Entry 155 - Porcupine Tree - In Abstentia

 

God I've been scared to revisit this album. I bought it in July and it's been sitting on my shelf just waiting to be spun.

I have such fond memories of this release. Right around the time the Blackwater Park came out from Opeth I started hearing the name Porcupine Tree. Steve Wilson did the production on said album and so of course his name would get thrown out there.

In Abstentia was the first album I ever listened to from Porcupine Tree. Every song on here had at least one memorable moment, something that stood out and made me appreciate the song.

Steve's voice has a beautiful balance of power and emotional venerability at the same time. That combined with the wonderful ebb and flow of the acoustic/distorted guitars through each of the songs. It's all added up to a beautiful album that simply blew me away.

So revisiting it after not listening for over a decade... does it measure up? Simply put, yes. This is still an amazing album. Wither its the groove of .3, the unexpected heaviness of Gravity Eyelids, or just the simplicity of Trains... it all just works. Everything here works.

In Abstentia is likely my favorite album from these guys even after all these years. There isn't a bad song on here.

Entry 154 - Arknights - Journey of Hope

 

This record is on loan from a good friend. It made a brief stop at my house before it goes to its forever home. He was kind enough to let me give it a spin before it gets sent on its way.

This is a soundtrack to a game that I have played just a few hours of. It's a mobile game with frankly a killer soundtrack. The whole thing is orchestrated and a selections is what makes up the first disc of this release.

The genres here are all over the place, and the flow isn't really the best. I'm glad this one is on loan to me because I don't think I would have picked it up otherwise... or I would have regretted my decision.

The second disc is vocal selections. These songs are much more cohesive in style and exhibit much better songwriting and style overall. If this record was sold by itself I would likely have picked it up.

The packaging here is super nice, complete with tip on jacket. The music itself ranges from great to okay. It was fun for one spin but probably not much more than that.

Entry 153 - Akiaura - One Wish

 

Witch house? In 2022? Are you insane? Akiaura apparently is.

For those unfamiliar, witch house is a micro genre pioneered by Holy Other and Salem about 10-15 years ago. It's a precursor for a lot of other genres including vaporwave and dreampunk.

It's defined by slow beats, dense atmospheres, and a slightly religious feel to the songs. Right around 2010 was the height of the genre and it really didn't do much after - largely because vaporwave filled the stylistic hole.

But here we are, a brand new release in the genre! What a day to be alive.

Akiaura plays a super dense style of witch house. It's slow as molasses and thicker than honey flowing on a cold day. It's also really damn good.

The beats are slow, but they are so deliberate they drive the songs. The songs have a wall of sound style to them that never lets up. From the moment you drop the needle to the final moments of the side, there isn't one point where the music isn't dripping all over you.

One Wish is a bit of a unicorn in today's musical scene. I haven't heard anything like this come out in quite some time.

Entry 152 - Negura Bunget - Om

I  love experimental music, I love how Deathspell Omega or Blut Aus Nord will take black metal and mix it with all different types of strange and twisted tones. I love how insane the sounds can get and inhuman the riffs can sound. It's not as good as Om.

I love atmospheric black metal. I love how dense Walknut makes their sound and how incredibly deep and complex the emotions are from Drudkh. It's not as good as Om.

I adore folk inspired black metal. I love how Primordial and Saor channel their ancestry into their music. I love how empassioned they are when they speak about the history of their countries. I love the traditional instruments that sometimes get worked into their songs. Despite all this... it's not as good as Om.

Om stands alone atop black metal releases for the past 20 years. Post the year 2000 this is likely the best black metal album I have heard.

The album effortlessly combines complex riffs, song structures, atmosphere, traditional instrumentation, deep emotionally moving moments, and pure chaos into an hour of music that has never been matched since.

Obviously this is one of the best albums in my collection. I only recently was able to get a copy of it on wax and when I held it in my hands a feeling of completion washed over me. I know that sounds incredibly pretentious and cheesy, but with this album in my collection the cubes are just that much closer to being finished.

Entry 151 - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World The Game The Soundtrack

 

Is this thing real? Am I in a lucid dream? This is by far my longest pre-order for anything ever...

Sure feels real to me... so real that this is likely the last thing I ever order from the publishing company that put this one out... two years is unacceptable.

But enough of me bitching. I have it now and really that's what matters.

This soundtrack is a perfect combination of retro and current technology. The synths are uncompressed but have that beautiful chip tune feel to them. It feels current while still harkening back to the glory days of gaming.

The tracks are upbeat and catchy as all get out, very fitting for a beat em up. Its high energy for a very lively game. It's all fun and light hearted.

I haven't played this game since it first came out on the 360 years and years ago. I have revisited the soundtrack quite often though as I love the artist (I'm not even going to attempt to spell it here).

Was this worth the wait? I don't really think any record is worth a 2 year wait... especially just throwing money into a black hole and expecting something to come out eventually. That said I'm glad this is in my collection. Now that I have it its never going to leave.

Entry 150 - Sim City 3000

 
I don't listen to video game music nearly as much as I used to. With everything there is an ebb and a flow, I happen to be in an ebb with this particular genre.

