Kanye West "Ye" (2018)

Amidst a wave of controversy, some would suspect he is intentionally mustering, Kanye West releases his eighth "album", a twenty three minute project set to be the first of a string of records to come from the artist and his collaborators this year. Opening with statements, "the most beautiful thoughts are always beside the darkest" and "today I seriously thought about killing you" they will no doubt be spun as controversial by some but within the space of art these statements can bare whatever meaning you think they have, or want them too. One lyric, "Just say it out loud just to see how it feels", is rather revealing of Kanye's current state of mind given "four hundred years of slavery is a choice" idiocy.

The themes of introspection and reaction that courses through the lyrics have a dubious relation to one another. Kanye is no philosopher and many of his statements fall flat. On the other side when he is vocalizing his emotions, it comes of endearing with a weight of honesty, baring open the pains of strained relationships, his ego and status in the limelight. This duality is reflected in the beats, his use of vocals as instruments is ever present yet the songs fall into two phases, that of muted abrasion and aggression in its opening songs, the music then wains into soulful, soothing tunes reminiscent of his roots.

Kanye is known for pushing boundaries and building new sounds but in this instance its another misfire, not quite the same likes of Pablo though. His human side shines through the stormy clouds of controversy, allowing for a genuine musical connection in an among some developing ideas that feel unfinished but at least onto something. Great albums have a feeling bigger than the whole. Ye doesn't, it feels like a slice of time with clear correlations to life as a public figure. Very much a "here and now" record which has its moments for empathy and a slew of unscrutinized thoughts too, including the album covers, a rather hollow statement.

Favorite Tracks: Wouldn't Leave, No Mistakes, Ghost Town

Rating: 6/10

Ghost "Prequelle" (2018)

With Papa Emeritus III ejected from the throne, the younger Cardinal Copia steps into the limelight as Swedish band Ghost's new front man to guide one of modern Metals brightest bands into a new era. The albums fist pumping lead single Rats raised my expectations from a band already held in the highest regard, their sound firmly intact yet showing exciting new influences and a will to move forward. With the Cardinal showing off his flamboyant dance moves in the music video and driving home an infectious chorus, Rats was set to solidify its place among their finest tunes to date. Its been almost three years in the works since the sublime Meliora and somehow Prequelle has managed to soar to those heights again.

Ghost's aesthetic and approach to songwriting has been revered for its revivalism and re-imagining of principles mostly found in the seventies from the likes of Black Sabbath and many of the groups they have covered with b-sides. With Prequelle their stylistic pallet expands again, prominent echoes from the eighties decade in all Metal, Rock and Pop with tangents of Progressive Rock thrown in the mix too. It all has a notable influence on the song writing which has grown stronger again, brighter hooks and more exciting structures that let the music glow in its moment. With this charming step forward, Ghost continue to do what they had shown promise of since their debut, the ability to look beyond the scope of Metal itself and escape the restraints of a genre plagued by the recycling and rearranging of the same ideas

Unfortunately as an album it does have its blemishes, almost exclusively with its pacing and placement of two instrumental songs. After a fiery, explosive start, See The Light gives us a moment to catch breath, but then lulls us into an instrumental. Now don't get me wrong, both instrumentals are utterly fantastic, some of their finest compositions with the restraints of verse chorus structures lifted. The problem is they are directly competing with the Cardinal, who has set an ungodly apatite for his sublime singing and infectious hooks. "I am all eyes, I am all ears, I am the wall and I'm watching you fall", you can't help but sing along.

Aside from Dance Macabre the album shifts gears from its Pop numbers and catchy openers with a string of songs that have utterly brilliant and expansive themes that really stretch the sound far from its metallic roots. Its a real treat of brilliant compositions that gleam and soar in a wake of beautiful sound emerging from the facade of evil and darkness. From different musicians these songs could be about more serious topics but its trivial and playful dance with satanism makes the real themes find their way through the lyrics with your own relation to them. Its brilliant, and so we have probably the years best record and a modern classic that's perhaps guilty of pulling in so many directions its path is a little wonky as the opening mania transcends into a different tempo yet blissful state.

