Entry 1463 - Tristania - Widow's Weeds

Style: melodic doom/death metal with female vocals, "beauty and the beast"

Primary Emotions/Themes: loss, sorrow, the dramatic and dynamic role that death plays in life

Thoughts: Well now, this was a surprise. I got this album on CD when it first released, it was then misplaced or stolen or given away to someone. I honestly don't remember, but when I wanted to listen to it one day it was gone... and that was my last memory of Tristania's debut album for nearly two decades.

When I saw the album at one of my go to distributors/storefronts I grabbed it without a second thought. I remembered the album having a lot of great moments with the last few songs being true stand outs. Now having listened a few times I can confirm that those memories were correct.

Firstly, the guitar tone is quite unique on this record. It sounds like a light buzzing, almost like a bee's wings fluttering mixed with a typical guitar distortion. It's still very much a metal tone, but I found it to be quite unique and fitting for the overall tone of the album. A lighter more mellow tone to a brutal genre.

The vocals are the real stand out here though. The male vocals play the lead for most of the album, either clean sung or growled. Both are well executed, and drive the album forward in a reasonable fashion. Where the album really shines though is the accented female vocals. They are not the primary focus by any means, but they are the real star of the show.

They are used in a lead capacity from time to time, however when they are used in a choir format in combination of the male vocals is when the band is truly at their best. Keyboards, a lead guitar, a male grunting vocalist complimented with a chorus of female vocals... that's the albums absolute strength and they know it. It's utilized time after time to excellent effect.

That's not the only tricks that Tristania has up their sleeve though. They have employed the services of Pete Johansen - a violinist. He is used sparingly throughout the album, but when he is used the music is elevated even higher. 

Fittingly the last two real songs on the album are the highlight for me. My Lost Lenore has a timeless melody and utilizes the violin to the maximum capacity. Wasteland's Caress take everything that the band has built over the course of the album and works it into an epic closing track.

Widow's Weeds is an album that I lament that I lost track of. That said, I finally have it in my collection again and I am able to enjoy Tristania's debut once again. This version in particular comes with nearly twenty minutes of bonus tracks to boot. One of those albums I didn't know I needed in my collection but I'm glad that I was reminded of its existence. 

Entry 1462 - Schemer Heer - The Dragon, His Angels and the Exlatation

Style: dungeon synth

Primary Emotions/Themes: dramatic compositions that sound like they could be a video game soundtrack

Thoughts: There are some things in this life that we do not mesh with. Sometimes an album and I are at completely different ends of the spectrum. Unfortunately Schemer Heer's The Dragon, His Angels and the Exaltation is one of those albums. 

The music present on this album is technically excellent. I've heard stuff like this in multiple video game soundtracks. It sounds like a dramatic boss fight or epic dungeon music throughout its run time. The keyboards used to play the music are also well produced, everything is executed to near perfection. I can see the care and love that went into this album and it pains me that I can't garner enjoyment out of it.

What really irks me about my inability to get into this album is that it draws heavily from my favorite RPG soundtrack: Final Fantasy VI. There are so many moments here where I'm whisked back to playing that game, yet I still can't get into the album. The music simply does. not. click.

This is part of the joy yet also part of the pain of listening to music: it's entirely subjective. While I can appreciate this music for what it is, I cannot enjoy this music for what it is. I've listened probably a dozen times at the point of this writing and the album and I simply are not compatible. Fortunately for me there are enough albums out there that I can enjoy to not let this be too much of a detriment. 

Entry 1461 - Schammasch - The Maldoror Chants: Old Ocean

Style: religious themed blackened death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: The horrors that live in the ocean, that which is unknown

Thoughts: What lies in the depths of the earth? What dwells in the deep below? These questions largely remain unanswered... and where the unknown prevails, so does fear. Fear of that which we do not... cannot understand. Fear of the things that are beyond our grasp to control, to comprehend. Schammasch preys on those same fears.

Schammasch's music has always been hit or miss with me. Some of their releases seem over long and meandering without much payoff if any. Other times though the band manages to craft music so powerful and intricate that it's incredibly difficult to deny how potent it is. Fortunately Old Ocean falls within the second of these two categories. 

The first Maldoror Chant was one of my favorite outings of the band. It had a deep unsettling feeling that started the instant the needle hit the record and continued throughout the entirety of the 30 minute song. They displayed their mastery of dynamics and ability to create a foreboding atmosphere with minimal effort. Hermaphrodite was easily one of the best records in the year it was released. 

When I heard the title of the new album I was cautiously hopeful. Both Triangle and Hearts of no Light were disappointments for different reason. Triangle seemed overly self important and never really unleashed the fury that I knew the band was capable of... overall it seemed way too restrained. Heart of No Light simply never grabbed me.  I don't remember a single thing about that album, no matter how many times I listen to it. 

This all led into my anticipation of Old Ocean, and upon my first full listen I was disappointed. I didn't hear the foreboding that I was hoping would be there. I thought the songs were too long - even for Schammasch's taste. There were a few standout moments but overall I walked away from the album feeling like the band's glory days were done.

