#making this non rebloggable for now because i always get embarrassed later

[blueofthesun]

i have time to spare and love to talk as if i know something about music, so here's some album opener thoughts<3 i'm very curious as to what everyone's personal favs are, since each dir album has such a distinct vibe and i feel like their opening tracks really nicely set the tone every time. my top 5 (technically 6) is under the cut:

5. deity (macabre) / sa bir (uroboros)

tied because i feel similarly about both of them. both are the opening tracks of an album quite different from the one before, clearly indicating a step towards a direction that is significantly more ambitious and experimental. sonically i find these two have a few similarities as well. (in many ways i like to think of uroboros as their macabre 2.0 but that is its own post i think)

i just love the eerie atmosphere of both of these songs. the tension, the vocal teasers, the way they grow and morph and pull you in. both songs have a circular, hypnotic feel to them. both of these album openers say "you better start taking us seriously". and upon hearing them, i think that's exactly what you do.

4. schadenfreude (phalaris)

when i say i was in tears hearing the intro for the first time i am not exaggerating. what a beautiful way to lead in an album. and listen, i might not have understood and gotten the full vision with this whole song at first, but once i did, i really did.

the way this song is structured really gives you a good idea of all the different shades the rest of the album is to offer. it also ties nicely into the previous album era. i also really love the way this album is sandwiched by two 9-minute songs on each end, like two detailed, beautifully crafted bookends.

3. conceived sorrow (the marrow of a bone)

i just think making conceived sorrow the opener for tmoab was so genius. i remember many people feeling thrown off by it back when the album came out, but the more you listen to the full work, the more perfect sense it makes for this one to be the first track. it really highlights the undercurrent of grief and sorrow this entire album has beneath the aggressive exterior. it sort of acts as the perfect prologue for the rest of the album.

tmoab in general has some of the best ballads they've ever written, and i think it's brilliant the way they stand out against the gritty, gravelly framework of the rest of the album.

2. kyoukotsu no nari (dum spiro spero)

i love an instrumental album intro more than anything, and genuinely, kyoukotsu no nari is one of the most impressive and effective album openers i've ever heard. it achieves so much by doing relatively little, and every sound, every note has its purpose. you just know you're about to listen to their most ambitious and artistic piece of work to date when you start dss and hear that first chord drop.

the soundscape is so haunting and gut wrenching, gives me full body chills. that creeping organ (?) melody haunts my dreams. a masterclass on how to really make a lasting first impression, truly. i love their instrumental stuff so much.

1. audience killer loop (vulgar)

my beloved. all of this album's intensity and emotion is perfectly condensed into that little hook melody and the instrumental bridge, it's so good. the chorus is so powerful and memorable, the way the song loops (heh) back into that aggressive intro riff in the outro is just. absolutely iconic. to this day, this song works perfectly as a live set opener as well.

this song does what a good album opener does and makes you immediately excited to hear the rest of the album. i've called vulgar their most dynamic album before (and i'll do it again); this intro raises the energy from the get-go, and the rest of the album does a fantastic job at building momentum and keeping you in it up until the very last track.