately, a bit like the end of Fates Warning's The Spectre Within. The interesting "Was Called Empire" is full-on power metal with some speedy Iron Maiden-infused riffing and vocal glory.

"Eyes of Alabaster" once again shows that when it comes to progressiveness, there's a major difference between the 80s power metal of this band and the modern technical-thrash of Vektor. Here we have the finale "Dreams of a Jester" that summarizes the great aspects of the album and ending it all in a way that never ceases to amaze me. That would certainly make me up for more of this progressive power metal sound if I didn't p*ssy out of there.

All in all, Irae Melanox shall appeal to fans of power metal who would like to hear the US and European styles blended together with early progressive metal. Not quite the perfect spark for a heavier metalhead like me, but there's a charm of uniqueness within....

Favorites: "Fearful Visions", "Irae Melanox", "Was Called Empire", "Dreams of a Jester"

Trail of Tears is a Norwegian band known for their original extreme gothic metal sound. They were also known for some turbulence in the lineup, facing many different changes. Just before the release of their previous album Existentia, all the members except founding harsh vocalist Ronny Thorsen left the band. The fate of the band was left uncertain until a few months later when several new members joined in, along with female vocalist Cathrine Paulsen, who was in their 2002 album A New Dimension of Might. You might know a few of the other vocalists from other bands; Helena Iren Michaelsen in Sahara Dust (pre-Epica), Kjetil Nordhus (male vocalist) in Green Carnation, and Emmanuelle Zoldan and Ailyn in Sirenia. But the quick-paced operatic vocals of Paulsen are an essential part of one of the finest extreme gothic metal albums around!

Trail of Tears was known as one of the earlier developing bands of Norwegian gothic metal alongside The Sins of Thy Beloved and Tristania. Unlike the former that split up after two albums and the latter that took on a less extreme sound, Trail of Tears started mixing the genre with melodic death metal in the second half of the 2000s, with death growls provided as usual by Thorsen. However, there's more female singing than death growling that causes this band to be like a darker Epica. With all that said, the band is up to exploring different directions for something so special and unique.

I love opener "The Feverish Alliance" with exemplifies this gothic/symphonic death metal sound, complete with choirs. "Once Kissed by the Serpent (Twice Bitten by Truth)" has more of this symphonic direction of destruction. The female vocals appear a little more that seem to overpower the death growls/screams that appear in the verses. Switching to softer gears is the title track, especially in ethereal sections of female vocals and violin. It really shows the many twists Paulsen can pull without having to come up for air. You can say the same thing about Thorsen's dark growling intensity that fit well with the guitars and drums. Now that's true Norwegian extreme gothic metal! "Triumphant Gleam" has some epic symphonics that might've planted the seed for Lorna Shore's symphonic aspect.

More of the melodic/harsh blend can be found "In the Valley of Ashes". Then "A Storm at Will" appears right in the middle of the album as a Nightwish-esque ballad. Paulsen's delightful vocals shine over symphonic and background choirs. Although I've lost interest in the ethereal symphonic metal of Nightwish, this song makes a classic highlight with its spiritual lyrics, "Leave your broken dreams, alone in despair, stay in that place, and I will be here". After that, "Take Aim. Reclaim. Prevail" has strong symphonics and vocals from both Paulsen and Thorsen with dark lyrics. "The Desperation Corridors" reminds me of Amaranthe if there were symphonics instead of electronics.

"Farewell to Sanity" is another one of my favorite songs here, beginning like a funeral dirge before switching to the usual heaviness and vocal alternations. Shining high is the instrumentation, especially the guitars over the percussion. And there's more of the harsh lyrics. Then "Dead End Gaze" has the kind of metal the heavier fans find listenable. Closing with another favorite, "Faith Comes Knocking" has amazing symphonics and eerie wickedness. There's also a great bonus track, "Onward March the Merciless".

Ronny Thorsen and co. have a masterpiece that I'm glad to have revisited after a few years. This is true extreme gothic metal! The dark lyrics and deathly growls are in perfect blend with the epic music and operatic female vocals, all in grand value. Bloodstained Endurance really deserves profuse attention!

Favorites: "The Feverish Alliance", "Bloodstained Endurance", "Triumphant Gleam", "A Storm at Will", "Farewell to Sanity", "Faith Comes Knocking"

I can find brilliance in many places. Some filled with upbeat energy, others filled with downbeat despair. Doom metal/death-doom has developed in several countries like Sweden, the UK, and the US. Fans of the genre can handle the sadness and mortality detailed in the songs. Death-doom is considered quite unique for mixing the wickedness of the former genre with the melancholy of the latter. One of those bands was Katatonia at that time, but I gave up on listening to that band and much of The Fallen genres because I had enough of the depressiveness. I might just make a comeback though, with the spin-off band of Jonas Renkse and Fred Norrman, October Tide!

This album can be considered by many to be a bridge between the first two Katatonia albums, though the album was released two years after it was recorded, with Brave Murder Day released in the middle year. With this October Tide album encounter, the perfection of those heavy guitars and atmospheric keyboards from those Katatonia albums re-entered my mind, along with the more deathly elements. Renkse performs his final growled vocals before health issues restricted him to only clean singing in subsequent Katatonia albums. With those vocals perfectly fitting the melodic atmosphere, it made me regret my move away from the earlier albums of his main band. The guitars sound heavy while staying spacey and aren't as meandering as Opeth, which is why that band became another one I lost interest in just recently (SAD).

Opening the album is the grand "12 Days of Rain" with perhaps one of the strongest slow doomy riffs ever. The verses have a similar vibe to early 90s Paradise Lost, with Renkse's vocals unleashed. Keeping that stage set is "Ephemeral".

Same with "All Painted Cold" which has some Sabbath/Maiden-like mid-tempo heavy metal in the opening riffing before slowing down as expected in this album. You can almost think of this like In Flames at the time, but slower. When "Sightless" appears, you can imagine 80s Queensryche blended together with Edge of Sanity, sounding graceful in this sea of brutal somberness.

There's more of the slow decay in "Losing Tomorrow". It is more of a short ambient gothic rock track with a bit of Renkse's clean singing that would replace his growls as his main vocal style in subsequent albums. That song is this album's "Day"! Then "Blue Gallery" takes on a faster pace, though it's not without its lyrics of suicidal lamentations. "Infinite Submission" will keep you aware in attention as the melodies play while Renkse performs his last ever growls before they crumble away. With beautiful ambience, you might think there should be something like an ambient score. One final riff ends the album, sounding huge yet with a simple chord that carries you to the finish line.

Rain Without End is one of the best early Swedish death-doom albums I've heard in a long time. Anyone looking for melodic doom metal with deathly riffs and growls have come to the right place. Sweden is a country with one of the most diverse metal scenes around, with lots of different sounds like the melodic black/death of Dissection. The earliest releases of some genres are ones that really embrace them and prove to be prime examples of their respective scenes. This brand of death-doom is the right kind of doom I need, never as droning as funeral doom and never as old-school as traditional doom. So come one come all to the bleak Swedish death-doom realms. Rain Without End shall be your starting point!

Favorites: "12 Days of Rain", "All Painted Cold", "Sightless", "Infinite Submission"

The tough thing about checking out some demo EPs from bands, including splits, is that you end up thinking "What the f*** happened there?!" and then you realized, "Oh this is just a demo" while irritated about a band you love sounding this sh*tty. In saying that, Parkway Drive would definitely improve in a short matter of time and start making killer albums that cement them as one of my favorite metalcore bands.

The only track that closely matches their later better quality is "Hollow Man", which would be re-vamped in their 3rd album Deep Blue with more anger and improved production. A couple other tracks, each from one of two other bands in the split, Think Straight and Shoot to Kill, are also quite solid. Think Straight's "Make a Move" is a full-on blast of melodic death metal/metalcore that I can definitely rock out to as much as Parkway Drive's material. Shoot to Kill's "D.J.C." is the 5-minute closing epic of the entire EP, and there's even a bit of influence that I can hear from This Day Forward at that time.