Something called me back though. Something from the depths called to me, beckoned me back to the album... and after a few months I relented. What I heard on my second listen was a completely different experience. 

Where I once heard a benign collection of riffs, I now heard a well constructed flurry of both peace and deeply unsettling riffs that pulled me into its clutches like a roaring rip tide. These songs had nothing altered from one listen to the next. No, I simply was not ready to accept the album for what it was: a tour de force of extreme metal.

The songs, while long, use that length to tell stories - both lyrically and musically. There are extended periods of peace and comfort only for those moments to be obliterated by the absolute fury of Schammasch. The finest example of this is the first track in its entirety. 

Crystal Waves takes a slow build and builds it over the first seven to eight minutes of the tracks thirteen minute play time. During this time you can feel a rising fury coming from the depths of the bands instruments, yet it is restrained... barely. It's not until the band fully unleashes with blast beats and furious riffing that the beast is fully unleashed upon the listener. This song still blows me away even having listened to it many times as of this writing.

To follow this ferocity up the band returns to their deceptively peaceful ways on A Somber Mystery. This instrumental returns the listener to a newly shaken state of peace. We have seen what the band is capable of... and we now know that we are no longer safe. Our foundation of security is fractured.

This is the ongoing dialog of Old Ocean: Never take your security for granted. Never be content in peace for it is fleeting. The unknowns of that which we do not understand can shatter our foundation in an instant. Even it if it is restored we are forever changed. Welcome back Schammasch, you were sorely missed.

Entry 1460 - Macroblank - 分離された (Separated)

Style: Vaporwave, barber beats

Primary Emotions/Themes: The smoothest of vibes from one of the best to do it.

Thoughts: Some music acts a lot like comfort food. You go to it in times of need or times when you want to be reminded of a specific time in your life. That is exactly what Macro's music is for me. It reminds me of a time when life was just a little bit easier - just a tiny bit less of a struggle to handle. 

There are many things that one can say about Macroblank's discography, however inconsistency is not one of them. The way that this dude has put together their discography is downright impressive by this point. Each release has it's own character, yet the care and time to craft everything from the individual pieces is well on display during each of the songs. 

These songs are so intricate that it's hard to believe that this is vaporwave. This music sounds like it belongs together, it sounds like it was written and composed with this as the final outcome. Some people truly are the master of plunderphonics - Macro being one of them.

The music is largely guitar based throughout 分離された. Piano, trumpet, saxophone are all also used to create a smooth groove... one that I feel compelled to bob my head to every time this thing hits my turntable. 

This is the kind of music that I would expect to be played by a small live band in a smoke filled bar in some corner in an alleyway. Obscure, yet oddly familiar in nearly every note. I don't know where these original samples came from, but I do know that they fit well together in here.  

Macroblank continues to show why they are one of the best within the barber beats realm. While their albums do tend to run together one release to the next, the overall quality is so high that it's hard to deny. Once the music starts it's hard to take it off the turntable.  

Entry 1459 - Fief - VI

Style: medieval fair dungeon synth

Primary Emotions/Themes: A celebration of all that is simple and right in the world

Thoughts: Patrons! Lords! Ladies! Gentlefolk of all kind! Gather, gather round! Our good lord Fief has returned after their long trek across untold lands. Quickly now! Let us go to the town square and hear of their tales. 

After what felt like an eternity Fief has finally returned with their sixth self titled opus. Their style remains one of the most unique sounds within all of dungeon synth, and with their return it goes to show just how much a staple like this is missed. 

Not much has changed from the previous offerings... yet I still feel more fulfilled having listened to VI than if I had never had it in my life. The combination of medieval instruments in up tempo renaissance dance fashion graces my ears once again as the minstrel plays.  

Lute mixes with flute. Flute with percussion. Percussion back to the lute. They all work in grand harmony and in utter symbiosis. Without one the other is not complete, so the trinity of Fief's music is composed. 

This is the perfect music to put on when I need something... anything. Having a bad day? Listen to some Fief for some brightness to be shown in. Having a wonderful day? Why not elevate it even further? Need some music for reading? This will bring me to lands untold. Need some music for concentration, look no further than the minstrel within these forty minutes. Truly an album for all times.  

Entry 1458 - Arcanist - Poseidonis

Style: dungeon synth, ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: A retro take on dungeon synth

Thoughts: Everyone who is into dungeon synth knows the genres roots is connected to black metal. The thing that most won't tell you though is that there are other genres that were also at the forefront of this in the past. Genres such as the early ambient artists, the experimental noodlings of Berlin school etc. Arcanist takes not so much from black metal on Poseidonis, but rather pays tribute to other artists that came before... primarily Vangelis.

Don't get me wrong, this is still very much dungeon synth, however the way that the music is constructed is quite a bit different than that of those rooted in Norwegian heritage. Instead of a slow brooding atmosphere laid out by synth pads we have a more ambient take intermixed with what seems to be analog synthesizers making up most of the melodies. Instead of individual melodies repeating minutes on end Arcanist experiments more with variations on a theme. Melodies will weave in and out almost in an improvisational manner (ala Berlin school). 