Favorite Songs: Rats, Faith, Miasma, Witch Image, Helvetesfonster, Life Eternal

Rating: 9/10

Wiley "Godfather II" (2018)

He is hailed as the godfather of Grime and last year English MC Wiley brought out the first of these two records. It served as a pivotal point for the artist who deep into his career has mustered a fiery record, loaded with the slickest, sharp and punchy Grime beats as he finds himself in an introspective moment, reflecting over his career and his status in the scene. Telling endearing tales about the work they put in to keep this music scene relevant and his trajectory within it, the resulting Godfather record had a special feel to it. As an outsider to the screen looking in you could feel that too.

This second chapter unfortunately falls short of expectations without the music itself suffering. There are three flaws that loom over a great set of instrumentals and rhymes. Firstly length, at thirty six minutes its a significantly shorter listen and leading into the second point, at the sixth track "Certified" the records theme seems to split off into themes of relationships and love leaving half the record feeling like another project altogether. The chiller beats, Dance, R&B influences and guest singers are wonderful, Wiley's introspection and honesty on the mic is a keen point too but it splits the already shorter record in half. The third point would be the Godfather half itself, its the same theme again and Wiley doesn't bring anything new to the table he didn't do on the first time around.

These flaws however are mostly about the records structure and concept. The beats and rhymes are as sharp and concise as before. Every instrumental owns its mood and Wiley comes to the mic like the seasoned vet he is, never missing the mark and engaging the listener with his keen lyricism. Its great music, the R&B vibes are especially well put together but does pull the music in a different direction from the hard hitting beats in opens up with.

Favorite Tracks: Remember Me, Still Standing, Fashion Week

Rating: 6/10

Örnatorpet "Blodbad Och Efterspel" (2018)

I found this record by chance, browsing through the Dungeon Synth tag on twitter, the bold gothic font leaped at me, screaming Burzum worship. The first track I played on bandcamp "Farden Till Dalarna" certainly reinforced that idea. The covers aesthetics, musical composition and ancient keyboard tones all sounded very akin to the genres origins from over a decade before it would flourish in the microcosms of the Internet. Unlike other projects, or perhaps my ignorance, Blodbad Och Efterspel is rooted firmly and inspired by historical events from Örnatorpet's native country. Set in 1520 the record is themed around the events transpiring a Danish king, Christian II, who took the Swedish throne by force.

The record gets of to a slow start, its opening track consisting of a lead piano, foggy choir synths and the occasional striking of war drums reveals a rather minimal and brittle construct. The instruments show their rigidity with sharp attacks and hasty releases that leave little room for ambiguity and subtlety to work magic, it is very direct. It does however set a tone for an aging medieval era, the gloom of harsh realities ruled by monarchs and conquerors looms as a grave burden.

As the album grows, more instruments wage in. Trumpets and horns impose an imperial persona counterpart to the mystical bells and organs which embellish ancient and nostalgic feelings of a mysterious unknowable past. These thicker key tones and denser compositions start to conjure the low-fidelity magic and allure in the Dungeon Synth charm. Some organic uses of reverb take the rigidity down a notch and as the album rolls through its songs it becomes rather entrancing and mystical as each track takes on its own form without feeling farm from the last. Some majestic, others hold the gleam of monarchs. It all ends up becoming a solid record, fit for a particular that shade of mystique and medieval alike atmosphere.

Favorite Tracks: Farden Till Dalama, Den Nye Hovitsmannen

Rating: 6/10

Dance With The Dead "Into The Abyss" (2014)

Californian duo Dance With The Dead are another popular group within the Retro Wave niche that I had encountered a couple years back. I was introduced to the music via the PC game NeuroVoider and its soundtrack composed by Dan Terminus. One of the first observations you may make about their sound is how similar to the Terminus style it is, as if its been cast from the same mold. I'm not trying to make point, I do not know enough about the micro genre to know who the key players and influences are, if nostalgia itself hasn't played a large roll in that. To be fair most of what Ive heard from Retro Wave sticks very firmly to the vibes, aesthetics and theme heard on Into The Abyss, the bands second album which clocks in at twenty four minutes.

With tight pumping EDM kicks, snappy snares making up grooving, thumping dance beats, a warm array of vibrant synthesizers accompanies as the duo repackage eighties Synthpop into a dark and lean nostalgia ride of horror culture and VGM influences that creates this stunning atmosphere fit for neon lit cities in the dark of night. Its ripe with melody and color, the constant roll of thudding dance drums and dexterous melodies chiming over thick unrolling baselines and layered chiming of sharp synths creates a thick, absorbing atmosphere that's hard to resist!

