Entry 1330 - Ulver - Vargnatt

Style: black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Black metal with heavy folk influence

Thoughts: The one and only demo from a young Norwegian band that would end up becoming one of the most influential in all extreme music, and my personal favorite band. 

Vargnatt is a mix of primitive black metal with a healthy dose of acoustic guitar and folk music. The six songs vary in quality, with my favorite being Trollskogen due to it's all acoustic nature. The songs really don't flow very well and they also are a bit disjointed within the riffs themselves. Garm does not sound very good, and the whole thing is a bit of a mess... but it's still a fantastic listen every now and then.

This may not be the best representation of Ulver, but it shows where the band came from. For historical reasons this is a great artifact to hear where the band came from before the band went on to become what they currently are. 

Entry 1329 - Ulver - Teachings in Silence

Style: Ambient, noise

Primary Emotions/Themes: The professor is in, the class is to remain silent

Thoughts: This was my reintroduction to Ulver. I had listened to the first three albums quite a bit in my youth and then wasn't able to find William Blake anywhere so I dropped off with the band. I had heard that they changed styles significantly, but a million years could not have prepared me for this.

Starting with Silencing the Signing was perhaps not the wisest move, but I didn't know any better. The music here is minimalistic at best. What little music is here revolves around repeating melodies, repeating static, repeating drums. Everything repeats, over and over in different cadences. It's an EP that demands your patience and doesn't always reward you for it. 

Silence Teaches you How To Sing is a bit more varied in it's approach. The static, repetition and repetition (I know I said this twice) are still there but they come in shorter bursts. The whole twenty minute song is more of a journey than anything on Silencing the Signing. 

Of the two EP's I prefer Silencing the Singing, but listening to these two and a half decades later gives me a different perspective than when I first heard them. These are fascinating studies in sound design and are some of the most experimental that Ulver ever got. I oftentimes wish the band would come back to this period... at least in terms of experimental creativity. But alas, we are getting pop songs these days.

Entry 1328 - Ulcerate - Shrines of Paralysis

Style: Experimental death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: A maturation and collimation of the path that Ulcerate has been walking for over a decade at this point.

Thoughts: Ulcerate has become the master of their craft. The music they generate is entirely unique, instantly recognizable and a continuous force to be reckoned with. 

Shrines of Paralysis is one of the best examples of their sound. They have managed to overcome the shortcomings of Vermis and create an album that is perhaps the finest representation of the Ulcerate experience as a whole. It has the chaos of the first two albums, the expansiveness of Destroyers, and the unmistakable sound that is Ulcerate teeming through every moment of this album. 

The guitars mix so well with Jamie's drumming that they seem to be one and the same for most of the album. I honestly don't think that I can recall a better duo that Michael's guitars mixed with Jamie's drumming. It's that potent. The dissonance of the guitars and Paul's bass mix perfectly with the off beat musings of the drum kit. Throughout all of this the vocals seem almost like a distant afterthought. A constant bellow into the void, while fitting is not nearly as interesting as the instrumentals. 

Ulcerate has become one of my favorite bands in metal the past few decades. After my first experience with Everything is Fire, they simply kept releasing excellence after excellence. There is no other band in the death metal sphere that is even close to these guys.

Entry 1327 - Ulcerate - Destroyers of All

Style: experimental death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Open and expansive riffs, like musical explosions that take forever to settle

Thoughts: Everything is Fire is one of the finest death metal... no, one of the finest metal... no, one of the finest albums ever created. How do you follow up an album like that? In a lot of ways you can't... and it seems like Ulcerate knew this and decided to change up their sound.

Destroyers of All is a massive album. The songs are long, they are complex, and they are inaccessible - but not in the way that Everything is Fire was. In comparison to the previous album Destroyers is easy to digest. Compared to the typical death metal album it's a doctoral dissertation. 

The riffs, while complex allow for enough time to digest them before proceeding to the next. They share the same chaotic feel as before, however the guitars now work in conjunction with each other and will often have breaks before proceeding to the next complex riff. This gives the album a huge and open feel instead of beating my head in over and over. 

One of the strengths of Ulcerate is that they don't sound like any other band, they have forged a sound that is uniquely their own. Every album they come out with now is an event, and Destroyers of All is a huge part in forging their legacy.

Entry 1326 - Twelve Doors - A Tribute to Noriyuki Iwadare

Style: modern classical

Primary Emotions/Themes: piano and violin playing classic video game songs

Thoughts: I do not listen to Twelve Doors because I am a huge fan of Noriyuki Iwadare. Sure his soundtracks are incredible and they have heightened my enjoyment of the early Ys' games as well as the Lunar and Grandia... but again that is not why I listen to Twelve Doors.

