DeathPosture

Yeah, come on... Delete that crap already... I don't know what the hell people get out of annoying other people? Quit rubbing your freakin' insecurity and low-self esteem issues on us... Get a fucking life! DP

12 Moons - Solid State Format: CD (digipack) Artist: 12 Moons Title: Solid State Label: Candyflip Records, Greece Distribution: Arabesque Cat. #: CFCD12 Year: 2004 Track listing: 01. 09’49” Analog Haste 02. 07’51” Ovation 03. 08’41” Pilot 04. 08’26” The Collective 05. 08’39” Without Within 06. 08’17” Anonakki 07. 07’46” Small Adventures 08. 07’12” Halo 09. 02’50” Interlude 10. 10’12” Flair Review: The melodic trance-side of Mr. Andresen… Most trance-artists also produce ambient… And often artist albums are equipped with one or two downbeat/ambient tracks at the end of the album… But seldom do trance-artists release both a trance album AND an ambient album simultaneously… But that’s just what Gothenburg-based Swedish producer Michael Andresen has done… Healer is his ambient moniker, and 12 Moons is his trance moniker… Under the 12 Moons alias, Mr. Andresen has released an impressive 9 EPs and no less than 19 tracks on compilations on such respected labels as Dragonfly, Transient, Spiral Trax, Hadshot and Flying Rhino to name but a few… Now he’s out with his debut-album on Greek label Candyflip… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: Aaah... Just listen to that smooth intro - Fluffy, light-as-a-feather, floating, twirling synth melodies… Whistles, bells… Prepare to enter the harmonic, melodic trance universe of 12 Moons… After the initial dream-like atmosphere, the track slowly starts to build and after a couple of minutes, a nice crisp proggy bassline is released…But proggy in the cleanest, most well-polished manner and with the floating melodies still playing along… Decent track… #02: As the tracks on the CD are nicely mixed into each other, we seamlessly float straight into ‘Ovation’… This is as close to Balearic-euphoric-Ibiza trance as it gets… to be honest, sometimes I’m not sure if I’m listening to 12 Moons or ATB here… It’s fluffy, it’s melodic – and I’m afraid that parts of it are a little too boring for my taste… #03: Alright, we’re starting to shake that clubby feeling now… First it continues in the same path as the predecessors, but soon a deeper, proggier sound is introduced… Nice… Very nice percussion work here and I especially like the overall fast-paced-tribal touch this track has – while still maintaining the album-theme: Uplifting, euphoric, melodic morning trance… Tasty! #04: Very simple, but very atmospheric intro… The basis is just two synth cords… The pace has quickened now, and the groovy bassline is accompanied by some distant human choir… Again, the Ibiza-touch is very much present, but as long as it’s accompanied by some deep, progressive beats and a touch of psy I’m happy… And that extra touch comes through clever use of hi-hats and nifty little acid-twirls… Sweet track! #05: And we go even deeper now… More talented use of percussion, reverbs and cut beats in this slooooowly building tune… I like the “underplayed” FX (sorry, not a sound-technician, so I can’t explain it better)… A progressive stomper, with just enough simple, old-school melodies to make it retro-cool… #06: Electro-melody intro… Floating, organic soundscapes in the background… And a funky-ass bassline… I’m not sure I like the electro-bit, but I definitely dig the overall groove of this track… Reminds me of Saiko-Pod at certain places… However, it goes too much in circles and ends up too repetitive for my taste… Decent track… #07: “Where are we? I’m not sure…” Percussion-based track here – snares, congas, claves… Kinda tribal progressive trance, spiced up by melodic synths and a tad lower b.p.m…. Very groovy, very laid-back… Delicious! #08: Woow – holy smokes, what a cool intro… A very cool synth effect creates a wicked melody… Nice… Later we get a kinda “distorted” bassline and some basic grooves alongside it… This is the darkest track on the album for sure – but it still has melodic bits… Quite a few of them actually… Such a cool combo… I dig! #09: A taste of Mr. Andresen’s skills as a chill-out producer… Way too short though for a review – good thing that we get a full album of ambient on the Healer-album (released simultaneously with this album – also on Candyflip… ~Review coming soon~)… #10: The journey track… It’s time for some serious experimentation… Cicadas, roars from a lion… Oh, we’re definitely in the jungle now baby… Repetitive tribal congas – slowly becoming faster, and suddenly turning into a drum-machine… Straight from nature into the studio – clever! The beats are much faster now and somewhat colder – metallic even… More percussion and subtle acid lines are added to create a very energetic, techo’ish feel… Halfway through, the beats are going in a more tribal, yet still progressive direction and some of the well-known floating melodies are introduced again… And finally the track fades out to the sound of the jungle again… Wow, what a journey… Sweet, sweet track! Phew, what a ride... A journey even… This is best enjoyed as a whole… What we get here are a bunch of diverse tracks – yet they are all bound together by a common denominator: the unique sound of 12 Moons… At times it’s super-light, melodic and fluffy – and later on it’s deep, darkish, progressive trance… This album was mastered by the talented Son Kite guys, and their progressive fingerprints are all over this baby… A sign of quality in my book… The cover-art by Micky Noise (Wizzy Noise) is also sweet, and appropriate for the music… Also, it’s nice to listen to an album that isn’t riddled with voice-samples… The music speaks for itself here… There are a couple of tracks that are just too boring for my taste, but they are more than counter-balanced by the many wonderful tracks on this album… Recommended to anyone who likes uplifting, melodic trance – with a distinctive progressive edge! 8/10 Favourites: 3, 4 (!), 7, 8 (!), 10 (!) DeathPosture External links: 12 Moons: www.12moons.net Candyflip Records: www.candyflip-records.com Psyshop: www.psyshop.com (Audio samples available!) Saiko Sounds: www.saikosounds.com Chaos Unlimited: www.chaosunlimited.co.uk Trance-shop: www.trance-shop.com Wirikuta: www.wirikuta.at

but hey.. where's children these days? has he dropped the psynews project altogether? Yes he has... ;o( DP

