Monday, March 31, 2025

1084 - Dan Mason - Forever Nothing


 

Style: Vocal driven vaporwave, chillwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: A fascinating combination of synthwave and vaporwave that calms my mind and lets me be in the moment

Thoughts: Forever Nothing begs the question, what if we took synthwave and listened to it through the filter of vaporwave? That is exactly the question that Dan Mason goes out to answer with this excellent album.

I purchased this album when I was both into vaporwave and synthwave rather heavily. It fit into both genres quite nicely and has remained one of my favorites from both genres ever since I picked it up five years ago. 

The first moments of God Dammit show the listener exactly what is in store. Catchy synths that are drenched in reverb and delay. Sparkly accompaniments through ancillary instruments, chill beats and finally Dan's lethargic voice. This is the blueprint for the entire album.

There isn't a whole lot of variety on the album. It feel a bit like eighty's pop with that vaporwave VHS waviness to it. Even though there isn't much variety, the totality of the album is one of a lazy Sunday afternoon. Compared to much of the other material in my collection, this is a welcome and often needed break.

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Entry 1083 - Mario Kart 64


Style: Video game music

Primary Emotions/Themes: Some of the best music on the N64, a timeless classic that exemplifies what video game music can bring to the world of music on its own

Thoughts: I miss playing this game. I miss being young and not having a real care in the world. I miss spending countless hours on this game trying to get the best time trials possible. I spent an entire summer trying to master this game, and because of that these songs are drilled into my brain forever.

The world was a simpler place for me back then. I didn't have adult worries or adult problems. I didn't care what was going on except in my immediate sphere. It's a time I look upon fondly, and I wish sometimes that I could get back into that mindset... if even for a short while.

While that is not possible anymore, I can relive those times fondly through the magic of Kenta Nagata's music. I put these records on and I'm instantly transported back to playing this game after school. Learning mini turbos and trying to be the first one to the finish line. Hearing about all the different shortcuts and actually getting some of them to work was a wonderful experience. 

With music like this it's not just about the music, there are emotions here that are tied to more than just the music. This music is a shining beacon of my childhood and as such it's got a permanent spot in my collection. 

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Entry 1082 - Super Mario Land Arranged


Style: Video game music 

Primary Emotions/Themes: An orchestral rearrangement of a gameboy classic

Thoughts: Talk about soundtracks that I never thought would get a vinyl pressing and this one is right up there. Super Mario Land is a game that I remember playing laying on a bed at my grand parents house who lived in the middle of no where. It was the only form of entertainment I had on rainy days and I have fond memories of it.

The main theme from this is another one of those ear worm songs that  stays with me for months at a time once I remember it exists. The arrangement of it here is quite well done. It retains the energy and fun of the original gameboy soundtrack but gives it some nice uncompressed synths to flesh out the sound. 

The rest can be said about the remainder of the soundtrack as well. It sounds like the original songs, however they all sound so much more fuller and rich than the gameboy chip could ever make them. 

As a nice bonus there is a medley of the original soundtrack as the last track on the record. A nice touch for a cute little soundtrack such as this.

Friday, March 28, 2025

Entry 1081 - Super Maro Bros 2


Style: Video Game Music

Primary Emotions/Themes: A timeless classic of the golden age of video games

Thoughts: Out of all the video game music ever created, the main level theme from SMB2 is likely the one that gets stuck in my head the most. Walking down the sidewalk on a sunny afternoon: BAM SMB2 theme. Doing laundry on a dreary afternoon: BAM SMB2 theme. Enjoying a nice relaxing shower: BAM SMB2 theme. It fits all occasions and it randomly infects my mind. Worse than a pesky cough that won't go away.

It's so simple, yet it's so damn effective. It's one of about five songs in the entire soundtrack and it sticks with me for days on end. I don't know how it happens but it does. Because of that this has been one of my most coveted soundtracks in my never ending search for a perfect collection. When I finally obtained it I felt like my collection was one step closer to being complete.

Some soundtracks do not live up to the legacy that nostalgia has imprinted in me. In the overwhelming amount of cases this is what happens: I remember a game fondly, check out the music, I'm disappointed and I move on. With Super Mario Brothers 2 however, the music is exactly how I remember it and it's just as wonderful now as when I was a kid. A true gem.

Thursday, March 27, 2025

Entry 1080 - Marduk - Rom 5:12


Style: Black Metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Black metal with religious influences - Marduk's finest moment

Thoughts: Romans Chapter 5 Verse 12, New International Version: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all have sinned..."

My history with Marduk is long and involved. They were one of the first black metal bands I got into in my metal journey. I ordered Nightwing and Enslaved's Eld at the same time from my local shop not really knowing much about either band except that they were black metal. My experience with Eld is documented elsewhere (entry 348), but Nightwing was my first experience with intense blast beat driven black metal... the way that only Marduk can do.

The thing that stood out so immensely with Marduk was the vocals and the intensity of the music. They never once let up. Legion was an insane vocalist and the guitars/drums beat me into submission every time I listened. My young mind was blown.

Fast forward a few years and Legion is leaving the band. Needless to say I was highly concerned for the band's future. His voice was an integral part to the experience that was Marduk. Who else was going to sing about my Christ Raping Black Metal?

Enter Mortuus. 

I didn't know what to expect with the new vocalist. Plague Angel was a bit of treading water for the band, and didn't do much to sway me to be interested in the band. A few years later I heard the title of their next album and I was intrigued. 

Romans is often considered by Christians a fundamental book of the bible. It was written by Paul to the gentiles - those who were not part of the jewish faith. It resonates strongly with people even to this day and is seen as a guide for how to live and how to let christ live through you. Marduk choosing a verse from this book of the bible to be the title of their next album fascinated me to no end.

