Stanwill – “Stan Always Will” review

Detroit, Michigan rapper Stanwill starting the new month with his 4th studio LP. Coming up as 1/3 of the ShittyBoyz with Babytron & TR Dee signing to Lando Bando’s own The Hip Hop Lab Records, he eventually branched out on his own during the COVID-19 pandemic off the debut EP $camwill as well as it’s successor Gifted & the debut mixtape Van Gundy. He also went Full Auto for his 3rd EP & 4ever $hittin’ after Still $hittin’ celebrated it’s 1-year anniversary last weekend trying out new sounds, he’s clarifying that Stan Always Will.

“No Lol” comes out the gate referencing current AEW performer & commentator as well as former 7-time WWE world champion, 11-time WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & 3-time WWE Hardcore Champion Paul Wight whereas “Power” talks about not being as sweet as some think he is. “Spring Fling” keeps it in the Detroit trap style instrumentally describing a girl he met named Summer while “4th Dimension” produced by Danny G treats beef like a shish kebab.

As for “Rocky Road”, we have Stan talking about taking the dirt path & coming out icier than he ever was leading into “Lime Light” featuring Nasaan uniting both of them so they can trade verses with each other talking about hittin’ muhfuckas with the fire soon as they catch ‘em. “50 Shots” throws in a cool bar referring to the Amazon-owned Fire TV Sticks turning any television set into a smart TV just before “Kung Pao” discusses having to do no talking & let the guns fire off.

“Kelly Olynyk” has a grittier Detroit trap flare to the beat comparing himself to the New Orleans Pelicans player of the same name prior to TR Dee joining Stan on “Pushing Daisies” to talk about the paper giving them butterflies soon as they see it cruising in a 45 except they feel like they pushin’ 80. “Run & Gun” boasts that his stash is 3x the size of whatever yours is providing the soundtrack for those who be spinning the block while “Rock Lee” featuring T Bone drops people similarly to the Naruto character.

The classy sample during “Bora Bora” was pleasant to the ears telling his girl that it’s normal for his competition to be punching under their weight in a battle with him while “Villain Arc” talks about people getting him in a time where he bounces back from a tragic event in his life. “Voila” likens the way he lives now to BMF co-founder Big Meech keeping only the pros in his mind these days while “Recipe” featuring Babyfxce E claps back at people claiming that have the sauce taking it up a notch.

“Cuban Links” continues the 2nd half of Stan Always Will airing people out quicker than the greatest basketball player of all-time Michael Jordan while “GG” humorously suggests that he injures bitches the way he be smashin’ ‘em. “Mucinex” shows a bit of a Mobb influence calling anyone stupid to get in an altercation with the Dog $hit Militia while “Ding Dong” by the Dookie Brothers references former ECW World Heavyweight Champion, ECW World Television Champion, IWGPタッグチャンピオン, WCW Hardcore Champion & 2-time WCW World Tag Team Champion Bam Bam Bigelow.

The song “Powerball” reaches the album’s final moments feeling like the Warner Bros. subsidiary DC Entertainment-owned Superman ahead of the DC Universe media franchise & shared universe beginning in a couple months while “2 Easy” talks about jackin’ people in the face wearing the honorary WWE Hardcore Champion Travis Scott’s line of shoes. “By Any Means” finishes us off by hoping he runs into his enemies & cutting off people who ain’t did shit for him.

53 weeks since the most versatile body of work in Stan’s solo discography & he takes it back to a prominent Detroit trap style for this one spitting rapid fire verses on nearly every song in addition to him bringing on a more consistent guest list that delivers less misses than hits steadily keeping up with his pen. Whether he’s by himself or accompanied by either one or both of his ShittyBoyz cohorts, Stan Always Will deliver & come correct in terms of leveling up in terms of making the most exciting music in his style.

