Entry 1112 - Misotheist - For the Glory of Your Redeemer

Style: atmospheric black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: a brooding and immense three songs that exists only to cause chaos and confusion

Thoughts: Misotheist doesn't release many albums. Their release cycle is multiple years between each collection of songs... and those new offerings do not offer much new music from the band. Thirty to forty minutes max... so those minutes damn well better be outstanding. Fortunately For the Glory of Your Redeemer is an excellent collection of black metal compositions. 

Misotheist at their core are an atmospheric black metal band, but not in the typical sense. There are no keyboards, nothing beyond the guitars, drums and vocals to create said atmosphere. The band accomplishes this by writing riffs that envelop the entire audio spectrum, a wall of sound if you will. Sometimes this can be done with singular notes that are allowed to decay, other times it can be accomplished via full chords - musical or dissonant. 

Misotheist hasn't only mastered creating an atmosphere with the basics, they have also mastered how to present their songs in such a way that they never overstay their welcome. The pacing, the riffs, every moment is exceedingly calculated. It has me craving more, and wishing the band would put out more material... yet that's the irony. If the band were to put out more material who's to say that it would be as high of quality? In the mean time I'm highly content with the music that I have in my collection from these guys. 

Entry 1111 - Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain

Style: Jazz, orchestral

Primary Emotions/Themes: mixing the elements of jazz with a full orchestra

Thoughts: The first time I heard this album I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. I was highly into modal jazz at the time and the orchestral approach here did not fit well with those expectation. I ended up shelving this for months before revisiting.

Upon revisiting I found myself greeted with an incredibly varied and deep album. The addition of the orchestra to traditional jazz formulations and structures was something I had not heard before. By the time the drums came in with their soft brush strokes on the snare I was sold. This is a fantastic album.

Mr. Davis of course has the lead at nearly all points, but he feels more in control than ever before. He is subtle when needed, monstrous when the music calls for it, but in all things he exerts absolute command over himself and the orchestra. 

Sketches of Spain is one of the most ambitious works in Davis' extensive discography, and perhaps one of the most impressive ones as well. I wasn't ready for it the first time I heard it, but upon revisiting it I can see it for the wonder that it is.

Entry 1110 - Miles Davis - In A Silent Way

Style: jazz, free jazz

Primary Emotions/Themes: Two long songs that embody patience and subtlety 

Thoughts: Miles Davis needs no introduction. His career is one of the most well known in all of jazz... no in all of music. I've been wanting to get into his music more, and in doing so I picked up In A Silent Way. I had no idea what style of jazz was on display here, but if you're expecting Kind of Blue this is not it.

There are two long compositions. Both revolve around a repeating backbone with different artists taking the lead at different moments. The rhythm section usually consists of only a few notes that are repeated ad nauseum yet slowly evolving over the course of the 20 minute compositions. It's fascinating to hear. 

I'm not versed well enough in jazz to know what category this fits into, but it feels free flowing and more improvised than normal... so maybe it's free jazz. I'm again not sure, but the end result here is an album that gets multiple spins every time it hits the turntable. Another fantastic album from Mr. Davis. 

Entry 1109 - The Midnight - Kids

Style: synthwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: Pure nostalgia

Thoughts: Nostalgia has become a central theme of my blog it seems. So many of the albums I have in my collection are there because I had a positive experience with them in my youth. Kids is not one of those albums, but it acts like it is.

The music on Kids is undoubtedly synthwave, and with that comes an inherit feeling of nostalgia if you grew up in the 1980's. The thing that Kids does differently though is that it doesn't just evoke feelings of nostalgia through the inherit nature of the music, it goes way beyond that. I can't explain it completely but this evokes strong feelings from my childhood.

Maybe it's the samples of news clips regarding arcades from the time period. Maybe it's the more relaxed nature of the music and how it borrows from said arcade music. Maybe it's the way that Tyle Lyle soothes me with the lyrics to the album.... maybe it's everything... maybe it's nothing. I don't know, but god damn this album is enough to make me cry. 