But other than those 3 tracks, this split EP has only as much quality as the only images of its cover that can be found on the internet. Nonetheless, I'm glad to let out my thoughts about the EP here on this site, so thanks Ben for adding it. All I'm gonna say is, Parkway Drive's official discography is so much f***ing better....

Favorites (only one song per band): "Hollow Man", "Make a Move", "D.J.C."

Despite being a fan of an industrial metal and enjoying a few Ministry albums, I still prefer the genre when it's more experimental or, in some cases, cyber. With that said, I've realized that I have not yet took on what is considered one of the most essential albums in all of industrial metal, Ministry's Psalm 69. It is the final piece of the band's first industrial metal trilogy puzzle, so let's get right on it!

Psalm 69 is a step up from both of the band's previous two albums. It carries on the industrial metal direction that the duo of The Land of Rape and Honey and The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste kick-started. The thrashy instrumentation in Psalm 69 is something to enjoy, though it wouldn't make its comeback until Houses of the Molé which is one other great album but not as full-form as this one. The album, officially titled ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ, is pretty d*mn excellent. Following the band's successful live album In Case You Didn't Feel like Showing Up, Al Jourgensen was determined to make an album so explosive yet appealing to the mainstream.

Opening things up in madness is "N.W.O." It starts with a sample of a siren alarm over the first riff, and the band set up the stage. "Just One Fix" is a pretty great song, especially during that hard-hitting breakdown over the 3-minute mark. It really can be worth "driving down the highway at night". However, there might be something missing, I don't know. Vocalist Al Jourgensen can do sinister laughing. This industrial rock/metal tune can also work well for fighting a zombie apocalypse, or at least that's what it sounds like. The f***ing world needs to be fixed, doesn't it? Also it reminds me of Rammstein's "Du Hast". Co-written by Chris Connelly, "TV II" shreds through pure anger. And holy f***, those are some blazing black metal-level blast-beats there!

"Hero" hops along with some thrashy riffing and D-beat drums. While not really the best here, this is one that can get you headbanging or at least head-nodding. Still this track is quite fun and it has a great midsection solo. The crazy highlight "Jesus Built My Hotrod" I'm already familiar with via the Lamb of God/Burn the Priest cover. The song has an interesting narrative and fun lyrics, sung by the Butthole Surfers' Gibby Haynes. Another favorite here, "Scarecrow" is an 8-minute slow industrial metal epic with samples from the 1973 film of the same title. There are some harmonic guitars and a bit of a gothic-ish vibe. A pleasant slow trip through hell-fueled harmonies.

The title track has the best of the band's heavy side. However, what kills the song's highlight status are those f***ing opening samples! As much as I find the background choir epic, the repeated sample of a child saying "I think that my heart has been touched by Christ" is quite annoying, going on for the first minute and a half. But at least the mind-blowing moshpit-inducing drumming makes up for that. And of course, samples are still a nice essential touch in industrial metal. "Corrosion" is much more of a plain industrial song with a dance-y beat. It's not weak at all, sounding quite interesting as a different track towards the end of the album. "Grace" is the perfect ending here. While the more industrial sound is still on, samples of "armageddon, doomsday, apocalypse" can be heard before some crushing harmonies to wrap things up.

The band started falling off a bit in creativity a few years after this album was released, when Jourgensen was arrested for drug possession and subsequently moved away from drugs and alcohol for some time. However, their later material would still please some fans while not reaching the f***ing heights of the first industrial metal trilogy. A few might argue about the EBM Twitch or even the synthpop With Sympathy being the band's breakthrough in the commercial perspective, but Psalm 69 is considered by many to stand as the true pinnacle of the Ministry's tenure. H*ll, there is more sludgy heaviness than there is pretty melody, and that was the band's right move!

Favorites: "Just One Fix", "TV II", "Jesus Built My Hotrod", "Scarecrow", "Grace"

Power metal was my favorite genre when I was a young teen. I even liked the more cheesy and uplifting kind. But of course, my taste changed into heavier and more serious modern metal genres. I had a couple-year attempt in reviving my interest in power metal that ultimately fell apart. Nonetheless, I'm sometimes up to making an occasional revisit to one of the power metal bands I used to like, and one cool band honoring the uplifting kind is Freedom Call!

Released around the band's 25th anniversary, The M.E.T.A.L. Fest is a live CD/Blu-ray recording of two live shows from the prior year, the first one at the titular Metalfest in the Czech Republic and the second one at Regensburg’s Eventhall in Germany. Get ready for a smooth ride of 14 speedy anthems with happy melody and magical choruses...

But before this live presentation, we have a brand-new studio track from the band in honor of the festival, the title track of this release! It's quite smooth with infectious vocal delivery from frontman Chris Bay. And I'm not ashamed to admit that this is the ultimate highlight of the entire album! The main live part of the release begins with an "Intro" to get you pumped up as the crowd chants "M! E! T-A-L!" Then comes the strong opener of the show, "Union of the Strong". Fast bass and drums and melodic guitars speed along in catchy verses and anthemic choruses. As you listen to the song, you can already the band rising to the top of glory. Great hooks and high-level guitars makes the song one of the best of the band. There's some more true glory in "Tears of Babylon", with galloping background melody from background horns like a medieval fanfare. The memorability of the album Eternity can be heard even before we can hear songs from that album. "Spirit of Daedalus'' has some excellent power metal that isn't too far off from earlier legends like Gamma Ray and Edguy, even adding some heavier guitar riffing to the melodic music. "Sail Away" has more of the band's signature sound within the same mid-tempo marching tempo as "Tears of Babylon", while having effective guitar melody and background choir.

Get ready for some action-packed adventure in what's pretty much this release's epic "Metal Invasion", that can be as kick-A as the epics from the band's first two albums. There's lots of speedy riffing and drums that start after a massive choral intro, a glorious Blind Guardian-like combination! The title track of Freedom Call's latest studio album M.E.T.A.L. honors this classic melodic side of heavy metal with lyrics centered around the genre, the way HammerFall would do it. With such addictive honesty in these lyrics, you know how much power metal joy you're getting. This German band can make a somewhat Christian power metal anthem with ''111 - The Number of the Angels''. You'll be happy to hear such optimistic melody, as the rhythms and vocals keep you in attention. "Ace of the Unicorn" is a strange as sh*t title, and the same can be said for the song itself that sounds way too sweet compared to the other songs in both the studio album and its live release, especially in the chorus. The immortal "theme song" for the band, "Freedom Call" makes up for that a lot as a brilliant power metal anthem, beginning with a rising alternating melody between the guitars and the audience.

The heavy yet uplifting power metal tune "Power & Glory" has perky bagpipe that once again makes the song too happy and worth skipping. The glorious next track "Metal is for Everyone" has most of the more melodic metal genres formed into one. There's a bit of crushing riffing, but the catchy chorus shines among it all. "Warriors" shows Chris Bay's melody in both the vocals and guitars with not much technical. It is an upbeat rock-on track plays out quite as well as Edguy and Stratovarius along with the catchier hits from the band's first two albums. Now "Far Away" I have mixed feelings for. It throws back to the positivity of Crystal Empire, a little too much with the overwhelming bagpipes, but some sections are still well-done. One final standout "Land of Light" can be considered the "Final Countdown" for this band, with the mid-tempo mix of horns and guitar and the fact that it's the band's signature song. Then the "Outro" ends the adventure, with a reprise to the "Intro" and the opening melody of "Spirit of Daedalus''.

Freedom Call can make anyone smile with their happy good-mood power metal sound, whether in a small concert or big festival. Although this live release is a pretty great throwback to when I enjoyed power metal so much, I think replacing a few happy-joy-joy songs with ones from Stairway to Fairyland and The Circle of Life is all I wish for....

Favorites (one per album including new studio track): "The M.E.T.A.L. Fest", "Union of the Strong", "Tears of Babylon", "Metal Invasion", "M.E.T.A.L.", "Freedom Call", "Power & Glory", "Metal is for Everyone", "Far Away"

Well I decided to give some listening and a review to Unbroken's debut Ritual, and it's just not meant for my ears. It sounds too much like they tried to combine the hardcore of Strife at the time with the thrash of Anthrax and the in-between of Suicidal Tendencies, with less metal emphasis, in more of a thrashy hardcore mix than metalcore, close to Neurosis' first two albums. "Zero Hour" is a decent metallic standout, but that's pretty much it. I like their second album Life Love Regret far more than this hardcore sh*t....