Score: 4/5

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Boldy James – “Conversational Pieces” review

Detroit veteran Boldy James continuing his monthly streak by having Real Bad Man produce his 15th studio LP. Breaking out in the fall of 2013 off his Alchemist produced debut M.1.C.S. (My 1st Chemistry Set), he would later go on to land a contract with Nas’ independent label Mass Appeal Records for a little while before getting locked up. Once coming home, Uncle Al would help get his name back out there once getting out by dropping the Boldface EP around Christmas 2019 & then the sophomore album The Price of Tea in China. This was followed up with the Sterling Toles-produced Manger on McNichols which was as equally fantastic, but the Griselda Records-backed Versace Tape EP was a tad bit disappointing given how rushed it was. Bo Jackson though would become his most critically acclaimed work to date & Super Tecmo Bo was almost as great for an EP. Fair Exchange No Robbery produced by Nicholas Craven, Penalty of Leadership, Mr. 10-08 produced by Futurewave, the Conductor Williams-produced Across the Tracks the Harry Fraud-produced The Bricktionary & the Carlo Anthony-produced Hidden in Plain Sight were all welcomed to warm reception additionally. Token of Appreciation produced by Chuck Strangers was much better than both Murder During Drug Traffic & Permanent Ink, the Antt Beatz produced Hommage left people divided although I didn’t mind it & is coming of the V Don-produced Alphabet Highway for a Killing Nothing sequel.

“Class Clown” was a great drumless intro talking about putting a dunce cap on a sucka he had to lay out whereas “Tap the Breaks Twice” adds some drums into the equation so he can watching out for tiger sharks & great whites on the track during the late night. “ITT Tech” dabbles with trap working in some pianos & strings clarifying it’s all about the cheese for him while the quasi-jazzy “Fear of God” featuring Conway the Machine clarifies that all they do is trap.

dreamcastmoe’s hook on “Come Back Around” gives the song a soulful boom bap vibe talking about how people sometimes only get back up to eventually fall back down just before “Cutthroats” maintains a dusty flare getting in his hardcore bag lyrically. “Aspen” talks about there being more than 1 way to skin a cat & pull a hat trick keeping the boom bap flare in tact, but then “Triple Platinum” slows down a prominent vocal sample going ghetto gold in his city.

“Bag It Up” of course reflects on his time in the streets moving weight while “Burn in Hell” talks about needing to make it to heaven after all the Hell he’s been through. “It Factor” featuring El-P finds the 2 showing off their A1 abilities on the microphone over more sampling while “Say Less” takes it back to the basement instrumentally advising that’s all you really have to do around him & the title track finishes up Conversational Pieces dropping off much more personal topics.

The prominent gangsta rap themes that were prevalent during Killing Nothing & even Real Bad Boldy during the COVID-19 lockdowns at the mere end of 2020 make their way on the follow-up, except the boom bap elements in the production are being used to a lesser extent focusing more on drumless & jazz rap for secondary influences.

Score: 4/5

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Kanye West – “DONDA 2” review

Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, fashion designer, former G.O.O.D. Music founder & YZY SND’s sole proprietor Ye or formerly known as Kanye West finishing his 11th studio LP. Someone who I personally have considered a top 10 producer of all-time up until this point with 3 perfect 10s in his discography: The College Dropout, Late Registration & My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. However since late 2022, he has been on a mission to destroy his legacy by identifying as a Nazi on Alex Jones’ fake news platform InfoWars. He’s been taking it up a few notches for the past couple months on Twitter owned by Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & fellow Nazi Elon Musk making comments that’re antisemitic, ableist, homophobic & misogynistic or dissing numerous celebrities including showing envy towards Kendrick Lamar since he’s on the throne of the rap game. Coming off his vile interview with child groomer DJ Akademiks earlier this month, Ye has randomly decided to finish Donda 2.

“True Love” was an average pop rap, alternative R&B, emo rap & boom bap intro produced with Mike Dean talking about how genuine romance shouldn’t be complicated with a surprisingly great hook from the late XXXTENTACION whereas “Broken Road” pondering what it means to find your soul on top of a doleful beat that original G.O.O.D. Music in-house producer Brian “AllDay” Miller had a hand with Ye in making & Don Toliver’s hook on here is so catchy. “Get Lost” goes a cappella looking back on all the good & bad memories of his life so far with an excessive amount of auto-tune slathering his vocals leading into “Flowers” throwing it back to the Graduation days in terms of sound courtesy of Digital Nas encouraging to send him $100k rather than the titular object.

