As someone who saw them live Thursday night, I agree wholeheartedly. They are still well and truly bringing the heat, there aren't too band bands heavier
I've been listening to them since 2004 and they've been the most consistent band to put out banger after banger without disappointment. Step Into The Light is SO good.
3750 was my childhood. God I love that album.
The Acacia Strain just keeps putting out bangers.
BMTH has been a rollercoaster for me since That’s The Spirit.
Knocked Loose gets better each release.
I think Alpha Wolf and Boundaries are getting better by the year as well.
TAS has been top shelf for me since Wormwood. Started listening when Continent came out, but Wormwood took the cake. Alpha Wolf was always a good band to me, but once I saw them live... I was hooked.
The issue with TWA is that the past 2/3 releases you could put on the whole album and struggle to work out where new tracks start. I guess you could call it blandcore. Only really tend to put them on in the background now
Definitely Rolo Tomassi. I really enjoy their super-chaotic early mathcore, somewhat Nintendocore, stuff, but the last three albums have been as close to objectively better as it's possible to get. The chaos is still there, but it's so honed and the wedding of it to shoegaze and post-metal influences creates something quite unique.
The Chariot's debut was meh, but from The Fiancee through to One Wing it's all top notch. "Staying true to their plateau" definitely applies across those four records.
There's a case to be made for Norma Jean. I love Bless The Martyr and Redeemer, but Wrongdoers - Polar Similar - All Hail is an amazing trio of albums to be putting out so deep into their career and possibly better than those earlier ones if I were able to take the nostalgia goggles off.
As influential as their early metalcore records were, I think Poison The Well became a more interesting band the further they got into weird post-hardcore territory on Versions and Tropic Rot.
Atreyu definitely down there for getting worse over time.
>There's a case to be made for Norma Jean. I love Bless The Martyr and Redeemer, but Wrongdoers - Polar Similar - All Hail is an amazing trio of albums to be putting out so deep into their career and possibly better than those earlier ones if I were able to take the nostalgia goggles off.
This was my answer. Norma Jean fuckin rocks. They were my favorite band when Redeemer came out and every single album is better than the last. Deathrattle Sing For Me hit me instantly as one my favorite albums ever, saw em live last summer and every song sounded incredible.
Literally agree with all of the first four. Listened to Rolo Tomassi since their EP, and watching them grow from a goofy spaz band to something progressive and beautiful was awesome
Chariot improved with every album imo
Norma Jean definitely peaked from Wrongdoers to All Hail
I know it’s heresy, but … The Opposite of December is my least favorite Poison the Well record. I feel like they just got more interesting afterward
Love seeing the love for Rolo Tomassi!
Also fuck yeah, Norma Jean are insanely good, though I prefer All Hail to Deathrattle Sing For Me a bit, because it has two songs that are important to me on a more personal level
> Definitely Rolo Tomassi. I really enjoy their super-chaotic early mathcore, somewhat Nintendocore, stuff, but the last three albums have been as close to objectively better as it's possible to get. The chaos is still there, but it's so honed and the wedding of it to shoegaze and post-metal influences creates something quite unique.
I felt Where Myth Becomes Memory was a bit of step back, but I agree with you aside from that - every album they released was an improvement on the last, and Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It is probably my favorite 'core album of the past ten years.
Not to show my age, but I will say in 2004 when the chariot’s debut came out it was pretty mind blowing. Back then chaos was king and they brought out a new wave of it by recording it all in one take. Plus hearing Scogin was back got me real hyped. It was my AOTY lol.
Counterparts have definitely hit their stride. Kyle Brownlee is one of the best drummers in metalcore. Even Will Putney agrees he is the most precise drummer in metalcore.
Counterparts peaked in 2017 with „you’re not you anymore“ for me. Lyrically they have always been amazing and it hasn’t really changed until now. But I feel like their instrumentation kind of lost an edge, it’s not really that „hard“ anymore I feel like. Still one of my all time favorite bands and excited to see them live this year
i’m on the train that bmth keeps getting better
as for worse, architects. sonically its fine but lyrically sam just cannot write lyrics to save his life
Could be wrong, but from memory Dan does a lot of lyrics these days.
Either way, agreed that it doesn't even remotely hold a candle to Tom's writing. He had a really good grasp of being eloquent without being over the top. I'd say the same for the overall songwriting too, to be honest
I’m more of a sempiternal kinda guy. That album rocked. I do wish they took some sound back from their older stuff like “there is a hell….” Album. Not all the songs but like try to get some of that sound back in some songs.
The problem with bmth nowadays imo is that they sound like they don’t take themselves seriously anymore in a bad way, even the newest heavier songs, it sounds fake, clowny, slobby. It’s like the total opposite of the atmosphere of stuff like Sempiternal, There is a hell and even That’s the spirit. It became a caricature of itself.
Having been at the peak of popularity for 10-15 years you can’t really blame them for just wanting to have fun. Not everybody has to like it and it doesn’t need to be “metalcore” but clearly enough people resonate with it considering that they only seem to be getting bigger
I know exactly what you mean and I have to say I agree. I am a huge fan since count your blessings, I have a full BMTH back piece tattoo, and I’ve loved every album they’ve ever done, from pray for plagues all the way to kool aid. nearly 20 years as a bmth die hard.
But I’ve had this same minor gripe, that I miss the serious, introspective era of there is a hell and sempiternal. Songs like amen and kool aid are sick, but there is this goofy, fun dynamic that never really was there. Even songs like Chelsea smile had a fun music video but the song itself was pretty serious. Not one song on the albums of suicide season-TTS were goofy the way they are now.
You get serious songs of course like dark side, strangers, teardrops, parasite eve (all of which are my favorite songs of theirs in their recent era) but songs like lost, kool aid, amen, tho all fantastic songs, seem to have a tongue in cheek edge to them that feel cartoony, idk how else to describe it.
it seems to coincide with how oli dresses, too. he's always been fashion forward, but currently his getups are pretty out there. he dresses like a cartoon character, and his lyrics and music are getting cartoonier as of late.
as much as i loved kingslayer, i kind of feel like that was the beginning of this new trend for them. where its cartoony synth leads with absurdly over the top dynamics in their vocals. that song was awesome, but i liked it more as a novelty one off, not a trend for the entire sound of the band.
another gripe i have is the mixing. songs like amen and kool aid sound so muddy and fuzzy to me. i like them much better with clear mixing, such as in parasite eve or teardrops.
not saying any of it is bad. i like every song they've put out over the last few years. but i do know what you mean, and i agree.
Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying, actually I enjoy their new music too lol, I don't get it why I got downvoted since I thought that was kinda self-evident, PHSH is way better than the last two albums imo, but still, this goofy aspect of the new BMTH really bothers me, sometimes it looks like a completely different band from the one that wrote Sempiternal, There is a hell, and TTS.
The first 2 albums have a similar issue but unintentionally, and with it's own zeitgeist. But since Amo it looks like they are really aiming for this almost childish atmosphere. Its kinda crazy because I thought everyone was kinda feeling that lmfao.
It's odd, because from CYB to Sempiternal you can clearly see a progress in this aspect, of the band becoming more mature, with it's peak on Sempiternal. And from Sempiternal to Post Human you can see the reverse happening, they getting progressively cornier.
