Potentially the best remix comp I've heard in several years. Virtual Riot brings together plenty of seasoned veterans to the fray for a remix package of last year's "Stealing Fire" and the results are quite enjoyable indeed, even if some acts here aren't quite bringing their A-game.
Fave tracks: Stealing Fire (longstoryshort Remix), Believe What You Want (Tokyo Machine Remix), Star Destroyer VIP, Scorched Earth (Culprate Remix), Nights On Fire (Skybreak Remix), Need ... read more
Feed Me does what he does best: deliver positively killer bass house, electro house, and complextro fusions for an hour straight. Even if it's not pushing the envelope all that much for him at this point, by no means does that make this record undercooked or stale. I'd absolutely recommend this to everyone as an essential EDM record for this year.
Fave tracks: Spectral Feel, Pyro, Innie, Under My Skin, Rocket Science, Too Easy, Monica
Least fave track: Proud
Though the truly wild and experimental tracks are stuck right at the end of this album, the preceding cuts are still a decent time overall, albeit feeling a little bit standard for the vision label and shooting below my expectations when it comes to work by the four artists involved in this supergroup. Nevertheless, definitely the most underrated project on this site for this week, give it a listen if you enjoy the weirder side of EDM and bass music.
Fave tracks: SOLAAR 42, FRANKFURT, SOLITU, ... read more
The production on this album is so great and impressive for the time it hurts to give it a score so low. The 80s electro scene is one which I've been meaning to dive into for a while now, and this seemed as good a place to start as any. By far my biggest problem with the record is that it *drags* out many of these tracks, the production being stretched to the breaking point and then some much of the time. The rapping as well is pretty subpar, and starts to wear on me by the end of the ... read more
I'm sure 15 year old me would have lost their mind over such a comp: an official Monstercat-curated Undertale remix album. Even with me now nearly 10 years older, I was still somewhat taken aback by the announcement, though the more thought I gave it, the more it began to make sense from a business perspective (especially now that all prominent EDM labels that sign interesting acts are owned by Create). Unfortunately, with age I've grown distant to a lot of the more moderate stylings ... read more
If he had made this back in the 90s, *maybe* I'd be more lenient, but like.....
Though perhaps not as much of a vibe from start to end as his previous album, "Substance" is yet another impressive collection of UK Garage and bassline from MPH, travelling through some darker soundscapes along the way. Most of the complements and critiques I gave "Refraction" apply here, though to a lesser extent on the former. Still, absolutely a great one to throw on this weekend if you're in the mood to go wild for a night.
Fave tracks: Against the Clock, ... read more
The fifth studio LP from French breakcore outfit, Ruby My Dear, sees the act continue down their eclectic blend of heavy breakcore and glitch with bizarre upbeat and off-kilter melodies and metal progressions, this time with a bit more of focus to soundscapes evoking the feel of the 70s (as much as can be brought to mind when you're being assaulted with massive distorted kicks and glitches).
If you're a fan of Igorrr and are looking for something similar but still in its own lane, ... read more
While it's a step in right direction after her previous two outings, I can't help but feel like Taylor continues to play it safe with her music despite her status quite literally making it so she could release a harsh noise record, have it top the Billboard 200, then recover her image by releasing another pop album the next year (or even the same year), carrying on like nothing changed.
I wish they had explored that "showgirl" concept a bit more in the production than what ... read more
Though nothing too crazy occurs within, "Give Up The Ghost" is still a fairly decent album with far more consistentcy than I would have expected from this stage in the act's career.
Fave tracks: Different, Limerence, Out of Control, Feed, Hang My Heart
Least fave track: Shutting Down
Soundtrack to fighting through hordes of foot soldiers in gladitorial combat as you prepare to liberate an ancient greek city. Heart of Courage clears.
Edit: 78->87 yeah, a second listen worked wonders for me; Edit: 87->93 this shit's the real deal wowza
Hasn't fully clicked with me yet, but tbf "3D Country" didn't either on first listen, so I'll probably revisit it soon. For now, I'll just say I enjoyed it quite a bit and there were some real highlights throughout
Fave tracks: Husbands, Getting Killed, 100 Horses, Half Real, Bow Down, Taxes, Long Island City Here I Come
Least fave track: Trinidad
2025 really is the year of the Indiefication of electronic acts, damn./hj Au5's second EP this year sees him delivering one of his most impactful records to date, blending that style of brostep and melodic dubstep he's been championing for over a decade with some killer guitar lines, self-performed vocals, ethereal mixdown, and fresh bass design.
Lost Without: 8.3/10
Shattered: 8.1/10
Starflame: 8.7/10
Better to Believe: 8.4/10
Into The Light: 7.9/10
Banger after banger, a fun little EP from Eliminate with that nice balance of punch and flow. Does feel like it could have been expanded upon however.
Take Me Higher: 7.7/10
U Want It: 7.9/10
Turn It Up:8.1/10
BodyMove: 8.5/10
CTRL: 8.3/10
There are some moments where it kinda works but overall this theme is so lowkey I can't ever take it seriously with a drop attached
Infamous dubstep producers YOOKiE return with a rather pathetic collection of covers of old rock standards. The title of the project certainly does not lie.
