Artificial Utopia in Ruins thoughts

The album came out while I was on a trip so I was a day late in listening to it! Anyways overall it sounds a lot like Fossilized Wonders, and ZUNpets have made a comeback (A Windows update broke a driver with ZUN's sythasizer which is why FW doesn't have them). The following text blurbs below are my thoughts while listening to the albums. I'm sorry if some of my thoughts are rather short as I tend to be a concise writer and this is my first time reveiwing a music album.

Track 1 - A Beautiful and Enjoyable Crime

The return of ZUNpets! Nice and upbeat, sounds like something from Fossilized Wonders. The drop at the end was funny, dunno how else to describe it.

Track 2 - Nara Otherworld Park

A bit less upbeat upbeat as well yet slightly melancholy. Also hearing a sizable amount of FW influence here, but no ZUNpets atm. Would make a good Stage 3 theme.

Track 3 - The Great Underground Railway Network

Different from the previous tracks with a weird sense of grandiosity, with ZUNpets beginning at 1:14. 2:52 flute from the beginning returns, and meshes nicely with ZUNpets in the last ~35 seconds of the track. This is an arrange of a song from Touhou 18 (Unconnected Markiteers).

Track 4 - Unlocated Hell

This is an arrangement of the Stage 4 theme from Touhou 17 (No I have not played this one either). Sounds nice but I don't have much thoughts on it otherwise aside from the sudden ending.

Track 5 - Planned City of Culture, Primate Spirit Aramashikyõ

An experimental track as it doesn't sound like your typical ZUN music. Flows nicely and is slower paced.

Track 6 - Track 6 - Reminiscence of Deer Hunting

Uhh what? Not complaining at all but the first minute sounds very unusual. Turns out this is another arrangment, this time of Touhou 20's Stage 4 boss theme. A bit disappointed with myself because I only played through the demo and didn't get the full game.

Track 7 -Kitten of Great Fortune

ARRANGE OF MIKE'S THEME INSTANT 10/10 HELL YEAH

Track 8 - Beast Metropolis

Arange of the Stage 5 theme in Touhou 17: Willy Beast and Weakest creature. Is a more muted version of the original track, which fits as this isn't a boss theme anymore. Slows down at 3:46.

Track 9 - Remains of Vairocana Buddha

Not an arrange. Reminds me of Forest of Dolls (Dolls of Pseudo Paradise) somehow. Like the flutes in the background.

Track 10 - Track 10 - Entrusting This World to Idols ~ Idolatrize World

Another arrange, feels less intense than the original. Still goes incredibly hard though.

Track 11 - To a Humanity That Reveres Failure, The Next 2000 Years

Apt closing track from the title to the song itself. New guitar as well!

(SPOILER WARNING) Personal thoughts on the story

Very interesting theme regarding the irony of scientism. The (earlier) humans in Maribel and Renko's time, after being subjected to a litany of natural disasters, buried themselves underground and decided to discard all former regions and beliefs and put their faith in science to have a "fresh start". With their newfound knowledge and faith, they construct a planned city full of geometric wonders underground, even having a historical section on the city it was built (under?) Nara, Japan. However, because the people had a religious fervor for science, they ended up manifesting a spirit made of their desires, with the the city being abandoned to herds of wild deer. By Renko and Maribel's time, there was a tourism system but it was very difficult to obtain permission/get a ticket. The reasons were "unclear" but I presume it was out of humiliation of turning their "scientific" society into a bizarre theocracy of scicentism.