Shadowdoom9 (Andi)'s Reviews

Blind Guardian weren't always a symphonic/power metal band. This mighty evolving beast of a band started as a melodic speed metal outfit named Lucifer's Heritage. The band changed their name to avoid association with Satanism and black metal, but kept their original style while foreshadowing their famous power metal. Honest admission: I find the recent albums too over-the-top and bombastic, and that's why I'm up for the simplicity of their debut (and why I'm no longer into a lot of power metal).

Their debut album Battalions of Fear is a well-polished speed metal album, in line with their peers back then, Rage (which also evolved into theatrical power metal) and Scanner. Some tracks were re-recorded from the band's Lucifer's Heritage demos, with some notable changes.

Odd carnival intro aside, the opening track "Majesty" is a majestic anthem with a melodic chorus of vocal layers. "Guardian of the Blind" is perhaps the most memorable highlight here and what inspired the band's new name. "Trial by the Archon" is an early Iron Maiden-like interlude. Lead guitarist André Olbrich knows how to do some shredding lead melodies like Maiden's Dave Murray.

It segues into the excellent song "Wizard's Crown", originally titled "Halloween" but they probably changed it because Helloween released a song with that title. "Run for the Night" is a little more average, sounding inspired by classic heavy metal. Same with the less powerful "The Martyr". Nothing filler here though.

The title track has a heavy bridge, with the leads sounding so excellent. The lyrics somehow reminds me of the epic space film franchise Star Wars, though it's about Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative. The excellent outro "By the Gates of Moria" is based on Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9. Great, now I feel the urge to sing out loud the chorus of Rhapsody's "The Wizard's Last Rhymes". The CD's bonus outro "Gandalf's Rebirth" has OK leads and melodies, though it's not too necessary.

The lyrics in most songs involve fantasy and mythology, an aspect they would expand on in later albums. Battalions of Fear is good, but I guess the band's classic era of the 90s still reigns. There's clear production for an 80s debut album with searing leads and rhythms in the guitar. This is the kind of sound I prefer nowadays rather than the over-the-top layers of their 2000s albums. While not as catchy nor in wide range as their later material, the vocals of Hansi Kürsch show such a wild young lad that he was. Blind Guardian, one of this century's most titanic power metal bands started with an underrated power/speed metal album. Quite a fun beginning....

Favorites: "Majesty", "Guardian of the Blind", "Wizard's Crown", "Battalions of Fear"

The heavier classic metalheads know who Max Cavalera is. He was one of the founders of Brazilian metal legends Sepultura alongside his brother Igor. During Max's time with the band, they made a blackened death metal album, a classic deathly thrash metal trilogy, and two mainstream groove metal albums. Believe it or not, this is my first time I've given some listening and a review to a full album from Max Cavalera's later band Soulfly. With all this yelling I've heard of about "jumpin' da f*** up" and armageddon, I thought I would have a turn to dive in. And this experience left me...quite disappointed. The potential for unique groove aggression I was expecting doesn't happen.

I just wanna say that there's a little more to hate than the other couple groove metal bands in this part of the Pit test; the riff-fest of Machine Head and the hardcore-ish power of Anthrax's Sounds of White Noise. At the same time, there's still a bit of interesting music experimentation, including some thrash. You can hear it a bit of riff aggression and soloing. So there's nothing overly bland about the Dark Ages album as a whole, but still not all of the songs are worth mentioning.

Focusing on only a few songs, The first full track "Babylon" is already a waste of time. However, decent thrashy riffing appears in "I and I". In the middle, there's a beautiful soft bridge as a break from the riffing. All those aspects in that song make it the best here. Some confusion can be caused by the bad-a** rawness of "Carved Inside" with kick-A riffing that then leads to vocals so weird that you feel the urge to rip out his Max's vocal cords. Actually, it's lead guitarist Marc Rizzo that's causing the f***ing issue here with his horrible attempt at soloing. The band was really trying their best there, but ultimately it all just turns into out-of-tune bullsh*t, making the experience age poorly.

"Innerspirit" is also nicely decent. "Bleak" is ironically not as bleakly dull as most of the other tracks. It starts heavy then gets more experimental in the climax. It's nowhere as shallow as the lower points of the album.

So all we have is a few good songs, but everything else is mostly just simply obnoxious. Awesome riffing in those 3 songs, then the direction goes unfocused. And guess what, the lyrics are often worse than the ones in Machine Head's debut, and combined with the weak music, they make a lot of this album's material a laughingstock. I say the atrocity covers most tracks, while the more tolerable ones keep the album at its current rating score. I'm not sure I would be up for this Sepultura spin-off band again...

Favorites (only ones I like here): "I and I", "Innerspirit", "Bleak"

Machine Head isn't totally bad. I just can't get myself into enjoying a huge lot of this band, and with this band being an important developer of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, it's kind of a tragedy for my enjoyment of the movement. Machine Head was formed by frontman Robb Flynn in the early 90s after he left thrash metal band Vio-lence following a violent altercation. His time with Vio-lence was when mullet-headed metalheads where in a moshing frenzy from all that vicious thrash. Soon the idea of groove metal's mid-tempo breakdowns and tribal tattoos begin to roll into popularity, and thrash bands began to add accessibility to their heaviness. Trying to find something to enjoy from Robb Flynn's new-band-experience, Machine Head has only given me a dull bruise instead of the battering moshing I needed...

Honestly though, Burn My Eyes has built up a bit from the thrashy origin of Flynn's career. After his time with thrash, Flynn and co. began taking more inspiration from Biohazard, Pantera, and Sepultura's Chaos AD. These influences are injected into the thrash sound for the band's own brand of groove metal, with occasional hip-hop chords. The band didn't really have the hardcore credit or Pantera personality in the riffs and vocals. Burn My Eyes shows the band making a fine balance between dynamics and atmosphere to please some metalheads. The drum thunder rolls to make the primal riffing more bloodthirsty. The bass by Adam Duce is good and thick. Robb Flynn can really shout like a caveman, and I don't mean that as an insult. He can encourage you f***ing jump through the tempos and riffs like other bands from their record label Roadrunner. Also add to the groove is some mechanical guitar leads that would remind some of Prong at that time.

Listeners ready to tune in will be struck by the massive punch of "Davidian" that can be considered the Godflesh "Like Rats" of groove metal. "Old" is a brilliant track here. If you've been listening to metal for a long time like I have, the enjoyment depends on what you're really into. Still the aggression can get you headbanging in no time. It should be noted though the vocals might not be for fans of Pantera who expect Phil Anselmo's southern accent. Some might also think of Sacred Reich there! The vocals in "A Thousand Lies" kinda make a goofy take on Biohazard. The less confident "None But My Own" sounds dull in the clean vocals. The groove breakdown isn't really their best way of imitating Pantera at that time. Fortunately, the structural machinery shows that the band knows who and what they are.

"The Rage to Overcome" sounds like it continues from the previous track, though never really a stinker. "Death Church" is once again reminiscent of Godflesh. Just listen to the riffing that's like that band's extreme industrial riffing, but without the industrial. This is where Flynn has a more authentic mood in the vocals. That's perhaps my favorite track of the album, much more than the similar still massive "Davidian" and slightly above "Old". The lyrics are h*lla catchy and worth driving in your car to, "Hey Jesus, can you help me with my pain, mainline me some religion to keep me sane?" Next up, "A Nation on Fire" is a straight mix of groove and mood while again losing some confidence. Though the thrashy ending will get you geared up for what's next. "Blood for Blood" is the closest to the kick-A thrash of Vio-lence. In all honesty, there should've a few songs as fast as this to replace the somewhat earlier dull Pantera/Biohazard-like tracks to make a solid groove/thrash album. Never mind that, I don't want too much confusion.

"I'm Your God Now" is once again back to that g****mn grunge-ish formula. Nonetheless, Flynn's soft singing sounds the best here, especially during the mid-tempo riffing. The singing sounds grittier when the riffing goes faster. From there, the groove starts rising up to better enjoyment again, getting pretty f***ing close to the earlier highlights. "Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies" is filled with samples of crimes and brutality. Again, the band takes the industrial metal of Fear Factory at that time, but removes the industrial. It's easy to hear how strong Flynn is when facing politics. "This country needs to go under a radical change." Finally, "Block" is back to the Pantera/Biohazard-like groove, though in f***ing catchier form, with the guitar tone being a bit thrashy. Clearly it makes sense when you connect this with the then-recent sound of Sepultura.

Upon seeing what I think of the music and the lyrics in a couple tracks, you might think a lot of the lyrics are received positively from me. The truth is, the lyrics in most of the non-highlight tracks are some of the worst I've heard in groove metal, sounding too cliche in the topic of suffering. The cover art is quite bizarre. The best non-sexual guess I can is a photo merge of a couple headbanging positions. Despite the oddities and lyrical atrocities in half the amount of songs, Burn My Eyes is a decent start to the band's career and I understand the groove metal scene growing from there....

Favorites: "Davidian", "Old", "Death Church", "Blood for Blood", "Block"

OK, I may have been a little too optimistic when I said I have a great feeling about groove metal. This was around the time when grunge was entering the mainstream. A dark heavy rock (sometimes metal) genre with bands like Alice in Chains and Soundgarden reigning in the scene. Though as well-respected as a couple of those band's albums may be, the classic bands ended up following their footsteps. The 90s saw many of the American thrash bands discard their classic sound for something more modern. Metallica is the most famous victim of that trend. Though this band, Anthrax has ended up taking a more hardcore groove metal direction throughout most of that decade...

Well, it's not as atrocious to me as what many people think of it, there are some good points. Sounds of White Noise has some decent moments that I enjoy. The band knew how mature and capable they can be, surviving the reception for what they record and promote. With Sounds of White Noise showing the band abandoning their 80s thrash sound, this different direction isn't so fast, but it is darker. Joey Belladonna left the band (though he would return when the band's thrash returns) and taking his place is ex-Armored Saint frontman John Bush. He's not too bad, sounding better than the false grunge idols of Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots. The lyrics Bush sings are more coherent, and his vocals sound more melodic. I kind of like his voice here, though he doesn't have a lot of capability.

Listen to "Potter's Field" for the dark heaviness to come. Despite sounding closer to the grunge movement, the notable highlight "Only" is a true keeper. The upsides of this different direction make something quite great there. "Room for One More" gives the first third of the album room for one more solid track.

"Packaged Rebellion" is where the band starts to take on the dreaded grunge side, detracting the might the album would've gained from the opening trio. Same with the next song "Hy Pro Glo". The following track "Invisible" is very good, despite the downsides making their appearance. "1000 Points of Hate" is a track I really hate, though it's not the biggest sh*tter. Sure there's a bit of their earlier fast thrash but it's f***ed up by the occasional switch to mid-tempo groove.

Despite being a dark soft ballad, "Black Lodge" is another favorite you just can't miss. The atmosphere makes the song sound dark instead of cheesy. There's also beautiful guitar harmony midway through. "C11 H17 N2 O2 S Na" means "sodium thiopental" is periodic table elements language. It's a slightly better bridge between the band's earlier sound and grunge. "Burst" shows the band continuing their darker direction while throwing back to the earlier thrash in a much better fashion. Another one of the three 4.5 star favorites! "This is Not an Exit" is a boring closer, sounding too much like an attempt to rip off Alice in Chains. That sh*tty-a** ending gives the album the most damage.

Despite sounding close to grunge at times, Sound of White Noise is a decent addition to the band's discography and 90s metal. It hits a few high levels while falling into lower ones. There are more slips and slides through a different direction than what they're known for, similarly to Metallica's motive, all occurring in the 90s. This is more recommended to fans of grunge and earlier groove metal. The heavier metalheads, especially fans of the band's classic thrash era, should avoid this kind of noise....

Favorites: "Only", "Room for One More", "Invisible", "Black Lodge", "Burst"

It's been about a year since I stopped listening to Nevermore, and I decided to re-review one of their albums. Enemies of Reality was controversial for the production job by ex-Queensrÿche guitarist Kelly Gray. Producer Andy Sneap remixed the album, which helped a little but not a lot. Dreaming Neon Black and Dead Heart in a Dead World were once golden classics for me, and this album, This Godless Endeavor, still takes on the greatness, with unique song structures of heavy riffing and excellent vocals.

This Godless Endeavor keeps the band's steady fire going, as greatly as they've done in Dead Heart in a Dead World. Guitarist Jeff Loomis performs complex riffing in 7-string slaughter, and drummer Van Williams goes heavy on his metallic drumming. Second guitarist Steve Smyth joins in on the action and contributed a bit of songwriting.

"Born" already speeds up right away with powerful thrash and Warrel Dane's vocal aggression before the melodic chorus. A great kick-A opener! The excellent "Final Product" isn't too special, but it represents the band's formula quite well. The chorus for "My Acid Words" is quite a heartful break from the heaviness that covers the rest of the highlight. The powerful composition "Bittersweet Feast" is another highlight.

