Kids See Ghosts - Kids See Ghosts (GOOD Music/Def Jam, 2018)

I'm flabbergasted at how much better this album is than Ye. I don't understand. It's so good it's actually making me question if Ye is better than I thought it was, which I don't want to do. What's the reason? Did Kanye and Cudi just push each other? Every song on here is a gem (OK "Fire" is maybe a little weak) - "Feel the Love" with a snarling Pusha verse and an insane machine gun scat chorus. "4th Dimension" with its unreal production and amazing warping of a Louis Prima Christmas song. "Freee", the much-better, insanely catchy sequel to "Ghost Town" from Ye. "Reborn" an absolute corker of a single with Kanye and Cudi getting real about their mental health struggles. "Kids See Ghosts" with a great Yasiin Bey feature although probably my 2nd least fave track. And "Cudi Montage" built around a spiraling scratchy Kurt Cobain demo sample. And just like that it's over and you want to put it through again. I have the rest of the year to figure out if I like this better than Pusha's DAYTONA but I think I might. This is unexpectedly stellar.

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Nachtmystium/Leviathan - In the Valley of Death, Where Black Metal is King: An Homage to the Roots (Ascension Monuments Media, 2018)

What the fuck is that title. Okay I get the first part is a Judas Iscariot tribute, but did we really need "an homage to the roots" in there? Hey wouldn't it be funny if these were actually covers of the band The Roots? Anyway. This album was supposed to come out 10 years ago, but it was blocked by the bands' respective labels. Now I guess they've figured out a way, or Blake Judd needs money for drugs so he's figured out a way, to put this out. The Bandcamp version has 8 tracks, 5 from Nachtmystium and 3 from Leviathan, but I've seen a 10-track tracklisting elsewhere. On the version I have, we have Nachtmystium covering Judas Iscariot, Ildjarn (twice), Von and Burzum. Leviathan tackles Ildjarn (twice) and Von once. I seem to be missing Leviathan's Judas Iscariot cover ("Where the Winter Beats Incessant") and one of Nachtmystium's Von covers ("Von"). Weird. Wonder if there were some licensing issues or something. All four Ildjar...

Ami Shavit - Neural Oscillations and Alpha Rhythms (Finders Keepers, r. 2018)

Another one I wasn't expecting much from but Finders Keepers always gets a fair shake, this turned out to be surprisingly legit. Influenced by Philip Glass and Tangerine Dream in the 70's, "Ami embarked on an experiment with what he coined Alpha Mood – a state in which the brain is working in relaxation and in which he used music as a means of helping induce his own meditative state". These aren't the droney, spacey, meditative synth pieces you'd expect - they're hypnotic in an active sense, very stimulating and dynamic. Seems not much is left of Shavit's recorded legacy but I'm glad I gave these a shot, very neat.

Corrupted - Felicific Algorithim (Cold Spring, 2018)

For whatever it means, this is the beginning of Corrupted's "Hollow" series. Maybe the clue is in the music? Unlike Corrupted's traditional ultra-slowed down, Spanish-sung, Japanese doom metal this is instrumental harsh noise. Still filthy and angry and depressive but sans vox and also more or less sans metal. Both untitled sides are meant to be played at either speed. The result? Meh. I miss Corrupted's brand of doom, this relatively anonymous harsh noise is fine and all but if I'm listening to Corrupted...well I know what I want. Skippable.

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