As for “Too Easy”, we have Ye embracing a bit of a glitchier quality to the production thanks to Dem Jointz & Beach House discussing his trials & tribulations just before “Pablo” featuring Future follows it up with a trap cut that ATL Jacob, FNZ & $crim of the $uicideboy$ helped laced except Ye uses AI or what I like to call YeI for his verse. “Mr. Miyagi” featuring Future & Playboi Carti takes the drill route instrumentally likening themselves to the wise sensei from the Karate Kid films using more YeI until Future sticks around for “Happy” & it’s WAY better than “Pablo” other than the YeI from the peppier flare Wheezy delivers behind the boards to the subject matter asking the world if they look like they’re doing fine to them.

“Security” asserts that nothing can get in the way of him being with his family & Digital Nas’ production here almost reminds me of Yeezus in a way except Ak’s intro at the start was a sickening move while “Sci-Fi” works in some string sections as Sean Leon joins Ye in addressing his divorce from Kim Kardashian or The Hobbit now romantically involved with a Tesla robot. “Louie Bags” starts off great with its hypnotic beat & talking about boycotting LV after Virgil Abloh’s passing except Jack Harlow’s verse & the YeI ruin it. Can’t forget to mention the fact that Ye tweeted “Fuck Virgil” this February when his meltdowns began to worsen & has a song coming out at some point in the year called “Virgil Let Me Down” telling Ak it’s all because he’s evil.

Baby Keem appears with Quavo & Offset on “We Did It Kid” with Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group supplying additional production addressing the hardships they endured to achieve their current success & the product of their constant grind while the industrially drumless “Maintenance” talks about those who’s preservation or upkeep is constantly high. “Lord Lift Me Up” is a decent Vory solo cut BoogzDaBeast helped Ye cook up asking for God to lift up his spirits & “First Time in a Long Time” featuring Soulja Boy ends with them talking about Ye’s faith in God & his feelings stemming from his divorce from Kim using YeI as well as Big Draco’s humble beginnings & everything he’s done to achieve success. “Jesse” starts the deluxe run with a bubbly trap beat butchering it with YeI vocals while “Suzy” reminds me of Graduation minus the YeI. The final bonus track “City of Chi” gets plagued with YeI again talking about being closed for business.

Hearing the original version of this that came out 3 years ago, I’m happy & furthermore shocked than anything regarding Donda 2 finally getting to see the light of day except I don’t think those who won’t find themselves forgiving Ye for initially abandoning it won’t find themselves satisfied with it & I’ll argue the final product isn’t even that much better than the original was. The pop rap, trap, contemporary R&B, alternative R&B & gospel sound hasn’t really changed all that much except that the mixing is considerably worse since Mike Dean literally hasn’t had anything to do with Ye in 2 & a half years by now.

Score: 2/5

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Death Row Records – “Altar Call” review

Death Row Records is the infamous west coast hip hop record label based in Beverly Hills, California founded by Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, The D.O.C., Dick Griffey & Harry-O. A dominant force in the sunshine state during the early & mid 90s, the label began to decline due to Dre departing for starting up Aftermath Entertainment in addition to Master P fresh off his AEW Dynamite appearance during The Opps’ celebration as the new AEW World Trios Champions this past week signing WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg to No Limit Records & of course 2Pac’s murder currently investigating to see if disgraced Bad Boy Entertainment founder Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy or Diddy was involved in ahead of his upcoming sex trafficking trial. Snoop would buy Tha Row from MNRK Music Group the week of his Super Bowl LVI halftime show performance & has cleaned the label up by reviving it from the gamma. distribution deal to signing O.G.s like Tha Dogg Pound & Danny Boy or newcomers such as Merkules & D Smoke. Commemorating what would’ve been Snoop’s mother Beverly Tate’s 74th birthday, Death Row is releasing their 10th compilation album as a sequel to the RCA Records-backed Bible of Love.

“Mother I Miss You” by John P. Kee is this self-produced gospel intro dedicated to Snoop’s late mother whereas “No Backsliding” by Michael Bereal continues the Sunday Service thanks to his brother Charlie behind the boards singing about being too blessed to be stressed. “You Can Win” by Flintstone & Lisa Santa Cruz brings the duo together over a DJ Green Lantern instrumental promising victory if you keep your hands to the sky while “Redeemed” by Jane Handcock & Kanobby finds them achieving redemption over a Soopafly beat.

Curt Chambers makes his plea to God over some churchy choir vocals & organs for “Ready, Willing, Able” declaring his willingness to depend on the higher power just before “Been to Good to Me” by Flintstone sings about how great the Lord has been to them over a slow Mike & Keys instrumental. “Won’t He Do It” by Jazze Pha blends gospel & trap talking about putting God above everything always leading into “Grandma’s Hands” by Jamie Foxx acoustically remembers his grandmother.