The opening track is appropriately named: The Levelling Dust. It completely leveled me. The intensity that I expected from the band was back, even more importantly though Mortuus showed what he could really do. 

His vocals are unlike any I've heard within black metal or any other genre. They undoubtedly fit the genre, but the way he executes them is entirely unique. He has multiple layers to his vocals. There is this gurgle in his voice that sounds like a mix of turion throat singing and Atilla Csihar's moaned/chanted vocal style. He layers this with a more typical black metal distortion. The end result is something that sounds like a black metal vocalist with undertones and a vibrato. It's hard to describe, but the style is incredibly compelling and gives Marduk a new identity all together.

On top of the vocals the music has taken a huge step up in quality. Not only do we have the expected blast beat driven madness, we also have slower pieces that are quite unheard of from the band. Of course they have done slower songs in the past, but they almost always have sucked... not here. These fucking rip. 

The band has also decided to lean into the biblical nature of the title with gregorian chants intermixed as well as some dark ambient passages. This adds another level to Marduk's music that simply has not been present before this (nor after this album).

Rom 5:12 is the finest moment that Marduk has produced to date. The music is challenging, varied, and provokes a lot of thought out of me... not something I would have thought Marduk would ever do. If there is only ever one Marduk album to purchase, this is undoubtedly it.

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Entry 1079 - Manawave


Style: Vaporwave, VGM

Primary Emotions/Themes: A reinterpretation of the Secret of Mana soundtrack through the lens of vaporwave

Thoughts: Nostalgia. Nostalgia is the giver of wonderous memories. Nostalgia is the lens that distorts a broken past into what seems like better times. Nostalgia gladly gives me rose tinted glasses and asks me to enjoy things that I may or may not have at the time. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing. Nostalgia is a bitch.

One of my fondest memories growing up was discovering RPG's on the Super Nintendo. One of the first ones of those that I completed was Secret of Mana. I got all the way to the end, only for my little brother to erase my save right at the Mana Beast so I had to start over. I never did completely forgive him for that.

This is where the nostalgia comes in. I remember loving the game and all of its parts - especially the soundtrack. Years and years later when I started getting into video game vinyl, naturally I wanted to seek out the Secret of Mana soundtrack. It was nearly impossible to find so I settled for Manawave.

Through my search I learned two things. One: I don't like nearly as much of this soundtrack as I thought I did. Two: this soundtrack does not do very well when translated into vaporwave form. 

I really wanted to like this. I wanted to like the Secret of Mana soundtrack, and I wanted to like this reinterpretation... I just can't bring myself to listen to it for more than a few minutes at a time. Nostalgia is a bitch. 

I remember the progressive rock tendencies of the soundtrack, but they were pushed in the back of my mind. I remembered the epic intro music and that is what my brain was telling me most of the soundtrack sounded like. That was a complete fabrication of my mind. 

The soundtrack is full of quirky instrumentals that work well in the context of the game, but on their own they simply do nothing for me. Maybe at some point I'll go back and play the game again, but for now I'm going to move on to something else. Nostalgia is indeed a bitch.



Tuesday, March 25, 2025

1078 - Makeup and Vanity Set - Wilderness


Style: Synthwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: An epic collection of songs that span the entire synthwave genre

Thoughts:  If I had to show someone one album to explain what the synthwave genre is all about, it's probably MAVS' Wilderness. This is a sprawling epic of twenty tracks ranging from near ambient, to darksynth, to outrun, to straight up eighties nostalgia worship. It has almost everything that the genre has to offer.

Starting with Polyhymnal the band gives us the listeners a strong idea of what an ambient album would sound like through a synthwave lens. This transitions seamlessly into Last Embrace which embraces the synthwave deep driving beat and melodies that sound like they are straight out of dystopian movie watched on VHS. This then is immediately followed by Turing / Sequence which has an air of mystery about it that is slowly peeled away as the song progresses.

The thing that continues to amaze me about Wilderness is how diverse it is, yet how consistent it is. All of these songs clearly belong together, and not a single one of them makes me want to skip it. It is a long album, but having it on vinyl makes it easier to digest. I can listen to disk one or two without any issues, and if I'm really feeling it I'll put both on for a ride that will last me a while.

MAVS have a huge discography that is all over the place. Some is higher in quality than others, but with Wilderness they showed us what they can truly do: a clinic in the synthwave genre. 

Monday, March 24, 2025

Entry 1077 - Magic Sword - Endless


Style: Synthwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: The soundtrack to an 80's movie forty years too late

Thoughts: This album came out of nowhere. All of the band's previous offerings did nothing for me. To my ears the sounded like generic and dull synthwave that did nothing redeeming. I tried several times to get into Volume 1 and every time it failed. 

On an off chance I decided to give their new album (at the time) a listen, and needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. The opening track - Depths of Power - hooked me in right away with it's slow build and insanely infectious groove. It sounded like the very best of that 80's nostalgia that I craved from the genre. As the song went on these feelings only grew, I knew that something was fundamentally different about this album compared to what I had heard before. 

I was a bit concerned though. Was this just a good opener, or had the band changed their sound for the better? Over the next few tracks I got my answer. Invincible caught me again off guard with it's slow and brooding atmosphere. Empress' slow yet epic melodies sweep me away into another dimension, this may very well be the best song the band has written. Prophecy has a distinct feeling of Daft Punk influence that is not seen elsewhere in the album. 

Needless to say the quality seen in the first track was carried on throughout the remainder of the tracks. The band had found something that resonated with me infinitely more than anything they had done in the past. While not every band is worth a revisit, sometimes one will come out of no where and surprise you.

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Entry 1076 - Madvillian - Mad Villainy


Style: Hip Hop

Primary Emotions/Themes: A vocal adventure of one of the greatest villains to ever live.