Entry 1108 - The Midnight - Days of Thunder

Style: Synthwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: Winding songs that build over time to create the prefect driving music

Thoughts: Days of Thunder is a mediocre moving about driving form the 80's with Tom Cruise. Days of Thunder is also a fantastic debut EP from The Midnight. Of the two it should be obvious that I prefer the musical rendition. 

The music on Days of Thunder is unlike anything else The Midnight as produced. The songs are long, they build and evolve over time until they become this all encompassing mass of synths. The music compels me to move, to drive at a high rate of speed. Or to stay absolutely still and let my imagination take me off into the sunset.

The Midnight have been hit or miss for me with their discography, but their debut is exceptionally well done. It's synthwave without a doubt, but the band has managed to create a variation of the genre that stands out. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to flip the record again.

Entry 1107 - Midnight Sun

Style: Vocal jazz

Primary Emotions/Themes: A Japanese take on vocal jazz

Thoughts: Jazz is one of my favorite genres, even though I don't have much of it in my collection. The vocal jazz section of my collection is also woefully small. Fortunately this album is starting to remedy that. 

Midnight Sun is a collection of jazz classics retold with a Japanese interpretation. In this particular instance that means that the songs are exceptionally well executed and the vocal delivery is spot on in every technical aspect. Something this technically sound would normally make me a bit worried about the soul of the music being stripped out, yet somehow the duo here has managed to retain that.

Midnight Sun is a wonderful album. I find myself drawn to it frequently and when it hits the table it's hard for me to move on to the next album. The perfect way to expand my collection into new directions.

Entry 1106 - Mid-Air Thief - Crumbling

Style: Indie pop/rock

Primary Emotions/Themes: Strange tones mix with familiar melodies to create a unique take on indie pop/rock

Thoughts: I wish I knew why this album was in my collection. I don't know why I bought it and I don't know who recommended it to me. This is very much out of the normal music that I listen to, but that's not always a bad thing.

Mid-Air Thief play what can only be called electronic influenced indie rock. The atmosphere has that distinctive production values form the genre and the music is pop but with some extras thrown in. Mostly this is a pop album, but there are some quirky elements that take this into a more experimental territory. Like the random glitches noises that happen at the end of the opening track. Not sure what they are or why they were included in the song... yet there they are.

Crumbling is a strange album, that likely is not for me. I don't see myself coming back to this very often, and honestly I may sell it. There are some types of music that I can appreciate, but at the same time know that they are not for me. This is likely one of those.

Entry 1105 - Mgla - Age of Excuse

Style: Hypnotic black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: All things evolve, as simple as the band once was they now have evolved and matured their style to near perfection

Thoughts: Ever since their second album Mgla has played a consistent style. Some albums are better than others, but the formula has remained the same: create excellent music through as few riffs as possible. Repeat those riffs for minutes on end and draw the listener into a trance.

Age of Excuse continues on these very principles. The album is obviously more mature than the early works as the band has now had nearly a decade to perfect their art... but the core of the music is very much the same. These riffs... there is no band that does the hypnotic style of black metal as well as Mgla these days. 

Everything about Age of Excuse is polished to perfection. No riff overstays it's welcome. No drum beat or fill is out of place. Everything works together in such a way that it all contributes to the greater whole. Every song on here shares the same name as the album. This is perfect as the album is best consumed as a whole rather than individual parts. Just as the music's sum is greater than it's individual parts.

Entry 1104 - Mgla - With Hearts Towards None

Style: Hypnotic black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Repeated riffs swirl around and slowly lure me into a web of darkness. Without realizing it the music has enveloped me.

Thoughts: Mgla has become one of the most popular acts within the black metal genre in the past few years. While their album's don't always hit it off with me, when the band does things well they are nearly unstoppable. 

With Hearts Towards None the band truly found their style. Simple repeating riffs that are repeated over the course of minutes with excellent drumming. It sounds so basic, and in essence it is. The real challenge here is executing something so simple to perfection.

