Entry 631 - Diamanda Galas - The Litanies of Satan

Style: Vocal insanity

Primary Emotions/Themes: I don't understand the lyrics, I presume Satan and personal freedom

Thoughts: I've been putting off this album for months. Maybe years. It's one of the most frightening albums I own. 

Diamanda Galas is a bit of a legend. There are reports of her singing nakeed on stage covered in blood and nothing but flames illuminating the entire venue. She is notorious for using two microphones at once to create a feedback loop to add to the already incredible dissonance of her voice.

Litanies of Satan consists of two tracks. Both of them are almost exclusively her vocals with an absolute minimalist backing through keyboards. Her voice and her voice alone is what makes this album what it is.

If it's just her voice, what then is it that makes this so incredibly terrifying? This is the auditory version of what a mental break sounds like. This is the voice in your head as the psychotic voice that has been pushing you to do horrendous acts finally takes over and pushes you to the point of action. 

Her voice resonates in a cycle that completely erodes all sanity the more I listen to it. This is worse than nails on a chalk board, this is worse than a choir of crying children. There is nothing that I can do to get her voice out my head as soon as its there. It pierces everything, and DEMANDS that I sacrifice my sanity to it.

She rambles like a madwoman, she shrieks worse than a banshee, she howls louder than the southern winds. She is the auditory embodiment of insanity, and she is not content until all of humanity has been eroded with her. This is her sacrifice, these are her litanies to satan.

Written December 6th 2023

Entry 630 - Castlevania - Rondo of Blood

Style: Video game music

Primary Emotions/Themes: Vampirism, overcoming impossible odds

Thoughts: For the longest time this was my holy grail video game record. Something that I sought after but was always just a few steps behind. One would pop up for a good price and by the time I realized it, the record had vanished into the hands of someone else. 

Of course I could have paid a few hundred bucks to pick this up at any time, but I'm not willing to do that. I over paid for a record one time, and that was more than enough for me. Never again. So I waited, and waited. Until one day I saw it. 

It was five dollars more than I has been willing to pay in the past and the obi strip was missing, but it was staring me in the face. I picked it up without a second thought.

Castlevania games have almost always had good music, and Rondo of Blood is no exception. In fact, this one may be one of the better ones in the series.

This soundtrack has all the classic Castlevania songs on it, except this time they are done with that glorious mid 90's sound chip found on the Playstation One and Sega Saturn. The instruments are less compressed, and the music is allowed to be a bit more dynamic. 

Bloody Tears? Yes its here in all its glory. Vampire Killer? Hell yes it's here and it's never sounded this good. The Dracula boss fight music? Fuck yeah it's here and it's epic.

This is as good as all of the classic soundtracks on NES and SNES, but with a different sound chip. It's a new take on a classic look, and now it's in my collection. Finally. 

Written December 6th 2023

Entry 629 - Legacy of Kain - Blood Omen

Style: Video game music

Primary Emotions/Themes: Immortality vs mortality, vampirism, gods vs men
 
Thoughts: A sword pierces your chest. Your innards begin to spell onto the ground. You are slain. You are going to die. In your head a singular voice asks you the fateful question: do you want to live?

This is the choice that Kain is given in Blood Omen at the very beginning of the game. A necromancer offers him the choice of life, and he accepts. But in this life, nothing is free. 

Kain is turned into a vampire and is cast from the world of mortal men, sunlight, and civilization just by uttering a single phrase: yes. We are witnesses to these events as the players of Blood Omen, and secondarily by listening to this recorded chronicle of the audio accompaniment to said game.

Blood Omen is a fantastic but exceedingly difficult game. It's "old school hard" and it's one that I never beat when I was younger. I had to go back when I was much older to make it through the game completely. Even then it was exceptionally difficult not to fall victim to all those who would try and kill Kain.

There were a few things that stood out in the game for me. The voice acting was well above par for the time. Both Kain and Morbius put on excellent performances. The music also followed suit, matching the dark tone of the game. 

This record combines both in a fantastic way. The voice lines are etched into the grooves as the music from either the cut scene or the part of the map plays. It captures the essence of what the game was about in such a simple yet effective manner. I love it when soundtracks do this, and this is no exception. Side B's locked groove is also the victory call that I was looking for throughout the run time of the record.

The best soundtracks make you remember the times playing the games. This record not only does that but pulls in the dialogue from the game as well. This triggered instant nostalgia, and that dear reader is why I listen to video game music from time to time. It brings me back to simpler times.

Written December 6th 2023

Entry 628 - Converge - The Poacher Diaries

Style: Hardcore punk, metalcore

Primary Emotions/Themes: Pain, relationships, personal struggles

Thoughts: This album is like a time capsule. This is Converge before they were Converge.  You see small instances of what they would become, but this still is instantly definable as metalcore. 

All of the genre tropes are here. Chaotic riffs, the breakdowns, the songs building. It's 90's metalcore, and it's great. It's just not converge.

Jacob's voice is still mostly understandable, and he does not sound nearly as ferocious as he does on later albums. The drums are chaotic but not nearly as much as they would be a few years later. The guitars show more typical progressions and riff construction than the cacophony that would be utilized later on. Everything is tinges of Converge, but the flower has yet to bloom into the beautiful plague that the band would become.

Converge would become so much more than they have on display here. This is cool, but it's not going to be something that I spin on a regular basis. It's like that family relic or tome that everyone loves to have on the shelf but never takes out. An artifact of a past time period that is important to know, but not something that needs to be revisited often.