Thoughts: "If I only had one hip hop album in my collection this would be it." 

"That's a bold statement, but I get it - it's a masterpiece."

"I'm fully aware of the weight that statement carries, and I'll stand by it."

Out of all of the genres I truly enjoy hip hop is the one I've been into the shortest and have the least exposure to. I have yet to do a truly deep dive into the genre, something that I should probably put on my goals for the next year. I have however listened to enough to know what kind of hip hop I love and what I will normally pass on.

Unsurprisingly (at least to me) the kind of hip hop and rap that I dislike is the more mainstream music. I find it boring and repetitive. The samples are just thrown on top of a random beat and repeated for three to five minutes while different people talk over it. I know that is a gross oversimplification, but that's how most mainstream hip hop sounds to me. 

On the other hand I find certain artists highly compelling, first and foremost amongst those is MF Doom - particularly on Mad Villainy.  Where other artists spend time spitting their bars on random topics in predictable patters Doom takes a different approach. His bars are complex, and the meter is not always as easy to follow. It's not uncommon for songs on Mad Villainy to be in time signatures other than 4/4, and Doom's vocal approach takes on similar character.

It's not only the meter that makes this album special. It's the way the samples are curated, and the way that the album is put together. Many times it feels like the song should be over but it continues in a completely unexpected yet totally acceptable direction. There are forward thinking beats and sample curation, yet it still feels grounded in the traditions of hip hop. 

Even having listened to this album dozens of times I'm still surprised by parts of it with every listen. There are brief moments here and there that I forget about and blind side me with every listen. It's a phenomenal adventure do listen to this album, and one that I look forward to every time it hits the turntable. My entry into the best hip hop album to ever be recorded. 

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Entry 1075 - Macroblank - 痛みの永遠



Style: Barber beats, vaporwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: Chilled out beats to lounge to

Thoughts: It's hard to find new things to say about Macroblank that I haven't already said before. If there is one knock on the artist it's that most of his music is similar in scope and feel. That's worked for many artists over the years, and it works for Macro as well. It just makes it hard to come up with new things to say about different albums. 

Regardless of the similarities to other Macroblank albums, the quality remains high on  痛みの永遠. Thge beats are solid, the atmosphere is chill as all get out, and once again I can't help but give in to the sway that the music compels out of my body. 

The album has been condensed slightly to fit everything onto a single LP, and to be completely honest I didn't even notice the edits. They are done tastefully and are as well curated as the rest of the album. 

The whole thing screams quality, the exact opposite of what I find in most of the vaporwave genre. I think even if this wasn't my cup of tea I would still appreciate the musical quality for the obvious effort that went into creating these composition. It's hard to miss with Macroblank.

Friday, March 21, 2025

Entry 1074 - Macroblank - 絶望に負けた


Style: Barber beats, vaporwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: It's a true vibe

Thoughts: This is it, this is the album that got me back into vaporwave. I've made no secret that I am not on good terms with the genre, especially traditional vaporwave. For the life of me I cannot get into Floral Shop, it's worse than nails on a chalk board. It's one of the very few albums that I cannot find any redeeming qualities of. I hated it so much that I walked away from the genre.

A few years pass and eventually I start hearing rumblings of this new artist who was making vaporwave in the lounge style (think Haircuts for Men [HFM]). Eventually curiosity got the best of me and I checked him out. Needless to say I paid bandcamp for the album that same day.

Macroblank takes the basis that HFM and runs with it. For the longest time HFM was the only one doing music like this, but no longer. Someone else finally started making chilled out groovy beats in the same style and I was all for it. So much so that this album made my top albums of 2020. 

The essence of Macro's music is found within the lounge and smooth jazz genre. The samples are carefully curated, chopped and screwed together to create not only a relaxed atmosphere, but one with some of the most infectious grooves I've ever heard. I swear every time this thing hits the record player I'm swaying back and fourth within minutes. 

On my other (now retired) blog I did an extended review/interview with Macro on this release. That feels like a lifetime ago. Listening to his albums always brings me back to those chaotic times and the peace that music brought me then. It's crazy how long ago that was, feels like the blink of an eye. 



Thursday, March 20, 2025

Entry 1073 - Lukhash - We Are Stardust


Style: Synthwave with chip tune influence

Primary Emotions/Themes: This is it, this is exactly what I wanted from Lukhash

Thoughts: The instant I dropped the needle on this record I knew something had changed. The boring synthwave of Transient Offworld was gone, in it's place we had glitched out chip tunes mixed with darksynth and synthwave. This is exactly what I was looking for.

The opener Cyberiad Theory is the perfect introduction to the sound on We Are Stardust. The song relies heavily on glitched chip tunes to deliver part of the melody. This is paired with a deep driving bass line, not too unlike the kind you would find in a darksynth album. The spacey synths from Transient Offworld also return, but this time they dance with the chip tunes and guitars to form melodies that are far superior to anything off the previous album.

Each song on We Are Stardust has it's own hook, it's own moment (or moment's) that drag me in. This marriage of synthwave and chip tunes is exactly what I needed from Lukhash. They have finally reached their potential with this album... the transition from their previous life to this one is now complete. 

We Are Stardust is full of phenomenal music, so much so that I'll forgive the transgression that was Transient Offworld. I'm looking forward to seeing what Lukhash has in store for the future, but even if this is the last album from the project, this is one hell of a way to go out.




Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Entry 1072 - Lukhash - Transient Offworld


Style: Synthwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: A bit of a transition album from Lukhash's dubstep work into synthwave

Thoughts: I've been following Lukhash for many years. The first exposure I had to their music was with Digital Memories which featured more of a dubstep and chiptune approach than Transient Offworld does. Lukhash has never been one to stay in one style for too long however, so when I heard that they had moved into synthwave I was intrigued but not entirely shocked.