I listen to Twelve Doors because the arrangements of these classic songs give them a new dimension and I find myself enjoying the simplicity of this music way more than I ever would have admitted to myself before picking up this album. The way the violin carries the melody while the piano backs it up makes makes me close my eyes and enjoy their beauty. These two instruments are designed to be played together, and they are utilized to their fullest on these two records.

As with some other records I've listened to recently there is no full recording of this available online - once again decrying the importance of physical media. Sure it's not as convenient but I'll be remised if I ever give this up and with it my ability to partake in this beautiful music.

Entry 1325 - Turquoisdeath - Se Bueno

Style: breakcore, ambient, vaporwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: Come with me on this journey as we explore human life and the joys that come with it

Thoughts: Hope. Some albums teem with hope. This is one of them.

Turquoisedeath combines upbeat samples, instruments, melodies, vocals... you name it, with drums that are straight out of 90's jungle. This is the very definition of breakcore.... but much happier than normal. It's like the happy hardcore version of it's own genre.

Out of all the albums in my collection, this one reminds me very much of Porter Robinson's Worlds. That's not to say that this is a carbon copy of that album - Worlds is the better album by far - but the two share many of the same writing styles. They both tell a story with audio that can be pieced together as the album progresses. They both use a variety of styles to get this story across, and the further you get into the album the more it sucks you in. 

Se Bueno is a deceptively simple album. The first few tracks made me think that this was going to be a standard breakcore album. This couldn't be further from the truth. There's a depth to this album that is not found in my of it's peers. It's that depth that makes me come back to it over and over again.

Entry 1324 - Tsuki No Wa - Ninth Elegy

Style: jazz, experimental

Primary Emotions/Themes: What starts as a normal jazz album devolves into a litany of experimental tracks that always seem to come back to those jazz beginnings

Thoughts: Japanese artists are among some of the strangest yet creative in all of music. Tsuki No Wa's Ninth Elegy is a collection of nine songs that start off as piano driven jazz but end up in very different places along the way. 

There are tracks in here that sound like they could easily belong on a Silent Hill soundtrack. There are others that sound like bossa nova complete with wailed vocals. There are others still that move into utterly bizarre territory with unknown sounds and tone. 

Regardless of the style of music the album has an enchanting feel to it. Like someone sitting down with you to share a home cooked meal or visiting an old friend over beers. It has a welcoming feel to it, but with a tiny bit of caution thrown in. Not an accessible album, but an ultimately rewarding one to those who take up the challenge. 

Entry 1323 - Tribes of Neurot - Grace

Style: noise, ambient, experimental

Primary Emotions/Themes: a sister album to one of the greatest metal albums ever recorded

Thoughts: Two albums, designed to be played simultaneously. I remember the band saying that they had designed this and Times of Grace to be sister albums. Albums that can be played individually yet also be played simultaneously. I have always strived for playing them at the same time, but I have never truly sat down with Grace by itself, without the Neurosis album at the same time.

Grace is a sparse album. It does not pretend to be extravagant, grandiose or anything other than what is intended: an ambient/experimental album that easily put the listener into a trance. For those familiar with Times of Grace the songs here will have the exact same length... and to some extent the same structure. The two albums are designed to compliment each other after all.

What Grace does though that the Neurosis album does not is exude a consistently serene yet tense atmosphere. The music played is calm, yet there is an undercurrent of anxiety and uncertainty that is in every moment of the album. It's this tension that makes the album a compelling listen on its own. 

This is my first time exploring this album in this manner, yet after spending some time with it here, I can say with certainty that this will not be my last time doing so.

Entry 1322 - Tower of the Sun - Reset

Style: electronic music

Primary Emotions/Themes: a curious mix of genres that gives me the feeling as if I'm under water

Thoughts: It's interesting how things change over time. This was one of the first albums that I reviewed on my original blog. I found it fascinating then and I still find the album fascinating now. 

I haven't listened to this thing in several years, after I was done with the original review I was a bit burnt out on it. For the longest time I had no desire to listen anymore, and that feeling persisted for several years. Now though as I'm going through my collection I find that I have forgotten a lot of what this album sounds like, even though I spent so much time with it in my past. 