Within the mix are very finely tuned distortion guitars, set to meld into the scenery like another electronic instrument yet having a powerful influence. They help flesh out the monotony of the pitch perfect electronic music and add what feels like the "voice" of this otherwise instrumental affair. With them comes a throw back to eighties Metal vibes, songs like Odyssey and Battle livening up the music with slick guitar leads that sound like they may of been plucked from an Ozzy Osbourne record. They are sleek and tonal licks that guide the music on its path and occasionally swap up the roll with slick keyboard solos. The more rigid notes and pitch modulation gives it away but on the surface they sound almost the same.

Its a short and sweet record, a great introduction to a duo who seem to execute this style in just the right chemistry for my taste! With another four records and b-sides compilation in their back catalog it seems I have no excuse not to work my way through them! I Really enjoyed this one, fast to get to grips with and has a very nice atmosphere fit for particular moods.

Favorite Track: Suede

Rating: 6/10

Pestilence "Hadeon" (2018)

Dutch Death Metal outfit Pestilence are a group I'm not all to familiar with. Forming in the mid-eighties they were certainly around at the very start of the scene and I believe they made a name for themselves by diversifying into Technical Death Metal in the nineties, getting a little Progressive and incorporating synthesizers. The electronic sounds are the main takeaway I remember from listening to their early records eons ago. They disbanded in the mid-nineties and reformed in 2008, after another hiatus the group are back with Hadeon, the groups eight full length album.

Firstly you might describe the record as Technical Death Metal, however that term is firmly rooted in the genres origin, akin to bands like Atheist and a far stretch from the dexterity and audacity of modern groups like Beyond Creation. Even the records production aesthetics captures the old spirit, relatively muddy, rounded and its brutality cushioned, its far from being a crisp, clear, cutting edge tonal experience and I really enjoyed that. It fits the music well but most of all "singer" Mameli's guttural groans and aches are a frozen in time slice of how they were performed back in the day.

The record cruises by with an a relatively temperate aggression. Fast rattling blast beats, bursts of dizzying fretwork and bloated groans play up to a brutality that feels out paced by other bands and so it hangs in a curious place where its best lived passages of music flow from the lead guitar solo's and anything that breaks up the monotony of the old style. Astral Projection does this with a rather strange break into eerie, unsettling synths as a robotic voice talks in mechanical rhythm over the music. Its less than a minute but makes the albums most remarkable, odd and fun moment.

That it is the most remarkable moment highlights this records problem, there's not enough spice or flavor about it. It sticks very rigidly to principles decades old and in its defense it executes these ideas really well. Its bread and butter old school technical death! The album sounds great, the music is cohesive but offers precisely nothing unheard of before, with exception to its robotic visitor. The end result just isn't particularly enthralling to me given Ive heard this all before.

Favorite Tracks: Astral Projection, Discarnate Entity

Rating: 5/10

JPEGMAFIA "Veteran" (2018)

Mentioned in vein with Death Grips and free to download on bandcamp, it seemed foolish to pass up on this praised Experimental Hip Hop artist. Stylized as JPEGMAFIA, pseudonym of Baltimore rapper Barrington Hendricks has put together an oddball, esoteric project that's very much a niche of its own. I can't think of anything quite like it other than some abrasive parallels to Death Grips and given JPEG's first release was in 2015 its probably fair to say they have been a big influence, however its no imitation game, this project explores some interesting, unique to my ears, avenues of sound design.

The record plays like a mine field of aesthetic experiments, drifting and wandering through all manor of sporadic, schizophrenic sounds with bursts of rapid glitching, frequency manipulation and distortions that can be almost disorienting at times. With headphones plugged in the record livens up into a new dimension as many of these samples have ASMR sound waves that may cause strange sensations deepening on your reaction to this internet phenomenon built on condenser mics.

Much of the instrumentals feel disconnected, unfocused and free flowing. Which is like the record itself, everything breezes from one instance to the next. The drum beats seem to emerge and disappear on a whim between the stark bold samples that dominate the records texture. They sound sparse and spacious yet the quiet and meek sounds are mixed to bleed into the spaces and create a strange atmosphere where all sorts of noises, scratches, knocks, strikes, crashes etc represent a minimalism that becomes larger than itself... Its tough to put into words.