“Help Me Jesus” introduces The Death Row Choir calling for the Son of Christ himself to help them during the hard times they’re going through while “Just Believe” by Jane Handcock mixes some organs & synthesizers singing about one having a lot on their mind with difficulty trying to find happiness. “Grace & Mercy” by Charlie Bereal gives off the Curtis Mayfield flare he’s known for asking for those 2 things respectively, but then “Like I Know God” by October London sings over pianos about not knowing God the way he does.

Uncle Snoop himself joins Charlie & Reo Varnardo whose daughter is the current AEW tbs Champion, 新日本プロレス STRONG女子チャンピオン & RPW British Women’s Champion Mercedes Moné on the gospel rap hybrid “Brand New” feeling reborn while “Call His Name” by Camille Grisby encourages to call for God & Jesus’ names whenever you’re lonely. “A Still Mind” by mR. pOrTeR formerly of D12 with Robert Glasper on piano confidently declares he’s got his feet set on the ground while “Never Failed Me Yet” by Mali Music sings about God never failing them.

“Yes” by Laura Wilson Johnson passionately gives in to the ways & will of the higher power while “Good Day” by Lil ½ Dead has a funkier soul approach keeping their peace of mind when it’s all said & done. “Done” by Charlie Bereal & Mali Music acoustically admits they don’t know what to do without God while “He is God” by Michael Bereal sings about healing when wounded. “Make Time” by Flintstone ends by smoothly asking if time can be made for.

My expectations for Altar Call were pretty low since Bible of Love wasn’t that good at all in my respectful opinion & the sequel surprisingly reflects on Beverly teaching Snoop to use his voice & his platform to spread love & heal the world similarly to his 2013 pop reggae album Reincarnated produced by Major Lazer back when I was a sophomore in high school. Some interesting names pop up during the production credits & the list of performers are stronger than they were 7 years ago.

Score: 3.5/5

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Double Dragon – “Big Trouble with Double Dragon” review

This is the sophomore effort from underground superduo Double Dragon. Consisting of Louisville, Kentucky emcee & Mobstyle Music founder Bukshot as well as San Jose, California goth hop pioneer Kung Fu Vampire respectively, these guys made their eponymous debut as a unit in the beginning of 2021 taking their chemistry to new heights after making a name for themselves individually for the past few decades & collaborating with one another on several instances. 3 years later, they’re reforming to break down the Big Trouble with Double Dragon.

After the “Dragons of the Black Pool” intro, the first song “Big Trouble” produced by MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 works in a Chinese sample & elements of horrorcore getting pleasure of tasting blood whereas “Ruthless” ominously talked about the ruthlessness of the duo that has been absent for 4 long years. “Out the Mud” featuring C-Mob reflects making it after coming from absolutely nothing just before “Creatures” talks about leaving the Double Dragon imprint in your forehead when it’s all said & done.

“Nemesis Me” hooks up a prominent vocal sample during the hook breaking down the concept of being your own worst enemy leading into “Mushroom Clouds” talking about having a blast & turning the speakers all the way up loud. “Gods of War” featuring Str8jaket dabbles with trap metal letting it be known we’re in the middle of the apocalypse while “Lurkers” talks about Double Dragon being creators & advising to respect the shooter.

As for “In the Void”, we have Bukshot & Kung Fu Vampire wickedly discussing the clouds turning black & hearing white noise until “Where the Pieces Fit” brings Buk Norris at the altar looking for forgiveness figuring put the placements of these metaphorical puzzle pieces. “Sun Don’t Shine” featuring Gorilla Voltage brings both duos together to bring karma on your doorstep, but then “Cooler in a Coffin” suggests one would look better off dead.

“Never Say Die” hooks up these pianos & bells throughout that I find to be pretty infectious asking to be taken back during the days of Saturday morning cartoons during the 1980s & the Golden Era of the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE coming off WrestleMania XLI with John Cena defeating Cody Rhodes to surpass Ric Flair as a 17-time WWE world champion & the current TNA World Champion Joe Hendry being 14-time WWE world champion Randy Orton’s mystery opponent.

