Freshman year was—let’s just say—less than satisfactory. Getting sick with an ailment that doctors couldn’t diagnose for almost 7 months, missing half of my first semester, and not being able to spend time with friends was a real bummer. The two things that really kept me happy were my poetry and my music. My library grew extensively over that year, mostly due to me being bedridden most of the day. The only joy I got was when I could get the newest releases from my local music store or Amazon. I remember searching endlessly through the internet trying to discover the next band that would floor me. I came across this one band from Sweden that released an album earlier that year. The album was called obZen. I dug a little deeper and found that the band actually been around since 1989, and that it was their sixth album. Now, naturally, whenever I find a new band, I begin from the middle or early portion of their discography, so that I can hear them morph over time. I chose their album from 1999, Chaosphere, and gave their song ‘New Millennium Cyanide Christ’ a listen, and liked it enough to buy the album.

I listened to the first track, and had to stop after about 45 seconds. It was WAY too intense. I couldn’t follow it to save my life, the vocals were abrasive, the drums all over the place. I thought, “Maybe it was just that one song”. After NMCC, the album was ridiculous. Every song was really scattered, out of place. The players didn’t seem to get each other at all. I thought it was garbage. I removed their CD from my collection and threw it in my closet. It was like the demon seed of my musical libary. I was almost angry that I wasted my money on something so terrible, then I stopped whining about it and moved on.

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