Favorites (only one I decently like): "Zero Hour"

There was one song from this album that I discovered via a YouTube ad that made me up to checking out this band's material, which we'll get to later in the review. I decided to check out their debut album Vastaus before getting to this album. It was decently good, but there were a few odd aspects, to me anyway, one of them being Finnish lyrics. After that, I knew I would have to go their second album that includes the main reason for my discovery of this band. It was only A MATTER OF TIME...

Alase is a Finnish post-/progressive metal band. They blend different styles in atmospheric melody, even beyond what's conventional in metal. A Matter of Time is a pretty good 9-song journey, and the English lyrics make things more understandable.

First song "Understanding the Waves" starts in soft light before the heavy darkness. The music and vocals seem to connect differently from one another. "Clear Sky is Not a Curse" has slow atmosphere despite its short length. The clean leads in the middle have good weight. There are nice harmonic vocals, but again, it's not music-connected. "Fate's Intervention" is heavier with harsh vocals, almost like they're blending Katatonia's recent material with Brave Murder Day. They shine against those parallel cleans.

"Unburden" has better consistency, but it seems like any excitement is out of reach. The atmosphere really could've had a greater approach. However, "Life Ahead" has a nice developing charm. "The Source" is the song that made me up to checking out this band. Atmospheric bass and vocals lead to a well-done blend of heavy and ethereal.

"Out of Place" takes on a darker tone. Sadly, the direction is, like the title suggests, out of place. Some sections can be a bit confusing. "Feeling Free" is short with consistent melody. Despite being a soft ballad, it's quite favorable. "Ajan Kysymys" is a heavier closing track. It's basically the album's title track as it's the title in Finnish. Bass, leads, and vocals are all in a nice blend. It's a very cohesive song and my second favorite here behind "The Source".

All in all, A Matter of Time is good but in need of some improvement. This atmospheric progressive metal sound is quite nice. While the vocals have diverse variety, they should've connected better with the music. No matter the band's intentions, anyone should experience this ethereal melody....

Favorites: "Fate's Intervention", "The Source", "Feeling Free", "Ajan Kysymys"

Alase is a practically unknown yet underrated band. They had released a string of singles with drummer Janne Kusmin before he left to continue his focus on Kalmah. Taking his place was Toni Paananen, and then the time came for the band to make their debut album...

This band is quite atmospheric, the same kind of atmosphere you would find in The Ocean and 21st century Katatonia. Alase cooked up a cauldron in Vastaus (Answer) that isn't about disharmonic cacophony, but instead, smooth post-progressive metal atmosphere. The vocals that alternate between clean and harsh perform mostly Finnish lyrics, which doesn't let me enjoy the album as much as I should, but it still comes out decently well.

The title track is a short slow intro. "Näkyvä" (Visible) is the first full song, and it has dark melancholy mixed with dreamy air to make a unique blend. "Binary Stars" is the only song in the album to have English lyrics. With that and its blend of beauty and heaviness, it's a well-done highlight.

The ethereal "Osa Minua" (Part of Me) is not something to dance to in a party. It's worth listening to while floating in your stream of consciousness. A mentionable track to start the second side is "Vaienneet" (Silenced). It's a soft intermission of beautiful atmosphere. It offers all that you need, but there's not much to say about it.

Harsh vocals can be heard greatly in "Vapaaksi Merkitty" (Marked as Free) (why am I visualizing a mermaid kid cat?) push things along like a tidal wave. That's probably the heaviest song in the album! What I enjoy is "Riisuttu" (Stripped) which, despite its title, builds up slowly high, approaching the album's climax. "Haukka" (Hawk) ends the album with a solid blend of the ethereal space of Hawkwind and the metal serenity of 2000s Amorphis.

Vastaus starts the band off in a somewhat good level, but I feel there could've been a lot more improvement, along with more English lyrics. The band would achieve that potential with another release to follow....

Favorites: "Binary Stars", "Vaienneet", "Riisuttu", "Haukka"

If you thought Chapter I was bizarre and disturbing, let me tell you, there's more of that in Chapter II. Electronic rhythms come in to guide you through a surreal yet pleasant nightmare. This unique motive of adding true crime lyrics to gothic-ish industrial rock/metal I have more leeway towards than I would have when I was younger.

"Jim Jones" is based on the Jonestown Massacre, a mass murder-suicide in which approximately 909 people died, a 3rd of that amount being children, and most of them drank Flavor Aid cyanide. Jim Jones was the cult leader, and he shot himself in the head. The song is darker than even the more extreme metal genres, and yet I'm intrigued. Just remember, life is too precious to be laid down.

"Tyler Hadley" is one of the most disturbing songs I heard in industrial metal, and metal in general. An industrial metal gone trap song about a teen who bludgeoned his parents to death with a hammer, hid the bodies in the closet, and threw a party, then he was arrested the next day and sentenced to life in prison. The song is pretty great though. "You should feel lucky, why don't you feel lucky?" Finally, the emotional "Katherine Knight" has a bit of a Lady Gaga-like pop vibe. It's based on a woman who murdered her husband and was intending to make herself and her children cannibals to that man. So crazy, yet the song mesmerizes me.

Innovative melody is twisted with the darkest real-life stories to ever occur, thanks to Skynd and the ongoing industrial party they've been having. It's an amazing experience that's filled with horror while quite inspiring!

Favorites: "Jim Jones", "Katherine Knight"

This here is gonna be a two-part review as I explore one of the darkest non-extreme metal bands I've heard in my life, the first part being their first EP. Skynd is known for basing their songs on true crime, including notable real-life deaths and murders. The creepiness may not be for the faint of heart, but it works well for the experienced...

"Elisa Lam" is based on a college student whose body was mysteriously found in a cistern at the Cecil Hotel. It's a little too deranged for me to love, but still quite solid. "Gary Heidnik" is based on a murderer who brutally tortured and/or killed several women and hid them in a chamber under his basement. The song features Jonathan Davis of Korn, and has more of an electro-industrial sound with a bit of pop and trap. With that said, I like it!

The clever "Richard Ramirez" is my favorite of this EP. Skynd herself sings more naturally here, and it's quite fantastic, though I'm OK with the strange effects. Richard Ramirez was another serial killer, known as the Night Stalker.

So far the music is so disturbing, and while I do enjoy it, I can understand why other people don't. To be continued in Chapter II....

Favorites: "Gary Heidnik", "Richard Ramirez"

Lard's final release before a 20-year hiatus is, similarly to The Power of Lard, a 3-track EP with each track having a different style. They're a few outtakes from their two full-length albums. Is this EP worth closing the initial part of the career? Well...

The 7-minute title track is, in a word, HILARIOUS. Let me tell you, this is the band's attempt to parody the cheesy classic 70s rock of Aerosmith and AC/DC. The lyrics are quite ridiculous, especially the chorus that keeps declaring that this kind of sound must die. Biafra seems to do a good job impersonating Axl Rose of Guns n' Roses. You never usually hear something both headbanging and hilarious at the same time, and people say only Spinal Tap could do something like that. It's definitely a break from the punky attitude of bands like Dead Kennedys (Jello Biafra's former band). It's just so d*mn funny. I'm not sure what I was thinking adding that song to the next Sphere playlist.

The next track "Volcanus 2000 (We Wipe the World)" has the band's usual industrial rock/metal first introduced in the 1988 Ministry album, tackling those who want to imitate Nine Inch Nails. There are some people who think this kind of sound is stinky garbage, but if you get more to the sound like I am, you might some decent enjoyment. "Ballad of Marshall Ledbetter" stomps with the industrial metal sound once more.

So we have one track parodying 70s rock, and two industrial rock/metal songs. All I can say is, Lard could've had a much better way than this EP to sign off.....

