Mergi Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Artist: Zirrex Release: Ritual Dance Year: 2013 Label: Hado Records Cat-#: HDRCD002 Rating: 3.5/5.0 Tracklisting: 1) Ritual Dance 2) Electro Nation 3) Extremist 4) Nuclear Fusion 5) Magic Colors 6) Solar System Part 1 7) Solar System Part 2 8) Rock Box Nostalgia, polished... it certainly has flair and it's generally very upbeat and happy. The production standard is also set very high and most of the elements come together quite nicely. The best tracks are the goa/psy tracks, at least in my opinion they shine through with their energy. Some slight oddities here and there though like the dubstep breaks in Extremist which simply never really went well with the track as whole and also throwing in a chill laidback progressive piece just after the extatic opener track just kind of made me lose interest. The hard rock hommages are also slightly tedious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Eye Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Words always seem to fail me when I try to give praise to my favourite albums, but I recently made a list of the 10 (no, make it 11 just because) best albums from the first half of this decade (2010-2014). This was the only "psytrance" album on that list, which perhaps tells something about how much I simply adore this album. It's melodic, positive and dancefloor friendly with absolutely no cheese. And for once doesn't fall into the formula of corny new age and/or drug samples and "let's stick a shitty downtempo track at the end of the album just like everyone else and call it a day". The first drop in tempo comes already at the second track and it's a good cool down from the fantastic opening track. Then we're up in high gear again for the next 2 tracks (not even the dubstep breaks on Extremist bother me at all). Magic Colors is another nice cooldown before the 20 minutes odyssey of Solar System. Rock Box brings the album to a nice closing with lots of guitars, and so what if there's an acoustic guitar riff exactly like the one in Infected Mushroom's Bust A Move, and a slight touch of IM-esque vocals. Apparently the guy likes IM, and if you ask me, kicks the shit out of them on any given day. Fullpower psytrance at its best, highly recommended, et cetera. 5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BraneFreeze Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 I liked Nuclear Fusion and the two Solar System tracks. The rest, not so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdinklag Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 After the reissue of Lost in Time in early 2010, you cannot imagine how excited I was when I learned that there would be another Zirrex album. What to expect from a new album from the guy who - in my view - made the best goa album ever, with nothing quite close to it? No doubt there was a little overhype, and indeed this one does not live up to Lost in Time. It's still one hell of a ride (I second Paul's 5/5) and I recommend it for anybody who loves electronic music... ...because that's what Zirrex does. This is not a pure goa or psy trance album. He experiments, he tries, he mixes styles, and this album contains results. Ritual Dance goes right at it. It kicks off as tribal trance, pretty much. Strong bassline, somewhat mysterious soundscape, almost generic sounding psytrance layers. It all changes after about the first third. Suddenly it goes melodic, a clash of goa trance and early 00s uplifting trance. Saw synth melodies like in the good days. Changes in base notes! Why doesn't anybody do that anymore? The vocals used in the second half could not have been used better, the climax about two thirds into the track is breathtaking and will take you off. Electro Nation hits you unexpected. We're just off a trance storm, and experience a smooth transition into... house? Yeah, pretty much. If psychedelic funky house exists, this is it. If you know Haltya, imagine a slower and smoother variant. If you ever throw a party with non-goa people, don't be afraid to pitch this one in, it fits every occasion! In the transition to the next track (it's a mixed album, yep), there's a little flashback to the Lost in Time album. I won't spoil it, it had me smile all over the place. Extremist is yet another experiment. A most successful one. Zirrex mashes up goa trance and electronic dubstep. Somebody tell Infected Mushroom to do more like this... the funny thing about it all is that it works. I'm not a fan of dubst- no wait, I f'in hate dubstep. But I never heard a goa buildup on a dubstep scene. Wickedly awesome. This track comes with happy morning goa melodies, 303 background lines and a modern-day produced beat and bassline. In the last quarter he goes all experimental again, with very strange vocal work. There's really a hell of a lot going on in this track, it's impossible to describe. A real experience! Nuclear Fusion is psytrance, but not the full-on sort. It's psytrance how I want it to be. No dull hands-up buildups. Instead, very trippy soundscapes and subtle melodies, all in one flow. I like to compare the style to Logic Bomb's album Unlimited, only with much more acidic touches throughout the track. Magic Colors takes the speed out of it all. This is a very slow feel-good goa track, again comparable to Logic Bomb (Normalised), but with more acoustic work. Zirrex seems to like guitars a lot. Again, so much in here. A supersaw line followed by an electric guitar solo, fitting vocals pitched in at times. You will feel better after listening to this one. Solar System can be considered one huge concept track. He split it into two parts, I'd describe Part 1 as the psytrance part and Part 2 as the goa part. Style-wise, Part 1 reflects Nuclear Fusion and Part 2 reflects Ritual Dance, but both parts share a theme, an atmosphere, and even a bassline. The bassline is the key to this track really, it's very memorable and leads you through the very trippy soundscapes from Part 1 to extremely beautiful melodies in Part 2. What happens at about 2 minutes into part 2 is magic. From here on out, Zirrex proves that he can do Suntrip-style newschool goa just as well. Rock Box is the track I was waiting for with this album. I heard a preview years before the release and just wanted to have it. We're downtempo now, broken beats, and so much going on, this track is creating a world of its own. As the name suggests, it sounds like every bit of this track is acoustic. The bassline, without a doubt, is not a snythetic one. Lots of guitar work in here, from the rhytmic one to the various solos. Music at its best, pure listening pleasure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celaripo Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 annoying is the first word that comes to mind annoying album that i never managed to listen in full despite several attempts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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