I find that this album is a lot like swimming in shallow water. There are melodies that resemble currents, atmospheres that resemble beams of light, and it's all within the context of being underneath the water. The production in and of itself is a major part of this, there is a waviness to it that many other albums do not have. It helps define the album wither it's in a state of high melody or its in one of the more droning ambient sections - they both sound like they belong on the same album. 

Reset is a diverse album, with music ranging from the aforementioned ambient moments to melodies that resemble video game soundtracks. It does all of these styles with a consistency and grace that few other albums do. It has been some time since I listened to this album from my initial run, but I do know that it will not be nearly as long before I revisit it again.

Entry 1321 - Totengott - Doppleganger

Style: doom metal, extreme metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: noisy, feedback driven doom with massive riffs

Thoughts: I've got to get this out of the way. This album could very well be mistaken for a Tryptikon album. The way the songs are written and produced are nearly identical to Tom Warrior and crew. I mean... the band is even named after a Celtic Frost song.

The songs have the same structure as the band they are emulating: long, slow, feedback laden songs with a gruff grunting voice driving the music forward. As much as I would normally decry music that is this blatantly ripped off from another artists, there are exactly two bands in the world playing this style currently: Totengott and Tryptikon.. and the latter of those hasn't released a new album in quite a few years. 

With that in mind, it seems like Totengott has taken up the banner that Tom and his band have left on the ground. I am a big fan of this kind of music and I'm glad that someone, somewhere is producing music in this style.

Entry 1320 - Toonorth - aftersome

Style: instrumental hip hop

Primary Emotions/Themes: guitar driven instrumentals with lofi beats

Thoughts: There's a lot of lofi hip hop out there. A vast majority of the genre is uninspired and quite frankly lazy. I have had one experience with Toonorth before, and I didn't care too much for his album. Aftersome though is a different animal all together. 

Starting with an acoustic guitar on nearly every track, the music is built around this central piece. I can't help but feel that the acoustic work isn't sampled the way that the music flows... it's too natural. Going along with that is a variety of hip hop beats that tend to lean more towards the lofi end of the spectrum. Throw in some great keyboard work as a complimentary piece and you have the workings of an above average album.

Is Toonorth going to change the world with this album? Probably not, but you know that's fine. Not every album needs to be a world changer. Sometimes you need something to just put on at the end of a long day... aftersome accomplishes that perfectly. 

Entry 1319 - Tonebox - Cloud Highway

Style: Synthwave, darksynth

Primary Emotions/Themes: a deep rhythmic driven foray into darksynth

Thoughts: Tonebox really knocked it out of the park with this one. Most of their other work I don't care too much for, but this one right here they really were on to something.

The main difference here is the relentless emphasis on the bass. It's not just in the drums, but in the synths... they are designed to vibrate you to the very core. When these songs get going there's nothing else like it in my collection. They are relentless. 

It's not on every song that Cloud Highway tries to hit me with a brown note. In between the deep synth driven tracks there's some more standard synthwave that is in line with Tonebox's discography. Those songs are fine for what they are, but they essentially are a palate cleanser between the big nasty tracks. Exceptional stuff.

Entry 1318 - Tomorrow the Rain Will Fall Upwards - Wreck His Days

Style: Ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: Uplifting music that brings a spark of joy into life

Thoughts: With an album title like Wreck His Days I would have expected this album to be dark, or deal with subjects of vengeance or cruelty. That couldn't be further from the truth.

Wreck His Days is undoubtedly an ambient album. The melodies are slow, sometimes aloof, and repeat over slow modulations that take minutes to complete. Where the hope and uplifting portion comes in is the way the instruments are used. They have a sparkle to them... a sheen... like looking at a freshly waxed car or a clean room. It's music that sounds like it took work to get here but now that we are here, we are done and it is good.

This is one of those records that I can't find any sort of digital version of. There's maybe one song on the internet that I was able to find easily, and this just goes to show the importance of physical media. Without this record I would no longer have access to this music... emphasizing one of the most important reasons for my collection.

Entry 1317 - Tomb Mold - Planetary Clairvoyance

Style: old school death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Fun, sci-fi themed death metal that kicks all sorts of ass

Thoughts: Four words: kick ass death metal.

Go. Listen. That is all.

Entry 1316 - Tomb Mold - Manor of Infinite Forms

Style: old school death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: These guys are just having fun playing some old timey death metal

Thoughts: Who says that all death metal has to be serious? Who says that you can't enjoy what you do when you play this style of music? Who says you can't have fun listening to old school death metal? I know some people will try to say that, but Tomb Mold will politely give those people a large middle finger.