Written December 5th 2023

Entry 627 - Converge - No Heroes

The Poacher Diaries Redux by Converge

Style: Metalcore, hardcore punk, noise, emo

Primary Emotions/Themes: Rage, chaos, confusion, love, relationships

Thoughts: The first five songs on this album are unlike anything I've ever heard before. Each one is about a minute long and each transitions directly from one into the next. Together they create one of the most intense starts to an album that I have in my collection.

Heartache begins with a relatively slow riff that could only be played by Converge. It's deep, it's barely contained, its noisy as all get out. After a few measures of this the before the band completely explodes with into pure chaos, start/stop riffing, and insane drumming to boot. The original riff comes back for one more round before we are off to Hellbound.

A skank beat that is almost as fast as many blast beats starts off Hellbound with the bass making up the main of the riff. The guitars feedback in before the main riff of the song screeches into existence. The band picks up the pace even faster as Jacob belts his lungs out. After two cycles of the feedback laden riff the band moves onto Sacrifice.

Track three is as crazy as the previous two tracks but provides its dissonance in a completely different manner. The opening riff, if you can even call it that, is two notes followed by a snare before devolving into a huge riff that kicks my ass every time. The notes that start come back and reset the song before the band creates a meaty end of the song with one final riff. Everything stops and we are now in Vengeance.

This next track is unlike anything to this point. Everything is everywhere. The guitars are screaming, the vocals are belting, the bass is thundering, and the drums are hitting all the skins at once. This all happens consecutively for 58 seconds with no breaks. Again, everything stops and we feel the Weight of the World on us.

The final track in this collection of songs is the seminal breakdown that has been needed through all the chaos of the last four minutes. While still feedback laden the band is more contained here than they were at any previous point and the listener finally gets a breath. That is, until the title track rears its head at the final moments of the breakdown.

Building up from feedback No Heroes comes blasting in with a rare energy. The riff rips my fucking face off. This is the same energy as Concubine from Jane Doe. The band has been building to this the entire time for the album and the payoff is immense. The track concludes the incredible introductory sequence to the album and leaves me with my jaw on the floor every time.

The rest of the album is excellent, but nothing matches the intensity of those first five (or six songs if you include the title track). The album concludes the incredible trilogy that started with Jane Doe in near perfect fashion. No other band is like Converge, not now and likely not ever.

Written December 5th 2023

Entry 626 - Hollow Knight

Style: Video game music, piano, orchestral, acoustic, ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: Exploration, discovering mysteries, pain, growth

Thoughts: When I first heard of Hollow Knight I knew very little of it. I knew that it was a Metroidvania and I knew it was hard. That was about it. Both of those facets are things I enjoy greatly in games, so I did a blind buy. 

One of the core principles of a Metroidvania is the map and how you uncover more of it as your arsenal of abilities grows. The way that Hollow Knight does this was my first indication that this was not a normal take on a Metroidvania. Not only do you not have a map at first, you have to find a vendor in each zone. Once found you need to purchase the map. Even then you are not done. 

Once you have the map you need to find a bench or save point to update the map. That's a lot of steps for something so basic. It's also an indication of just how different Hollow Knight is from most other games in this genre. This extends far beyond the game, into every aspect... especially the music.

The music in Hollow Knight may very well be some of the best music written in the VGM genre in the past few years. But even then that does not tell the whole story. The way it weaves in and out of the different zones is masterful. The way that it portrays the visual element in audio form is something that most games can only dream of. 

Let's look at the very start of the game, the first three to four zones. You enter the game to an unknown land. There is no music, only the sound of the knight making its way to some unknown destination. Once that destination is found, only then is the music of Dirtmouth appears. 

This is a sombre tune that revolves around a lonely melody. The melody is played by what sounds like a bassoon or clarinet accompanied by a piano. This is not a combination I normally hear, and its even rarer in video games. In the end though none of this matters because the music fits perfectly. Every note fits the dreary scenery, the lonely houses and the abandoned well.

Its in this well that we are introduced to the Crossroads. This is the first full area of the game. It is dark, contrasted by light creatures that dot the landscape. The music is equally curious. The main melody fades in and out with different instruments and builds curiosity along with the player as the exploration beings in earnest.

Eventually we are then introduced to Greenpath and a wealth of color. The game to this point has been largely grayscale with no real color mixed in. This all changes when a wealth of green livens up the screen. The music similarly comes alive like it has not to this point. The music twinkles as a harp plays the introduction to the zone. The music continues to swell with other instrumentation as the knight explores deeper and deeper into its depths. 

Hollow Knight is a special game, and the music is a key component to that. Just in the first few moments of the game we are shown just how much attention to detail is given to every aspect of the game. Not only is the soundtrack amazing inside of the game, it stands on its own as well. This is the final and most brutal test for most game soundtracks... do they work on their own? In this case it does, and it's just as wonderful as it is within the game.

Written December 5th 2023

Entry 625 - Converge - Axe to Fall

Style: Punk, metalcore, grind, noise, dissonance, hardcore punk

Primary Emotions/Themes: Chaos, personal struggles

Thoughts: Axe to Fall was my initial dropping off point for Converge. I loved Jane Doe, You Fail Me, and No Heroes - but after that I felt content and didn't need more.

Years later I decided to give the album a proper listen, and this is a definite shift for the band. The band is no longer focused on chaos and dissonance as the primary focus of the music. Instead, the first half of the album sounds downright fun in comparison.

Dark Horse has a playful d-beat backing that I haven't heard from the band prior. The riffs are melodic (at least by Converge standards) and are even catchy at points. Reap What You Sow continues the playful mood with quirky riffs and creative drumming - again the song can get stuck in my head. It's quite odd considering what band is writing these songs.