That said, there are releases within the video game music sphere that elevate themselves above the game and are simply fantastic music. Sim City 3000 is a prime example of this.

Sim City is such a fascinating game to me. Building a city and watching it grow and flourish based on your decisions is one of my favorite time wasters. It's incredible to watch your creation evolve and flourish.

The music fits the game perfectly. It's got this odd mix of elevator music mixed with inspiring melodies and uplifting themes. It's perfect music for building a city. Makes me want to sit down and start planning right away.

Sure there are tracks like Power Grid that are different, almost dissonant in their take. But even these inspire a great amount of motivation in me... whatever the track, it's infectious and causes my creative juices to stir.

I'll probably boot up another run of a city builder sometime this week or weekend after playing this record. I keep forgetting about how great these games are. I'll get lost in other activities and I forget the simple joys of watching your creation come to life. It's time to rekindle that joy.

Entry 149 - Remete - Into Endless Night

 Post rock and black metal, name a more iconic duo.

I picked this album up off of on clearance explicitly because the cover was amazing looking. I had an idea of what Remete would be about, this is the same guy that does Woods of Desolation. I expected something that was similar.

Into Endless Night finally made it onto the turntable tonight, and it did not disappoint. Remete is all about building a hypnotic atmosphere. The songs are long (4 songs total on the album) and they build on simple repeating melodies that build.

As the songs progress they have this swell to them. The music becomes larger, denser... more massive. The melodies will start out small and as the song progresses they will end up like a tidal wave that covers anything in its path.

I love this effect, it takes the hypnotic riffing of black metal and combines it with the slow build of post rock. This has been done before, but its been a while since I heard a competent entry into this field.

Remete was a pleasant surprise. Nothing spectacular or mind shattering, but its something that I will absolutely be coming back to in the future.

Entry 148 - Mortiferum - Preserved in Torment

 I recently listened to the debut from these guys. I found it a rather enjoyable slice of death/doom. The second album not so much.

This album may as well be part two of Disgorged from Psychotic Depths... just without the hooks and the "it" factor that made the first album so much fun to listen to.

I'm not sure why they strike me so differently. Maybe the transitions from the first album worked better for me, maybe it was the fact that it focused more on the doom than the death.

Maybe calling this one part two of the first album isn't fair. Preserved in Torment has quite a bit more emphasis on the death metal side. The songs are faster, more tremolo riffing. They also are more focused on pummeling your face in with heaviness than they are suffocating you with the intense atmosphere.

I can acknowledge that this is well done, and on the right day I would probably like it. I think I may have just chosen the wrong time to listen to this. Yeah, I probably did...

Entry 147 - Silent Hill 2

 

Yep, this one is going to be insanely tough to write about. Not for any bad reason, but because I don't think I'll be able to do it justice through the written word.

You see, Silent Hill 2 is not only one of my favorite video games, its also one of my favorite albums... ever. There are so many things to write about, so many little details that tie this album together to create something truly special.

Not only is the music contained within the 75 minutes of the soundtrack incredibly well paced, well written, and atmospheric as all get out - it has such a distinct style that the phrase 'it sounds like Silent Hill' started working its way into my vocabulary.

The Silent Hill games have a "hazy" feel to them. Every instrument, every song, every note has just a bit of obscurity put into the production. That piano that's playing... it sounds like its in the room next door. The ambient sounds that litter the album feel like they are coming from the other side of a dense wall of fog. The guitars (when used) feel like they may have been recorded under water... the list goes on and on.

I can't describe the entirety of the effect through text, its something that needs to be heard. It's like trying to watch a movie projected onto a sheet but there is a slight breeze blowing. You can get an idea of what's going on, but the picture isn't always clear.

I first picked up this album on CD in 2001, right after I started the game. Not only does the soundtrack capture the feel of the game, it is arranged in such a way that the music just f l o w s. Every track moves into the next effortlessly. This is more than a soundtrack, this is an album. One of the best in my entire collection.

Entry 146 - Mourning Dawn - For the Fallen...

 If you read my entries with any regularity you'll know that I like the phrase "I'm a sucker for..." and I'll proceed to describe something I like. Well this weeks edition of I'm a sucker for goes to blackened doom metal.

I love the combination of the tortured black metal vocals and tremolo picking with the speed of doom metal... or better yet funeral doom. The combination of melancholy and absolute loss of hope that the two genres provide work exceedingly well together.

Mournful Dawn play said blackened doom. Outside of adding in a healthy dose of melody through the use of dueling guitar melodies the band plays pretty standard doom metal. What makes them interesting is the interplay of the guitars.

Often they not only use several competing melodies, but they also use a wall of sound approach on the rhythm guitar. This often leads to three or more guitar tracks being played at any given moment (not including the bass).

I love intricate music, and Mournful Dawn do just that. Even though the individual parts may not be complex, when you layer three to five guitars together, add a choir, and shrieking vocals, and a completely oppressive atmosphere eventually it starts adding up. These songs are very involved and extremely satisfying to listen to.

On For the Fallen... Mournful Dawn have hit on a style that is both accessible through the liberal use of melodies. They have also hit on a style that is deep and complex for those who want to dissect the music into its base components. Either way, this album is a great spin.