I picked up the album without listening to it, and I think that may have been a bit of a mistake. While there is some decent music here, Lukhash is clearly trying to figure out their style within the synthwave realm. A lot of the songs on here feel incomplete, like they are missing just one more thing to take the song to the level of quality that I would expect from Lukhash. 

It's not that they are bad per say, just... generic? I think generic is the word I'm looking for. None of the songs on here really grab me, none of them reach out through my speakers, grab me by the collar and demand that I listen. They are... fine for what they are, but I want more than fine with my music. 

I think Lukhash needs one more album in this style to truly bloom into something special. Maybe working in some of the previous chip tunes/dubstep style with the new synthwave would benefit them greatly. I don't know what it is, but I do know that Transient Offworld is not what I'm looking for from this artist.



Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Entry 1071 - Lost Outrider - Blush


Style: Synthwave with a touch of darksynth

Primary Emotions/Themes: Sugary sweet synth pop with a touch of darkness

Thoughts: The opening notes of I'd Rather Live With Ghosts gave me such a rush of pure unadulterated happiness that I wondered if I could even finish the song. I picked this album up off of my previous experience with the band on HEART_心臓, and needless to say they continued right where they left off. 

Blush is not entirely Heart part 2, but it feels like the evolution of that style. The songs are again bright and sparkly, but the vocals this time are handled by the band themselves instead of having guests. In fact the first three to four songs of the album are a direct continuation of the style found on Heart. 

It's not until we get to Digital Cocaine that we see the band take a stark turn into darksynth. It hit me out of nowhere the first time I listened. Everything on the album has been happy hunky dory, and then I'm side swiped by this deep bone chilling instrumental that rivals some of the best that the genre has to offer. The melodies still retain a bit of the sparkly luster that the pop songs have, but they are coupled with that deep driving bass that only darksynth has. It's fantastic.

The band continues to play synth pop after this point, but things seem just a little bit more subdued. Mascara has just a touch of sadness to it. Love Byte pays tribute to late eighty's Depeche Mode and has a fantastic guitar riff during the powerful chorus. I Hope it Hurts Like Hell is another cool instrumental that doesn't have the deep bass of Digital Cocaine but still makes me bob my head to its grooves. 

The second half of the album is really where the band blooms... and it works perfectly for a record. Side A is what I came to expect from the band considering their previous album, and Side B is where they start to spread their wings. A great mix of old and new.




Monday, March 17, 2025

Entry 1070 - Lost Outrider - HEART_心臓


Style: Synthwave, synth pop

Primary Emotions/Themes: Pop in 80's form

Thoughts: Every now and then I need something sugary sweet to wipe darkness from my mind. Something that is so bubbly and full of joy that it makes my teeth rot. That is exactly the function that Lost Outrider serves in my collection.

HEART_心臓 is a synth pop album. It sounds like it could easily have been lifted from a 1987 TV show or chart topping hit. The vocals are sweet and in a high register. The music is bright and sparkly as I would expect of a style such as this.

Heart is more than just a generic synth pop album though. There are some wonderfully crafted songs on here. Next To You is a nice laid back track with beautiful female vocals on the lead - the track has a wonderful spacey quality to it that clams my mind. Unravel & Break is a touching instrumental track that works as a pronominal interlude moving into Poole Crescent. 

Lost Outrider isn't just a synth pop group... well they are but they add more to the music than just sweet sugary sounds. The music is diverse: there is a variety of vocals used here and the instrumental tracks are well dispersed throughout the album. It's a rather short album, but that also works in it's favor. I find myself wanting more rather than feeling like the album has overstayed its welcome. In a world where everything seemingly sucks, music like this is a very welcome palate cleanser.

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Entry 1069 - Lord Belial - Enter the Moonlight Gate


Style: Black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Elite Swedish black metal

Thoughts: This is Lord Belial's best album. This album is pure spite, pure hatred, pure vengeance. Right out of the gate the title track starts off with a blast beat, blistering riffs, and venom filled vocals. As the song progresses the hatred never decreases, but it does get a touch of melody. 

This is the blueprint for the album: blast beats, blistering riffs, catchy yet violent melodies, a touch of flute from time to time, vocals that sound like an executioner giving last rites, and more blast beats. There are so many blast beats on the album that it's rare to find anything else going on with the drums. That may be a detractor for some people... myself included more often than not. Except... it's not. I can't picture this album with anything but the blast beats. 

The constant thump of the drums gives the album its aggressive nature. War drums calling the soldiers to move ever forward as the battalions gather. Listen to the introduction of Black Winter Bloodbath and tell me that's not an image that instantly comes to mind. 

From front to back, the album shreds. One of the pillars of Swedish black metal. I'd put this up against any of the best albums form the Norwegian second wave, it'll hold its ground at very least and outshine many of the staples of the genre. Violence incarnate.

Saturday, March 15, 2025

Entry 1068 - Limbonic Art - Moon in the Scorpio


Style: Symphonic black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Symphonic black metal done right

Thoughts: Keyboards in black metal is nothing new... at least they aren't now. Back in 1996 however they were not nearly as commonly used. Some albums would use them as introductions, others would use them as accents... but very few used them as a central part to the music. 

This is where Moon in the Scorpio comes in. The keyboards here are not only a prominent instrument, they are perhaps the main focus of the music. They play the main melody, they provide the atmosphere, they drive the tone and the tempo most of the time as well. Of course guitars, vocals and drums are still present, but they are all secondary to the might of the keys.

The real question is: does it work? Does the reliance on keys make the music better. In the case of Limbonic Art, yes it does. It makes the music a hell of a lot better. To the point where if the keyboards were absent, these songs would not be nearly as strong as they are with them. 