When I listen to Manor of Infinite Forms I hear death metal played the right way. So much of the genre is lost in technicality or trying to do too much. Tomb Mold just plays man. They write crazy riffs and they don't overthink it, they don't overcomplicate it... they just write plain good death metal. A seemingly lost art these days.

I gotta listen to this stuff more man. I feel like I've lost touch with death metal too much. Too many bands do nothing for me anymore, but Tomb Mold... Tomb Mold does. I feel like they keep me engaged the whole album... I need more death like that. I really do.

Entry 1315 - Timespinner

Style: video game music

Primary Emotions/Themes: A blatant tribute to one of the greatest soundtracks to ever exist

Thoughts: Timespinner came into my life at an interesting point. I was in a place where I really wanted to play a new game, but nothing and I mean nothing was sounding good to me. I was browsing the eShop on the Switch and came across this game. It was on sale so I picked it up.

The connections to Symphony of the Night were immediately obvious. The characters movement, the level design and especially the music. Oh man the music made me smile so much. The feel, the instruments, the sense of mystery, the sense of exploration. It all could fit right in with Symphony at any point. Yet here it was in a completely different game. 

There are a few games that I wish I could play again for the first time, this is one of them. I had so much fun exploring the world and all the time periods, and the music was an integral part of that. It has been a long time since the last time I played it though so maybe I will boot this up again soon. Listening to the record certainly pushes me closer to doing just that.

Entry 1314 - Throane - Plus Une Main A Mondre

Style: dissonant black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: desolation...

Thoughts: I have not been looking forward to listening to this album. In fact I have been dreading it for a long while.  Out of all of my collection, there is no album that I am aware of or have ever been aware of that mirrors the darkness that I feel in my inner most self... the desolation... the utter lack of hope... the complete loss of everything... nihilism. 

I have been treading down a path that I likely cannot return from for many years now. A path where there is no hope, no point of return... there is nothing. I have moved beyond cynicism... at least that would acknowledge that there is some good in the world, we just choose not to do it. I've moved into nothing but nihilism... there is nothing that is good, nothing that is evil... there is nothing. 

Throane has managed to capture this complete loss of hope, this complete surrender into audio form. I have nothing to speak on the quality of the music, for there is no inherit value in it. I will let those who are curious find that out for themselves... those who would join me in this journey into the endless abyss. This journey into nothingness.

Entry 1313 - Those Who Walk Away - The Infected Mass

Style: ambient, field recordings 

Primary Emotions/Themes: A cold wind blows from the south, carrying with it a distant voice. 

Thoughts: Some albums I think have inserted themselves into my collection. I have no recollection of where they came from, or how long I have owned them. They simply have found their way to me or I to them. How this happened is not important, the fateful event was that it happened at all. This is what brings us to Those Who Walk Away.

The Infected Mass is a minimalistic album, and even that is generous. There are numerous extended periods on this album where absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing, is happening. Two, three, five minutes where the faintest wind can be heard... and other than that it is only the frayed ends of our imagination that fill in the gaps. 

The silence is occasionally filled with other instruments. A whole note played by a violin. An old radio program talking about the ins and outs of weather patterns and the cosmos. Musical musings found in the most obscure of thoughts. As I listen I wonder do these things actually happen or is it my mind that is filling in the gapes in the silence once again? These questions much like the ones regarding how I came to own this record in the first place are ones that may never get answered.

Entry 1312 - Thantifaxath - Sacred White Noise

Style: experimental black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: a mess of riffs and sounds that sometimes create exceptional music. Other times it creates unlistenable noise 

Thoughts: I feel for the person on the cover. If I was exposed to this music for long periods of time I would have a very similar expression. Listening right now is becoming more and more of a conscious choice. I am choosing to subject myself to this. I am choosing to expose my ear drums to music that is intentionally difficult to listen to. Why? 

Just the first track would tell me enough of what’s going on in this album. One guitar is playing in my right ear, another playing in my left. They both have little regard for what the other is doing. In fact it seems like they are intentionally clashing with each other. Creating noises that make my brain hurt. It’s been like this for minutes now and I’m wondering what the point is. 

Then it happens. The guitars start playing together. The drums line up, and for a brief instant there is a moment of clarity. As quickly as it came it’s gone again. Like a fleeting thought in the wind, extinct. Was all that aloofness worth it? Was my constant wondering about the point of the music worth those few seconds of gratification? I don’t know, I truly don’t. But I do know that I’m going listen again to see if I can get some more clarity o this mess of an album. 

