Search the Community

Artist: Various Title: Snuff Label: Terror Lab Industries Date: July, 2011 1. Brain Hunters - Snuff 2. Ironstein Vs. Dani Filth - Dr. Stein 3. Absense - Litt Avskum 4. Sub-Zero - Antichristvs 5. Dani Filth - The Harvesting V2 6. Ironstein Vs. Excell - Tripple Distilled 7. Damage - Blowing Up Your Speakers 8. Hiyamyzo - Pussy Power 9. Zinx - Articulator 10. Stereopanic - Viper 11. NRS - Evil Men "Hit me...hit me so it hurts." Good...God this terrible. Why do I keep doing this to myself? Forget the fact that the subject matter is reprehensible. The music itself is one buildup and d-list horror move sample after another. For those that don't know a snuff film is a film that shows an actual murder of a human being. Now Terrorlab Industries has made it a business model to shock. All you have to do is look at their album covers. At some point (um, we are way f*cking past that point) the shock value wears off and now you have to stand on the quality of the music. Well, see...now we've got a problem. The atmosphere as you may have guessed is dark with hammering bass lines. Incessant build ups and a structure that manages to crawl in that fetid dank space between darkpsy and night time full-on. Usually I can find a few tracks on their compilations that make the misery a little more bearable. Not here. This album reminds me of the goth kid in high school who dressed in black and wore trench coats. He always gave you a hateful look and was into some pretty twisted sh*t. Well he secretly had a crush on the head cheerleader and built it up in his mind that he was just misunderstood. If he could only explain to her and show her his true heart, she would see he was in pain and that all of "this" was just an elaborate act. Naturally she's horrified by this guy and spurns his advances. Next thing you know she and the whole squad are found in pieces in this psycho's fridge. I think these guys need a sabbatical to find some inner peace. Right now their music is all the same just with different album covers. You know what might be cool? If they did a dark ambient album...Yeah, that would work. Same vibe without the brutality. Because this world cannot afford to lose any more cheerleaders. Psyshop Beatspace Mdk

Artist: Metaphorical Cloud Title: Morphing Label: Flying Woofer Records Date: July, 2011 1 - Imagination Bay (120 BPM) 2 - Cenosis (120 BPM) 3 - Gardens (70 BPM) 4 - Morphing (101 BPM) 5 - Sphere (103 BPM) 6 - Substance (99 BPM) 7 - Quartz (120 BPM) 8 - Psyche (70 BPM) 9 - Backward (68 BPM) 10 - Aerobios (107 BPM) 11 - Thenaria (62 BPM) Flying Woofer Records? Never heard of them, but I might start paying attention now. This is Eduard Sionov from that huge landmass known as Russia with his debut. I don't know what's in the water over there (yes I do, it's Chernobyl goodness...where do you think zombies come from?) but there seem to be a lot of quality artists from that region. Which is great for the listening public. Eduard lavishes us with floating pads and electronic textures as the beat marches slowly on. Hard day at work? Put this on. Kids being a pain in the ass? Stick 'em in front of some Team Umizoomi and put this on. Utterly relaxing stuff that allows you to float amongst the puffy clouds. Sometimes those clouds smile back at you letting the sunshine through, and sometimes it's a bit overcast, so it's a good mix of brooding darkness and light. Recommended. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Unseen Dimensions Title: Airglow EP Label: Iono Music Date: July, 2011 1. Airglow 2. Wonderland (Unseen Dimensions Remix) - Nok & Zyce 3. Sonic Manipulation (Unseen Dimensions Remix) - Flegma & Nerso Breastfeeding is a purely non sexual act. *shakes head in disbelief. What the f*ck dude?* At least that's what women have told me. And by women I mean the one woman I know who is currently breastfeeding. Look I get it, it's the act of nurturing your newborn child and has nothing to do with sex. The woman's point of view is very clear and rational. But have you seen what happens to breasts after childbirth? Boobs become so big and full that a brother can't help but stare. And that's what lead me to this review. I couldn't stop staring so my wife sent me downstairs. But all is not lost, because I get to review and EP from progressive masters Iono Music. Smooth, melodic sounds are just what I need to cure my banishment. This is Javier Martinez Salinas from Mexico who released a damn fine album a few years ago as Twilight. Airglow- "No one's coming to get us. Ok? No one. We have to help ourselves." And we're off to a pretty groovy start with effects that make you feel like you're riding a star. Very full and lush as numerous layers take