On the lyrical front things feel equally disconnected with unstructured, songs having bursts of bars all over the place as well as many instrumental passages. Its casual and mostly plugged into our internet dominated culture, referencing many cultural quirks and modern political state, referencing "libtards" the "alt-right" and fake news. Not much of it stood out to me beyond picking up on a few reoccurring themes.

There are moments where the interest is fruitful and others where the experiment becomes heavy and tiring. Jpeg straddles the territory between the catchy and obscure and more often than not the beats don't quite catch the instrumental and bang. It often sounds like that's the intent and Baby I'm Bleeding is a keen example where its blunt vocal sample pushes a micro repetition too far before the snare and bass kick groove. It mostly comes down to preference, I like many aspects of this project objectively but its not often that in clicked in the way you really feel the music.

Rating: 5/10

Between The Buried And Me "Automata I" (2018)

I was firmly disappointed in the bands previous release Coma Ecliptic and I'm marveled to learn its been three years since its release! It makes sense since I have a memory of walking a route at my old home and listening to that record, not resonating with it. My how time flies! Fortunately this time around Ive quite enjoyed this shorter record, clocking in at thirty five minutes it doesn't out stay its welcome however it does have a rather bitter sweet composition where the heavy doesn't always suit my mood.

Swaying between their expansive, Progressive inclinations and metallic roots in Math Metal, Metalcore and Djent, Automata I has moments of scenic harmonies, playful melodies and luscious chemistries between musicians that also, unfortunately, gravitate into the lull of overtly technically and aesthetically bludgeoning tangents of metallic assault. Being a Progressive Metal band it is hardly a surprise but rather disappointing how the heavy end of their sound feels grades below what they accomplish with harmonic breaks and ditching of distortion guitars, the same goes of singer Tommy Rodgers who has a powerful clean voice that gleams, his screams however I find cagey and narrow, to often do they creep in underneath his clean tracks in the transitional sections.

 Its made me question if my apatite for heavy music is fading but I think it has always been the Progressive side of their sound that has lured me in. With the second half of Yellow Eyes and Millions, the band drift into a wonderful passage of free flowing music with touches of Jazz Rock as they tone down some aggression and let drummer groove on his kit. The opening track Condemned To The Gallows manages the swaying of intensities much better but I think this band has so much more to offer when the distortion and screaming isn't present. I also learned today this is essentially one half of a double album so Ill be picking up the other half soon! I'm hoping for more acoustics.

 Favorite Track: Millions

 Rating: 6/10

Logic "Bobby Tarantino" (2016)

Maybe I'm suffering from a case of over saturation on my Logic binge but to my ears this record, or "mix tape", just doesn't come close to the standards Ive heard on Everybody & Bobby Tarantino II. Its a shorter release at thirty three minutes that has very little substance or subject matter that's interesting. Bobby Tarantino is a seriously self indulged festival of braggadocio where Logic pumps up and beats his chest, singing his own praises loud and proud, track after track without any other topics other than self assertion and affirmation citing stats and wealth.

The interlude track A Word From Our Sponsor suggests that perhaps much of this flexing is in a comedic vein as he talks about himself through the lens of a frustrated fan in a goofy phone call waiting line skit. When paired with the rapper reminding us of all his good deeds, how hes connected with his fan base and what a nice guy he is, it paints an unfavorable picture of his ego manifesting into a warped self perspective. Its only the only instance where you can relate it to comedy and doesn't appear to be archetypal of the records overall structure.

Behind his rhymes lies a set of reasonable, passable beats that could easily be elevated by some engaging lyricism as they do little to upset, simply providing tight snappy grooves with colorful instrumentation to craft a mood. The problem? there is so little to enjoy on the surface other than the technicality of Logics ability and him occasionally dropping a keen, sharp and witty rhymes. 44 Bars may have a narrative, food for thought but its one in a slew of unfiltered bragging. Disappointing record but I will continue on this logical journey!

Rating: 4/10

Erang "Endless Realms And Nostalgic Gods" (2018)

The saga continues, Erang emerges once again from the shadows bearing a new beast. This self titled acronym marks a longer break than usual between records with it being the first to arrive this year. At thirty one minutes its a short and sweet affair that musters a new cultural energy to redefine the sound, yet fit firmly into the identity built over the years. On Endless Realms the wondrous melodies and timely instruments that so often conjure the magic take a backseat to the power of atmosphere as the subtle and subversive dominate the moods that flow forth.