 There are seven songs on this record and it clocks in at nearly an hour long. The music has to be compelling to be that long and keep me interested the whole time. Limbonic Art succeeds on all fronts with this in mind. 

The music is dynamic, the melodies are interesting and know when to progress into the next section or even song without hesitation. There are very few awkward transitions in the music. In fact the transitions are one of the stronger parts of the music all together. 

Symphonic black metal can be a mixed bag, but for this hour Moon in the Scorpio is one of the better entries into the genre. The band never was this good again, at least in the material that I heard. Either way you cut it, this is one hell of a debut album.

Friday, March 14, 2025

Entry 1067 - Lie in Ruins - Floating in Timeless Streams


Style: Death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Kick ass death metal, nothing more, nothing less

Thoughts: Three snare shots followed by a massive riff, gruff vocals, and a muddy production that is so thick you have to use a machete to cut through it. This is old school death metal in the Finnish tradition.

Lie in Ruins are here to play death metal and take no prisoners. This is not clean or polished... no, this feels more like a one take recording and slap it into the master tapes. There are audible mistakes every now and then. The timing is not perfect, the riffs are slightly off sometimes, and the vocals crack every now and then... and I love it. 

There is a sense of honesty and realism to this music. That's something I feel has been lost in recent years, especially with death metal. Everything is so clean, so polished... the music loses a bit of it's identity when this happens. 

I can't tell you how much of a breath of fresh air an album like Floating in Timeless Streams is. It takes me back to the glory days of the genre. It reminds me of what the genre was before the spit shine. This is death metal dammit, it's not supposed to be clean. It's meant to be nasty and grimy. It's not supposed to sound human (or robotic these days)... it's meant to have character. 

Floating in Timeless Streams is a giant fuck you to all things modern, and I'm here for it. The album has been on constant rotation for nearly a day at this point. It's got everything I want in the genre.

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Entry 1066 - Latitudes - Old Sunlight


Style: Progressive metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Words fail to describe how much I enjoy this album, a collection of songs that touch my soul and make me reflect on life

Thoughts: There's a moment on Body Within a Body where all the music stops... everything except a pipe organ and the vocals. Everything is fragile, everything is subdued... it's a particularly venerable moment not only for the song but for the album as a whole. It only lasts for a few moments before the band explodes back into existence but it is one of the many moments of the album that gives me pause. 

The album is a behemoth. Being largely instrumental (only three vocal tracks), much of the emotions honed here come from the riffs and the atmosphere that the band produces... and boy are they good at it. They have absolutely mastered the concept of dynamics within the music. As with the previously mentioned section of Body Within a Body, the album is littered with moments where the band strips everything away and lets the smallest and faintest concepts take over the song. It's a rare thing to hear in music, and yet Latitudes have made it a core part of their sound.

Old Sunlight is an album I bought on impulse. It was about 10 bucks in a local shop and the cover looked cool. It was on a good label to boot, all enough for me to pick it up. Boy am I ever glad that I did, this thing speaks to me in ways that few other albums in my collection do. A real gem.

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Entry 1065 - Lantlos - .neon


Style: Atmospheric black metal, jazzy black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: When jazz and black metal have a child

Thoughts: I love Jazz. I love black metal. There are very few moments in my collection where those two loves intersect more so than Lantlos' second album .neon.

Right out of the gate the band gives the listener a preview of the entire album. Minusmensch details perfectly what the album is about: a soft jazz opening that is accented ever so slightly with distorted guitars. The drums in particular rely heavily on the ride accents that you would hear in a typical jazz improvisation. 

Piano and bass dual with each other ever so slightly as the song grows in stature. When the black metal finally does enter the picture it's slow and uses similar accents on the percussion that the jazz section does. It's only abandoned when the band transitions completely to blast beat oriented riffs. 

The vocals - provided by the one and only Neige - sound like a wounded wildebeest howling out for help. They are not what I would normally consider for an album such as this, but they work exceptionally well. By the end of Minusmensch the band is expanding on a distorted riff and variations thereof, leaning more into the fusion of jazz and black metal.

The album's highlight though comes with the second track. These Nights We're Ours is one of the best songs I have ever heard in my life. The clean guitar intro, to the building urgency of the initial riff mixed with the immense blast beats throughout the entire song - it's perfect. 

The melody played by the lead guitars has such a strong sense of  desperation to it that it draws me in every time. It n e e d s to be heard, it demands it of the listener. The jazz focus is a bit less on this track, but is still present - especially on the slower mid section. The drums accents again take heavily from the jazz genre.

The rest of the album follow suit. Pulse / Surreal offers another strong jazz fusion track, but unfortunately it's the last portion of the album where the music is truly exceptional. The second half of the album tends to be lost on me somewhat. I try to get back into it from time to time, but I almost always find myself playing side A of the record instead.

Regardless of the shortcomings of the second side the first three tracks on the album are more than enough to make this album legendary for me. I rarely think that 20 minutes of music is enough to justify buying a whole album for, but this is one such instance. One of the finest examples of jazz fusion I've heard.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Entry 1065 - Kuroi Ame - Sacred


Style: Vangelis inspired ambient music

Primary Emotions/Themes: Rain, city streets, solitude, lucid dreaming, and a half lit cigarette

Thoughts: There was a time in my life when I was very active on a few online forums... or facebook groups as they were. One of those would end up defining my musical tastes for over a year as I explored the depths of a new style dubbed dreampunk. 

There weren't many labels putting out dreampunk in vinyl format at the time, and this was one of the few albums that had a pressing. I picked it up without doing too much research into what it was about, or what it sounded like. 

I had previously been looking through vaporwave albums to find a style that I liked, and through that I found dreampunk. It didn't matter what the music sounded like, I would buy it. I liked almost everything that came out with the dreampunk moniker at the time, so this was an easy blind buy.