Favorites: all tracks, though the title track isn't too well-fitting

Anyone who thought the Firestorm EP was the beginning of the band's career would be surprised to find this EP from 1992 that has the metallic hardcore sound the band is known for, but not as much impact. This EP was re-released nationwide via Victory Records in the same year as the release of their debut album Destroy the Machines. While it's not as strong as their subsequent releases, All Out War has good ambition. The straight edge themes of war for animal rights having already started from the lyrics and cover art, attacking humanity's cruelty and greed. Karl Buechner and co. have their hardcore charm despite the drums and guitars sounding a bit wandering here.

The title opener stands against the sloppy production and comes close to surpassing "Firestorm" as the band's best classic track. "Ecocide" is another special track. There are stronger lyrics that won't go too well in a modern recording as it had when it came out 30 years before this review. What makes this really special is, it was re-recorded for their 3rd full album Breed the Killers.

The last two songs are not as spectacular as the first two, but nonetheless, the EP shows a solid start of the band's journey greatly improved by their mid-90s material. Although I wouldn't recommend All Out War to newcomers, unless they're going chronologically, the EP will interest fans of the band that have made straight edge history....

Favorites (only songs I really like): "All Out War", "Ecocide"

Those crushing Danish doomsters Saturnus seemed to have disappeared for a decade between this album and the last. Their comeback album can also mark my solid return to one of the most depressive genres around, doom metal, specifically death-doom. A couple years ago, I decided that I was not up for the slow sadness of this band and the Peaceville 3, but maybe this album has a glimmer of hope (ironic, right?) in my rediscovery of the genre. Saturnus has proven themselves to be the Danes' response to My Dying Bride and the early/mid-90s eras of Anathema and Paradise Lost with their first 4 albums, each with an average 5-years interval in between.

Fast forward through a decade of silence, an EP of Evinta-style remakes of earlier songs and demos of new ones were made, hinting at something big coming up... And finally came album #5, The Storm Within! As usual, vocalist Thomas A.G. Jensen and bassist Brian Hansen lead their emotional gothic death-doom group through the modern harshness of our world. Will they still carry the storm?

The title opener is one of two 11-minute epics, and it displays the band's haunting darkness from the start. Soft piano and acoustic melancholy make a sweet opening buildup in the first 3 minutes. Then the storm begins as the death growls and guitar heaviness pour down like massive rain. Jensen's cavernous vocals have strong potential, along with dramatic spoken passages. The slow pacing allows the guitar shines in stellar chords and heavy doom riffing. A massively effective opening piece! "Chasing Ghosts" is the second 11-minute epic here blends in bleak atmosphere with soft guitar air, almost like both the early and late eras of Anathema combined, together with traces of My Dying Bride's doomy sound. It's so monstrous yet beautiful, especially in the death growls and guitar that any of the darker metalheads can be up for. Just from those first two tracks alone, you're already getting a lot of dark doom and gloom!

Adding more of the northern European melodeath-doom into the mix, "The Calling" stands out with a more upbeat rock-like pace similar to the mid-90s albums of Katatonia and Amorphis. It's a nice change of pace after those slow epics, that's worth total replay value. The upbeat guitar shines like a warm sun over the cold world. The soft ode "Even Tide" has clean singing by Paul Kuhr of Novembers Doom. Perhaps the darkest song I've heard in a long time is "Closing the Circle".

Focused on mid-paced melody again is "Breathe New Life" that once again keeps things animated (not like a cartoon of course). It's shorter than all the other tracks at just 5 minutes in length, yet it seems to go downhill a bit. The final track "Truth" reaches a searing intense climax before a gentle ending.

Honestly, I've forgotten all about Saturnus until I found out about this album that I didn't expect would come but I'm glad it did. It's a very good accomplishment to continue this band's dark journey. The more depressive metalheads can dwell for eternity in the nice melodic bleakness. Doom metal fans should definitely get chase this great storm. I don't know if I'll be up for a sequel in the future (hopefully not too distant), but it's great to hear the Danish death-doom masters strike again....

Favorites: "The Storm Within", "Chasing Ghosts", "The Calling", "Closing the Circle"

Time for my next attempt at finding the appeal of crossover thrash. I find a couple genres like crossover thrash and grindcore easier to digest in small amounts like EPs. When those genres are focused on small abrasive songs, they work best when the tracks are the same amount as in a typical album of most other genres while keeping the track lengths, and sometimes even lower than that. That's why I barely had any trouble with the Corrosion of Conformity album I reviewed.

And now for this EP by modern crossover thrashers Municipal Waste! The Last Rager was released between the band's 6th and 7th albums. I was hoping to feel the hype thrash fans had over this release, but the first half turned out be a disappointment for me...

"Wave of Death" shows what I mean by playing the EXACT SAME RIFF in two minutes, spiced up only slightly by gang vocals including the title occasionally being shouted and a guitar that's just too abruptly short. Other than those two aspects, that song sounds more like one of those riff loop tracks than anything. Next up, "Car-Nivore (Street Meat)" has what fans of the band would expect, relentless yells and stampeding riffs. They're not totally bad, but I wished they could've interested more.

"Rum for Your Life" is far better! Here we have some wonderful riffing played fast with a bit of groove. There's great taste in the bass, drums, and vocals as well to remind fans of the band's earlier material and me of the heavier thrash bands I've encountered. The best song here! What's also great is the title finale. The first minute might remind some of the "O.D." crossover thrash bands (fans of the genre know what they are), and the raging combo continues on with great guitars. It actually sounds really unique here, almost as if the band were from 35 years prior to the EP and brought their sound to life in these modern times.

All in all, the first half of the EP comes out as disappointing, yet the second half clearly shows a better side of crossover thrash. This EP was a nice thing to keep Municipal Waste fans' spirits up while waiting in that 5-year gap between albums. A little more variety wouldn't hurt though....

Favorites: "Rum for Your Life", "The Last Rager"

Recently, Godflesh founder Justin Broadrick has been diagnosed with autism and PTSD. There are some people (such as myself, diagnosed with autism at age 2 instead of 52) who are a little surprised, while others, mostly long-time fans, had that suspicion for some time. His anxiety and shyness when it comes to live performances is one hint, having once gotten to the point where a panic attack caused the band to come to a halt for around a decade. But during that split and beyond, he created more projects. Then he reformed Godflesh with two more albums in the 2010s. And now it all leads up to the new album Purge! The title is already a giveaway about the modern updates provided to the concepts of their 1992 album Pure. Broadrick has worked together with Ben Green once again to let out some temporary relief...

Long-time fans and pretty much anyone familiar with the band's earlier material can definitely recognize the Pure sound, almost like these two albums can be connected! I'm sure some listeners can recognize some of the more classic tracks from the Pure album. Broadrick and Green's task at hand since the beginning is to unleash the robotic rhythms that have shaped up the genre they played their part in pioneering, industrial metal. Also looking back at the 80s/90s is the occasional hip-hop-ish groove that can ensure the album's variety without sounding too odd.

That rhythmic effect opens the album's first track and single "Nero", which is quite strong when mixed when the crushing vocals/guitar. The more abrasive "Land Lord" is a true standout for me, having some killer harmonic bends in the strings. "Army of Non" has the band's unabridged purity. It throws back to the glory days of Streetcleaner with the hammering and screeching guitars alongside the harsh vocals of Broadrick. The diversity in the heaviness adds to their bleak aura.

What's a bit droopy for me is "Lazarus Leper". However, the driving "Permission" is the opposite, in which noise-ridden electronic beats and dark chords, alongside the choir-like vocals sung by Broadrick.

The crawling "The Father" has an epic God/Slayer-sounding mix (I meant a mix of the bands GOD and Slayer) while in a Hymns-esque mainstream throwback. The crushing "Mythology of Self" marches with its slow drum pattern that blasts into your face with every hit. "You are the Judge, the Jury, and the Executioner" is the 8-minute epic, yet sounding simple in the beat and chord in a mesmerizing way.

The legacy of this band that has quite a 3 or 4-decade journey shows that as the two main members grow older, they can experiment with other music styles without giving a sh*t what the more critical critics think of their studio material, though live performances are a different story. Many of the band's albums are amazing with barely anything weak, but they don't reach the perfect glory of their late 80s releases. Purge is not an album that I would expect to have that past glory, while it comes close to being the best album of the new era!

