49 / 100 Legends is the album that feels monotonous and more like ceremonial background music than something emotionally or musically engaging. is might sound like I’m forcing an opinion, since I haven’t followed Sabaton from the beginning and have only tried around two albums: Primo Victoria and Attero Dominatus , if I remember correctly, though even that’s hazy. Out of sheer curiosity, I jumped straight into Legends , partly because so many people were already showing off their AOTY lists. Meanwhile me? Wandering around, crossing space and time. Can’t deny I felt a bit envious. Sabaton is undeniably one of the most successful bands when it comes to delivering historical themes, and it makes sense that they chose power metal from the start. Still, I feel that over time they’ve leaned more and more toward sounding like background music for an epic narration—and honestly, that gets boring for me. Why does it feel that way? Especially since I only k...

83 / 100 Absolute Clarity is the most emotionally resonant and mature release so far, benefiting greatly from atmosphere, nostalgia, and improved cohesion. Once again, there is an unexpected connection to Stratovarius when I revisited the third album by their Ukrainian-born son, Sunrise , through Absolute Clarity , where two of its songs had already appeared earlier on the Hope and Pray EP in 2011. Imagine this: the album was released in January 2016, while Destiny by the “father” band received another remastered edition at the end of the same year. What kind of coincidence is that?! Line-up changes happened once more within Sunrise , yet Naumenko remained as the vocalist, even contributing drums at times and inviting his wife, Daria, for backing vocals. New members include Eduard Sarkits (drums) and Marat Adiev (keyboards), while Ruslan Vakuliuk (bass) has been part of the band since 2010. Interestingly, Ruslan and Daria also play together ...

78 / 100 Comma is a warmer, more intimate Eri Sasaki album that trades modern polish for acoustic sincerity. After releasing the more modern-sounding Colon , Eri Sasaki finally returns with a simpler, acoustic-leaning pop approach—like sitting near a fireplace in winter 2024 —through her third album, Comma . Unlike the previous two albums that featured Eri Sasaki herself on the cover in her signature Polaroid style, Comma instead shows a dog staring into a blank pallid white background. Strangely enough, it feels emotional at a glance and truly represents the album’s content. The indie-styled acoustic guitar sound finds its place here, especially after getting used to “ Fuyubiyori ” and “ Haru no Tonari ” as ending themes for Yuru Camp , which were later supported by post-rock/ambient influences over the years. Because of this, Comma  sinks in more deeply than Colon . The most pop-oriented and contrasting track—and my weakest pick—is “...

66 / 100 2016 solidifies 7328 ’s identity as an experimental, lo-fi soundtrack project that leans into discomfort as part of its charm. 7328 continued working toward the end of 2016 with an EP titled 2016 , using the same recording equipment: an MP3 Sony Walkman NWZ B162F . 2016 by 7328 For me, 2016 feels like a continuation of the soundtrack style introduced in his most earlier release—something like a sleep aid that is slightly disturbing, or in other words, a nightmare-like ambience. It is pleasant and unpleasant at the same time, because the clipping noise becomes an essential part of 7328 ’s aesthetic. This reminds me of my own attempts at making piano music using the Walk Band app , and yes, the output was quite similar. Unfortunately, most of those tracks are now lost, and the remaining ones still feel like they need polishing—although it seems almost impossible for them to turn into something significantly better. The most prominent pian...

61 / 100 Para Bárbara is a flawed but compelling early experiment. Well, I thought 00 was 7328 ’s debut, but it turns out I misread the timeline. A month earlier in 2016, Para Bárbara had already been released, containing four tracks. Para Bárbara by 7328 “Track 01” feels directly connected to “Track 02,” both presenting a piano-based soundtrack style blended with reversed audio. I have to admit, it sounds good and pleasant, although the recording—done using an Mp3 Sony Walkman NWZ B162F —makes it noticeably noisy. Other sounds include field recordings of someone coughing—possibly 7328  himself—at the end of the second track and again at the intro of the fourth track. This is followed by a monologue in “Track 03,” which all seems to have been recorded live in the same session and is admittedly quite distracting. “Track 04,” on the other hand, leans more toward ambient synth rather than piano, evoking a nighttime rural setting suggested ...

59 / 100 A rough, low-fidelity experiment that leans more toward an eerie concept piece than a replayable release. An experimental/soundtrack project from Trelew, Argentina , called 7328 , began its journey in 2016 with an EP titled Para Bárbara then  00 followed by. It was produced using a Sony Walkman NWZ-B162F MP3 player , which explains why the resulting output isn’t particularly clean—there is noticeable clipping noise, whether intentional or not. 00 by 7328 00 consists of six relatively short tracks built from audio samples , piano, and some form of synth to add color. Tracks “2” and “4” function like interludes, relying mainly on audio samples that seem to be fragments of Latin film and anime , while “5” is a snippet of a city-pop –like piece slowed down and feels as if it leads directly into the final track. The material in “1”, “3”, and “6” feels stranger, like an unfamiliar, quiet nighttime atmosphere in a suburban area or small...