All of this feels like a breath of fresh air. As much as I love dungeon synth that takes notes from the roots it's so refreshing to hear another take on the genre while still being firmly rooted within the confines of dungeon synth. I look forward to seeing what else Arcanist can do in the future.

Entry 1457 - Lunar Mantra - Psychosomatika

Style: black metal, dark ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: Through dissonance there is beauty

Thoughts: Every once in a while you'll get an album like this: nothing super fancy, nothing too original, but gawd dayum does it hit all the right spots in the right moments. 

Lunar Mantra play dissonant black metal mixed in with a bit of dark ambient on this release. For those familiar with the genre, the band plays a very standard fare. The music has that signature whirlwind of riffs sound paired with roaring vocals and musical transitions that are jarring for the untrained ear. Standard fare for dissonant metal. 

That said, just as I need comfort food - sometimes I need comfort music. Dissonant black metal is largely my go to musical style when I need something to center me. I've amassed a bit of a collection of the genre at this point and while Psychosomatika does not differentiate itself greatly from it's peers it has two major things going for it:

- the album is short

- the album is exceptionally well crafted

Sometimes I don't need a huge defining trait for a band. Sometimes I just need something that I know I'm going to enjoy no matter when I put it on the turntable. Lunar Mantra is exactly that.

Entry 1456 - Deadsoul Tribe - A Murder of Crows

Style: progressive/psychedelic metal/rock

Primary Emotions/Themes: Some things you can't return...

Thoughts: I forgot this album existed. Somehow, some way, someone else didn't... and now I have an excellent album on vinyl in my collection. 

Deadsoul Tribe play a sort of hybrid psychedelic/progressive metal that is dripping in atmosphere. The band adheres to the "wall of sound" ethos in nearly every song on this album. The guitars and bass make up the foundation before Devon's (Buddy's) vocals come soaring on top. 

For having a standard band composition, the band is able to create incredibly dense sounding songs. There are no holes in any of these songs, never a weakness to be heard. Not only that, the band has this constant feeling of barely being contained. Like a raging torrent swelling up from within, yet being restrained by some force just barely stronger. Sometimes though, that torrent releases and when it does the music's demeanor changes completely.

Moments like the last part of Feed Part II, the chorus of Some Things You Can't Return showcase the bands full potential. All the restraint is lifted and the music swells to this glorious crescendo that is almost overwhelming. 

This constant tension in the music along with the wall of sound and a huge helping of reverb help elevate A Murder of Crows beyond a normal progressive metal album... it's a combination of elements that bring the whole to a much greater some of the parts. Truly a higher tier album.

Entry 1455 - Runespell - Voice of Opprobrium

Style: melodic black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: War, isolation, the solemness of life

Thoughts: Staring an album out with a six minute acoustic instrumental is a rather bold choice. Most bands would choose a much shorter one to two minute intro of this manner, but not Runespell. They fully embrace the somberness that permeates through this album with this lengthy intro/instrumental. It's the perfect introduction to the music that is ahead.

There are six songs on Voice of Opprobrium. Six songs that embrace the tragedy that is life in different forms. Three through a cold solitude, the remainder through a melodic onslaught of riffs.

The first two tracks are essentially the microcosm of the entire album. Firmament in Blood is the instrumental discussed previously. Immediately thereafter it goes into the title track which is an eight minute foray of riffs and melodies that sweeps me off my feet. 

It's hard to overstate just how good Runespell is at writing melodic riffs without losing any intensity in the music nor losing the atmosphere that elevates excellent black metal. Every single moment of the three black metal songs on this release if filled with riff after killer riff, melody after incredible melody, epic moment after epic moment. 

To contrast this the remaining three songs are purely acoustic and focus solely on atmosphere and the meaninglessness of life. The guitar stings echo with a sense of loss that permeates the air. The resulting silence resonates heavily with the remembrance of those who have past. 

It's this balance between the deep violence of black metal and the eerily serene calm of the acoustic tracks that make Voice of Opprobrium one of the better black metal albums I've heard in some time. This is the album that put me on to Runespell and their excellent discography, and even now several years after my initial exposure it remains a mainstay on my turntable.

Entry 1454 - Shire Oak - The Cardinal

Style: comfy synth, dungeon synth

Primary Emotions/Themes: walking out in the woods in the middle of spring, a cardinal lands on a branch in front of you singing its cheerful song

Thoughts: The snow has melted, the river is finally flowing again, it's time to put away our jackets and listen to the birds sing. The sun is out longer now, nature is blooming and life is a little less harsh. This is the atmosphere of The Cardinal.

Minimal notes, silence, the air is light with life. This is the kind of music that I need in my life. The type of music that breeds internal contentment. The kind of music that requires me to take a step back and slow down. 

