music reviews

these are the albums which i absolutely adored. there maybe albums which i might have already listened to in the past years, but didn't like, but overtime i started loving them. there are some new additions as well.

note : these review logs are after 2025, no previous listings. also, these aren't ranked, but in chronological order (though am not sure about how accurate the order maybe but i will try my best)

album	information	review
	Gintonic [Francoise Hardy, 1980] 4.2/5.0	date of writing this : 20.03.25 and it's around 1 A.M listened to this for the first time during the last months of the year 2024, a great album by french actor francoise hardy.
	ExMilitary [DeathGrips, 2011] 4.7/5.0	date of writing : 31.12.24 and it's around 11:55 PM would also like to include money store here. one of the most chaotic and well produced albums i've listened to this year, it's that kind of album which transcends the boundaries of music.
	To Be Kind [Swans, 2014] 5.0/5.0	date of writing this : 20.03.25 and it's around 1 A.M one of the greatest albums i've ever listened to. it will take me more than a hour or so, just to write why i freakin love this magnificent album.
	The Inner Mounting Flame [Mahavishnu Orchestra, 1971] 4.4/5.0	date of writing this : 20.03.25 and it's around 1 A.M mahavisnu orchestra was on my 'to listen' list but i couldn't do so for a few reasons..until recently. really love the guitarist john mclaughin aka mahavishnu, the opening track is one of the best album openers. this album has that absolute prog and jazz fusion soul.
	Post [Bjork, 1995] 4.7/5.0	date of writing this : 20.03.25 and it's around 1 A.M i absolutely loved the album debut by bjork, but in the past few months i have inclined more towards her next record post. absolutely love how unique and creative the soundscape is, pretty immersive and very weird, lol.
	Red [King Crimson, 1974] 4.8/5.0	date of writing this : 20.03.25 and it's around 1 A.M lately i've started appreciating this album even more than what i used to. has some of the best album openers. i love how weirdly chaotic one more red nightmare is. starless is one of the greatest tracks ever written and performed.
	Dummy [Portishead, 1994] 4.6/5.0	date of writing this : 20.03.25 and it's around 1 A.M an absolute magnificent album. one of those few albums which hooked me from it's first spin, i absolutely love how spooky, eerily scary this album's atmosphere is. this record's album cover absolutely gives me the kind of soundscape i wanna listen to. i mean not many albums do that, idk if i'm wrong, lol. this album reminds me of those childhood spooky foggy moonsoon nights reading/watching creepypasta blog/videos. it also reminds of those noir, dark and eerily spooky films, or games like taxi driver, max payne, silent hill 2, lost highway, mulholand drive, wyes wide shut, etc. portishead will definitely be among my most fav artists this year if they have same amount of artistry in their other albums. most probably my fav album rn, my fav tracks are mysterions, sour times, biscuit etc. it's an absolute peak record. and i'm not sure where i can find it's flaws.
	Return to the Dark Side of the Moon [Peter Banks, Geoff Downes, Rick Wakeman, Kaye and Sherwood; 2006] 4.5/5.0	date of writing this : 30.03.25 and it's exactly 3AM FCK!! i can't describe how freakin phenomenonal listening to this album felt like. i mean we've got some of the best prog legends performing some of the greatest album of all time. i freakin love the instrumentation here, at first glance(before spinning the album) i thought it would be just another tribute album which 'may' touch the surface but oh boy this specific record absolutely destroyed my casual assumption. i consider this better than the original version, yea, that's the amount of appreciation i have for this record, that too with it's only first spin. the line-up here is insane, almost feels like a dream, lol. adrian belew of king crimson, i absolutely adore this guy for his contribution in the record discipline, and his masculine yet fragile voice, brouhahah. toni lewin, the bassist for king crimson during time period 1981 to 2021, he did absolutely great in this record. john wetton, the bassist of king crimson during time period 1973 till 2014 or smth, he played on larks' tongues in aspic, red, the main guy behind the track starless, one of the most well known king crimson song. i absolutely love this phase of king crimson, that dark, instrumental, hard, proto-metal phase and it's wonderful to see the person who was involved in all this perform in this tribute record, and his contributions are absolutely wonderful! rest in peace wetton. then we have rick wakemen of the band yes, and i freakin love his key playing here, him playing with the keys in this record feels soooooo surreal, there's no comparison between rick wakemen or richard wright, both are freakin gods and they won't dissappint you! now we got another legend from the band yes, steve howe, the guitarist of the band. i absolutely love his guitar play in the album fragile and close to the edge, it's sooo raw! and there even legends like rob krieger, i mean one of the literal guy behind the band doors, the same guy who wrote and co-wrote so many doors track. i felt like he was the only one maintaining the dreamy psychedelic nature of floyd, but whatever, lol. i wrote abit too much lol, i mean there are soooo many legends in just one single record, how can somebody not get overwhelmed by the prog artistic soul here? this album is definitely gonna top in topster of my fav albums. well, i guess, i shouldn't write further or this would disrupt my sleepimg schedule.