Entry 145 - Elijah Nang - Gaijin

 

I'm big about exceptions to rules. They are some of the most exciting parts of music. If I have a general rule or stereotype I'll go out of my way to try to find something that subverts my expectations.

Elijah Nang's lofi works are exactly that for me. They are the exception to every rule I have for lofi hip hop.

Rule 1: lofi sounds the same. While Gaijin falls squarely within the lofi hip hop genre, this is hardly typical. There is a beautiful mix of Japanese influences and instrumentation mixed in with the hip hop. While this by itself wouldn't be enough to differentiate it, its the quality of the way the songs are constructed that drives this to a completely different level than most of the lofi genre.

Rule 2: lofi albums lack substance. Gaijin tells the story of a foreigner in feudal japan. Most of the album is instrumental, but there are samples scattered throughout that tie the entire narrative together. This is in stark contrast to most lofi albums that are just a collection of songs in different styles with a beat thrown below it.

Rule 3: lofi albums are short. Most lofi albums are 30 to 40 minutes or less. This is essentially double that length. At nearly 80 minutes in length, I consider Gaijin an epic in the genre.

Not only does Gaijin (and its sequels) subvert any and all expectations for the lofi hip hop genre, it shatters them. I keep coming back to this and Gaijin II time and time again. They meet a very specific need in my musical palate that no other musician has been able to replicate to this point.

Entry 144 - Trolldom - Av gudars ätt...

 

I've been called out before for being too picky in my tastes. I'll concede the point. There's a lot of music that I won't bother with because I don't like it. Life is too short to spend ages forcing yourself to like something.

One of the genre's I'm picky about is black metal. I fucking love black metal. I find it to be one of the most creative genres in all of music. It can also be one of the most derivative and boring. It's all dependent on the artist.

Trolldom plays atmospheric black metal that does little to innovate the genre. This is basically four songs that span 45 minutes. The album is lush with keyboards, atmospheric sections, grim vocals, and lots of blast beats.

The imagery of the album just reeks of something derivative and the band picture does not help this at all. With everything being so generic looking... why do I love this as much as I do?

This thing slays. The songs are long and they justify the length. These are epics in the best sense of the word.

The aforementioned keyboards hearken back to the early 90's with their sound. They have a mystical feel that adds to the majesty of the music. The album provides an atmosphere that is akin to staring up to a star lit sky from a wintry forest.

The vocals are full of vitriol and hatred. The drumming is also a step above. Everything here has been done before, but its so well executed that I have to take notice.

I wanted to call this album generic when I first heard it, but I don't think I can. That is to derogatory of a term to describe the brilliance on Av gudars ätt.... Just goes to show that just because something has been done before doesn't mean its been perfected.

Entry 143 - October Falls - Syys

 

Acoustic guitars, cello, night time sounds... perfection.

This is the October Falls that I love so much. Their black metal is okay at best, but their acoustic work... this is where the band truly shines.

There isn't much to say about this that will do it justice. Much like Ulver's Kveldssanger, October Falls have tapped into a sound that channels the beauty of nature in the Autumn.

The leaves are turning, the wind is gently blowing, the sun is on the horizon, October Falls on the turntable. It doesn't get much better than this.

Entry 142 - My Sister's Fugazi Shirt - Nautilus IV

 

The Nautilus series is a bit of an interesting one for me. Each entry hits me just a little differently. None of them are perfect, they all have tracks that I don't find very appealing. Some however a just a bit better IV is one of those records.

During the run time of Nautilus 4 the tempo varies a great deal. This is a nice change of pace from the other records where most of the songs tend to stay around 120 bpm. Here we have tracks ranging from slower to the high 170 bpm range.

Additionally there is a plethora of styles in place here. While III and V are more vaporwave focused, IV works in some lofi, some lounge, and some house into the mix. Again the variation is welcomed.

This series remains a curiosity of mine. I don't think any of them will ever reach a best of list for a specific year, but they are a fun listen and still deserve a place in the collection.

Entry 141 - Sanguisugabogg - Tortured Whole

 

My first thought when dropping the needle on this was was 'whoa mama that's heavy.' These guys are billed as death metal, but this easily fits within the brutal death metal... maybe even slam territory. I don't think this is slam though, because it's actually good.

The riffs are incredibly chuggy and de-tuned. The vocals are guttural to the extreme - this guys favorite cheese is defiantly bree (slam joke there... sorry). The tempo ranges from mid paced, to slow, to very slow. And then there are two keyboard passages to tie the package together.

The two instrumental tracks threw me for a loop the first time I listened to the album. They are cheesy and seem out of place... yet they fit somehow...? I'm not sure, but they just work for me. They add just a bit of character to the album which would be rather one dimensional without them.

These guys don't do much to differentiate themselves from the pack in brutal death metal. But man when I need something brutal and heavy to put on the turn table these guys sure tick every box.

Entry 140 - Altarage - Nihl

 

I recently had a conversation that went something like this:

"What are you listening to?"

"An experimental death metal band"

"Oh what's that sound like?"