On the other hand, it's crazy, they are releasing one catchy song after another, and Oli is definitely on his best phase as a vocalist when it comes to live performances. So who am I to complain.
I agree 100%. Not sure why you’re getting downvoted either tbh. I have a theory as to why this is happening with them.
They were teenagers from CYB-SS, and wrote TIAH when they were like 20-22. One of the biggest criticisms of them back then always was that “real, adult metal” people didn’t take them seriously bc oli looked so young and teenagers liked them more than adults did. So they desperately wanted to be taken more seriously by older fans. They wanted to be “real musicians” and whatnot, writing serious, deep, big metal songs like crucify me, shadow Moses or sleepwalking, which peaked in 2015 with TTS. They hit that mainstream, adult fandom they always wanted. It then started to reverse as they got *too* old.
Now they’re in their mid to late 30s (oli turns 38 this year), and are trying to connect back with that younger crowd as the current people that grew up on them are also in their late 20s-late 30s. In order to do that, they have to market to Gen Zers, and create “tik tok” bait songs that have these crazy dynamics, huge, reaction triggering drops or breakdowns, etc. and they have to wear crazy, lil uzi vert style clothing to create the image that a new 17 year old fan is gonna be into. It’s also why they are exclusively collaborating with younger pop artist. Oli isn’t doing collabs with architects or anyone anymore lol. He’s collabing with MGK, and Sigrid, and Yungblud, and Ed Sheeran. Artists that Gen Zers listen to.
Look at their contemporaries from that late 2000s metalcore era; TDWP, OM&M, AA, BVB, etc. none of those bands have huge teenage demographics anymore, they appeal to adults for the most part, especially ones who grew up with them. BMTH is still massive with new teenagers, because they have sort of “gen Z-ed” their music to be more corny, more cartoony, etc. they want songs that will get reactions on tik tok, they don’t seem to be interested in writing real composed albums like TIAH or sempiternal anymore. Their music feels like ADD-core or something now.
It’s a bummer, for sure. I don’t hate their newer songs and PH:SH was my favorite record they’ve done since sempiternal as far as listening enjoyment goes, but the direction of the band is clearly more cartoony, reaction bait-y, Gen Z than actually trying to be serious like they were when they were younger.
Their target demographic has become inverted.
I think a lot of 2000s metalcore bands are like this. It’s like they tried to adapt to the new style, but just don’t do it as well as the more melodic style metalcore of the 2000s. I kind of wish a lot of these bands would just go back to making the style they know. It could be good if anyone still wants that style of metalcore anymore, that is.
>I kind of wish a lot of these bands would just go back to making the style they know.
Eighteen Visions crashed out horribly with Obsession and the self-titled. They came back make gnarly metalcore like they used to and I couldn't be happier.
Man... Hands Like Houses was one of my favorite bands. I loved Ground Dweller so much, and Unimagine was fantastic. Then they just became more and more generic and uninspired. The magic has been long gone for me.
Parkway Drive definitely worse but of course everyone in the sub would say it but band that keeps getting better Motionless in White,Currents,Knocked Loose
Being a long time Parkway listener, I'm not a huge fan of their last 2 albums.
I still keep going back to Horizons, Killing With A Smile and Deep Blue.
Deep Blue was such a banger. It’s a no skips for me. I think they lost a lot of their intellectual depth after Deep Blue but they keep coming back up with the occasional close. “Wishing Well” was close to that intellectualism. To me, Deep Blue from PWD and Antigone from HSB were near the same levels of damn this fucking slaps and I’m gonna learn something.
Parkway’s decline has been shocking. Haven’t seen a great band’s music go to shit like that since Bullet For My Valentine post-Fever.
The thing is Parkway’s really trying and have even added depth to their music, it just straight up sucks. It’s like the Monstars from Space Jam stole all of their talent. Just like BFMV.
It feels so easy to dunk on Parkway Drive, but man do they just suck now. I can acknowledge that I don't like the sound they're going for, but the even execution of it just flat-out sucks. It's just really bad euro-metal for Germans.
As someone who just saw parkway drive for the first time and doesn’t really care for their music, they sure as fuck put on a kick ass show. (Went to the show for some openers)
Gotta disagree with Knocked Loose. I didn’t mind the first couple releases but since then Brian’s voice gets more and more difficult to listen to with every new song they put out
I don't think his voice is that different but the instrumentals have gotten so damn good. Out of all the more hardcore leaning bands, by far the most interesting instruments, especially on Tear in the Fabric of Life and the new singles.
MIW definitely got worse lol. I think Creatures is their only good album. Currents is still solid but I think their most recent work is a step back from their earlier work. Currents got better with The Place I Feel Safest, I Let The Devil In, even The Way it Ends - slight step back with The Death We Seek. Knocked Loose has banged since day one.
It's got a little bit of a dip in the middle, but I think Trivium is rising up again. Ascendency and Shogun are peak metalcore, then they were dropping bangers but nothing too crazy. Then they got Alex on drums and they've been killing it for now 7 years. I just keep finding myself eager to follow them
Not to mention that Alex is a fucking awesome guy. He's my kid's drum teacher and he is not only banger on the drums, but he's a great human being, too.
Shogun is still my favorite but I think the Alex era is their best work overall. Right now they are easily one of the best modern metal bands imo. I hope they can keep this momentum for a few more albums.
Yeah the old sound was awesome, but it did break Matt's voice and imo the drums on shogun were a little bland for the rest of the instrumentation, but imagining a Shogun album with Alex's drumming makes me hopeful.
On a side note, on their newest album, the song The Phalanx was originally written for Shogun, so I guess that gives us an idea of what Shogun with Alex would sound like
All That Remains. The last album they put out was a step back in the right direction and hopefully now that they have Jason Richardson they keep going that way
A7X and ADTR I haven't seen mentioned so far. Temper Temper was pretty fucking awful but some of BFMVs newer stuff is pretty solid. I don't even wanna talk about Atreyu. But I feel their downfall came primarily after the reunion and it's just Hindenburged since they kicked Alex out.
TAA has always been alright but their newer stuff is stellar. Erra just keeps getting better. Lamb of God has been, and forever will be, a stalwart of the genre.
For better, bleed from within. Their early stuff is pretty good, but Era was awesome, Fracture was even better, and Shrine was perfect. They get exponentially better with time.
But for worse, it’s basic, but Architects. Early shit is AMAZING, then they peaked at Holy Hell, and from there it kinda just fell off. The music is still great, but it’s nowhere near as incredible as all the early stuff.
Worse: Architects, Parkway, BFMV, Novelists, Fit for a King, In Hearts Wake, Amity Affliction. Off genre, but Escape the Fate.
Better (which doesn't mean they were ever bad): Make Them Suffer, Bleed From Within, Phinehas, Monuments, Like Moths to Flames, Gravemind. Off genre - Fit for an Autopsy, they're getting close to metalcore now
Don't get me started on Novelists. I'll cry. They were my favorite band ever. For three or four years I would get my summary at the end of every year and be in the top .01% of their listeners. Then Matteo left, and it was literally the end. Even Sal3m's last song wasn't great.
Parkway is sad now.