"Sentient 6" lyrically continues from the epic closer of the band's earlier album The Politics of Ecstasy, starting off as a desperate ballad before ending with a vengeance. Jeff Loomis continues his guitar grace in "Medicated Nation". Then "The Holocaust of Thought" is a nice instrumental.

"Sell My Heart for Stones" is another calm ballad, though not as vengeful as the other ballad-like track. "The Psalm of Lydia" is full of surprises, such as acoustic guitar briefly snuck into the wild progressive thrash. The challenging progressive soloing can be found in ''A Future Uncertain'', which lyrics and riffing recycled from a demo. The 9-minute title epic is so fantastic and dynamic. The vocals and guitars truly add to the art, starting from monumental riffing and vocal layers, staying epic until the end.

This Godless Endeavor continued the band's greatness streak from Dead Heart in a Dead World, with a compact direction to love. Sadly, with the band's split and Dane's passing, they can no longer continue that streak. While there are other bands out there with killer releases, the vocals reign upon the modern metal throne! RIP Warrel Dane

Favorites: "Born", "My Acid Words", "Bittersweet Feast", "Sentient 6", "The Psalm of Lydia", "This Godless Endeavor"

Taking a short break before continuing my ultimate Pit test, I decided to test out another Revolution release of early mathcore. Hardcore fans know Nora from their split EP with mathcore legends The Dillinger Escape Plan. I thought I would be impressed with this EP as much as I am with TDEP...but I was wrong. Sure there's that full-on metal/mathcore going on, but the vocals are horribly painful to listen to. To put it simply, there isn't any of the powerful emotion of bands like Shai Hulud.

The opening title track is the one track I can stand. The metal riffing and bass crashes in and kicks you hard in the neck. The mix of metal and hardcore punk works well with the tempo. However, the vocals are too harshly twisted and predictable, like the guy's voice is heavily strained.

It's hard for me to explain what I feel about this. It's a short 5-track EP that would've been OK for the killer heavy instrumentation, but the screaming kind of turns it all into a joke. If an instrumental version of the EP, play that version in a speedy highway drive....

Favorites (only one I can stand): "Theneverendingyouline"

It's albums like Stigmata's The Heart Grows Harder in which the band has clear potential that somehow gets missed. It sounds like a hardcore/early metalcore band trying to replicate Metallica's earlier thrash sound that they discarded for the Black Album from the previous year. You can hear from the "progressive" drumming that falls out of place, especially the bass drum, the guitar riffing and leads that are good but a bit too much of a rip-off, and the vocals that sound more like a weak attempt at impersonating James Hetfield than most other metalcore bands. Pretty much a lot of the instrumentation sounds muddier than what black metal bands were doing those days production-wise...

The best song here by far is the title track, a 7-minute opening epic that actually reminds me of Paradise Lost's Shades of God in the earlier verses. Then midway through, things go as fast as the speed/thrash metal of early Metallica. But there's still a bit of the hardcore/metalcore that represents what the earlier bands of the genre were going for. Then it slows down again to that Paradise Lost-like pace. The rest of the album is 5 more songs with two scattered interludes, but none of them match the title track's glory.

I think it's quite interesting to hear Stigmata's attempt at a crossover blend of hardcore/early metalcore and the prog-ish thrash of 80s Metallica. Ultimately though, most of the album just falls flat on the face. Only the opening title track is worth much of your time....

Favorites (only one in this album): "The Heart Grows Harder"

Soundgarden. One of the earlier grunge/alternative metal bands, fronted by the legendary Chris Cornell. Sadly, he committed suicide in 2017, which caused the band to end and perhaps his close friend Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington to take his life as well on Chris' birthday. RIP both vocalists...

Under 3 decades before those tragedies, Soundgarden were becoming a classic band in the grunge/alternative metal scene with their first major album Louder Than Love. It's quite a cool stepping stone to their then-expanding adventurous career. Chris Cornell has great vocals, Kim Thayil's guitar playing really blooms, Hiro Yamamoto flows with his bass, and drummer Matt Cameron performs complex time signatures. The production is audible and metallic, though it could've used some improvement.

The interesting opener "Ugly Truth" creeps in with atmosphere that might seem abrupt for newcomer listeners. The irregular riffing sounds nice, so I can cross off that small issue. It shines in peace while having a sinister mood, like wandering through a wasteland. The riff strikes during the atmosphere in this composition written by Cornell. The atmosphere is quite awesome compared to other alt-metal bands. The technique used in there would carry on in later albums. There's some more of this strong writing in "Hands All Over". It's environment-themed in the lyrics, so if you Cornell yelling "You're gonna kill your mother, yeah...and I love her", it's about the destruction of Mother Earth, not matricide. Another good creeper is "Gun", with has a slow sludgy start before speeding things up. "Power Trip" is a conceited take on the lyrics and music of glam metal.

"Get on The Snake" hints at what they would have later on in their career. Reaching punky levels, "Full on Kevin’s Mom" is as fast as earlier hardcore. Still it's lighter and closer to hard rock. The lyrics are apparently about some dude whose mom gets beaten up by an a****le that was once the dude's friend. "MOMMY!!!" The strongest song of the album is the semi-title track "Loud Love", though a bit creepy. "I Awake" is more somber. The twists in the intro and heavy riffing give it a creepy nightmarish vibe. Cornell shouting "I love you! I LOVE YOU!!" add more tension to the lyrics about not taking an estranged relationship. Great track with simple yet moody riffing!

"No Wrong No Right" has thinner instrumentation and less remarkable vocals. Probably the worst here. Another simple yet strong track is "Uncovered", also hinting at what they would develop later. There's straight melody and comforting atmosphere that nicely adds to the pace. "Big Dumb Sex" is another glam metal parody track that I would never recommend for the more serious metalheads. "Full On (reprise)" isn't really a necessary way to end the album.

All in all, Louder Than Love is a strong loud album. Though I've heard more cohesive albums from more recent bands. Still it's a great album to dive into. But will I be up to checking out more of this band? Not sure, but it's my call....

Favorites: "Ugly Truth", "Hands All Over", "Gun", "Loud Love", "I Awake", "Uncovered"

In late 2006, the most popular thing in the world was the then-recently-released Nintendo Wii. For the Brazilian progressive power metal fanbase, it was Angra's Aurora Consurgens. An album that has made their day on Thanksgiving and Christmas besides turkey and presents!

I was nearly a decade late for the action when I first discovered this album, and the rest of the band's discography. Back then, I was more interested in progressive/power metal than any of the genres I still listen to today. Back then, the previous album Temple of Shadows was the true perfect gem of their discography. Aurora Consurgens came close to sharing its reign, especially when it started with an absolute mind-blower...

"The Course of Nature" is a bad-a** hit, worth listening to on a bus ride or shuttle train throughout the country, though try to control yourself during those rides so people won't stare at you like you're a madman. Those 4 and a half minutes are so awesome, especially the middle bridge. The sick riffing and soloing differs from what the band has done in Rebirth, and I still love it today, long after laying the power metal side of my interest to rest. Another track "The Voice Commanding You" looks back at the band's power metal era of Rebirth. "Ego Painted Grey" masters the band's progressive side that they've been picking up since Temple of Shadows, with excellent dynamic depth. The guitar soloing by Kiko Loureiro and Rafael Bittencourt is really put forward in unbelievable ways. The catchy "Breaking Ties" has more accessible melody.

"Salvation Suicide" is insane yet lovable for the earlier fans, along with some technicality. The guitar soloing is filled with highly impressive shredding that fans of such an aspect would want more of. Same with the furious "Window to Nowhere". The 7-minute epic "So Near So Far" continues the band's signature aspect of adding Brazilian percussion into the mix, though it's not as much as they used to have in Holy Land. The guitar has more groove, and that's something the band hadn't tried until this album. Still their usual brand of melodic progressive power metal is the key, especially in that song.

This is then followed by the smooth "Passing By". Then "Scream Your Heart Out" is a progressive highlight that will make you do what the song title says. Vocalist Edu Falaschi is known for his incredible vocal range, though the lower part of his singing doesn't appear in "Abandoned Fate", quite lower than before, in fact! It's quite noticeable and fits well with the ballad. The kick-A bonus track "Out of This World" was written for Marcos Pontes, the first Brazilian astronaut, and Bittencourt took over on lead vocals.

There's practically nothing that I would consider a waste of time in this amazing album. I even like the ballads! My rediscovery of Angra has stunned me again with another one of their albums that has pleased me today as it had almost 8 years ago. The progressive power metal memories still shine!

Favorites: "The Course of Nature", "Ego Painted Grey", "Salvation Suicide", "So Near So Far", "Scream Your Heart Out", "Out of This World" (bonus track)

Time for me to again give you a brief summary of what the deal was with classic metal genres transitioning in the early 90s. Most thrash metal bands at that time either left in a hurry or switched to a different style, most notably alternative or groove metal. But those bands started in the early to mid-80s, and the ones late in the game that started in the late 80s wanted to have the last bit of what was popular when the story was already moving on. Anacrusis is one of those latecomers, and they still had their great sense of technicality and unique atmosphere, unlike other late-80s-starting bands like Annihilator that fell victim to mainstream pressure too soon at that time.

Screams and Whispers is a masterpiece! They really ended their initial run smoothly. It was quite an incredible surprise to me after just finding this band this week. It's a dark atmospheric swansong offering. Kenn Nardi has an impressive vocal range, ranging from aggressive shouting, almost deathly, to clean operatic singing that you can find from other thrashy progressive metal bands like Nevermore.

The lower sorrow of his cleans can already be found in the dramatic riff-wrath of "Sound the Alarm". The pessimistic darkness would continue in later songs, while the mid-paced riffing stays sharp and keeps the bleakness interesting. The chorus in "Sense of Will" has greater speed. The progressive "Too Many Prophets" has mystical keyboards.

"Release" is a highlight that tackles a style similar to earlier progressive rock/metal. A remix would later appear as a bonus track. A faster standout "Division" has pounding bass and drums. A nice operatic progressive track "Tools of Separation" has more atmospheric heights. "Grateful" has a heavier contrast. It is a tremendous song with the best of the album's guitars and keyboards. Honestly, I'm so grateful to hear such a well-written track as a break from the depressiveness. The most positive highlight here!

The more technical "A Screaming Breath" follows. Then the dynamic "My Souls Affliction" shreds through. "Driven" has that heavier contrast yet again. The 7-minute finale of the album and the band's initial run, "Brotherhood?" is quite ambitious. The first half includes a riff taken from an old demo song, and the second half is mostly orchestral. It can be a bit draggy, but it's still an acceptable way to leave the stage. The orchestration comes from the keyboards instead of an actual orchestra, so I can't really put the "early symphonic metal" stamp on it. Still it adds a whole new dimension to the sound before ending it all in grace.

With Screams and Whispers, Anacrusis made their technical transition achievement better than what other bands had done that year. Coroner's last album Grin was more progressive than their previous album, but leaned too much into industrial-ish groove metal territory. Voivod dumped the thrashy side of their progressive thrash metal sound for something more experimental. Anacrusis stayed firmly in thrashy progressive metal with the right amount of balance. Sadly, they disbanded right after that album, a self-sacrifice to not fall into the modern trap. However, in the early 2010s, they were back on the touring road for some time, and they even re-recorded their first two albums, then after that, other than a 2019 reunion show, they again said "That's all, folks!" But if they ever come back in the future with a new original album, sound the alarm!

Favorites: "Sound the Alarm", "Release", "Division", "Grateful", "Driven", "Brotherhood?"

I don't think I have listened to The Chariot before this album became this month's Revolution feature release. Once again I found another diamond in the rough totally worth adding to my collection. Thanks for this, Daniel!

The Chariot had already made 3 albums before this, each more popular than the last, and their 4th album Long Live is filled with relentless energy. Unlike a band like Motionless in White that often balances aggressive verses with sweet choruses, The Chariot is firmly set in pure metalcore throughout each song, making the genre more exciting for the heavier fans. Long Live proves that the band is standing high in the metalcore game.

Opening track "Evan Perks" already perfectly unleashes aggressive emotion through the screaming of Josh Scogin, "DISAPPOINTED?!?! I KNOW YOU ARE!!!" Lots of chaos in just a minute and a half! "The Audience" is a highlight with ever-changing vocals. Injecting more surprises into the skin, "Calvin Makenzie" makes unexpected metal dives from something brutal to something old-school. The old ditty can cause an impact, but it's quite odd and doesn't work entirely. Nonetheless, that's a solid song, and the album's perfection isn't affected one bit.

