Trollslayer "Mirage" (2026)

Continuing upon an indulgent Desert Synth tangent, Trollslayer follows up the warmly received Pharaoh with this nightly counterpart. Possibly insinuated by its stark two tone cover, this luminescent starlit atmosphere conjures mellow visions of nocturnal escapades. The opening track's exotic pattering percussion and expressive flutes fondly reminiscent of Isles of Sea and Sky's wonderful soundtrack. Passing its fond warmth, Temple Of Set bestows cultural Middle-Eastern instruments into the mix.

Now the record gets moving through its arid shades of night. Each incarnation offers a sultry sense of adventure across expansive dunes. Skirting danger, dread and alarm, one is safe within its warm auditory wonder. These songs melodically drift from tuneful fruits of oasis springs, to tonal swells of dusky menace, never threatening, always enshrouded by a soft touch of desert mystique, the heart of this records charm.

A personal highlight, the pair of Crypt songs. Their collective temperaments both sharing a strong sense of human emotion, perhaps that of an individual exploring such sequestered places. Sphere Of power struck me as an attempt to end the record on a crescendo but its swell of instruments and clashing cymbal seemed a rather messy mix of sounds. Along this journey there are many flavours to pick your favorites from, all with this inspired Dungeon Synth grip on a western perspective of far away places.

Rating: 6/10

Raunchy "Prisoner" (2026)

 

A revelation hit me within a riveting first listen, this record is a labor of love. Returning twelve years on from a forgettable Vices.Virtues.Visions, these Dutch musicians reunite armed with ten stellar cuts of Raunchy at their best. The band's embrace of Trance and Dance elements swirled into a fusion of Groove Metal, Industrial Metal and Metalcore never caught on with the metal masses. One of many talented acts propped up by Nuclear Blast Records, they always strike me as overlooked.

My recent delves into musical creativity illuminated the composing behind these songs. The creation process between bandmates must have been a joyous process. Prisoner oozes with octane chemistry! Christensen and Semesky have distinct voices that routinely dazzle through inspired harmony. So often do they punctuate the mood and peak emotions. However, these moments are earned by momentum. Engaging paths are forged between intrepid drum grooves, flashes of electronic club music, subtle soundscape design elements and of course, romping metallic guitar riffs!

With cohesion a plenty, we traverse intensities, swaying from bursts of industrialized heavy, to gleams of melodic glisten, with many shades between explored. Its a delight, engaging from front to back with plenty of arrangements and hook to get caught on.

Highlights include a classic infusion of Club music on the opening Frostbite, their quintessential motif. Masquerade's delightfully catchy opening mid tempo "la la la" leads into a fiery cut. Revealing I groovy breakdown and tense melodic pivot a tempered theatric crescendo of sorts. I love how it melts into folkish acoustic guitars. The twelve year wait explains itself, a brew bottled up for too long, finally let loose.

Rating: 8/10

Mastodon "Marrow Deep" (2026)

 
Crashing in with the lurching Barbarians Blood, a familiar cast of Sludgy Progressive Metal broods a stormy foreboding. Its gradual encroachment resolves with strides of Punkish groove and Troy Sanders' forlorn cries. With a meaty storm of metallic might finding intrigue through avenues other than barbaric brutality, Marrow Deep marks a lengthy wait for these seasons veterans to return. On first listen this cast of tense gloom laden creativity felt deeply satisfying. Its colorful outbursts of Psychedelia and analogue Synth tangents a keen flash of color in a bleak pan. With repetitious listens, the dance between dreary turbulence and melancholic reprieve tires on the Metal riffing front. Perhaps with curation it could be cast as slack that weighs down.

At a meaty sixty five minutes, Marrow Deep is stuffed with magical relief nestled within its elegiac song craft. Harmonious and rapturous, one gets swept up by its subtle shifts to soft luminosity. The songs never gets carried away with their selves, feeling anchored within a musical context yet reaching into expressive strides between the more dominant sombre tone. This counteracting inspirational source feels mostly drawn from the past, adding a mature touch, a sort of nostalgia Rock akin to Ghost yet more from the 70s Prog Rock lane. The frequent arrival of effervescence guitar solos especially reflect allures to that golden era, yet with their own character firmly intact.

Ultimately, Marrow Deep is a wild vision realized by seasoned musicians. With such resonant craft, its magnetic atmospheres seem daunting in duration. It battles the ever hastening treadmill of life, one's own patience worn thin by its shadier lingering passages... Yet when sat down to ponder the experience, analyze and reflect, it's difficult to actually critique. These twelve songs are all unique characters exploring a grandiose that's subtle and buried within the average of its temperament. It's worth the commitment every single time, a great album experience to get caught up in. That being said, its two concluding cuts feel structurally ambitious for what they offer.

Rating 7/10

Taylor Swift "Folklore" (2020)

 
Unlike Swift's other records I've indulged in, Folklore swept me under its spell swiftly... excuse the unspectacular pun. From the very get-go, it establishes a cozy campfire warmth with gentle embrace. Swaying within its own mellow demeanour, soft minimal percussion lines drift in the undercurrent, housing a cast of homely instruments above.

Like a soothing blanket, soft emotive strings, shimmering acoustic guitars, lush pianos and subtle accompaniments croon on a collective textural ambience. With an inspired touch of Americana charm and Dream Pop spirit, these Folk inspired numbers find an easy musical beauty that fails to tire across its sixteen shades of tale telling lore.

Cast afront this gorgeous ensemble, Taylor indulges us as the cool casual. An effortless presence of expression that drifts from the spoken word, to softly sung, to ending in these striding swells of endearing emotion. Often layered and toying with reverberated ambiences, Folklore inspires itself from route writing to artistic painting.

Recorded and released amid the Covid pandemic, its themes seem entirely unrelated to the stresses many were under. Rather, Folklore feels like a set of fictional present memoirs, storeys reflecting on relational situations told from intriguing perspectives. Only on occasion do these tales seem like a device to explore ones own struggles.

Mostly, her lyrics shape up a deep sense of introspection channeled into creative fictions. This leads to a cast of striking one-liners. "When you are young they assume you know nothing", "I've seen this film before and I didn't like the ending", "You showed me colours you know I can't see with anyone else". Its rich with such gems.

As a whole, Folklore has a stunning depth of artistry and inspiration playing out on all fronts. Despite its nuanced disposition, the quiet cast of instruments stir up aromatic emotions full of warmth, littered with a touch of nostalgic melancholy. Somehow, they spin this calm temperament through an extensive range of soulful resonances.

Rating: 9/10