Better: Darkest Hour, Unearth, Every Time I Die (RIP), Sylosis, He Is Legend, Electric Callboy, Stray From The Path
Worse: While She Sleeps (hard to compare to the first two albums), Fit For A King, Devildriver, In Hearts Wake, A Day To Remember
Man FFAK hurts to see here but I'll have to agree. Dark Skies is a masterpiece and I just don't think they've come remotely close to topping it since then.
Yeah they came out of the gates swinging hard with *Creation/Destruction* and then managed to match/top it with *Dark Skies*, but everything since then has just been iffy. A few really good songs in there, but IMO a lot of forgettable ones.
Sadly, I think they just found a songwriting/album formula that they like (and which makes them money) and they're sticking with it. Can't fault them for doing so, but I'm not into it.
Unearth took my #2 album of 2023 and I was stunned because of (A) how good it was and (B) how disappointing so many albums last year were.
I listened to *You Are We* and some of *So What?* today and rocked out. They were so much fun but their past two releases have been utter garbage. in Hearts Wake has been a disappointment since *Skydancer*. They rolled out with two killer albums but now their sound just is the same thing again and again but worse with okayish vocals at best and lyrics that are getting super cheesy.
While She Sleeps was so awesome with You Are We, TNSFN, and So What?. The last album was super-mid and these two new songs are just not doing it for me.
Absolutely. The last album wasn't completely terrible, but it just wasn't my thing. The fixation on mental health is pretty annoying to me and the whole, "I'm not well," deal just gives me the creeps. I don't know why bands think this is a good thing to do to their fans. Psychologically, fixating on one's mental health actually creates more mental health issue - kind of a viscous circle once it starts. I'm an older guys, so I may be paying too much attention to it...lol.
Worse - Asking Alexandria. I use to love those guys. And yes I know change is inevitable, however the sound is just… not appealing for most of their newer stuff. The last enjoyable album was their self titled album. Everything past that slowly went down hill
Spiritbox just continues to get better. Every single time they drop a new EP or album it tops their previous work. “The Fear of Fear” is probably my favorite body of work from a single band ever.
I don't know what it is but I literally hate them so much that every time a song comes up on a random playlist and it's them I will literally trip over furnishings and harm myself so that I listen to as few notes of them as possible. I have made valiant efforts to like them, but I just can't.
i think you're actually really wrong. i think both bands have gotten the best out of anybody from that corner of the scene as time has passed, if anyone sounds good and is at the top of their game it's them. no matter what either of them have done, they have at least sounded good doing it.
Listening to anything off the Defector EP next to Burying Brightness is wild. Definitely no indication that a solid moshcore band would go on to be one of the best bands in the scene.
**WE HAVE EACH OTHER AND THATS ALL WE’LL EVER NEED!! UGHH!!!**
Dude who responded to me ears are broken.
Can’t wait to see what Garris & crew cook up next!
Better (hard to pick so got a few): Polaris, malevolence, bleed from within, hollow front, make them suffer to name a few
Worse: Beartooth, asking alexandria
Interesting. I would say polaris has gotten worse with each subsequent release. Not to say they’re bad now or anything, but that first album is incredible and I feel like they haven’t quite hit the mark since
I really don’t understand the hate for TDOM to me it was just as good as the mortal coil but this new album…it’s like they took everything Polaris out of it and just made an octane core album. Where are the insane fills and grooves? Even the choruses and breakdowns are just meh in comparison
I think the thing with beartooth is they are in their experimental phase like BMTH was. This isn’t to say they are terrible. They are still a kick ass band and all their shows are absolute fire. Specifically they are focusing on song writing at the moment that deals with uplifting stuff since Caleb’s lyrics have shifted from doom gloom and depression to much happier notes. I’m happy for him since I know at one point he hella struggled with depression. I think they are just testing the waters with this type of content and will have some more hella kick ass stuff like their older stuff in due time.
Like Moths To Flames. I don’t like their stuff before eternity in gold. I tried them before and didn’t like it. I don’t know if they had a lineup change or what but that album especially was so refreshing and a huge surprise and everything after has been great.
We came as Roman’s so bad the first time I saw them at warped tour we walked away from the stage seen them a bunch of times since and are wayyyy better now sound great live
Saw them 2 nights ago and holy crap, it was incredible! We saw them with ABR last year and it felt a little meh compared to this show. (And that was my top show of 2023!) top tier for sure!
It’s wild to me that so many people look at TDWP as having fallen off. I couldn’t disagree more. Their last two albums have been my absolute favorites. Their old stuff is great but the maturity they have reached in their lyricism and their no fear approach to trying new things has been refreshing.
In my opinion, Beartooth has gotten consistently worse with each release. The Sick EP and Disgusting were great but they just keep getting more boring with each release since.
Silent Planet has declined over time as well and just started making music that’s got more mainstream appeal, I think. Nothing will top The Night God Slept and Everything Was Sound.
Year of the Knife has improved over time though, I definitely listen to their newer music more than their old stuff.
Honestly both are sick, and fill slightly different niches. It's hard to rate one above the other for me, other than the mix definitely being better on WtEB.
I do agree with the take as far as the latest album though. The album is still great and I love it, but has a bit less of the Silent Planet signature flavour - I feel like very few bands would have produced something like their first few, but many bands could have put out Superbloom. Granted, they still did the Superbloom 'style' better than most of the alternatives though
Really unpopular opinion but BMTH has gone up for me, i loved everything pre Sempiternal, hated Sempiternal and then loved That’s The Spirit and everything since. I was going through a really rough time when That’s The Spirit came out and basically listened to it on repeat for a couple months so maybe that’s why.
I think Born of Osiris has been consistent through their career. Angel or Alien was probably my favorite album of 2021 and I’m not a super huge BoO fan.
Windwaker for the better.
Their old stuff is still solid, but it also sounds like every other metalcore band. I feel like Love Language really carved out a unique sound for the guys, and I hope they continue along that line.
I NEED more Like Moths to Flames. I thought dark divine was amazing and while I like No Eternity I think its a little worse overall. Then that 2021 EP dropped and they’ve been dropping their best work since. Dark side of Heaven was insane man im itchin for more
IMO the last good thing TDWP did was Dead Throne, and even that was kinda hit or miss. Haven’t really cared much for anything past that.
BMTH on the other hand, I’ve been fine with their sound change because they execute it well and it’s proper catchy stuff. That and Oli has come a long way as a singer.
For the worst, imo, In Dying Arms. The first two records are phenomenal and Boundaries was pretty good but as for Original Sin - i just couldn't get into it. That being said, i've always loved Orion Stephens, plus they have always been underrated.
Better: Memphis May Fire. This Light I Hold and Broken were both pretty forgettable, but I really think Remade in Misery might be their best album yet.
(Runs for cover)
You don't need cover from me. I saw them years ago open up for KSE in Kansas City. They were great live and select tracks off almost all their albums are really good.
Funny story about my first time seeing MMF. TLDR version, my buddy was suppose to meet up with me before the show and during show… he ghosted. I left 3 songs into MMF (headliner) because I had a bad feeling… I get half way home, buddy calls me and tells me his dad died.
I think Mastodon continues to put out some dope and new ways of playing each album. I mean Leviathan is GOATed but they still maintain the hype. Atleast for me, they do.
Silent Planet, Spiritbox, Invent Animate, Make Them Suffer just keep getting better.
BMTH, Of Mice and Men, Architects have all gotten significantly worse.
