The seven hundred and seventh album: #707 Metallica - Metallica

I've mentioned before how Enter the Sandman is one of those tracks that influenced and stuck with me through time, a real classic track. The rest of the album manages to appeal just as well, whether it's a (relatively) sensitive ballad (Nothing Else Matters might still be my absolute favourite) or an all out loud banger. The riffs stick and you can follow through with them and the emotions of the song come through in their lyrics. The album and its track are set to be spectacles, but they're spectacles with a lot of depth.

The seven hundred and sixth album: #706 Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque

Reading up on them, Teenage Fanclub appears to be one of those bands that has been around for a while, loved by music lovers, but not breaking through to the point where I heard of them. It's a shame - the rock, alternating between some harder sounds and more pleasant harmonies, is the exact rock that appeals to me as something easier to listen to. 

The two hundred and fifty-third classical recording: #761 Richard Strauss - Arabella

It's not unexpected to have an opera love story with a love triangle and some identity confusion, but what makes this stand out compared to many others is the setting. While the 1860s would still have been about seventy years in the past, setting it with the landed gentry of the era still makes it feel more contemporary than the courtly settings from before. It's grounding it a bit, probably appealing more to the larger audiences that would have come to these. It feels like the music reflects this - it's less stately, more energetic, with a lot more for performers to play around with. It's a real victory of a piece, worth the time investment and one that makes me want to dive into more operas.

The seven hundred and fifth album: #705 Primal Scream - Screamadelica

As we're moving along in time, we're seeing electronic music sneaking into other genres, and Screamadelica is an interesting indie rock experiment combining both. There's a mix of underlying rock sounds, that make for good indie rock sounds on their own, and that is already what makes the album worth it. It's good, worth in any incarnation.

The seven hundred and fourth album: #704 Massive Attack - Blue Lines

There's a chill feel to this album - Unfinished Sympathy is the one I recognise best of those, but there are others in a similar mold. It's electronic music with an R&B vibe, some light rap and relaxing enough that you can have it sit in the background. It's interesting, a bit dreamy, but with enough to catch on to, just some nice and lovely easy listening music with a bit of substance.

The seven hundred and third album: #703 The KLF - White Room

We're kicking off with more electronic music from the early nineties. The KLF is hitting a nostalgic vibe, where the sample heavy sound would have been new at the time, but now feels old fashioned in its application and mixing of sounds. It works fine, even if it's a type of music that's really dependent on my mood to see whether it connects well enough. It's a good thing to listen to though, even if it doesn't work for every track.

The two hundred and fifty-second classic recording: #822 Manuel Ponce - Concierto del Sur

There's something that feels more accessible about this piece, the guitar feeling like such an uncommon instrument in one of these pieces that its focus here stands out to add some energy to the piece, something grounded and darker that gets contrasted against some far more ethereal sounding violins and lighter touches from other instruments. There is a good mix of influences here, unconventional for what normally get but it's something that helps develop the song really well.

The seven hundred and second album: #701 Slint - Spiderland

The darkness that seems to have surrounded the band during the recording of this album comes through in its sound, a dark and haunting sound with vocals overwhelmed by the dark guitars. It goes hard and the intensity feels like it really comes through from the band, in a way that doesn't impact my mood as a listener but gives a deep insight on how the band seems to feel. It's hard to listen to, fascinating but also one where I'm glad it feels a bit distant.

The seven hundred and first album: #702 U2 - Achtung Baby

As one of the big albums of U2, I feel I've already been exposed to most of these tracks in some way. As you'd expect, it mixes the big crowd pleasers like One with stranger choices like Until the End of the World, with its odd choice of subjects and focus on them that shows they are a band that looks at what's going on in the world. It's maybe not as deep as that sounds, but there's still that feeling of wanting to push the music and lyrics further than what the minimum would be and it works really well to create that much more of a masterpiece album.

The seven hundredth album: #700 Sepultura - Arise

This album really just gives you what it says it will, a burst of high energy heavy metal taking its energy from the other greats in the genre. There isn't a twist here, it doesn't feel like it's doing anything different, but it's an approach that's working. It's uncompromising in what it does, even if you're unlikely to change your minds on the genre in either direction.