"Kinda noisy"

"Sounds terrible"

"Actually its pretty damn good"

Noise is a funny thing. It can be incredibly harsh, it can be annoying, it can be soothing. It can be forged into something greater than noise in the hands of the right artists.

Nihl stands as an excellent example of what a noisy structure can do in the hands of the right composers. Altarage take noise and mold it into a death metal architecture. The resulting sound is very rhythmic, it can also be hard to wrap your head around exactly what is going on with the riffs.

There is a lot happening at any given moment during Nihl, at the same time it can easily be passed off as noise. If given the time to listen and to take a deep dive into the riffs, there is a lot to enjoy about this album. Stay a while and listen.

Entry 139 - Mega Man 2 + Mega Man 3

 

A couple of my friends keep harping on me that I don't like 8 bit music. While in general they have a point, I'm not the biggest fan of the NES sound chip. As with everything though there are exceptions... and Mega Man is a big one.

Thinking back I really did have a lot of fun playing games over and over again on the NES. We didn't have many titles, so we played the hell out of the ones we did have. Mega Man 2 was the one I played the most. If it wasn't it sure was the one I have the most fond memories of.

Those stupid block jumping puzzles in Lava Man's stage. The loneliness of the Wily fortress... including that incredibly creepy Wily 6 stage. It all did so much with so little. The same thing can be said for the music.

My god the music in this game is top tier. The NES only has 8 sound channels and Mega Man 2 squeezed every little ounce out of that chip that it could.

Mega Man 2 has some of the most iconic music in the series... maybe in all of Capcom's huge library. I mean come on! You have the Wiley 1 and 2 theme, you have the intro music, you have Quick Man's stage, you have Crash Man's stage, you have the boss theme! They are all insanely well composed and executed.

The music has this rhythm and flow to it that seems to match directly to the walking/running speed of Mega Man. They are in lockstep every time he moves. It only adds to the legend that is Mega Man 2.

Obviously I love this soundtrack, the fact that I get Mega Man 3 as a bonus disc is just icing on the cake. This is and will continue to be one of my favorite game soundtracks. Now that I have it on wax the collection is another step closer to completion.

Entry 138 - Deathevokation- The Chalice of Ages

 Never in a million years would I have thought that this record would have gotten a vinyl pressing. I was pretty sure that this was going to fade into the ether of obscurity in the late 2000's.

Fast forward to me browsing through some stacks and coming across this very record that now sits upon my table of turning. Even if this record is doomed to obscurity, I finally have a copy for my collection.

Deathevokation play melodic death metal - that is death metal that has melody infused in it. This is not the same thing as melodeath - which has been popularized by the Gothenburg scene. This is something quite different.

The music is brutal, the vocals are deep and guttural, there's plenty of blast beats and chromatic riffs. There is also a healthy infusion of melody throughout the album. There are hooks, there are riffs that easily get stuck in your head.

Deathevokation are at their best when writing long songs. Embers of a Dying world and As My Soul Gazes Skywards are epics. They stand out and demand attention through their multiple phases and movements. Both of these songs are easy highlights of the album.

The rest of the album is competent death metal with a bit of melody. They act as precursors to the strong mid and end point of the album.

This album was on my honorable mention list for 2007 for best albums of the year. Looking back that's based solely on the longer tracks, and while those tracks alone are worth owning the album for - they are not enough to carry it into a best albums of the year list.

Entry 136 - Fief - I

 

Same program both sides. That's something I haven't seen since the tape days. The album would be on both sides of the cassette, or in this case record.

Fief's debut album is so short it fits on one side of a 33 rpm record. So what does the label do? Instead of making a 2 sided 45 rpm record or a single sided record like most companies would... they make two stampers of the exact same thing and have the album on both sides. I find this incredibly amusing.

Enough about the physical media, what does this thing sound like? This album is one part harp, one part harpsichord, one part flute, all part synth. The compositions here have a high medieval feel to them, almost baroque.

This is high class dungeon synth... without the gloomyness... played in a major key. In actuality this does not sound like dungeon synth outside of the instrumentation used (a keyboard). This really feels like a tribute to the end of the middle ages. Moving out of the dark ages and into an age where art and science are allowed to flourish.

At just over 20 minutes in length this album begs to be played multiple times in a row. The more I listen to this thing the more I fall in love with it. It's so light and jubilant. The instruments sparkle and with just a tiny hint of reverb sound like they are being played in a large hall or old church.

While only using two to three instruments the interplay between them elevates the music to a point where it feels full and rich. I've heard this type of music before, but its a few hundred years old. What Fief does here is put a modern take on an old and refined art style, and by doing so has carved a corner of the musical world all for themselves.

Entry 137 - Hecate Enthroned - Dark Requiems and Unsilent Massacre

 

It's nearly impossible to talk about early Hecate Enthroned without mentioning their similarity to Cradle of Filth. The resemblance is so uncanny Hecate Enthroned were often labeled as a clone band.

Despite the similarities between the two bands the sound that early Cradle and Hecate bring to the table is still rather unique, and to my ears still provides a decent enough listen.

Hecate Enthroned play black metal with heavy gothic influence. This is keyboard drenched, well produced, highly melodic black metal. The vocals are a high shriek that bare a striking resemblance to Dani Filth.