As the album continues the playfulness begins to fade and the album takes a more serious turn. By the time Damages comes on the album is still not as chaotic or dissonant as I would expect from the band, but darkness and self doubt have replaced the playfulness of the early tracks.

The album makes a third and final shift on the final two songs. Steve Von Till of Neurosis does guest vocals on Cruel Bloom. His deep croon gives the song a profound sense of loss, and the music reflects this intimately. This sounds like a slower Neurosis song than anything Converge have written in the past, and its fantastic.

The band finishes out the album with Wretched World. Converge have had a history of putting at least one long song on their albums, and this is that for Axe to Fall. The sense of loss and sorrow that came from Cruel Bloom is continued here. The band fully embraces doom metal and post rock for much of the track as it builds into an explosive climax to end the album. Jacob uses his clean vocals to excellent effect here, once again proving that he is one of the best out there. Possibly the best song on the album, and an epic way to close it out.

Axe to Fall is not as good as the previous three albums, but it is also quite different. It sees the band exploring themes that they haven't covered before. Despite all the collaborations the album is undoubtedly a Converge album - their DNA is written into every song. It's not going to get spun as much as the other albums, but this will still get it's fair share on the table.

Written December 5th 2023

Entry 624 - Converge - Jane Live

Style: Metalcore, grindcore, metal, extreme punk, noise, Converge

Primary Emotions/Themes: Violence, personal experiences, loss

Thoughts: I think Converge was one of my first experiences with truly dissonant music. I was in my early 20's when I first heard of the band and their new album Jane Doe. I knew that a lot of people seemed to be enjoying it, people who's opinions I trusted. So I picked up a copy for myself. I was not ready for Concubine.

Keep in mind the most extreme thing I had heard at this point was black metal. I wasn't too into raw black metal yet and I was mostly into the melodic side of death metal. So when someone said this was extreme, that was my point of reference. I put the CD in and pushed play.

Converge play heavy music. Some people call them punk, others metalcore, others grind. There are many genres that the band has been given over the years. I just call them Converge. 

They have a sound that is instantly recognizable as their own. The guitars and drums interact with each other in an entirely unique way. The way the riffs are structured are only attributable to Converge. And then there are the vocals. 

Jacob's vocals are among some of the most inhuman shrieks I've ever heard, in any genre. No one else sounds like him, I don't know if anyone else can. He sounds like a cross of a bear, a wolverine and a howling monkey screaming as its leg is trapped in a bear trap - at least that's a starting reference point. In truth there is nothing in nature or humanity that would describe these howls accurately - they just are.

Going back to Concubine and the first time I heard it... the song is 90 seconds long and during the course of that minute and a half I was changed. After a short intro a blast beat comes in with a guitar riff that embodies violence. The riff (if you can call it that) sounds so inhuman, so alien that I couldn't understand what was going on. There was no structure, only noise, only Concubine. The song completely enveloped me and never let go. 

I had to stop the album after the first track. I couldn't do it at the time. The music was too much for my young ears. It took me another week before I was ready to try again. I made it through the album, and I while I still did not understand... I wanted to. I was going to beat myself against this tidal wave of dissonance, noise, riffs, and chaos until it made sense. It took me half a year.

After that dissonant music had an appeal to me that it did not before. I still wouldn't be fully on board until many years later when I was introduced to Ulcerate, but this was the start.

The fact that this recording is live vs. the studio album means nothing. They are equally as intense. In some cases the live version is more so... because  it means that the band is able to pull this off in a live setting. A seminal moment in extreme music.

Written December 4th 2023

Entry 623 - Kamelot - The Awakening

Style: Symphonic power metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Personal freedom, science fiction

Thoughts: I did not want to like this album, and for the first third or so the album is bland and generic. Kamelot used to be one of my favorite bands in metal, then Khan left. After that the band wasn't the same. Don't get me wrong, Tommy is a fucking fantastic vocalist and probably one of the only people who could replace Khan. The thing is the music quality dipped after Khan left to a point where only one of the four albums with Tommy on them reaches anywhere near the Khan era.

For the time being lets just talk about the current album: The Awakening. The album starts out with a pretty generic yet well executed The Great Divide. This is the prototypical Kamelot song. It's upbeat, its got a lot going on with the instrumentation, the drums gallop all over the place, and the vocals soar like an eagle. It's Kamelot's take on power metal down to the smallest detail. It's fine for what it is, but I've heard this all before.

The album continues with this mediocrity until we get to the lead single One More  Flag in the Ground. This song is super catchy, but it's so boring. I hate that it gets stuck in my head. It was here that I almost gave up on the album and traded it in to my local shop.

I resolved myself to continue and I was immediately rewarded with Opus of the Night. Now this... this is why I listen to Kamelot. It's still upbeat much like the opener, but there is a tinge of darkness and urgency in this track that has been lacking in the album so far. The melodies are a bit more sinister, the accompanying verse/chorus structure is a bit heavier, and Tommy's voice has a bit more desperation in it. This is more like it. A turning point of the album for sure.

This is immediately followed by Midsummer's Eve, a violin led ballad. If there is one thing that the band is good at it's ballads. Tommy's airy voice is perfect for this, and the inclusion of a female vocalist is another standard for the band. The emotion behind both of their voices is exceptional and the song is another clear highlight on the album.

I could go through track by track and give a detailed breakdown but that would be a waste of time. Essentially Opus of the Night marks the turn from generic power metal to the emotive power metal that Kamelot is known  for. This is a welcome change because the pervious album was outright poor in execution. This at minimum is a return to quality.