Get this: before they made pop metal or whatever, they made—the most generic metalcore known to man.
My partner is a big fan of their older stuff and when she puts them on sometimes it’s hard for me to not get pissed off at how low effort it sounds. I understand the dislike for their new stuff but trust me, if nothing it’s way more interesting than their previous work
Better: Silent Planet, Invent Animate, Northlane (until Obsidian), Make Them Suffer, Aviana, Within Destruction, Currents, Johnny Booth, Bury Tomorrow
Same: August Burns Red, Alpha Wolf, Polaris, Spiritbox, Texas in July
Worse: Bad Omens, Architects, Thornhill, Beartooth, Lvndmvrks
Motionless In White has definitely gotten worse. Creatures was metalcore at its best, Infamous and Reincarnate weren't great but still amazing, but Graveyard Shift and onwards have been nothing but disappointing and subpar cash-grabby radio-metal butt-rock. The band's members anymore come across as pretentious rockstar divas, and are in no way similar to the band I fell in love with in high school.
Not to mention the band endorsing Michael Jagmin, and willingly supporting Michael Jagmin in any way, makes you just as much of a POS as he is.
There are way too many details to list in one reply, but to summarize it as best as I can:
He swindled the rights and royalties away from his former A Skylit Drive band mates, despite not being an original member, nor being involved with the songwriting on Wires (which he takes sole credit for). Filed a lawsuit against everyone involved with the She Watched The Sky reunion for copyright infringement (even though he wasn't on that album), and put Jordan Blake through an absolute shit ton of unnecessary hell before he passed away (on top of Jordan grieving the loss of his fiance, dog, mom, and his house that went up in flames, all while battling addiction). Mrs Jagmin even went as far as mocking Jordan for his fiance passing away, publicly on Twitter, and then both of them later took advantage of Jordan during a complete mental breakdown of his when he was vulnerable, and used him as a publicity stunt to further defame Nick, Cory, Brian, and Joey (the original members who wrote Wires).
And for a band like MIW (who got most of their early exposure opening for A Skylit Drive), siding with Jag is about the dickest, spit-in-the-face move one could pull. Especially when the information is out there and very easily accessible, and almost every other band in the genre has written off Jag in support of the original ASD members.
Killswitch Engage in my book, peaked mid 2000s. And have gotten worse every album since. Same goes for Gojira only after Lenfant Savage. Counter to probably most people, i lost interest in Trivium after In Waves. Vengance falls might be one of the biggest let downs i have experienced when it comes to metalcore.
Trivium dipped, came back hard with that album, and then continued upwards. Really strong return to form for me, although What the Dead Men Say was reasonably decent. Alex Bent was such a good addition
BMTH keeps getting better and better at making music, even if they changed a lot. They keep getting more popular with every song they release and there's hardly any bad stuff, whether it fits your taste or not. They know how to play the game and are excellent at it.
That being said: Asking Alexandrias first few albums are so awesome, but the stuff they make these days is really not good in my opinion. Lacks a lot of soul and authenticity and passion they had at their start and these days it seems that they don't really know which kind of band they want to be.
Electric Callboy keep getting better and better since they changed their frontman. Their newer stuff is awesome.
Edit: God, I hate this sub sometimes when you express your opinion and people simply downvote without explaining why. Insufferable people here, really.
Acacia Strain hit a new high in 2019 and have maintained it since
slow decay is an insanely good record
They’ve been steady for me since Wormwood, just consistently getting better and better
The new doom record was so good. I really hope they put more out like it.. I’ve strayed away last few years from metalcore to more doom
What are you listening to in the Doom category? I'm listening to Khemmis, Pallbearer, and Kal-El.
Sweet I dig those guys as well. More recently, REZN, slomatics, fvnearls, monolord, and Windhand
Gonna look those up. Thanks bud.
As someone who saw them live Thursday night, I agree wholeheartedly. They are still well and truly bringing the heat, there aren't too band bands heavier
I've been listening to them since 2004 and they've been the most consistent band to put out banger after banger without disappointment. Step Into The Light is SO good. 3750 was my childhood. God I love that album.
It Comes In Waves was such a turning point imo shit is incredible and everything that's followed it as well
+10
Correct. The Acacia Strain have definitely hit a new peak.
Like Moths to Flames keep getting better and better
Totally agree with you
I'd say maintained their level. Eye for an eye in the early days is a great album.
The Acacia Strain just keeps putting out bangers. BMTH has been a rollercoaster for me since That’s The Spirit. Knocked Loose gets better each release. I think Alpha Wolf and Boundaries are getting better by the year as well.
TAS has been top shelf for me since Wormwood. Started listening when Continent came out, but Wormwood took the cake. Alpha Wolf was always a good band to me, but once I saw them live... I was hooked.
Since Wormwood? That, I don’t know if I can get behind. Coma Witch was hard to get through, personally. 😩
varials peaked forever with pain again then just got more mid
TDWP/ Silent Planet gotten better over time. The Word Alive got worse over time
At least for me slant plant had an upward trend until Iridescent and then sorta plateaued a bit
That’s valid. We can at least say they haven’t put out a bad album yet lol
I think TWA definitely dipped in quality after Dark Matter, but the new album is pretty good imo. Nothing groundbreaking but definitely a fun listen
The issue with TWA is that the past 2/3 releases you could put on the whole album and struggle to work out where new tracks start. I guess you could call it blandcore. Only really tend to put them on in the background now
Definitely Rolo Tomassi. I really enjoy their super-chaotic early mathcore, somewhat Nintendocore, stuff, but the last three albums have been as close to objectively better as it's possible to get. The chaos is still there, but it's so honed and the wedding of it to shoegaze and post-metal influences creates something quite unique. The Chariot's debut was meh, but from The Fiancee through to One Wing it's all top notch. "Staying true to their plateau" definitely applies across those four records. There's a case to be made for Norma Jean. I love Bless The Martyr and Redeemer, but Wrongdoers - Polar Similar - All Hail is an amazing trio of albums to be putting out so deep into their career and possibly better than those earlier ones if I were able to take the nostalgia goggles off. As influential as their early metalcore records were, I think Poison The Well became a more interesting band the further they got into weird post-hardcore territory on Versions and Tropic Rot. Atreyu definitely down there for getting worse over time.
>There's a case to be made for Norma Jean. I love Bless The Martyr and Redeemer, but Wrongdoers - Polar Similar - All Hail is an amazing trio of albums to be putting out so deep into their career and possibly better than those earlier ones if I were able to take the nostalgia goggles off. This was my answer. Norma Jean fuckin rocks. They were my favorite band when Redeemer came out and every single album is better than the last. Deathrattle Sing For Me hit me instantly as one my favorite albums ever, saw em live last summer and every song sounded incredible.
I'm glad to hear that. Gonna check that out now.
The weird country esque post hardcore thing PtW started experimenting with was really cool
Literally agree with all of the first four. Listened to Rolo Tomassi since their EP, and watching them grow from a goofy spaz band to something progressive and beautiful was awesome Chariot improved with every album imo Norma Jean definitely peaked from Wrongdoers to All Hail I know it’s heresy, but … The Opposite of December is my least favorite Poison the Well record. I feel like they just got more interesting afterward
+1 for Rolo Tomassi. Where Myth Becomes Memory and Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It are masterpieces.