The song “Black Smoke” warns where those who’ll be disrespecting the Double Dragon will be taken & the closer “Stranger Things” featuring Joey Cool wraps up the final moments of Big Trouble with Double Dragon by homaging the hit Netflix sci-fi, horror, drama, mystery & coming-of-age series created by The Duffer Brothers currently finishing & gearing up the release of its upcoming 5th & final season at some point later on in the year.

When you look at the fact that both members of Double Dragon grew up in the 80s, it only makes sense for them to do a sophomore effort inspired by the film Big Trouble with Little China because the listening experience will be enhanced for anyone who’s seen that movie. Any huge fan of 1980s pop culture & hidden Easter eggs can say it does a little extra for you if you familiarize yourself with the movie on top of 7’s quality production & the chemistry feeling tighter.

Score: 4/5

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Fly Anakin – “(The) Forever Dream” review

This is the sophomore effort from Richmond, Virginia emcee Fly Anakin. Starting out roughly a decade ago, he first caught my attention in 2018 after being featured on Ankhlejohn’s magnum opus Van Ghost & started to gain even more exposure when he & Pink Siifu dropped their collaborative effort FlySiifu’s. His full-length debut studio album Frank that celebrated its 3-year anniversary last month was a great way of him honoring his father & is coming back to address (The) Forever Dream.

“Good Clothes” starts by talking about getting his mind right around the time of the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 & not needing to ask for forgiveness since he’s been taking what’s his whereas “Teen Summit” strips the drums thanks to Quelle Chris so he can try to build before going back. “My N***a” featuring Big Kahuna O.G. & $ilkMoney samples “Awaking of Our Senses” by Argo for a dedication to brotherhood while “Lil One” addresses an individual who wants something when he already owes something over a Micall Parknsun beat.

Lojii appears with Fly Anakin on the drumless chipmunk soul track “Check on Me” produced by August Fanon asking for their romantic interests to check & see how both of them are doing just before “Not Too Shabby” featuring Nickelus F, Quelle Chris & $ilkMoney brings the quartet together to talk about being closer to their dreams. “Lord Forgives, I Hold Grudges” featuring Denmark Vessey & Pink Siifu is pretty much their way of saying “god forgives, I don’t” leading into the string-laced “The Times” talks about his squad having most of their heads screwed on.

“Forever Dream” takes the drums out of the equation again painting a picture as if he’s Vincent Van Gogh while “Corner Pocket” featuring BBYMutha produced by The Alchemist gives a shoutout to themselves since they got money on the way. “YOUGOTME!!” after the “Dr. Phil” skit discusses being heartbroken after giving this woman everything & after the “Foreverever Dream” interlude, the soulful closer ”Say Thank You” featuring Pink Siifu & Turich Benjy ends by poignantly giving thanks to God.

Some of the most experimentally ambitious material of Fly Anakin’s career winds up on (The) Forever Dream bringing together a collection of bright, diverse & downright gorgeous underground hop hop hip hop that’s so light-on-its-feet to the point where it can sometimes feel like it’s sweeping you off yours. I prefer the production here a little more than Frank because of the way utilizes relentlessly sunny & imaginative instrumental flourishes tilting its tracks from laid-back to cocksure to thoughtful with the elegance of a well-executed magic trick.

Score: 3.5/5

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Kardashev – “Alunea” review

Kardashev is a deathcore & deathgaze band from Tempe, Arizona consisting of drummer The Great Filter, bassist Alex Rieth, guitarist Nico Mirolla & frontman Mark Garrett. Introducing themselves a decade ago off their full-length debut Peripety, they returned in 2022 by signing with Metal Blade Records for their sophomore effort Liminal Rite putting a bigger emphasis on post-metal. However, they’re linking back up for their 3rd studio LP & the 2nd since Metal Blade brought them onto the label.

“A Precipice. A Door” explores themes of loss, memory & the search for identity in a post-apocalyptic setting to kick off their sophomore effort under the high profile indie label whereas “Reunion” fuses deathcore, post-metal, post-rock, shoegaze, progressive metal, technical death metal & doomgaze singing about responsibility & the ethics of creation.

The final single “Seed of Night” works in elements of progressive metal, post-metal shoegaze, post-rock, deathcore reclaiming all what is gone from their perspective leading into “Speak Silence” featuring Genital Shame brings in these clean vocals at the start ahead of the breakdown asking what came before the sounds of silence did leading into “Truth to Form” sings about finding identity & morality during the human experience.