Following older, non-bumpable threads about this release, here's another review... --- The Misted Muppet – From The Legend Format: CD Artist: The Misted Muppet (Dagan Israeli & Tal Hassidi) Title: From The Legend Label: Trancelucent Productions, Israel Cat. #: TP008 Year: 2004 Track listing: 01. 06’36” The Mist 02. 07’37” Machine Forest 03. 07’30” Cat Visions 04. 06’09” Midnight Tales 05. 07’20” Innocence 06. 07’24” Towards the Castle 07. 07’34” Mercenaries 08. 06’39” Might and Magic 09. 07’58” From the Legend 10. 02’18” Defender of the Past Review: Medieval horror muppets! Bit late on this one, but this album is so frickin’ superb, I just have to express my feelings towards it… After repeated listens, I have totally surrendered to the magic sound of those insane muppets… Many have pointed out the obvious similarities to early Infected Mushroom material, and yes this is what IM’s 3rd album could’ve sounded like… This is far from plagiarism though – this is highly original, flawless, ground-breaking material… Think medieval. Think eerie, spooky horror-flicks. Think big orchestral compositions. Think full-blown multilayered trance-inducing goa-trance… And you’re still nowhere near the sound of this truly outstanding album… Each track is a little masterpiece by itself… From the extremely well-crafted multilayered melodic mayhem of ‘The Mist’ to the bombastic orchestral sonic horror sound-manipulations with super-catchy driving acid-driven melodies of ‘Machine Forest’ From the wicked stomper ‘Cat Visions’ that incorporates the sound of a pissed-off meowing cat, to the deep, dark, percussion driven mayhem that is ‘Midnight Tales’ …With the stunningly beautiful break, before the final full-on part… That track has it all… Perfection… From the phat, ballistic grooves that define ‘Innocence’ to the dark, scary Halloween night-time trance in ‘Towards the Castle’ – those high-pitched acid-lines WILL mess with your head… So beware! From the perfect blend of eerie, merciless night-trance and energetic, twirling acid-lines combined with demented piano-riffs in ‘Mercenaries’ to the hard-hitting, relentless full-on goa-trance beautifully presented in ‘Might and Magic’ From the experimental wizardry and well-crafted haunted melodies in ‘From the Legend’ to the soothing, coming-back-to-reality trip of ‘Defender of the Crown’ This album is near perfection…Nice long build-ups and breaks that are actually long enough to be trance-inducing… Extremely well-produced, with nice, clear and crispy sounds… I really dig the medieval ‘theme’ of this album – both musically and stylistic… A big old FUMS UP to Trancelucent Productions for bringing us such a wikkid album... ;o) Highly recommended! 9.5/10 Favourites: All DeathPosture External links: Trancelucent Productions: www.trancelucent-zone.com Psyshop: www.psyshop.com Saiko Sounds: www.saikosounds.com (Audio samples available!) Chaos Unlimited: www.chaosunlimited.co.uk Trance-shop: www.trance-shop.com

V/A – All Systems Go Format: CD Artist: Various Title: All Systems Go Label: Exposure Productions, Greece Distribution: Zillion Mental Anarchie Cat. #: EXPOCD 001 Year: 2004 Track listing: 01. 08’28” Silicon Sound – Smooth Out 02. 07’52” Logic Bomb – Mystery Mirror 03. 08’42” Bamboo Forest – Si Senor 04. 06’16” Alien Project – Solar System 05. 07’00” Exaile - Funky 06. 07’24” Nomad - Albavoce 07. 08’32” Electric Universe – The Essential 08. 06’46” The Antidote – Three Days 09. 07’09” Kinetic - Ultraviolet 10. 07’32” Talamasca And Yuman - Crescendo Review: Yikes! When was the last time you saw that many big, well-respected names on a labels debut-release? The first look at the track-list had me rubbing my eyes an extra time… I must say that I’m impressed with Detox’ work here – he compiled the whole thing, and I’m sure it hasn’t been a walk in the park getting all those big names to appear on the compilation… With mastering by Volker König of Ololiuque fame, the basis for a fine compilation should be laid down… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: [140 bpm] First up is Silicon Sound…Johannes Reigner gained a fan in me with his very impressive debut album “Pure Analog” released last year on Moon Spirits… This track fulfils my high expectations… Sweet, well-polished, harmonic, organic track with well-fitting samples… Floating melodies and analogue basslines… This is the kind of uplifting French full-on that I will never get tired of – come on Johannes – release another album already!… Sweet track! #02: [145 bpm] Next up is the highly acclaimed Swedish Ørebro duo Logic Bomb… Johan & Jonas delivers a somewhat darker, more pounding night-track – with the wonderful sound of the late nineties… Rolling acid lines, twisted ‘metallic’ percussion and wicked melodies – and they multi-layered, trance-inducing sound I first fell in love with… Yummy! Fine track! #03: [145 bpm] Then we have Paris-based act Bamboo Forrest (Stephane Dureisseix & Yann Henaff) – famous for their sought-after album “Random Future” which was only released as a promo on Flying Rhino before that label went under… Bamboo Forest has always had a special ‘ethno-tribal’ approach to psy-trance which can best be described as… ehhm… ethno-tribal! ...And this track is no exception… It starts out slow with ethnic vocals and slowly building percussion – and soon the whole spectre of sound is open and we’re treated to a funky, full-on night tune… Complete with weird multi-language samples [old Entish!], nifty little melodies and heaps and heaps of psychedelic mayhem… Damn, this is the shiznit! Brilliant! #04: [145 bpm] Next up is a track from Israeli Mr. Ari Linker… And everyone has an opinion about Alien Project – he’s been bashed for being over-productive, for releasing on TIP World and for using samples of other peoples stuff in his tracks… I kinda liked Aztechno Dream, but besides from that I’ve deliberately tried to stay clear of his stuff – and this track is a good example of why… Instant cheddar-alarm! I wouldn’t go as far as dubbing this copy/paste-GMS-clone trance, but it’s pretty damn close… The power presented in this track IS impressive – and yes, it WILL fill any trance-floor… And yes, it IS highly melodic… All those things are true - It’s just not very original … This kind of track been done so many times before over the last couple of years… Move on already! Average track! #05: [145 bpm] Second Israeli act featured here is Exaile… Although I’m not a big fan of Skazi-trance, I appreciated Exaile’s tracks on the compilations Monarchie IV and Doppler FX… This is a very industrial-sounding darkish night-track… The melodies are hidden in between some hard-hitting acid-guitar tweaking and a severely dark bassline… It’s definitely full-on – extreme full-on at places… Oh and except for random tribal bits there is nothing funky about this track! Decent track! #06: [144 bpm] We’re back in France with DJ Maël aka Nomad… I like some of his older stuff, but it’s been a while since I’ve heard anything from him… A weak intro is soon replaced by a hardcore bassline and some spacey synth-action… Apocalyptic singing and some dude’s creepy voice muttering adds to the dark, brutal atmosphere this track has… Later on we even get a touch of violin and some seriously demented melody… I like the way Farid plays around with constant changes in style, direction and pitch… Also the cool stereo-FX are impressive… Brutal, but nice track! #07: [145 bpm] Ahh, Boris Blenn – the German godfather of Goa… The track starts out with an oddball, yet melodic intro that incorporates some of the very familiar old-school goa effects… The track has both minimal and tribal parts… But also psychedelic acid parts with flying saucer-like samples that will take you straight back to 1997… Very nice variation … I’m telling you, this track rules – it IS The Essential! #08: [143 bpm] Next up is Serge with a track straight from his Ibiza-studio… Very trippy, promising intro, but the track itself seems strangely out of place… Compared to its predecessors its more on the progressive/housier side of the trance spectre – stripped down with fewer layers… But hey, this compilation has already shifted direction a couple of times, so I guess it’s not THAT much out of place… And, the track isn’t half bad… It’s just not great either! And what’s up with the track fading in the end!? Highly unusual! #09: [142 bpm] Kinetic was the only artist on this compilation I had no preceding knowledge of… But as the label is Greek, I’m guessing the bigger names are giving a local act a piggy-bag ride into stardom… This is a full-on morning track – fuelled by uplifting melodies and driving, powerful riffs… Seasoned with the sporadic appearance of a hard-hitting bassline… Anything is possible – and this is a very danceable tune! Well done Kinetic! #10: [138 bpm] We’re back in France, where Cedric gets some help from his friend Yuman on this last, slightly slower track…It’s typical Talamasca minus 10 bpm – which makes this quite groovy with a tribal touch… I dig the familiar, trippy, moaning voice-samples … Ok track! Pheew, what an impressive debut for Exposure Productions… We’re treated to A LOT of fine tracks here – ranging from old school, multi-layered melodic mayhem to deep, highly atmospheric moderne psy-trance… And everything in between! With a few exceptions, all tracks can be played both at home and on the trance-floors – and I’d recommend this compilation to anyone interested in well-produced psy-trance 2004-style… I’m already looking forward to the next compilation which will feature tracks by Astral Projection, Deedrah, Alien Project, Synthetic, Orion, Space Cat, Wizzy Noise, Logic Bomb and more… Sounds promising! Big up to Exposure and Detox for putting out such a top-class compilation! 8/10 Favourites: 1, 2, 3 (!), 6, 7 (!), 9 DeathPosture' External links: Exposure Productions: www.exposure-productions.net (Under construction!) Psyshop: www.psyshop.com (Audio samples available!) Saiko Sounds: www.saikosounds.com Chaos Unlimited: www.chaosunlimited.co.uk Trance-shop: www.trance-shop.com (Format update 12/05/06)