When I did get the album in it was everything I could have possibly hoped for: a deep atmosphere that sounded like it was in between the waking and dreaming worlds. Subtle melodies that drew me in, making me wonder what was hidden in the depths of the music. Rain filled field recordings that echoed a lonely street at night. Deep bass that rattled my brain as it cascaded through my house, and beats that would accentuate the music when needed.

Now that we are some five years removed from that version of myself, does this music hold up? I'd like to think so. I no longer refer to this kind of music as dreampunk, but rather a subset of ambient music. That does not take away from the beauty that is contained within this record however. 

The music is a tribute to Vangelis and his wonderful soundtrack to Blade Runner. The fact that the music comes even close to the wonder that is that soundtrack is a feat in and of itself. Even after half a decade this album is among some of the best that the dreampunk micro genre has to offer.

Monday, March 10, 2025

Entry 1063 - Krypts - Cadaver Circulation


Style: Atmospheric death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Death and decay... all life will be consumed and returned to where we came

Thoughts: Death comes for us all. A morbid reminder that we are not long for this world. The planet will continue to exist with  or without us. It will continue to vomit itself through space wither or not our heart beats or or lungs draw breath. It will continue to exist... we will not. 

This is the reality that Krypts reminds me of every time I listen to them. Their music delivers this reality every time the needle drops on one of their records. The life that is in this body will fade. The ears that hear this music will rot. The enjoyment I get out of life will fade. Death comes for us all, there is no escape.

These seven songs are crushingly heavy. They move as a glacier would through the ocean, slow yet unstoppable. The vocals are deep and bellow like a creature from an unknown depth, alien to this world. The riffs themselves are typically composed of singular notes that are strummed slowly to build into a massive behemoth before the listener even is aware of what is happening. 

Rarely does the music go beyond a middling pace, and that is one of it's greatest strengths. It is inevitable. There is nothing that you can do to stop it's slow progression. As time moves ever forward, so does the music and it will crush anything that stands in it's way. 

Krypts create some of the best death metal that I have in my collection. The slow and dredged feel of the music appeals to me greatly, much more so than most standard death metal these days. I wish that they would come out with more albums, but this is an easy example of quality over quantity. If this and Remnants of Expansion are the only two albums I get from the band it'll be more than enough to satiate me.

Sunday, March 9, 2025

Entry 1062 - Krypts - Remnants of Expansion


Style: Atmospheric death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: The abyss is vast and gaping, don't get too close or it will draw you in

Thoughts: Space is vast. It is so vast that my tiny human brain cannot fathom the smallest portion of it. My existence is so incredibly insignificant compared to the full of the cosmos that it makes me wonder what the point of life is sometimes. Nothing I do matters in the long run, nothing I do will be remembered... we are just a random assortment of molecules that came about purely by chance. We are nothing but dust in the wind.

Remnants of Expansion echos these thoughts and feelings to near perfection. The music echos throughout the universe as it decays into nothingness. The guitars reverberate until there is nothing left, scattered to the void like the nothing we are. The vocals howl into the abyss as it swallows up the sonic reverberations and returns everything to null. This is the state of Krypts, this is the state of the universe.

The music is slow for the most part, and it relies heavily on a contrast with silence. The riffs are long and are allowed to drag out until they decay into the depths of space. Everything that has been made will be unmade. Everything that is will be destroyed. This is the way of Krypts. 

Remnants of Expansion is an excellent death metal album. It has an atmosphere that many bands strive for, yet they come up short. Krypts has managed to reach into the abyss and pull a tiny bit of it's nothingness into their music. This is the essence of Krypts music... the very essence of the universe itself.

Saturday, March 8, 2025

Entry 1061 - King Diamond - Voodoo


Style: Traditional heavy metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Drink the devils blood... drink it and give your soul to the demon inside

Thoughts: There are a few band's that I should have more albums of. I've loved King and Merciful Fate for as long as I've been a metal fan, sadly this is the only album I have of King Diamond's "solo" work. 

I love the stories that King tells in his albums. I love how insanely good the riffs are. I love how the story draws me in every time... and of course I love King's vocals. His falsetto is something that is instantly recognizable in nearly any context, but most of all his own music. 

Of all the King Diamond albums, this is probably my favorite. Even more so than the legendary Abigail or Them. Even more than even some of the Merciful Fate albums. This is simply one of the best albums that King and company put out. 

It's easily because of the riffs and the intensity that King delivers his lines with. These songs are some of the best that Andy ever wrote. Just listen to the intro of the title track, how ominous that starts off with the bongo's and how well it builds up with the vocals. It's fantastic. 

"LOA House" is the first proper song, and the opening riff makes me want to headbang every time I hear it. Selem's eerie chorus as he moves through the house, the way that the vocals extenuate "die die!" during One Down Two To Go is spine chilling. The album is full of moments like that. 

This is one of the few traditional metal albums in my collection. It manages to get me interested in more music from the genre every time I listen to it. When I go to listen though nothing else seems to measure up. This album is simply in a league of its own.

Friday, March 7, 2025

Entry 1060 - Kickpuncher - LiveDieRepeat


Style: Darksynth, synthwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: Life is brutal, technology offers a way to overcome it... Kickpuncher offers a way to overcome it

Thoughts: Life sucks. Life fucking sucks. We're all just pawns in a game that we have no control of. The elite control everything, and there's no fighting it... there's no way out. We just live to feed the machine and then we die. 

The future isn't bright. The future is a dark dystopia where everything is monitored, everything is controlled. No escape. No individuality. Nothing... we are doomed. There is no resistance... we are born to die.

There are small acts of rebellion though. Short bouts of non-compliance that can start to unravel the machine. Kickpuncher has given us one such thing through LiveDieRepeat. An album that takes the grotesque and inhospitable future and channeled that rage and discontent into forty minutes of hard driving darksynth.