Something worth singing along to is "The City", when it builds into a choir in the melodic midsection. Singing is so rare in this album, with potential to reach a stadium. Next song "Andy Sundwall" heads back into the usual metalcore with not as much as brutal energy as other songs. Scogin's vocals in "The Earth" are in constant movement as the band do what they want before a dark breakdown. A video was made for the diverse highlight "David De La Hoz". The song features a weird bridge from a hillbilly preacher, and it ends with a soft harp outro.

Strangely there's a more art-rock vibe added to "The Heavens", but it still becomes a sludgy math-metalcore highlight, simple yet admirable. As we reach the end, the chaotic "Robert Rios" charges. With a lengthy drum bridge midway through, "The King" is a 6-minute long epic, a bit like a more experimental heavy Underoath, whose producer Matt Goldman help recorded this album in a live analog technique.

Long Live has clear production as much it has raw energy in this fresh masterpiece. If you need a lot of metalcore adrenaline, one of Georgia's finest bands of the genre can give it to you. Long live their music!

Favorites: "The Audience", "The City", "David De La Hoz", "The Heavens", "The King"

I wanted to find an album that is so bad and sh*tty, enough to fit my own top 10 worst albums list. I thought I would search in the early mathcore or deathcore release lists because that's where I found some sh*tters during my rediscovery journey. And ladies and gentlemen, this is the F***ING WORST!!!

Just from the band name and album title, I knew F*** the Facts was gonna be a massive issue for me, and it is! It's all just a true example of f***ing grindcore that is a b***h to get used to for those inexperienced with the genre like myself. And I was expecting some bad-a** Dillinger Escape Plan-like mathcore and there ain't! I should've known from a band that has the same genre as a certain band named A.C. that made a track homophobically insulting DEP fans, among other controversial tracks.

If you're a fan of grindcore and its bands, you do you. However, albums like this prove that this genre is not the right one for me. F*** this band F*** the Facts!

Favorites: N/A

This Angra album was a classic for me when I was still listening to power metal. After some months passed since I've made my full move out of most of power metal, I started wondering if there are any bands of albums for me to give another chance. My Audiomachine-loving friend has even gotten into listening to a few of those bands that I used to enjoy. When Angra's Temple of Shadows became this month's Guardians featured release, I just knew the time would be right for some redemption...

Any open-minded music fan should try at least one mature concept album to explore the story that you might find in a book or a movie. All the band members have worked together to build the soundtrack to a story written by guitarist Rafael Bittencourt, proving that their teamwork really made the dream work!

The melodic intro "Deux Le Volt!" consists of classic orchestration without anything electric. It's the result of Bittencourt's music studies to be recognized by Angra fans. Then the first actual track "Spread Your Fire" kicks in the headbanging power metal action right from the drumming and powerful guitar soloing. I actually still think this song is quite epic since first listen. And there's more of the professional guitar solo dueling between Bittencourt and Kiko Loureiro. Vocalist Edu Falaschi has such a unique style, though not as high-ranging as the band's earlier vocalist Andre Matos (RIP). Emphasizing the start of this journey is the background soprano vocals of Sabine Edelsbacher of Edenbridge. "Angels and Demons" has a faster beat. The lyrics let you know about the angels and demons controlling your mind, as part of the perils in this ongoing journey. This can almost be an outtake for their previous album Rebirth while still connected to this album's tale. "Waiting Silence" has some synth atmosphere with good melody and great vocals. The bridge and soloing sounds awfully close to Dream Theater at times, though that's just the band's way of exploring beyond their stylistic limits. As a result, that song is a more progressive take on power metal, hinting at their later material, and it's quite interesting for the audience. "Wishing Well" has nice acoustic melody and choir arrangement in a journey through dreamland. There's already a music video for that track! It should interest non-metal music listeners looking for something sweet. The soloing and vocal power can help maintain metalheads' attention. It can leave travelers both determined and confused. Good song for the softer listeners!

The earlier heaviness of Angels Cry returns in "Temple of Hate". The power metal devil Kai Hansen of Gamma Ray sings alongside the angelic Falaschi. Those vocals remind you of the angel-demon battles that can make the heavier melodic metalheads smile. Alongside the good speedy power metal, you can hear a bit of background violins and drum variation. The soloing by Loureiro is so impressive, probably more than Dream Theater, and the violins really level up the powerful guitar riffing. This song is definitely worth repeating! "Shadow Hunter" is a grand 8-minute epic. The Latin influence can be found in the acoustics and percussion, accompanied by nice clean vocals. The electric guitar adds to that melody without being too heavy. The harmonic vocals can lead you to the excellent soloing for atmospheric power, alongside the usual drum kicks. One of the best tracks here happens to be one of the only ballads that I ever actually consider great, "No Pain for The Dead", while adding in the guitar and orchestration that really make the track a great hit. The progressive side of the band grows in the tempo and vocal development. Sabine Edelsbacher returns for more of the spotlight, and sounds the absolute best in this album. Thumbs up! "Winds of Destination" is good, but the tempo sounds off in some parts. The songs tries to build up but falls back down. This might fit better for a different band like Freedom Call or Blind Guardian (the latter's vocalist Hansi Kürsch guest appearing in that song). Not bad, but not so necessary.

The band's Brazilian roots shine in "Sprouts of Time" with moving percussion. Falaschi sings lower here, which is a good beautiful break from the higher vocal motive of power/speed metal. The mood spreads into Loureiro's soloing to help solidify the band's regional identity. A good sound to add to their style! "Morning Star" is the best track here. After the Brazilian rhythms comes a perfect transition into something wonderful. At atmospheric jazzy bridge is around to give the guitar and bass a nice touch. The vocals by Falaschi add more sweetness to the beginning of the journey's end. The melody morphs into heavier guitar for the chorus, repeated in the second verse. Soon a heavier dose of power is added to the strength of the riffing, soloing, and drumming. The headbanging power metal carries on until a few more verses and a final chorus to end in orchestral grandeur. The story actually ends with "Late Redemption", which is beautiful, but to me, more like an afterthought. The band members perform with more emotionally with some vocals by 60s/70s Brazilian pop star Milton Nascimento. "Gate XIII" is the 5-minute orchestral reprise of all the songs in the album, almost like the end credits music for a possible movie adaptation, similar to the end of Nightwish's Imaginaerum.

I certainly remember when Temple of Shadows was a classic part of my power metal collection, and the times when I would repeat it along with other albums of the genre. I would definitely give the album a perfect 5 stars if I reviewed it 8 years ago. Still this is worth a close enough 4.5 stars as its "classic" status isn't going away anywhere!

Favorites: "Spread Your Fire", "Waiting Silence", "Temple of Hate", "The Shadow Hunter", "No Pain for The Dead", "Morning Star"

*Sigh*... I would've dived into more of this band Sigh's over 3-decade 12-album career if I had more interest in avant-garde black metal with Japanese lyrics. With that said, their new album Shiki has given me great surprises. There are many meanings for the word "Shiki" and this album focuses on two of them; the Vivaldi/Wintersun-like motive of "4 seasons" and the DSBM-like attitude of "wanting to die". However, do they really follow those meanings? Let's find out...

The instrumentation really supports the album well, with guitars and bass by ex-DragonForce member Frédéric Leclercq and drumming by Fear Factory's Mike Heller. Longtime Sigh fans know the band's unpredictable weirdness, but some of them didn't expect the band to take a more serious Eastern progressive metal turn here.

A strange 15-second demon ritual-sounding intro "Kuroi Inori" (Black Prayer) starts the album similarly to the aforementioned DragonForce's debut Valley of the Damned. But in "Kuroi Kage" (Black Shadow), instead of speedy power metal, we have Celtic Frost vibes of slow black-doom-ish guitars with a psychedelic background. It's the soundtrack to a haunting nightmare! The insane high shrieks of vocalist Mirai are actually given more significance by the Japanese lyrics. It's not just slow gloom in this album though, as the black metal part of the sound crashes in "Shoujahitsumetsu" (Death of the Living), one of the fastest tracks of the album. There's also some classic metal influence, especially in the soloing, which is quite amazing, consider Leclercq's occasional soloing contributions to DragonForce.

"Shikabane" (Corpse) thunders through with powerful kick-A drumming. Check out "Satsui - Geshi No Ato" (Murderous Intent - After the Summer Solstice) for more of those thrashy drums and classic metal vibes, all that depart slightly from the avant-garde extreme metal of the earlier tracks. One track that's slightly laughable is "Fuyu ga Kuru" (Winter is Coming), and as if that title wasn't the tip-off, it seems too much like something worth appearing in an Eastern adaptation of the Game of Thrones soundtrack. "Shouku" (Community) is the closest we have to the bass and drums of the band's earlier black metal, while the guitar and background cleans add more melodic variety.

"Kuroi Kagami" (Black Mirror) is another ominous interlude. Then "Mayonaka No Kaii" (Midnight Mystery), despite reminding some of a weird Japanese Jethro Tull tribute at times, is an amazing highlight. Surprising turns in the instrumentation makes this an unforgettable wild ride. Did I mention the amount of surprises this band can pull? The oriental outro "Touji no Asa" (Morning at That Time) will keep you on your seat for what would come next in the future, if there are any more weirdly fun standouts to come...

So, did this band really worship Vivaldi, Wintersun, or DSBM? NOPE. Instead it's based on Japanese poem about Mirai's perilous journey from Autumn, through Winter, to Spring. Interesting concept, and very interesting album. Should there be an English translation though? I personally would hope so!

Favorites: "Kuroi Kage", "Shoujahitsumetsu", "Shikabane", "Shouku", "Mayonaka No Kaii"

Katatonia is known as one of the finest metal bands to come from Stockholm, Sweden. So why am I not getting into more of this action? See, they started as a death-doom band throughout the early/mid-90s, and they made a couple of the best albums of that genre. But when I left the Fallen clan, I distanced away from this band (among other death-doom bands), and the depressive lyrics they've had throughout their career kind of boosted my moving out motive. Interestingly, their albums from Viva Emptiness onwards are in the clan I switched into, The Gateway, with those albums considered dark alternative metal with post-/progressive elements. When I found out about their newest album Sky Void of Stars (the title sounds like a depressing take on a Coldplay single), I remembered the decently well-made City Burials from 3 years prior and my subsequent wonder of whether or not Jonas Renkse and co. could do better. And they've done it! They've made something close to a masterpiece of creativity.

There's just so much to discover the moment this offering started playing. They've enhanced their sound in this ongoing alt-metal era, continuing the mellowness of City Burials while eliminating the plodding factors and climbing back up towards the top. My concerns about if the depressiveness becomes too depressing is now out the window, and instead we have what might just be the best album Katatonia made in 25 years.

Dropping in right away is "Austerity", an incredible 4-minute opener of progressive force, complex in the riffing and rhythm while staying melodic. Drummer Daniel Moilanen makes his way through an impossibly big amount of time signatures. Bassist Niklas Sandin impressively keeps up with the fast technicality, into a bridge of mellow jazz. Guitar duo Anders Nyström and Roger Öjersson are the masters behind the riff complexity, with the latter performing a beautiful soloing. Of course, we can't forget about Jonas Renkse's warm vocal melodies, but while the unpredictability of the vocals can level up the impact, right from the beginning, it might catch you off guard at times. "Colossal Shade" gradually slows down into mid-tempo with lighter catchy melodies and bouncing electronics. Of course, darkness still lurks in the heavy guitar dissonance, especially in the bridge harkening back to Viva Emptiness. "Opaline" calms things down further. It's easily accessible with mellow dark electronic keyboards, leading up to a chorus of melancholic majesty, bringing back memories of The Great Cold Distance.

Continuing the flow is "Birds", restoring more of the straight heaviness of their early 2000s albums like Viva Emptiness, within the sinister atmosphere and urgent melody. Softer again is the more psychedelic "Drab Moon". Adding more tension again is "Author", with a chorus that really throws back to dark melody of the band's earliest albums since abandoning death-doom, Discouraged Ones and Tonight's Decision. "Impermanence" will leave you spellbound as a power ballad where Renkse sings together with Soen vocalist Joel Ekelöf, as the beautiful guitar leads take you towards the doom-rock of Last Fair Deal Gone Down.

"Sclera" is an underrated highlight, as the subtle melody, drumming, and electronics evoke great effect. While that song's chorus is memorizing with perfect tension, it's not as much as "Atrium", another glorious melodic goth alt-metal highlight that should really have as much attention as their 2000s era while making a great dark throwback to their late-90s albums. The 6-minute progressive closing piece, "No Beacon to Illuminate Our Fall" changes things quite a lot with twists in the riffs and evolution in the bleak vocals. And after all that's over, the listener will be left wondering what's next for the band... Unless they get the edition with the bonus track "Absconder", which unfortunately sounds too much like they're trying to recreate the sound of Last Fair Deal Gone Down and doesn't come out as greatly as all the other tracks.