Written December 4th 2023 

Entry 622 - Arstidir Lifsins - Saga á Tveim Tungum II: Eigi Fjoll né Firðir

Style: Black metal, viking metal, epic, folk

Primary Emotions/Themes: You mean there is a second album??? Still completely gob struck by how good this is

Thoughts: I'm sitting here with my head in my hands. I'm completely overwhelmed by how beautiful this album is. The deep spoken narration with acoustic guitars and violin playing over top... it is so simple but it feels so welcoming. It feels like I've come home.

Chapter two of Saga á Tveim Tungum is as incredible as the first entry... perhaps more so. The album delves deeper into the acoustic side of the band, in fact the first ten to twelve minutes of the band are completely devoid anything to do with metal. They are entirely composed of acoustic guitar, violin and the majestic sounds of nature. These opening minutes put me into such a state of peace that I'm often shaken when the genre shifts.

The metal crashes into the record like waves crashing into a rocky coast. The riffs slowly build as the tremolo picking leads the melodies of the epic ten minute Sem járnklær nætr dragask nærr. The vocals have shifted from the deep yet soothing narration of the first two tracks to a snarl that rivals some of the finest vocals found in either viking or black metal.

The track continues to wind in and out of different melodies and themes before finally landing back into the peace of nature by its end. This is the story of this second chapter. So much is content to be held within the quieter moments of the acoustic spectrum of music. This is what differentiates this entry from the first chapter. Whereas that one focused more on the beauty of nature as told through metal, this is the same concept but told through acoustic instrumentation. Of course the metal is still here, and it is still as menacing as the first chapter... the overall sense of the album is just a bit calmer though.

These two albums have taken me back to a time when I could easily get excited about music. A time when I would find a fantastic new album every few weeks. I haven't had this kind of excitement for a new album or albums in at least five years. I feel honored and privileged to have discovered this project, in a few years time I can easily see these two albums making my "best of all time" list... but that is a story for another time. In the interim I'm content to bask in their glory.

Written December 10th 2023

Entry 621 - Beketh Nexehmu - De Fornas Likgaldrar

Style: Black metal, dungeon synth, dark ambient, ambient black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Winter and all of its glory

Thoughts: These guys are insane. They released four incredibly lengthy albums in four years, with this one being the second release out of the bunch. Prior to this a bunch of demo's that may as well have been albums got released sporadically with 2014 seeming to be a particularly active year.

Beketh Nexehmu play black metal, the type that worships winter. The sound is harsh, yet is full of majesty. The songs are long, and often build over the course of minutes to a dramatic conclusion, but this is only half of the tale. The other half is the ambient side of the band.

Much like the cold black metal, the ambient portions of the album are quite desolate and dreary. They tend to be a bit more drone oriented than the more active black metal parts, but they still retain that sense of majesty that the band establishes within the other genre. 

If this all sounds familiar, it's because it is. There are many other bands that do this style of music and do it well. That said, Beketh Nexehmu can stand with the best that this genre has to offer. Their music is well crafted, well paced, and despite the song length, the album does respect your time. 

If you want a shorter listen, put on one of the three LP's and you have a complete album. If you want something more in the ambient genre put on the third record. The last track in particular is entirely ambient and is an excellent conclusion to an epic album.

De Fornas Likgaldrar is exactly what it sets out to be. Look at the cover, look at it closely. That feeling of the cold of winter permeates this albums every minute.  Beyond that cold however there lies a deep majesty in the night sky. Once the cold is acclimated to and has assimilated the listener that's where this albums true beauty is. 

Written December 4th 2023

Entry 620 - Arstidir Lifsins - Saga a Tveim Tungum I: Vapn ok Vidr

Style: Black metal, viking metal, epic, folk

Primary Emotions/Themes: I'm left with a sense of awe

Thoughts: How? How have I missed this band for so long? How have I not known about them until this year? 

I love Icelandic black metal. I love epic music. I love music that builds and takes it's time. I love music that has a sense of purpose. WHY THE FUCK HAVEN'T I KNOWN ABOUT THESE GUYS???

Arstidir Lifsisns play black metal combined with viking metal. This of course has been done before, in fact most of the entries into the viking metal field can also be classified as black metal. Why then am I so fucking excited about this album? It's just black metal and viking metal right? Well... yes it is... but it's also so much more.

This band... oh this band has tapped into something that is so rare, so incredibly powerful, I only hear it a few times a decade. They have managed to create an epic. Not something that claims to be epic, but something that truly is. The music is greater than the sum of it's parts. It takes every little detail into consideration, no matter how small. It knows when to be quiet (and there are a lot of quiet parts), it knows when to swell, it knows when to be at peace and it knows when to rage. 

These nine songs - or chapters would be a more appropriate term - have been crafted in such a way that the music has an incredible scope to it. Be it the slow mournful violin played while wind sweeps across my speakers, or the incredible rage of battle as the band unleashes all hell into the audio world. It doesn't matter. It's all good. Every. Single. Moment. 

I don't normally get this excited for new music. I've heard thousands of albums in my life and it takes something truly incredible to move me as I'm getting up in age. Arstidir Lifsins have done that. They have conquered all the odds and created something that resonates deeply with me. 

I can count on one hand the amount of times that this has happened in the last twenty years: Moonsorrow, The Ruins of Beverast, Emperor, Ulcerate, and Ulver. That's the list that these guys join. That's not to say that there are other bands out there that haven't moved me. There are plenty of albums that I love, and find great enjoyment in. This is something deeper though... it's something that I'm not quite sure I got words for. Whatever it is though, this has the potential to be among my favorite albums... ever.