There are few words that can describe how wonderful this release is, and as to not disrespect the principle of this release I will let my words be few as well. Simply put, this is peace in an audio package. Essential. 

Entry 1453 - In the Woods... - Pure

Style: progressive metal, experimental metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: The return of one of the best experimental bands ever to record an album

Thoughts: Of all the bands... of all the projects over the years, I never expected In the Woods... to return. Even less expected was the return of the band with the Botteri brothers who I thought had left music all together by this point.

The last I had heard from the band they had gone down the rabbit hole of complete lunacy with Strange in Stereo. The album is a collection of bizarre thoughts and experiments that somehow manage to create a coherent album. I wasn't sure where the band would go from there, and for the longest time I never would know as they disbanded shortly thereafter.

With Pure the band comes back with a surprisingly straight forward album. The guitars have definitive riffs, there are clear melodies, the vocals are melodic and even have a harsh edge to them at points - it's almost as if the band decided to strip down all of the experimental elements and just create a straight forward metal album. 

The band has done this in the past with Omino... but here it seems a little too safe. The music of the bands past has always had an experimental edge to it, sometimes to the bands detriment but most of the time it is a great boon. Here though that experimental side is largely missing. 

This is especially disappointing with the inclusion of the Botteri brothers. They have been a creative force unlike any other in metal for a long time and I feel like their presence is barely even felt on the album. What happened to the experimental riffs? What happened to the extended weird ambient sections? What happened to the points in the music that make me go "what the fuck is that?" It's simply not here.

As glad as I am to have In the Woods... back and recording again I feel like this album was largely a wasted opportunity. It plays it way too safe for the band that's name is attached to the album. I guess it's back to Omino and early Green Carnation to get my fix. 

Entry 1452 - Modest by Default - THE SIREN METHOD (​​​​​​​没​​​​​​​有​​​​​​​出​​​​​​​口​​​​​​​)

Style: barber beats, vaporwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: the spirit of rebellion as interpreted by a smooth jazz band

Thoughts: Let's be honest for a moment. The dominant force in vaporwave for the past few years has been within the barber beats genre. Originally this was only practiced by Haircuts for Men, but as time progressed more came into the fold and then it just exploded with participants. 

In this newest wave of lounge music inspired vaporwave Modest by Default has distinguished themselves as one of the better artists to throw their hat into the ring.  While seemingly anyone can take chill music and put a vaporwave beat to it, there is something about the way that Modest crafts their music that stands out. 

Maybe it's the way that the music flows together effortlessly. If you didn't tell me this was plunderphonics I would never have known. Maybe it's the way that vocals are so often incorporated in ways that are less common than most other vaporwave. They are used as an additional instrument and rarely actually sing lyrics. Maybe it's their uncanny knack for finding an undeniably groovy beat.  Maybe it's all of these things, or none of them... maybe it's a simple case of the sum is greater than the parts. I'm not entirely sure but truly this is some great stuff. 

The Siren Method is not the strongest album I have from this artist, and quite honestly it goes on for just a bit too long for my liking. There isn't as much variety here as some of their other works and that does also count against the album... but when I want something to chill out to, barber beats is certainly at the top of my list and The Siren Method is on the short list of albums that hit the turntable regularly in these situations.  

Entry 1451 - Örnatorpet - Hymner Från Snökulla

Style: Winter synth, old school dungeon synth

Primary Emotions/Themes: Cold, dark, and yet somehow welcoming music 

Thoughts: There is a cold outside that consumes all who enter it. Seek shelter ye who would enter this frigid existence, for your time in this mortal plane will surely be cut short should you venture further.

I find it rather amusing that upon first exposure to Örnatorpet I did not care for the music. For whatever reason I found it hard to get into and way too repetitive. That assertion has obviously changed over time as I now own multiple records from this project, yet another example of how musical tastes are never constant with me.

On Hymner... Örnatorpet is solidly within the winter synth realm. The music is airy, cold, and channels the cold essence of winter perfectly. As with all their music, the melodies are often simple and repeat for nearly the entire duration of the song. This creates a comforting familiarity with the music not to dissimilar as looking upon a field at night with a fresh coating of snow.

This album very much embraces the cold and majesty of winter,  yet somehow it is still welcoming. It's a welcoming atmosphere - the world may be cold, but there is also beauty to be found in an unspoiled landscape of snow devoid of light pollution. 

I have often walked in nature during the winter nights. Looking up at the sky brings me a deep sense of peace that no other time of year can. There is a depth and scope that I am reminded of every time I do this. Örnatorpet has managed to capture this feeling in musical form, this album channels the very essence of the winter night. 

Entry 1450 - Ninkharsag - The Black Swords of Winter

Style: melodic black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: kick ass black metal with a strong pension for violent melodies in the style of Dissection

Thoughts: Oh Dissection, how we miss thee. Thine first and second albums were albums that defined the mythos of melodic black metal. For it was to come to pass that thine time ended too soon, may your eternal spirit live on in Ninkharsag.

