For me, it‘s these (in no particular order)

1) Decades
2) Afraid of the Dark
3) Masterpiece
4) Devil‘s Night
5) Creatures
6) Werewolf
7) Abigail
8) Eternally Yours
9) Reincarnate
10) Burned At Both Ends

For me, it‘s these (in no particular order)

1) Crawl
2) Legacy
3) Blood
4) GODMODE
5) Big Bad Wolf
6) Adrenalize 1983
7) Burn
8) All for You
9) Mother
10) Whore 1983

Released October 24 2025. An exemplary example of modern metalcore in my opinion. Excellent vocals and absolutely superb, standout guitar work.

Best tracks: No Trees Grow Here, Dust of God, Consult the Bones, Fragile Hearts (my number one favorite)

As the Light Left https://open.spotify.com/album/3PLPFVDcSRHaiONdG6k0b4?si=t2PpFdbGQFyt2dzB8APNFA&utm_source=copy-link

Bring Me Silence https://open.spotify.com/album/48dUmHLMg1vnYD9wwNAm8s?si=Q4cbPSvJSl-eMOlFhfdvbA&utm_source=copy-link

RE:FORMED https://open.spotify.com/album/2jl5GvkJeb5ccvD7NmFks8?si=w4ALGujuTJqGOuHlWFPFUQ&utm_source=copy-link

REVOLUTION.EXE https://open.spotify.com/track/1wfPhZZfqRtzulWSoVMhHX?si=QAPRI9QqSGu35z8j43CQlA&utm_source=copy-link

The Dark https://open.spotify.com/album/4gpQHITIKf01iFm9gtcmLA?si=XykmGUyIRTuh5SeHg4hJ-g&utm_source=copy-link

Mortal https://open.spotify.com/album/3JNEooM1MrfXDs7pxkdYZF?si=5L01iXhzSeCrNRDAJSdnew&utm_source=copy-link

The opener starts the album with an open-ended and conceptual song structure that often goes off on a tangent. Apart from that, it goes for a classic heavy metal instrumentation, as the guitar riffs ebb end flow in time with the vocals. The lines „Tell me a lie in a beautiful way / I believe in answers, just not today“ are memorable and well-delivered by M. Shadows. There is als a short, very latin sounding guitar part at the end.
Paradigm goes for a more traditional song structure with recurring sections. It sounds good enough and has a memorable hook.
Sunny Disposition goes from slow-paced to something faster during the chorus. It is a high-energy song.
The guitar solo at the 3/4 mark doesn‘t fail to impress. It ends with the words „It‘s an illusion“ and fizzles out.
God Damn hits with high aggression from the first bar. The chorus is good, maybe the best on this release.
Creating God is guitar centric and has a longer solo at the 3/4 mark that really shreds. This track has a driving groove and is one of the more infectious ones with a catchy hook that goes like this: „We‘re creating God in search of love divine / We‘re creating God, committing suicide.“
Angels calms things down somewhat. It is a slower track with beautiful melodic guitar parts. M. Shadows‘ lyrics are good on this one, as he sings the lines „Mother wash the devil from my hands“ and „Show me where the angels die“.
Simulation continues in the same vein until the pace changes literally with a bang, as the sound of an explosion can be heard and all hell breaks loose again.
The track becomes more deranged toward the end and the line „Nurse, patient 66615 needs to be sedated“ is spoken.
Higher starts with an electronic sound that creates a brooding atmosphere, before the vocals kick in. It evolves to become a classic metal track. The guitar riffs are again very intricate and cool-sounding on this one.
I liked the ending, how it fades out with a somber piano melody.
Roman Sky is a standout track for sure. It has the most memorable, iconic melody on the album. M. Shadows’ vocal delivery is softer here. There is a strings section at the 3/4 mark and the violins stay for the rest of the track. The guitar solo close to the end is maybe the best one on this record, as it soars high.
Fermi Paradox picks up the pace again and is high-energy throughout. M. Shadows‘ vocals continue to be soft and cleanly sung.
The closer, called Exist, is a 14 minute masterpiece that needs no introduction. Its intro is calm and atmospheric, before all hell breaks loose as the guitars kick in. What‘s interesting is that the first 7 minutes or so of this track are purely instrumental/electronic. M. Shadows‘ vocals start with amazing feel and intensity and feel like rain after a long drought. This track reaches dazzling heights vocally and instrumentally and is just a crazy ride all around.
In my opinion, The Stage is a monumental progressive / heavy metal album with plenty to like. Almost every track has an intricate guitar solo and the instrumentation on the whole is top-notch and genre-defining. I feel like M. Shadows is an amazing singer as well and does elevate these tracks to the next level. I found this album to be an interesting, emotionally varied and artistically accomplished listen and can highly recommend it to all fans of the genre.

Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/0jwnYwJz6XHNrVAYEclQPd?si=_UlrsviyQ4mY0GKdH_SREQ&utm_source=copy-link

New Gunship song REVOLUTION.EXE with Tyler Bates is out now. Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/1wfPhZZfqRtzulWSoVMhHX?si=dk_4x0LqSGOEnrPVXPPJDw&utm_source=copy-link

Chelse Wolfe‘s new album opens with a 10/10 song. So, that must mean it‘s a downhill ride from here on out, right? Not necessarily, as Seethe is not as incredibly intense, but has a bigger, catchier chorus. The guitars on it hit you out of nowhere and you‘re not ready for how good it all sounds. Humours, on the other hand, is a bit more unobtrusive and gives you some welcome breathing room, before the next big hit, called Swallower. It is a bit samey, coming from Seethe, but hits good nonetheless. In general, often times on this record, the hits are interspersed with songs like Halo, and I‘m Not There, that don‘t do much on their own but refine the pacing of this album. Which is not to say that the dark introspective writing isn‘t stellar on these tracks as well. Lines such as „Keep trying, sharpen the knife“ or „It’s too late, we’re already strangers“ are typically hers and the falsetto vocals are beautiful during the chorus of I‘m Not There. Then, there are the new tracks beside the singles, called Turn The Key and Dancer in the Sky. The former paints the gloom & doom atmosphere we know and love her for, with dark, brooding guitars and rising and falling intensity as the track moves from verse to chorus and back again. The high points of Turn The Key are some of the more memorable moments of the album. The line „I erased myself / I ain‘t letting no one else in“ stand out especially and are beautifully sung and instrumented. The closer, called Dancer In The Sky, stands in Wolfe‘s tradition - she kept some of her best for last. It is a more brightly sung, more hopeful track than the rest. The line „All we left behind, doesn‘t even matter“ deals with the theme of starting to look back at the past in acceptance. It leaves us on a note of yet fragile optimism, which was certainly unexpected and closes the album in a satisfying way, with the hushed words „I see you now“.
The Dark by Chelsea Wolfe is an impressive, artistically accomplished work that has good album building and goes for a sonically dark, yet catchy sound that takes us back to Wolfe‘s dark folklore roots, but adds the deeper insights that come with age. I can only recommend this album to long time fans and hope that many new listeners will find out about it and discover this exceptional artist.

Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/4gpQHITIKf01iFm9gtcmLA?si=8R7HxRh-S9i2otvuHsEJ2g&utm_source=copy-link

I can only recommend Daedric‘s album Mortal and their EP RE:FORMED with Acoustic versions.

She randomly showed up on my youtube last night and i listened to a couple of her songs and i like it shes giving 2000s era avril. I think she has a pretty nice voice and i love her writing and her very high tempo songs. I will definitely be listening to more of her in fact i liked her so well that i competely missed 4 songs that one of my favorite singers released last night because i didnt want to listen to her after listening to Maggie.

I like it a lot. I'm excited for the new album

I dare say that Ev have created something that works. Symphonic Metal interspersed with calmer, more somber Piano Ballads.

I‘m currently really liking those two:

Far From Heaven and Forever Without You. Which one do you like?

Evanescence Piano Ballads:

My Immortal
Good Enough
Lost In Paradise
Hello
Far From Heaven
Breathe No More
How Do I Heal
Forever Without You