you in. Whooshes and sweeps hover above the bass line that moves with a funky shuffle. My advice? Stand back and let this psychedelic bird fly. Wonderland (Unseen Dimensions Remix)- More groove and more effects as small melodies peek out. The break is tangible as comets zoom past and the whole universe opens up in front of you, ushering a change in time signature. After that nice floating interlude, the track assumes it's original position with a pounding melodic sixteen bars. Great stuff. Sonic Manipulation (Unseen Dimensions Remix)- This track is from their album Opposite which to me is one of the benchmarks of progressive trance. Now here are a list of the artists I know that have remixed this track. Liquid Space, Sven Snug, E-Clip, and Protoactive. Some tracks just lend themselves for remixing I guess. Oscillating synths come over you in waves, undulating breaks and liquid effects make this a joy to listen to. If you love the spacious Iono style, then this EP is a no brainer. Congratulations to Javier, he will fit in just fine making this beautiful progressive trance. Highly recommended. http://www.beatport.com/release/airglow-e-p/392750 Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Forest Beings Label: Biijah Records Date: July 2011 01 - LiquidNoize - Digital Syllable (155 BPM) 02 - DoHm - Pinkles (155 BPM) 03 - Eitonin - On The Road (150 BPM) 04 - Hallucinated Hologram - Tornado (152 BPM) 05 - Butterfly Effect - White Rabbit (148 BPM) 06 - P.Tale - Small Brain Big Skull (148 BPM) 07 - Therange Freak - The Reaper (152 BPM) 08 - Cacofonix - Whirl (150 BPM) 09 - Goch - Cooking (148 BPM) 10 - Sanathana - Exorcism In Zulu Land (148 BPM) So here I am again visiting Ekto with another free forest compilation. Sometimes you just want it dark. I like my movies dark. I like my women dark. This seems like a good fit. A few names jump out at me, but most are unknown. With the bpms not dipping below 148 I need to ditch the lounge chair and head into the forest to give this a listen. Wait...I can't do that. Nobody's here to watch my kids. Sounds like I need to head to the one place I can get some "me" time The toilet. Ah yes...that seems appropriate. Don't know if I can put in over an hour on the sh*tter, but damnit I have to try. The trolls would want me to. Digital Syllable- Holy sh*t the dark rumble from the underworld has found it's way to my bathroom. The kick moves at a frenzied pace and wailing pads rise from the fire. The tribal drums don't seem to fit, but that's a minor quibble. This is an intro track that welcomes you to the forest from which there is no escape. Hey Satan, wanna hit the fan? I'm doin' some work here. Pinkles- I think DoHm is one of my favorite forest producers. His style is of course intense, but also graphically descriptive with (gasp) melodies at times. This is a screeching voyage down the throat of troll with some eerie effects, but alas I don't think it's his best work. It moves straight ahead with blinders on without any of the twists and turns of some of his other tracks. The best part was the pads at the end and wish he could've found a way to incorporate that during the rest of the track. Ok, but he's done better. On the Road- Boom goes the kick and bass to thunderous effect. Bubbling and scratchy leads lead the way as the changes begin to take place. Crazy bass line manipulation and rapid fire kicks add to the appeal. Throw the cool oscillating break in there and we have ourselves a winner. Tornado- "There is no such thing as death. Life is only a dream, an imagination of ourselves." Hard bass lines and squeaky effects make this track feel like it's bursting to contain itself. Ripping leads with razor sharp edges threaten to disembowel as this is the darkest one yet. But it's not mindless. It undergoes changes and maintains it's spooky vibe without descending into noise. White Rabbit- A forest track with a Dr. Dre snippet? get the f*ck outta here. Effects wipe across the screen like blood splatter as the chunky bass line chews away at the ledge you're standing on. Am I hallucinating or is that demon fiddling with the radio? Please....anything but that...I can't take Call Me Maybe any more! This is just pounding away at my neurons and making me want to cut myself. I think I'm turning all goth on you. Small Brain, Big Skull- "Congratulations son...you've got a very small brain." My favorite track here. At least the most accessible for those not into worshiping the dark arts. Squirty synths fart over the machine gun bass line as the layers create a good atmosphere. There is a funky section in the middle that makes me think KC and the Sunshine Band had a hand in this. Not bad at all. The Reaper- I didn't think it could