“Edge of Forever” & “We Could Fold the Stars” featuring Pawel J.J. Przybysz starts the final portion of Alunea by taking Kardashev’s ability to create massively soaring moments & crank them all the way up to 11 that is until the closing track “Below Sun & Soil” found them challenged to keep the spirit of the 2012 track “Pillars of Creation’s” spacey emptiness & turn it into a story closer humanizing it’s characters & indulgers alike

A direct sequel to the events of The Almanac & picks up right where the song “Beyond Sun & Moon” leaves off, Alunea tells the story of the main character from The Almanac meeting a being created in the song “Continuum” from Excipio that becomes a philosophical examination of where responsibility & duty intersect. Kardashev doesn’t explicitly attempt to answer those questions, yet rather examine them deeply.

Score: 4/5

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Samia – “Bloodless” review

Samia is a 28 year old singer/songwriter from Los Angeles, California introducing herself in the summer of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic by signing with the Fat Possum Records subsidiary Grand Jury Music for her acclaimed full-length debut The Baby for it’s take on singer/songwriter, bedroom pop, indie folk & indie rock. Her sophomore effort Honey later came out at the start of 2023 to more moderate reception in comparison to The Baby although the alt-pop & ambient pop influences were a nice change of pace, coming back almost 2 & a half years later for her 3rd studio LP.

The first song “Bovine Excision” after the “Biscuits” intro was a great choice of a single from it’s singer/songwriter, indie rock, alt-country & indie folk sound to the lyrics expressing her desire to be untouchable whereas “Hole in a Frame” sings about a fascination with disappearing & the power of absence. “Lizard” describes wanting to live up to the person she became in someone’s head until “Dare” finding this person’s intentions unclear.

“Fair Game” promises that said individual won’t get their blood back regardless if they can go outside on a hot night & clap, but then “Spine Oil” sings about coming to terms with her joy constantly being mistaken for weakness & everything not coming down easy whatsoever. “Craziest Person” admits to always trying to find anyone who sticks out as being the most unhinged whenever she steps in a room while “Sacred” sings about an ex never losing her the way he hates her presently.

Meanwhile on “Carousel”, we have Samia blending indie rock, art rock, neo-psychedelia slacker rock, neo-psychedelia & singer/songwriter showing a cathartic side to her songwriting abilities while “Proof” is an apology to those she’s pushed away as soon as they started to know me. “North Poles” takes inspiration from her close friend & collaborator Raffaella that is until “Pants” delves into the endless often fruitless search for a version of ourselves.

Almost 2 & a half years later, Samia endeavors to disinter the self buried beneath these carefully constructed personas by reaching a place of acceptance for her whole & imperfect being. She confronts the person she became in order to impress this imagined figure inseparable from who she is today displaying influences of singer-songwriter, indie folk, indie rock, indie pop, bedroom pop, indie rock & alt-country.

Score: 4.5/5

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Ghost – “Skeletà” review

Ghost is a hard rock/heavy metal band from Linköping, Östergötlands län, Sweden consisting of percussionist Olivia Morreale, keyboardist/percussionist Mad Gallica, keyboardist/percussionist Laura Scarborough, baritone guitarist/percussionist Jutty Taylor, drummer Hayden Scott, bassist Cos Sylvan, rhythm guitarist Randy Moore, lead guitarist Per Eriksson & of course frontman Tobias Forge. Breaking out nearly 15 years ago off their debut Opus Eponymous, their sophomore effort Infestissumam marked their debut on Loma Vista Recordings to initially mixed reception although it’s viewed more favorably in retrospect. Meliora came out after I graduated high school was my introduction to them, seeing the band on the tour they did for it & put on a theatrically superb performance. Prequelle toned it down on the heaviness although “Dance Macabre” got the stamp of approval from former NXT Champion, AEW World Trios Champion & PWG World Tag Team Champion Aleister Black married to the new WWE Women’s United States Champion Zelina Vega in addition to the inaugural AEW World Champion, FTW Champion, 2-time ROH World Champion, ECW World Television Champion, IWGPインターコンチネンタルチャンピオン, WCW World Television Champion, 6-time WWE world champion, record 9-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 7-time WWE tag team champion, 4-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion & WWE Hardcore Champion Chris Jericho and Impera is widely regarded as their weakest effort so far, taking 3 years off to focus on the band’s 6th studio LP.

