I'M HAVING COLD VISIONS

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Ah yes, the bane of any mainstream listener trying to listen to internet music: audio tags. Often intrusive, these loud, blaring sound effects and vocal bites declare to the listener the album’s name, its producers, and those hosting the album, such DJ Swamp Izzo shouting his name and menacingly laughing throughout Playboi Carti’s album Music, often to the chagrin of the listener. However, when done well, these tags can enhance an album, and nowhere is that more true than on longtime internet rap legend Bladee’s seventh solo album, Cold Visions.



Taking a rapid departure from his previous albums, which, if anything, at least featured optimistic instrumentals, Cold Visions provides a full dive into Bladee (real name Benjamin Reichwald) and his struggles with depression. The then-30 year-old rapper dumps his daily struggles with the condition over mostly nihilistic, brooding rage beats (such as on the album opener, “PARANOIA INTRO”) with the occasional break of his signature draincore sound (such as on “LOWS PARTLYY”). While the music itself was considered groundbreaking, what made the album truly shine was its usage of audio tags throughout the album.




Take, for example, the intro track, “PARANOIA INTRO.” As Bladee warbles the opening lines of the album, one of the album’s many album tags (this time a woman announcing the album’s name) plays in the background, signaling a drop with overwhelming 808s. The tag indicates the start of Bladee’s panic attack, adding to the, well, paranoia that he describes in the track and in later albums.








Or, let’s examine the eighth track (or tenth, I can’t remember correctly), “ONLY GOD IS MADE PERFECT.” During the song, most notably identified by the contrast between the glitzy melodies and the blistering 808s, Bladee states “I used to say—” before he is censored by himself saying the album’s name, before continuing the line, “that sh*t was not acceptable.” Specifically using the tag “Cold Visions” instead of using a traditional censor acts as a form of despair, about how Reichwald feels like he truly cannot escape his past sins.