V/A – Uplifter Sessions Vol. 2 Format: CD Artist: Various Title: Uplifter Sessions Vol. 2 Label: Mental Arts, Germany Distribution: Midijum Global Distribution Cat. #: MA008 Date: July 30th Year: 2004 Track listing: 01. 07’25” Klopfgeister – How to Become a Psychic 02. 07’55” Neelix - Relict 03. 08’38” Alfredo Garcia - Enlightenment 04. 08’53” Oszilla – Tantal Tactus 05. 07’55” Twelve Monkies – No DJ to Fcuk With! 06. 07’52” Oszilla - Halluneopren 07. 05’34” Audiomatrixx - Flavanoid 08. 08’42” Neelix - Alcatraz 09. 08’29” Alfredo Garcia – 51th State Review: Uplifter: Mental Arts compilation Vol. 2 To be honest, I knew next to nothing about the German prog label Mental Arts before this CD landed in my mailbox… And the first look at the track listing didn’t exactly help much… Well, I’d heard of Oszilla and Neelix before, but that was it… But hey, that should deprive my review of the most obvious preconceived opinions – which is a good thing! Anyway, this compilation show-cases some of the new German prog-artist signed to Mental Arts along with a couple of “old-timers”… The whole thing is compiled by DJ Joyrider who also compiled the first Uplifter compilation released last year… Adelante! Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: [137 bpm] First newbie is Klopfgeist - showing us how to become a psychic… ;o) The intro is calm and floating – organic even… But slowly more and more percussion is added along with some subtle psychedelic FX – and before you know it, the track is in full motion… Tribal, percussion driven, atmospheric prog-track… Minimal at times, funky at others… I dig the “reverb-sound” that is present here (and in most progressive trance tracks at the moment)… Very tasty! Not a bad debut for the knocking spirit! #02: [142 bpm] Nelix released his debut album on Mental Arts last year, and has also released stuff on YSE Records and Phonokol… Relict starts out slow, and then a persistent, boring analogue bassline is introduced… But luckily, Neelix adds enough organic elements and funky percussion to make the whole thing groovier as it progresses… I like how he plays around with the listener – clever use of driving percussion… It builds all the way through… And to top it of, a couple of independence quotes from the movie ‘The Patriot’ …Ok track! #03: [136 bpm] For undisclosed reasons, this tune starts out with corny rave samples from a British flick called “Saving Grace”… I’ve never heard of Mr. Garcia before, but it sure is well-polished… The style is somewhat housey, leaning towards tech… Not bad, but not very psy either… Decent track! #04: [138 bpm] Ah, this is more like it… Andreas Weber aka Oszilla – is best known for his Psysolation/Insolation releases… And we get some psy-influenced progressive trance here… Again, very well-polished – with distinctive house-influences… But it gets harder as the track progresses… The second half of the track is definitely my fav’e… nicht revolutionär, aber gut dennoch! #05: [139 bpm] Twelve Monkies is well-known in and around the Hamburg trance-community – but this is my first encounter with him/her/them!?... This is the “funny” track, packed with all kinds of lengthy sci-fi/Agent Smith/etc samples… The track itself is on the more progressive side - guitar-driven with a touch of psychedelic acid… If this had +10 bpm it could have easily been on a Pavarti-compilation… Nice track, I like the oddball approach… Word! #06: [134 bpm] The 2nd Oszilla track is the slowest on the compilation… Why didn’t put this as the first track to secure a smoother flow!? This is percussion track – with male vocals/sinning… But somehow Mr. Weber manages to squeeze a little psy into this track – especially towards the end where the percussion is kinda cool… To be honest, I hated this track the first time I heard it… I was a real stinker, but somehow it has grown on me… It’s just not enough – sadly it never reaches an above-average standard… #07: [140 bpm] Combine the talent of Magnetrixx + Audiomatic and you have Audiomatrixx… First Buzzmonx did it – and now Audiomatrixx… Seems that the double ZZ’s are the hip thing to do in German electronic collaborations at the moment… After a nice floating intro and some Halflife samples we are treated to a fine, deep bassline… Steadily pumping alongside some twisted congas and jolly, floating melodies… This is very well-produced, modern progressive trance a la 2004… Well done Audiomatrix! Only flaw this track has: it’s too short! #08: [140 bpm] Neelix doesn’t waste time on his 2nd track – it launches straight into a kicking, flat bassline accompanied by random bleeps and twists – and the mandatory movie/game samples… The bassline is a little to anonymous for my taste, but besides from that, the track is quite ok… #09: [140 bpm] Final track is the second instalment of Alfredo Garcia and this has a somewhat darker, more pounding beat… I’d even go as far as calling the bassline phat – it definitely gets my toe wiggling… Sweet tribal-like percussion and nice echoing FX… Very nice track! I don’t know what to make of this compilation… On one side, it’s a collection of nice, driving “nu-school” progressive trance tracks – but on the other side, it’s not really the huge, progressive monster compilation I could have hoped for… I mean, it’s not really revolutionary – but it’s not bad either…Somewhere in between I think… All in all: Uplifter vol. 2 passed the test – without being ostentatious! However, there is a handful of lovely tracks here, and if you can handle cross-over material ~ if you like house music and progressive trance with a touch of psy-trance – you’ll like this compilation… But open-mindedness towards genre-defying music is a definite must to appreciate this compilation…;o) 7/10 Favourites: 1, 5, 7 (!), 9 (!) DeathPosture External links: Mental Arts: https://products.mental-arts.com/index.cgi?...t=uplifter_vol2 (Audio samples available!) Medijum Global Distribution: http://www.midijum-records.de Should be available shortly @: http://www.psyshop.com http://www.saikosounds.com http://www.trance-shop.com And you’ll be able to buy an mp3 version @: http://www.clickatrack.com