Favorites: "Land Lord", "Army of Non", "The Father", "You are the Judge, the Jury, and the Executioner"

Before we get to the point of my Killswitch Engage review journey, there's one more release I forgot about until after my Atonement review. Ever since the band's switch from Roadrunner Records to Metal Blade, they stopped doing the whole "special edition" business. Fortunately, there came an opportunity to release those 6 leftover tracks. When the pandemic hit, they decided to release them as an EP in which sales would be donated to a COVID relief organization. Hence the B-Sides for Charity!

So this is kind of like what happened with Epica's The Holographic Principle and The Solace System. But here we have KSE's usual melodic metalcore. Come to think of it, the EP would've fit nicely alongside Atonement as a special edition if Metal Blade allowed that. Still I would let them be, because why jinx Atonement's perfection?

First track "To the Great Beyond" starts off sounding like the most Amon Amarth-sounding metalcore song ever, with epic-sounding guitars and drums. However, the rest of the track sounds a bit hollow when put outside of Atonement and its diverse side. "Hollow Convictions" fits better outside of Atonement due to its sludgy pace, while still a powerful highlight. The guitarwork and death growls sound not too far off from their early material. "Killing of Leviathan" is a more thrashy track, and that kind of sound I think would be better suited for a different band like As I Lay Dying. Still we have that awesome blend of deathly and melodic, and some audible bass too.

I enjoy the screaming by Adam D. in "No Devotion". Then "I Feel Alive Again" is more lively with some melody that can found in other bands like Bleeding Through, Memphis May Fire, and Demon Hunter, albeit sounding uplifting. "Prophets of Treason" is another sludgy march while having some melody from Haste the Day and a bit of the progressiveness of Anacrusis' later albums.

Half of these songs sound like they could greatly blend in with Atonement, while the other half stands perfectly where they are. And it's quite diverse for a 6-track EP, standing on the line between heaviness, melody, and experimentation. The Atonement era is still one of a couple perfect eras for this amazing band!

Favorites: "Hollow Convictions", "Killing of Leviathan", "I Feel Alive Again"

I always thought the two best Killswitch Engage albums were the best by the band. While that's still the case, Atonement has joined the 5-star club, bringing back the perfect glory of that earlier era.

You really gotta thank Jesse Leach for leveling up the awesomeness in this band. Though Howard Jones is also amazing in his vocals. The emotional majesty comes from both the melodic and hardcore sides coming together. Atonement shows the band switching from Roadrunner to Metal Blade, which I guess is why what would've been special edition bonus tracks ended up in a separate EP. This album is the band's best in over 15 years and might just be an exciting groundbreaker!

The first track and single "Unleashed" already has what's to come in this offering. Then "The Signal Fire" lights up the heavy fire, and Howard makes a small but amazing comeback in the second verse with his massive screams. The drums and guitars are so fast and furious with intense variation. Next song "Us Against the World" can provide motivation and strength for you to fight against different challenges. In the majestic highlight "The Crownless King", Killswitch Engage continue bringing back some of the earlier heaviness. Chuck Billy of Testament has brought forward enough fury for this song to have potential in the DOOM soundtrack.

"I Am Broken Too" still shows the band intensifying their sound while mostly having melodic emotion. "As Sure as the Sun Will Rise" follows that motive with more brutality in the verses. We also have the catchy "Know Your Enemy" with more hardcore yells. The mid-tempo "Take Control" shows the band having the pleasure of reinventing the wheel without breaking the original wheel.

"Ravenous" doesn't lose any melody yet they still have their metal heaviness. "I Can’t Be the Only One" has the power to inspire you to be brave enough to battle against your personal issues. "Bite the Hand That Feeds" is a killer way out.

All in all, there aren't any problems at all in Atonement. Everything is well-composed with the band's usual blend of brutal and melodic. Atonement has its strengths to give listeners the strength they need. So intense while so inspirational! This solid offering shows that the band has not lost any steam, and I look forward to reviewing the next couple releases. Bring on the fire!

Favorites: "The Signal Fire", "The Crownless King", "I Am Broken Too", "As Sure as the Sun Will Rise", "Take Control", "I Can’t Be the Only One"

The album before this one, Disarm the Descent, is a near-perfect comeback for Jesse Leach leading these melodic metalcore innovators Killswitch Engage. It's like this earlier incarnation of the band was reincarnated! And it continues on into their next album Incarnate. Although it might be a small step back for what you're expecting from this band. Still it's the right path...

While barely any of these albums can surpass the first two, it's great seeing them bringing home the delicious metalcore bacon that they're still serving all these years. And with Jesse staying with the band during the writing process, it's the first album since his earlier era in which has fully contributed.

Rising from the silent void in the intro is "Alone I Stand", blasting off with the band's signature energy. Absolutely killer! Then another favorite, "Hate By Design" has lyrics striking back against the dark hateful side of politics. "Cut Me Loose" lets loose with its beautiful riffing. Unfortunately, the chorus is too radio-friendly. It is followed by a great bridge, but the outro is also problematic. "Strength of the Mind" is about facing your past struggles head-on and overcoming them for a stronger future, "Gather all your pain and suffering, turn them into strength and weaponry". The intro melody of "Just Let Go" almost throws back to their 5th album. Fortunately, there are powerful melodies from the vocals and guitars. Nice vocals by Adam D. too! The masterpiece highlight "Embrace the Journey... Upraised" truly stands out as a strong progressive mini-journey.

"Quiet Distress" starts soft and quiet before really cranking up the speed. "Until the Day" is also fast with audible bass, though having a more simplistic structure. "It Falls on Me" hits hard and slow, sounding heavy as f***. The bridge strikes deeply with the audible bass and Jesse's cleans. The outro breakdown absolutely destroys! "The Great Deceit" fights back against the injustice of rulers. "We Carry On" has simple atmosphere with nice texture. Again, Adam's vocals give the bridge nice depth. "Ascension" is another well-done track with a fun chorus. What's also fun is the audible bass and Adam performing deep growls. The ending breakdown also rules!

Now heading into the special edition bonus tracks, "Reignite" sounds as heavy as the band's debut while having catchy melody. This hardcore side of the band never disappoints. I enjoy the riffing here. "Triumph Through Tragedy" doesn't triumph at all, sounding generic with only Adam's growls being its saving grace. "Loyalty" pummels through before making space for Jesse's clean vocal melodies. Plus one more heavy breakdown to rule them all. There's also a live performance of "In Due Time".

It's clear that Killswitch Engage continues to impress longtime fans and newcomers in this album Incarnate. While there are a few downs compared to their many ups, this album will make you up for the ride and enjoy Jesse's vocal passion. In the metalcore scene, Killswitch Engage continues to make their stand!

Favorites: "Alone I Stand", "Hate By Design", "Strength of the Mind", "Embrace the Journey... Upraised", "It Falls on Me", "Ascension", "Reignite", "Loyalty"

Killswitch Engage came back and have since continued to stay front in the melodic metalcore scene! A lot has happened in the 4 years since their strong but somewhat disappointing 5th album. All That Remains vocalist Phil Labonte took over for touring in 2010 after Howard Jones stepped down due to illness. Howard would ultimately leave the band during the writing of the band's next album Disarm the Descent. He would later form his own band Devil You Know ( Light the Torch). Labonte dismissed any rumors of joining KSE full-time. After many different auditions, original vocalist Jesse Leach decided to return. At the time, he was in a side-project with Adam D., Times of Grace. And drummer Justin Foley recorded drums for the Unearth album Darkness in the Light. Plus several other side-projects that are all different stories for another day...

Disarm the Descent is a true treat for KSE fans wanting to hear both the earlier hardcore era and the later melodic era. This album comes close to reaching the perfect glory of those first two albums. We have the usual vocal melodies, heavy riffing, booming bass, and powerful drums. Jesse still has his strength in his screams and cleans, and in some songs, Adam has his own clean singing plus some death growls. This album is quite well-thought for one leaning into the hardcore side of metalcore. Everything has gone according to plan, thanks to Jesse and his stunning voice in which barely any other vocalists can reach the same height!

