Jan 2025 Music Journal

    hiii ^^ before i start, an addendum to a previous review:

    Angra - Temple of Shadows

    after a few more listens my initial review was waayyy more lukewarm than it should be. THIS RULES. It goes from ripping heavy metal to enchanting ballads and big symphonic numbers. It will take you on a journey and you will come out of it looking over the sunset covered in blood. It's come to the point where i listen to other metal albums and i'm like dammn i could be listening to Temple of Shadows instead...

    This list is in the order i listened to! albums marked with a "✰" are my favorite for this month :)

    ✰ Janet Jackson - The Velvet Rope

    1997 / Neo-soul

    I've been getting upset about concept albums that fail to tell their story but that is 100% not a problem with The Velvet Rope. It ties everything up in a neat circle by the end AND it sounds amazing the entire time. It's the perfect mix of pop and experimental. She really changed the game. ITS INNOVATION.

    Top tracks: The Velvet Rope, Rope Burn, Special

    ✰ 核P-Model (Kaku P-Model) -
    回=回

    2008 / Electro-Industrial

    Kaku P-Model is the solo project of Susumu Hirasawa who's known for doing the soundtrack for many Satoshi Kon movies like Perfect Blue and Papika. I'm ashamed to admit I haven't gotten around to watching to those... but his prestige is made clear through this album. I always admire albums that have a strong theme but have a breadth of variety. He crafts such a immersive and otherworldly tone that captivated me the entire time.

    Top Tracks: 亜呼吸ユリア, Human-Le

    ✰ Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice - Jesus Christ Superstar

    1970 / Rock Opera / Musical

    As a fan of the 1973 movie it's a crime I haven't checked out the original concept album. I've always thought no one could beat Carl Anderson as Judas so it was hard to give another version a shot, but I thoroughly enjoyed this! It's funny how it can go from goofy 70's hippie rock to profound horrific anguish. also I love idealogical drift yaoi.

    Top Tracks: Heaven on their Minds, Gethsemane

    平沢進 (Susumu Hirasawa) -
    救済の技法

    1998 / Progressive Pop

    After listening to 回=回 I wanted to check out more of his works. This is his highest rated album on RYM, but I think I got cursed by 回=回 becase I thought this was just fine. If i didn't hear 回=回 first it would've blown my dick straight off probably but overall i think 回=回 is stronger. oops!

    Nia Archives - Silence is Loud

    2024 / Liquid Drum and Bass / Comtemporary R&B

    I'm always interested in seeing how these kinds of EDM subgenres get adapted into pop, but I have mixed feelings about this album. Sometimes it can be really effective but other times the D&B elements feel like only a backdrop. There's not much done to marry it to the vocals so it can sound a little disjointed at times. Overall it's a decent album with a few standout tracks.

    Top Tracks: Silence is Loud, Unfinished Business

    ✰ Pink Opaque - エキゾチカ (Exotica)

    2002 / Neoclassical New Age

    It didn't wow me at first but I kept coming back to listen and it became one of my favorites for this month. It reminds me of Susumu Hirasawa's works which mix a traditional sound with electronic elements, but this album has a special flavor to it. It's almost got a video game-y vibe to it. I can definitely see this being the OST to some forgotton and obscure 90's jrpg that will change your life. I'm more partial to these vocals too. They really go out screaming by the end.

    Listen here: youtube.com (incomplete)

    Top Tracks: exotica, Embrace discard

    Opera Magna - Del amor y otros demonios

    2019 / Neoclassical Metal

    bro... neoclassical metal rules. THESE ARE THE GUITAR RIFFS I'VE BEEN DREAMING OF! its big and extragavent, the vocals are amazing. it bring a tear in my eye. This is my initial reaction to the first 5 songs. this album is a combination of a series of EPs which make the total length about 80 minutes long. The rest of the album doesn't have as strong as an indentity as the beginning, so it gets kinda fatiguing. I definitely reccommend listening to part 1! it is PEAK neoclassical metal.

    Top Tracks: Por un corazón de piedra, Después de ti, Oscuro amanecer

    EllDorado - Flying Dragon

    2003 / Alternative Rock

    pretty solid album for what it seeks to be. enjoyable while listening but didn't really stick with me afterwards. I can tell they're skilled musicians but I fail to hear what sets them apart from others in this scene. Still worth a listen, maybe it will suit your tastes better than mine !

    ✰ V.O.S - Come N 2 My World

    1997 / Memphis Rap

    I saw this in my RYM reccommendations in a sea of power metal albums so I had to try it out. I'm so glad I did, because dont you love listening to an album and getting an inkling the artists really know what the fuck they're doing? This is the kind of lo-fi production people today are trying to recreate and probably will never match. There's an impossible effortlessness about the album that takes you along with it.

    Listen here: archive.org

    Top Tracks: Keep Ya Head Up, Come N 2 My World

    Art of Noise - The Seduction of Claude Debussy

    1999 / Breakbeat / Poetry

    eh it's alright. it just did not stick with me. It kinda felt like it was trying to hard to make me feel something. Like it's dragging me along instead of trusting i'll follow.

    Thank you for checking out my journal for this month! i'd love to hear your thoughts if you listened to any of these albums too, or if you have any reccommendations ^^! you can leave a comment on my guestbook or my straw.page linked below! Thanks!