🎯 We aimed for the stars… but pulled the trigger instead. 🤖 What if AI explored galaxies instead of targeting lives? 🪐 There’s still time to choose curiosity over conflict. #AIforGood #NotForWar #FutureTech #IranUnderAttack #MurderNetanyahu #SpaceExploration

I have some reviews that I need to share here still, but 2025 keeps punching. I just want to share a farewell for the best cat we could ever have asked for. His name was Altair. He was 16, and he was my daughter's best friend. Also, he worried about me when I sang.

Glorious.

I haven't got a lot of albums I'm looking at in May, but there are some heavy hitters here.

May 2025 Release Radar

Summer is coming

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Sasami is not, truly, a #Pop artist, but this is a Pop album. It's her third album, and she has yet to repeat a genre. Sasami uses her classical training to study a genre, break it down, and reproduce it. And, in this album, it works so well. #MusicSky #AlbumReview

Sasami - "Blood On the Silver Screen"

Top-notch Pop from a not-Pop artist

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One of my most anticipated albums of the year pulled through. It doesn't disappoint. 18 reviews in, and we have our first certified 8+. #Spiritbox is a definitive act in the modern #MetalSky scene, and this is only their second album. #MusicSky #AlbumReview #Metalcore

Spiritbox - "Tsunami Sea"

A highly-anticipated album that doesn't disappoint

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This is the best #HyperPop I've ever heard. Hands down. #RebeccaBlack is really starting to find herself as an artist and songwriter. All of the songs here work really well, minus "Sugar Water Cyanide". It just needs to be longer. And have a conceptual throughline. #MusicSky #AlbumReview

Rebecca Black - "Salvation"

I don't know what she's saving us from, but I enjoyed it

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Arion is a #SymphonicMetal and #PowerMetal band that had a promising start last decade, but in this album they've kinda buried the lead. Ya know, the 'Symphonic' bit. It's literally buried in the mix. The songs here are still good for what they are, though. #MusicSky #MetalSky #AlbumReview

Arion - "The Light That Burns the Sky"

Symphonic Power Metal which has misplaced its symphony

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Lisa's debut album is full of potential and production. I don't think it's much of a reach to say that #KPop is overproduced by default these days. There's so much money in that industry. Some of the album's early songs are BANGERS. It just also dies halfway through. #MusicSky #AlbumReview

Lisa - "Alter Ego"

The K-Pop Invasion continues

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I've been physically unable to do a few things this month, but I've still gotten a few reviews out, starting with this somewhat disappointing effort from Tobias Sammet's collaborative #PowerMetal project, Avantasia. It has its moments. #MusicSky #MetalSky #AlbumReview

Avantasia - "Here Be Dragons"

Dragon on the cover = Power Metal

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I love Chappell, but this sums up pretty well my thoughts on recent comments she's made. To be clear: being queen *SHOULD NOT* be political. That's what the fight is all about. Whether we like it or not, though, it is -- because some bigots make it so.

From the popculture community on Reddit: Drag queens like Plane Jane, Tillie, and other performers have started calling out Chappell Roan, accusing her of exploiting the LGBTQIA+ community for profit ...

Explore this post and more from the popculture community

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I hope the April showers are full of good music!

April 2025 Release Radar

Hopefully derailing the 2025 Disappointment Train

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Architects' newest album showcases an update to the band's #Metalcore sound, bringing in more Death-like harshness, and their trimmed lineup. It grew on me through a few listens, but I also still don't enjoy it as much as their last two albums. #MusicSky #MetalSky #AlbumReview

Architects - "The Sky, The Earth & All Between"

A review that almost didn't happen

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Tate McRae's dance pop is incredibly boppy. So boppy that you might find yourself bopping along even if you don't enjoy the song. But "So Close to What" is overproduced and grossly inconsistent. On the bright side, the best tracks all have a familiar name as co-writer. #MusicSky #AlbumReview

Tate McRae - "So Close to What"

Tate McRae is one of those ‘next big stars’ you hear about.