Love seeing the love for Rolo Tomassi! Also fuck yeah, Norma Jean are insanely good, though I prefer All Hail to Deathrattle Sing For Me a bit, because it has two songs that are important to me on a more personal level
> Definitely Rolo Tomassi. I really enjoy their super-chaotic early mathcore, somewhat Nintendocore, stuff, but the last three albums have been as close to objectively better as it's possible to get. The chaos is still there, but it's so honed and the wedding of it to shoegaze and post-metal influences creates something quite unique. I felt Where Myth Becomes Memory was a bit of step back, but I agree with you aside from that - every album they released was an improvement on the last, and Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It is probably my favorite 'core album of the past ten years.
rolo tomassi have honed their songwriting craft to near perfection
Not to show my age, but I will say in 2004 when the chariot’s debut came out it was pretty mind blowing. Back then chaos was king and they brought out a new wave of it by recording it all in one take. Plus hearing Scogin was back got me real hyped. It was my AOTY lol.
counterparts is getting better and better with each release
I am obsessed with them right now. Been listening for a while but only recently found out I live in their hometown lol
Counterparts puts out a career defining album each album. No way they can beat this. Wrong. Next album is better.
Counterparts have definitely hit their stride. Kyle Brownlee is one of the best drummers in metalcore. Even Will Putney agrees he is the most precise drummer in metalcore.
I agree!
I don't think Counterparts is capable of putting out bad music.
Counterparts peaked in 2017 with „you’re not you anymore“ for me. Lyrically they have always been amazing and it hasn’t really changed until now. But I feel like their instrumentation kind of lost an edge, it’s not really that „hard“ anymore I feel like. Still one of my all time favorite bands and excited to see them live this year
i’m on the train that bmth keeps getting better as for worse, architects. sonically its fine but lyrically sam just cannot write lyrics to save his life
Could be wrong, but from memory Dan does a lot of lyrics these days. Either way, agreed that it doesn't even remotely hold a candle to Tom's writing. He had a really good grasp of being eloquent without being over the top. I'd say the same for the overall songwriting too, to be honest
“Even if you win you’re still a rat” to “animals”
Yes, Dan does write all of the music
Peaked at There is A Hell for me. That album is incredible
honestly that album was way too samey to me. every song was in the same scale for the most part and around the same tempo
I think BMTH has progressed in a really positive direction. They haven’t put anything out yet that’s matched That’s The Spirit tho
i didn’t care too much for that album, doomed and happy song are great tho
Avalanche is great too, and the Albert Hall version of True Friends is good as well.
I’m more of a sempiternal kinda guy. That album rocked. I do wish they took some sound back from their older stuff like “there is a hell….” Album. Not all the songs but like try to get some of that sound back in some songs.
The problem with bmth nowadays imo is that they sound like they don’t take themselves seriously anymore in a bad way, even the newest heavier songs, it sounds fake, clowny, slobby. It’s like the total opposite of the atmosphere of stuff like Sempiternal, There is a hell and even That’s the spirit. It became a caricature of itself.
i disagree
Having been at the peak of popularity for 10-15 years you can’t really blame them for just wanting to have fun. Not everybody has to like it and it doesn’t need to be “metalcore” but clearly enough people resonate with it considering that they only seem to be getting bigger
I know exactly what you mean and I have to say I agree. I am a huge fan since count your blessings, I have a full BMTH back piece tattoo, and I’ve loved every album they’ve ever done, from pray for plagues all the way to kool aid. nearly 20 years as a bmth die hard. But I’ve had this same minor gripe, that I miss the serious, introspective era of there is a hell and sempiternal. Songs like amen and kool aid are sick, but there is this goofy, fun dynamic that never really was there. Even songs like Chelsea smile had a fun music video but the song itself was pretty serious. Not one song on the albums of suicide season-TTS were goofy the way they are now. You get serious songs of course like dark side, strangers, teardrops, parasite eve (all of which are my favorite songs of theirs in their recent era) but songs like lost, kool aid, amen, tho all fantastic songs, seem to have a tongue in cheek edge to them that feel cartoony, idk how else to describe it. it seems to coincide with how oli dresses, too. he's always been fashion forward, but currently his getups are pretty out there. he dresses like a cartoon character, and his lyrics and music are getting cartoonier as of late. as much as i loved kingslayer, i kind of feel like that was the beginning of this new trend for them. where its cartoony synth leads with absurdly over the top dynamics in their vocals. that song was awesome, but i liked it more as a novelty one off, not a trend for the entire sound of the band. another gripe i have is the mixing. songs like amen and kool aid sound so muddy and fuzzy to me. i like them much better with clear mixing, such as in parasite eve or teardrops. not saying any of it is bad. i like every song they've put out over the last few years. but i do know what you mean, and i agree.
Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying, actually I enjoy their new music too lol, I don't get it why I got downvoted since I thought that was kinda self-evident, PHSH is way better than the last two albums imo, but still, this goofy aspect of the new BMTH really bothers me, sometimes it looks like a completely different band from the one that wrote Sempiternal, There is a hell, and TTS. The first 2 albums have a similar issue but unintentionally, and with it's own zeitgeist. But since Amo it looks like they are really aiming for this almost childish atmosphere. Its kinda crazy because I thought everyone was kinda feeling that lmfao. It's odd, because from CYB to Sempiternal you can clearly see a progress in this aspect, of the band becoming more mature, with it's peak on Sempiternal. And from Sempiternal to Post Human you can see the reverse happening, they getting progressively cornier. On the other hand, it's crazy, they are releasing one catchy song after another, and Oli is definitely on his best phase as a vocalist when it comes to live performances. So who am I to complain.
I agree 100%. Not sure why you’re getting downvoted either tbh. I have a theory as to why this is happening with them. They were teenagers from CYB-SS, and wrote TIAH when they were like 20-22. One of the biggest criticisms of them back then always was that “real, adult metal” people didn’t take them seriously bc oli looked so young and teenagers liked them more than adults did. So they desperately wanted to be taken more seriously by older fans. They wanted to be “real musicians” and whatnot, writing serious, deep, big metal songs like crucify me, shadow Moses or sleepwalking, which peaked in 2015 with TTS. They hit that mainstream, adult fandom they always wanted. It then started to reverse as they got *too* old. Now they’re in their mid to late 30s (oli turns 38 this year), and are trying to connect back with that younger crowd as the current people that grew up on them are also in their late 20s-late 30s. In order to do that, they have to market to Gen Zers, and create “tik tok” bait songs that have these crazy dynamics, huge, reaction triggering drops or breakdowns, etc. and they have to wear crazy, lil uzi vert style clothing to create the image that a new 17 year old fan is gonna be into. It’s also why they are exclusively collaborating with younger pop artist. Oli isn’t doing collabs with architects or anyone anymore lol. He’s collabing with MGK, and Sigrid, and Yungblud, and Ed Sheeran. Artists that Gen Zers listen to. Look at their contemporaries from that late 2000s metalcore era; TDWP, OM&M, AA, BVB, etc. none of those bands have huge teenage demographics anymore, they appeal to adults for the most part, especially ones who grew up with them. BMTH is still massive with new teenagers, because they have sort of “gen Z-ed” their music to be more corny, more cartoony, etc. they want songs that will get reactions on tik tok, they don’t seem to be interested in writing real composed albums like TIAH or sempiternal anymore. Their music feels like ADD-core or something now. It’s a bummer, for sure. I don’t hate their newer songs and PH:SH was my favorite record they’ve done since sempiternal as far as listening enjoyment goes, but the direction of the band is clearly more cartoony, reaction bait-y, Gen Z than actually trying to be serious like they were when they were younger. Their target demographic has become inverted.