The music could easily be boring. There isn't much going on in most of the songs, so what is here needs to be of the highest caliber. And that is exactly what Mgla gives the listener. A phenomenal set of riffs and atmosphere that weave their way into the back of my mind and slowly take over my waking consciousness. Left unguarded the music can be all consuming.

Entry 1103 - MetroGradient - Undercity Nights

Style: Droning ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: The street is empty, the world around you seems so vast, yet so completely void of any other living soul. The weight of the cities isolation begins to set in.

Thoughts: Walking in the street, the night sky is obscured by some clouds and light pollution. The world around me is saturated in light and advertisements. I've walked these streets a thousand times, but tonight I am alone.

The world seems to slow down to a crawl as I traverse these streets. I haven't seen another soul in hours, and I wonder where everyone is. Am I lost in some sort of dream? Where is everyone? The world is still here, but am I the only one in it? 

I continue to traverse the night only to find that I am the only one in these streets. The more I travel the more I find myself starting to fade into the ether of the Metro Gradient.

Entry 1102 - Metal Gear Solid

Style: Video game music

Primary Emotions/Themes: A perfect accompaniment to one of the most influential games ever created

Thoughts: The original Playstation was home to some of the greatest games ever created. Metal Gera Solid was among those. It revolutionized both the stealth and action genre's all at once, both in it's game play and in it's soundtrack.

The musical accompaniment for Metal Gear Solid matches the gameplay nearly to perfection. Sneaking around the complex? The music is tense but also nearly ambient. Were you just seen? The music picks up and has a lot more suspense in it. You were seen! The music is now going gangbusters and the air is filled with an urgency that you. must. escape.

As cool as the soundtrack is, I don't think it works too well as a stand alone title. It suffers a lot from the music working well in the context of the game, but not as much when put into album form. That said it's still an iconic moment in gaming history.

Entry 1101 - Merciful Fate - 9

Style: 1st wave black metal, heavy metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: The prodigal son returns home, the master's revisit their roots

Thoughts:  The ninety's were a strange time for Merciful Fate. They experimented with different sounds, King was balancing his own band with Fate, and I feel like the quality of both suffered because of this. It had been ages since the band had embraced the Satanic side of their sound... that was until 9 came out.

9 takes the classic riffing that Merciful Fate had on their first two albums and brings it back full force. Additionally, Mr. Diamond sings about heaven, hell, god and satan all over again... it's a wonderful return to the classic Fate style. 

While I still prefer the original two albums from the band, this album retains much of the same "fun" that the band had in their early works. The riffs are full of energy, King sounds better than he had in years (though Dead Again was also a fantastic album). The band is firing on all cylinders once again. 

This would end up being the final full length of the band. Even though they are back together, I don't know if they will ever release another album. If that never comes to pass, this is still one hell of a swansong.

Entry 1100 - Merciful Fate - Don't Break the Oath

Style: 1st wave black metal, traditional heavy metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Whatever you do, once sworn fealty to the dark lord, one must never break the oath

Thoughts: When it comes to Satanic metal, few are more well known than Merciful Fate. The first two albums are legendary in their scope and influence across all metal. The riffs are powerful and catchy, the rhythm section matches the guitars beat for beat, and then there is King. His vocals are what set the band apart with his impressive falsetto. 

Don't Break the Oath has some of the most iconic songs in all of heavy metal on it. The Oath and it's epic intro and continuous barrage of riffs. Gypsy with it's strong vocal performance from King. Nightmare with it's twisted riffs and odd song structure. And of course the closing track of Come to the Sabbath with it's iconic chorus.

Don't Break the Oath set the blueprint for so many heavy metal bands and how to create catchy yet evil music. Merciful Fate wouldn't play in this style again until their last studio album... but this album left one hell of a legacy for the band for many many years.

Entry 1099 - Mephorash - 1557 - The Rites of Nullification

Style: Religious/dissonant black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Four songs of overwhelming evil that aims to claim my soul in the name of the dark one

Thoughts: A wolf in sheep's clothing. The music that Mephorash put out on 1557 would by all indications show the band as a highly religious group. The music reverberates with chant's that you would hear in hymn. The way the music resonates reminds me heavily of music recorded within the confines of a chapel. The structure of the four songs has a slow hypnotic sway to it, much like a chorus that religions use.