If you're not as experienced with Katatonia as I am (despite my break from that band for over a year), Sky Void of Stars wouldn't be easy for you initially unless you give a lot of listening time. Eventually, it'll be worth witnessing the album's brilliance. Katatonia had finally made their way back on top in their discography, and I look forward to more!

Favorites: "Austerity", "Opaline", "Author", "Sclera", "Atrium", "No Beacon to Illuminate Our Fall"

It really is sad when a few of the best bands I've ever listened to end up splitting up so soon. After only 4 years and two albums, the band members parted ways. Guitarist Malice Rime and bassist Zoltan Harpax formed a different band with a more folk-ish take on their sound, Manntra. Drummer Torsten Nihill joined death-thrashers Monox. No one knows what happened to vocalist Mya Mortensen, but hopefully she's still around.

See, very few bands ever made their music almost entirely perfect throughout the career, but this band is a rarity! Kinetic continues the talented vocals and instrumentation that made Dreams in Formaline a shining star.

"Colossus" shows that the band had the potential to keep rolling after two albums, but sadly declined that opportunity. This is an awesome epic start to this album. This is more kick-A than Rammstein! It really continues where the band left off in their debut Dreams in Formaline. It makes me think of what would happen if Theatre of Tragedy continue the industrial pop rock elements of Musique and Assembly in Storm while keeping that album's gothic metal comeback, or simply a more industrial Evanescence. They should really reform sometime. "Dance With Me" is another pretty great song to enjoy for some of this band's gothic industrial metal sound. "Strip Me" has this broken desire kind of theme. "Time of Change" is a heavier track that grants you the ability to catch the world in your hands.

The title track perfectly exemplifies what the album is made of, from the beating heart. "Salvation Refused" shows that your battles against life aren't always fair, but you can overcome them. "I Am God" is the kind of song that makes you question your beliefs of God, but it doesn't affect me. "Breaking" is another absolutely underrated highlight.

For some over-the-top marching, check out "Cut Forget" for what sounds like a crossover between Joan Jett and anthemic hard rock. "Wind" is a nice softer track to fill the air. The album's final track "Pjesma (A Song)" marks the band's swan song. It's a shining straight anthem, partly sung in the band's native language. I almost feel like crying in both sadness and joy. There's also a bonus remix of the title track, but I prefer the original.

And there you have it, Omega Lithium, probably the best lesser-known female-vocal symphonic-infused gothic/industrial metal band to come from Europe. It's a refreshing break from any of the other genres I enjoy, and if the band was more popular, they wouldn't have disappeared after a short career. Let their music live on!

Favorites: "Colossus", "Time of Change", "Kinetik", "Breaking", "Cut Forget", "Pjesma (A Song)"

Omega Lithium is one of the most unknown yet underrated bands I've heard. I just love their spectacular gothic female-led industrial metal glory throughout their two albums. And my interest in that band started because my brother was listening to one of their songs. It's a real shame that they split up after those two albums, but their legacy shall carry on and having their 2009 debut Dreams in Formaline up as a feature release might just be a step in giving them a bit of the attention the band should've had.

This band can make songs to get stuck in your mind, and I was certainly hooked! This is full-on industrial/gothic metal to please your ears, so sit back and let this young cyber-sorceress Mya Mortensen guide you through this dark sci-fi apocalyptic realm...

With an epic opening track like "Infest", just how could this awesome band be short-lived?!? This band can add electronics into metal without ever going into hip-hop territory! The sexy vocals sound far better than Lady Gaga. Absolutely precious! "Stigmata" is an awesome song to love, and it makes me wish Omega Lithium would one day reform. Mya Mortensen is really pretty, and pretty talented in the industrial/gothic metal scene. Again you can almost consider her the Lady Gaga of metal! I can thank my brother for showing me that song. "My Haunted Self" continues the lyrical theme of the first track, in which a couple is haunted by the ghost of past revenge. The title track has evil bleak synths, with emotions controlling humans in an attempt to make dreams come true.

"Andromeda" is one of the heaviest songs here, and a terrifying creature from a science lab escapes and wants to devour humanity, "We’re dying, we’re crying, just because she escaped". The humanity-threatened monster continues to roam in "Nebula", a scary yet catchy masterpiece composition. Within the evil synthesized violins and cold vocals, the creature has DNA from the aliens of Nebula who wage war on Earth to tired out the human rebellion. Another one of the best songs here is the twisted "Snow Red", in which a boy murders his mother for sexually abusing him. Dark heaviness in the keyboards, riffing, and vocals let out an uneasy yet pleasant vibe throughout the song, especially in the chorus, "Love is the strongest weapon, joined with the blade". In "Hollow March", the industrial/gothic metal blend is still on, albeit in a quick epic pace. D*mn, this band is so underrated!

I can't say much about "Factor: Misery", but it's still really great. Then we have "Angel's Holocaust", in which a woman wants her lover to do an act of terrifying devastation. Then "Point Blank" shows us the scary consequences of society's self destruction. That's actually quite political, and I'm not one to discuss those kinds of topics. Still it's a beautiful way to end, if not including the US edition bonus track... "Ocean Dream" seems to be repetitive in the dark instrumentation. The rating I give this album covers its standard edition that doesn't include that repetitive but still good bonus track.

Dreams in Formaline is the first of only two albums by Omega Lithium. The production is excellent, as are Mya Mortensen's serene clean vocals. I really love this album, and there's nothing here I don't like! Well, except for a small bit of the bonus track. Although this band is no more, their music shall continue shining in the future!

Favorites: "Infest", "Stigmata", "Nebula", "Snow Red", "Hollow March", "Point Blank"

"Why do people have to live outside? In the brutal heat or when it's below freezing, there are people that are made to live outside, why?" Interesting question, and don't forget when the world is infected by a certain massive pandemic.

Desperate anguish has a home. A home that consists of a noise-ridden industrial sludge arsenal, ready for the listener to make a stinging dark descent. There is a rough edge in everything, rounded up by the only light grace that is some post-punk elements. Anyone stepping into this journey should be aware and not underestimate what's coming for them. Welcome...to God's Country!

The thundering "Slaughterhouse" takes you into the deep terrifying abyss in uniquely bleak production. Continuing the sludgy riff-rage, the nihilistic "Why" has those lyrics I've mentioned above that describe the need to live in a hole and hide from outside society. It eerily fits well with the times when the pandemic was at full swing. There's direct pain from the screamed fury when the lyrics detail that kind of denial. Stepping through in the leads and drums is "Pamela", leaning into melodic post-punk territory, with the vocals by Raygun Busch switching to baritone mumbling.

Continuing that is the more frantic "Wicked Puppet Dance", though adding some more growls and noise similar to Daughters, while the guitars might remind some of Idles. Keyboard passages give light to the pummeling darkness of "Anywhere", giving the song some change leading up to a final section of sharp guitar noise.

Raygun Busch in "Tropical Beaches, Inc." seems to have changed his vocal style a bit, sounding a bit soft while staying aggressive. Nonetheless, the sludge storm rumbles... "The Mask" departs from the album's post-punk-ish side, rolling into tearing screams. "I Don't Care If I Burn" is a short breather of spoken word. Then "grimace-smoking-weed.jpeg" is a sinister 9-minute industrial sludge metal attack, expanding on the percussion and screams until all fades to oblivion.

The album cover marks a good hint on the industrial sludge template, a bit similar to a few of Godflesh's cover arts, but the band's black metal-like intro might confuse the more extreme fans that are invited here. Here we have a nice dense dark forest to travel through as you retreat from the outer world of terror....

Favorites: "Why", "Wicked Puppet Dance", "Tropical Beaches, Inc.", "grimace-smoking-weed.jpeg"

The sophomore album from 108, Songs of Separation, marks metal's entry into the hardcore subgenre Krishnacore, where beliefs in the Hindu deity Krishna is the central lyrical theme to bands of the subgenre. Other such bands include Ray Cappo's bands Shelter and Youth of Today. 108 follows the stylistic path of the latter band, discarding the more punky sounds, in favor of the beats, breakdowns, and vocals, all mixing the aggressive early hardcore of Minor Threat and the deathly sludge riffing of Eyehategod. Of course, this is Krishnacore! Expect lyrics of the Krishna conscious lifestyle instead of the typical drugs and violence.

In saying all that, the metallic quality doesn't shine well in the album, causing massive turbulence in my enjoyment, though "Son of Nanda" has the best lyrics here of chasing dreams built on emptiness, "Worship the Son of Nanda sweet and become fearless". Though a tiring opposite is "Solitary" when it comes to those lyrics, "Each moment without you I die, oh Krishna". The closing "Pale" unleashes one more hardcore attack against the "9 to 5 scam".

I think what helps guide the members' transcending beliefs through the lyrics is the screaming vocals of Rob Fish and the dreamy background singing of Kate-O-Eight. It's a decent lesson for the metal and hardcore realms, but not worth my time of listening. Live and learn....

Favorites (only ones I like): "Son of Nanda", "Pale"

From the heart of Savannah, Vatican has mashed up metalcore's different eras, such as the 90s hardcore era and the more tech-sounding new millennium, even adding a bit of post-hardcore, deathcore, electronicore. They have pretty much anything for every metalcore/hardcore fan! I wouldn't say this impresses me a whole lot, with a few factors including the album's short runtime of 35 minutes, but it's worth adding more to the modern soundscape of metalcore.

Ultra was released 3 years after their debut Sole Impulse (far shorter than Trenches' gap between albums), and they continue their move to their extending goal. There isn't too much of a significant problem with what they do.

The opening "Slipstream Annihilation" kicks off the highly aggressive strength. They stay strong in the subsequent "I Am Above". Then "Reverence" has more of the heavy rage expected by fans of metalcore. It's also the first song of the album to be a single and include clean vocals. Yeah, the singing appears sporadically throughout the album, hinting at Deftones-esque ether among the rage. The band makes a sudden turn in "Where Heavens Collide", a more radio-friendly track, with more of the clean vocals plus electronics. There's still some solid strength, but the album is better as a headbanging slasher, as it is in most of its remainder. "[ULTRAGOLD]" proves it right away with ultraviolent metalcore to blast you in the face without relenting.

The furious pace pauses for "Don't Speak", a brief electronic intermission. Exploding like a bomb is the brutal decimating "Decemeta". Then "Uncreated Waste" unleashes the tech-ish riff-wrath in just two minutes once again. The powerful fury continues in "Damage".

The unexpected "By Your Love" is a better clean-sung post-hardcore standout with an anthemic chorus. "Miracle of the Moon" is absolutely spiteful. "Mirror Dream" has more chaotic mathcore a la The Dillinger Escape Plan, and there no reason to complain about it if you're a true metalcore fan like me. "N.U.M.B. (Neutralize Under Maternal Bond)" hits you hard with emotion and violence. The finale "Did You Ever Notice I Was Gone?" adds piano and female singing to the electronic mix which sounds mediocre to me.

Softer speed bumps aside, Ultra is quite strong and heavy with half of the amount of songs impressing me. It would be nice if they can go heavier on the edges and not pull out too many sudden soft twists in such a short runtime for the album, but you can find very plenty to like here. The modern metalcore scene still thrives....

Favorites: "Slipstream Annihilation", "Reverence", "[ULTRAGOLD]", "Uncreated Waste", "By Your Love", "Mirror Dream", "N.U.M.B. (Neutralize Under Maternal Bond)"

Around the time when Zao was uniting Christian metal with hardcore, Strongarm was doing the same with a more melodic approach. It's a shame this band was short-lived, but like other bands that have only lived for a short time, they left behind a strong legacy...

Anyone who likes the intense heaviness of Earth Crisis should not have a problem with this album. It stays intense throughout with deep intelligence. The rhythm section makes amazing twists in sync with the rest of the band. Drummer Chris Carbonell switched to vocals for this album, and his extreme voice is the key to the album's quality, though sometimes he adds in a bit of spoken word like other bands in the hardcore league. The lyrics are interesting in understandable thought.

"These Times That Try Men's Souls" takes on those lyrics of pure desire for truth, "The price paid for living in light, is that of gold in the crucible, ever melting, straining, striving to be made pure". Another track that can cut through lyrics is "Supplication". The inspiring "Council of Perfection" is my favorite, having some more amazing lyrics.

"More Bitter Than Death" continues those excellent lyrics as well. The trio suite of the title track, "Measure of Consequence", and "Sorrow is a Sage" all fit together with a lyrical story of the eponymous "Advent of a Miracle", "the breath of God", and longing for truth. Incredible!

"Increase" once again places Strongarm on the path to the Christian metalcore throne that's taken by Zao. "The Fall of Babylon" once again shows the band's Earth Crisis-like sound that would plant the seed for later melodic metalcore bands like Shadows Fall. The cool hidden track "Together" is a cover of a song by Endure, the previous band of guitarists Nick Dominguez and Joshua Colbert.