Written December 4th 2023

Entry 619 - Imperium Dekadenz - Into Sorrow Evermore

 

Style: Black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Sorrow, regret

Thoughts: Imperium Dekadenz is one of those band's that I have a mixed history with. Some of their albums blow me away with how good they are, other ones are so lackluster that they are an easy pass. 

I was cautious when approaching Into Sorrow Evermore. I had heard good things about it, but I've heard that before and been burned (Meadows of Nostalgia). I listened to the album a few times on digital casually, nothing stood out good or bad. I found the album recently on sale and figured why not? 

The first few tracks on Into Sorrow Evermore are seminal Imperium Dekadenz songs. The riffs are repetitive, the drums plod a long at a middling pace, and the vocals howl over everything. This is exactly what I expected from the album and I was not disappointed. Things started to change though with the third track. 

Aurora starts out with a lonely piano tune and it immediately caught my attention. The metal bursts in with a rare energy after. This track is decidedly slower than the first two and channels a sorrow that is worthy of the album title. Somehow on this track the band has tapped into a deeper sense of what it means to be depressive black metal. It's incredible... one of the best songs they have ever written.

Does that mean its a turning point for the album? Sadly no, but yes. The rest of the album goes back to the more typical style for Imperium Dekadenz. While this is hardly a bad thing, the emotional high that was Aurora is never really hit again. 

That said, the quality of the songs does seem to go up a few notches after Aurora. The first two tracks seem a bit lifeless in comparison. With a record though that is easily remedied, just skip side A and play the other three sides. 

Imperium Dekadenz remains an enigma to me. They are capable of creating some of the most emotive black metal on the planet when they put their minds to it. They just don't do it consistently enough. Here's hoping the next one will tap into the spirit of Aurora for an entire album.

Written December 1st 2023

Entry 618 - Order of Decay - Mortification Rites

Style: Doom/death metal with a lot of atmosphere

Primary Emotions/Themes: Occult themes, death

Thoughts: I love projects like this. the band is completely anonymous. We only have a vague notion that there are three to four members based on a blurry picture of someone about to get sacrificed... or maybe they are about to murder someone. It's hard to tell and that's part of the appeal. 

It's bands like Order of Decay that allow the music to truly stand on its own. There is no hype or expectations. We don't know jack shit about the band or any of the members. All of this is only the music and the artwork. 

So what is Order of Decay? From their debut album, they are an atmospheric driven doom/death band. The band focuses on creating a completely crushing atmosphere that never lets the listener rest. Oppressive would be the operative term here.

The music is slow and grinding. The riffs are heavy as a mother fucker. The vocals are deep and semi intelligible. The drums and bass match the guitars riff for riff.  I suspect that the members have been active in the scene for quite some time by how well the songs are constructed.

Mortification Rites does a lot of things well, but it never crosses the line to "holy fuck" levels. There are a few riffs here and there that make me take notice, but overall this is an album that I can have on in the background pretty easily. 

All that said I don't have very much doom/death in my collection, and I need to fill that selection out a bit. I'm going to be keeping this album for a while, because there are points where I need to listen to something heavy, oppressive, and atmospheric. When that mood strikes Order of Decay is on the short list of bands to pull out.

Written December 1st 2023

Entry 617 - Ancestors Blood - Hyperborea

Style: Black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Cold, desolation, isolation, slow death

Thoughts: Black metal comes in many shapes and sizes. Some is blisteringly fast with production that will make your ears ring for days. Other takes are so slow that they give funeral doom a run for its money. Most bands fall in between these two extremes, and Ancestors Blood is on the mid to slow side of the spectrum.

My overwhelming impression of Hyperboria is that this is a slow and cold album. The music never truly goes to what I would consider a fast pace and are content to plod along at a middling to slow pace for nearly the entire run time. 

The first five minutes of the album don't even contain any metal. Instead we have an extended dungeon synth inspired intro where cold sweeping winds and freezing water comes in between the musical notes. It probably goes on for too long, but it does a good job of setting the listener up for the atmosphere of the music that is on the album.

When the metal finally does come in it's well produced, middle to slow paced groove oriented black metal that is dripping with keyboards and atmosphere. These guys specialize in open chord riffing blanketed in keyboards and winters frozen landscapes. 

The overall structure for most of the songs is the same. 4/4 time signature with the drums playing a back beat to set the pace. The riffs chug along with the bass and snare drum to create almost a march type feel. The riffs themselves are full and open, creating a wall of sound type effect. Over all this is a thick layer of keyboards that compliment the guitar riffs with thick chords. 

Repeat that formula about 8 times and you have Hyperboria. Is the music good? It's ok. Is it fun to listen to? Yes, when I'm in the right mood. That's the crux of it, I need to be in the right mood for this stuff. When I am though this style of black metal is super fun to listen to and hits a very specific need that few bands can.

Written December 1st 2023

Entry 616 - Bræ - Av vålnader Bortom Allt

Style: Black metal, raw black metal, cavernous black metal?

Primary Emotions/Themes: Cold, disconnected

Thoughts: When I think of music that sounds like it was recorded in a cave I normally go to the cavernous death metal microgenre. What would happen if a black metal band used similar recording techniques? Would it be called raw black metal? Would it be cavernous black metal? I'm not sure, but Bræ has me asking that question.

Two songs, 20 minutes each. Both songs are exceptional. They manage to combine both the ominous atmosphere of raw black metal with complex and dynamic song structures that are normally found elsewhere in the black metal genre. 