But it was all a ruse. Despite the similarities, this is indeed some of the darkest music that I have in my collection. These four songs create such an uneasy atmosphere... such an overwhelming sense of dread that I sometimes have to limit the amount that I spin this on my turntable. 

There are many forms of black metal, but there are few that incorporate religious tones in with the art. Many of those who try to write music like this fail. They do not create the right atmosphere, or they simply miscalculate how to write the music. There are other bands though, such as Mephorash that have mastered this art. And when mastered, it can be among some of the best music in the genre.

Entry 1098 - Memorex Memories - In Motion

Style: Vaporwave, synthwave, trap

Primary Emotions/Themes: Two EP's in one record, one old, one new - both exploring the combination of chilled out melodies with various influences from other genres

Thoughts: In Motion was written a few years ago as of this writing. It was one of the first releases under the project. In Motion II was written within the past year, and tries to replicate the same feeling that the early work did. 

In Motion I is a relaxed slab of synthwave that incorporates moments of vaporwave, trap, glitch and a few other genres during it's short playtime. The main thing that ties it all together is the overwhelming sense of calm that the music has on me.

In Motion II is a relaxed slab of synthwave that tries to pay tribute to the foundation set by In Motion I. It uses quite a few of the same techniques found in the first entry, but has a decidedly more modern approach. The music is clearer and isn't as washed away in the overwhelming presence of calm that the first In Motion does. It's more defined, more ridged. 

Between the two I prefer the first In Motion. They both have their place, and while they are two sides of the same coin, not all of the second entry is to my liking as much. I much prefer getting lost in the music of the first entry than hearing with crystal clarity what is going on. Sometimes ambiguity isn't a bad thing.

Entry 1097 - Memorex Memories - The Life of Riley

Style: Synthwave, vaporwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: A chilled out trip down memory lane

Thoughts: Life is hard sometimes, that doesn't mean that the music we listen to has to be equally as difficult. Memorex Memories tries to use their music to instill a sense of peace and nostalgia in the listener, and for the most part The Life of Riley succeeds in exactly this.

The music itself is based in synthwave. Slow, mellow, deep beat driven synthwave. It's so slow, and so chilled that it largely has a vaporwave sound to it. This combination has been done before, but the way that it's pulled off here is a step above most other projects that play this kind of music. 

It's the melodies and the way they fade in and out. It's the way the music flows like a wave ebbing into shore. It's the way the music is layered, how it fills the entire room effortlessly. It's the way that the music works its way into my ears and settles in to my heart, and brings me peace. This is good music. Good for listening and good for the soul.

Entry 1096 - Meitei - Kofu III

Style: Experimental, ambient, traditional Japanese

Primary Emotions/Themes: The least musical of the trilogy and the strangest by far

Thoughts: What if we took the principles laid out in the Kofu series and intermixed them with the strangeness and obscurity of Kwaidan? Well that is what Kofu III aims to investigate. 

The music here is more obtuse than either of the previous entries in the Kofu series. The melodies are still there, but they are slower... as if listened to under water. The vocals are also still present, but again... more distorted... a bit stranger. The whole endeavor is just strange.

This is the hardest album of the trilogy to get into. It feels intentionally obtuse, as if challenging the listener to spend time with it or discard it at a whim. Out of all of Meitei's works this is the one I revisit the least. By no means is it bad, but I find myself wanting to listen to the other albums before this one more often than not.

Entry 1095 - Meitei - Kofu II

Style: Experimental, traditional Japanese, old time music

Primary Emotions/Themes: a continuation of the excellent window into pre-modern Japan

Thoughts: The trilogy continues with the second offering looking into Kofu in pre-Meji era Japan. The entire album has a stronger instrumental leaning than the previous. That means more piano, more flute, more Japanese guitar, more melodies, more everything. 