Those two guitarists, bassist Chad Neptune, and drummer Steve Kleisath moved on to a different emo-rock band Further Seems Forever. Chris Carbonell couldn't join because of his inability to do cleans as greatly as his screams. Despite breaking up, Strongarm shall be known as an impressive metalcore band with effective words!

Favorites: "Council of Perfection", "The Advent of a Miracle", "Measure of Consequence", "Sorrow is a Sage", "The Fall of Babylon"

The virus can be considered both a blessing and a curse. Bands everywhere couldn't tour, but a few bands use the opportunity to make another album such as Trivium and, of course, Rammstein. The most famous Neue Deutsche Härte band has finally settled the pace back down to 3 years between albums after that long 10-year gap between the previous two. Zeit shows the band's resilience from this global trauma as they continue their larger-than-life journey...

Zeit (Time) has some sonic strength that fits well for the band's identity. The guitars and vocals that are significant points of the band's sound are still running. I wouldn't say the formula is f***ed, but a few tracks have a bit of roughness.

The ride opens with "Armee der Tristen" ("Army of the Dreary Ones"), in which the band plays their typical sound, adding in some synths from Depeche Mode and a KMFDM-like mid-tempo pace. Though the tempo would really drop in the next two songs... Mourning this virus-ridden cruelty, the title ballad has soft piano and vocals, sounding restrained while still beautiful and remarkable. The sorrowful "Schwarz" ("Black") gets you hooked with more of the piano.

"Giftig" ("Toxic") is a mechanical stomper that's almost like a remake of "Du Hast". That I like! The single "Zick Zack" ("Snip Snap") mixing their usual riffing with a dance-beat, picking up what they've been doing since their previous album. The fantastic highlight "OK" ("Ohne Kondom" ["Without a Condom"]) full-on rages in the vein of their early 2000s work. The soaring choir and Pantera-like groove is what levels up my enjoyment. Another power ballad "Meine Tränen" ("My Tears") sounds more strained while keeping the dynamics in place.

"Angst" ("Fear") stomps away the anxiety that the band has written about in the lyrics. After that, we have "Dicke Titten" ("Big T*ts") adds in the Oomph!-like sound in the riffs and refrain while adding circus-like brass and lyrics praising large-breasted women without causing a perverted fetish. While that doesn't shock me, I can't say the same for "Lügen" ("Lies"). It starts with a slow harp intro that makes me think it would lead to another ballad. Well, it does, but once Till Lindemann starts singing instead of speaking, the vocals sound autotuned like a bass/baritone-sounding T-Pain. A nice try at experimenting, but it makes that song perhaps the worst stinker here. The marching finale "Adieu" ("Farewell") has reflective piano and a sign-off message, "You have to go the final way alone".

Despite the madness of the early 2020s, Rammstein unleashes their force in different layers in Zeit. They've fearlessly battled on with their strength, and the journey was only scarring in a couple places, shown quite well throughout this well-fought offering....

Favorites: "Armee der Tristen", "Zeit", "Giftig", "OK (Ohne Kondom)", "Angst", "Adieu"

Today is another day of listening to and reviewing a Today is the Day album, in an attempt to roll the dice on finding what I might enjoy from this band. Thanks Ben for adding their self-titled 3rd album that now qualifies for the site! So let's dig in to see what it has to offer...

Despite the original CD being out of print for so many years, Today is the Day's 3rd album is a significant one. It's their first album to be self-produced in founding guitarist Steve Austin's recording studio Austin Enterprise. The bassist is out, but the band instead added a keyboardist to add a more electronic vibe. With that said, the album is known as the band's entryway into the metal sound that would develop in later albums. You know how much I like these transition "missing link" kind of albums!

Right from the start, the cacophonic "Kai Piranha" begins the heaviness as thick as a humid swamp. The vocals have that strange unsettling mood alternation between screams and cleans. "Marked" sounds less vague and more threatening. The excruciatingly amazing puncher "Bugs Death March" is more twisted, bringing up horrifying imagery of bugs crawling all over your skin like in one of those video games when you end up in a swarm-infested part of a cavern, helped out by the keyboard/vocal domination alongside some samples and noises. A spooky favorite! It then leads to a pure acoustic interlude, "A Man of Science".

"Realization" is another experimental highlight, and I'm stunned that I've evolved from the melodic metalcore of All That Remains to this band's sound. "Black Iron Prison" is a soft eerie interlude that reminds me of some of the interludes The Dillinger Escape Plan would make. "Mountain People" has a great amount of progressive experimentation similar instrumentally to Voivod and early Protest the Hero. "Ripped Off" continues the music expansion with more of the keyboards and screaming/singing vocal alternation.

"The Tragedy" is a just drum interlude. Beware of "She is the Fear of Death" if you can't handle the creepy insanity of weird falsetto gasps and strange explicit lyrics. But I can understand that kind of nature, and consider that track another gem. "I Love My Woman" is a funny 30-second serenade interlude. "Dot Matrix" is one last sludgecore track.

Indeed, Today is the Day's self-titled 3rd album begins the band's transition to metal, but I can't describe exactly its disturbing power. Austin and co. produced a noise-ridden classic, yet sometimes you can get lost in the dense twists. It's almost like they've made intentional and unintentional jams for this malevolent atmosphere. Still this offering helped fans of the band and sound appreciate them more, me being one of them 27 years after release. But the entryway would be opened further by the Morning Star....

Favorites: "Bugs Death March", "Realization", "Black Iron Prison", "Mountain People", "Ripped Off", "She is the Fear of Death"

I wouldn't have had the leeway to enjoy this 5 to 10 years ago, but g****mn, this is one of the best brutal technical death metal/core fusions I've heard! Despised Icon's debut album Consumed by Your Poison was first released via Galy Records in 2002 in their homeland Canada. It wasn't until 4 years later, after releasing their second album The Healing Process, when they re-released it to the rest of the world, thanks to Century Media.

One of the vocalists is different from the rest of the discography, screaming gal Marie-Hélène Landry. Her vocals sound a bit weird but you'll get used to it. The structure and brutality gives the band a similar vibe to their country's small tech-death scene led by Gorguts and Cryptopsy.

The addictive "Compelled to Copulate" rapidly fires brutal death metal/core mayhem without ever lighting up. "Poissonnariat" can please the more brutal fans who can tolerate the gore within the tempos, riffs, and bass. Those first two tracks were later re-recorded as bonus tracks for the re-release. "Grade A-One" has more groove while continuing the ultraviolent chaos. "Le Chêne et le Roseau" is almost like a more hardcore Cephalic Carnage.

The one-minute deathgrind track "Dead King" starts with a weird industrial intro, then continues blasting off in some of the most inventive vocal variation in all of deathcore. "Absolu" is an absolute highlight of early deathcore hellfire. "Fashionable" helps the band show that they're display their deathcore in wild madness rather than fashion.

"Interfere in Your Days" is another track that's more chaotic than even mathcore bands like Psyopus. "Clef de Voûte" has pretty much the most teamwork in any of 2000s deathcore. The technical riff-wrath continues leveling up from groove to sounding similar to Between the Buried and Me at that time. "Despise the Icons" is one more short grinder that seems a bit like an afterthought, while not affecting the rest.

Marie-Hélène Landry would end up leaving the band after this album, but a different vocalist would help lead the band into fame and do those aforementioned re-recordings for the re-release. This pummeling gem should be listened to by the more brutal metalheads before judging. Let the brutal deathly storm descend!

Favorites: "Compelled to Copulate", "Dead King", "Absolu", "Interfere in Your Days", "Clef de Voûte"

"Good afternoon, sir. How may I help you?" "Yeah, I'd like that Sikth EP please." "Sure, here you go." (after paying) "Thank you." "You're welcome. Have a nice day." This young gentleman makes his smooth gentle walk from the music store back to his car, places the CD into the stereo, and once the music starts playing, he switches from a polite gentleman to a rowdy headbanger and starts driving away like a madman.

I can't believe I haven't fully discovered one of their releases until now. This band has really cranked up their talent higher than 11! While this might not be for everyone, the heavier metal/hardcore fans of bands like Converge and The Dillinger Escape Plan can and should really get onboard.

The fantastic title opener has a crazy lot of guitar shredding and screaming babbling in a way that I love. Apparently it tells some kind of interesting fictional story. The band's first ever song "Suffice" was re-recorded for this release, and it's as fantastic as the previous track without any need for improvement. "Tupelo" is a cover of a song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, doing the original justice while keeping Sikth's identity.

One of the vocalists, Mikee Goodman is awesome at his work. He's as energetic as the rest of the group, all determined to shake up their live performances. The 3 songs were all re-recorded for their debut album The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild. Listen to this band and witness how hard-hitting they can be!

Favorites: "How May I Help You?", "Suffice"

1000 Homo DJs... With a name like that, you might think of the ultimate LGBT DJ festival. This is actually a short-lived side-project of Ministry and a few other well-known late 80s industrial rock/metal musicians. The group released two double-sided singles, and this is one of them, Supernaut, though the EP edition includes that other single.

Let's start with the title track, an amazing old-school industrial metal cover of a Black Sabbath tune. The leader of the group and Ministry, Al Jourgensen has done quite an effort in making a doom-ish industrial metal tune that can work well for a disco club. While the lyrics and pace are the same, it sounds more massive with the amped guitars, pounding drums, and distorted vocals. Apparently, the vocals were originally by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, but he was with a different record label, so to prevent legal issues, Jourgensen re-recorded the song with his own vocals sounding similar to Reznor. Rumor has it that it's actually Reznor's vocals highly distorted to conceal his identity, but that rumor was denied. The original single's B-side "Hey A****le" is never really something that would really make industrial metal history. All the song has is a repeated loop of industrial rhythm and chanting the song title, in the background of a lengthy rant from a foul-mouthed cop.

The two tracks from their earlier single released in the EP version make up for that sh*tter, the fun early industrial rock/metal of "Apathy" and the similar but repetitive "Better Ways". Get rid of that 8-minute a****le cop rant and you have a fine decent EP. I think I'd rather head for Lard if I want one of Al Jourgensen's earlier side-projects....

Favorites: "Supernaut", "Apathy"

PassCode is a trance metal/core band, having a similar vein to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, though with a Babymetal-inspired Japanese girl lineup. So far, I've listened to one song from this group, as part of an individual trance metal track challenge, and it became perhaps my personal favorite track from an album deemed trance metal that isn't Amaranthe. I'll tell you what that song is soon. Now it would be interesting to find out how the rest of this album contributes to deciding the fate of trance metal...

Clarity has 13 tracks, and each track has something that anyone can. There are the fast heavy songs for metalheads to enjoy, and a slow soft ballad suitable for the melodic listeners. Pretty much most of these tracks and quite fun and worth great listening.

The album opens with "Projection", a great way to introduce what PassCode is known for. The fast guitars and drums drive though rock-out pleasure. "Dive Into the Light" is another fast track, suitable for clubs with its beat and awesome bass. Third track "Ray" is a song trance fans cannot miss! It's a typical part of the band's sound, and it works like a charm. Unlike the 4th track literally titled "4". That one's much different compared to the rest, and it almost comes out as filler.

"Taking You Out" is that song from the trance metal track challenge, opening with mighty growls alongside awesome riffing, then in the verses, the girls come in with their own different styles. That heavy fast song is perhaps the greatest of this album! Next up, "The Day With Nothing" sounds closer to rock from 20 years ago. A catchy uplifting gem! "Horoscope" is also different, this time being a lovely ballad that the more melodic listeners really want. The clean vocals that the entire group sings sound so natural, and the ending guitar solo is so sweet. "It's You" returns to the usual sound, sort of. The instrumentation is more of a synthesizer-infused take on A Day to Remember's pop punk, which works quite well. The piano that sometimes appears in a nice touch. The energetic vocals ranging from melodic to extreme add catchiness to the lyrics, shining especially in the chorus. Actually the harsh vocals are much less in this track compared to the other heavy songs, and when they do appear here, they sound restrained. But never mind that, it's still a fun highlight.

What kinds of throws me off slightly is "In the Rain". First we have the video-game-sounding synth intro, then a burst of brutal harsh vocals in contrast to the happy instrumentation. That part can be considered heavy hardcore possessed by synthesizers. The band's well-known balance in sound comes in the verses with vocal melodies and catchy lyrics. Another time when the growls shine is during the breakdown. I wish the chorus could be as strong as the rest of the song though. Still it's d*mn good enjoyment for the greater fans of PassCode! "Trickster" adds more of the madness in the speedy synths and drums, though it's slightly draggy. Another breakdown occurs before the final chorus. "Tonight" isn't a really special track, but a good one to look out for. "Will" slows things down slightly while still sounding fast, but it can win a bit of their audience when adding atmosphere to live shows. The bonus track "Ichika Bachika" is once again different, but a nice ending highlight.