get darker, but with a title like the Reaper, it shows you what I know. It's like I'm witness to some tribal ritual while on mescaline. Deep bass and scary effects show you how hopeless your situation is. I think my review could've been that last sentence. Maybe it should've been. "Twinkle Twinkle little star..." Whirl- This one is like a showcase of all the creatures that are running around the forest at night. Maybe you even approach one thinking he's kinda cute. He wouldn't harm a fly. But then you realize you've been led into a trap and that little bastard is smirking cause you know you done f*cked up. You know this right? Cooking- Love the bass in this one. It's searching for victims like a psycho vaccuum cleaner. This is the nightmare scenario where you are the one cooking my friend. Is it getting a little hot in here to you? Exorcism in Zulu Land- Hands up if you think we're gonna end on a happy note? Anyone? And just to make sure you don't get any bright ideas about getting away, they put the longest track at the end. But it was really well done. African chants, a break to build up tension, and a boatload of effects. How US gymnasts train for a back handspring. Damn, this is dark. With zero hope of seeing any light. You know how the black guy is always the first to get killed in the movies? Well everyone gets killed in this movie. I don't care what color you are. Not my favorite forest comp for sure because you're dumped into the dark pit without an hope of a lifeline. Even the jews had Schindler. Some of the tracks were decent, but I'm more of a visitor to the dark side not a permanent resident so this one's not for me. Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Erode Title: Horizon Label: Tympanik Audio Date: July, 2011 1. 10950 2. Detect 3. Approach 4. Horizon 5. Overcome 6. Wither 7. - 8. Annoy 9. Disengage 10. Horizon (Kadrage Remix) 11. Brutal Romance (Erode Remix) - Deadlock This one goes out to Ivan because he likes Death Metal. And I'm afraid of it. I cannot recall how I came to know about this release, but here it is. This is Alexander Dietz and he used to be (is he still in it? Somehow I let my subscription to Kerrang lapse.) in a German metal band called Heaven Shall Burn. How uplifting and holy. Well now he shows his...umm, softer side I guess and presents us with his debut electronic album. It's filled with droning pads, repeated chords full of ambience as well as crunchy percussion. Most of it is downtempo and all of it sounds like the beautiful cover art looks. Done by Colin Marks of Rain Sound Design. Just thought I would give him a plug since he did such a great job. It's cloudy day music with an industrial bent as well as some haunting melodies. You can tell it was made by a guy who was into metal with the angry/dark track titles. But the music vassilates between pensive downtempo and outright rage with a remix of a Deadlock track at the end complete with the industrial screams that remind me a lot of FLA. Standouts? Well, I liked the track Wither with its soft pads and at times chaotic percussion. Gave me a feel of post apocalyptic regret. The interlude (-? What the f*ck is up with that title? That's what you came up with? How about...I dunno, B*tch gave me herpes or something.) sounded nice in its simplicity and the electronic scraping of Annoy was backed by a beautiful pad set that devolved into a drum n' bass hum. Pretty cool. Disengage had a nice soft synth pad before it devolved into a glitchy rhythm set. While not very deep it does stay within the confines of it's dark and mysterious theme. I say good for him for stepping outside his comfort zone and trying something different. I hope he continues in this vein as I would love to see how his music evolves. Not the metal though. I don't need my music screaming at me. I have a wife for that. You can get it here. Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Still Fresh Vol. 2 Label: Spintwist Records Date: July, 2011 1. Still Fresh SIDEFORM 2. Floorward AUDIOMATIC 3. Nice Day DJ FABIO AND MOON 4. Osc On VAISHIYAS 5. Learning to fly INTERACTIVE NOISE 6. Windows of our soul (Krama rmx) AUDIOMATIC 7. Twist N Spin PHAXE 8. Audiolslave VERTEX 9. Fe Natural KULARIS 10. I dont want JISER I think I shall use that every time there is an album with a Zyce sighting. It's not a bad thing, but he shows up more often than the wary fat kid. Google it, you'll see. Poor bastard...just wanted to show up to Chong Lee's graduation and now he's infamous. Because I've been lucky enough to find several outstanding progressive trance compilations recently I felt I should try and keep the ball rolling. Spintwist Records is a label started by Vaishiyas and this is the 2nd installment