Proving that last statement right, "The Hell in Me" shows that the band are indeed back, with pulverizing riffing straight from the intro onwards. Another one of my favorite tracks here is "Beyond the Flames". I enjoy the balance between growls and cleans, the latter appearing the most prominent. The riffing sounds so catchy here. We also have audible bass and killer blast beats. "The New Awakening" once again crashes in with its heavy verses and melodic chorus, and some more of the audible bass too. The main riff of "In Due Time" is pure heavy metalcore bliss. Awesome music, awesome lyrics! The motivational anthem "A Tribute to the Fallen" is also underrated with its aggressive verses and melodic choruses making a memorable blend, along with its outro that makes the song as a whole sounds like one of Parkway Drive's tracks.

"Turning Point" continues that verse/chorus aspect while adding more screams in the chorus. The riffing in the intro is also some of the best, as are the melodic chorus and soloing. Excellent drumming there too! Next track "All We Have" really fires away in the instrumentation and vocals. We have another thoughtful track in "You Don't Bleed for Me" with its ethereal bridge and more of the audible bass striking through. "The Call" is another one of the best tracks here, with his destructive growls and screams in the pre-chorus. Some of the greatest heaviness there can be found in the drums. "No End in Sight" goes speedy while staying catchy in the riffing.

"Always" is yet another one of the best songs from this band, as well as one of the first that I've found, via a music video on TV. See, fury isn't always everything in metalcore... "Time Will Not Remain" continues the fast beats, but unfortunately, it lacks some strength and originality. The clean melodies are just too generic. It just doesn't work for the standard edition that would've had a perfect 5 stars. At least one of the special edition bonus tracks "Blood Stains" captures Jesse's vocals well. The brutality and beauty fit well for the riffing rhythms and melodic leads, respectively. The drums also sound great here. "Slave to the Machine" is another weak-ish track. In an attempt at adding all they're good at into a simple 3-minute formula, it still comes out as a mess. If we were to make Disarm the Descent a perfect album, "Blood Stains" should've closed the standard edition instead of "Time Will Not Remain", which then should've been separated as a different EP along with "Slave to the Machine" and the live tracks.

Despite these slight mistakes, I would consider Disarm the Descent KSE's 4th best album behind Atonement and the first two albums. It's an impressive comeback with almost the same kind of impact as Jesse Leach's first era. He has made his return, and the heart and soul he has made for this band is unbreakable!

Favorites: "Beyond the Flames", "In Due Time", "A Tribute to the Fallen", "Turning Point", "The Call", "Always", "Blood Stains"

You know how amazing a band is when their weakest album is still strong. One tip-off of how Killswitch Engage's 5th album stands below the others is the fact this album if self-titled. Nothing wrong with that, but they already have a self-titled debut. Fans have called this 2009 album "KSE II", since it's their second self-titled album. I think it would make sense to just call this album "KSE V", since it's their 5th album overall. Still you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

Killswitch Engage has had their music spread through both the underground and the overground, and KSE V has helped them continue their reign. Again it can never top any of their other releases, but it's another proud work and the band still have their way...

One of the band's strongest opening tracks is "Never Again" with full-on guitar aggression and a clever breakdown-gone-solo. Up next, "Starting Over" is tear-jerking banger filled with metalcore emotion. Then we have another great anthem in "The Forgotten", having a bit of jazzy experimentation in the tempo changes and more of the screaming-singing vocal alternation. Next track "Reckoning" kicks things up in monstrous vengeance. However, it ends up being a bit generic.

Then things lighten up in "The Return". It's quite strong despite having just clean singing along with the pop-ish chorus. Still it's a great ballad similar to a few that they done in the past (that one reader be like "Says you not being a big fan of ballads!"). "A Light in a Darkened World" has some of their strongest guitars, drums, and vocals yet, leading to brutal breakdown and beautiful acoustic bridge. Sh*t, that song's so phenomenal! "Take Me Away" starts with strong guitar shredding, then it flops into full-on weak vocals. My least favorite of the band. Coming close to that fate is the heavy "I Would Do Anything", but it saved by the vocals regain their strength along with heavy rhythms.

I don't have much to say about "Save Me", which is great though nothing noteworthy. One more ballad-ish track "Lost" drives through in sorrow and passion from Howard's vocals singing lyrics of love and loss. "This is Goodbye" is a more typical track with only what is expected from the band. It's still good, considering its balance amongst the more experimental tracks. The special edition bonus track "In a Dead World" is one of my favorite tracks by the band in general. The melodies, riffs, screams, cleans, and drums, all in a brilliant balance! The impact even comes from the light bridge. The darkness and light all lead into an powerful outro. If that glorious highlight was in the standard edition, replacing "Take Me Away", I would give this album rating an extra half-star.

The special edition also has a few live bonus tracks, but that's not important for this review. KSE V is, like all the band's other albums, something for longtime fans, hardcore listeners, and metalheads. Not the strongest but it still rules. All before Howard Jones' goodbye to the band....

Favorites: "Never Again", "The Forgotten", "The Return", "A Light in a Darkened World", "Lost", "In a Dead World"

While not as perfect as the initial Jesse Leach era, As Daylight Dies is probably the best of the Howard Jones trio of albums. Many different anthems can be found in this offering, and one of them I'm actually familiar with 10 years before I started listening to this band full-time. If you wanna hear Jones at his best in his time with the band, it's time to dive right in!

The hooks and grooves sail smoothly alongside Jones' vocals. Sure his role might divide the longtime side of Killswitch Engage's fanbase, and some metalhead purists might turn away, but there's a lot to enjoy in As Daylight Dies, and there's no point in denying.

The somewhat title opener "Daylight Dies" greatly blasts with the solid guitarwork of Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel, from pummeling riffs to monumental leads. We also have the sonic bass of Mike D'Antonio and the stampeding drums of Justin Foley. An epic start! I also enjoy track #2 "This is Absolution", another great track worth replaying. Then "The Arms of Sorrow" has some mellow sorrow while getting more complex. It's almost like the band's challenge of making a progressive track while staying under 4 minutes in length. The drums continue to keep me hooked. We have some more of the heaviness in the short "Unbroken", with drums blasting all the way through. However, clean vocals seem to be out of place in what's supposed to be scream-fest. After that is "My Curse", the song I've actually known since over a decade prior, and I still love it! There's an alternate version for radios that have all the screams replaced by cleans. Of course, you know which one I prefer. F***ing awesome melodic metalcore! And there's more of that in the other tracks...

"For You" starts off sounding a little more typical, then it gets more melancholic in the bridge, in which Howard continues his vocal melodies while balancing them out with his heavy screams. The one track that keeps the album away from being 5-star perfect is "Still Beats Your Name". It's not bad, but it doesn't really strike hard despite the heaviness and speed. "Eye of the Storm" is another perfect highlight, and once again this high-quality melodic metalcore sound hits me much more than it would've 10 years before this review. "Break the Silence" has more of those great screams and cleans from Howard, the latter especially shining in the chorus. The outro has Adam D., who has occasionally performed some background cleans, sneaking in some death growls behind Howard's singing. Fantastic! "Desperate Times" has heavy verses while marching in a slow atmospheric pace, the atmosphere having more light in the chorus. I also like the layered vocal melodies and Mike's audible bass in the bridge. It's almost hard to talk about "Reject Yourself" in detail, but basically, there's more of the heavy riffing and drums. Still there is some melody and Adam's vocals being more prominent than ever. The bridge quiets down then Howard unleashes one of his most intense screams of his career, "EYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!", all leading into a beautiful outro.

Once again, I decided to explore the special edition bonus tracks, the first of which, "Be One", being a heavy banger with more of those cleans and screams catching my attention. The next bonus track, "Let the Bridges Burn", is my favorite one. Although we have the usual clean melodies, the heavier side with those blasts and growls remind me a bit of As I Lay Dying's "Within Destruction" when performed in E-flat tuning. There's also the usual dramatic chorus and hardcore bridge. Next up, "This Fire" is another popular track. It's short while still great, striking with melodic riffing. So heavy while still catchy. Love it! The final one of all, "Holy Diver", well... Although I usually love these "metalizing" covers, it's not too bad, but kind of a misstep. Great catchy melody, yet it feels like it could've been better. It's probably just comfortable staying as a bonus track.