I'm a bit taken aback by these songs, they do almost nothing new - yet what they do, they do so well that it's impossible for me to ignore. This is raw, but not to the point of my ears bleeding. This is dynamic, but not to the point where the riffs are switching every few measures. They take their time to evolve and cement themselves in my memory before moving on.

The vocals in particular have a tortured sound to them that is normally found in bands such as Bethlehem's early works. They mix perfectly with the music and add an additional layer of terror to the mix. 

Everything I've said to this point has been done before, and everything after this point will also reflect things that have been done by other bands. Again though, its how Bræ executes on these items that makes this so good. 

There are long acoustic sections that take over when the metal elements melt away in to the background. These sections continue the cavernous feeling of the rest of the music. They have a deep reverb and are expertly played. In short the acoustic portion of the album is a clear highlight.

Be it metal, ambient, acoustic, or any combination of those different parts the music on the album is sensational. It's nothing I haven't heard before, but god damn it's done so well that it demands my attention. The production/atmosphere having more in common with cavernous death metal than most black metal is a bit curious, but it's hardly a detractor. Apparently Bræ has another album out that I need to check out as well. If it's half as good as this one, it'll be worth my attention.

Written November 30th 2023

Entry 615 - Anno: Mutationem

Style: Synthwave, ambient, EDM

Primary Emotions/Themes: Tension and release, hunting

Thoughts: Full disclosure: I have not played this game. I bought this soundtrack because the owner of the label is a close friend. I knew nothing of the music prior to spinning it but the owner of the label has shown exquisite taste in the past so this was a blind buy.

I can't think of a blind buy that I've been happier with in the past year or two than this one. The music on Anno is predominantly synthwave, which normally is a point of caution for me. The thing about Anno is that it blends it in with ambient, and has an exceptionally strong atmosphere.

What does all that mean? It means that the music feels vast. It feels like it has a destination but is not in a hurry to get there. It likes to take it's time to explore themes and ideas before moving to the next. The music is allowed to breathe.

With synthwave it's normally about setting up a beat and that deep "pulse" and have that drive the song as hard as possible. What Anno does is quite the opposite. While the instrumentation fits solidly within the synthwave genre, the music has more in common with ambient or lounge. A lot of it is slow, it doesn't have percussion or a pulse to drive the music forward. It's simple melodies played with a lot of reverb. 

This combination of effects and melody is a well documented weakness of mine. I love it when music takes it's time to develop themes and melodies. Anno does so in spades. 

That's not to say that all the music on this soundtrack is slow and laid back. When I think about it, the ambient driven tracks are probably in the minority of the tracks. What comes in between is more typical synthwave, but with a bit of PS1 era synths and melodies sprinkled in. A lot of the more upbeat tracks remind me of a bit of the Mega Man Legends soundtracks.

The thing that the album does so well though is pacing. The softer and slower tracks are put at such good points that nothing ever feels stale, they pull the soundtrack back and allow the listener to enjoy things at a more leisurely pace than if everything was upbeat.

I remember the first time I put this on. I was in mid conversation with someone when I said something to the effect of "this is why I listen to vinyl, this soundtrack is quiet when it needs to be and loud when it needs to be. It's dynamic... you likely wouldn't get that with a digital or CD mix." I stand by that. This music is dynamic, and it's a fine example of why a full dynamic range mix is my preferred way to listen to music. For me, it's just better.

Written November 30th 2023

Entry 614 - Vampire Hunter D

Style: 80's movie soundtrack, keyboard played symphonic, multiple genres

Primary Emotions/Themes: exploration, strange occurrences, unknown lands, vampires

Thoughts: This movie was one of the very first anime that I watched. I didn't even know what anime was at the time... or rather japanimation as it was called in the early 90's. 

Vampire Hunter D was a bit of a mess of a movie. The characters are not well defined, the world is mysterious and shows incredible depth - but not much is told. The plot is moved forward in large chunks at a time and leave much to be filled in by the viewer. 

The soundtrack is also a bit of a jumbled mess. It is all over the place stylistically and is completely delivered in the wonderful mid 80's synth. They add a level of consistency and nostalgia to the music that would be lost without them. They are the glue that ties this whole thing together.

While the music is up and down in terms of quality, the overall feel of it is an unmistakable artifact of its time. All of the synths have that "we're trying really hard to sound like the real thing" vibe to them. Of course they all fail at their goal, but that is so much of the charm.

Much like the movie the soundtrack seems a bit lost. It knows where it want's to go but it never quite gets there the way that one would expect. This meandering and wandering only adds to the music's charm. It zigs when you expect it to zag. At points it will add in effects that seemingly have nothing to do with the music, the music will change genres midway through the track. It's unpredictable to say the least, but eventually this is part of the charm of the music.

Vampire Hunter D is a fine experiment for a movie. It was a cool experience for a young me, and remains a nostalgic moment in my past. I'm glad to have this relic in my collection, and it's a bit of a mess but it's a fun mess. 

Written November 30th 2023

Entry 613 - Paradise Lost - The Plague Within

Style: Doom/death metal, melodic death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: The folly of man, judgement for ones own sins

Thoughts: Paradise Lost is one of the longest running bands I've ever been into. I got into them with Draconian Times and have been following them ever since. Few bands have shifted styles as frequently as they in the past thirty years. Fewer still have retained as consistent level of quality as Paradise Lost.