SEVEN NATiON ARMY: 2.0/10 Many an EDM act has done a cover of this song, YOOKiE is neither the first or last to utterly fail at succeeding with one.
COME AS YOU ARE: 4.0/10 They almost had something with this one, alas the connective tissue just ain't there.
FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT: 1.9/10 Really bad tearout in the style of festival ... read more
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Recent Review Comments
On Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me
"@Seb_ never"
On Habstrakt - SURGE
"@Baylen Corner of My Eye (AGGRESSIVE PHONK REMIX)"
On Marszan's review of Charli xcx - Von dutch remix with skream and benga
"??????????????? This is the Excision (pre2011) type of dubstep, not the Skrillex type though???"
On Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (40th Anniversary)
"@Eruption78 the rougher mixdown helped to sell the desolation for me, also helped with a lot of the grooves which felt a bit spare in those anniversary mixes."
On Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (40th Anniversary)
"@Eruption78 i mean my intial rating was like a 7"
On OctoMarkus's review of Gammer - Sun Will Rise Again
"It was REVEALED on April Fools so i guess it gets a pass."
On SPAMTON G. SPAMTON's review of Borgore - Switzerland
"The fact this isn't even in the top 20 worst Borgore songs"
On From First to Last - Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count
"Also I literally review EDM why wouldn't I listen to one of Skrillex's other projects as a fan?"
On From First to Last - Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count
"@voicelikehoney i don't hate all emo, some of the best albums I've ever heard are emo. Vocals are what tend to make or break this genre for me. I almost never go into a project expecting to hate it unless it's a project by an artist I follow regularly, And if I ever do I still hold onto the hope that I will still find something of value. Additionally, this was an album I happened to listen to on a stream. My opinion may have even changed on it at this point since it's been so long."
On 🪓lexa ☮️💖☯️🤝🇵🇸's review of Various Artists - Monstercat 007 - Solace
"Also i find it interesting you dislike Animal Instinct but like Breakdown, as I feel like our ratings are probably switched. Idk i think Animal Instinct has one of the most fun drumlines and melodies of any SW track from that era, while Breakdown is a limp, misguided headscratcher of a track for me, and it makes complete sense why the VIP would go on to completely overshadow it later."
On 🪓lexa ☮️💖☯️🤝🇵🇸's review of Various Artists - Monstercat 007 - Solace
"Ampersand actually wasn't on the original comp, instead it was pulled from the edm spotlight collaborative comp which came out the following year to fill in for the track House by OVERWERK, after he pulled that track from the label, you can still hear it on the album mix though. I will say that House is one of the better tracks on this comp as it was originally intended, though pretty aggressively 2012"
On かめりあ [Camellia] - Chimera Dragons
"@svse idk, I feel like music by KAIFU and JoeB (even Figure a few years back) manages to outdo Camellia in terms of intensity for me, it's nowhere near as fast paced usually, but to me they're the ones pushing bass music to its breaking point the most in the current environment (In JoeB's case its more about his odd rhythms). And i would also make the case that, while maybe not as busy, Kobaryo often manages to match Camellia in terms of intensity. I've been meaning to get into Diabarha for a while now, but what I've heard of their music has also come pretty close, albeit less varied."
On Jerkcurb - Night Fishing On A Calm Lake
"@lickeroftables i don't want to hear that from someone who licks tables"
On lilyth's review of Skrillex - hit me where it hurts x
"My journey with listening to music more seriously really started with EDM as well, Approaching Nirvana, Tiesto, and Daft Punk when i was young, before I found Monstercat and followed them religiously from 2015 until about 2022 when I branched back into some of the older hits I just never heard on the radio in my youth before finding Björk and getting hooked onto listening through albums over comps and EPs. After a year of binging through fantano's top 200 LPs of the 2010s, I found new ways to appreciate the music I'd grown up with, as well as a whole new selection of genres to listen to to prevent my experience with that music from ever going stale or myself becoming jaded towards it."
On Skrillex - hit me where it hurts x
"@GabHugo Contra, last year. Sonny Moore from the very start in the 2000s"
On ROSALÍA - LUX
"@davipms Yves Tumor's contribution quite literally ruined the song for me, otherwise a perfect track"
On Danny Brown - Starburst
"@jamalama this is news to me"
On Pinball Gizzard's review of George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
"I will NOT accept this Ringo the 4th Slander !!!1!1 /s"
On H1DD3N_1N_TH3_ST4T1C's review of Ran-D - Zombie
"@UltimateLifeFrm with illenium and wooli like 2 years ago ye"
On Pendulum - Inertia
"@b0realis I'm starting a Panopticon discog dive soon, so I'll probably tackle it then."
On Distorted Vortex's review of Riot Ten - Threats
"There is a blatant production error in the first 20-30 seconds of the track, this is something not even Borgore has done with his deluge of terra-slop.
A bad mix is generally all it takes to tank a riddim track in the present time, a production error is straight up inexcusable when being released on a major label."
On Sleep Token - DYWTYLM
"@Elysian_Wave ??????????"
On Schizoid man's review of Skrillex - F*CK U SKRILLEX YOU THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT!! <3
"Great review! Though I should add QFF actually featured quite a bit of dubstep on it, he didn't really abandon them!"
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