With lots of variation, As Daylight Dies shows the band diversifying their sound while keeping themselves firmly in metalcore. I can definitely understand its success, and it definitely took the band's direction to the next level!

Favorites: "Daylight Dies", "The Arms of Sorrow", "My Curse", "Eye of the Storm", "Break the Silence", "Reject Yourself", "Let the Bridges Burn", "This Fire"

A couple years have gone by since I started listening to Killswitch Engage full-time, and all of their albums have really grown on me. Many age well and a couple others don't. As I continue listening to The End of Heartache, their 3rd album and the first with Howard Jones on vocals, a bit of my interest in this album has worn off. Fortunately, my decision to review the special edition has made me understand its success.

The re-release that came out almost a year after the original album has several bonus tracks, a couple of which are so timeless that they can please fans in 2025 as they had in 2005. This thrashy melodic metalcore offering that would've ended up having just 4 stars in the standard edition has been brought up back to 4.5 stars here!

Starting off a bit poorly is "A Bid Farewell", which kinda comes out as repetitive in the drums, guitars, and vocals, not having much of the melody except in the chorus. But don't worry, there are greater tracks coming up... "Take This Oath" impresses me with its riffs and melodies, though I wish there was slightly more than that. At least then-former vocalist Jesse Leach has snuck in some of his own vocals. "When Darkness Falls" is a little more predictable. The instrumentation and vocals sound like they've bled from the first couple tracks. It's still good though. "Rose of Sharyn" is a greater highlight, showing how professional the band is when it comes to melodic metalcore. "Inhale" is a calm acoustic interlude before more of the heaviness storms in later tracks...

"Breathe Life" is perhaps my favorite highlight here. I love how the solo can sound beautiful without fast technicality! The title track soars through with intense emotion, especially in the breakdown. However, it should be noted that later on in the special edition, that incredible track ends up receiving a single edit appearing in the soundtrack of Resident Evil: Apocalypse, taking away all that's great about it. Glad I just commented on that version early! "Declaration" ends up falling back into the predictable trap. Same with "World Ablaze". It segues to "And Embers Rise", but adding in a second acoustic interlude is rather unnecessary.

"Wasted Sacrifice" makes up for the mistakes of the past few tracks as another one of the best tracks here, with a killer opening verse followed by awesome riffing. "Hope Is..." is a rifftastic ending track for the standard edition, featuring All That Remains' Phil Labonte. He and Leach guest appear in the first special edition bonus track, a re-recording of "Irreversal", where brutal blasts level up the intensity, defining the sound from the debut. "My Life for Yours" is a killer leftover track from the Heartache sessions.

And the rest of the re-release is that aforementioned hollow radio edit of the title track and a few live tracks. The 4.5-star rating goes to that special edition which is an amazing release for new and longtime fans. You gotta thank Roadrunner for that!

Favorites: "Take This Oath", "Rose of Sharyn", "Breathe Life", "The End of Heartache", "Wasted Sacrifice", "Hope Is...", "Irreversal", "My Life for Yours"

No disrespect to Howard Jones, he's still awesome, but if there's one member I think is the heart and soul of Killswitch Engage, it's Jesse Leach. Some of my favorite KSE albums are the ones with Leach as vocalist, especially his initial era of the band's first two albums. Too bad he had to leave the band for 10 years after this release due to health issues. Alive or Just Breathing shows his vocals at his best.

In the era where nu metal was on the rise, one band was determined to have their genre take the throne with its crushing yet melodic metalcore sound. Heavy riffing and screams battle against clean singing and melodies, a fascinating metalcore depiction of Heaven vs. Hell!

The album comes to an amazing start with "Numbered Days" with its ravaging riffs and lovely leads. "Self Revolution" is practically a Revolution anthem, and I like how after the first 30 seconds, we have a quick percussive break before more of those catchy vocal melodies. "Fixation of the Darkness" is also interesting in the chorus. The only thing that throws me off is how abruptly ends. Then it leads to one of my favorite tracks, "My Last Serenade". I think during the pandemic and its tail-end, I became more in the mood to find some bands to cure my part of that global depression. Thanks to that great boost, I'm able to appreciate masterpiece highlights like this one much more! Things continue to flow well in "Life to Lifeless". The slow acoustic intro of "Just Barely Breathing" is a bit out of line, but the rest of the song is still crushing.

"To the Sons of Man" is a shorter 2-minute hardcore track. Everything everywhere all at once kicks through in "Temple from the Within". Without an intro, the instrumentation hits you non-stop. An experience as perfect as its original version from the debut! "The Element of One" has their metalcore sound done well from the start, but I'm not sure if putting it between two re-recordings from the debut was the right move. Still I won't object. A good thrashy track, "Vide Infra" has more spoken/shouted cleans to fit with the screams. "Without a Name" is an interlude that's not too necessary but doesn't detract the album's perfect score. It segues to the beautiful closing epic "Rise Inside".

The 2005 re-release comes with many different bonus tracks, the first being another 2000 debut re-recording track "In the Unblind", with more effective mixing. The powerful screaming, guitar soloing, and drumming is a great reminder of that album's strength. "When the Balance is Broken" is a bit repetitive, and if this ended up in the standard edition, the perfect 5-star rating would end up losing a half-star. Same with the acoustic instrumental "Untitled and Unloved".

And the rest of the re-release is just demos, a re-recording with Howard Jones on vocals, and some studio outtakes. The 5-star rating goes to the standard edition that is a masterpiece so beautiful and brutal at the same time. Recommended to all Revolution members!

Favorites: "Numbered Days", "Self Revolution", "My Last Serenade", "Just Barely Breathing", "Temple from the Within", "Rise Inside", "In the Unblind"

What's expected in one of those "post-" genres is the immense atmosphere. It helps you live through the enjoyment of such a journey. Cosmic Doom Ritual is a title that may sound simple yet promising in the dreamy atmosphere. It also sums up what you might find in this offering; the cosmic ambience of Darkspace, the sludgy doom of early Isis, and the post-metal ritual of Neurosis, all combined into a savory space-doomy post-sludge sound...

Cosmic Doom Ritual is the debut album by Hexer (whose band name appears to be inspired by The Witcher franchise). The band has projected their sound through the conceptual tale of a giant sea creature devouring its prey. They can really make a story similar to a Mastodon or Ahab album with a cosmic twist.

The atmospheric opening track "Merkaba" has some light beauty before exploding into the post-sludge sound that has shaped the album. The loud doomy despair of Thou is in good alternation with the post-rock melancholy of Russian Circles, the latter appearing midway through. Subtle keys make a good counterweight for the guitar dissonance and synth pulse. It's a somewhat low point for the album, yet it has some destined potential in the cosmic doom influences.

Then we hear the expansion getting stronger in "Pearl Snake". A psychedelic blues vibe is injected into the guitar rhythms and leads, as the lightness is darkened by the death growls. The oriental melodies might remind some of Om. Clean acoustic melancholy is heard in lengthy sections as the percussive rumble and thick bass groove plays along. The rhythm loops over and over with no sign of a building crescendo. However, the rhythm continues to dwell, and the heavier strength eventually makes a comeback in steady form. The vocals definitely remind me of Godflesh and, to a lesser extent, Napalm Death.

"Black Lava Flow" starts off with demented dissonance from the atmospheric guitar. This droning experimentation might make you think of The Body, while having some crust-infused vocals. Halfway through, we experience more of the cosmic psychedelia and the last of the heavy sludge until it ends just before the last minute. The atmospheric steam seems to have been lost, and therefore does not reach the earlier intensity.

3 tracks, each with an average length of 12 minutes, will give you good cosmic doomy post-sludge to enjoy. The melody has created an interesting soundscape. However, the tedious production, especially in the last track, is why I don't find it as awesome as the doomy metalheads would. Still the immense atmosphere has kept the band growing....