I don't know why I'm drawn to this music. There is seemingly nothing special about it at first glance. It's just another darksynth album. Something about it though speaks to me on a deeper level than most albums in this genre. Maybe it's the non-chatelaine way that the woman is sitting on the cover... yeah she knows that life sucks, but here's something we can do to fight back. 

The music has that same casual resistance to it. The melodies are catchy, but have that mean driving bass to them that only darksynth has. The combination of the bright synths with the thunderous bass is one of the main draws for me here. It's not unique, but it's damn good. 

LifeDieRepeat is an album to plop on the turntable when you want to say fuck you to the world. It knows that everything sucks, and it offers just a tiny bit of help to bring the world away from complete oligarchy. Never surrender, never stop fighting, never give up, LiveDieRepeat.

 

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Instagram 1059 - Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down


Style: Depressive/atmospheric rock

Primary Emotions/Themes: The album where Katatonia finally figured out what they wanted to do

Thoughts: "How could this go... so very wrong... that I would depend on darkness... would anyone follow me further down?

How could this go... so very far... that I need someone to say... what is wrong... not with the world... but me...?"

I got into Katatonia with Brave Murder Day. I was enamored with their hypnotic riffing and depressive atmosphere. I had not heard anything quite like it before, and the album had such a definitive style that I can immediately point out when another band takes influence from it.

It's well documented the musical shift that the band had after that album... and to say that I was not a fan would be a bit of an understatement. I absolutely despised Discouraged Ones when it released. Years later I was able to get into the album but it took decades for me to get past my initial disgust. One of my main gripes with the album wasn't that the band had shifted to clean singing... it was that the band seemed lost. They had such a defined style just a few years before and now they just seemed like a ship without a sail.

Tonight's Decision was a bit better but still a bit of an experimental mess... and then came this album. Last Fair Deal Gone Down was the album that I was hoping that Katatonia would make. They finally were able to define a solid sound throughout the album... and man was it a doozy.

The band finally tapped into the mournful tone that they had been flirting with since Discouraged Ones. The riffs are like a blanked of cold rain enveloping me completely and making me a wet mess. The drums finally have some dynamics to them, it's not just the snare, kick repeating pattern that the band has had the past few albums. Jonas' vocals have that fragile edge that sound like they are going to break at any moment. 

It's so solid that there is not a moment in the first eight tracks that I would change. It's only towards the end of the album where the band takes a few minor missteps. Passing Bird sounds a bit out of place compared to the devastating The Future of Speech that came right before it. 

Sweet Nurse again sounds a little out of place compared to the first eight tracks... almost like it's going back to the insecurities of Tonight's Decision. The band just had to experiment a little bit to get it out of their system.

Don't Tell a Soul is a return to quality as it retains the riffing style of Teargas and Tonight's Music, but it's not a great closing track. It's a minor disappointment to an otherwise amazing album. 

Despite the challenges of the last three tracks, the album is a definitive statement for the band and their style. This would end up becoming my reference album for the band's future records, and contains one of my favorite songs by the band regardless of period. Essential listening.

"I have no lies or truth in what I say, there is no meaning. The words are numb and I am so afraid, there is no meaning."


Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Entry 1058 - Kalax - III


Style: Synthwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: Synthwave by the numbers

Thoughts: I've been through a lot of genres in my musical journey. At one point I was super into synthwave/outrun and I accumulated a lot of records in that style. As time went on I found myself listening to it less and less and I eventually started selling off some records. At this point I have a few left and they are the ones that represent everything I like in the style the best. Kalax's III is one of the ones that made the cut.

While I have not heard the greatest reports about Kalax as a person, the music that he creates is on the elite end of the synthwave spectrum. It doesn't cover any new ground, it does not innovate... despite this it manages to soar well above the average synthwave album. 

What's the difference then? Why do I like this one so much over the dozens of other generic synthwave albums? To put it quite simply: the man is so good at what he does that it's impossible to ignore. 

Sometimes its the pacing of the album. He will put a near ambient track to lure the listener into a false sense of security, only to blow me out of the water with the very next notes. Vocal tracks are interspersed throughout the album, breaking up any perceived monotony of the instrumental tracks.  

The pace of the songs is also a key element here. There are essentially three speeds that this album operates on: slow/ambient, mid tempo, and driving down the highway at lightning fast speeds. The album never focuses on one tempo for too long, instead choosing to divvy up the respective styles into bite size morsels for the listener to digest. It makes for brilliant pacing.

III is a long album, yet it doesn't feel like it. Even at over an hour long I still want more... that in itself is a rarity. That plus all the myriad of reasons laid out before is the start of why I like this album so much. On top of everything else, the album has the "it" factor... it's just good. Damn good.




Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Entry 1057 - Journey


Style: Video game music, orchestral

Primary Emotions/Themes: Follow the winds, up into the mountains... together we go on this journey

Thoughts: At what point do we need to start discussing video games as a legitimate form of art? An interactive expression of creativity that cannot be matched by any other medium. A few games have raised this question for me... perhaps none more-so than Journey.

Without going too much into why this game is such a phenomenal piece of art, I'll just say that it left an impression on me unlike most games ever have. It left me speechless at the end, all without a single word ever spoken... the music provided everything I needed to understand what the game was trying to communicate. 

What Austin Wintory has created here is perhaps one of the better soundtracks to come out in the last few years. It oozes atmosphere, mystery, and urges exploration. What is around that sand dune? As we get closer the music picks up as does my anticipation. What is in these clouds? The music soars with me into these new heights.

With music this tied to the experience of the game, I would be concerned that the translation into vinyl format would be limiting. I had concerns that the experience would not be the same... or that it wouldn't translate well at all. 