The one thing that Hecate has going for them is that they are able to pack a lot of ideas and melodies into a relatively short package. This album is 10 tracks and just under 45 minutes long.

The album also seems like it was designed for vinyl. Each one of the sides starts with an instrumental. Each one sets a dark tone before the music comes in to shred your ears.

The one thing I don't quite understand though is the drums. They are usually well executed, but in some passages they seem intentionally sloppy. This dude can play fast, and can play accurately, sometimes it feels like its a continuous choice to not play in tempo or accurately.

The drums aside the rest of the album is quite the enjoyable listen. With a length perfect for a single LP, it never overstays its welcome. While it probably won't ever make a best of year list for me the album is an enjoyable listen for what it is.

Entry 135 - Atrium Carceri & Kammarheit - Colossus

 

I've had this record spinning nearly constantly for two days straight as of this writing. This album contains no melodies, no structure, only mood... Colossus is a dark, brooding experience.

I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to explain what I love about this album into words and I'm not sure that I can. This album needs to be heard - preferably on a good sound system - to fully experience the effects it can have.

Colossus takes me to another plane of existence. One where huge monoliths move slowly through dense mists and deep valleys (the cover to the album is very appropriate). They are so massive that I am nothing but an ant to them.

The music (if you can even classify this as music) paints a vivid picture in my head. Everything moves so slowly and so deliberately that I hesitate to call this anything other than an experience.

To create such a massive album with nothing but some tones, a dense atmosphere, and no melodic hooks is pretty rare. This will be in consideration for my top albums of the year list.

Possible top ten album 2022

Entry 134 - Unfound - Anomaly

I think I have a problem. There are more and more releases that I don't remember picking up. Or rather that I forgot I picked up.

I was going through my collection and found Unbound still sealed this morning. That's a cardinal sin. In Xorn's top ten commandments of record buying, number 1 is to listen to everything in the collection at least once. Commandment two: if it doesn't move beyond one time then it goes up for sale.

This turned out to be gross violation since Anomaly is quite the excellent listen. This is chilled out synthwave, otherwise known as chillwave.

All of the elements of synthwave are here. The tribute to the 80's analog synths. The fun bleep bloop melodies. The simple beats that drive the song forward but do nothing to stand on their own. It's all here.

What is also here though is a muted production. While that may sound bad on the surface, it does wonders to mellow out the music. Instead of pushing everything in your face like much of synthwave, Unbound has a laid back feel to it.

Of course the songs contribute to this. Many of them have a lazy feel to them, but even the upbeat tracks have a calmer approach because of the production. It's welcome and goes well with the morning caffeine infusion.

Anomaly caught me off guard. I remember liking it from the snippets a few months... years...? back, but I don't remember it being this groovy and catchy. A pleasant surprise, this record should have been unsealed a long time ago.

Entry 133 - Ascension - Under Ether

 

I got through a cycle with Under Ether. I remember I didn't like the way the first song started out. I also remember that the rest of the album is a step up but don't remember why.

This time going through the cycle I put on the record and thought to myself "this isn't what I remember." I forgot that there is a very nice intro to the album that builds the mood nicely.

It's the second song where my memory of the album kicks in. There is a rather dull riff with a hammer blast underneath. It sounds awkward, slow and dull. Eventually the song picks up and delivers a nice slab of experimental black metal.

My memory also was correct on the rest of the album. There are dissonant riffs, melodic riffs, atmospheric sections and sections that simply rip your face off.

There is a good balance here. Most are fast, but there is a nice break every few minutes into one of the aforementioned styles.

Ascension are at their best when they mix melody with blistering speed and a bit of dissonance. This only happens two to three times on the entire record. It's rare for all the pieces to come together, but when they do they stand out in a way that demands the listeners attention.

Entry 132 - Goosetaf - Akemi

 

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but I found instrumental hip hop through searching out more lofi hip hop. I found instrumental hip hop to be a lot more interesting and varied than lofi.

Once I figured out what I liked I picked up about 30 records on clearance in the genre. Akemi was among one of those orders.

Goosetaf mixes lounge music, jazz, and eastern influenced 70's funk into a mixing pot and adds hip hop beats underneath. The end result is very much like sitting in a lazy cafe on a Sunday afternoon taking in the sites of people walking.

I think the artist knew this too. There are samples of people talking in the background sprinkled throughout as well as other sound effects that lend to the visual.

The album has a strong visual element to it. Aside from the cafe feel, the album begins with a number that reminds me of Edvard Grieg's Morning composition. Its quite well done and starts the album out on a positive note.

Out of all the random instrumental hip hop albums I purchased a few years back this one is likely towards the top. Like every album in my collection there is a time to listen and a time to pass. For this morning, watching the sun rise, having my daily caffeine infusion... this is absolutely the correct time.

Entry 131 - Perila - 7.37/2.11

 

I was sent this album by mistake. When I mentioned it to the label they immediately sent out the record I ordered and only ask that I enjoy both records. It blew me away. 