Wandering through domineering settings the records most defining music occurs as atmospheres brood and swell in the absence of obvious melodies. Textural sounds of wind and weather accompanies the slow groaning of horns and archaic voices lost in the distant whirl of wind. Rumbles of bass and sounds of metallic echos enforce a desolate environment as eerie synthesizers gleam in mystery. When in this mode the use of lightning strikes and environmental sound effects go a long way to paint a picture of the scene and setting.

Only in bursts does the record step truly into these atmospheric passageways, a lot of the record swings and sways between the charm of fantasy melody and thus gives it an exciting amount of variety that is held firmly together by recurring tribal vocals that sound very native American to my ears. Some of the vocal performances are very powerful, impressive and deeply humanistic. I'm assuming these have been collected from an archive rather than impersonated by Erang himself.

This mixing of styles and transitioning between approaches does have it shortfalls. The vivid and intense track The Drunken Marshal misses out on its own power as the opening atmospheric piece is shortly transitioned to a juxtaposing release of introspective, mysterious, astral electronic melodies. Both half's feel as if the magic they conjure is short lived, the ball gets rolling and in its peak the mood is cut off.

Voice Of The Wind and the opening song make great use of dirty, rumbling guitar tones and again muster energy from the textural, aesthetic experience which really comes to fruition on this project. Overall the albums path feels a bit mixed and not as precise and formulated a vision as Songs Of Scars is but this new avenue of dark atmosphere mustered by subtlety environmental sounds is invigorating! Ive always thoroughly enjoyed those types of dark ambience projects and it seems as if Erang can work this angle too.

Favorite Tracks: Another Town Another Tribe, The Drunken Marshal, Child Of The Thunder, Voice Of The Wind, Lost In An Endless Peyote Dream
Rating: 7/10

Janis Joplin "Pearl" (1971)

It was quite a few years ago that I first heard of Janis and her legendary performance at Woodstock 69. I got my hands on Pearl with a whole bunch of other records from a top 500 list and have had it on my phone since, waiting for shuffle to catch me off guard and precisely that happened the other day with Half Moon, a feel good, upbeat, jiving song on the first side of the record. Reading up on Pearl I am saddened to learn it was released posthumously a few months after her death in 1970 where she suffered a heroin overdose. Interestingly the album was recorded in the failed four channel quadraphonic format which would eventually become surround sound. It also held the top album slot for nine weeks and sold over four million copies.

Whats impressive about Pearl is its energy and dynamism, from both Janis's charisma and the wonderfully involved, vibrant instrumentation behind her. The record rocks and sways between heartfelt emotions and feel good, rocking vibes. A powerful fusion of Funk, Soul, R&B and Blues Rock jives on with a colorful intensity as the accompanying Fult Tilt Boogie Band illuminate these songs with fleshed out and inspired music making a rich setting for Janis however they too take the lime light with bursts of powerful organs and guitar licks between the ever present liveliness of the deceased Richard Bell's pianos. Its dense in its involvement, yet audibly crisp and inviting, each instrument having its space in the mix to shine as they jive in tandem.

All of the band give a riveting performance, you can simply just zone in on one instrument and be moved but the biggest mover is Janis out in front of them who has such a fascinating and emotional voice. With such sincere passion and expression in her singing, the half hit notes and croaky, scratchy strain she frequently visits become engulfed in the moment, sounding natural, charming and despite technically being "flawed" its transformed by her charisma. She even goes has far to push her voice in to a surging shriek on occasion, which is too just an unleashing of urgent expression. Its truly riveting and endearing, her young death truly a tragedy.

Its practically a flawless record, thirty four minutes of emotional engagement with exception to one track which I can't help but feel modern corporatism has spoiled as I'm sure Ive heard it in a commercial of the same name, Mercedes Benz. Its a short, lower fidelity accapella where Janis sounds a little rusty on her own, singing sarcastic prayers for consumerist products. Its really quite a nice piece but feels tainted by its snug fit with advertising culture where everything becomes a commodity, even the song, which only makes sense retrospectively.