V/A – Gemstones vol. 1: Amber Format: CD Artist: Various Title: Gemstones Vol. 1: Amber Label: Maia Records, Mexico Cat. #: MRCD04 Date: June 11th Year: 2004 Track listing: 01. 06’55” The Melovskys – Killing Floor Building 02. 06’26” D-Tek vs. Mexican Trance Mafia - Mochiro 03. 07’54” Domestic vs. Pixel vs. Wrecked Machines – Any Sense (Remix) 04. 08’54” Psysex – Space Quest 05. 06’54” Deedrah – Strike Sonic Gold 06. 06’18” Sesto Sento – I’m In And Out 07. 06’34” Electro Body – Test Drive 08. 07’05” Elixer – Logic Exploration 09. 07’18” Gataka vs. System Nipple – Night Shift 10. 08’01” Aquatica – Escape to Heaven Review: Amber: A hard translucent yellow, orange, or brownish-yellow fossil resin… And now: A psy-trance compilation! Mexican label Maia Records is on a trance-mission: ‘Amber’ is the first in a series of 3 psy-trance compilations called ‘gemstones’… Don’t know what that has to with trance, but who cares… What we get here are 10 previously unreleased tracks from mostly Mexican and Israeli artists… It’s a good old blend of newcomers, rookies and hardened psy veterans – compiled by DJ Arturo & DJ Messie… Let’s see what they have in stock for us… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: TIP Records residents and native Mexicans ‘The Melovskys’ kick off with their own little gem… I’m still trying to figure out what significance the title has!?... Anyhow – if you liked their remake of Hendrix’ Purple Haze with all the guitars, you know what to expect here… It’s full on, it’s fast-paced; it’s guitar-riffs and hard-core knob-tweaking… And there are even some tribal influences and small melodies hidden in-between everything… Ok track! #02: Up next is a Mexican collaboration… After a short organic intro, it’s time for some ripping acid lines seasoned with brutal basslines and of course all kinds of twisted effects… I really dig the many changes in pace and pitch, which kinda reminds me of Rinkadink… Not bad at all! #03: Mexico meets Israel in this trance manage-a-trois… This track is hard to describe, as it has lots of elements: Full-on in structure – with a horror-atmosphere that pops up now and again… as with the previous track there are many changes in tempo … A couple of nice build-ups … And much more... And it would fit in both day/night sets… Nicey nice! #04: Ahh, good old Psysex – taking us on a space quest… Luckily this is the longest track here, ‘cause it’s very tasty… A fast-paced, full-on track with a banging bass, space-samples, infectious bridges, and sweet, sweet acid melodies. Hands down, the best track so far! #05: Ahh, good old Deedrah – taking us on a space quest… Woow – dejavú! Well, in fact this isn’t as spacey as the Psysex track… In fact, Holyszewski’s track starts out with an INSANE bass line – seriously, for a minute there I thought I had put on a gabba-CD by accident!?… But it soon disappears, and is replaced by a more dance friendly bass and your usual full-on elements… Unfortunately, it also gets kinda boring and predictable… And just when it’s about to get interesting, it stops… Bummer! So this track doesn’t really *do* it for me… #06: Wonder kids Sesto Sento are up next… Wicked Shpongle-like voice sample in the intro and sweet use of twisted stereo-effects… A subtle, morning track with clever use of digital drops and acid belches… The production is flawless, and this is pure saccharine for you ears! #07: Electro Body is D-Tek and Mexican electro DJ Paul Habif… So there you have it, electro trance! But I’d say its more trance than electro… Very fast and sorta unorganized… It’s experimental to say the least, but hey – that’s a good thing… Very trippy! #08: Amsterdam resident Elixer is half of Digital Bandits – but this is his solo debut… Above 150 BPM, this is one fast-paced, full-on, tribal stomper… I like the eerie melodies, the tribal drums and the organic feel… Unfortunately that doesn’t quite cut it, as this track never reaches the very sought-after trance-state peak… But for a debut, it’s not bad… Decent track! #09: Gataka is the solo-side-project of one of the Sesto Sento guys, and on this track he collaborates with System Nipple – but I have no idea who that is!? But this is aptly named, Night Shift – and this is for sure a night track… Very, very nice intro which almost reaches Spiritual Healing heights… Damn, what a sweet melody… Oh yes, well-produced, melodic full-on… That build-up/break part @ 5’00 rawks! It’s not revolutionary in any way, it’s just good… ‘Nuff said! #10: This is also my first encounter with newcomer Aquatica… But I hope it’s not the last – this is very interesting… The intro is highly melodic – in fact, it’s been a while since I’ve heard so fluffy melodies – but they are accompanied by a mean-ass bassline and darkish percussion… Hats off to that combo… Nice track! So, is this another boring compilation in the endless stream of full-on releases? Well, no! Yes, there are mediocre tracks here, but also a number of really interesting tracks! Actually, what saves this compilation is the diversity in the tracks – there are some pretty wicked stuff going on in some of the tracks – and I like that… That being said, I could have wished for a more coherent flow – and why are most of the tracks so short? A few more top-range track instead of fillers and this would have scored higher in my cool-book… Anyway, I’m looking forward to the next gemstone which will be ‘Obsidian’… If you like your fast-paced, modern Mexican full-on this is definitely a compilation you want to check out… 7.5/10 Favourites: 3, 4(!!), 6, 7, 9, 10 DeathPosture External links: Maia Records: www.maia.com.mx Psyshop: www.psyshop.com (Audio samples available!) Saiko Sounds: www.saikosounds.com Chaos Unlimited: www.chaosunlimited.co.uk Trance-shop: www.trance-shop.com

