So, I've decided - due in part to my performance in TLCMAT - to come out and do a review of songs every week or so. Some of these songs are going to be things I recently discovered, others will be things that are very underground that I want to show you guys, and some will be popular songs that I just want to give a comment on. I'll try to make it a fair mix of the three, but expect mostly metal/rap, because they're the genres I'm most familiar with currently. If you want more indie-ish stuff, wait for lichter's list near the end of the year! These aren't the only genres I listen to, but they're the only genres I can really pick out interesting things to talk about from

Ludacris - Beast Mode

Ludacris released an album last year and I'm only getting to it now, but it's actually surprisingly good. He's always been a fun rapper; the right mix of lyrical and casual for you to appreciate the punchlines but not have to think too hard to enjoy it. "Beast Mode" shows that Ludacris at his best, throwing punchlines at you that register anywhere between 'alright' and 'actually hilarious'. There's so many of them that it's pretty easy to find something you'd like! If you're looking for good 'punchline rap', check out this song and really the entire Ludaversial album. It's not revolutionary, but it's definitely enjoyable.

Spawn of Possession - Scorched

Spawn of Possession is goddamn insane. While 2012's "Incurso" adds more to it than just technical mastery, "Scorched" is still a very strong song. If you like having your mind blown by stupidly fast rifts and some creative harmonies here and there, this is a really good song for you. It isn't as clean as something like "Apparition" or "Where Angels Go Demons Follow", but it makes up for it by being a little more pure. There's not many long, overarching interludes to seperate riffs from riffs, allowing it to be a seamless flow of insanity. And, you know, crazy guitar solos for good measure. Goddamn.

Abyssal - I Am the Alpha and Omega

If you thought "Scorched" was experimental or weird, "I Am The Alpha and Omega" is far more insane. This isn't as 'dense' as the doom metal I've listened to, but it's a good mixture, which makes it really enjoyable because you can kind of pick out the rhythms in it. There's a lot to appreciate and follow, which creates a unique experience rather than just sitting back and letting the storm of sound overwhelm you. It's a good introduction to the way experimental nature of Doom Metal without being too over the top. If you're into harder forms of metal but find bands like 'Aevangalist' a little too extreme, Abyssal should be a good fit.

Desiigner - Panda

I've been thinking about this song a lot recently, because it should work a lot better than it does. It has a strong rhythm, a solid beat, and the introductory lines are really strong. So where does it go wrong? Well, it's repetitive. Really repetitive. The one verse is just really bad, and other than that there's something like four repetitions of the hook which is just way too much. Also, the ad-libs do the song no favors; if anything it makes the entire thing feel like a groundhog's day of gun sound effects and 'raaah!'s. It's pretty sad because his flow on the chorus (and really only the chorus) works very well, but it's ruined by having nothing else worth caring about. Future's far better than this.

Baranduin - A Warrior's Death

This is potentially one of my favorite songs by a very underground band outside of Bal-Sagoth, mostly because of how melodic it feels. The blackened vocals are an interesting choice, but I find they work quite well to go over the rising production. The drums are a nice touch that create a different atmosphere from a lot of standard folk; but all of these interesting choices aren't even the best part. That would be the chorus. It's actually kind of ridiculous how well the rising nature of it works, coupled with some cute alliteration to give the vocals a proper flow. This song certainly makes some interesting choices in how to differ itself from regular viking-folk-metal, but even if you disagree with them you should be able to enjoy the glory of the chorus. And unlike Panda, it's not repeated over and over again.

Sonata Arctica - Victoria's Secret

If you're at all into Power/Symphonic Metal, you should already be very familiar with this band, but if you aren't? Oh boy. Of all the bands I've heard in this genre, Sonata Arctica very possibly does the best job of using vocals to create a flow. While the riffs are strong and there's a lot of good performances instrumentally, the best part of this band - and this song - is how rhythmic the vocals are. It allows the 'moments' in this song to be a lot more poignant, and that's one of the best parts of music to me. There's a really sick keyboard solo on top of it, which blows my mind in a bunch of ways. This isn't brutal, this isn't wild, this isn't insane; it's just really fun, really rhythmic, well-played, well-written metal with lyrics that aren't even all that bad. "Black Sheep" and "The Cage" are my favorites from the band, by the way!

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My writing still feels kind of shit, but I hope you enjoyed the music if nothing else! I'm goin to keep doing this just as a way to push myself into listening to more music, and will probably be writing some more interesting things alongside it. Expect more recent things in the next installment. Also, for feedback; do you guys want a score for each song or anything, or does this format work?