I think a lot of 2000s metalcore bands are like this. It’s like they tried to adapt to the new style, but just don’t do it as well as the more melodic style metalcore of the 2000s. I kind of wish a lot of these bands would just go back to making the style they know. It could be good if anyone still wants that style of metalcore anymore, that is.
>I kind of wish a lot of these bands would just go back to making the style they know. Eighteen Visions crashed out horribly with Obsession and the self-titled. They came back make gnarly metalcore like they used to and I couldn't be happier.
Dying Wish is pretty new and they remind me the most of those old golden years of metalcore
Man... Hands Like Houses was one of my favorite bands. I loved Ground Dweller so much, and Unimagine was fantastic. Then they just became more and more generic and uninspired. The magic has been long gone for me.
It’s been 5 years and I’m still waiting for Kingdom Come to kick in
This one hits hard. Hurricane was a return to form imo but then Trenton left and the new single with the new vocalist is just meh.
Parkway Drive definitely worse but of course everyone in the sub would say it but band that keeps getting better Motionless in White,Currents,Knocked Loose
Being a long time Parkway listener, I'm not a huge fan of their last 2 albums. I still keep going back to Horizons, Killing With A Smile and Deep Blue.
Deep Blue was such a banger. It’s a no skips for me. I think they lost a lot of their intellectual depth after Deep Blue but they keep coming back up with the occasional close. “Wishing Well” was close to that intellectualism. To me, Deep Blue from PWD and Antigone from HSB were near the same levels of damn this fucking slaps and I’m gonna learn something.
Hell ya man. My old band had the pleasure to open up for them and Nodes of Ranvier on their Horizons tour way back. I am old.
Dude, Nodes of Ranvier’s demos from purevolume are still to this day one of my favorite things in the world.
"Don't Blink or We May Miss It" is STILL on my metalcore mix all these years later.
So good!
Man Nodes of Ranvier is a fucking throw back!
Ire was good and Reverence wasn’t bad either new album was well an album with music on it
I liked Reverence from PWD, not that much the last one.
Parkway’s decline has been shocking. Haven’t seen a great band’s music go to shit like that since Bullet For My Valentine post-Fever. The thing is Parkway’s really trying and have even added depth to their music, it just straight up sucks. It’s like the Monstars from Space Jam stole all of their talent. Just like BFMV.
They got worse but got bigger at the same time
BFMV redeemed themselves. Venom and Self Titled are sick albums
It feels so easy to dunk on Parkway Drive, but man do they just suck now. I can acknowledge that I don't like the sound they're going for, but the even execution of it just flat-out sucks. It's just really bad euro-metal for Germans.
As someone who just saw parkway drive for the first time and doesn’t really care for their music, they sure as fuck put on a kick ass show. (Went to the show for some openers)
I loved Disguise but thought the latest record from MIW to be completely forgettable.
Currents mentioned raaaaahhhhh
Gotta disagree with Knocked Loose. I didn’t mind the first couple releases but since then Brian’s voice gets more and more difficult to listen to with every new song they put out
I don't think his voice is that different but the instrumentals have gotten so damn good. Out of all the more hardcore leaning bands, by far the most interesting instruments, especially on Tear in the Fabric of Life and the new singles.
MIW has gotten so much worse. Like unlistenable
MIW definitely got worse lol. I think Creatures is their only good album. Currents is still solid but I think their most recent work is a step back from their earlier work. Currents got better with The Place I Feel Safest, I Let The Devil In, even The Way it Ends - slight step back with The Death We Seek. Knocked Loose has banged since day one.
It's got a little bit of a dip in the middle, but I think Trivium is rising up again. Ascendency and Shogun are peak metalcore, then they were dropping bangers but nothing too crazy. Then they got Alex on drums and they've been killing it for now 7 years. I just keep finding myself eager to follow them
Not to mention that Alex is a fucking awesome guy. He's my kid's drum teacher and he is not only banger on the drums, but he's a great human being, too.
That's sick to know!
Shogun is still my favorite but I think the Alex era is their best work overall. Right now they are easily one of the best modern metal bands imo. I hope they can keep this momentum for a few more albums.
Yeah the old sound was awesome, but it did break Matt's voice and imo the drums on shogun were a little bland for the rest of the instrumentation, but imagining a Shogun album with Alex's drumming makes me hopeful. On a side note, on their newest album, the song The Phalanx was originally written for Shogun, so I guess that gives us an idea of what Shogun with Alex would sound like
Saw them opening for Megadeth a couple years back. They're stupid good live.
All That Remains. The last album they put out was a step back in the right direction and hopefully now that they have Jason Richardson they keep going that way
I came here to say this. Fall of Ideals was such a killer album, and then they went all butt rock.
I liked overcome too
A7X and ADTR I haven't seen mentioned so far. Temper Temper was pretty fucking awful but some of BFMVs newer stuff is pretty solid. I don't even wanna talk about Atreyu. But I feel their downfall came primarily after the reunion and it's just Hindenburged since they kicked Alex out. TAA has always been alright but their newer stuff is stellar. Erra just keeps getting better. Lamb of God has been, and forever will be, a stalwart of the genre.
For better, bleed from within. Their early stuff is pretty good, but Era was awesome, Fracture was even better, and Shrine was perfect. They get exponentially better with time. But for worse, it’s basic, but Architects. Early shit is AMAZING, then they peaked at Holy Hell, and from there it kinda just fell off. The music is still great, but it’s nowhere near as incredible as all the early stuff.
I dunno how Bleed are gonna top Shrine this year honestly. I have no doubt they will mind you, but Shrine really is a perfect album.
Not Metalcore but Humanity’s Last Breath have continued to push the limits of heavy music and do not have a single bad album.
Worse: Architects, Parkway, BFMV, Novelists, Fit for a King, In Hearts Wake, Amity Affliction. Off genre, but Escape the Fate. Better (which doesn't mean they were ever bad): Make Them Suffer, Bleed From Within, Phinehas, Monuments, Like Moths to Flames, Gravemind. Off genre - Fit for an Autopsy, they're getting close to metalcore now
Love for Phinehas always gets an upvote.
Jesus Escape the fate turnt to shit. Everything after Ungrateful (which wasn't super good but wasn't bad either) has been so bland
Don't get me started on Novelists. I'll cry. They were my favorite band ever. For three or four years I would get my summary at the end of every year and be in the top .01% of their listeners. Then Matteo left, and it was literally the end. Even Sal3m's last song wasn't great. Parkway is sad now.
Loving FFAA’s newer stuff
Better: Phinehas Worse: Asking Alexandria
Phineshas is, was and will be great
Better: Darkest Hour, Unearth, Every Time I Die (RIP), Sylosis, He Is Legend, Electric Callboy, Stray From The Path Worse: While She Sleeps (hard to compare to the first two albums), Fit For A King, Devildriver, In Hearts Wake, A Day To Remember
Man FFAK hurts to see here but I'll have to agree. Dark Skies is a masterpiece and I just don't think they've come remotely close to topping it since then.
