Prometheus - Spike

[Trance2MoveU]

 

Artist: Prometheus

Title: Spike

Label: Twisted Records

Date: October, 2010

 

1. Fast Train

2. Triplets

3. Blue Tubes

4. 2010

5. DarkStar

6. Rush

7. Rhythm, Circuit, Echo

8. Taylors Machine

9. Colt

10. Datcha

 

Prometheus is Benji Vaughan, half of the Younger Brother project. He has released 2 albums prior to this one that have met with some high praise. According to the promos on Psyshop, he is choosing a new direction in his music. I liked Corridor of Mirrors as well as Robot-O-Chan so I'm a little disappointed, but I understand that an artist has to grow and evolve. Twisted is a label that has put out some of the biggest albums in our lovely little genre. Founded by Simon Holtom and Simon Posford (Godford to some) You've got Hallucinogen's Twisted and Deranger, Shpongle's Tales of the Inexpressible, Doof's Let's Turn On...need I say more. This is a label that is drenched in quality music and sound production.

 

 

Fast Train- With a synthesized voice about the future a nimble bass dances below some floaty pads. One lead flutters and is replaced by another. Chopped up synths give the track some pace and it then switches direction. The last bit has a rave-like quality and punctuates the groove. Not bad.

 

Triplets- The track rises with far away pads as percussion taps out the rhythm. The key changes sound nice as metallic shuffling and synth stabs ride shotgun with the beat. The break is pad heavy with a spacey, wide open feeling. When it re surges it is crunchy without a lot of variation. Not bad again.

 

Blue Tubes- Slow synth sounds march as a bass sound bubbles underneath. The kick is punchy with a single note arpeggiated lead. Electro sounds and percussion push this almost to Detroit techno styles. It is a slower tempo and I find myself interested in finding where he is going to go next. The synths warble and blast into a crescendo as it eventually calms down and fades into pensive strings. Interesting.

 

2010- Abrasive leads, insistent kick drum, and another rambling bass would define this track. The bass and kick drum are so loud together that the higher melody has to be loud just to be heard. It's a nice melody, but with the insistent synth stab being repeated it gets a little annoying. Also the bass doesn't give this track any feeling, it just throws itself at you. I didn't care for the arrangement.

 

DarkStar- This track begins with a lot of vocal manipulation a la Infected Mushroom with a funky bass. The beat is heavy and the melody is catchy as hell as I catch myself bouncing. New leads come in but continue pounding out the groove. I feel it goes on too long though, but the last third does bring the power. The final lead soars above the grungyness of the beat. Not bad.

 

Rush- An entire minute of preamble later and another progressive beat kicks in with someone saying, "Come out and show you." I would say this is more on the house side of things, and it is groovy. Synths arrive a little later to give the track a larger feeling, perfect for a party. This is like something I would find from David Guetta. Without Akon. That ain't bad, right?

 

Rhythm, Circuit, Echo- Now we have a deep progressive groove going with robotic voices reciting the title. You'll hear that again and as the break arrives a slight melody gives the track some depth. The rhythm is smooth and scaled back with air horns, and when another break arrives far away sounds give the track another direction. Not bad, but there is way better progressive trance out there.

 

Taylors Machine- Once you get through the unnecessary beginning, the breakbeat thumps and the melody sounds like Depeche Mode. Close your eyes, this could be off the Black Celebration album. One of their interludes they like to do between tracks. It's not terrible, but it isn't that interesting either.

 

Colt- With a very loud ringing bass a light guitar melody weeps sadly along with some twinkling sounds. The bass puts me off immediately as it is overly dominant. A shame because the other instruments sound nice, but they are drowned out. I could do without this one.

 

Datcha- This final track is a very emotional and pensive piano concerto. It is accompanied by some strings and effects as it puts a melancholy stamp at the end of the album. Supremely beautiful tale that drips of sadness as it floats with the ease of a spirit. I didn't know he had it in him. Great, relaxing ending and clearly the best thing on this disc.

 

 

 

This definitely had a little bit of everything didn't it? Now normally when I read the promos that show up on the vendors's site, I take it with a grain of salt. There is usually a lot of hyperbole written. This time however a lot the points I was going to make are included with the album description. There is no question his style has changed as there is a definite electro/techno feel to this album. It is very cold with little warmth to be found. Also it is a little on the noisy side and I find his trance to be rather unremarkable now. As far as psytrance goes, I don't think there is anything psychedelic to be found here. What I would love for him to do is release an downtempo album because tracks like Datcha show he has a gift for creating emotional ambient. I am happy that he is exploring new avenues in music, but I believe I will wait until he finds his new direction. This was ok, but nothing to get excited about.