Buzzmonx – Toms’n Jerry Format: CD Artist: Buzzmonx Title: Toms’n Jerry Label: Plusquam Records, Germany Distribution: Cosmophilia & Wakyo Cat. #: PQRCD104 Year: 2004 Track listing: 01. 08’27” Monkey 02. 08’37” Search 03. 09’10” Twinpeak 04. 07’21” Shift 05. 07’46” Funck Off 06. 08’10” Toms’n Jerry 07. 08’01” Tune 08. 07’20” K.Camper Review: Buzz + Bitmonx = Buzzmonx! …Next stop rocket-science! Technoid Germans Sascha Haske (Bitmonx & Lube) and Sebastian Plehn (Buzz & ½ of Timetech) joined forces back in 2001 when they build their studio Keller.04, and ever since they’ve been releasing their highly acclaimed tracks on various compilations… Now they are out with their debut album on renowned German proggy-label Plusquam… Let’s see what they have in stock for us… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: First up is the monkey track – a nice, minimal intro… Banging bass with a reverb effect – some smooth female house-samples and soon the groove is introduced – the PHAT sound of funky progressive trance… Pure beach-house trance for chilling at the beach… Beautiful! #02: This one is a bit stompier – just a bit though… I really dig the rolling bassline and all the floating melodies and “peaks” that are present throughout the track… Very FREq’ish in nature – Same groove and energy! I’m impressed! #03: She’s deeeeeead – wrapped in plastic! Nope guys – you’ll find no cheesy TP-samples here… I think Buzzmonx sampled something from Badalamentis’ Twin Peaks theme here – and that’s about the only reference to TP I can find… This track has a more tribal approach – the percussion sound acoustic at times, and that creates a cozy atmosphere… Very organic and very well-polished… Pure groove! #04: Again, Buzzmonx touch up on their old minimal trance roots – nice flashback guys… ;o) However, this is not 2001, so this is minimal trance seasoned with 2004 beach-house funk! … Tribal percussion, housey hi-hats and funky reverbs and sweet little synth melodies… Sweet! #05: More laid-back, tribal stuff… Juno Reactor-like bongos and nice, organic floating soundscapes… The pace is slow – almost dubby and lazy at times, but the groove is very much intact… This is cabana chill – and this track marks the change in pace, to the slightly more chilled part of the album… Boat-drinks! #06: The title track is another laid-back percussion-driven tune… Slightly ‘darker’ and more metallic – but as always, the Buzzmonx groove is phatter than ever… Somehow the two talented producers makes the musical elements communicate – kinda like melodies… Funky! #07: soon more FX are added, turning it into a darkish, ‘minimal’ progressive trance tune… And the low BPM ensures that the Buzzmonx groove is never lost … I really like the clash between fluffy soundscapes and deeper than deep bass and other ‘dark’ effects here… Yummy, this one is soooo tasty! #08: … The pounding bass makes a surprise comeback on this last track which is much faster than the previous 3 tracks… Well, pounding is an over-statement; the bass is just more minimal at first… This is definitely a progressive trance tune – which is somewhere in between chilled prog and dance floor prog… Those little acid-squelches really scratch my itch… Very nice track! Oh what a great year it has been for progressive trance… High quality albums from FREq, Atmos, Son Kite, Etic and Kooler – and now this from Buzzmonx… We’re so spoiled… ;o) This IS a good album… I’ve listened to it several times now, and besides a few “good-but-not-great” tracks, I cannot put my finger on any major flaws… Perhaps the flow of the album is kinda thrown off – I would have put tracks # 5, 6, 7 @ the end… But that’s nitpicking… If you’ve enjoyed some of the artist albums I listed above, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this as well – recommended for anyone surfing the progressive trance wave! 8.5/10 Favourites: 1(!), 2(!), 3, 4, 7(!), 8 DeathPosture External links: Plusquam Records: www.plusquam-records.de Psyshop: www.psyshop.com (Audio samples available!) Saiko Sounds: www.saikosounds.com Chaos Unlimited: www.chaosunlimited.co.uk Trance-shop: www.trance-shop.com

"bad bad bad bad boy go to my room and twiddle your thumbs til i come don't have to think o let's make some noise i'll let yu bring all your toys" DP

Infected Mushroom - I Wish I wish to give, to take, to make, to check, I wanna see it happen I want to see, to be, the one that plays the game without no fears and regrets I want to know you, better than I know myself I want to feel the end, and enjoy the consequence I'm playing the game the one that will take me to my end I'm waiting for the rain to wash who I am (x2) I want to move, to loose, to take the grooves, and to give it all back I want to take the time rewind, and to kick it right from the start to be unknown and all alone, lose the kind that are behind to start a new play by myself and to give the best I have I'm playing the game the one that will take me to my end I'm waiting for the rain to wash who I am (x4)

Etic – Touch Ups Format: CD Artist: Etic Title: Touch Ups Label: Trancelucent Productions, Israel Cat. #: TP-009 Year: 2004 Track listing: 01. 09’05” Winter Intro 02. 08’15” A-U 03. 08’10” Deep Night Dream 04. 08’07” Night Time 05. 07’40” One Man Band 06. 06’59” 1st Element 07. 08’00” Human Voice 08. 07’45” Touch Ups 09. 07’43” Some Piece In Half Speed Review: Groovy hybrid trance… Trancelucent Productions is out with the debut album from Etic (Etay Harari). This time the label strays from their usual full-on approach towards more progressive/deep trance… Nice to see that for a change… I’ve never heard any Etic tracks before, so I have no idea what to expect… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: The intro-track starts with undecipherable female samples… I can’t make all of it out, but it resembles the good old Music Instructor idea where different musical elements are added through the track… “Add some bass!”… It’s a funny, yet not highly original idea… Anyway, the style is a mixture between full-on and progressive, leaning mostly towards prog… A hybrid really – it’s nice and groovy… “Take it up”… Very nice intro-track! #02: Let’s dwell deeper into A-U… This is prog-trance with Israeli hints… I mean, it’s not progressive like Son Kite or FREq, the bass is somewhat more full-on, yet very groovy… It’s hard to describe really… Thumbs up for funky echo-effects and all the cool pads… Wicked percussion work as well… Sweet! #03: Rich intro, with metallic digital drops and synth-effects… The bassline is deeper than the previous 2 tracks, so the title of the track is well-chosen!... I’m sure this will put a few sound-systems to the test… Again, the percussion work is really impressive – I really like how Mr. Harari has incorporated the percussion into the main “melody” - it’s a challenge NOT to move to this… Nicey nice! #04: Again, the track title says it all… Its night time on the progressive trance floor now… The intro is dominated by hi-hats and a phat-ass bassline… Much more brutal than the previous tracks – and with the addition of all kinds of psychedelic FX this truly is a twisted track… There is a passage in the middle of the track, where it gets too minimal for my taste, but luckily it’s only for a short while… Though the samples might appear cheesy, I dig them… Especially the Shidapu’esque pitched up male voice… Another fine track! #05: Still night and Hariri launches into a seemingly more minimal approach towards progressive nite trance… It’s dark and fast, yet somehow the groove is intact… There are no voice samples or random tweaking going on here, it’s just pure, smooth, building trance… This would mix well into a FREq-track… Nice! #06: Continuing in the same vein, but more experimental – the bassline is run through different filters, and more twisted effects are added, making this track more psychedelic… The sweet percussion and voice samples are also back, added are a few subtle acid lines – and there even a little synth melody popping up now and again… Great combo! #07: Digital drops, electronic farts and sonic burps… Always a pleasure! As you might’ve guessed, this is another progressive night stomper… Slightly faster than the last one and with a more clanging sound… And of course there is a computerized human voice repeated throughout the track! Halfway through, the track changes into a very psychedelic piece with rolling percussion and subtle acid melodies… Beautiful! #08: The title track kicks off with a much more repetitive bassline – not as groovy as the others… Bummer! The surrounding effects are all nice though – we get some really nice floating melodies, epic even! As the track progresses the funk creeps in slowly, yet the paramount flaw is that it never reaches the high standard as the rest of the album… Decent track! #09: Sonic manipulation - The last track is Harari goofing around in his studio, experimenting with all kinds of FX…This doesn’t really do anything for me, but it’s obvious that the man has talent… Average track! Wow – I was caught completely off guard with this album… I mean, with most releases you kinda know what to expect… I figured this would be another semi-boring Israeli full-on album, but talk about being wrong! It was in fact one of the most positive surprises I’ve had this year… With the exception of the last two tracks, all tracks are above average standard… I love surprises like this… Hats off to Trancelucent – this is the best CD I’ve heard from them (though I’m reviewing the Misted Muppet soon – strong contender for that title)… I’d recommend this to any fan of progressive trance with a touch of nite-time full-on… Enjoy! 8/10 Favourites: 1, 4, 6, and 7 super-nice… 2, 3 and 5 are nice… 8 and 9 are decent. ;o) DeathPosture External links: Trancelucent Productions: www.trancelucent.com BOA Distribution: www.boadistribution.com Psyshop: www.psyshop.com (Audio samples available!) Saiko Sounds: www.saikosounds.com Trance Shop: www.trance-shop.com