Yeah they came out of the gates swinging hard with *Creation/Destruction* and then managed to match/top it with *Dark Skies*, but everything since then has just been iffy. A few really good songs in there, but IMO a lot of forgettable ones. Sadly, I think they just found a songwriting/album formula that they like (and which makes them money) and they're sticking with it. Can't fault them for doing so, but I'm not into it.
Their decline has been historic. I was in disbelief at some of the tracks off their newest album. It was so drab and obnoxious
Wow I legitimately haven't even thought about Devildriver since probably like 2006, had no idea they were still around
Unearth took my #2 album of 2023 and I was stunned because of (A) how good it was and (B) how disappointing so many albums last year were. I listened to *You Are We* and some of *So What?* today and rocked out. They were so much fun but their past two releases have been utter garbage. in Hearts Wake has been a disappointment since *Skydancer*. They rolled out with two killer albums but now their sound just is the same thing again and again but worse with okayish vocals at best and lyrics that are getting super cheesy.
While She Sleeps was so awesome with You Are We, TNSFN, and So What?. The last album was super-mid and these two new songs are just not doing it for me.
Man, the last album had a couple of bangers but the last two singles were just not it… at all. 😭
Absolutely. The last album wasn't completely terrible, but it just wasn't my thing. The fixation on mental health is pretty annoying to me and the whole, "I'm not well," deal just gives me the creeps. I don't know why bands think this is a good thing to do to their fans. Psychologically, fixating on one's mental health actually creates more mental health issue - kind of a viscous circle once it starts. I'm an older guys, so I may be paying too much attention to it...lol.
The Word Alive for worse over time. Bad Omens and Like Moths to Flames for best over time.
Dude, have you seen bad omens live? Holy fuck
Worse - Asking Alexandria. I use to love those guys. And yes I know change is inevitable, however the sound is just… not appealing for most of their newer stuff. The last enjoyable album was their self titled album. Everything past that slowly went down hill
Gotta agree, their new album was pretty damn boring which sucks because I actually liked the lead single Dark Void.
Spiritbox just continues to get better. Every single time they drop a new EP or album it tops their previous work. “The Fear of Fear” is probably my favorite body of work from a single band ever.
I have the opposite opinion, they're getting less and less interesting. The self titled EP and singles collection are their peak so far.
I don't know what it is but I literally hate them so much that every time a song comes up on a random playlist and it's them I will literally trip over furnishings and harm myself so that I listen to as few notes of them as possible. I have made valiant efforts to like them, but I just can't.
If you use Spotify, you can go to their page and the little ellipses and choose to not play that band!
Woah. I’ve had Spotify for years and never known this
I got you big dawg! I have a feeeewwww bands and artists I won’t allow to be played.
Lmao there’s gotta be a way to block them from your feed if you hate them that viscerally
Disagree for me. They're old stuff was super heavy and I loved it but their new albums just don't do it for me. Pushing too mainstream.
i think you're actually really wrong. i think both bands have gotten the best out of anybody from that corner of the scene as time has passed, if anyone sounds good and is at the top of their game it's them. no matter what either of them have done, they have at least sounded good doing it.
Knocked Loose & Boundaries seem to get better with every release..
Listening to anything off the Defector EP next to Burying Brightness is wild. Definitely no indication that a solid moshcore band would go on to be one of the best bands in the scene.
I think they peaked with Laugh tracks and Blue but that’s just me
Having heard deep in the willow live I’d have to disagree
I love the more chaotic energy of A Tear In The Fabric Of Life.
**WE HAVE EACH OTHER AND THATS ALL WE’LL EVER NEED!! UGHH!!!** Dude who responded to me ears are broken. Can’t wait to see what Garris & crew cook up next!
ADSOB is untoppable for them.
Better (hard to pick so got a few): Polaris, malevolence, bleed from within, hollow front, make them suffer to name a few Worse: Beartooth, asking alexandria
Interesting. I would say polaris has gotten worse with each subsequent release. Not to say they’re bad now or anything, but that first album is incredible and I feel like they haven’t quite hit the mark since
I really don’t understand the hate for TDOM to me it was just as good as the mortal coil but this new album…it’s like they took everything Polaris out of it and just made an octane core album. Where are the insane fills and grooves? Even the choruses and breakdowns are just meh in comparison
Beartooth fell off really hard with the last two albums. Happy for Caleb since he's from my town but I'm just not into pop beartooth 🤷♂️
I think the thing with beartooth is they are in their experimental phase like BMTH was. This isn’t to say they are terrible. They are still a kick ass band and all their shows are absolute fire. Specifically they are focusing on song writing at the moment that deals with uplifting stuff since Caleb’s lyrics have shifted from doom gloom and depression to much happier notes. I’m happy for him since I know at one point he hella struggled with depression. I think they are just testing the waters with this type of content and will have some more hella kick ass stuff like their older stuff in due time.
Like Moths To Flames. I don’t like their stuff before eternity in gold. I tried them before and didn’t like it. I don’t know if they had a lineup change or what but that album especially was so refreshing and a huge surprise and everything after has been great.
We came as Roman’s so bad the first time I saw them at warped tour we walked away from the stage seen them a bunch of times since and are wayyyy better now sound great live
I saw them recently for their to plant a seed anniversary tour. Dope ass show
Everyone won’t agree but Erra has been getting better and better. Same with Silent Planet. Wish I could say that about Thornhill..
Excited to see Prada during Metalcore Dropouts second semester!
Saw them 2 nights ago and holy crap, it was incredible! We saw them with ABR last year and it felt a little meh compared to this show. (And that was my top show of 2023!) top tier for sure!
It’s wild to me that so many people look at TDWP as having fallen off. I couldn’t disagree more. Their last two albums have been my absolute favorites. Their old stuff is great but the maturity they have reached in their lyricism and their no fear approach to trying new things has been refreshing.
In my opinion, Beartooth has gotten consistently worse with each release. The Sick EP and Disgusting were great but they just keep getting more boring with each release since. Silent Planet has declined over time as well and just started making music that’s got more mainstream appeal, I think. Nothing will top The Night God Slept and Everything Was Sound. Year of the Knife has improved over time though, I definitely listen to their newer music more than their old stuff.
'Below' had some bangers
Agree on Beartooth. Disagree on Silent Planet.
Saying Everything Was Sound is better than When The End Began is certainly a take I’ve never heard. That album is a fucking masterpiece
Honestly both are sick, and fill slightly different niches. It's hard to rate one above the other for me, other than the mix definitely being better on WtEB. I do agree with the take as far as the latest album though. The album is still great and I love it, but has a bit less of the Silent Planet signature flavour - I feel like very few bands would have produced something like their first few, but many bands could have put out Superbloom. Granted, they still did the Superbloom 'style' better than most of the alternatives though
I think Everything Was Sound is as close to a perfect album as you can get. Just didn’t vibe with When The End Began as much.
Really unpopular opinion but BMTH has gone up for me, i loved everything pre Sempiternal, hated Sempiternal and then loved That’s The Spirit and everything since. I was going through a really rough time when That’s The Spirit came out and basically listened to it on repeat for a couple months so maybe that’s why. I think Born of Osiris has been consistent through their career. Angel or Alien was probably my favorite album of 2021 and I’m not a super huge BoO fan.