	Selling England by the Pound [Genesis, 1973] 4.6/5.0	date of writing this : 27.04.25 and it's around 4 P.M woah- this is definitely some of the greatest albums i've heard this year. the soul here is crazy, it's some of the greatest i've heard. the last time i got this special estus flask was when i listened to mahavishnu orchestra's album inner mountain flame, it's better than that. yup, i'm saying this and am absolut about it. the initial few minutes of the album felt pretty boring to me, but it grabbed me in the second half, firmly. and the track firth of fifth, oh my gawd, the second half of it is like when that joint hits you and you start floating and.. i cant express it, lol. it'ss most probably some of the greatest prog tracks out there.
	Collusion [Dead World, 1992] 4.5/5.0	date of writing this : 10.05.25 and it's around 10:30 P.M a pretty great industrial metal album from 1993. the ones who've watched the traces of death trilogy know what i'm talking about. btw, i don't like that thing, but i won't deny the fact that it had some of the most coolest soundtrack listings. really loved tracks like neurosis quagmire, portae inferni, etc.
	The Machine [Dead World, 1993] 4.4/5.0	date of writing this : 10.05.25 and it's around 10:30 P.M about the album machine, its more polished than collusion, its great, tho collusion got me more like "YEA!!" really loved the self titled track and orgy of self mutilation.
	Blood Fire Death [Bathory, 1988] 4.1/5.0	date of writing this : 10.05.25 and it's around 10:30 P.M a pretty GREAT black/viking metal album, i think people like the acoustic + metal or whatever 'thingy' here, but i didn’t enjoy that much. i really emjoyed this album.
	Into The Grave [Grave, 1991] 4.2/5.0	date of writing this : 10.05.25 and it's around 10:30 P.M love how the album starts, i mean, it hooked me up from the beginning. One of the best death metal albums i’ve listened to till now, gotta keep exploring.
	Young Team [Mogwai, 1997] 4.6/5.0	date of writing this : 21.05.25 and it's around 11:20 P.M this album was on my "to listen" list for a long time, i just randomly spinned one of the tracks(katrien) and i absolutely adored its soothing atmosphere. definitely gave me that yk that godspeed you black emperor vibes.. "yes im long way from home" can definitely take that "some of the best album openers" spot for me. the track "like herod", i thought it would be pleasing like the other previous tracks.. only to get surprised at around the 3 minute mark. the track summer has a pretty great beginning, really loved that bass and the roughness at build ups. "with portfolio" is quite weird therefore i kinda like it, hahah. really loved the track "r u still in 2 it", such a relaxing banger. the ending track, "mogwai fear satan" is definitely the strongest track in the album, it flows pretty great, so great that i didn't feel like i've been listening to this piece for around 16 minutes.. it's just soooo great! i will most probly need multiple spins to fully absorb or grasp this album. but it's definitely some of the best records i've listen to this year. it's a solid debut album, imo.
	Filosofem [Burzum, 1996] 4.7/5.0	date of writing this : 30.05.25 and it's around 3 A.M metal music doesn't usually clicks inside me just from its first listen, but dunkelheit pulled my ass straight thru the beginning. dunkelheit is some of the best album openenrs, literally love that part when the synths drops. btw, i pretty much loved that 25 minutes track, the one which had a long ass german name, it was like listening to some sort ambient, eerie-ly haunting 90s-00s soundtrack and its.. idk how to express it, but its like roaming in a forest during the 1990s, where you can hear droplets of condensed water falling thru the leaves, and you're kind of lost in it. this album is strangely 'hypnotically' immersive. i don't usually like metal albums until and unless they have a story attached to it, maybe it was because i already knew the lore of mayhem and varg, so yea. but it feels abit 'off' to me, considering i’m listening to a project made by varg vikernes, a convicted murderer, racist, bigot, neo-n@zi.
	Strid [Strid, 1993-94] 4.6/5.0	date of writing this : 25.06.25 and it's around 10:00 P.M pretty dope album. i was absolutely amazed when the initial drums go like dhu-dhu-ku-dhu-dhu-dhu-dhuu, and then the riff drops. definitely some of my most favourite album openers. the atmosphere in the last track is just smth just SOOOO peak! i mean despite being such a small album, just 25 minutes long and it left a long lasting impression on me.
