Cybered - Forget Your Past

[Bill]

 

Artist: Cybered

Album: Forget Your Past

Label: Sun Station Records

Released: January 2013

 

Edward Cybered is a great producer but he’s that much better when he’s selfish and not playing at all with the other children.

 

I’m not suggesting that Cybered is bad when he’s co-producing or remixing, in fact, there are some great tracks that have come from his collaborations, but in a lot of cases, just based on the Cybered blueprint for making tracks, most times it feels like he is being held back.

 

Originally one-half of the full-on duo Manifold, one of the albums they released was great while one was not. Even the great “Mental Suggestion” had its shortcomings and it certainly has not aged as well as some of its peers. However, in the Cybered story it’s easy to see where his progression occurred and just how much better comparatively he is at his craft while going it alone.

 

Here on his full-length “Forget Your Past” debut (though maybe not technically a debut so much as a collection of tracks from his previously released EPs), a couple of notable collaborations occur. A remix of Excizen’s “Kneebender” is quite good but woefully out-of-place next to the bombastic, engine-running-in-the-red style that Cybered executes on his own. Excizen has a raw focus on techno with his style so the Cybered sound comes across as stifled, suffocating under the slower BPMs of the track.

 

The co-production with Opsy fares much better on the excellent “Termites”. Cybered’s militant tech-trance is mixed cleverly with Opsy’s fierce psychedelic techno and the results are dark and invigorating. Most definitely a memorable effort but nothing at all compared to Cybered working independently.

 

“Wrong Game,” “Drone” and “Tuned Reference” are fierce, octane-powered psytrance that seeks not only to fill a dancefloor but also to utterly drain every last ounce of energy from it.

 

Fierce fodder, indeed, and the marquee track of this bunch on “Dark Athena (Part 2)” solidifies the album’s greatness. The Delta and Nuclear Ramjet came up with excellent results when they turned their tech-trance into cinematic monsters but they sound somewhat tame compared to the explosion of this one. The gigantic bass lines feel like they’ll rip a hole in the wall if the volume is up too loud and the orchestra samples build to a crazy crescendo that Cybered delivers to an explosive pay-off.

 

Without question, “Forget Your Past” would be one of my top picks among album releases for 2013. Kudos to Edward Cybered, also, for delivering the follow-up “Acid Box” that I feel is one of the best of 2014.

 

Truly gifted, this guy is a great producer, groovy and powerful with a penchant for over-the-top energy that is never lacking a keen eye for detail.

 

He’s that much better, though, when he’s going it alone.

 

Available for free play or download at: http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/cybered-forget-your-past

[Trance2MoveU]

The dark, techy trance found here is very bombastic and demands to be played at high volume. Preferentially in a residential neighborhood. The orchestra samples remind me of Talpa's Dragon Tale, (which I believe came out around  10 years prior), but in a much more forceful way. Dark Athena (Part 2) and Omega Zone don't knock, they kick the door in. There is more than just power here though, as he also brings a funky, swing element to some tracks.

While some of it was dark progressive that didn't evolve enough for my tastes, the good tracks are really good. He seems to have a great talent for filling out a track and giving it some atmosphere and depth. I actually liked the boom he brought to the Kneebender track.

If you like dark, moody, beat heavy, well produced psytrance this holds up pretty well.