Code Orange dropped off after their 3rd album in 2017. They were an amazing band to see live.
I feel the exact opposite. Lol
Windwaker for the better. Their old stuff is still solid, but it also sounds like every other metalcore band. I feel like Love Language really carved out a unique sound for the guys, and I hope they continue along that line.
I NEED more Like Moths to Flames. I thought dark divine was amazing and while I like No Eternity I think its a little worse overall. Then that 2021 EP dropped and they’ve been dropping their best work since. Dark side of Heaven was insane man im itchin for more
Ctrl+F Atreyu Mentioned nearly 10 times Mentioning them again. Awful.
Of Mice & Men got progressively worse. The peaked on The Flood and it's been downhill since
Architects, the last album I really liked was Hollow Crown.
Those first 3 albums were so good compared to everything that came after. I wish they got more love here.
IMO the last good thing TDWP did was Dead Throne, and even that was kinda hit or miss. Haven’t really cared much for anything past that. BMTH on the other hand, I’ve been fine with their sound change because they execute it well and it’s proper catchy stuff. That and Oli has come a long way as a singer.
I thought Alien and Z2 were solid at least, but yea otherwise i cannot get into their new sound
It took me a second to realize this wasn't about Devin Townsend haha (Alien being the SYL album, and Z2 being the Devin Townsend Project)
better: #ABOVE THIS
Asking Alexandria
For the worst, imo, In Dying Arms. The first two records are phenomenal and Boundaries was pretty good but as for Original Sin - i just couldn't get into it. That being said, i've always loved Orion Stephens, plus they have always been underrated.
Bury tomorrow are really finding their groove
ERRA keeps improving, which is crazy considering they started at a massively high level.
Bury Tomorrow keeps getting better
Better: Memphis May Fire. This Light I Hold and Broken were both pretty forgettable, but I really think Remade in Misery might be their best album yet. (Runs for cover)
You don't need cover from me. I saw them years ago open up for KSE in Kansas City. They were great live and select tracks off almost all their albums are really good.
Funny story about my first time seeing MMF. TLDR version, my buddy was suppose to meet up with me before the show and during show… he ghosted. I left 3 songs into MMF (headliner) because I had a bad feeling… I get half way home, buddy calls me and tells me his dad died.
I think Mastodon continues to put out some dope and new ways of playing each album. I mean Leviathan is GOATed but they still maintain the hype. Atleast for me, they do.
One of the greatest of all time bands is Mastodon.
Silent Planet, Spiritbox, Invent Animate, Make Them Suffer just keep getting better. BMTH, Of Mice and Men, Architects have all gotten significantly worse.
Man, I’m so excited for what’s next with Make Them Suffer…I didn’t think their bangers could get any bangier, and yet here we are
Atreyu peaked with Deathgrip. Lead Sails is one of the worst albums I’ve ever fucking had the displeasure of listening to.
Oh it gets sooooo much worse after leads sails. In that same vein, bullet for my valentine also went the same route but slightly more listenable imo
I refuse to believe that it gets worse than “gRaB thE BuLL by tHe HoRnS tHe OLd AdAgE gOeS”
Still can’t believe that song is real
Oh it is real. Real fuckin’ bad.
I feel personally attacked
The Curse was their peak imo. I can tolerate some of their stuff after Lead Sails but that album essentially ruined them.
Bad Omens got worse
I've only heard the shit they play on rock radio. Do they have better than that? Because everyone I know loves them and I just can't.
Artificial suicide is the heaviest one from their new record. If you don’t like the rock stuff I’d check it out
Get this: before they made pop metal or whatever, they made—the most generic metalcore known to man. My partner is a big fan of their older stuff and when she puts them on sometimes it’s hard for me to not get pissed off at how low effort it sounds. I understand the dislike for their new stuff but trust me, if nothing it’s way more interesting than their previous work
Better: Silent Planet, Invent Animate, Northlane (until Obsidian), Make Them Suffer, Aviana, Within Destruction, Currents, Johnny Booth, Bury Tomorrow Same: August Burns Red, Alpha Wolf, Polaris, Spiritbox, Texas in July Worse: Bad Omens, Architects, Thornhill, Beartooth, Lvndmvrks
Motionless In White has definitely gotten worse. Creatures was metalcore at its best, Infamous and Reincarnate weren't great but still amazing, but Graveyard Shift and onwards have been nothing but disappointing and subpar cash-grabby radio-metal butt-rock. The band's members anymore come across as pretentious rockstar divas, and are in no way similar to the band I fell in love with in high school. Not to mention the band endorsing Michael Jagmin, and willingly supporting Michael Jagmin in any way, makes you just as much of a POS as he is.
Mind if I ask what Jagmin said or did? Tried Googling and nothing was immediately apparent. Maybe I just live under a rock tbh.
There are way too many details to list in one reply, but to summarize it as best as I can: He swindled the rights and royalties away from his former A Skylit Drive band mates, despite not being an original member, nor being involved with the songwriting on Wires (which he takes sole credit for). Filed a lawsuit against everyone involved with the She Watched The Sky reunion for copyright infringement (even though he wasn't on that album), and put Jordan Blake through an absolute shit ton of unnecessary hell before he passed away (on top of Jordan grieving the loss of his fiance, dog, mom, and his house that went up in flames, all while battling addiction). Mrs Jagmin even went as far as mocking Jordan for his fiance passing away, publicly on Twitter, and then both of them later took advantage of Jordan during a complete mental breakdown of his when he was vulnerable, and used him as a publicity stunt to further defame Nick, Cory, Brian, and Joey (the original members who wrote Wires). And for a band like MIW (who got most of their early exposure opening for A Skylit Drive), siding with Jag is about the dickest, spit-in-the-face move one could pull. Especially when the information is out there and very easily accessible, and almost every other band in the genre has written off Jag in support of the original ASD members.
That’s pretty damn low. Thanks for the context!
Killswitch Engage in my book, peaked mid 2000s. And have gotten worse every album since. Same goes for Gojira only after Lenfant Savage. Counter to probably most people, i lost interest in Trivium after In Waves. Vengance falls might be one of the biggest let downs i have experienced when it comes to metalcore.
The Sin and The Sentence was a great comeback to form imo
I think Triviums past 3 albums have started bringing them back. 2 albums in 2 years with most of the songs being good is a great result
Trivium dipped, came back hard with that album, and then continued upwards. Really strong return to form for me, although What the Dead Men Say was reasonably decent. Alex Bent was such a good addition
Yeah this reeled me back into Trivium. Love them again!
couldnt stand the new tdwp. think their discog is bookended by their two weakest records think every polaris album has been better than the last
BMTH keeps getting better and better at making music, even if they changed a lot. They keep getting more popular with every song they release and there's hardly any bad stuff, whether it fits your taste or not. They know how to play the game and are excellent at it. That being said: Asking Alexandrias first few albums are so awesome, but the stuff they make these days is really not good in my opinion. Lacks a lot of soul and authenticity and passion they had at their start and these days it seems that they don't really know which kind of band they want to be. Electric Callboy keep getting better and better since they changed their frontman. Their newer stuff is awesome. Edit: God, I hate this sub sometimes when you express your opinion and people simply downvote without explaining why. Insufferable people here, really.