I agree... Stellar album! ... Quazzi, it's progressive trance... It's been a great year for progressive trance so far! ;o) DeathPosture

x => Here's what Cedric wrote in the promitional forum about the new label... After six years of collaboration with 3d vision , nomad and myself are now starting a new label called « Mind Control »… The reason why we stopped 3d vision is much more simple than all the rumors I could ear recently...it is just that christof went to live in ibiza , and as far as we stayed me and mael in Paris , we decided all together that it was better to make another label from france , while christof will run 3d vision from spain , and to collaborate with each others ...3d vision will of course keep the line that we made years to create , and Mind control will have a more “melodic” spirit....but of course , we’ll keep the full-on!!!! DeathPosture

First psy-CD: MWNN - Moment Of Truth or some of the early Distination Goa/Distance to Goa compilations This week: Promo-stuff: The Misted Muppet - From The Legend Etic - Touch Ups Setherian - Multiverse Buzzmonx - Toms 'n Jerry BLT & Danni Makow "Anything You Want" Phi - Phinalizer Kiyoshi Izumi - Protocola V/A - Amber V/A - Ogni Hotra V/A - Schlabb 06 V/A - Suspended Reality From psyshop: Wizzy Noise - Stereo Electric Quantum - Flangerized EP Holeg & The Spies - Godisnotgoth EP Hallucinogen - Deranger EP Midi Miliz - Remixes EP Sub 6 - He'ya Remixes EP V/A - Ritual Dance V/A - Monarchy 3 From local second-hand record shop: V/A - FX V/A - Park Avenue Nodens Ictus - Spacelines Quadra - Digital Stimulant SUN Project - Drosophila Astral Projection - Another World EP From trades: Xenomorph - Cassandra's Nightmare Koxbox - Stratosfear EP Elysium - Masters of the Rainforest EP MWNN - Vavoom white EP Moksha - Mindworx 97 - 99 V/A - TIP Yellow V/A - TIP Orange V/A - Black Rhino V/A - Accidental Occidentalism V/A - Techno For Tibet Yeah, it's been a great, yet expensive week! ;o) DeathPosture

V/A – Schlabb 006 Format: CDr Artist: Various Artists Title: Schlabbaduerst 006 Label: Schlabbaduerst ReKkords, Sweden Cat. #: Schlabb 006 Year: 2004 Track listing: 01. 04’55” Zooboreal – Intodub 02. 09’22” Battle of the Future Buddhas – Leprechaun War Dub 03. 07’09” Dropout – Mushroom Groovers Easter Dub 04. 06’36” Death By Water – Those Are Pearls That Were In His Eyes 05. 07’37” Zooboreal – Taunt Your Life into the Universe 06. 04’59” Zooboreal – Moon Kitten String 07. 09’31” Skomm – The Adventures of Metatubbs 08. 06’44” Nocturnal - Sjögräs 09. 02’42” Zooboreal - Voxtri 10. 09’00” Gone Fishing – Dweamer 11. 08’43” Silent Mind – The Art of Science Review: Ambient Uppsala… Schlabbaduerst – the collective of freaks hailing from the deepest recesses of Sweden’s Uppsala forests… They are nihilist - They answer to no-one – and they release great, great music… The previous releases have all been packed with dance-floor friendly music – but this one is for chilling out afterwards… As the promotional text states: “[…] for your convenience we have made an ambient compilation for the lazy end of the party when no one can stand on his/her feet anymore...” Schlabb 6 was announced ages ago, but D-Dave had problems finding just the right tracks – so fans like me have been waiting impatiently… But now it’s finally here – the sixth Schlabb instalment: Ambient Schlabb! Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: The first of 4 Zooboreal tracks kick off the ambient journey in a smooth way… Dubby, lazy percussion and floating, organic melodies… “Meditation, spiritualism and love”… Remember the classic sample from the Wax Trax track? Ahh, pure nostalgia… “There are many things that even the wisest of us don’t know”… Very true – but I know that this is a great track… #02: And now for the Buddha’s sweet downbeat tune… This is the original version to the (-1% Edit) version that appeared on the Demonoizer album (BooM! 2002)… As the name implies, this is dub – just about as dubby as it can get… Slowly, repetitive, lazy beats accompanied by simple melodies played on piano, synth and sitar… Well, that’s what it sounds like at least… This is exceptionally simple, yet highly effective – this is the stuff I want to listen to when lying on my back in the woods watching the leaves fall of the trees… The track gains a little more tempo in the second half and overall it’s a great piece of ambient work! #03: The plot thickens, and the bass deepens… More dub by the usual suspects… This time it’s more psychedelic – even weirder! The guys are messing around with synths, filters, tribal percussion and random FX – and one of the deepest basses I’ve heard in a dub-track… But the combo works out well – this is a track that has grown on me – first it bugged me, but I’m starting to like it more after repeated listens… The only gripe is that I think it’s a little too fast for an ambient compilation… #04: Death by Water is D-Dave on his own… The track starts out with some kind of echo-filter-pitched-down-Hoover-resonance-sound which in parts sounds like a weird version of The Horrorist/Front Line Assembly… This has dub-elements, but not enough to qualify as dub… This is more like experimental down-tempo – with psychedelic elements…There is an Angelo Badalamenti feel towards the end and into the next track… Nice! #05: This track has a more tribal approach… It’s more universal than “just” Swedish – hence the title… Very floating, organic down-beat track… Beautiful soothing melodies… Percussion, synths and samples in the same vein as in the previous Zooboreal track… #06: We float almost unnoticeable into the next Zooboreal track which starts out as another silky-smooth ambient piece…. Lovely acoustic guitars on top of a slow, drifting ambient soundscapes… Later on subtle some subtle percussion and mind-relaxing FX are added… Gorgeous track – but too short! #07: Again, Skomm appears on a Schlabb release – just to piss everyone off! *sS* But again, Skomm works wonders – this track is sweet… Tribal at first, but changes direction into a more spacey chill-out track… Only to shift back to tribal/world beats… Loads of keyboard/organ experimentation going on here… I like the organic/electro clash feel of this track! #08: And now: The sound of seaweed… Again, the bassline is pretty brutal for an ambient tune, and there is an overall kinda monotonous feel – but somehow it works out ok… I have a problem with some of the bizarre annoying high-pitched sounds though… Decent track! #09: Last Zooboreal track is the way too short Voxtri – I really dig the mood in this – the singing of birds, female singing and acoustic strings makes a great combo… Why, oh why is this track so short? #10: Dweam on dweamer… Now we’re really chilling out… Gone fishing is Lulle from Ka-Sol – and this is some REALLY minimal ambient… Loads of impressive effects are used to create this piece of stripped down electronica… Dubby, mega-slow bassline and modest synth-melodies… This is stuff I want to listen to before I venture into dreamland… Simple, yet beautiful! #11: Silent Mind (Henrik Skott) is a new rising Uppsala star… He continues in the same style as Dweam with virtually beat-less ambient… Just mellow, relaxing, floating ambient… The soundtrack of dreams… Outstanding – ‘nuff said! The tracks are mixed into each other, to ensure one continuous voyage… The CD starts off slow – gets kinda upbeat and then fades into two almost beat-less tracks… A truly wonderful journey… Schlabbaduerst RekKords have once again proven that they call pull off releasing stuff, which does not compromise their anarchistic vision… This was made by a bunch of guys who doesn’t really care about image – they just love electronic music… Hats off! I’d recommend this both to hardened Schlabb fans, but also to open-minded people looking for a different approach to chill-out music… You get all sorts on this compilation… In my opinion a few of the tracks miss a certain something to be perfect (and some of the best are just too short) – but in contrast, the rest of the tracks are just wonderful… I encourage you to visit Schlabb OfFline and order this … Don’t download it – it’s really cheap! Support a small independent label, so that we can get more fresh releases like this in the future! Enjoy! 8.5/10 Favourites: 2, 4, 6(!), 7, 9(!), 10, 11 DeathPosture External links: Schlabbaduerst OfFline: http://listen.to/Schlab --- [Note: This is not the actual cover – just something I made in Windows Paint to give an indication of what it looks like…In the true Schlabb spirit!]