Looking at the cover of The Black Swords of Winter it should be painfully obvious what the primary influence on this melodic black metal band is: Dissection. Specifically, Storm of the Lights Bane. Ninkharsag has managed to tap into that crazy intense melodic frenzy that Dissection used throughout that album. Riff after face melting riff of hooks and chops that not only brings in violence, but does so memorably - it's a really rare combination that few bands can accomplish let alone master. 

The entirety of The Black Swords of Winter is less than thirty minutes long. This is the ultimate double edged sword. There is not a moment of waste on this album, every moment is used to the maximum... yet I wish that there was more to it. It's so rare to get a melodic album that captures aggression this well, I end up spinning the record multiple times in a row whenever it hits the turntable to satiate my need for this kind of music. 

Dissection is gone, and with it the mastermind that pioneered this kind of music. Wither or not that's a good or a bad thing we will never know. As it stands however, there are a few bands that have taken up the Dissection mantle, and I'll be damned if Ninkharsag isn't one of if not the best in that camp. 

Entry 1449 - Barak Tor - March of the Triumphator

Style: epic dungeon synth

Primary Emotions/Themes: Grand sweeping epics that come with moments of venerability, a complete journey from beginning to end

Thoughts: There is a lot of dungeon synth that has been coming out in the past few years. Unfortunately I missed almost all of it because I was exploring video game music, synthwave, ambient and other genres. While those genres all are fantastic in their own rights, there is something about dungeon synth that resonates with me on a fundamental level. March of the Triumphator is a prime example of why that is.

One of the primary appeals of dungeon synth is how it skirts the atmospheres of so many other genres while still remaining solidly within its own boundaries. For instance, ambient music will often pull back on melody and focus exclusively on the atmosphere in the given moment. Barak Tor does this on numerous occasions, where the music will fade and only a few singular notes will play or a sorrowful note will hold over near silence. It's very similar in scope, and the two genres compliment each other well.

Video game music - specifically the older kind - is a genre where simple melodies are played on synthesizers and then converted to the in game music by the music chip of the system. Dungeon synth is similar in that it uses synths, but it does not go through the compression of the in game execution. VGM is also limited to a few tracks at a time, this is not the same with dungeon synth. Again, the two genres are similar, yet dungeon synth is its own beast.

What makes March of the Triumphator so compelling is how it manages to do so much in just forty minutes. In this time frame we have sweeping epic compositions, war marches, quiet moments of reflection, moments of extreme urgency, slow brooding moments of ill tidings. Each song has its own identity and yet the whole album combines together to create a sum greater than its parts. It's a journey rather than an album, a recollection of past events. It's phenomenal.

Entry 1448 - The Oracle / Nightmare Spirit

Style: Dungeon synth, dark ambient, noise

Primary Emotions/Themes: Kind of a disjointed mess of a split

Thoughts: I've been on a bit of a dungeon synth spree lately. I've been adding a lot of albums to my collection in the style and most of them have been fantastic... not all though.

The Oracle and Nightmare Spirit split is one of the not so great ones.  There are two distinct styles on this record and neither are very good, or enjoyable... at least to my ears. I don't even remember who plays what style, but one is more of a dark ambient soundscape take on dungeon synth and the other is more of a old school dungeon synth style.

On the surface these sound fine, but the way that they are made here makes this a grating listen. The music is sloppy, and not in a good way. It's produced harshly, and again not in a good way. I have plenty of records that are both harsh and sloppily played, yet I still enjoy them. This isn't even that... this is just bad. 

A few times I've bought a record and thought better of it afterwards, unfortunately this split is going to have to go into that pile. I don't see myself owning this much longer. 

Entry 1447 - Eternal Tyrant - Born of the Imperial Dragon

Style: raw dungeon synth

Primary Emotions/Themes: the chronicles of those who were born to rule over lesser mortals 

Thoughts: I wake, not knowing where I have been spirited to. As my eyes slowly come into focus, I immediately am appealed by a rancid smell... the smell of decaying and seared flesh. Fire, brimstone, and all other sorts of horrors of mangled flesh are strewn about my dilapidated form. 

Pain shoots through me as I try to move, it is only then that I realize how distorted my body is. My bones broken. My mortal shell twisted into a form that is not natural... and then I feel it. 

Thump. Thump. Thump. Something approaches. Thump. Thump. Something larger than life is coming towards me, yet I cannot move myself in a way that I can see this doom. Only at the very last moment do I realize what my fate is. I am to be fed to a dragon... but not just any dragon the Imperial Dragon. The most fierce creature of them all. My life is now forfeit, there is no escaping this doom. This is the end.

-------

So goes the tale of those who would dare oppose the dragons born of the imperial line. The Imperial Dragon is a creature that none can withstand or deny, and the music that Eternal Tyrant has created makes this an undisputed fact.

Fear, hopelessness, desperation... they all carry weight in the forty minutes of this album.  The synths are distorted and raw, capturing the primal essence of fear and paranoia in them. The production is harsh and oppressing, leading the listener into a realm of hopelessness that cannot be escaped as long as the music continues to play. And then there is desperation...