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Lacuna Coil has always been a favorite, but Sleepless Empire feels like a final confirmation that they just aren't the same band anymore. They're still #GothicMetal, but that approach is firmly in the backseat. It's great if you want something heavy, but that's it. #MusicSky #MetalSky #AlbumReview

Lacuna Coil - "Sleepless Empire"

Sleepless because the future holds no hope of a good LC album

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Marko Hietala's second-ever solo album is one that I picked up out of respect for his legacy. It beat my expectations, though, and is currently one of my favorite listens of the year. If you like classic #HeavyMetal or #PowerMetal, give this a listen. #MusicSky #MetalSky #AlbumReview

Marko Hietala - "Roses From the Deep"

Marko Hietala is very highly-regarded in the Metal world — arguably in contention for “Legend” status, depending who you talk to.

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Ukrainian #Metalcore and #GrooveMetal stars, #Jinjer, are as wildly aggressive as ever in their newest album. If you're looking for something upbeat and angry, this might do. #MusicSky #MetalSky #AlbumReview

Jinjer - "Duel"

Slava Ukraini

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#DreamTheater is a goddamn titan in the world of #ProgMetal. There's no getting around it. And while their formula has grown stale, the return of one of their founding members has brought fresh vivacity to their newest album. #MusicSky #MetalSky #AlbumReview

Dream Theater - "Parasomnia"

Beware the shadow men in the dark

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Ethel Cain's "Perverts" is nothing like her main album trilogy-in-progress. It's a unique sort of beautiful torment. If you like #Slowcore and ambient droning, you might love this, but don't pick it up expecting "American Teenager". It's a dismal as its cover suggests. #MusicSky #AlbumReview

Ethel Cain - "Perverts"

It's happening to everybody

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Can't believe February is over already. Time MARCHes on... No, wait, don't leave! I cope with reality through bad jokes and good music! Speaking of music, here are the albums I'm looking forward to this month (plus a special reveal of Versatone's first ever advance copy!).

March 2025 Release Radar

At least there are no tariffs on music

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The final album under The Weeknd moniker is expansive and surreal... and kinda boring across a full listen. The album is artistic and ambitious, and art points it feels like the music itself got lost in the vision. #MusicSky #AlbumReview

Iniko's highly anticipated debut album is very good. It's great music, though I wouldn't call it a "great album". The Michael Jackson influence is strong, otherwise she sounds wildly unique. She will be very influential in the #IndiePop space in the years to come. #MusicSky #AlbumReview

Iniko - "The Awakening"

It's not an agenda; it's reality

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I never imagined I'd find a blend of #DoomMetal and #BluesRock, but here it is. And the core sound absolutely works. Some songs here are better-conceived than others, though, so the album as a whole feels a little lackluster at points. #MusicSky #MetalSky #AlbumReview

Avatarium - "Between You, God, The Devil and The Dead"

A unique stylistic blend of Doom and Blues

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Post-Black group Harakiri for the Sky leans into darker subject matter and a harsher sound than my last Post-Black review. But if you can get past the abrasive vocals, there are moments of transcendental beauty, as well. #MusicSky #AlbumReview #MetalSky

Harakiri for the Sky - "Scorched Earth"

Be the void you wanna see in the world

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Despite being the coldest month, February has had no chill. Still, here we are with the first review of 2025! Larkin Poe is a really great #RootsRock and #BluesRock act from my home state of #Georgia. With a touch of #Country. It's #Rock with that GOOD good twang. #MusicSky #AlbumReview

Larkin Poe - "Bloom"

They don't want your pearls -- or mine

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Release Radar for Feb is finally up. The month is looking surprisingly heavy!

February 2025 Release Radar

The coldest month of the year looks heavy

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When they ask you who won Super Bowl LIX, you will respond, Kendrick Lamar. I just turned my tv off.

"Charcoal Grace", by Caligula's Horse, is my 2024 AOTY. There is no album, that I've found, which better encapsulates our collective experience with the Pandemic and lockdown. And CH are masters at crafting music that is both heavy and gorgeous. #MusicSky #AOTY #Top40

2024 Album of the Year

My first repeat AOTY winner

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Here we go -- my Top ten albums of the year. You can't go wrong with any of these. #MusicSky #AOTY #Top40

2024 Top 40 Albums: #2-10

The ten best albums of 2024

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