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For most of the summer so far, we've been blessed with cool-enough temperatures to be able to enjoy some fresh air. While that may be ending -- and the time of air conditioning returning -- for July, it's been a pleasant start to the summer!
Here are some songs for June:
As Seen in the Unseen
-- Dimmu Borgir
Did you know that Dimmu Borgir is still releasing new music? The Norwegian black metal patriarch -- formed in 1993 -- is still alive and well. Their sound is somewhat foundational for me, so when there's a new Dimmu album, I definitely get excited. I still remember when I first head Progenies of the Great Apocalypse -- it was the first time I'd encountered black metal vocals that I could tolerate, and the joining of that vocal style with the sweeping orchestrations, performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, was breathtaking.
While the rate of Dimmu's releases has slowed -- not surprising as their members are pushing 50 years old now -- their quality has remained high. Even still, this year's new album is a strong step up from their last few efforts. This song is my personal favorite from the album. If you liked their stuff back in the day, I'd recommend you check it out -- it feels like coming home!
The Green Knight -- Albion
How about some progressive folk rock? A project by Jethro Tull's current and former guitarists playing together, Albion also heavily utilizes a flute in their music to pair with some very impressive guitar noodling. Smooth, slick, upbeat and full of energy, Albion is the perfect summer band.
For as much as I love music that treads the darker paths, you cannot have the dark without the light -- and Albion is a powerful dose of such wholesomeness. The Tolkien influence in this album caught me by surprise, but was appreciated and fits well. Despite being comprised of seasoned musicians, Albion feels like they still have more potential to tap into, and I am thrilled to have been along for the ride since their debut in 2021.
Harpy Hare -- Yaelokre
What can I say, summer puts me in a folk mood. Yaelokre is the stage name of a Filipino-Icelandic musician who produces hybrid music-visual art. This song apparently went viral in 2024, although I encountered it from a friend's playlist before eventually adding it to my own.
The music, vibes and stylings reminds me a lot of OK Goodnight, whose album The Fox and the Bird was one of my favorite albums of 2023. If you like one, odds are good you'll like the other. Light and airy but with a hint of shadow around the edge, this is more perfect summer music.
Destroyer of Worlds
-- Coyote Kid
After all that upbeat, happy music, let's take a slightly darker turn -- but just slightly. I'm not sure exactly what genre to describe this song as, but for reference, it's on my Southern Gothic playlist, so that might get you most of the way there. The lyrics follow a character who is apparently new to the job of Death, and provides a healthy amount of wit and humor along the way -- consider this lyric, as an example: "Lo, I have become Death / I don't really know what means yet."
The music itself is dark, smoky and a bit mysterious, which means the occasional humorous jabs or whistled bridges stick out all the more. Really cool stuff -- not much of an earworm, but a song I keep coming back to nonetheless.
Magia -- Kalafina
Gothic rock anthem Magia served as the ending theme to the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica -- which is itself worthy of a Throwback column at some point. If you know, you know.
Written and composed by Yuki Kajiura -- a noted composer who I have absolutely written about in Songs on the Wind before and likely will again -- this song hits all the right notes, and it fits the series it was paired with absolutely perfectly.
Don't go into this expecting to understand anything -- it's entirely in Japanese -- but enjoy the music anyway. The low tone of the singing and the deftly woven instrumentation dancing through the rock elements fuses perfectly.
Wings of Twilight
-- Arion, Melissa Bonny
Let's wrap up this month's songs with some high-octane symphonic power metal. This is good stuff for working out -- or working outside. The first single off 2024's The Light That Burns the Sky, this song features prominent vocals by Swiss singer Melissa Bonny, who, aside from having her own band, Ad Infinitum, frequently guest sings with a huge range of metal bands.
As for Arion, they are a band that I haven't spent nearly as much time with. As I've aged, I've spent less time with power metal as a genre and moved in other directions. However, if that's a thing you're looking for, you could certainly do a lot worse than their 2024 album.