of the Still Fresh series. The tracklist is impressive, but obviously the first thing you notice is the cover with the vampire teeth and the...what is that, a mango? I haven't been out of the country in 2 decades so I don't know how the world is taking this recent vampire infestation, but here it has flown past embarrassing levels. Vampires aren't real. F*ck where did you get bit, Key West? Whatever. They are not real. Lemme let that sink in . Go ahead...I'll wait. Yep, they aren't real. I realize I have just pushed every goth, pre-teen, and chick waiting for the perfect man over the edge so let's talk about it. Being a vampire sounds pretty cool doesn't it? Immortality? Oh yeah, until you outlive anyone you ever cared about. And God help you if you become one before puberty. An eternity without getting laid? Having sex with a 10 year old is still pedophelia you sick f*ck. Where's that f*cking wooden stake, I'll do it myself. No wonder that little girl in Interview with a Vampire was so pissed off. Say goodbye to eating normal food. Burgers, fried chicken, spaghetti...gone. Nope, now you have to feed on the blood of the living. This would have immediate impacts on three industries. Fast food, video game, and the swingset makers of America. There's a movie that hasn't been made yet. And why are there no fat vampires? You figure they would be the easiest to catch. Talk about a food source that can't get away. Anyway less food choices than a vegan. I saw this Swedish vampire movie where the chick had one piece of chocolate and got violently ill. One piece. As a vampire now you have to be wary of churches and their crosses. It'll burn you. There's a church on every corner like there's a liquor store and pawn shop in every hood. So now your movement is restricted even further. "Yep...I'm strapped." Most importantly however you cannot go in the sun because it will kill you. No surfing, going to the beach and checking out the bikini clad ladies...hell, you can't travel by day unless you're in a box of dirt. Can't even go to the store and get some milk and even if you could, you can't drink it. So...I love the beach, double whoppers, my family, and the ability to go outside way more than the "romantic" idea of being a vampire. They're just not real. If you feel the need to bite someone, go bite fatty over there. Now zombies...that sh*ts real. Still Fresh- Sideform are Drasko Radovanovic and Milos Modrinic and I haven't heard a bad track from them. Not one. They released their debut album Moving On this year and I've been meaning to check it out. This one has a driving beat with good effects and washes in typical wide open progressive style. Gots some ummph it does. Kicks in the door with a good groove and serves as a good opener. Floorward- German Benjamin Halfmann also released an album this year called Weekend Society. The bass and kick are punishing as effects echo and bubble to the surface. At the break the main melody arrives and picks up outlying melodies that thicken it up. The groove is pretty good also. 2 good tracks right out of the gate. But like a fat kid on a see-saw...it's going down. Nice Day- Don't know who these two are, but may I suggest careers as magicians rather than DJs? Only a magician could take a 30 second track and stretch it to 6 minutes. It's a Billy Idol sample used repeatedly over a weak beat. Craptacular. Hulk...gonna...chuck. Osc On- Label head on deck! Now this had a really cool percussive vibe and a great bass line trick that only shows up at the beginning of every measure. It's funky as sh*t and wished it would continue, but when the plucky lead sound and the hi-hat are on the same beat it sounds jumbled. There was potential here. Learning To Fly- This is Hugo Venegas from Mexico and he houses things up. Any points he got for a funky flow are summarily revoked with a God awful sample that kills all flow and coolness. Even Oj thought this was a bad idea. Windows of Our Soul (Krama Rmx)- Holy crap there is more cheese here than a porno with a story. Absolutely terrible but the worst is yet to come. We've all heard bad samples, but when this one said and I quote.."If you think you're not dreaming...you just forgot your dreams." How f*cking poignant. This is why people make fun of our music sir. Twist N Spin- Kevin, you can clean this sh*t up right? Well, not really. More housey style with a simple melody. It's like diet coke. They took all the stuff that made Coke great and you're left with this. What happened? Audioslave- Ok, we've made it to the Zyce appearance. Vertex is a duo that released the awesome Ocean album, so perhaps there is some salvation here. It's got some nice oscillating waves and a thumping bass line. I'll