My time with this record has taught me what I'm learning over and over again, that a musicians personal expression can transcend any preconceived musical preference if given a chance. The sixties is a fascinating chapter in the history of humanity and certainly the beginning of the cultural freedom we experience today. I'd never been keen on the music but I'm glad that's changing. Janis's voice feels free of its time but the instrumentals are firmly rooted in the era and Its great to hear familiar 60s aesthetics expressing something I can relate with, however writing that makes me realized its perhaps the ever changing self that is now coming around to this wonderful era of music and cultural significance.

Rating: Cry Baby, My Baby, Half Moon, Get It While You Can

Rating: 9.5/10

Post Malone "Beerbongs & Bentleys" (2018)

Debuting at number one and going platinum within a week it would seem the success is only growing for the young artist who is yet to win favor with a majority of critics. Beerbongs & Bentleys is Post Malone's Sophomore record clocking in at a bloated sixty four minutes that shows little signs of any measurable evolution from his sound on Stoney. Across these eighteen tracks we have a similar of sequence of Trap influenced Hip Hop beats mixed up in the wish wash of indulgent reverberations and instruments set to maximize the laid back vibes and chilled out tone of Post's music.

The record falls short in its lyrical substance, most tracks are dominated by superficial topics. The gloating and boasting of lifestyle and wealth props up a thin backbone of topics revolving around the glorification of intoxication, petty drama and partying that are so atypical of the youth and who could blame them for it? As an older soul there is little I can relate to other than a reactionary sigh at seeing reflections of a former, younger self. Post does at times find some deep lines in brief glimpses but its mostly buried in the slew of style and catchy slang over substance in lyrics that many of his guest features indulge in too.

Its all so trendy and such are the instrumentals too. The charisma of Post's singing voice, with auto tune or without is a constant pleasure and transformers the mood of these beats into chilled out, laid back places, calming and serine through the chaos of the stuttering hi-hat led beats. The quality varies track to track, Same Bitches with YG sticking out like a sore thumb, its beat clearly by a different producer working on those west coast vibes. A couple of songs like Rockstar with 21 Savage hit the right mark however Post's songwriting sounds rather muted across the record as the trendy beats and self-indulgent lyrics dominate the records tone and posture.

In one moment we get a pure beam of light, the main reason I have my ear on this artist. Stay is a glossy, gleaming song filled with sun soaked acoustic guitar playing, coming on like a daydream as Post's voice soars over blissfully with some beautiful singing and vocal inflections. No Trap beats, no trendy slang and this is where the substance is in this musician. I hope in the future he follows this path more as I believe its where he flourishes I would happily listen to a record of tracks like this for hours on end! Unfortunately Beerbongs & Bentleys is yet to head in that direction.

Favorite Tracks: Rockstar, Stay

Rating: 5/10

Lord Lovidicus "Saeculorum" (2018)

Upon seeing its sacred, biblical art album cover I was overcome with excitement, Lord Lovidicus has been one of the most interesting artists to follow over the years. Progressing from decrepit visions of mysterious, nostalgic Dungeon Synth, evolving the sound to lush and serine compositions of runic magic, his music has been painting vivid and uplifting visions of ancient cultures. That path is probably why I found myself instantaneously understanding what this record was about, its cover a perfect fit for the music behind the facade and an inspired step forward for the artist.

More than ever does Lord inch closer to the realms of whats unfortunately generalized into "video game music". To more accurately describe the style, its akin to scenic soundtracks of dragon-born kings and fairy-tale lands, the likes of Skyrim and the other Elder Scrolls games. I think Lord's vision here is more likely to be routed in the Roman era with the Latin title signifying the length of mortal life and its two songs, split into smaller tracks, Latin for gold and silver. Whatever its inspiration the music is majestic, yet cultured and very much romanticizes with a forgotten civilization.

With soft and simple stringed instruments, the cries of trumpets, horns and the occasional pounding of war drums, the opening track Aurum has an uplifting gleam of might about it as we travel on a timely adventure across lands. It climaxes with the wonderful Saturunus Dethroned, making its mark with an intriguing pallet of arcane choral synths that meld human voices with the gods, as if calling down from the heavens above. Argentum paints a similar cultural vision of splendid valor from the upper echelon of society, its glory and wealth soaring its way to the clouds above. That is just my interpretation, I picture scholars and politicians lavished in white robes, gazing on grapes, lounging in serine gardens as they indulge in conversation of primitive philosophy as adventures explore beautiful scenic lands off in the distance.