Haha... Nice... But where is Quacken-repellant? DP

V/A – Psychedelically Yours vol. 2 Format: CD Artist: Various Title: Psychedelically Yours vol. 2 Label: Parvati Records, Denmark Cat. #: PRVCD06 Year: 2004 Track listing: 01. 08’25” Kindzadza – Can U Feel It? 02. 08’31” N3XU5 - XXX 03. 07’22” Grapes of Wrath – The Clit Commander (Insane Behavior Rmx) 04. 07’42” Naked Tourist – One Piece 05. 07’00” Toxic - Violent 06. 09’09” Para Halu – Da Killah 07. 07’37” Jahbo - Morphadelic 08. 07’27” Insane Behavior – Wrong Doze (Syntax Error Rmx) 09. 06’14” Grapes of Wrath – All Your Base R Belong To Us Review: Corrupters of the trance-youth! Danish hyper psy-trance label Parvati Records are out with their 6th instalment… This time another compilation – I’ll never quite understand Parvati’s method of counting releases, but supposedly this is the follow-up to Psychedelically Yours released in 2002… I thoroughly enjoyed the last compilation “Third Step” which was packed with crazy full-on night tunes with all kinds of funny samples – I like that kinda stuff! Anyway, Parvati Records pioneered the insane-hyper-ChemicalCrew-full-on-dark-mayhem-trance style long before it became “trendy” on the scene… They’ve been doing that stuff for years… But enough labelling for now, let’s get on with the important stuff -- let’s see what the crazy Malling-crew have to offer this time… ;o) Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: [149 BPM] First up is some dark Russian vodka-trance from Kindzadza… It should come as no surprise that this is an extremely fast-paced, hard-hitting acid stomper… Packed with crazy loops, whistles, bells, pitched-up modem sounds and all kinds of terror-ingredients… This is pedal-to-the-metal full-on night-time trance… A little to hectic for home-listening, but I’m sure it’ll work wonders @ 5 o’clock in the morning when the trance-floor is packed… Oh, and it’s a great help when you’re testing if you’ve rigged your sound-system properly… Nice track! #02: [146 BPM] Mr. Lopez from Portugal is up next… We launch straight into some porn dialogue from some horny chick “I think I have to be gentle – mmm – we’re gonna hafta go very slow”… Right, so the mood is set – break out the bass drum! Lopez has chosen a slightly more tribal approach – tribal percussion mixed with metallic steel-drums … and the horny girl laughing, muttering and saying ‘ooops’ over and over again… Throughout the track, the thick acid squelches are blasting away in the background… “You’re a kinky one aren’t you?” Twisted track! #03: [146 BPM] After a brutal acid-intro GOW throws a Jay & Silent Bob quote at us: “Remember this fucking face! Wherever you see clit you'll see this fucking face! I make that shit work! No one rules the clit like me! Not this little fuck, none of you little fucks out there! I am the master of the clit!” Right, now that we have that settled, we can move on… The acid is running even stronger in this track – full power, unmistakeable nite-mayhem… Not for the faint-hearted, but for a good laugh and some serious head-banging it’s perfect! #04: [146 BPM] I hardly know anything about Naked Tourist – ‘cept they’ve released a few tracks on a couple of German compilations… Nice watery intro – brutally interrupted by a banging bass and some fucked-up twisted noise…This is a bit more minimal than the first 3 tracks, with a more soothing atmosphere… As soothing as twisted full-on night-trance can be! #05: [144 BPM] Toxic from Israel launches their violent tune… This is more like tech-trance with tiny bits of melody… The first 4 minutes is pretty much only hard-core bassline, but it takes an interesting turn after that… They break out all the effects and they sure know how to twist those knobs… Tweaking extreme! The toxic acid is running strong… Sweet track! #06: [148 BPM] “Faaaaaaaaaalling down” Let’s turn our focus to Hungary and the sound of Para Halu… Never heard of them before, but this is another very dark, spooky night track… The Gregorian chants add to the atmosphere… As with most tracks on Parvati Recs, this track has a sense of humour, and there are loads of funny movie-samples which lighten things up a bit…Oh, and you might think it’s over and done with @ 6’44 – but you’re in for a surprise… A stomping, fast-paced, rolling Halloween-trance track… Brutal track! #07: [148 BPM] We’re back in Århus, Denmark now – with a track by Jahbo, known for his tracks on other horror-trance compilations suck as Psychovader (Apoxina) and Night 24 Hours (Inpsyde Media)… Brutal, dark, twisted – acid squelches and sequencer overdrive … I can’t make out all parts of the Danish sample “Når jeg drøner afsted, så ændres….?” …Check out the funny old-school piano bit @ 6,07 … Can’t wait to hear that on the dance floor - Pure fodder for the hardened trance-aholics! #08: [148 BPM] More Danes – remixing Danes… So, what’s a wrong doze? When you sleep at an inappropriate time of day? It should come as no surprise that this is another extremely dark, demented tune… A dark, yet somewhat groovy bass line sets the pace - Twisted sci-fi samples and FX are sprinkled throughout the track … Truly unruly! Ha! #09: [150 BPM] Remember the “All Your Base Are Belong To Us” quote from the 1989 Zero Wing video game? Now here is Grapes of Wrath’s tribute to the internet cult phenomenon… This is the fastest track on the compilation – so forget about chilling out with the last track… High-pitched acid-lines, digital burps and electronic farts… And of course the notorious deep, dark beats… Hold on to your hats – this is a mad ride! As always with Parvati, the artwork is subtle, yet very fitting to the music… It presents a professional, yet underground look - I like it! Let’s talk about the important thing: The Music. Personally I have mixed feelings about this release… Generally I like it, but not unconditionally… I really, really enjoy the energy that these guys put forth – it’s so relentless and packed with humour. I like that the artists doesn’t take themselves too damn serious – and oh, how I love a good acid line, and there are plenty of those here… But as I said, I do not like this unconditionally - It’s the same feeling I get when listening to Finnish trance… Allow me to quote myself from another review: “I can only cope with [it] for a limited time in one listening session – after a while it gets too intense for me… […] So I prefer to take [it] in small doses… Kinda like a bottle of whiskey … 3-4 shots are nice, but drinking the whole bottle will leave you sick…” … And I guess I feel the same way about this… I also prefer to take this in smaller doses… This is even darker than last year’s Parvati compilation “Third Trip” which I really liked… It’s somewhat repetitive at times, and I could have wished for even more variation… In the promotional material for this release Parvati Records describes the sound as “Crushing strong beats, vicious sequences, clear twisting synth layers and abused sampling manipulation”… Very true! This is pure “noise attack” if I have to put it in Skazi-terms… They continue with “A compilation that will make the believers stronger and will push away the non-believers” … Also very true… I’m positive that this will be an instant favourite among the many fans of dark, twisted, underground horror-trance – but I’m also sure, that fans of melodic, floating trance will be repulsed by the perverse, evil sounds here… But as always, tastes differ and the diversity is the beauty of our scene… Enjoy! 7/10 Favourites: 2, 5(!), 7 DeathPosture External links: Parvati Records: http://www.parvati-records.com (Audio samples available!) Wirikuta Distribution: www.wirikuta.at Psyshop: www.psyshop.com Saiko Sounds: www.saikosounds.com