give you that. Not the most elaborate thing I've heard from this project, but it's a beacon of hope amidst a sea of crap that's for sure. Fe Natural- "Although there have been suggestions that space time may have a discrete structure I see no reason to abandon the continuum theories that have been so successful." Meh. Just throw it on the pile with all the other never to be remembered generic crap. It's not terrible, but I've had farts that hang around longer. I Don't Want- What a fitting title to end this exercise in get the hell out of my CD player. It may seem a little harsh, but you drove me to it. F*cking hell this went downhill fast. That sound you heard was the screeching halt my run of good progressive albums came to. I was going to compare this to chinese food, but at least with chinese food it takes 20 minutes to get hungry again. After the first two tracks and the Zyce appearance this was a brutal disc. Full of bad samples and unmemorable boring rhythms. Still Fresh? Hardly. Maybe you could get full on this if like an apple you cut out the brown areas. Maybe. But you would need like, 6 apples. Psyshop Beatspace GoaStore Mdk

Artist: Various Title: The Floater Remixes Label: Iono Music Date: July, 2011 1. Floater - Ritmo & Rocky 2. Floater (Motion Drive Remix) 3. Floater (Andrea Bertolini Remix) 4. Floater (TimeDrained Remix) Iono Music is to progressive what Charmin is to toilet paper. There's plenty of choices out there, but only one you would want to wipe your...hmmm. Not where I wanted to go with that. How about Iono is to progressive what Hershey's is to chocolate. But the vast majority of you are European so you probably wipe your ass with Hershey's. Ok, ok...Iono is to progressive what Jean Claude Van Damme is to horrible acting. There, I think that is something we can all agree on. Floater- "One man's loss...is just another man's gain." When you put these two guys together this is exactly what you would expect they would come up with. Really pumping progressive trance with all the bells and whistles. Thumping kick? Yep, like the nuns that used to whack my knuckles for saying the f-word. Whooshes? More than you can imagine. Masterful break work? You know it. It's a churning and pumping track that leaves the cheese at the door. Good work gentlemen. Floater (Motion Drive Remix)- Philip Guillaume from the land of chocolate and precision time pieces throws his hat into the ring with an oscillating bass that will rattle some windows let me tell ya. And he does a remix right, keeping the stuff that makes it memorable and adding his own housey feel. Just when I thought he was letting it go a little long he slides that break in there and comes out the back end with some call and response synths. A groovy piece of sunshine is what this is. Floater (Andrea Bertolini Remix)- Damnit I fall for it everytime. But Andrea is a girl's name! Anything else is like telling me the sky is pink. If you thought the previous track had a house beat, then let me introduce you to this. It swells like a sprained ankle complete with delicate keystrokes and sunshine smiles. The melody is so overwhelmingly positive that you cannot help but get caught up in the dancing frenzy. The intensity builds as he delivers wave after wave of melody that totally transformed the original. Absolutely f*cking nailed it. Floater (TimeDrained Remix)- The track from Rasmus Tue Jørgensen has some darker textures from the outset. His break is also pretty sweet with echoes from the original in the background. But he brings in a new melody that meshes very well and this is just quality progressive trance. Hard to top the immediate high from the previous track though. This was an awesome EP that shows you how remixes should be done. All of the tracks had parts of the original in it, but were different enough to make them interesting. Great progressive trance and house with Mr. Bertolini stealing the show with an absolute blast of sunshine. Highly recommended. http://www.beatport.com/release/the-floater-remixes/397196 Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Rajanga Label: Rajas Records Date: July, 2011 1. The story of Milky Way - INNERSELF 2. Analog Shaman - JIKOOHA 3. A message of hope - HAMASE 4. Osteospermum - DIMORPHOTHECA 5. Time and space - NOISE GUST 6. Don Don - FATAL DISCORD 7. Disco Lsd - MIRACLE'S 8. Infaernal endless feeling (Comebackkid) - HISHIRYO 9. Tsukiakari - EVIL FAIRY So the question I'm asking is "Does goa trance increase sales?" Because, looking at that tracklist, the first two have no f*cking business being there if they don't. Think of the first two tracks as a kidnapped white chick and the rest a black midget kidnapper that is holding her against her