Editor’s Note: This review is part of a RHSToday series, Retro Reviews, where we review albums from before 2000.

While the days of the ’90s grunge and rock are over, they live on through Radiohead’s “OK Computer.” This legendary album broke the mold of traditional guitar rock and has yet to be challenged even 25 years later.

This was the third album released by Radiohead on May 21, 1997. Taking into consideration the relatively restrictive walls of guitar rock during the ’90s, this album took the genre to places unseen. This opus is the glory baby of the sounds of Pink Floyd, David Bowie, and Spacehog.

Ever since my first listen of “OK Computer,” I have been trying to find a term to describe this album in all its glory. Although the lingering theme throughout the tracks is the takeover of society by technology, the beautiful vocals of Thom Yorke and the relativity of the lyrics to today’s society convey the theme that can only be described by the words: vulnerably human.

I find it amazing how all of the lyrics, although written 25 years ago, are still if not even more relative to today’s society. Even the tracks not intended to discuss the strings of society can still be compared to it. The opening track “Airbag” is an autobiography about Yorke’s experience in a car crash in 1987, in which his life was saved by an airbag. Radiohead couldn’t have chosen a better opening track, preaching about a life saved before circling back to a bizarre death at the end of the album with the closing track “The tourist”. It’s brimming with emotion and Radiohead’s ability to use their vocals and instrumentals to make unrelatable situations relatable to all listeners strikes again.

All twelve tracks are crammed with ambition and musical exploration and it’s almost impossible to narrow them down. However, this review would not be true to my opinion if I didn’t mention my all-time favorite track, “Paranoid Android.” This masterpiece is a mix of smooth blues, grunge electric guitar and contemporary all thrown into a blender. Over six minutes long and every second is like a turn down a winding road. There are drastic changes in rhythm, alternating between slow and melodic and fast and staccato.

Yorke’s voice sounds uniquely strained without actually belting, which gives him a way to convey the emotion in the lyrics. He tells a story from the point of view of an android, hence the name and beginning back-vocals repeating “I may be paranoid, but no android”. The rhythm changes represent changes in emotion and the different phases of paranoia, ending with imagery of the android’s death. The lyrics can be applied to many other mental health problems in society, and the emotion in Yorke’s voice makes it hard not to empathize with him.

Radiohead was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just three years ago and I believe this album is one of the biggest reasons why. Overall, this album is still greatly appreciated and listened to frequently 25 years later. As for why the tracks speak for themselves.