WTF??? Yeah, it does sound kinda odd... But supposedly, you get ringtones for your mobile of all the tracks when you buy a Raijin CD... http://www.raijinrecords.com/outline.html Ehh... Ok!? DP

Yeah man... The alternate ending is included on the disc... From features list: Theatrical Trailer Deleted Scenes Music Video(s) Audio Commentary By Director Kevin Smith And The Cast And Crew, Alternate Ending Let's talk on MSN... DP

Dark Doors – Newzoo Format: CD Artist: Dark Doors Title: Newzoo Label: Spiritual Beings Records, Israel Cat. #: 965-90472-2-3/SPB002CD Year: 2004 Track listing: 01. 09’10” Newzoo 02. 06’27” Low Pressure 03. 06’22” Chinese Drums 04. 06’19” Philosopher’s Stone 05. 06’33” Acrobat 06. 06’52” Photosynthetic 07. 06’13” Dreamell 08. 06’34” Other Planetness 09. 06’41” Rush Hour 10. 08’06” Ultra Review: Tel Aviv based trance veteran Ilan Ifrach is out with his debut album on the independent Israeli label Spiritual Beings… Modern cheap technology has enabled just about anyone to start releasing stuff on their own labels – and Spiritual Beings is a good example of a group of enthusiastic people doing something that they believe in… Hats of to them for having the balls to release something into the vast, endless pool of trance-releases nowadays… Let me take you thru the tracks… #01: First up is Newzoo, which is a pretty minimal track… It starts with an interesting, organic intro and is soon carried away by repetitive “lazy” beats and an overall feeling that something bigger is in the offering… Unfortunately nothing more happens, and this track doesn’t really do anything but bore me… #02: The beats are crispier on this second track – it’s darker in nature with metallic-sounding percussion and monotonous beats… There are however more uplifting elements as well, I kinda like the acid-belches and the water-effects… Oh, and the computer-game-like FX are nice too… I wish Ilan had worked more on those – that would have raised this to more than just a decent track… #03: Ahh, finally a decent bassline… The bass on this one is phat – very groovy, yet the percussion in the first half of the track seems to follow the same predictable pattern as the first 2 tracks… What save this track are in fact the Chinese drums that sound very cool – deep and tribal… Mixed with the Atari-like sound FX, it actually evolves into a nice tune! #04: And what have we got here? A Tracker/Fruity Loops show off intro…? I have no idea what this is… I hear a boring old bassline, some metallic sounding percussion and a synth run thru some kind of filter… Is that supposed to be a melody? Sorry, I don’t like this at all… #05: Luckily a twisted acrobat comes along and saves the day… ;o) From the start you feel the psychedelia ripping through your eardrums… Old-school pitched-up voice sample, a sharp polished bassline and some really cool twisted melodies… Very dance floor friendly dark full-on material here… It was about time this album packed a cool track – but this surely is a cool track! #06: The ambient track that was eaten by a vicious bassline! Pace-wise, this follows it predecessor, but this is much more minimal in structure… There are not really any melodic parts here, though somewhere in the far distance there is a melody lurking, trying to surface – it just never succeeds… It’s mainly a big old gritty mix-up consisting of distorted bassline and random noisy percussion FX… I think this was supposed to be the scary track, but to be honest; the only thing scary about it is how much it bores me… #07: Thing are picking up again.. Well a little anyway… It’s still minimal and noisy, yet slightly more interesting than the previous track… Ugh, what is that sound – sounds like an electronic mosquito!?… Smash it! I like the way this track “teases” the listener… That subtle “lazy” bassline… You keep waiting for it let loose, and when it finally does you wiggle your toe… Decent track! #08: The lazy bassline is back – and this time it’s accompanied by some old school twisted effects… Acid-farts and digital drops… Ilan opens up his bag of experimental tricks here… I like how he plays around with filters and tweaking effects… Interesting track, without being revolutionary… #09: The bassline has been tweaked to a funkier level now, but still you’re constantly waiting for it to really rip… My fellow reviewer Pavel talks about “dense and nervous sounds” here, and that’s a pretty good description… The sounds are sharp and “pointy” and it has that overall anxious feel to it… Kinda intoxicating really… Ok track… #10: Another dark and gritty track… A very simple bassline and more predictable percussion… There is a voice sample somewhere in the background that could’ve been interesting if only it ever surfaced… Seasoned with psychedelic bleeps and beeps – however, they are sprinkled around way too randomly, and don’t really fit the mood that this track wants to adopt… So, why wasn’t this album picked up by a “professional” label? I’m gonna go out on a limp here, and say that parts of this album sound down-right amateurish…I mean, I’ve listen to a lot of music over the years, and it seems to me that huge parts of this album is just random playing-around-with-music-software… I don’t produce music myself, so I have no technical background for saying that… It just sounds that way to me… I could be, that I’m totally missing the picture here, and this is some kind of divine sound, that I’ve completely missed – I don’t know… All I know, is that this left me disappointed… And don’t even get me started on the cover-art and the packaging… It’s not all bad though – Ilan does manage to create groovy, funky bits that make me bob my head and wiggle my toe… Those moments are just way to scarce on this CD… But it all comes down to taste – I’ve read some pretty enthusiastic words about this release, and I’m sure some people will enjoy this… Hooray for diverse musical tastes! *sS* But personally, I’d advise you to listen before you buy it… 5/10 Favourites: 5(!), 7, 8 DeathPosture External links: Spiritual Beings: www.spiritualbeings.org Psyshop: www.psyshop.com (Audio samples available!)

X-Dream gone 1 Total Eclipse gone 1 Elysium gone The rest is still up for grabs... DP

That's great news - been waiting for ages! ;o)

And so do you... ;o)

Sure man.. Shoot me an e-mail... ;o) DP