Entry 271 - Panzer Paradise - Do They Still Dream In Heaven

 

It's hard to think of an album that has a more fitting cover than this one. It's not because any one thing has any sort of deep meaning or connection to the music (that I'm aware of). Rather the mashup of all these different visual elements is a perfect representation of the music that's on Do They Still Dream in Heaven.

At it's heart the album is a beat driven instrumental album. Many if not all the songs have some trap leanings, but this does not necessarily sound like an instrumental hip hop album. It sounds more like a combination of vaporwave, video game music, some hip hop elements, and just random ideas that are thrown together.

Each track has almost nothing to do with what came before it or after it. One track will have a chip tune melody over a hip hop beat, and then the next song will completely flip things on it's head with acoustic guitars, a woman howling, or an 808 worship. It's all over the place and it's probably my main draw to the album.

I'm drawn to music that is random and has a stranger side to it. Panzer Paradise's album is nothing but random from one track to another. The thing is that despite the randomness the album works. All the music comes together in a way that is enjoyable. No one track is longer than a few minutes so each idea is visited for a short amount of time.

I grabbed this album a few weeks ago on a deep discount. I had been thinking about grabbing it for some time before that but with 50% off I had to pull the trigger. Despite some earlier reservations I had on my first few listens I'm ultimately glad I picked this one up... it's certainly a unique addition to the collection.