Paradise Lost's career can be described very much like a boomerang. Starting out as one of the pioneers of doom/death the band's first few albums were uncompromisingly brutal. The first big change came with Shades of God. The band started adding in a bit more progressive elements and more complex song patterns. Icon stripped everything down to almost a rock and roll styled gothic metal album. Draconian Times saw the band embrace the gothic metal fully and nearly drop all harsh vocals. One Second was the final death knell for harsh vocals, and Host saw the band taking on a Depeche Mode style. The metal was completely gone at this point.

I remember at the turn of the millennium, much of the metal community had completely cast aside the band saying that they were no longer part of the metal community. The thing is that Host is a fucking fantastic album. Even 20 years later it holds up as one of their top albums for me. It also serves as the linchpin for their entire career. 

With each successive album the band came back a little more to their metal roots. In Requiem resembled Draconian Times in a lot of ways. Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us Had hints of Icon. Tragic Idol had much of the same melodies and tendencies that Shades of God did. So when The Plague Within was announced I was just a bit more than excited. Nick had recently started growling again in their compilation released a few years prior (and in Bloodbath). All signs pointed to The Plague Within being a true return to their death metal roots. It was that... and more.

The opener - No Hope In Sight - shows the listener exactly what is going to happen during the course of most of the album. Right away a killer riff starts out, both heavy and catchy. Within a few moments Nick starts growling. To say that I was excited was an understatement. This was the moment I had been waiting for for years. All of their recent music would have been better with growls instead of the half harsh James Hetfield impersonation. Now Nick had finally come home, this is what Paradise Lost's metal should sound like.

The band goes through a lot of styles on this album, some goth rock influenced, others even have touches of the blues in them. The predominant style here though is doom/death. There is an excellent mix of clean and harsh vocals throughout the album, and for once the band fully utilizes all of their capability. 

A few songs deserve special mention as they are a step above the rest. I've already mentioned the opener. Beneath Buried Earth is possibly the heaviest song the band has ever written, including the debut. It's pure unadulterated doom/death at it's best. Cry Out while having touches of blues in the chord progression has one of the coolest middle sections of any song on the album. When Nick screams "Cry out! Sinners against the world!" it's infectious.

There are a couple of duds on here too, but they hardly detract from the experience as a whole. The Plague Within has been out for nearly a decade at the point of this writing and it remains one of my favorite albums of this long and storied band. This is an excellent "return to the roots" album. It's an unabashed tribute to their past while still incorporating all the things that the band learned throughout their nearly 35 year history. This is how you do it, stand up and pay attention.

Written November 27th 2023

Entry 612 - Wothrosch - Odium

Style: Black metal, doom/sludge

Primary Emotions/Themes: Chaos, dwelling amongst the rotten

Thoughts: Odium: general or widespread hatred or disgust toward someone as a result of their actions. 

Hatred... anathema... abhorrence... revulsion. Odium is a strong word, it embodies one of the deepest and most primal descriptions of hatred in the English language. Calling an album Odium brings with it a large sense of what the music should sound like... it's a powerful word - can Wothrosch's debut album measure up to it?

What do I expect when a band declares their first album Odium? I expect music that is menacing, relentless, and is out to murder the listener. I expect riffs that are tremendous in scope and overwhelm with their multitude. I expect to be crushed into the ground with abandon and then left in the mud like the worthless filth that I am.

What do Wothrosch deliver? Well not quite what I had described above, but the music contained in Odium can often be quite intense and convey that sense of obliteration that I expect from something like this. The band combines relentless dissonant black metal with interludes of the dirtiest sludge that I've heard in quite some time.

The first two tracks, Child and Tumor go full speed and never let up. The riffs have that menacing instinct to murder and the vocals wail and howl to match. There is little in the way of variation, the music is simply content to exist in this homicidal state.

The band shifts focus and begins to come into their own on the third track. Here the band begins to incorporate slower tempos and sludge into their already impressive sound. The vocals take on an even lower tone to them and roar through the bottom registers to create an unsettling sound to the music. It's here on Disease where the band's sound fully blooms into the horrific plague blossom that they call Odium. 

Feedback overlays the riffs. Deep open chords are left out in the open to rot and decay into unrecognizable noise. Silence is allowed to build for an uncomfortable amount of time before the band explodes back in. As good as the first two tracks are, they pale in comparison to the monstrous third track.

From here the band explores many different ideas, some fast, some slow - all interesting. Is it all as good as those first three tracks? No not really. The rest of the album stumbles every now and then, but the band shows real promise here - especially on Disease. I'm curious where the band goes from here and their future releases at minimum have my curiosity. If they go deeper down the road of Disease then they have the potential to create something exceptional.

Written November 27th 2023 

Entry 611 - Gärgäntuäh / Kastijder - Foltrit / Reinigend Vuur

Style: Black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Natures glory, adherence to tradition

Thoughts: Black metal is such a fascinating genre for me. On one end you have band that outright refuse to evolve past the low fidelity roots of the genre, calling themselves true black metal and shunning any notion of progression. 

On the other end you have bands that push the boundaries of what can be considered not only black metal, but music as a whole. Embracing dissonance and incorporating noise elements and unconventional song structures. This style is incredibly chaotic and requires multiple listens to begin to comprehend.

So where does that leave this release? This split leans towards the more traditional side of the genre. Both bands embrace the spirit of black metal: minor chords, less than stellar production and a deep respect for the bands and sound that preceded them. The execution between these two projects though is slightly different.

Gärgäntuäh is the faster of the two. Often utilizing blast beats and predictable chord progressions to convey their art. Where the band differentiates themselves though from the dime a dozen black metal acts is their use of additional instrumentation to break up the black metal.