Entry 1311 - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Remains

Style: video game music, dark ambient, southern rock 

Primary Emotions/Themes: life that is taken from us prematurely is often praised too much. Sometimes we deserve to die before we’re meant to 

Thoughts: What would you do if you were driving in the Texas desert, low on gas, the heat peeling the skin off your face, and you came across a lonely house? Would you go in to get some rest from the shade? Would you risk leaving your car out in the heat? Would you venture the unknown that may be in that house? 

This is the question that the music on Remnants asks. What would you do in this desperate situation? A lonely southern guitar reaches out with its somber melody, beckoning the driver into the house. A frightening scream of a violin calls into question the wisdom of such a decision. You can’t think too long, you either need to keep going or stop the car you’re almost out of gas. What do you do… what indeed do you do…?

Entry 1310 - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Style: video game music, dark ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: don't look behind you. horrors exist that are greater than anything you have ever imagined. Do. not. look. behind.

Thoughts: Sometimes music isn’t about a particular melody or a specific moment in time that it moved you. Sometimes the music is more about the overall experience than it is individual moments. Soundtracks like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are a stark reminder of this fact. 

This isn’t as much of an album as it is a backdrop for a panic attack. Every song on here has no melody, nothing specific for my mind to grab on to. It’s all effects, percussion and eerie sounds that are stitched together to create maximum tension…. A tension that never lets up. 

Sometimes music is created with a vile intent. That is absolutely the case here. There is a sense of fear and unease that permeates every note of this soundtrack. One that does not take the mental well being of the listener into account. It’s sinister and once it puts its clutches in you it never will relinquish its grip. 

Entry 1309 - Tenhi - Vare

Style: acoustic folk/rock

Primary Emotions/Themes: a beautiful combination of folk instruments, acoustic guitars and some rock elements

Thoughts: The night is dark. I sit in a ruined building... perhaps this was once a church to a god long passed on. The moon beams through the broken rafters illuminating the visage before me in broken cascades. I contemplate the world around me as life continues to crumble like this forsaken building.

Vare is my favorite offering from Tenhi. It's dark folk, with a huge emphasis on the dark. The music has this sense of hopelessness that I haven't heard much in music. The soft almost spoken vocals accompany stringed instruments, flutes and a drum set all backed up by a piano. The music radiates much like the light from the broken rafters in an abandoned building... there is no hope, only the decay of life in front of us. No choices left but to face it head on.

Life isn't fair. It gives more to some people than to others. We can either accept this fact and be content with our lot in life, or we can fight it. Vare's music is accepting what we are and coming to terms with the misery that can bring. Life is not fair, and it never will be.

Entry 1308 - t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者 - 星​​​間​​​性​​​交

Style: slushwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: long weaving compositions that take you places without even realizing it

Thoughts: This may very well be the last Telepath album I ever get. Between this and the other five that I have I feel like I have a very complete view on their discography. Are there more records to be had out there? Sure. Do I need them? No, I don't think I do.

Telepath is one of the foremost producers in the slushwave genre. Slow (and slushy) ever evolving compositions that revolve around a simple concept, but in Telepath's case every time the song revisits the concept it's slightly different. Not so different that you can tell a huge change has occurred, but if you listen to the start of the sometimes 20+ minute songs vs the end it's very obvious that the whole thing has changed greatly. 

For the longest time slushwave... specifically Telepath was not my thing. I'm not sure what broke me through, but eventually something clicked and I was able to enjoy these long form songs for what they are. It's not something that I listen to actively most of the time, but it's just about the perfect background music for when I'm doing almost anything. 

Entry 1307 - Teitanblood - The Baneful Choir

Style: blackened death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Like a scared child that's been separated from it's parents the album brings out the deepest fears in mankind

Thoughts: The Baneful Choir... what a fitting title for an album. These eleven songs feel exactly as that: a choir that is the bane of humanity and is spewing their verses into the world.

For those that know Teitanblood, they know what to expect on this album: chaotic riffs, messy drumming, insane vocals, and a lot of feedback. This time though the band feels a bit less insane, a bit cleaner than on previous albums. I can't really put my finger on it, but the music is easier to follow than on Seven Chalices or Death.... and that's not really a good thing.

I listen to Teitanblood for inanity, to question my faculties, and to test the limits of my endurance. The Baneful Choir does not press any new boundries with me... it feels muted in comparison to the previous two albums. This is still a Teitanblood album though, so it has all of those previous albums woven into it's DNA... it just feels less potent than it should.