Favorites (the strongest one): "Pearl Snake"

For the past couple years, I've stumbled upon a few tracks by this band Shadow of Intent to add to the monthly Revolution playlists. I enjoy deathcore mostly when it's mixed with progressive or symphonic elements, my interest boosted up from getting a kick out of it from Lorna Shore. However, Shadow of Intent has some maturity in their symphonic deathcore, and there's some great stuff in their new album Elegy!

Elegy shows what Shadow of Intent are made of. It's packed with enough symphonics from the orchestration and keyboards to have the Fleshgod Apocalypse symphonic death metal part of the sound, and helping out with that is the man responsible for that band's orchestral aspects, Francesco Ferrini. The melodeath comes from the guitars.

The opening track "Farewell" starts the album like Lorna Shore would, with a one-minute epic orchestral mood-setting intro, before the heaviness storms in triumph. While the deathcore sound might not attract those not used to the sound, it's balanced out with the soft melodic parts, and that's easy to recommend. The melodeath guitar work appears in "Saurian King". The ending of "The Coming Fire" is one of the most memorable parts of the album. It's "Gravesinger 2.0"! It segues into the equally memorable intro of the song "Of Fury" that continues the symphonic melodeath/deathcore sound. There's sonic maturity within the deathcore that's still around, especially in the vocals. "Intensified Genocide" is one of the most intense songs here, with fast heavy energy.

You might wanna check out "Life of Exile" for some clean vocals that appear alongside the usual growls and screams. "Where Millions Have Come to Die" has more dynamic brutality. The variation makes sure there isn't any unneeded repetition, along with vocals by Phil Bozeman of Whitechapel. "From Ruin...We Rise" has more of those varying vocals. This vocal maturity is suitable for the album's earlier concept of inhumane genocide. The powerful cinematic deathcore of that track is set aside for something more groove-laden in "Blood in the Sands of Time". Is that a symphonic deathcore attempt at groove metal? Likely so, with vocals by Chuck Billy of Testament!

The 5-minute instrumental "Reconquest" sounds like there should've been vocals in the first 4 minutes, but it's still pretty great, and the last minute has cool guitar. The 13-minute 3-part title suite is the album's climax, starting with the short clean "Adapt", continuing with the rising "Devise", and ending with the powerful 6-minute "Overcome". Epic, while only almost reaching the glory Lorna Shore's Pain Remains suite.

Elegy is a mature offering from Shadow of Intent in the music and lyrics. The symphonic deathcore bounds continue to expand, and it's worth great listening. Top-notch orchestration is uncommon in deathcore, but I'm determined to continue my journey of discovery!

Favorites: "Farewell", "The Coming Fire", "Of Fury", "Where Millions Have Come to Die", "From Ruin...We Rise", "Elegy" (full suite)

Danzig is a band that shouldn't be taken lightly. They're one of the more satanic classic heavy metal bands around along with Mercyful Fate and Ghost. As someone who's not into that kind of theme, whether or not I find greatness in this album, I don't expect myself to fully dig in to the rest...

Longtime Danzig fans were wondering what the h*ll the band was thinking when they made Blackacidevil, an electro-industrial album with barely anything metal. For this album Satan's Child, while there's more of those industrial elements, the metal guitar is back in prominence. This time, the riffing has a pummeling lower tuning. It may sound a bit like nu metal, but the riffing is so strong that calling any part of this album nu metal would be blasphemy.

Glenn Danzig's vocals first appear soft in "Five Finger Crawl" during the vocals, before having his usually wailing in the chorus, and that's a prime example of his vocal usage in that smashing opener. "Belly of the Beast" continues to have strong fun in the verses. "Lilin" goes on for 6 and a half minutes with some bluesy vocals coming out nice and fine. Adding in some synths and vocal distortion is "Unspeakable". That track is one of my favorites in the album. That opinion might not make part of the Danzig fanbase, but that's OK, I don't intend to.

"Cult Without a Name" shows how well Glenn Danzig can blow listeners' minds away with his voice. He can sing clean whispers and then roar like a bull in smashing intent. An excellent way to lead the drums, guitars, and bass! A weird creepy electronic intro starts "East Indian Devil (Kali's Song)", but then heaviness bashes through. "Firemass" sounds fitting for their earlier material and comes out as another favorite for me. The more trip-hop-ish "Cold Eternal" has Glenn's most moving despite the song's softness.

The title track is actually a mighty highlight! "Into the Mouth of Abandonement" is quite good too despite sounding different from the previous track. "Apokalips" is strong in the bass and drum during the doomy intro and verses. Then in the choruses, the funk/hip-hop-ish pace makes a brief comeback. The electronics are pretty much absent in that song. The final song "Thirteen" is quite good. Glenn Danzig originally written and recorded that track for Johnny Cash, and he recorded it again with the band to close this album with its blues groove.

Any earlier Danzig fan who lost contact with the band's music fearing the possibility of the band going full-on industrial after Blackacidevil should give this band another chance and listen to the band's later material starting with this album Satan's Child. I'm telling you, you'll feel way more relief than disappointment....

Favorites: "Five Finger Crawl", "Unspeakable", "Cult Without a Name", "Firemass", "Satan's Child", "Apokalips"

I enjoyed listening to Samael, but it wasn't really for so long. As I made my brief exit from listening to black metal, Samael was one of the bands I discarded due to their black metal material last fully demonstrated in Ceremony of Opposites. Anyway, after that dark satanic trio of albums from the first half of 90s, they began their ascent to the symphonic industrial metal cosmos with the Rebellion EP and Passage, the latter establishing the band's transcendence beyond what metal had reached before. And despite avoiding the alternative/groove metal trend of other bands at the time, it worked! They gained enough fame and motivation to close the millennium with another album...

Of course, there was one more small offering made before Eternal, the Exodus EP. Though the songs in that EP are leftover tracks from the Passage sections, they served as a bridge in their evolution. They hinted at an important step, discarding pretty much all the earlier black metal elements (an exception being the re-recording of the Ceremony of Opposites title track), all done while staying faithful to their new direction.

Eternal opens with the atmospheric highlight "Year Zero". Beginning the album in shining light, this is excellent high-quality loud industrial metal! "Ailleurs" will have you dancing along. It's almost close to the cyber metal sound The Kovenant would pioneer in Animatronic! Though some might also be reminded of Front Line Assembly. "Together" cuts down on the upbeat optimism for a slow sinister pace. There's more of the brightness in "Ways" that smoothly points out the stylistic ways of their melodic industrial metal. And there's more of that coming up...

Soft piano begins the next song "The Cross". People seem to mistake this song as a Christian hymn, even though the band was going for the opposite. A good reason for me to leave behind all of black metal last year. I'm glad that I still find enjoyment in that song and might be up to making a return to that band and black metal someday... "Us" soars through the industrial metal cosmos once again with a memorable chorus despite it being a bit too noise-ridden in the background. "Supra Karma" makes a comeback to the band's previous album Passage with solid riffing. Then we switch to "I" which is another Kovenant-like dance-metal track. See if you can play that song in dance clubs for all the club members to dance the night away!

"Nautilus & Zeppelin" has more operatic keyboards in the lead, with not much space for heavier riffing. "Infra Galaxia" continues the album's direction, though it seems to lose some strength as it progresses. "Being" isn't too shabby, though it might cause some red flags. "Radiant Star" has some harsh guitar aggression to end this space journey.

Anyone who thought Samael would go full-on KMFDM/Ministry can have that fear set aside. After a 5-year gap, Eternal gained a stylistic sequel in Reign of Light, which had made those fans relieved. Era One followed as a two-disc experiment, with the second half being just ambient electro-industrial. Another album continue the Eternal direction is Solar Soul, expanding their horizons so they don't repeat too much of their past. They would then return to their earlier 90s evil black metal misanthropy in Above. Lux Mundi would return to the industrial metal era from between Passage and Solar Soul. Same thing with Hegemony 6 years after. Will they have a new album this year to keep up that sound? Fingers crossed there! But for now, soar through the cosmos with the soundtrack to this universal exploration....

Favorites: "Year Zero", "Ailleurs", "The Cross", "Us", "I", "Radiant Star"