The music preys off of the inner fear of humans. The fear of the unknown, the fear of loss of life. The resulting desperation that comes trying to escape this fate is all that is left by the end of the runtime of Born of the Imperial Dragon. 

Dungeon synth is such a fascinating genre, it can evoke nearly every emotion known to man... yet it is so similar throughout. Simply a keyboard and a means of recording the resultant notes is all that is needed. It can result in the most grand spectacles extolling the night sky, or it can draw you into the very bowls of despair... exactly as Eternal Tyrant does here. 

Entry 1446 - アバドン - Perfect Fake

Style: vaporwave, experimental pop, glitch

Primary Emotions/Themes: a wonderful mess of genres forced together in ways that are unconventional to say the least

Thoughts: There are many things I do not like about vaporwave. It's derivative by definition, often it's lazy, and for the longest time I did not find myself enjoying the genre. Recently though... something has started to shift in me.

I've started listening to stranger entries into the genre... one's where the music isn't just slowed down and a beat put on it. Music where the plundering is done a bit more selectively, and the reconstruction is done with a bit more tact... I've been listening to more albums like Perfect Fake.

 アバドン is an artist that I know nothing about, and I want to keep in that way. One of the constant allures of the vaporwave genre is the anonymity of the music. By the artist hiding behind some sort of online moniker it allows the music to speak for itself without the influence of the artist tainting it (for better or worse).

That's a very wordy introduction for music that is fundamentally hard to describe. At it's heart Perfect Fake is vaporwave. This is music that has been stitched together from different sources. I don't know if this is from original works or from other artists - honestly though this doesn't matter. This music has been transformed into something completely different from the source material. 

On the twelve songs that are present in Perfect Fake, my ears have explored themes of depression, distorted and fragmented thoughts, unhinged mania, and a myriad of other emotions. The music itself is glitchy, distorted, disjointed, deranged, and desperate. It claws out for my attention at every turn, like some touch starved animal desperately trying to find anything that will give it some contact... some validation. 

The thing is though... it all succeeds. The glitches make the music disjointed, but they also bring me into the distorted mindset that the album is portraying. Switching from genre to genre every few seconds can be jarring, but it also lets me feel the desperation present in the creators mind as they write this music. 

Feeling lost and alone is nothing new, however the way that アバドン has managed to put this feeling into musical form in Perfect Fake is unlike anything I have heard before. Sure I've heard glitchy music, sure I've heard desperate music, and sure I've heard vaporwave before... but not like this. This is the musical equivalent of someone who is screaming for help, but has no voice. They are desperately seeking someone, anyone who will give them attention... any kind, and losing themselves in doing so.  

Entry 1445 - Wuodan's Wunde - Es Elimmt Empor Aus Ewger Nacht

Style: black metal, dungeon synth

Primary Emotions/Themes: The times of yore, the majesty of night

Thoughts: Classic dungeon synth and raw black metal - name a more iconic pairing. 

The music contained within  Es Elimmt Empor Aus Ewger Nacht has one of three major motifs going on at all times:

- dungeon synth in the style of the old days

- raw black metal

- a combination of the two

Most of the time it's the third option, with raw repetitive riffs being played and dungeon synth-esque synths play on top. As with much raw black metal Wuodan's Wunde's production makes it difficult to determine many of the specifics of what is happening at any given time. The drums in particular are produced in such a way that they are distant and nearly impossible to discern without careful listening.

Keyboards and guitars dominate, and even then they are so muddy that it's hard to tell any specifics. Normally this is some of my most enjoyed music, however here it just seems like everything is thrown together - I truly don't know if I enjoy this or not. I can't tell if it's a gigantic mess or if it hasn't clicked yet. 

As with so much music that I don't know if I like or not, I find myself coming back to Wuodan's Wunde more often than with music that instantly clicks with me. After half a dozen listens I still don't know if I enjoy or dislike this album. I'll probably spin it a few more times before moving on... only time will tell if I can truly form a definitive opinion on this album or not by then. 

Entry 1444 - Blood Stronghold - The Triumph of Wolfish Destiny

Style: melodic black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Wolves, night, nature

Thoughts: Blood Stronghold is a band I got into because I really liked Runespell. The same raw energy and ferocity that I found in Runespell came across here as well, just in a slightly rawer form. 

Melodic black metal is a genre I have a mixed relationship with. I tend to prefer the music to be more visceral and violent, and melody tends to be in direct conflict with that. However, there are bands that sometimes harness that same ferocity while keeping melody at the forefront. This is the draw of Blood Stronghold.

The music is as dark and as violent as almost any of the more typical black metal I have, yet they intertwine these hooks that give the music memorable moments in ways that typical black metal does not. It gives the music character and allows Blood Stronghold to stand out in a way that is rather rare in a saturated genre.

The Triumph of Wolfish Destiny is a fun listen. Is it unique? No, but it does offer just a bit extra compared to most of the black metal field. It's enough to keep my interest and for me to return to the album just a tad more frequently than I normally would.