All in all, Clarity is a great album of J-pop-infused trancecore. Can't say I would ever recommend this entirely to the heavier metalheads. But if you're up for what Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas sounds like with a Babymetal-like lineup, you're in for a treat....

Favorites: "Projection", "Ray", "Taking You Out", "The Day With Nothing", "Horoscope", "It's You", "Ichika Bachika" (bonus track)

Music is forever. If a musician, whether solo or in a band, is gone, his/her/their work would live on. They should never be forgotten, even the most unpleasant to the outsiders. Why am I telling you all this? You'll find out as you read on...

Formed in San Francisco, Admiral Angry can feed listeners some anger that might be terrifying for the inexperienced. Originally a grindcore band, they then switched to their own sound that combines the sludge of Neurosis, the hardcore of Black Flag, and the doom-ish heavy metal of Black Sabbath. Vocalist Chris Lindblad delivers some of the most tortured-sounding vocals in extreme metal/hardcore. The sludgy low tempo shows some talent in writing, while being a bit restrained.

The opening "Sex with a Stranger" begins with the downtuned sludge you're in for, slower than a snail. After the first minute and a half, what's more interesting is the sudden change to a bouncing beat with some of the heaviest riffing to be heard. Then near the end, the tempo picks up higher, and you can jam out with it. Turning back into slow tempo, "Circling the Drain" starts with a few-second ambient intro before the sludgy doom riffing bursts in again. A little over 3 minutes in, the sound starts to drone a bit, but then a minute later, a head-pounding riff practically mixes a Southern vibe with slight Northern black metal. That's a vicious display of anger!

Track 3, "Kill Yourself" opens with a headbanging Meshuggah-like djenty riff that then transitions into Will Haven's sludgy groove. This context is leveled up with percussive riffs and high tremolos. Once again it ends interestingly with high-tempo noise. Next up, "Plastic Bath" is perhaps the most metalcore (and there's barely any here) drumming and riffing. It's all quite heavy, with the drums sounding industrial. "Blowdown" is certainly a key highlight. "Android" has skillful drumming including a pummeling drum outro.

"Specimen On" has faster jazzy drumming, but it's a poor under-two-minute track. This is made up for "Bug Vomit". And even more in "The Illusion of Strength", the ending highlight, with one or two notes played over and over for a minute as part of a riff. This is tight tough heaviness you wish for more of from the band members.

Sadly, founding guitarist Daniel Krauss passed away from cystic fibrosis at age 22 after recording this album and one more EP. I felt some pain in my heart when I found out because I lost an outside-world friend of mine last month (as of this review), same age, similar cause of death. This is why I want you all to remember the work of this band and their fallen guitarist. Buster is a good album with some of the heaviest dread. RIP those two young fellows gone too soon; Daniel Krauss and my outside-world friend....

Favorites: "Sex with a Stranger", "Kill Yourself", "Plastic Bath", "Blowdown", "The Illusion of Strength"

Black metal has been known as satanic, but sometimes progressive and/or epic. I prefer to get the epic side of metal from the progressive metal of Opeth, instead of the black metal of Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, and Satyricon. Do you ever wonder if bands combine the epicness and complexity? This band can! They've done it with great magic that many other bands of similar styles lost over the years. However, it's not like a Christmas present that I've really desired (and it is close to Christmas as of this review) in some parts, but there's no way this will ever make me as disappointed as I was about Opeth's prog-rock era.

Of Erthe and Axen (Act I) is quite an exciting thrill-ride, and it was definitely worth the 5-year wait fans of the band had since their debut, though they would have to wait even f***ing longer for a new one after Act II. This is kind of a throwback to around the time of the album's release, when I was an older teen listening to other band of the more epic progressive metal shortly between switching to its extreme side and more modern genres. It really satisfies what I've expected! The band members have done a brilliant job turning this album into a near-perfect masterpiece. While I hear a good amount of symphonic black metal, the album is not entirely like that, balanced out with tremendous progressive metal. Even the story is planned out to be as structural as the music.

The introduction is what sets up the story and lets you know what the story will represent, and "Open the Gates, O Forest Keeper" would help get you in your seat as an orchestral overture. "To Lost and Ancient Gardens" introduces you to the story lyrically, though honestly those first two tracks should've combined into a full introduction. Further introducing the different aspects, "To Higher Climes Where Few Might Stand" brings in the enigmatic progressiveness along with the epic black metal fury.

Continuing the progressive complexity in the knot is "To Souls Distant and Dreaming", sounding as epic in the music and storytelling as Opeth's Still Life. "In Deep and Wooded Forests of My Youth" is unique in the progressive/symphonic black metal realm, sneaking in an acoustic ballad with clean male/female vocals to pause the complexity and fury the rest of the album has to offer. It's much better than Blind Guardian's "Bard Song (In the Forest)", but as someone who's aiming for more of the heaviness, that doesn't really lighten things up for me.

You can tell we're already entering the climax when you first hear the chanting in "The Sound of Hunger Rises", like some serious sh*t is gonna happen. The magnificent story of heroism and tragedy continues to be told within this metal soundtrack. "Have you ever felt this way before? Can you feel the power surging through your soul?" Sung in impressive honesty to keep you up to date in the story's occurring calamity. This is also achieved in "The Sound of a Glinting Blade", one more soft ballad. "The Sound Which Has No Name" is the cinematic finale where the band has mastered it all. This is symphonic black metal within the orchestration, tremolos, and blast-beats, along with vocals ranging from unclean to clean, and the progressiveness is added once again to the brutality. An epic ending!

In the end, we have a beautiful first part of the Of Erthe and Axen saga. Will I ever be up to checking out the exciting conclusion? Not today, but perhaps one day when I'm fully up to exploring more of non-satanic black metal and the more cinematic progressive metal. And this epic offering has given me a bit of motivation!

Favorites: "To Higher Climes Where Few Might Stand", "To Souls Distant and Dreaming", "The Sound of Hunger Rises", "The Sound Which Has No Name"

In the same year as All Shall Perish's debut, Deadwater Drowning had also released an EP that was known as a blueprint for the modern deathcore we know today. It was the only release they've ever recorded before splitting up after two, and the band members would continue in other bands that have their deathcore sound thanks to this EP, such as Fit For An Autopsy, Through the Eyes of the Dead, The Acacia Strain, The Red Chord, and Whitechapel.

This EP that holds 5 of only 6 songs in the band's existence is one I like! They straight-up blend elements of technical death metal, hardcore punk, and grindcore in a death cauldron in a similar vein to The Red Chord.

The opening "Sleepwalking with a Knife" rolls on with that sound. You can hear those genres crossed over in high quality, and it should really be given a chance. As the next track "Getting Sentimental on That A**" gets close to an end, f***ing melodic dissonance can be heard, which sounds great, but sadly after 10 seconds, you can never hear it again, and it should've been played as a recurring thing throughout the song. Up next, "Bliss From a Dead Embrace" kicks a** with f***ing might. It can convince you to dive into the heaviness. "My Fist, Your Face" has some consistent fluid, but the next track is the EP's true standout... "The Best Sex I Ever Had Started with a 900 Number and Credit Card Verification" is perhaps the best song of the EP, scary with some bits of Drowningman.

Holy sh*t, this EP can really shake the room and have only the weak and inexperienced running away. Though this band quit shortly after this one EP, they've made a promising start for the deathcore that we know and often hate, but for me, it's something to love at an appropriate amount of brutality!

Favorites: "Sleepwalking with a Knife", "Bliss From a Dead Embrace", "The Best Sex I Ever Had Started with a 900 Number and Credit Card Verification"

All Shall Perish first released their debut Hate Malice Revenge in 2003 via Amputated Vein, a small record label in Japan. Then two years later, the album was re-released via the more popular metal label Nuclear Blast. This isn't the metalcore ground I was staying firmly planted in, this is g****mn vicious deathcore!

See, I was once focused on the modern metal of Trivium and Lamb of God, but I've recently gained the leeway to explore something more brutal. A genre that combines the aspects of those two bands with the death metal of Dying Fetus and the Black Dahlia Murder. All Shall Perish mixes the breakdowns from hardcore with pulverizing guitar rhythm, rapid drumming, and a monstrous vocal range of growls and screams. This album is filled with relentless deathcore devastation, sounding memorable and catchy.

The intense yet short "Deconstruction" begins the album with an incredible blend of punishing rhythms, searing guitars, and hyper-fast blast-beats. And the great intensity doesn't stop from there, continuing and increasing throughout. Next one "Laid To Rest" bludgeons listeners with deep breakdowns and severely all-over-the-place drumming, way more brutal than Lamb of God's song "Laid to Rest". Slowing things down is "Our Own Grave", a menacing track with crushing riffs. There's almost a sludgy vibe, but the occasional speed gives the track more variation.

Next up, "The Spreading Disease" can be considered a bridge between that Spread the Disease album I've listened to and the earlier Lorna Shore EPs. "Sever the Memory" is another perfect bridge between the prototypical and the modern, from Eighteen Visions' 90s era to Veil of Maya's 2000s era. "For Far Too Long" fires their occasionally slower brutal sound like cannons at war.

"Never Ending War" is a thunderous highlight, a 6 and a half minute epic of powerful chords and leads, not to mention the earthquake-including breakdowns. The last track "Hearing The Brainwashed" has the potential to hook you up with lacerating leads.

All Shall Perish really should've had more innovative fame than Dying Fetus, but not many of the heavier metalheads are as eager to walk the blazing deathcore trail as I am. Hate Malice Revenge has that interesting technical heaviness of crushing Hell that has satisfied me much more than it would have 5 years ago. The more brutal fans should really try this album before they judge. Even the most serious listener will smile at this ground-shaker!

Favorites: "Deconstruction", "The Spreading Disease", "Sever the Memory", "Never Ending War"

The Red Chord has some interesting backstories behind their name and album titles. The band name comes from the opera Wozzeck; if I'm getting this right, a man was hypnotized to slash his lover's throat and strangle her with a string in the slashed throat, then he snaps out of hypnosis and asks, "My love, what is that red cord across your neck?" The name of the debut Fused Together in Revolving Doors references a nightclub fire in 1940s Boston; people were trying to escape via revolving doors, but it was so crowded and thereby impossible to escape that they were burned to death by the fire and assimilated to the doors. When you find a bizarre or tragic backstory in the name of a band and/or an album, you know that the music is also bizarre and, for the heavier ear, pleasing.

Fused Together in Revolving Doors is another early deathcore discovery for me that is love at first listen! I'm already years apart from when the band was active. I might suggest those songs for my brother to play in car rides, if he can handle this much chaos.

First track "Nihilist" starts with an insane blast of screaming deathgrind without ever lighting up. Continuing on is "That Certain Special Ugly" with the best lyrics in the album about "the worst joke they could have told". Next up is "Catalepsy", having some of the fastest brutality, starting awesome in the riffing without ever stopping. Psyopus did a comedic cover of that song as a hidden track for the album Our Puzzling Encounters Considered.

"Like a Train Through a Pigeon" blasts through in relentless devastation. The nature of the track keeps mauling you. "He Was Stretching, and Then He Climbed Up There" can be considered the album's intermission, a two-minute instrumental, sounding mellow in the acoustics. It segues into another perfect highlight "Breed the Cancer".

"L Formation" is another two-minute track, this one being a great song filled with different time changes, and apparently the lyrics are about chess. These guys have great talent and intelligence! "Dreaming In Dog Years" is perhaps their best song here. After an odd 5-second intro, it explodes into absolute mayhem, great for a live setting. Another one of the best, "Sixteen Bit Fingerprint", is a 7-minute epic with progressive structure, a bit like what Between the Buried and Me had at that time.

I just can't say no to this band's debut! I've listened to the more hardcore genres from The Revolution for 5 years, and nothing is as perfectly chaotic as this that's worth listening to. I look forward to checking out more of this unclean production in their later albums. It's this kind of raw production I prefer to hear instead of the lo-fi black metal of Darkthrone. It's thin in a way that everything can still be heard. However, you don't wanna make the production too clear, otherwise the experience would be far different from what it already is. Just listen to this brutal chaos, with perfection in everything!

Favorites: "That Certain Special Ugly", "Catalepsy", "Breed the Cancer", "Dreaming In Dog Years", "Sixteen Bit Fingerprint"

Now ain't this the most shocking revelation in any metal community website! A metalhead who had never dared to explore the standard death metal of Morbid Angel has finally done so...with their most hated album, the St. Anger of death metal, Illud Divinum Insanus! I thought I would check it out and give it a review to finally hear what the deal was after noticing its industrial elements pointed out and a few tracks appearing in the earlier monthly Sphere playlists (before the ones I created). This was released in 2011 when Skrillex and dubstep were sweeping the globe, and bands of most genres were pressured to follow that trend. Bassist/vocalist David Vincent, who had rejoined the band for this album, had past experiences with other genres. Guitarist Pete Sandoval couldn't participate because of surgery for a herniated spinal disc, eventually fully leaving a few years later due to his Christianity. Of course, I have to also mention the two guitarists Trey Azagthoth (founding member) and Destructhor (temporary).

