i wish it had more drum-n-bass but still a great companion for a focused early-morning session… whatever you want to get focused on… this album inspires me to play guitar better and dig deeper into jazz.

I discovered this album in my Apple Music homepage. There was a section named “Modern Classical”… I didn’t know what it meant and still don’t… I started listening to this album, and started writing imprisoned by the formula… it was good… felt good. I can’t say whether it was this album that put me into the flow or not but I can say it was one of the factors, for sure…

I’m not sure what this genre is… It was listed under modern classical but the album’s genre is also labeled as electronic… Not sure how to label it, but listening to this and seeing it listed under modern classical makes me want to go deeper into modern classical…

The track Two Pages is something… Hits hard and somehow makes it feel like having fireworks exploding in my brain… It’s an amazing track…

Bruce Brubaker and Max Cooper… Who are these guys? Definitely worth a research.

I have so much to say about The Gathering… and starting to share from my least favorite album of theirs, but still great though. The opening track, When Trust Becomes Sound, creates high expectations from the rest of the album but it fails to deliver unfortunately. Capital of Nowhere and The West Pole are other good tracks from the album… I love this band, with their lows and highs, with old and new members… The way they’re experimenting with the genre, their openness for new things… respect!

The album that introduced me to electronic music… A fascinating pivot. After 27 years, I still love it and still relevant in terms of production and genre… Well, might be a bit strange but this album made me like and listen to Depeche Mode and understand what they’re doing… Ordinary Days, So Much Is Lost and In All Honesty are my favorite tracks.

I had the original CD, with all its booklet, 30 years ago… I don’t remember where I bought it or got it from. Maybe it was a gift? I don’t remember… However, the artwork by Holly Warburton was amazing, so inspiring. I did not have a walkman disc-player at the time so I was only able to listen to it at home… The track “Once Solemn” is probably one of the most listened tracks in my life. Paradise Lost was such an interesting band for me until their album Symbol of Life… After that, somehow it just disappeared for me… I had this t-shirt of theirs, which I couldn’t find online anymore. I used to wear it all the time in my high school years…

Sidenote: Sully Erna from Godsmack, his vocals always reminds me Nick Holmes’ Icon era

Another favorite of mine… almost 30 years after, still can feel it.

A new discovery… I stumbled upon them via Apple Music’s “You Might Also Like” section on Monolink’s Under Darkening Skies album page. First listen is complete and loved it… Especially the way they have repeating and hypnotic rhythms accompanied with short and repeating guitar riffs makes me enter flow state easily…

This album contains one of the best opening songs ever, Laura… Spent hours and hours listening to this album… and not just as a background music to doing something else but also active listening too, a rare act these days.

Somehow became the soundtrack of the third book of Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King… Again, I was at high school at the time. My most tasteful years I guess… Ruin and Misery, Raven Claws, Opium, and Mephisto are my favorite tracks from the album.

Listening to Anathema for exactly 30 years… Too many things to say… But this one… This is my after 11pm album, which I rarely stay awake. The song giving the album its title, The Optimist, is my favorite…

“The great escape in the slow lane…”

Another one from my high-school years… My last two years in high-school passed with this album in the background… It also introduced me to the book itself, The Mind’s I by Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel Dennett… Time to time, skimmed through the book but never able to stick with it… Maybe this time it’s the right time?

Not sure though if Dark Tranquillity was inspired by this book when making the album or not… Still one of the top best albums I’ve ever listened, that’s for sure!

Side-note; Niklas Sundin, credited with guitars, music, lyrics and cover art, is definitely a source of inspiration and a gem for me…

One of my top three albums from Opeth… The others in the top three are Morningrise and Damnation…

High positive energy boost drink! A great way to start the day sprinting and smiling…

Takes me back to my high school years, when I enjoyed the music I was listening to the most. Put a cassette into my walkman (don’t remember if it was Aiwa or Sony, but it could auto-switch sides) and it played on loop while I walked up and down Istiklal street in Istanbul. A to B, B to A, A to B, …the same album, same songs, for hours…

Moody and moving at the same time… Amazing soundtrack for a rainy focused and energic day!