Entry 1443 - Ghoest - In Eternal Sleep

Style: Slow marching dungeon synth

Primary Emotions/Themes: In the depths of the darkness there is nothing but hopelessness and solitude

Thoughts: Dark Dungeon Doom.

Dark - the absence of light

Dungeon - a place of suffering and torture, a place without joy buried deep in the bowels of the earth

Doom - an unavoidable fate, a miserable end

I don't think that a more accurate self described musical genre exists. Ghoest describes themselves as dark dungeon doom, and after listening to thirty seconds of In Eternal Sleep this is the most accurate description of this music that I can ever fathom.

These synths are so dreary, dank, and miserable that they feel like my soul is being weighed down simply by absorbing the audio waves. The marching of the bass and snare drum ad nausium brings the music ever closer to its doom. This is the absolute nadir of the dungeon synth genre in the best way possible. This is the deepest dungeon, the darkest crevice, and the unavoidable doom. Essential.

Entry 1442 - Tiamat - A Deeper Kind of Slumber

Style: atmospheric goth rock/metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Daily life, romance, loss, introspection

Thoughts: There was something in the water in the late 90's for metal bands. So many bands that started out extreme either mellowed out or started experimenting in strange ways... or both. 

On one side of things you had many of the second wave black metal bands experimenting with electronics, odd ambient passages, clean vocals and sometimes just pure nonsense. On the death metal side you had a more mellow progression, slowly dropping the extreme vocals and eventually even the heavy riffs for a more rock oriented sound. This is the place that Tiamat found themselves in with A Deeper Kind of Slumber.

Most of the time when a band changes their style so completely it can go one of two ways. The first being an abject failure and the band abandons the path quickly. The second though is the more interesting case... this is where the band actually starts hitting their stride and creates music that is truly their own. The Gathering's progression to How To Measure a Planet? is a fine example of this... so is A Deeper Kind of Slumber.

Gone is any trace of extreme music. There are only clean vocals, the guitars are hardly distorted (when they are even there), the drums alternate between rock drums and what sounds like an electronic kit, there are numerous passages where it's only keyboards and Johan's soft voice (see The Desolate One). Tiamat now has much to do with metal as David Bowie does on this album. 

Now, in the hands of a lesser band this would all be a disaster, however this is not a lesser band. Tiamat has finally hit their stride. Wildhoney showed hints of this, but still clung to the extreme vocals and death metal at points in the album... this album finally breaks the chains that had been holding the band back. They are truly doing their own thing here with no regard for the bands past or expectations. 

The thirteen songs on A Deeper Kind of Slumber are like a fine wine. The further you get into the album the more it reveals all of its nuance to you. Popping the cork with Cold Seed, the band shows their new goth rock side right away. This is also by far the most active song on the album, after this things mellow out quite a bit.

The album goes through tons of melodies, instruments, and moods in the remainder of the playtime. By the time we get to Mount Marilyn and the title track the band has explored so many different ideas that the tasting notes list will be quite extensive.  

There are points where the band utilizes strings to compliment the guitars nicely (Atlantis as a Lover). A point where the music goes haywire and messes with the listeners brain (A Trillion Zillion Centipedes).  Many moments on the album are tranquil and quite morose (Mount Marilyn and the title track in particular). There are even a few moments where the band brings back the full distortion (Alteration X 10). It's a highly diverse album, yet it remains consistently good throughout.

I'll be honest here, outside of a few moments on Wildhoney Tiamat never interested me prior to this album. Clouds was nearly comical to me the way that clean vocals were introduced and I was never able to get into Sumerian City. A Deeper Kind of Slumber feels like the band finally figured out what they wanted to do, and that something was obviously not metal. In my estimation this is a very good thing, as this album is the first truly memorable one from the band.

Entry 1441 - Jim Kirkwood - Uruk-Hai

Style: old school dungeonsynth

Primary Emotions/Themes: The one, the only, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

Thoughts: There is something magical about early dungeon synth. In the times before there was even a genre associated with the sound. In the times when everyone stumbled into the sound on their own. There were no rules, no constraints... just pure artistic freedom to create music the way the artist saw fit.

To say that Jim Kirkwood's music is unique in the genre is a statement that still holds up today. I have yet to hear another artist that manages to interpret dark dungeon music such as Jim does on his early 90's Tolkien albums. 

These albums have a life to them, a spark, that simply is not in the modern version of the genre. Sure we get celestial music sometimes which is grand and epic in scope, but that is not what I'm talking about here. This is still very rooted in the earth and the dark places of fantasy, yet it has this sheen and sparkliness to the instruments that I have yet to hear in the genre elsewhere. It's more akin to Japanese city pop than it is anything else within the dungeons. 

There is also an urgency to this album that I don't hear many other places. These songs, they have a way of making me feel like I am prey and someone (likely an Uruk-Hai) is stalking me to move in for the kill. It creates a very tense atmosphere and again, makes for a very unique listen.