At the beginning, mid point, and ending of the album Gärgäntuäh create absolutely stunning interlude pieces that elevate the music far beyond the typical confines of black metal. These pieces bring in the glory of the morning sunrise, the dew that is befallen on the forest leaves, and the stunning realization that nature is both the most beautiful and most frightening thing that we can witness on this planet. 

Kastijder take a slower approach to their music. I don't recall a single blast beat on their side. This more methodical approach gives the band more time to let their ideas cultivate and grow. While not quite as engaging as Gärgäntuäh's side, the music contained here is still quite enjoyable to listen to. I simply find myself drawn to the other side of the split more frequently.

This split is something I got because of the cover alone. The singular cage hanging at a cross roads is a stunning picture and caught my attention. This music is not world shattering, but it is good. Above all, it knows exactly what it means to be black metal. 

Written November 27th 2023

Entry 610 - Elijah Nang - Gaijin 3000

Style: Instrumental hip hop, drum 'n bass, ambient, trap, traces of synthwave and vaporwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: Yakuza human trafficking, saving a life, Neo Tokyo

Thoughts: I was exploring this album again recently and happened upon some unfortunate news. Elijah Nang, one of the best producers (if not the best) within the lofi and instrumental hip hop genre passed away. I don't know what form but I read several eulogy's confirming the news. What a sad day for music.

Gaijin 3000 is a bit of a departure from Elijah's typical feudal Japan inspired beats. The music has a decidedly futuristic bent and spans more than a few genres. Throughout the hour or so runtime we have lofi (of course), drum n bass, vaporwave, ambient, spoken word, and even some synthwave.

Even though this is a bit of a departure for the Samurai Beatsmith, Nang still feels very much in his element. The kokyu and shamisen have been replaced by synths, but the overall feel of the music is very similar to that of the Edo period inspired works. 

I was worried about the futuristic feel of the album when I first heard about it, and it took me quite a bit of time to come around to the album. The change was just too much at first. Over time though I began to recognize Nang's fingerprints in the music. It retains that quiet sombreness that permeates all of Nang's music. Even the upbeat tracks have a quiet reserve to them.

With some time and repeated listens the album began to grow on me. The threads of what makes Nang's music so special interwoven in the songs (outside of the spoken word tracks). Every now and then you get a hint of a pan flute or the aforementioned instruments, tying the music back to Nang's roots. A small hint every few tracks.

Gaijin 3000 is a bit of an enigma to me still. I like the album more than I did when it first came out, but I still feel like I'm not quite there as I am with some of Nang's other releases. The thing is though, the more I listen to this album the more I enjoy it. It just goes to show how excellent of a musician Nang was... rest in power Samurai.

Written November 27th 2023

Entry 609 - Forlorn Kingdom - Alpine Black Magick

Style: Ambient, dungeon synth

Primary Emotions/Themes: Grand landscapes, adventures, tranquillity through nature

Thoughts: I've written many times about the wonders that come from the dungeon synth genre. The treasures that can be found here are numerous and quite deep. Forlorn Kingdom is yet another addition to my growing dungeon synth collection that takes me to these distant lands untouched by human hands.

Alpine Black Magic consists of two separate tracks, the first being 18 minutes and the second clocking in at 14. The first of these two tracks starts out nearly entirely piano driven. As the epic unfolds it evolves into an ambient piece as the piano fades in the background. Atmospheric pads and timpani's take over as the driving force of the composition from about the half way point, only for the piano to swell back into existence by the end.

The second track starts out much softer and a bit more directionless than the opening song. As it begins to unfold however some subtle melodies begin to take shape and form the backbone of what is to come. A soft flute heard only in the distance is the main melody of the song. It is so distant it often feels like it's being heard as if someone were playing it on the other side of the woods, or perhaps on another hilltop nearby. The song embraces this and builds layer upon layer to create a wonderful swell of music by the end of the track.

Two tracks may not seem like a lot, but it certainly is more than enough for this album. It's enough to drag me into another world where my worries fade away and life becomes a bit simpler. Hail to the bards that created this, hail to the Forlorn Kingdom.

Written November 26th 2023

Entry 608 - Sutekh Hexen & Funerary Call - P:R:I:S:M

Style: Dark ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: Pain, fear of the unknown

Thoughts: Feedback, screaming, echos of some great distant horror. These are woven into the very fabric of P:R:I:S:M, the very essence from the fabric of which the album is formed and cut.

P:R:I:S:M comes from a point of pain. A realm where hopelessness is the prominent emotion and fear the primary driver of motivation. These eight tracks were written by someone who has experienced deep loss, incredible hardship, and incomprehensible suffering.

The tracks don't have any individual defining characteristics, rather they have emotions that slowly build and then are pushed into the listener. This osmosis is so natural while listening to the album that I hardly ever feel that my mood has shifted. 

Regardless of where I start emotionally, I am always left with a deep impression that I have witnessed some traumatic event. My body doesn't know how to react because my mind is perceive this terrible event occurring but nothing is being witnessed. It's quite confusing yet also exhilarating at the same time. 

Sutek and Funerary do this in a highly specific manner. They harness resonances that are not quite musical, yet are not quite... not. They are somewhere in between music and dissonance, in a place where only pure emotion lives. There is no real percussion, riffs, or even melodies to speak of. Only variations on soundscapes and the odd vocal interlude.

There isn't much to say about Prism on a musical level. It feels like it isn't meant to be musical, but rather primal. Like so many of the best entries into the dark ambient field, I don't remember the specifics of the album. Rather I remember the emotions that it evokes within me. That leaves a stronger impression than any riff hook ever will.

Written November 26th 2023