Rounding out my listening for the month is more or less the rest of Haken's discography, of particular note albums
Vector and
Virus. The timing's a little awful on these- they've nothing whatsoever to do with the pandemic, though Virus came out in 2020; Virus reintroduces some themes that Vector aggregated, while also drawing inspiration from Cockroach King from their Mountain album.
I'm gonna jabber about Virus, since I'm much more fond of this album over its predecessor. It's, well, raw, seething, uniquely miserable. Vocals are consistently pleasant despite being metal after a fashion. Lyrics play on themes of "institutional abuse,physical and mentally abusive relationships, anxiety, depression and suicidal tendencies" to quote wikipedia, so it's kind of a doozy, and its coincidental thematic parallels to the ongoing pandemic welcomes those feelings in to an uncomfortable proximity. It's been really bad for my anxiety, but also I can't get it out of my head, soooo.
Carousel is a bop, all ten and a half minutes of it, and the whole five-movement Messiah Complex builds and throws down in a way that gives me goosebumps.
You're not going to feel 'better' after listening to this one, though it's perhaps a mite cathartic if isolation's been tough. Not enough to listen to for emotional support, noo, it's an unhealthy affair. If you're resolute or otherwise indifferent about how your music makes you feel, though, Virus goes hard.