Jim would go on to create a lot more music after this, and unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of listening to much of it. That is absolutely something that I am going to explore more in the future, but at current I simply have too much other stuff to listen to. I am contented to have this and his other Tolkien albums in my collection for the time being.  

Entry 1440 - Behemoth - Demigod

Style: Death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: power, shunning the heavens, subservience to none

Thoughts: There are those who are destined to rule. There are slaves destined to serve. This album is the chronicle of a band that has chosen to rule, and Demigod is the record of their ascension to the throne.

I have a mixed history with Behemoth.  Some of their albums are simply not to my liking. I can objectively tell that they are well composed and executed... I just can't get into them. Demigod is not one of those albums.

Every single complaint I had about the few albums preceding this one sounding stale or samey are completely and utterly destroyed on Demigod. What once was boring riffs are now full of life and vigor. What was once a singular song spread across ten tracks now is a dynamic buffet of riffs, concepts, and individual compositions. Everything has improved... no perfected. This is the pinnacle of Behemoth's death metal sound.

Not only are the songs fast and brutal, but the riffs are memorable. Listen to that opening of Conquer All. Not only does this song have a p o w e r f u l opening, it's catchy as all hell. That riff makes me want to headbang every single time it comes on. 

The thing is that not only does Conquer All start strong, the band takes the basis of the opening riff and evolves it over the course of three minutes to create a song that perfectly balances brutality and catchiness... something that hardly any band has accomplished. 

It's not just Conquer All though, it's every song. The title track opens up with an ominous keyboard intro like we are going to war. The riffs that come in with it only signify this further.  Mysterium Coniunctionis again balances speed, power, and memorable riffs to create an absolutely massive song. Xul and Slaves Shall Serve tear my speakers up with riff after riff of insanity. The album simply keeps giving.

Demigod is not only the highlight of the death metal era for the band, it could very well be the best album the band put out regardless of era.  The riffs, the vocals, the production, the pacing... it's all incredible. Essential listening.

Entry 1439 - Dead Can Dance - Into the Labyrinth

Style: modern classical, vocal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Loss, venerability, reverence for that which came before. 

Thoughts: Darkness comes in many shades. It is most commonly associated with black, however the more insidious kind can be found in the gray and slightly off black colors... lingering in the shadows, just slightly askew from the light.

To say that Dead Can Dance influenced my taste in music would be an understatement. When I first got into the band the scope of what I listened to was much narrower than what it is today. I knew that I enjoyed music on the darker side of the spectrum, but it was largely contained to guitar oriented music. Every now and then I would branch out into another genre, but almost always I would come back to the guitar. It was familiar... it felt like home... and then I heard Dead Can Dance.

While there is guitar in Dead Can Dance's music (particularly the early albums), as the band progressed they branched out in ways that my young mind had never once experienced before. It made such an impression on me that I endeavored to find all the relevant albums for my collection as an adult now as well. During this quest the album that would always elude me was Into the Labyrinth. 

Sure I could get a recently pressed version with the new cover, but I was being picky. I wanted a copy with the mother and child's hands. That cover was so striking when I first saw it that I wanted it reflected in my collection.

Needless to say I was at a local record store a bit ago and I asked if they had any Dead Can Dance. They did indeed, a first press of the one album that I was looking for. Not only did it have the cover I was looking for, it also had two songs recorded in these sessions that I never heard before. I paid more money than I'm normally comfortable with, but I finally had one of my white wales.  I had Into the Labyrinth... and here it is, sitting on my turntable.

Now that my overly sentimental history with the album is over, what of the music? Into the Labyrinth represents everything that the band had been building up in the 80's. All of the traditional instrumentation, all of the dark atmospheres, all of the folk influences from all over the world, it all comes together in a wonderful climax on this album.

Lisa's voice is perhaps the best that it has ever been here - a singular listen to The Wind That Shook the Barley should put any doubts of that to rest. The track features only her voice and silence. To carry a traditional tune such as that with the power that she does here is truly rare and exceptional.

Brendan's voice is also in top form. One of my favorite tracks from any Dead Can Dance album is The Carnival Is Over, and this is due in large part to the delivery that Brendan gives. The keyboards on the track hearken back to the bands earlier works and his unhurried and calm voice lay across the notes to tie the song together. I still get goosebumps listening to it, some thirty odd years after I first heard it.

Into the Labyrinth is perhaps the bands most diverse offering as well. The amount of styles incorporated during the nearly hour long run time are truly impressive. There's Irish, what sounds like Native American, middle eastern, music resembling Gregorian Chants, and a ton of cultures I can't even begin to place throughout the album. So many directions, yet the essence of Dead Can Dance is maintained throughout. 

There are so few albums like this in my collection. Albums that improve the whole by being part of it. Albums that were critical in my musical development. Dead Can Dance are one of those bands, Into the Labyrinth is one of those albums. It gives and teaches things in ways that few ever could of have since. It thrives in the grey, yet still shuns the light with it's mournful tones.