This is my favorite entry into the Kofu trilogy. While not as easy to digest as the first entry, the details hidden in this albums mix are worth digging into. The way the samples are put together brings about a deep sense of contentment with me that is rare. It's just so strange... in the best way possible.

The Kofu series is where my infatuation with Meitei really began to take hold. These first two entries have created such a unique and yet nostalgic feeling within me every time I listen that I find myself coming back to them frequently. Essential listening... even if it is just once.

Entry 1094 - Meitei - Kofu

Style: Ambient, traditional Japanese, experimental

Primary Emotions/Themes: Like listening to an old radio and programs from the distant past seep through to modern day

Thoughts: Meitei's experimentation continues with a trilogy revolving around the city of Kofu. This first entry takes what seems to be sounds and voices from a hundred years ago and patches them together in such a way that we have an auditory window to the past.

Each composition is short, lasting only a few brief minutes before moving onto the next moment captured in time. While each composition is unique in it's own way they all have a strong connection that ties them together through the production. Static, interference, and period accurate recordings are the filter in which all of these compositions are heard and it does wonders to tie the whole thing together.

Of all the Meitei album's that I've heard, this is the easiest on the ears. There are legit melodies and there are no sudden interruptions that come in some of their other releases. This is such a curious album, and outside of Onra's Chioniseries I can't really think of any other music like this.

Entry 1093 - Meitei - Kwaidan

Style: Ambient, experimental

Primary Emotions/Themes: A wonderfully bizarre take on Japanese ambient and culture

Thoughts: Now this is something you don't see every day. Some music that is truly unique. I don't think I've ever heard anything like Kwaidan before... and I've heard a lot of music in my lifetime.

The premise here is quite simple. This is a celebration of the Japanese view of death and how it is viewed through modern day. The music reflects this strange approach perfectly. It revolves around semi melodic tones reverberating around the air while a curious voice speaks in incomprehensible chants above. 

The music will play around with different themes, but everything here seems like it's half complete. A melody will arbitrarily stop, a tone will sound just slightly out of place, the voice will interrupt at random intervals, the music just feels off... and I love it. Meitei's debut it something that I've been strangely obsessed with for over a year now, and I'm glad that I finally have a copy of it on wax. It's an album to hear, even if only once.

Entry 1092 - Megaman.exe

Style: Video game music, remix, techno

Primary Emotions/Themes: Some of the better Mega Man tracks remixed in the style of EDM

Thoughts: Mega Man's soundtracks are normally a step above the competition, especially in the NES and SNES days. It's only natural that someone would want to remix them to modern EDM. Megaman.exe does just that.

The selection here is strong, thought I don't know if I enjoy every single remix as well as the original. Some of the tracks sound out of place and while the album as a whole is decent, I don't know if this is something I am going to come back to on a regular basis. 

EDM can be good, in fact it can be really good. It needs the right mixer and samples to source from though. Here the source material is great, however the arrangement's are not quite up to par with what I would expect with the original Mega Man soundtracks. 

Entry 1091 - Mega Ran - Black Materia

Style: Hip hop, video game music

Primary Emotions/Themes: Final Fantasy VII

Thoughts: I think I want to change the way I do these summaries. They have often gotten far to long and end up becoming more of a hinderance than a boon to my writing. I'm going to endeavor to write shorter summaries of my thoughts from this point forward and see how it goes. 

Black Materia is one of the first VGM adjacent albums I ever got. The whole album revolves around the core concept of hip hop utilizing music from Final Fantasy 7 while Mega Ran and his extensive list of guests provide rapped vocals on top. 

With the base material being so strong, it would be hard for this album to not be at least average. Fortunately, Mega Ran pays a strong tribute to Uematsu here with the way that the samples are curated and the way the vocals are arranged. It's a great album that maybe overstays it's welcome a bit, but overall pretty good. 

Entry 1090 - The Medium

Style: Video game music, ambient, rock, dark ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: A continuation of the Silent Hill games incredible music

Thoughts: The Silent Hill games are among some of the best soundtracks... no some of the best music in my collection. The fact that this level of quality is attributed to video game music gives a lot of credence to the fact that the genre is indeed one to be reckoned with. 