“Peacefield” sets the tone of what’s to come with it’s prominent AOR & hard rock influences with additional elements of heavy metal dashed in describing at present a state of chaos & despair whilst instructing how to achieve renewal whereas “Lachryma” talks about being done crying over the restrictions of religion. “Satanized” maintains a hard rock/AOR vibe sprinkling a couple heavy metal & glam metal undertones asking to be saved from the monster eating inside of him, but then “Guiding Light” continues with a soul searching epic ballad.

To end Skeletà’s first half, “De Profundis Borealis” pays homage to one of the most important bands in the Norwegian black metal scene Immortal while “Cenotaph” receives affirmation of eternal presence of the memory of a loved one who has passed away. “Missilia Amori” sings about someone excited to be his demise just before “Marks of the Evil One” references the antichrist further including a line that had me think of the Death Riders led by the current 4-time AEW World Champion, former AEW International Champion, 2-time CZW World Heavyweight Champion, GCW World Champion, IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, 2-time IWGP USヘビー級チャンピオン, WWE Champion, 3-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & 2-time WWE tag team champion Jon Moxley. “Umbra” puts their love in the darker shadows & “Excelsis” embraces us all meeting or demise 1 day.

Nevertheless of Impera’s mixed reception, Ghost recovers by delivering their most unflinchingly introspective work to date including lyricism of the newly instated Perpetua & showcasing a variety of distinct individual emotional vistas embracing the sounds of hard rock, occult rock, AOR, pop rock, heavy metal & glam metal. Almost a decade this summer since I became a fan & I’m only happy they made up for the predecessor’s mixed discourse.

Score: 3.5/5

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Mike Dean – “4:25” review

This is the 6th studio LP from Houston, Texas producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & one of the greatest audio engineers of all-time Mike Dean. Pioneering the dirty south sound in the 90s as an in-house producer for Rap-A-Lot Records, one may also know him for engineering nearly all of Ye formerly known as Kanye West’s output up until his 2022 antisemitic meltdown calling himself a Nazi on InfoWars. 4:20 was a 90 minute exploration into progressive electronic & the nearly 2 hour sequel 4:22 continued towards that trajectory. Smoke State 42222 went for more of a straight-forward electronic sound with additional elements of space ambient & even Mike’s last LP 4:23 went head-on synthwave, landing a spot on my Honorable Mentions of 2023 list as a result of being more well-put together than his last couple solo efforts. Almost a year to day since 4:24, I wasn’t too surprised regarding 4:25

“In Paradisum” keeps the tradition alive hooking up these prominent synth-organ melodies that immediately grab your attention whereas “Scream” kinda gives me a progressive electronic vibe that I generally enjoy with this shrilling scream sample occasionally popping up. “Late Night” shows off the space ambient influences that’ve been prevalent since when he began making solo output 5 years ago.

Meanwhile on “Colour”, we have Mike blending elements of synthwave that’ve also been displayed on 4:20 just before what could probably be my personal favorite song here “Sax Sector” goes full-blown nu jazz & pulling it off as perfectly as I would’ve expected him to. “Trancy” gets back in his progressive electronic bag for roughly 3 minutes until “Messenger” embraces the synthwave elements once more as

“Bluey” not to be confused with The Walt Disney Company owned Disney Jr. hit series phenomenon in the midst of having a theatrical film set to be released in 2027 continues to bring a progressive electronic flare to the guitar including an electric guitar during it’s final moments, but then “Eyes Closed” swaps out the prog-rock undertones of the previous joint in favor of ambient to a similarly lesser extent.

The song “Half Awake” hits the backend of 4/25 maintaining the prog electronic edge throughout except now the hints of prog-rock & ambient are borrowing from western classical musical becoming not as a prevalent as the other 2 were while “411425” goes full-blown drum & bass to my excitement. As far as the closer “The End”? It’s an exciting collision between these guitars & synthesizers.

Halfway through the decade that he started carving a path for himself as a solo artist & 4:25 encapsulates everything that has made him stood out on his own individually from when he first started. His progressive election heavy production additionally pulls from synthwave, nu jazz & space ambient carrying on what Kraftwerk laid the foundation for half a century ago at this point.

Score: 4/5

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