67 / 100 Colon marks a stylistic shift toward modern electronic pop, showing Eri Sasaki ’s willingness to experiment. Feeling satisfied enough with Period , I initially planned to move straight on to Colon , released in the summer of 2021—but my expectations turned out to be slightly off. That’s why I temporarily ran to another playlist out of reluctance. Only after listening to her third release, Comma , did I finally decide to come back and start this album properly. Alright. Here, Eri Sasaki presents a more modern pop approach, largely driven by electronic/electronica influences across most tracks. One of the most eccentric examples is “ British Robot ”, with its iconic lyric, “meow, meow, meow” —not unlike “ Shampoo ” from the previous album. However, the track that fits my ears best is “ Majstång ”, with its clear house-music groove. There’s also a particularly unique song that uses German—or at least a closely related language. When search...

77 / 100 Period is an album best remembered for the quiet space it occupies in memory: nostalgia, pauses, and fleeting sadness. Eri Sasaki is one of the few artists who managed to stay with me even as my interest in J-pop —especially anisong —gradually faded, thanks to two indie tracks that served as ending themes for Yuru Camp . Her album Period (2017) can even be considered the very first full-length J-pop album I ever tried, driven purely by curiosity and expectations toward this Fukuoka-born singer. Over time, I came to feel that Eri Sasaki is indeed better suited to gentle, relaxed songs, judging from her vocal character, which sounds more emotionally exposed than most others. Listening back now brings a bit of nostalgia, even though nothing truly lingers. Considering the album’s release year—2017—and how "Hazel Eyes" happened to play while I was watching a motivational video uploaded by a friend recently, I paused for a moment...

68 / 100 The Perfect Machine is Vision Divine shifting further into a progressive-leaning direction, but with drier energy and fewer emotional peaks. Vision Divine entered yet another new chapter within a year with a guitarist change for the release of their fourth album, The Perfect Machine . Even though it carries the word "perfect", the robotic angel displayed on the cover looks quite the opposite which is more like a broken machine that likely won’t operate the way it once did. Hm, that feels logical to me, because some of the energy projected here is not the type I enjoy. Most of the tracks feel mid-tempo with the synthetic, progressive-styled emotion coming from Oleg’s keyboards and Michele’s vocals, starting right from “ 1st Day of a Never-ending Days ”. So I think Vision Divine focused more on progressive metal/rock with a power metal foundation that feels rather dry. But is that automatically bad? Not really. There are sti...

81 / 100 A significant and neat development that marks a new future for Vision Divine . Vision Divine entered a new chapter with the arrival of Michele Luppi , Oleg Smirnoff , and Matteo Amoroso as replacements on vocals, keyboards, and drums, resulting in their third album, Stream of Consciousness (2004). When I searched the title on Google, what appeared instead was the progressive-metal deity I have yet to defeat: Dream Theater , rather than this band’s album. This became its own challenge, since it forced me to re-examine that 2003 instrumental track. Does it influence the composition of this Vision Divine album? Unfortunately … yes, at least on the surface. What I could identify were the rhythmic patterns at 00:40–02:02 and 07:33–08:30, which appear in the intro section of “ The Secret of Life .” That’s one example. I don’t want to inspect everything too deeply—doing so would be exhausting. Judging from what’s presented here, Vision Divine...

80 / 100 The Sacred Valley finally embraces atmosphere, space, and tranquility with confidence. The month changed to September at the time, specifically the 6th. Summer was still underway and D York returned again to take me to the sacred valley region of Urubamba, Peru —and, yes, this is the release I felt most satisfied with. The Sacred Valley by D York After being left somewhat displeased with the previous two albums, The Sacred Valley finally delivers the calming ambient atmosphere I had been hoping for, and it does so in just two tracks. Even though the landscape in Urubamba appears barren and dry when viewed from the “ Mirador de Tantanmarka ”, the cloud cover, horizon, sky, and the scene shown on the album cover keep it from feeling scorching. The sound of footsteps, birds, and nighttime crickets adds to the comfort of walking around the historical area of “ Monasterio de la Recoleta ”. Ah ... a pleasant summer visit, and it would be ...