All of this is of course due to the excellent compositions of Akira Yamaoka, who until recently had left the Silent Hill series behind. In it's place we have games like The Medium. While not the same level of deep constant terror that Silent Hill provides, the game has it's own merits... and the music. Oh the music is a direct continuation of the standards set in Silent Hill.

The most defining feature of the Silent Hill series' music is the constant "hazy" feeling that the music contains. It always feels like there is something hiding in the music, something that is obscured from our senses... only waiting to ambush us in the future. That same quality is retained in The  Medium. 

I know I've compared this soundtrack a lot to the past works of Yamaoka, and that is with good reason. Both he and Reikowski have created a soundtrack that not only pays tribute to the past... it very well could be part of that same legacy. 

The guitars have that same semi distorted tone with just a hint of reverb mixed in. The keyboards are thick as pea soup and require a lot of concentration to hear all the layers of. The atmosphere is foreboding and in many cases completely oppressive. Hell we even have Mary McGlynn on vocals. Every element of the previous series is here, and The Medium expands and evolves it into new directions as well. 

This album and albums like it are why I still listen to video game music. There is no other genre that has managed to create this type of atmosphere, not even dark ambient. It is unique to Yamaoka's writing style, and he chooses to compose for games. Another masterful work in his impeccable discography. 

Entry 1089 - Maykretch - 息​​​苦​​​し​​​い​​​夜

Style: ambient, barber beats

Primary Emotions/Themes: Chill but generic 

Thoughts: Every now and then you need an album that hits the right spot. An album that doesn't try to innovate. An album that is content with what it is. Maykretch has create just such an album with 息​​​苦​​​し​​​い​​​夜.

There isn't really anything that remarkable to say about Makretch's album. It fits in nicely within the barber beats genre. It knows exactly what it is: a collection of songs that are meant to be enjoyed. Nothing fancy, nothing abrasive, nothing unexpected. Simply good music.

This album is pretty much the definition of: I don't think I will seek it out very often on its own, but if it's on I certainly won't turn it off. I had my doubts if this is a good album to keep in my collection because of that, but ultimately you need a few innocuous albums to get you though a hard day. This album fits that bill perfectly.

Entry 1088 - Mayhem - Deamon

Style: Black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: A return to where it all started, a tribute to the past

Thoughts: Mayhem is one of those bands that has repeatedly done whatever the hell they want. They show little to no regard for what modern trends are and/or what their fans think. This is one of their most endearing traits, and one of the reasons why every new Mayhem album is an event.

The past couple of albums from the band have seen them double down on the obscurity of their art. The riffs, the vocals, the drums, everything is hidden behind a wall of water so to speak. The albums are exceptionally obscure, and it is one of the things that defined their sound in the past ten years or so. Deamon changes all of that.

The production here is crystal clear. The riffs are in your face right from the start of the album, nothing is hidden, nothing obscured. The intensity of the music is also ratcheted up... not just in the production, but in the intensity of the riffs, the speed of the drums and the manic nature of Atilla's vocals. 

The glaring change here is the choice of production. Both Ordo ad Chao and Esoteric Warfare were intentionally obtuse with their production choices. Deamon is as clear as it can possibly be. The dual guitars, even the bass... every note is as clear as day. This may be the best production job the band has ever had in terms of clarity.

The music itself is a bit more intricate than the past two offerings. The production lends itself to having more details available in the mix and the band takes full advantage. The riffs are entirely dependent on two guitars to achieve their goal: a modern take on second wave black metal.

Many of these riffs sound like they could have been written in the middle of the ninety's, just with a few minor alterations. Instead of a pure minor scale the band will often work in a few dissonant chords in between the melodies. This by no means makes Mayhem a dissonant black metal band, but these small moments do help with the transitions and do make the songs a bit more dynamic. 

Mayhem has always been a band that does whatever they want. Deamon is no different. They obviously wanted to make standard black metal and that is exactly what they achieved. Only time will tell what the band does in the future.