Album pick, February 2026

For my second album of the month, I am choosing Time by Infected Rain.

Album cover

Infected Rain is the band that really started my journey into self discovery and my taste for heavier music. This journey started with “Orphan Soul”, it was one of the first heavier songs, I happened to stumble upon, whilst browsing YouTube.

It was during the summer of 2018, I was travelling through Ukraine at the time and staying in a little loft in the city centre of Kyiv. It had been an incredibly hot summer’s day and I remember sitting on the windowsill, with the window open watching the sun set over the city and listening to some music, enjoying the cold breeze that was blowing into the city and having a cold drink.

There was an immediate match between the song and me. The first time listening, I didn’t pay as much attention to the lyrics as I should have, but still there was something in my subconscious that could relate to the song. Later, upon reading the lyrics, while listening, there was a real sense of familiarity in this song.

Since that moment “Orphan Soul” and “Infected Rain” have graced my music player countless times with their presence.

It was really hard to choose a single album for this moment, and I was doubting between “Time” and “Embrace Eternity”. Both are really high in my all-time favourite albums, but eventually I managed to land on “Time”. This album is just a bit more relatable to me.

Their music has always struck a balance and contrast between something forlorn and yet, there is still a glint of hope or optimism throughout. It is this very contrast that I like and can relate to.

The highlight of the album, for me, was definitely “Because I Let You”; It hits hard and each time I listen it gives me a lump in my throat. The accompanying music video is absolutely gut-wrenching, especially the end when the music cuts out and the video continues on for a little while. Even now I still have a hard time, not shedding a tear while watching.

https://youtu.be/rANU9O9QR7c?si=Drn1m5W4NZJqhqnS

It is this song, and video, that has elicited the same initial emotions and reactions as I had when I first listened to “Orphan Soul”.

A few years ago, when the band was on tour promoting this album, I ended up travelling to Romania to see them live. This in itself was yet again a similar experience. I was staying in the old city centre of Bucharest, in a little apartment. The concert venue was at the edge of the city and after taking the metro, I came to the venue, Which ended up being a small cafe / concert hall.

It had again been a really hot day in the middle of summer, and the hot air was trapped in between the buildings in the city centre and radiating from the stones. Yet stepping out of the metro at the edge of the city there was a gentle cool breeze. But you could still feel the heat coming from the asphalt.

The venue had a nice area in the back outside, with some shade, where you could sit and have a cold drink. It was a nice place to escape the heat for a while. In the evening the concert started, and they played most songs of this album, including “Because I Let You”, but they also played “Orphan Soul”, so this made the entire experience and memory complete.