Reviewing the playlists in the "Shuffle Your Playlist" thread

[Trollheart]

Oh what's that player? You want more? You done got more! Ya feel me? *

Yeah, it's time to premiere


*Trollheart is currently awaiting sentencing after having been found guilty by a unanimous verdict at his trial on charges of, and I quote, "Aggressively and Deliberately Trying to Be "Street" at an Inappropriate Age. And Being Irish Too, Which is Almost as Bad".

And we begin as we did in season one, with the man who started it all.



"God of Destruction (Cryo remix)" - Suicide Commando
Genre: Aggrotech/Dark Industrial
Source: 19th album Goddestruktor
Year: 2022
Nationality: Belgian
Comments: If I recall correctly, I experienced two different sides of aggrotech in season one, the second being very much more on the "aggro" side. Which will this turn out to be? Given the album cover, title, and indeed song title, I'm willing to bet this will be more like the second time I sampled this genre, but we'll see. I guess an air-raid siren is not the most ideal thing you want to hear when a song begins, and I can feel that thick buzzing synth shaking the ground beneath my feet as the track begins, but initially at any rate it comes across as more techno? Not that I would know about such things.

Yeah, overall more on the "lighter" side of aggrotech, if that is indeed what this is, and probably great to get smashed out of your head and dance to, again not something I would know anything about. But decent to listen to, and I like this. Good start.
Rating:


"Don't Spoil it" - Czarface and MF DOOM
Genre: Hip-hop
Source: First collaborative album Czarface Meets Metal Face
Year: 2018
Nationality: American/English
Comments: I've heard of MF DOOM (not to be confused with the Marvel supervillain Doctor Doom, but then you knew that) and I've heard of Scarface, but not Czarface. Says they're some sort of hip-hop supergroup. I wouldn't know. The song is just over 90 seconds, so perhaps hard to judge but there's a nice bopping drumbeat and the rap is okay, kind of relaxed compared to some I've heard. It's all right.
Rating:


"Dilemma" - Dark Half
Genre: Horrorcore
Source: 2nd album Graveyard Blues
Year: 2012
Nationality: American
Comments: While it certainly wouldn't be my genre of choice, I've found most of what I've listened to of Horrorcore to be quite amusing. This starts off with the standard scary/horror music but then rides on a nice little acoustic guitar line with piano, and swaggers along in a mid-tempo sort of slow swing. Listening to the lyric it's pretty damn dark and depressing, but whether or not you're supposed to take it seriously I don't know. Good song though.
Rating:


"Lost Times" - Schoolboy Q (featuring Jozzy, apparently)
Genre: Hip-hop
Source: 6th album Blue Lips
Year: 2024
Nationality: American
Comments: I've said it before, and I will now repeat it: holy fucking hell! How many producers can you have on one album? I count 26! That's 8 more than there are tracks on the album! Anyhoo, sounds like something out of the 70s soul stable, whatever the backing track (?) is, then a nice little piano piece reminiscent of Rose Royce or something. Seems like a fairly aggressive rap, then there's a nice sung bit (presumably the bracketed Jozzy?). Good enough I guess.
Rating:


"Kill the Beat" - Kodak Black
Genre: Trap, Southern Hip-hop
Source: 2nd mixtape Heart of the Projects
Year: 2014
Nationality: American
Comments: Think I heard his debut album Painting Pictures way back when. Don't recall what I thought of it. I never honestly know whether to talk about the music on a hip-hop song or album - am I right that they don't make their own music but always use samples? Or does that just throw my total ignorance of the genre into the harsh daylight? I don't care: I'm prepared to admit I know fuck-all about hip-hop and am happy to learn. But given that, all I can say is the rap is okay but the second voice (backing rap?) annoys me. Not really for me.
Rating:


"Shroud" - Tech N9ne
Genre: Hardcore Hip-hop
Source: 15th album Special Effects
Year: 2015
Nationality: American
Comments: Is that backwards masking? Sure sounds like it. Very good soulful voice I must say, then some sort of spoken word piece (not a rap) and then a harder rap. Interesting stuff, kind of industrial rap maybe? Ah, what the fuck do I know? Good though.
Rating:


"Amethyst" - Roc Marciano

Genre: East Coast Hip-hop/Gangsta Rap/Drumless
Source: 8th album Behold a Dark Horse
Year: 2018
Nationality: American
Comments: Now that is one cool album cover! I would have taken that as a metal one had I not known. Wish it had been. Didn't think much of this at all.
Rating:


"Koslov" - :Wumpscut:
Genre: Dark electro/Electro industrial/Aggrotech/Dark Ambient/Darkwave
Source: 3rd album Music for a Slaughtering Tribe
Year: 1993
Nationality: Germany
Comments: Odd. Lucem has this down as coming from another source, but that "first take" might mean it's off a demo maybe? Anyway this is the only version I can find so I'm using it. Only the second track on his list that is not American. Sounds like an excerpt from a movie opening it, then pretty aggressive synth and industrial percussion, a ragged vocal that's very hard to hear, really really far down in the mix. If this is a first take I hope they did better with the second! I can barely hear him, not that I'd be able to understand a word he sings if I could, but still, for those who could make it out, it would be nice to be able to hear him. Yeah, started out interesting but it's just annoying now.
Rating:


"Pieces/Ruins" - P.O.S.

Genre: Conscious Hip-hop/Experimental Hip-hop/Abstract Hip-hop
Source: 6th album Chill, Dummy
Year: 2017
Nationality: American
Comments: Never entirely comfortable with any genre that uses the word "experimental", but so far this is okay. Nice sort of swinging beat to it. Yeah I like this one.
Rating:


"Euronymous" - GHOSTEMANE

Genre: Trap/Memphis Rap /Horrorcore
Source: 6th album Plagues
Year: 2016
Nationality: American
Comments: This is interesting. Once I saw the title I wondered, and yes, it does seem to be linked to Mayhem and Varg Vikernes' burning down of churches in Norway in the 1990s, soon after (or before) which Mayhem lead guitarist Euronymous was killed by Varg. So we have a news report in the background, with a Horrorcore rap and beat running through it and I guess a sort of "reimagining" of the guitarist's last moments, and I guess that's a Mayhem track tacked on at the end. Weird, but then, it is Horrorcore, so weird comes as standard. Overall I'd have to say on balance though that I don't think much of it.
Rating:

So how have we done as we open season two? Let's see what Lucem's playlist scored overall.

Average rating:

[Trollheart]

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