Much like the artwork, the music contained in Perila's album is minimal. Every note, tone, and sound on the record is allowed to completely decay into nothingness before the next note is introduced. The effect is oddly tranquil, yet has a gentle unease to it at the same time. Not too dissimilar to the non-vocal tracks of Kenji Kawai's Ghost in the Shell soundtrack.

One could argue that this is a collection of notes and sounds rather than music. I would have to agree to a certain degree. That said, the atmosphere and mood provided by 7.37/2.11 is a delicate balance of calm and nervousness. Both of these exist at the same time throughout the album.

This Story Doesn't Make Any Sense has a beautiful female voice singing over slowly strummed guitar tones and subtle feedback noises. The voice and the guitar are both so lazy and calm they are in stark contrast to the ear piercing noises in the background. Every song has something similar going on, and I love moment of it.

I'm very grateful this album got sent to me by mistake. It has grown on me and become a unique entry into my collection.

Entry 130 - Saso - Deep Code

 

Sometimes the right music comes at the right time out of pure happenstance.

I've been avoiding listening to Deep Code for a few weeks because I didn't remember what it sounded like and was afraid it would be another mediocre release. Too many of those lately.

There is one word that encompasses the entirety of this album: peace. If there would be a second word it would be tranquillity.

Deep Code is minimalist, so much so that you may consider silence an instrument. The album does as much with its spare notes as it does with the silence that fills the void.

While there are a few songs that contain beats and are less minimal in approach, the album truly shines when its just a piano, a bit of reverb and silence. It's here that the album encourages reflection. It's in the silence where the listener is invited to enter into a meditative state.

Saso pleasantly surprised me with Deep Code. This will easily hit my turntable again in the near future. Listening to this today feels like one of the late Bob Ross' happy little accidents.

Entry 129 - Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream

 

I'm very torn on this album. At its core its an excellent progressive rock album. For whatever reason though it feels like a lot of the idea's on Stupid Dream just aren't fully realized.

Even Less starts off in a wonderful fashion, but after hearing the version on Recordings I can't help but feel they left some of the best material on the album on the cutting room floor. The instrumental Tinto Brass feels directionless and lacks any sort of real emotional depth, especially considering some of the band's other work.

I shouldn't complain too much though, this is an above average prog rock record. It goes through a ton of different ideas and emotional layers. Don't Hate Me is a fragile moment of venerability both musically and lyrically. Piano Lessons is 4 minutes in length but it feels much more substantial with all the ideas in it.

This would be a period of transition for Porcupine Tree. Stupid Dream and Lighbulb Sun saw the band evolving from a pure jam band in the early albums to a more structured and deliberate approach to song writing. Like all evolutionary process there are some bumps along the way. This album shows that while not everything is perfect the overall result is quite acceptable.

Entry 128 - Mortiferum - Disgorged from Psychotic Depths

 

I don't know why but I avoided Mortiferum for the longest time. I had heard snippets of songs but never really took an interest in them. I found both their full lengths recently for a nice price so I decided I would give them a proper listen.

Disgorged from Psychotic Depths is the perfect name for the music on this disc. Its twisted.

There are two faces to this band. In one the riffs are slow, gritty, and evoke this brooding feeling - like something is lurking in the depths. Waiting. Stalking. Just waiting to strike.

When it strikes the other side shows its face. The riffs take on a ferocious, deadly, and bestial quality. The speed is in such contrast to the slower, doomier riffs that the fast sections stand out incredibly distinctly.

Many times when a band has two separate styles like this the transitions between the two are disjointed and jarring. Not so with Mortiferum. These songs flow through both violence and sludge, and weave in and out of the two styles incredibly well.

This was a pleasant surprise. Before listening to the music, you can get some idea of what to expect by looking at the incredible cover. Staring through small opening into an unknown depth where unknown horrors await in the darkness.

Entry 127 - Old Tower - Plague Harvest

At some point I suppose I should listen to some music fitting to the season. It's October, the leaves are turning, the days are shorter, the witches are brewing, and it is time to harvest.

Old Tower plays dark ambient, there is no other genre that could possibly describe the music contained within this two part album. Plague Harvest contains some of the darkest soundscapes that I've heard in some time.

I'm not sure why Old Tower's music strikes me harder than most albums in the genre. Maybe its the accompanying imagery, a lone cloaked figure standing in front of a ruined harvest and a still windmill... a hard winter is coming for those who depended on this harvest.

The music is minimalist, even by minimalist standards. This is largely just single tones, a church bell, wind, and distorted backgrounds that simply sound inhuman. This is exactly the type of music I would want to play on Halloween, and I likely will spin this record at least once then.

Plague Harvest is among the better dark ambient records I've heard in a few years. Its use of sound effects, distant melodies, and slow drawn out tones simply give me the chills. Its exactly what I want out of the genre.

Entry 126 - Type.Raw - See You

 

In my never ending quest to find good music I stumbled upon instrumental hip hop. This was closely related to lofi hip hop but showed a lot more promise.

One of the first records I got in this fascinating genre was Type.Raw's See you. This thing is a mix of jazz and hip hop beats in a way that soothes my soul.

There is a gentleness to this music that is rare to find. It cradles you in both the instrumentals as well as the percussion, all without a single word spoken. Somehow it makes me feel right at home.