Well, the experience is not the same. There is no way to replicate that first play through of the game again. However, the music does stand on it's own in a way that I did not expect. The music still has that playful curiosity to it that I felt with every moment in the game. The music flows into the next track in ways that I did not expect, creating a cohesive listening experience on each side. 

Much like the game the music builds and builds into a dramatic climax. Side D is so powerful that I often find myself playing it on repeat. It's the culmination of the entire album in a final 20  minute epic finish. It's one of my favorite moments in my entire vinyl collection.

I wish that I had picked up the black vinyl version of this soundtrack rather than the picture disc version. These play well for what they are, but alas they are limited by the way that the discs are manufactured. Maybe one day I'll make the switch. For the mean time, these are a beautiful testament to the music that Austin has created.

Monday, March 3, 2025

Entry 1056 - Joe Hisaishi - Ponyo on the Cliff By the Sea


Style: Classical, orchestral film score

Primary Emotions/Themes: Joy captured in audio form

Thoughts: It's interesting how different cultures interpret the same source material. Ponyo is essentially the story of the little mermaid, however it's told quite differently than the Disney version or really any other version that I can think of. 

From all of Miyazaki's movies that I've seen this is probably my least favorite. Even if that's the case it's still a phenomenal foray into a joyful fishing village for a couple of hours. What really makes the movie though is the music. This may be one of the few times where I outright enjoy the music more than I do the movie with a Ghibli film. 

Gone are the serious undertones of Mononoke. Gone are the mysterious lands of Spirited Away. The magic of Howl is greatly subdued here. This is just the story of a young girl who wants to see outside... and go visit a boy. 

What Ponyo does have is a carefree spirit. The music is filled with hope, joy, and life unlike any other I've heard from Hisaishi. This is accomplished largely through a full orchestra, but there are moments on here where we are graced with some wonderful operatic singing. It's simply wonderful.

Much like so many of Hisaishi's other works leitmotif's are present throughout. Here they are used to represent Ponyo's innocence, curiosity, and thirst for knowledge. It's the kind of music to put on when you are having a rough day and need something to turn it around. 

Ponyo may not be my favorite film from Ghibli, but the soundtrack is way up there. I've listened to this thing more times than I can count, and I'm still not tired of it. A worthy addition to Joe Hisaishi's epic scores.

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Entry 1055 - Joe Hisaishi - Princes Mononoke


Style: Classical, orchestral film score

Primary Emotions/Themes: Does this need any introduction? One of the best film scores to ever exist.

Thoughts: There is a first for everything. A first time to realize your mortality. The first time that you feel true joy, true pain. The first time you discover an artist that will define your tastes forever.

Princess Mononoke was the first experience I ever had with Miyazaki and his beautiful movies. I watched it in the theater with my family not knowing anything about what the movie had in store for me. I left that movie theater feeling that something fundamental had shifted in me... I was slightly different leaving that theater than I was entering.

I was so enraptured with the beautiful storytelling and musical accompaniment that I forgot where I was for two hours. The world became that of Ashitaka and Iron Town and the conflict with nature and gods as they conversed with San and her wolves. I was not myself for two hours... I was a distant observer to this fantastical world that I had never been to before but desperately wanted to visit.

This was also my first foray into the beautiful music of Joe Hisaishi. I don't know if I'm aware of any singular person that can score a film better than this maestro. Every single soundtrack that he has ever created has been a joy on my ears.. but this one most of all. This one is my favorite. 

Maybe it's because this one was the first I heard. Maybe it's the incredible leitmotif heard throughout the album. Maybe it's the incredible use of the brooding atmosphere found throughout the album. Maybe it's the pure joy that the album radiates with. Maybe it's all of these things, maybe it's none. I don't really know, nor do I really care.

What I do know is that whenever I listen to this soundtrack I'm whisked back into my teenage years when I first saw this movie. I'm transported to that magical realm once again, and I find myself wanting to so desperately visit that world once again. 

Saturday, March 1, 2025

Entry 1054 - Jettomero - Hero of the Universe


Style: Video game music, chilled out synthwave, ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: Space can be a scary place, or it can be a peaceful one... this album takes a look at the peaceful side of space

Thoughts: Sometimes I wonder why I have so much video game music in my collection. While nostalgia origonally compelled me to hoard these kinds of records, that only took me so far. Eventually I was seeking out obscure releases to get, and picked up multiple albums for games I had never played. 

While a few of those albums were obvious miskaes that have been corrected, there were a few that stood out. Ones that I listened to over and over again just to hear the music - no nostalgia attached. This is essentially the story of Jettomero.

I saw this record for sale on a storefront and gave the samples a few quick listens. What I heard was some very relaxed synthwave with lofiesque beats. While that is nothing that I haven't heard before, the way that these synths are created and drawn out is what made this album garner my interest. 

You see, the beats set the tone, but the synths make the album. They are distant yet present, the melodies fade in and out of existence much like passing stars or a meteor shower. The whole time I'm sitting here with my eyes closed as the music takes me on a celestial journey. 

The reverb that envelops every single note helps add depth to the music. It's not on every instrument, but it's on enough that it draws the music out in ways that only the best producers can create. This mix of spacey vibes with the more immediate synths is what creates the immaculate atmosphere of Jettomero, and it's what convinced me to purchase the album.

Video game music is often a product of the game that it's made of. It's rare that the music works well as an album outside of the context of the game. When that happens though, the music transcends the original medium and becomes it's own thing. That is absolutely the case with Jettomero. Regardless if I ever play the game or not, this album has a place in my collection because of the joy the music brings me.

Entry 1143 - Keys to Oneiria - Worlds Between

Worlds Between by Keys to Oneiria Style: Dungeon synth Primary Emotions/Themes: Simple melodies that reverberate throughout the night sky ...