 

Psyshop

 

Beatspace

 

Mdk

[Templar]

Prometheus - Spike

 

Twisted Records, 2010

 

 

1. Fast Train

2. Triplets

3. Blue Tubes

4. 2010

5. DarkStar

6. Rush

7. Rhythm, Circuit, Echo

8. Taylors Machine

9. Colt

10. Datcha

 

Benji Vaughan is a very busy man. He got fully involved in Younger Brother with his friend Simon Posford, where he brought his creativity to a whole new level, plus also created the "The Zap - Big Bang" album with grampa Raja. However, he did not forget about his flagship project and after many significant delays he finally released another album as Prometheus. Originally it was supposed to be a purely chillout album, but with the passage of time Benji changed his whole concept and made some more faster tracks. This time he decided to experiment. Just this word is enough to make avid fans of a certain style shake in fear and if we add to this promotional statements before the album's release that there will be techno and electro influences - well then, then it is something to be feared by many. Fortunately, the devil is not so bad as he is painted, although we did not get another perfect album full of memorable bombastic tunes, but rather just a pale substitute of the great Prometheus sound we got used to so much throughout those years.

 

After hearing the album I felt that Vaughan tried to bite off more than he could chew - of course in the eyes of his fans, including mine. First he seriously raised the bar with his previous albums, which are bursting with timeless tracks, just to get away from it later on. Eventually we got an album quite different from the earlier releases, which is obviously the most positive aspect, because in the end how long can you do the same thing over and over again. At the same time I have this irresistible feeling that he put emphasis on the wrong moments. Something is not right while listening to this CD, something does not fit. I am tempted to say that it sometimes smells like something cooked up by Kino Oko, which may surprise even more those who had frequent sessions with the albums "Robot-O-Chan" and "Corridor of Mirrors." People more accustomed to Prometheus' discography remember however that the author of the aforementioned album previously did not avoid this type of vibes, the evidence being his early works released on various compilations. The album is closer to another project of Benjamin, The Zap, rather than the previous albums, which at their time made a great impact on the psychedelic trance music. Either way, the beginning is very nice, because "Fast Train" is a psytrance track and most importantly a track with a theme alluding to the title. Vaughan's moving train reminded me of another, quite similar track called "Trancesylvania X-Press" by X-Dream, who also used the theme of this means of transport in the psytrance convention. "Triplets" firmly let his foot from the gas pedal. Throughout the whole track we are witnessing formidable sonic performances by Benji and Prometheus' trademark bass already, but as a whole thing it is somehow very sluggish. Same with "Blue Tubes" and "2010", which include several new attempts at the issue, but in reality they do not lead anywhere and seem pale in the face of other tracks by this artist. And that's almost half of the album already! The situation changes dramatically with the advent of "DarkStar", in which Prometheus seemingly recalled what all of this is all about and thought to himself that it would be good to throw in some real killer onto the scene. The track instantly gives the whole album a fantastic kick, so it is worth being tested on a good sound system with properly juiced up volume, as well as during a trance party. Benji with his innate elegance mixes the trancefloor edge, seemingly contradictory moods and different vibes, leading to the culminating moment and also boiling of the senses at the same time. Added to that we have a killer bassline. Yes, I definitely needed that right from the beginning and here we had to wait until the fifth track. The boring "Rush", where one can yawn a lot, is a major disappointment after its epic predecessor, while the happy and quite well-built "Rhythm, Circuit, Echo" might as well be something that Grzegorz Magnuszewski (Kino Oko) could pull off some time ago. The end of the album, specifically the last three tunes, strongly emphasize the primary idea behind this album regarding the creation of a purely chillout CD. Beautiful, atmospheric downtempo tracks, with emphasis on "Datacha" with its melancholic piano, fully demonstrate this artist's talent. There is room for sonic emotions, thoughts and reflections. It is a pity that these tracks are so short and were not given more space at the expense of the weaker ones from the earlier parts of the disc.

 

It would be very bad if this was the last album under the flag of Prometheus, as the whole thing is too soaked by The Zap influences and lacks a serious edge to it, which is something I find untypical as far as Benji's brilliant music is concerned. It's hard to blame Benji that he wanted to try something new, but at the same time he fell pray to his own success he fully deserves due to his significant productions, underlined with a very thick line by his previous albums. I realize that this record will often be accompanied by comments like: "Who needed this album?","What is this?" etc. It is more for home listening at home, rather than a party album, although also in this case one can squeeze a little bit out of it, an example being an unconventional floor-burner entitled "DarkStar", which is probably something one cannot dislike. The album is good, I liked it despite its significant shortcomings, although bearing in mind previous efforts of Prometheus, it is quite pale. It is not a disappointment, but it certainly could have been much better. I emphasize: much better.

 

Templar / http://www.psytrance.pl

 

Links:

 

http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/twi/twi1cd038.html

[JonCrow]

Great review Templar, I like your style and content.

Hope you do more of them to compliment T2MU's tirelessly excellent work.

 

Thanks

[Templar]

Thank you. I'm glad you like it, JonCrow.

 

There's plenty more where that came from, stay tuned.

 

On the side note: I hope that many other people will also join the review section with their reviews and opinions, as this part of the forum has been quite stagnant for some time now, except for a couple of people posting. Many hands make light work.

[Richpa]

Keep them coming Templar, I also enjoy reading your reviews here!