Armin van Buuren-A State Of Trance Forever[Mini Album)[A State Of Trance]

Archon

Archon

Gagi
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Jun 27, 2020
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I think I do it precisely because I like trance, I like music, and I like Armin. I only hate this specific album (in this instance) and some of his music. Some things are greater than a track, this album or Armin. And a little part of me believes he can, and will, do better.

And I put more effort than people who liked it with all of their "is nice", "addictive" and "better than Shivers" comments. Maybe that shows that these positive emotions will last for a short time, and that this album will be liked until next Friday, once something else comes out. I think it shows that it is liked only because it is Armin, and that it provides not a lot more positive emotions.

Now if you have a proper counter-argument besides "you are wasting time" and "I like it", do provide it.
 
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Freezer

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Sep 13, 2020
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No need to do counter, was just curious. Im not that strong english speaker to do a proper counter anyways. But I still have to defend this album. It has a lot of ideas, good production, style variety...no weak tracks, no edm bullshit, no cheesy vocals. Lost in Space is very unique uplifter, there is no other track like this. Johnsons Play is another favourite of mine, rich sounding, quite futuristic, very unique and I even like the melody in this one. No real skip-track here on this album, maybe except the first track.
 
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marcopm

marcopm

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Jul 11, 2020
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I appreciate Armin's effort, but none of these tracks really resonates with me. I kinda agree with Gagi.
Moon of Jupiter was a much, much more inspired and interesting album than this.
 
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Archon

Archon

Gagi
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Jun 27, 2020
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marcopm said:
Moon of Jupiter was a much, much more inspired and interesting album than this.
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Oh yes! I loved it because the style was so unexpected from them, and it had to have been done only because of geekiness, love and passion. It was not perfect, but I appreciated the experimentation.

But maybe they saw the reactions and learned from their "mistakes". When people see Armin or Gaia, they have certain expectations regarding sound and style, and fulfilling those seems to be more important for the success than making music you really want to.
 
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Freezer

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About GAIA, It was a nice concept album where I loved the downtempo Jarre-like stuff, but all in all it sounded more like a demo album with no huge melodies, just some short riffs and bleeps :) I remember i gave it a 6/10 or something like this
 
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dmgtz96

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Jul 13, 2020
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Gagi said:
In the Dark You Shine - had so much potential. The beats sound good and interesting, has a bit of energy, but ultimately, what ruins it - you guessed it - is the melody. Very very forgettable.
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I hd one of the more positive outlooks on this track, and even then I don't remember what the melody sounds like.
 
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Archon

Archon

Gagi
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Jun 27, 2020
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dmgtz96 said:
I hd one of the more positive outlooks on this track, and even then I don't remember what the melody sounds like.
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Yup, I read it. But there had to be a melody! That's a part of my point, they all need to have prominent main melodies. Is that all trance boils down to, a main melody?

But who can blame them, it's not like they ever made a track or two without prominent main melodies which would be considered classics.

Oh wait...


Truth be told, if the melody was a good one I wouldn't have protested, which is (also) the part of my point. If you want to make such a track, at least make it good...



Pound is sooooo good by the way. And it's not even among their most revered classics. Love the mood and the drive of it. I can listen to it on repeat for hours. There's just no "moody" trance anymore, yet they mastered this back in the day. But Universal Nation is more popular than Blue Midnight, and Shivers is more popular than Astronauts, so that's what we have now.
 
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Progrez

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This is a better sounding track. The best one I've heard one but could be better.


 
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dmgtz96

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Jul 13, 2020
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Gagi said:
Yup, I read it. But there had to be a melody! That's a part of my point, they all need to have prominent main melodies. Is that all trance boils down to, a main melody?

But who can blame them, it's not like they ever made a track or two without prominent main melodies which would be considered classics.

Oh wait...

Truth be told, if the melody was a good one I wouldn't have protested, which is (also) the part of my point. If you want to make such a track, at least make it good...


Pound is sooooo good by the way. And it's not even among their most revered classics. Love the mood and the drive of it. I can listen to it on repeat for hours. There's just no "moody" trance anymore, yet they mastered this back in the day. But Universal Nation is more popular than Blue Midnight, and Shivers is more popular than Astronauts, so that's what we have now.
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We're actually on the same page. I didn't feel like revisiting In the Dark You Shine even though I liked it on my first couple of listens. By the next day I'd completely forgotten about it and instead went to my usual genre of choice.
I in fact agree in that you don't need a big melody to make a trance track good. We saw that with another producer who used vocals and ambiance instead of a plucked melody.
There's just no reason to hear any of these tracks more than a couple of times except for maybe Home With You. Of course, who knows if my opinion on that will change by tomorrow.

for what it's worth, if this album was meant to be "commercial" it failed epically. See my comment above! haha
 
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Hot Tuna

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Aug 24, 2020
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Magdelayna said:
Sonata sounds like a mix of The Legacy and the Interstellar Theme. I thought Oakenfold never produced? Was it Andy Gray back in the day who ghosted his stuff?
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Steve Osbourne was his most famous collaborator, from the late 80s to 2000. Andy Gray was 2000-2004. To be fair to Oakey his co-producers were always credited (not ghosts), and in the early days they were widely known as 'Oakenfold & Osbourne/Perfecto' before Oakenfold's name as a solo DJ became highly marketable.
 
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Freezer

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Sep 13, 2020
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trancedanne said:
Havent heard a good track from Armin since 2005. Commercial garbage
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He produced a lot of good trance tracks since then. Cannot see a big difference between Shivers and the new Rising Star stuff for example, so I disagree...
He used to be better, he started to go pop way in 2006 but in some tracks he stayed true to his old sound...
 
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Exodom

Exodom

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Oct 17, 2020
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trancedanne said:
Havent heard a good track from Armin since 2005. Commercial garbage
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Pshhhhh yeh buddy, sure thing. One of those drops where your trying too hard for people to know how elite you are, with your edgy taste :cool:

I gave this album a try, for a couple of times. Some tracks are ok, I like Sonata the most. Deep down I cant connect with much, it feels like all the tracks miss something rich and full. Ping Pong era made me ill so at least we've moved on from that, I suppose.
 
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dmgtz96

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Exodom said:
Pshhhhh yeh buddy, sure thing. One of those drops where your trying too hard for people to know how elite you are, with your edgy taste :cool:

I gave this album a try, for a couple of times. Some tracks are ok, I like Sonata the most. Deep down I cant connect with much, it feels like all the tracks miss something rich and full. Ping Pong era made me ill so at least we've moved on from that, I suppose.
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Imagine and Mirage were straight-up masterpieces
But yeah, Ping Pong era was just... BRUH
 
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Propeller

Propeller

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Jul 20, 2020
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Haven't heard anything that I really like from Armin since.... 2001?
His best track is probably the very first one he released in..... 1996.
 
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