Illud Divinum Insanus may be one of the worst albums in metal history, but for me it's not as bad as what others think, probably because of my industrial metal passion. Yep, the style is basically their death metal sound toned down with emphasis on industrial metal and synth-rock. You can also hear some interesting vocals from Vincent including some Spanish! I say this album is about half-fun half-awful, not very cohesive yet still interesting, probably would work better as a few EPs. Despite the downsides, Morbid Angel have gone their most diverse in this style of styles. The vocals and guitars have different tactics in each track, so i can do my usual track-by-track analysis to add a bit of cohesion to a review for a not-so-cohesive album. So let's try it...

"Omni Potens" starts things of as an ominous synth-orchestral intro to remind some of Summoning's album intros and the RuneScape soundtrack. The unexpected sound begins with the first full track "Too Extreme!" The vocals sound cleaner than what death metal fans desire, and in some verses, Vincent sings in Spanish for some reason. Vincent dominates this track more than Trey Azagthoth whom longtime fans consider the actual heart and soul of the band. The intricate soloing those fans want is absent. What really puts this sh*t to ruin is the drumming. Tim Yeung can drum pretty well, but he seemed to use a drum machine for this one. The fact that song is pretty much my entryway to the music of Morbid Angel would disgruntle longtime fans who discovered the band via their 90s albums and want more of that era's sound. One song that's closer to the earlier death metal is "Existo Vulgoré", but that sh*t is too weak for its existence. "Blades for Baal" is acceptable with its stronger attempt at that earlier sound.

One of the worst songs in the album is "I Am Morbid", which is morbidly atrocious. The lyrics are pretty much a f***ing lousy attempt at tackling metal culture the way Manowar can. There's that boring verse-chorus structure with little variation. All of that make that track the worst here and one of the absolute worst stinkers in metal. Carcass's Heartwork is a far better deal for mid-tempo melodeath. "10 More Dead" adds more of the deathly aspects as the band should have. "Destructos vs. the Earth / Attack" is a decent song in the industrial metal category. The structure is quite repetitive, but adds the same time it sounds fun. Plus there's a bit of death metal at the end that would foreshadow a later return to form.

The solid death metal comes back again in "Nevermore". That track and "Beauty Meets Beast" bring back the earlier riff groove, though with a slight edge of the mainstream they were only hinting in those older albums. While I won't elaborate on those songs as much as songs from my other reviews, I'll say that the variation isn't essentially prominent, yet works better without too much of the lyrical charisma. Only fans of the 4 albums before this one would tolerate those riffs, though I like a bit of them too. "Radikult" is the second-sh*ttiest song of the album. F***, this sounds too much like Marilyn Manson! The only good thing is how well the song moves. Vincent thinks he could go Primus on his bass and vocals, but the former ends up practically inaudible. What an absolute drag that is... The closing "Profundis - Mea Culpa" is the best track here. The industrial rhythm and metal complexity are combined very well, Vincent's vocals are very captivating, and there's none of that sh*tty rock in sight.

With all that said, Morbid Angel had really stripped things down for this album. David Vincent had already worked with the band in their earlier groundbreaking albums, and his replacement Steve Tucker continued the band's brutal development. So it's puzzling how low the songs can go in Vincent's comeback release. The longtime fans would definitely like a bit of the different eras of the band they've thrown back to while p*ssing on the industrial metal/rock sounds. They would for sure stay away from the dubstep of Skrillex and the dungeon synth of Summoning's album intros and prefer to stay with Morbid Angel's first 3 albums. Sure, this band really roughed up their fanbase's expectations, but I appreciate what they could do. I just don't wanna have to hear those two rock-sounding sh*t-songs again, and there's much worse trash out there....

Favorites (only ones I like or slightly like): "Blades for Baal", "10 More Dead", "Nevermore", "Beauty Meets Beast", "Profundis - Mea Culpa"

Previously on the journey of Demon Hunter, the band re-recorded classic ballads in their own acoustic album Songs of Death and Resurrection, but it just made me wish for a return to metal form someday for this band. As a young adult listening to the heavier metal, I don't wanna lose interest in this band, and I thought I might if they continued to go softer. I mildly enjoy the War and Peace duo, in which the former showed more of their metal capabilities, whereas the latter experimented closer to hard rock territory.

For their new 12th album Exile (also the first with their own self-founded record label), I was hoping for a more equal-sounding album like the ones the band made before War and Peace. Sadly, it sounds like the Peace side is slowly taking over the sound...

However, the furious "Defense Mechanism" opens with the band's usual heaviness, featuring growling vocals by Max Cavalera (ex-Sepultura, Soulfly). "Master" has a bit of a Motionless in White vibe in the industrial background within their alt-metal. There are two songs in the album that are the longest by the band since the closing epic of their 2002 debut, the first of which is the 7-minute "Silence the World", a beautiful epic reminding me a bit of Trivium's Silence in the Snow album, and featuring singing by Tom S. Englund of Evergrey. The incredible highlight "Heaven Don't Cry" is worth being a radio single, mixing heaviness with melody. This can reach the mainstream without stripping down the sound as much as Songs of Death and Resurrection and instead elevating the writing quality.

"Another Place" stands out as another highlight, sounding ethereal in the first verse before a rising chorus that's one of the best here. The excellent lyrics tell about escaping from darkness into light, "If we're not allowed to be, breathe outside the lines, we will find our place, just beyond their eyes, somewhere of our own, somewhere through the black, set the old ablaze, never turning back." Track #6 "Freedom Is Dead" marks a full return to the metalcore energy and growled vocals from Ryan Clark, though it seems more like an appetizer compared to the rest of this main course. "Praise the Void" is a re-recording of the sole new song from Songs of Death and Resurrection, adding full instrumentation instead of just piano/strings. The widely ranging lyrics are much clearer here, "But here in the dark, I feel nothing, I see no one, no solace at all, we once heard the lasting call, but now we praise the void, for this love, wasted love, praise the void, we found nothing is enough." Then enters "Revolutions", ranging in vocal variety, battling between the screaming empire and the soft-singing rebellion.

The riffing note in "Chemicals" drags on for too long, sounding uninspired. "Godless" is interesting because of the guitar soloing by Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner. It's his first studio recording since his near-fatal health-scare; he was performing with Priest and apparently the encore song "Painkiller" was more than he could physically take, ending up suffering an aorta rupture and internal bleeding. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he had a 10-hour open-heart surgery. It was shocking for him because he never had any heart issues before then. Luckily he's still alive, and he recorded his aforementioned guest appearance a couple months later. One more highlight, "Devotion" is the last island of metal heaviness in a sea of dark brooding melody. The second of the band's two longest tracks, the closing 8-minute "Along the Way" is just underwhelming through its long length, repeating choruses and verses when they should've included a bridge of vocal alternation. Talk about ending the album on a soft whimper...

There are barely any bands formed in the new millennium as active and prolific as Demon Hunter, with most of their albums being excellent works of art. They have matured over the years, despite Exile not reaching the band's earlier excellence, and I appreciate Clark's efforts in making albums like this. There's a little more atmosphere in the music, and the album has its own defiant concept set in futuristic fantasy. Clearly, Demon Hunter has discarded most of their well-known metalcore and brought in a cleaner variant of the early 2000s alt-metal, but hey, it's your call if you wanna hear how less heavy the band has become....

Favorites: "Defense Mechanism", "Silence the World", "Heaven Don't Cry", "Another Place", "Praise the Void", "Revolutions", "Godless", "Devotion"

The new Demon Hunter album Exile has just come out recently, and I look forward to talking about whether or not it holds up for me well. But before that, it's time to review take a dive into their acoustic re-recordings album Songs of Death and Resurrection...

It's impressive that this successful band released 12 studio albums in a span of 20 years. Their blazing metalcore career can please metalheads and non-metalheads, and so can the occasional rock ballad that each album has. It's quite disappointing when the band chose an acoustic direction for their 11th album, though not surprising. Songs of Death and Resurrection strips down their popular rockers and ballads, all from their first 7 albums, plus one song from Peace, and another re-recorded for Exile.

"My Throat Is An Open Grave" is a soft opening highlight. A cello and a violin can be heard creating significant waves. The lyrics have most amazing sorrow regardless of the lame emo-ish song title. "Dead Flowers" is a soft ballad that once again offers the lighter sweet side of the band. "The Heart of a Graveyard" has less of a ballad-like pace, being much stronger and more energetic. With a synthesized intro and the vocals being entirely clean, it can almost be considered a poppy song. That song deserves some radio play! "Praise the Void" is the new track that would be re-recorded for Exile, and one of the band's strongest recent ballads. The strings and vocals sound so beautiful. The lyrics can range from sarcastic ("Now we praise the void, for this love, wasted love") to feeling isolation ("Here in the dark, I feel nothing, I see no one").

"Blood In The Tears" returns to the re-recordings section with a soft moving ballad like 3 of the earlier tracks. The band's talent is in broad range there! In "Loneliness", it makes sense that the band chose another song without screaming vocals nor a breakdown, since it never happens! With that said, it's nice when the song focuses on Ryan Clark's clean vocals. "I Am a Stone" sounds smoother than the other track from True Defiance, "Dead Flowers", this time being just a string-accompanied movement with some of the best written Demon Hunter lyrics. A little boring but still uplifting! Demon Hunter's love for ballads continues its display in "I Will Fail You". However, the later ballads from the band aren't usually as good as in their earlier albums. Not only that, the bridge is written better than the chorus that are usually what the band focuses more on. And by better, I mean so much better that it might be one of the more notable parts of the album, with that pattern repeating in later albums. While all those tracks in the second third of the album sound nice, it's just doesn't peak my interest as much as the originals, hence the rating staying at 2.5 stars.

"Deteriorate" is another ballad, beginning with slow acoustic guitar. Then the song picks up with Ryan's amazing clean singing. The lyrics are some of the best in the Christian realm of music. One of the best songs here! "Carry Me Down" is a stunning ballad that's absolutely gorgeous. It can make a good funeral song for Ryan Clark, with lyrics speaking of faith and heaven. The chorus is so comforting without much tension. "The Tide Began To Rise" has beautiful piano and violins, followed by Ryan's atmospheric voice that start the song, which is the second-to-last ballad and track here. Aside from the weird ambient background break, this is a good song that could use a little more work to fix the flow. Still it would be a good happy ending, but there's one more track left... Finally we reach the peaceful ballad "My Heartstrings Come Undone" which fits perfectly well as the finale. However, the lyrical subject is more cryptic.

See, that's a similar issue to what was up with their previous album Peace; the band got much softer in sound to the point where it's mostly ballads, and Songs of Death and Resurrection ended pushing the idea further. I'm a metalhead. I'm not one of those softer fans or radio stations in which the only songs from rock/metal bands they choose are ballads. While I do enjoy half the amount of ballads in their original forms, it's their loud metal sound they're supposed to be known for. There is beauty in those tracks, but just not something worth long-time interest. If the die-hard fans want to listen an entire one-hour acoustic album, they can go ahead. I prefer the heavier metalcore....

Favorites (mostly in their original recorded forms): "My Throat Is An Open Grave", "The Heart of a Graveyard", "Loneliness", "Deteriorate", "Carry Me Down", "My Heartstrings Come Undone"

One fine metal/hardcore experiment! Will Haven strip down their influences from various genres and build them back up with their own sound. It's been 25 years since this album was released, but when I finally reached it, it's like a fresh new experience. Everything in here has pounding rhythm, vicious guitars, and primal vocals. One moment, we have quiet guitar atmosphere with bass/drums atmosphere, and the next there's loud dynamic force.

The drums are so unique in their straight and simple style, and I wouldn't be surprised if they recorded them in a few days alongside guitars and bass. Yet they efficient unleash their energy in intense punches!

A well-done opener is "Stick Up Kid", starting with spooky guitar, a catchy drum beat, growling bass, and finally the heaviness kicks in with those powerful vocals. The album's grand highlight is "I've Seen My Fate", with the band's signature violence. "Ego's Game" has some of the best groove metalcore I've heard since their first two Lamb of God albums. The theme of disconnection can be found in the lyrics for "Mason".

Alcoholism is covered in the lyrics for "Climbing Out This Bottle". Then we have "Extinguish", another great highlight. "Baseball Theory" has a bit of the metalcore that bands like 36 Crazyfists and Dead to Fall would later have, albeit in a sludgy pace.