will. How absurdly arbitrary. Really? Think so? "Oh no you don't! Get the f*ck back in that box b*tch! You're ready to ship" And that's also the reason I had to hear it. This is the first release from Rajas Records and it is clearly a darkpsy compilation with two goa tracks to start. Were they afterthoughts or did someone lose a bet? The Story of Milky Way- "Let us travel now at the speed of light. Departing from our star on a trip across the cosmos toward the edge of the known universe." Sounds great, but can we stop by my house so I can pick up my toothbrush and this months Penthouse Forum? What? I get it for the articles. This is Kristijan Petkovski with an opening goa track. His EP Revenge of the Sun didn't thrill me, but this is miles better. Someone's been practicing! It's very spacey with juicy leads almost forest like. He's not going to pummel you with tons of layers, but the ones he does use are very effective. The track thickens with twisting synths that are quite appealing. Tasty! Analog Shaman- This is Jun Iwai & Masakazu Shimodi and I'm so excited, they friended me on Facebook! *Squeal!* Only thing is, everything they post is in Japanese so on my screen it just looks like jibberish. That's cool and so is their style of goa trance. It bubbles and sparkles while it pounds the laziness out of you. The melody at the break is odd but that's just how they roll. Not clones that's for sure, and you find yourself either loving it or hating it. I love it. The whole track reeks of diving into a pool of psychedelia and because I forgot the ol water wings, it's sink or swim baby! Message of Hope- Hamase? You mean like the terrorist organization? Actually no, this is Satoshi Hamase and he is even older than I am! It's a dark type of track with a rolling bass line and spooky effects and atonal melodies. Darkpsy without the child sacrifice and devil worship. Not a big fan as it comes off as rather boring so my message to him is to make a better track. Osteospernum- No clue who this is, but we have definitely ventured into darkpsy territory. I would recognize that bass line anywhere. Like the sounds of screaming torture? Me neither as this is just evil effects over that bass line. Melody? Forget it. This is Pinhead's soundtrack. Time and Space- "You're not listening to me. There are other things that need to be taken into account here." Just so you don't think I hate all darkpsy (I don't) this one appealed to me. It's much faster and the effects enhance the frantic nature of the track. This is Kagetoshi Nakamura and his vibe seems more on the organic forest side of things. It's scary for sure, as he layers the effects in an auditory nightmare. Hell, it almost seems as he brings some melody to the darkness. But let's be clear... there won't be a Vibe Tribe sighting here. This track bubbles and evolves into different phrases so it's not just effects over the same bass line. *Looks askew at Dimorphotheca* Don Don- Fatal Discord is Masayoshi Suzuki and he also veers towards the dark forest type of thing. Computer effects, screeches, rapid twinkling tones...you know the drill. Like the previous track the effects are varied so it's much more interesting to my ears. Bubbling and intense. Disco LSD- I think you would have to be on LSD to think this was disco. It's fast and the effects race up and down like a politician's poll numbers. What must the dancefloor look like with music this intense and chaotic. In my mind it's all vampires in a mosh pit. Yeah, that sounds about right. Infaernal Endless Feeling (Comebackkid)-French darkspy? I think it's just darkpsy that makes fun of you. Well it wins the loudness war in any event. What f*cking noise. I know art and taste is subjective and thank God it is. But at what point do we come to our senses and realize not all turds can be diamonds? Friends don't let friends drive while listening to darkpsy. Tsukiakari- The only thing I took away from this track was the children's choir. I suppose the Hamase track was the bridge, but this is a Japanese darkpsy compilation. Make no mistake. The first two tracks were actually pretty good, so it's my hope that they don't get lost in the shuffle. The rest have plenty of evil effects and high tempo anger to satisfy fans of the dark genre. Not much for darkpsy, I did enjoy the track construction of Noise Gust and Fatal Discord but what the f*ck was the Hishyiro track all about? Want my advice? Take the two goa tracks, get the f*ck on your bicycle and get the hell out of here. http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/raj/raj1cd001.html http://www.beatspace.com/6390/Rajas+Records/Various/Rajanga/detail.aspx http://www.goastore.ch/product_info.php?products_id=4576 Mdk