On favorite music
Recent study states that as we get older we are having fewer favorite songs and the nostalgia is strong driver. I can see this also happening to me as well. I am now more driven to the few songs / bands that I have been listening to during my formative years (teen - 20s).
I do have one album that I return to often - Jane Doe by Converge - I was always dragged towards extreme genres of music and always interested in guitar music. If you want to get an idea what metal core / hardcore music is, there is no better place to start than this.
Once doing this part time at the call center, there was a colleague who was like: "Hey, listen to this." and he put one earpiece close to my ear. What I've heard was something I have never experienced before. The raw and honest power, the aggression, the speed, the vocals of Jacob Bannon, the mix of Kurt Ballou... The rest was history. Of course back then I was poor and music in my part of the world was not purchased, at least not frequently as it was expensive. So, I went to internet, searched for "Converge Jane Doe download blogspot" (yes, you are reading it correctly, back in the day, blogs hosted on Blogspot were the best way how to get to the download links) and bada bing bada boom 246kbps mp3s were loaded into my mp3 player.
The opening salvo of Concubine with the You stay gold / I’ll stay gold. (yes, the song has actual lyrics that Jacob never sings, that goes for majority of the album) and the almost nonexistent transition to Fault and Fracture got me hooked to this album from the very first listen. It's sparked something in me. It was something no other things sparked. I'll doxx my age here by writing this - I was listening to screamo a lot during my late teenage years / early twenties. It was a thing. No Raien, no Loma Prieta, no Underoath, no Orchid did this to me. I have dipped my toes and occasionally listen to black metal, so I've got used to lengthy songs - titular Jane Doe hits close to 12 minute mark - the song is just pure epic, especially the last 3 minutes. It had me blown away. I love it.
Since then I am always going back to the album, either while driving to calm my noisy thoughts, or when I have a need to get things off my chest. It is the one I will be returning forever. It is the one you can call one of the greatest albums of all time.
9/10
Favorite songs: Concubine, Fault and Fracture, Heaven in Her Arms, Jane Doe
Least favorite songs: Thaw
I want out
Out of every awkward day
Out of every tongue tied loss
I want out
Out of the burdening night sweats
Out of the rising seas of blood
Lost in you like Saturday nights