Its one of those rare albums that I can keep on repeat all day long. It fits for background music, it fits for active listening. It just fits.

Entry 125 - The Halo Effect - Days of the Lost

 

The amount of hype around this band was incredible. The founding member of In Flames partnering with a bunch of ex-members. This is melodic death metal royalty based just off the members in the band alone.

So do they live up to it? Well... kinda. This is about as safe as you can get for a melodic death metal album. This is mid paced Iron Maiden worship with death metal vocals.

Does it break any new ground? Nope. Does it provide catchy riffs that are akin to heavy metal pop? Yep. Is everything well executed and fun to listen to? You bet.

If you find yourself wanting another take at the Colony style from in flames with a healthy dose of modern Dark Tranquillity you can do a lot worse than The Halo Effect.

Entry 124 - Mikel - Zelda and Chill II

 

I needed something relaxed today, I also needed something video game related. Zelda and Chill is one of my go-tos for that combination.

Lofi hip hop and me have kind of a love hate relationship. I love the overall sound of the style, but I hate how similar all the artists are. Zelda and Chill suffers from this a little bit, but the source material helps elevate it above most of the genre.

Of course Mikel helps as well, his arrangements are well done and tasteful. There is nothing that stands out here in a bad way.

This is very chilled music (fittingly), it doesn't try catch your attention if you don't want it to. That is its greatest strength on a morning like this. I want something that is benign and can just help me get going for the day.

Entry 123 - Summoning - Stronghold

 I needed a palate cleanser. Almost all the music I've been listening to this week has been to clean out my backlog of unlistened records. Unfortunately most of them have fallen flat.

With all the dungeon synth that I've been listening to lately its only natural that Summoning would end up hitting the turntable. Stronghold is the first of their albums to do so, likely not the last.

God I love this album. From the first notes of Long Lost to Where No Pathway Goes to the final tones of A Distant Flame Before the Sun, the album sweeps me away to a completely different plane of existence.

The keyboards have such a wonderful warm tone to them, combined with the cold guitars and harsh vocals it creates a wonderfully dynamic sound. The way they interweave together, the melodies, the methodical drums and percussion... its so epic, its so majestic, its Summoning at their best.

Not everything is perfect. The Rotting Horse on the Deadly ground goes on for too long. Not every melody is a sweeping epic in The Glory Disappears.

For me though, this ultimately doesn't matter. The album is able to overcome its faults through the majesty of the music. On Stronghold Summoning have created something special.

Entry 122 - Taake - Over Bjoergvin graater himmerik

 

Before putting this record on my turntable last night, I had never heard Taake before. The band has always been one of those "I'll get around to it" listens that just never seemed to happen.

I picked this up from my local record shop bargain bin. I figured for ten bucks why not, may as well check them out.

I think I waited too long. When listening to this album now it falls flat.

It's certainly well executed black metal. There are also some interesting elements to the song such as a mouth harp, some acoustic guitars, a piano at points - I just feel like I've heard this all before.

Bjoergvin is 20 years old now. To me its showing its age. Its resolute in its sound - the hype sticker even says "True Norwegian Black Metal." By me coming at the album so far after its release though I feel like I've heard this all before though. I just waited too long, maybe this would have been more impactful if I listened to it 15 years ago.

One thing I will give Taake though. When a lot of other Norwegian black metal bands were experimenting in the late 90's and early 2000's with avant-garde sounds Taake's sound is still uncompromisingly black metal.

Entry 121 - Christina Giannone - Glazed Vision

I won't have much to say on this one because there isn't much to say. Glazed Vision is minimalist, droning ambient.

The music is so minimal that there is generally only one tone used on the entire song. These songs range from six to eight minutes long, with little to no variation.

This is purely background music for me. Active listening is not rewarding.

There are some things buried in the mix and a few of the tracks are quite enjoyable, particularly Telepathy. It offers a depth and uneasiness that the rest of the tracks on the album fail to achieve.

This is a record that I'll put on when I need the background to be filled, but this is basically akin to playing a blank tape for me. It might as well be white noise.

Entry 120 - Covenant - Nexus Polaris

 

Wow this one has aged well. I had completely forgotten that this album existed for the longest time. I came across it again in a random post somewhere on the internet and decided I would try to procure a copy.

I remembered the album being good, but I didn't remember it being this good. Nexus Polaris is technical, its progressive, its melodic, its intricate, its simply excellent.

The songs have a wonderful interplay between the guitars, drums and keyboards that layer them so that the melody for the song takes on multiple layers. Its not just a single melody but rather variations on a theme as the song progresses and evolves.

The vocals from Nagash are half snarl half spoken word. They are rather unique and are ideal for this type of music. Additionally there are female vocals found throughout that add atmosphere and depth.

I haven't heard this album in nearly 20 years. I remember liking it quite a bit in the late 90's but I think I lost interest when Covenant changed their name and style. That's a real shame because at least on this album the band was firing on all cylinders.

I'm going to have to go back to my top ten for that year and see if I've got room to sneak this one in.

Entry 119 - Coffinworm - When All Became None

 

I just got out of a swamp... no a mire... better yet a shit filled swear. I just listened to one of the absolute nastiest albums in my collection: Coffinworm's debut.