	Mezzanine [Massive Attack, 1998] 4.6/5.0	date of writing this : 26.06.25 and it's around 04:00 P.M after numerous spins, this is definitely in the list of my top 50 fav albums. it's on par with dummy by portishead, but imo, dummy was pretty much more grim gritty and eerie-ly haunting and scary album, but this album isn't any less either. the album opener is one of the best, if not the best.. the bass, the vocals and everything is just sooo peak! every single vocal artist who were involved in the this album did fabulous job! and you definitely can't undermine the creativity of instrumental artists who set up that atmosphere. i mean- it's crazy to put this kind of atmosphere, that too around or more than 30 years ago. also, loved track such as teardrops, dissolved girl, black milk, man next door and the album as a whole. its definitely one of the pioneers of the trip hop genre.
	Wanderings [I Shalt Become, 1998] 4.4/5.0	date of writing this : 30.06.25 and it's around 10:30 P.M absolutely loved its atmosphere, i mean it feels like i'm in middle of a cold ahh forest, during the morning time period, and my surrounding is JUST fog..
	Hvis lyset tar oss [Burzum, 1992] 4.3/5.0	date of writing this : 30.06.25 and it's around 10:30 P.M the album opener is fabulous! absolutely loved this album..
	Empress Rising [Monolord, 2014] 4.2/5.0	date of writing this : 30.06.25 and it's around 10:30 P.M pretty dope stoner album, reminded me of dopesmoker by sleep..
	As the Wolves Gather [Forgotten Woods, 1994] 4.4/5.0	date of writing this : 30.06.25 and it's around 10:30 P.M the opening track is great, the subsequent tracks are even better. the atmosphere of the album mirrors what the cover portrays.
	Motherfucker, I am Both: "Amen" and "Hallelujah"... [Shearling, 2025] 4.7/5.0	date of writing this : 30.08.25 and it's around 02:00 P.M shoutout to my aussie friend as he was the one who introduced me to this album. he said that it's like "if old swans and new swans had an incest baby and abused the shit out of it." and guess what? this was an absolut real ass statement. really loved this album, especially the start of it, it just starts sooo well..! right from the start, it's just disgustingly filthy. it's beautiful. but also, it's violent. i didn't expect much from this album considering it was released just a few months ago, and i've always been like "music back in the days was much better", for example.. still to this day, i prefer to listen to an original black metal track from the 90s rather than a new band which was made in 2010s or later. it's not only limited to black metal tho, i mean i've felt this way about alot of genres. anyways, back to the album, this album is anything but dead. in fact, it's one of the most alive, visceral experiences i've had with music in a while. the vocals feels like they're gonna strip the soul out of you just like how those darkwraiths steals the humanity out of you in dark souls. the album is kind of an abyss. really loved the fact that shearling isnt just trying to copy what's come before. they've taken all that old, visceral energy and twisted it into smth that feels UNIQUELY modern, even while it taps into the primal. i couldn't believe this album was literally created a few months back, i mean, my assumption that music is dead these days isn't really true.. you just have to dig a bit..!!
	Selected Ambient Works 85-92 [Aphex Twin, 1992] 4.5/5.0	date of writing this : 30.08.25 and it's around 02:00 P.M absolutely phenomenal album!! i'm still listening to this album while writing this and pretty much fell in love with this. i mean how freakin ambient, ethereal, eerie-ly haunting this album is just sooo cool. it really gave me the vibes of kraftwerk, maybe even better? who knows? regardless, it's crazy someone recorded this kind of stuff back in 85-92, i mean it's just soo ahead of its time. the textures of this album feels like floating in some sort of cyber dream or smth. EVERY track feels like a memory you never actually had, but somehow miss it.. what is it called? anemoia or smth.
	Darksol II [Dark Sol, 2019] 3.8/5.0	date of writing this : 01.09.25 and it's around 06:30 P.M great dungeon synth album, not THAT great to be on my favourite list, but whatever.
	Stellary Wisdom [Old Tower, 2018] 4.1/5.0	date of writing this : 01.09.25 and it's around 06:30 P.M this is an actual GREAT dungeon synth album, hahah.
	All Lights Fcked On The Hairy Amp Drooling [Godspeed You Black Emperor, 1994] 4.4/5.0	date of writing this : 20.09.25 and it's around 02:30 A.M this bootleg record was recorded back in 1994. it was regarded fully as a “holy grail of post-rock” and fans thought they’ll get to hear this masterpiece. segments of the tape were leaked online in 2013 and the full recording came in 2022. it’s 2am, and i’m still listening to this, it is VERY different from records such as lift you skinny fists, f sharp a sharp, or yanqui.. but it is a privilege to listen to the early sounds of godspeed you black emperor, we can hear the early influences of gybe, and they’re absolutely amazing. you definitely hear some elements of their signature sound such as those tape loops, droning ambiance, submerged vocals, and moments that flirt with post-punk, lo-fi folk, and even bedroom industrial. i would say it’s a pretty intriguing album to hear if you’re interested to understand their history or evolution..! it’s not perfect, but shows imperfection beginnings of smth revolutionary!