65 / 100 Southport aims for a coastal ambience but instead drifts into an strange, alien-synthetic territory that doesn’t match its imagery. In April 2024, D York return with a new album titled Southport . Well, releasing material in short intervals is a common practice in the ambient scene. Is there any compositional development here, and does it suit my taste? Let’s take a look. Southport by D York D York seems to craft a more synthetic, outer-space-like atmosphere—something rather alien—instead of preserving the calm coastal ambience suggested by the title. The synth textures and the addition of a more subdued trip-hop/electronica-style drum beat do not make it pleasant for my ears. Even “ Riverside ” doesn’t only portray the movement of a river at night; it feels more like the motion of water on another planet or a dungeon deep underground. “ Longleaf ”, which lacks any beat, still can’t hold my attention for long due to its mysterious-s...

74 / 100 Posada De La Virgen  offering a rain-soaked ambient experience that’s easy to sink into even if it doesn’t fully transcend its own formula. After Bålsam , I moved on to another artist under the Neotantra label, D York . If Bålsam is still in Minnesota, then we have to head southeast to meet D York in North Carolina . This time I’m starting with a single-length release running for 53 minutes, titled Posada De La Virgen , which came out in March 2024 . Posada De La Virgen (Ode to Delfina) by D York Although it’s built on similar compositional ideas throughout, the album still manages to provide a comforting 25-minute stretch of ambient waves , soft piano-like synths , and field recordings of rain . It paints a clear picture of rainfall outside the window of “the Virgin’s inn” (Posada De La Virgen). Then a faint yet fairly brisk dance-leaning beat enters, shifting the mood into something more spirited and briefly keeping drowsiness ...

73 / 100 A well-crafted but somewhat familiar melodeath comeback album. I honestly didn’t expect Ablaze My Sorrow to be one of those veteran melodeath bands whose name would never have crossed my radar if I hadn’t been digging around on Bandcamp . Their monthly Spotify listeners don’t even reach 5k—far from the numbers of Arch Enemy , At The Gates , Dark Tranquillity , or In Flames , even though all five bands come from the same country. Black by Ablaze My Sorrow I’d like to compare them or figure out what exactly makes Ablaze My Sorrow feel underrated, but I’m not yet well-versed enough in melodeath to make a confident judgment. So instead, I’ll just dissect the album as best as I can, based on the three releases I picked up from Black Lion Records . The first one is the album Black , released in 2016—coincidentally the same year that marked big moments for In Flames with Battles and for Dark Tranquillity with Atoma . Back then, I only ...

79 / 100 Trust Your Soul is a lively but uneven second step—bursting with energetic highlights and a handful of surprisingly atmospheric moments, yet held back by production flaws and several weaker ballads. Returning once again to one of Stratovarius ’ musical offspring, we have Sunrise with their second album, Trust Your Soul , which chronologically follows their “father’s” Polaris in the same year, 2009, though no exact release date is listed. Additionally, two musicians who were listed as full members on the previous album— Alexander Nazarenko (bass) and Vladimir Ovcharov (guitar)—appear here only as guest performers. Perhaps due to issues with the platform or the quality of the files available, there’s noticeable cymbal compression on “Trust Your Soul,” “ You and Me ,” “ Dreamer Online ,” and the bonus track “Дух Всесвіту.” Even so, the tracks with the most potential overall are “You and Me” and “Дух Всесвіту.” Meanwhile, bursts of energy ...

71 / 100 Dream Landscapes sits in a quiet, introspective corner of Bålsam ’s catalog, where field recordings, airy ambience, and subtle drone meet slow-shifting emotional cues. I suppose there’s no harm in returning to Bålsam , even if the music can feel repetitive and monotonous at times. This time the focus is a 2017 release, Dream Landscapes , which took me a while to sketch out a review for. However, after looking into the meaning of páramo , mentioned by Bålsam in the Bandcamp description, I began to understand the imagery behind this album title. Dream Landscapes by Bålsam “Creatures” opens the album with a tapestry of sounds—mainly birds and children—flowing through what seems to be running water. I interpret this as a dreamlike depiction of freedom and childhood nostalgia. The following tracks include pieces built on pulsing layers such as “ The Ritual ” and “Transformation,” then shift into something resembling ambient dub on “ Turquoise ...

70 / 100 A richly varied long-form ambient journey with imaginative scenes and unexpected stylistic detours ... The second session with Autumn of Communion brings us to Volume One , a collaboration with other Lee's project,  World Circuit . This album was released in May 2021 through Neotantra as a single, continuous 59-minute track. Autumn of Communion & World Circuit Volume One by Autumn Of Communion Unlike Folk Etymology , which moves in a relatively linear fashion across its three pieces, “High, Just as High and Third” presents several shifting variations influenced by electronic music . There’s a hand-drum–like beat from the second minute up to the ninth, which then transitions into a more synthetic pulse around minute ten, accompanied by an electric-bass tone that carries on until minute nineteen. Afterward, the track circles back to its earlier motif before morphing again—this time into something reminiscent of classic dungeon...