Entry 1306 - Teitanblood - Seven Chalices

Style: chaotic blackened death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: One of the downright nastiest, meanest, beat your face in and then curb stomp you albums I've ever heard

Thoughts: Listen to that distortion. It's fuzzy, the individual notes are completely indiscernible. It's nasty as fuck. 

Listen to that feedback. It pierces the ears, it cuts right through to the back of my head and gives me an instant headache. It's nasty as fuck.

Listen to those drums. They are playing so fast I can't make out the individual parts, they are more like a black mass of sound to back up the guitars. They are nasty as fuck.

Listen to those vocals. They bark and spew out their lyrics with no regard for if anyone can understand them or not. They are nasty as fuck.

Listen to those song structures. They are so chaotic and so full of notes that I can't tell what the hell is going on most of the time. It's nasty as fuck. 

Take all of that and mix it together for an hour, throw in some Gregorian chants and some quiet moments here and there and you got yourself a Seven Chalices. A nasty as fuck album.

Entry 1305 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Turtles in Time

Style: video game music

Primary Emotions/Themes: a great arcade game and a better Super Nintendo game

Thoughts: There are fewer games that I have a fonder memory of than this one. I remember playing this with my best friend at the time on very hard to get the real ending. We became so good at it that we could beat the game in about 20 minutes. 

When I first started getting into video game music on vinyl, I saw that this was available and I instantly picked it up. The music here is some of the best that was ever put out on the SNES. The up beat nature to every thing, the way that it's so damn catchy... these things get stuck in my head for forever. It's the perfect accompaniment to the game.

I'm not really qualified if this works well as an album outside of the game or not, I'm too tainted by nostalgia. For my money though, this is a trip down memory lane and an easy spot in the collection. 

Entry 1304 - Sylvaine - Eg Er Framand

Style: Viking chant, female vocal

Primary Emotions/Themes: a trip into the ethereal realm, with Katherine's voice leading the way

Thoughts: This is my first true exposure with Sylvaine. In the past the albums have not done much for me for various reasons... but primarily it's because the black metal feels shoehorned in "just because." It felt out of place. With Eg Er Framand Sylvaine drops all metal, all electric guitars, everything that could be considered heavy or harsh. It's stripped own to the very basics, only cello keyboards, a deep drum and her immaculate voice.

This is the kind of music that makes me take a deep breath and bask in the peace emanating from my speakers. It is the basic of basics... the most stripped down music can be, and it is absolutely stunning. The minimalism present is so much more powerful than anything else I've heard from this band before... let alone most other bands. Breathtakingly beautiful music.

Entry 1303 - Syberia - The World Before

Style: video game music, modern classical

Primary Emotions/Themes: A wonderful journey through a steampunk adventure

Thoughts: What a wonderful soundtrack. What an absolutely gorgeous soundtrack. 

Piano and stringed instruments have always been a favorite pairing of mine, and The World Before uses this as it's main medium for delivering melodies. That's not to say that the rest of the orchestra isn't involved as well, because they most certainly are... but the piano and specifically the cello are the primary instruments here.

The way these melodies dance around each other, the way that they bring to mind all the different seasons of the year, the way that they bring together the most wonderful leitmotifs... it's all magical. This is a truly wonderful soundtrack, one that I am glad that I happened upon. 

Entry 1302 - Swans - Leaving Meaning

Style: too many to count

Primary Emotions/Themes: a gentler, kinder Swans

Thoughts: The past three Swans albums are the very definition of challenging. I can't believe that these albums are as popular as they are. The fact that Swans has gotten mainstream recognition despite their incredibly inaccessible music is truly a wonder. I've resorted to posting lyrics from the album as I don't have the words to adequately express the way that these albums affect me. The last time I tried that I had to take a week off from writing (see Entries 596-599 for reference).

Leaving Meaning has the band taking a step back from the ultra inaccessibility of Swans, the Glowing Man and To Be Kind. In it's place we have a take on the newer Swans formula that utilizes cleaner singing, gentler instrumentation, and music that feels more genuine and intimate. It's not uncommon for the album to go for eight to ten minutes with only acoustic instruments and Michael singing in his crooning voice. Compared to what we've been subjected to lately, this is a welcome change. 

Post reunion Swans is an enigma to me. Every album they release will be on their own terms and no one else's. Every time people have tried to influence Mr. Gira's music they are met with a giant middle finger. The dude truly does whatever he wants with no regard for anyone else, and Swans... no music is better for it.