"June" has a bit of the prog-ish tendencies later found in Misery Signals. The slower "Foreign Film" is so brutal and beautiful at the same time. If there's one reason for you to listen to the finale "¡Escucha!", a 9-minute track of odd ambience, it is to have a better chronic auditory hallucination than a song by Burn the Priest (pre-Lamb of God) with that title. Strange yet mesmerizing!

With blasting vocals, plus dynamics ranging from relentless to menacingly soft, this is an example of an album with extreme influences from metal and hardcore. Perfectly diabolical, this is El Diablo!

Favorites: "I've Seen My Fate", "Ego's Game", "Extinguish", "Baseball Theory", "Foreign Film"

You know how much chaos Fear Factory has added to their industrial metal sound and lyrical themes, but then there's the interpersonal chaos for the band members. The band has been in a feud with drummer Raymond Herrera and bassist Christian Olde Wolbers since their hiatus after Transgression. But then a decade later, those former members and the current members ended up in a lawsuit over the rights to the band's name, which halted production of this album Aggression Continuum. In the end, the unique frontman Burton C. Bell unfortunately had to leave the band. He still managed to record vocals for Aggression Continuum before the lawsuit started.

Still in the heavy/melodic blend they've had since Obsolete, the band keeps up the cyber-ish modern industrial metal sound they've helped developed, and the lyrical themes visualize a Terminator-like post-apocalyptic world with complex yet accessible writing. The heavy thrashy groove metal that was popular in the early 90s had also somewhat affected this band, with them possessing some groove elements, most notable in their recent material, especially Genexus, all while having cold keyboards synths to go with the metal heaviness, like human flesh covering the metallic skeleton. Music lives on, often being revived and dying, and the guitar/rhythm assault helps keep their sound alive. And at the frontstage, Bell pulls off his amazing vocal range from Meshuggah-like growls to melodic cleans, in his final offering with the band...

The maniacal "Recode" begins with a cinematic intro consisting of a Terminator-like speech over dreamy keyboards. Then the massive rapid-fire thrash commences with heavy djenty assault from the guitars and bass, as the keyboards go on in symphonic grandeur to add hope to the desolation. The otherwise mundane verse-chorus structure shows how well-composed the song is when the verses go aggressive and the chorus goes anthemic. A simple structure for this widely-ranged opener of this album! Pounding in rage is the awesome "Disruptor", continuing the heavy groove and bass, while the catchy melody makes this the perfect single it already is. The title track has more frantic thrash in the cyber complexity, though there's some subtle repetition. "Purity" is more melodic, yet the djenty heaviness roams around. And there's definitely more of that blend to continue in this album...

Melodic harmony occurs in "Fuel Injected Suicide Machine" during the chorus, while jackhammering through different riffs and rhythms. Rhys Fulber once again provides keyboards similar to his own project Front Line Assembly. The bridge transition melody is so beautiful! Bell's clean vocals in "Collapse" is very brief compared to other songs, only appearing in the bridge before more of the downtuned metal blasting. With a full-on riff frenzy, "Manufactured Hope" leaves a monumental mark.

Next track "Cognitive Dissonance" hooks you up with prog-ish keyboards, as Dino Cazares blasts along with his riffing and Mike Heller drills on the snare, leading to a catchy chorus that almost leans into alt-metal. After all that mechanical deathly heaviness, "Monolith" is more mid-paced with a rock-out chorus and a rare guitar solo. Pretty good, but not what the ex-members would've wanted. Then we come to the end of the line with the finale "End of Line", probably the best extreme industrial metal song I've heard in a long time, especially those clean vocals. After the last of the thrashy riffing, it all ends with keyboards and narration, just like in the beginning. We'll miss you, Burton....

You can for sure consider Aggression Continuum Burton C. Bell's swansong without a doubt, since he had really kept the band for all those years, leading up to his departure. Nonetheless, he once again helped the band make their attempt to restore the glory of the metallic monument that is Demanufacture. The towering aggression is in line with the smooth melody. The brilliant instrumentation are in excellent interplay with those stellar vocals we won't have more of from Bell in this band ever again. And it's great seeing that guitar master Dino Cazares determined to keep the band rolling. A new future for the band is certain, now that they just found Bell's replacement in Milo Silvestro, whom we haven't anything from yet. But for now, this album marks the end of an era, like that of a certain Marvel hero in Avengers Endgame. (Spoiler alert!)

Favorites: "Recode", "Disruptor", "Fuel Injected Suicide Machine", "Manufactured Hope", "End of Line"

Fear Factory has been known for their heavy modern style of industrial metal, but I say Genexus is one of their more groove-oriented works, closer in sound to Mnemic. The mechanical riffing and drumming have crushing mid-tempo groove, and the vocals are more gruff-sounding though not as brutal as in their first album. I think the only other album that's near groove metal territory is Demanufacture, and that one just dominates with industrial metal...

Demanufacture is known as the album that catapulted the band into fame with its revolutionary modern industrial metal style. Obsolete and Digimortal keep their mark afloat with some variation. However, the band's era without guitarist Dino Cazares didn't turn out well. Sure, Archetype had some praise, but Transgression did not go so well. When Dino finally rejoined Burton C. Bell's band, the mighty Mechanize was hailed as a natural return to form, and The Industrialist continued that evolution with some bumps. And there's more to explore in their 2015 album Genexus, perhaps their best album in the 2010s era!

Spiraling in is the opening track "Autonomous Combat System", showing how muscular Dino Cazares through all those years as a professional metal guitarist. Supporting his guitar and bass is the pummeling percussion performed by drummer Mike Heller who joined the band for The Industrialist tour and has stayed with the band since. Joining the band for the Genexus tour is bassist Tony Campos who's more of a live member than a studio member, probably because of his commitment with Static-X. Scoring a home run in the writing is "Anodized". Same with "Dielectric" with starts off an ominous string intro before the downtuned electric guitars go all out wild, displaying a lot of the band's Mnemic-esque industrial/groove metal direction.

"Soul-Hacker" is another groove-powered anthem worth it for the mosh pit. "Protomech" takes on the band's speedy side from Mechanize. With more of that precise speed in the title track, it fits well with Cazares' crushing riffing. Slightly forgettable is "Church of Execution", but it still has a bit of potential in the energy.

"Regenerate" continues to have the heavy and melodic sides duel with each other. Bell's vocals get you hooked as always, while the keyboards by Rhys Fulber sound clean and melodic, essential for making that song one of the most memorable here. "Battle for Utopia" will help you get ready for a futuristic robot battle. Perhaps the biggest stunner is the 9-minute ending epic "Expiration Date", one of the most haunting and beautiful tracks by the band! Could this be "Resurrection 2.0"?!?

Fear Factory have shown quite the improvement over the years. A couple lesser tracks aside, Genexus shows the band at an impressive height. I'm amazed that they still have their passion since a few years before I was born, and they know what's crucial for the fans. Genexus continues the band's excellent journey to power up their machine!

Favorites: "Autonomous Combat System", "Soul-Hacker", "Genexus", "Regenerate", "Expiration Date"

Fear Factory made an amazing comeback with their album Mechanize. Added to the lineup for that album were members of the defunct Strapping Young Lad, legendary drummer Gene Hoglan and powerful bassist Byron Stroud, the latter have previously been credited for Archetype and Transgression despite not performing in those albums. However, those two guys left the band just before this album...

The Industrialist was released in June 2012, having been written, recorded, and engineered by just vocalist Burton C. Bell and guitarist Dino Cazares. Clearly their friendship and teamwork really is back on track, and they can really write the music and concept effortlessly!

The opening title track is similar in structure to that of Mechanize. First off, we have an industrial sample intro that then leads Dino's riffing and Burton's screaming. However, the intro lasts a minute and a half, and in the beginning, Burton provides spoken dialogue against religion. When the tight riffing comes on, so does the drum programming, which sounds similar to Gene Hoglan's drumming in Mechanize but more digital. The riffing from that album and even the two albums before Mechanize all in full intense force with dissonant machinery. However, the unremarkable "Recharger" has a more complicated formula. Too repetitive in the verse riffs and vocal melodies. But there's more of the catchy majesty in "New Messiah" with an epic chorus.

"God Eater" has a cool keyboard/piano intro, an aspect introduced in Mechanize. The verse is also promising in the deep riffing and shouted vocals. But then it ends up getting so repetitive, especially in the extensive outro that works better as background music for DOOM. "Depraved Mind Murder" is where Burton's vocal melodies stretch through in a pleasant way and together with Dino's chords, they make the song more memorable. The bass and drums are also interesting. More of the growling fury appears in "Virus of Faith". And again in "Difference Engine", though not working so well, and kind of ruining that song by their poor attempt to recreate the glory of Demanufacture.

Next track "Disassemble" is as h*lla heavy as technical death metal. It's like you're in a trash conveyor about to be cut apart and stomped on before incinerated, and the interlude it segues to "Religion is Flawed Because Man is Flawed" has undeniable atmosphere for when you feel the fire burning you away. Wrapping things up is "Human Augmentation" which is a better ambient closer than that of Archetype. The bonus remix of "Difference Engine" isn't great at all. But their cover of Pitchshifter's "Landfill" is!

All in all, The Industrialist is a pretty great album. It's a shame that bassist Christian Olde Wolbers and drummer Raymond Herrera are no long with the band. Maybe they can make amends and reunite with their ex-bandmates for a special Demanufacture anniversary tour. For now, this album has kept the band's journey excellent all the same....

Favorites: "The Industrialist", "New Messiah", "Depraved Mind Murder", "Disassemble", "Human Augmentation", "Landfill" (Pitchshifter cover)

So the Fear Factory era without Dino Cazares ended as what most of their fans would considered a failed experiment. That era was the result of a feud between vocalist Burton C. Bell and guitarist Dino Cazares. With the two having restored their friendship in 2009, it was time to reform the band together again!

It was a 5-year gap of silence since the album before this one. Fans of the band's earlier material were waiting for a comeback into the sound of Demanufacture. And while there's a bit of praise for the heavier side of Archetype, you know how atrocious they thought Transgression was. And here's the long-awaited real comeback, Mechanize! With this mighty technical blend of melody and intensity, what the band's fanbase has been expecting from them has finally returned, and so has Dino Cazares.

The title opener will take your breath away as a crushing punisher. While not exactly the right tone-setter, it's a h*ll of a heavy comeback. Then "Industrial Discipline" blasts through with their earlier deathly industrial metal. It ends with a cool outro that just stops abruptly. It's a small issue, but quite great nonetheless. The clean chorus of "Fear Campaign" displays Burton's vocal power quite well. It's one of the best songs in the album and by the band! Dino actually performs a brief solo, which is cool blazing sh*t there. Another killer standout is "Powershifter". Hitting things harder is "Christploitation", furious enough to obliterate some of the songs from their previous two albums. That's quite a lot of heaviness so far in the album, and it's amazing!

There's also the awesome "Oxidizer". The breakdown after the chorus blasts out hard. Imagine how intense this 45-minute album would be if it's entirely as heavy as that. "Controlled Demolition" also stands out with its heaviness, with lyrics detailing the government being blamed for 9/11. Of course, there's something different to blame, so theorists should cut the bullsh*t. In the bridge is a sample of the 911 call from one of the victims in the World Trade Center as the tower started collapsing ("OH GOD! HELP-"). So the album is all great until "Designing the Enemy". Not bad, but a bit too tame and slow, with simpler riffing and drum kicks despite keeping the Meshuggah vibe. After 3 minutes, there are some growling vocals before going back into clean singing. Nice track, but a bit of a flow disruptor worth skipping. It would've made sense if that track and its outro "Metallic Division" close off the album. But then we have "Final Exit", which itself is a perfect satisfying closing track of hope. Quite a tough call...

Let's set that oddity aside for the bonus tracks in the deluxe digipack edition, all of which directly flashback to the deathly early 90s, starting with a re-recording of "Crash Test" from their debut Soul of a New Machine. Filled with diverse intensity, it shows the band's heavy deathly roots in contrast to their current groove-ish industrial metal sound. And to be honest, there's more fury I can hear from this re-recording than the original. After that is the band's 3-track 1991 demo from before their shelved album Concrete, consisting of 3 tracks; "Big God", "Self-Immolation", and "Soul Wound". My favorite of the 3 is "Self Immolation", as killer as the Soul of a New Machine version.

Mechanize marks the return of the band's true form since the initial Dino Cazares era. The thrill ride starts without too much letting up and ends quite powerfully, despite me not being sure about which track should really end the album. You're gonna be give this offering a lot of listens if you're a Fear Factory fan like I am. Get ready to Mechanize!

Favorites: "Fear Campaign", "Powershifter", "Oxidizer", "Controlled Demolition", "Final Exit", "Crash Test" (re-recording), "Self-Immolation" (demo)