The album starts off with screaming and feedback... its physically painful to listen to. Once Blood Born Doom properly starts two thing immediately stood out to me: the guitar tone and the vocals.

The guitar tone is thick and filthy. It sounds like these guys dug an outhouse in the middle of a swamp and recorded the guitars there.

Typically for music like this you would expect death growls, but these guys have gone in a black metal direction. The shrieks here are much less refined than you would find in most black metal. Much like the guitars they are gritty and disgusting in the best way possible.

It's all a slow, sludgy, putrid mess. It's horrible, its inhuman, and its one of my favorite albums of 2010.

Entry 118 - Fata Morgana - Fata Morgana

 

I told you I was in trouble. This is the second of many to come dungeon synth records to hit my table in the coming weeks.

Fata Morgana is a side project of Mortiis from the mid 90's. While Mortiis' main project focuses on longer compositions, the songs on Fata Morgana are much shorter. 7 songs in about 40 minutes.

The album is pretty rough. It seems like random ideas patched together. Some songs will start to develop one melody and then abruptly switch to another, then back to the original.

Other songs have some excruciating choices on instrumentation. The tones are ear piercing and are pretty tough to listen to physically.

That said, this is all part of the charm of the album. Its primitive, its raw, it sounds like it was played on a Casio keyboard in a basement... or a dungeon.

The original cover for the album is light coming in form an intricate stained glass window. I think that is a fitting visual for some of the atmosphere this album provides. Beams of light refracted by glass while in the halls of an abandoned church.

Entry 117 - Bloodbath - Resurrection Through Carnage

 

What happens when a band that was created to pay tribute to classic death metal in turns becomes classic death metal? Bloodbath has been around for more than 20 years at this point...

Breeding Death was a cool EP that I thought would be a one off tribute to the olden days of death metal. I was shocked as hell when they announced a full length a few years later.

Resurrection Through Carnage picks up exactly where Breeding Death left off. This is old school Swedish death metal with a slight influence form the Florida scene from the early 90's.

The riffs are extremely simple, the guitars sound like buzz saws, the vocals are guttural. There is nothing subtle about this. I absolutely adore it.

This and the debut EP are the two Bloodbath albums where they show their influences the most. They manage to channel the energy of Obituary, Entombed, Dismember, and Grave while still molding it to their own style.

Bloodbath's debut LP is just fun to listen to. It knows exactly what it is and embraces it. A fitting tribute to the golden age of death metal.

Entry 116 - Imperial Triumphant - Spirit of Ecstasy

 

I sometimes wonder if I'm too desensitized to extreme music. There are things that should have shock value or should impress me that just don't. I can appreciate it for what it is, but the intensity of those emotions are sometimes muted.

The first time I heard Imperial Triumphant I was blown away. Alphaville had a rare effect on me; it took me completely by surprise. The follow up - this album - did not have that same effect.

Spirit of Ecstasy is exceptionally well executed, deranged and twisted. It just doesn't hit me like Vile Luxury or Alphaville do. The shock factor is gone. The music is good, just not up to the same standard that was set with the prior two albums. I think I'm used to their style and I've been desensitized to it.

The music on Imperial Triumphant's current album is the logical extension of Alphaville. There is large helping of jazz influence along side various other genres (noise, ambient, etc) to go with the metal.

The song structures are chaotic, the riffs mimic city noise much more so than anything musical. Much like Alphaville drumming is a true highlight. The beats that Kenny is able to come up with to fit the music is among the elite in the genre. If anything his performance is going to be what draws me back for repeated listens.

While the album does not meet the standard set by previous releases, it still is a competent slice of the avant-garde. This will get repeated spins over the year, just likely not as many as the prior album.

Entry 115 - Suffocation - Pierced from Within

 

Pierced form Within... I wasn't ready for it the first time I heard it. I had just started my journey into metal and was listening to the likes of Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera and other 90's heavy hitters. I came across the CD to Pierced and thought it looked cool. I grabbed it and took it home.

My virgin ears were so innocent. This sounded like noise and I threw it by the wayside. I held that opinion for many years, even as I started to gravitate towards the more extreme end of the spectrum. I was wrong.

Pierced from Within is simply put one of the finest examples of 90's death metal. This thing crushes. Every time I listen to it now I am floored by the immense power of the riffs. They are h e a v y.

There is zero melody on this album; none. Somehow the band manages to still create songs that get stuck in my head. That is impressive given the chromatic riffing and lack of traditional song structures.

Outside of the riffs the vocals and drumming deserve special mention. Frank's vocals would be a little less potent in later years, but here... here he puts on a death metal clinic.

Mike Smith on drums also displays why he is considered one of the best to ever do it. He is technical, precise, and he hits hard - god he hits hard. He never steals the show though, this is merely an extension of the music - and the music requires all of these traits in a drummer.

Pierced from Within could easily be Suffocation's best album. The only problem is that they released Effigy of the Forgotten a few years before this. While Pierced is one of the best death metal albums of the 90's, Effigy is just simply one of the best death metal albums ever recorded. It's not really a fair fight.