	The Eternal Melancholy of the Wampyre [Wampyric Rites, 2021] 4.2/5.0	date of writing this : 22.09.25 and it's around 02:30 A.M it’s a great black metal album, the atmosphere is pretty dope i would say. i love its raw, second wave, dungeon synth influences, and its wampyre themed yk soundscape. it’s one of those albums that doesn’t just sound like black metal, it FEELS like black metal.. cold, mysterious, and full of ritualistic energy. if you’re into raw, atmospheric black metal with a strong thematic backbone, this is definitely worth diving into. the starting track really hit that perfect balance between aggression and eerie-ly haunting beauty. overall, a solid entry into the genre that stands out because of its mood and creativity. glad i finally gave it a full spin.
	Группа крови [Kino, 1988] 4.0/5.0	date of writing this : 21.09.25 and it's around 06:30 P.M such a great album by the soviet rock band kino, i mean one of the tracks spokaya noch, it was used by socialist/communist editors on tiktok and i wasn’t aware of that. but yea, this album really stands out. it’s raw, emotional, and has that gritty, honest vibe that makes you feel like you’re stepping into a different era when gorbachev was the general secretary of the union of soviet socialist republics. viktor tsoi’s voice carries so much weight and soul.. i kinda love his deep raspy voice, lol. the production is simple but effective, and the melodies stick with you long after you’ve stopped listening. there’s a certain timelessness to it.. you can feel the cold winters, the restless youth, the underground spirit, all wrapped into these tracks. great album nonetheless, rest in peace viktor tsoi.
	Morning Light [Locust, 1997] 4.6/5.0	date of writing this : 27.09.25 and it's around 03:40 A.M i was kinda in a boredom since i hadn’t listened to smth like portishead, bjork or massive attack so i decided to give this album a spin. i’ve listened to certain tracks from this artist but i never gave this entire album a proper listen, but i did it now at around 3am. and man.. idk if it was the late hour or the absolute mental fog i was in, but this album felt like it cracked open a weird hallway in my brain i didnt know existed. like it’s kind of trippy yk? somewhere beneath all that chaos, there’s like.. this strange sense of purpose? like, the band knew exactly what they were doing even if it feels like your ears are being chewed up by static and broken machines. it reminded me of some weird fever dream(more like some salvia trip i never experienced) where you’re stuck in an abandoned mall, and everything’s glitching and there’s insects the size of dogs crawling in the distance, and your face starts melting.. the pacing is relentless.. some tracks barely give you 30 seconds to breathe before you’re launched into the next track. and somehow.. it works. idk how to explain it but it’s like audio anxiety, but in a way that makes you wanna replay it, lol. definitely not for everyone, and not smth you “vibe” to in a conventional/traditional sense. but if you’re into aggressive, experimental soundscapes that feel like you’re being dragged through an industrial nightmare.. this is it. the drums feel so psychotic. the synths feel like they’re your skin, which is melting. and the vocals are just raw, soothing, shrieking.. they kinda haunt you even after the album ends. it’s not beautiful in a traditional way, so it is definitely beautiful for meh, BWAHAH. reminds me of those moments in horror games when everything's silent except for your own breathing and you know smth’s behind the wall.. weirdly addictive, hahah. i’m glad i gave it a proper listen finally. gonna keep spinning it during those 2-4 am mental spiral hours.
	A World Through Dead Eyes [Krohm, 2005] 4.7/5.0	date of writing this : 04.10.25 and it's around 02:30 A.M such a phenomenal album dudee!! it's one of those few rare metal albums which had me hooked right from the first spin. the atmosphere is just SOOO cold, bleak, and depressive in a beautiful wayy. it's quite depressive, but in some sort of forced way.. it genuinely feels mournful, like you're walking thru the ruins of some forgotten world where everything is gray and the atmosphere is foggy, smth like silent hill maybe.. what really stands out is how immersive this album is.. everything feels like you're drowned in fog, or maybe sinking slowly into a void/abyss, and you're NOT fighting or resisting. next time, if i ever decided to consume some "stuff", i would definitely play this. the "stuff" will definitely transport me into some other realm and crank up that immersive atmospheric feeling. probably some kind of melancholic dream-like realm or smth. definitely some of my top favorite black metal albums. this album slowly seeps into your skin, one track after another gets you, and that's the kind of melancholy i would want, smth that lingers on my brain and not scream. glad i listened to this.