The aesthetic value of the music is carefully poised. It sounds fit for the rich and lavish production a studio budget could afford yet resides on basic midi tones dressed in soft reverb. Its just enough to capture the majesty the compositions behold. The music shines brightly through it with this pallet of instruments however it in some moments becomes crowded in layered crescendos and some lighter compositions like Rivers Of Nectar sound a little exposed when only two instruments are in play at once. Its nothing to complain about, the whole record is spell bounding with impressive song progressions and structures that show Lord is continuing to both evolve the sound and grow as a musician.

Favorite Tracks: Saturunus Dethroned, The Monad, The Divine Spark

Rating: 8/10

PRhyme "PRhyme 2" (2018)

I always suspected there would be a sequel to PRhyme, a collaborative effort between DJ Premier and Royce Da 5"9. Casting my mind back, it was only a few months into this blog that I covered there first album together over four years ago! Time flies and the absence has yielded a follow up record twice the length yet lacking much to talk about. The original never made a big impact but showed promise however four years later I can barely remember a hook, beat or rhyme from it.

The same will be true of this record too, its unfortunately a tiresome record that starts of with a bang. Black History has a quirky instrumental, a cut without a kick or snare! Its like a clock ticking down with a string section dancing around it and then the song erupts into a bright uplifting gleam as the drums drop in. With that and the intro song the duo set a stage, stating their return and then Royce painting a picture of his birth and leading on to brief us on some Hip Hop history, giving shouts out to Guru of Gang Starr and some others too.

Following it up with a self affirming braggadocio track the album swiftly falls into a routine of reasonable beats and reasonable rhymes thats all so reasonable it forgets to be inspired or challenging. A string of obvious and atypical rhymes boasting status and lifestyle drown out spurts of impressive rhyming and topical substance. Its in there somewhere but on a lengthy album clocking in at over an hour the record tends to drone on. Hearing old rappers moan about modern trends and how it used to be done becomes tiring even if your a fan of that era. Its an all to common trend from the old heads it seems. Not a bad record, just something I couldn't really get into.

Favorite Track: Black History

Rating: 3/10

Dimmu Borgir "Eonian" (2018)

Its been well over a decade since the Norwegian Symphonic Black Metal outfit Dimmu Borgir were in their prime, I would consider 2004's Death Cult Armageddon to be the groups last truly great record. Since then the bands activity has slowing, their records In Sorte Diaboli and Abrahadabra haven't lived up to the former glory. With a worrying eight year gap between albums I welcome anything from my favorite band but reserve any excitement as it would be foolish to expect them to rekindle the old flames. This newest adventure embarks us on a ritualistic journey through ancient astral lore as its tone and track listing would suggest.

This new chapter been a fair listen, an easy, enjoyable record that does little wrong but lacks the intensity and atmosphere to elevate its core ideas to epic proportion. Further exaggerating what they have done before, Eonian is finely tuned with its crisp and gleaming production, polished to a fault. It takes a real hammering of blast beats and guitar trashing to create anything remotely overwhelming. Instead the record often indulges in this sleek sound with eruptions of lush atmospheres that lean on its light, audible guitar licks, comforting symphonics and expansive drums that conjures a sense of scale with its lumbering pace packed with arranged fills.

Either its crutch or a crux the record continually embellishes many of its climatic and powerful passageways with these strong choirs, often effeminate voices soaring with a touch of devilish mischief and between them plenty of choral synths line much of the musics design. Often its fantastic, on a few instances a little soar but most of all its an obvious progression from a trend on Abrahadabra that leaves the guitars playing second fiddle to everything else. Its not something to take issue with, just an observation that they are toned down by these musicians who used to bring so much venom and exhilarating annihilation through their power chord shredding riffs.

Behind the aesthetics and nuances of composition we have some fantastic song writing that tends to stray towards cosmically majestic and uplifting moments as opposed to the hellish plunges into darkness they would so commonly do in the past. Essentially these are seasoned musicians evolving their sound in the opposite direction yet holding onto their "extreme" identity. It results in mixed feelings, an appreciation of the now more expansive music, yet an attachment to how these songs might of once played out decades ago in a more to the point manor. With lingering elements of their old identity holding on it sounds like they aren't quite through a transitional period, however Eonian clearly reaches the other side with quite a few strides on this decent record.

Favorite Tracks: I Am Sovereign, Archaic Correspondence, Rite Of Passage

Rating: 7/10