- See all the Ratings
- Add my Rating now
- CD
(Metalheadz/Inertia)
Goldie’s seminal drum and bass label Metalheadz has set a consistently high standard for compilations since the groundbreaking Platinum Breaks series, which brought us the likes of Dillinja’s still mindblowing Armoured D, J.Majik’s Your Sound, and the absolute brilliance of Hidden Agenda’s Flute Tune. This 3rd edition of the annual 0.x series is no Platinum Breaks, but it’s still very, very impressive nonetheless.
Photek’s Age of Empires, a track that started out as a remix of his classic Horns, opens up the album in fine style. Middle Eastern vibes, coupled with trademark Photek basslines and those eerie synth-stabs made famous by himself, Digital and Spirit make for a stormer of a tune. A great set opener or closer for any DJ out there who’s interested in picking this LP up.
Hailing from Goldie’s hometown of Wolverhampton, young gun Skitty drops a classic Metalheadz style joint in I Can’t Describe. Reminiscent of Total Science in Jetset and Tight Fit mode, off-key stabs and synth washes are joined by an emotive “You and me” vocal. The sound is continued by Swedish pairing Seba and Lenk, the latter known to techno-heads for his work with Adam Beyer. Seba’s known for his intricate drumwork, which features alongside a tearing reece and Robert Manos storytelling vocals. A stepper, no doubt.
Track 4 sees Keaton and Hive totally mash up Loxy, Ink & J-Dub’s mentalist Twisted Third Mind. Ascending horn stab and the sickening Keaton drum break combined with an Assembly Line sample makes for some straight up mayhem. The second drop on this is quite frankly, nuts. Ascending vocals, and left to right panning drums are met with a bassline that seems to come out of nowhere. Fan-bloody-tastic.
Spirit’s Dial Up isn’t that spectacular from the outset, but hits it’s straps part way through with some twisted descending stabs that create an almost half-time section. The rest of the tune is pretty stock standard Spirit, but it gets the job done. New Canadian signings John Rolodex and Synoflex drop some danger with the very cool Novacaine. A jazzed up opening is quickly met with a nasty amen and big synth hook. High hats and chopped up breaks abound. It struck me in this tune that the tracks on the album are all extremely well crafted, with a real feeling of movement and energy in them. Novacaine has that tortured, dark feel about it that Metalheadz has done so well over their history.
Kryptic Minds and Leon Switch lay down a co-lab on track 7 with Prejudice & Politics. A skittering amen smasher, with a rolling bassline underneath, it’s none too shabby. It gets a little repetitive after a while, however. There’s a toss up for tune of the album between The Gremlinz & Stranjah’s dubbed out choppage insanity on Track 8 in Tingz and the final tune, Kryptic Minds & Leon Switch’s The King . “Jah” samples are combined with frenetic bongos and a plucky lead synth. You can really see this tune smashing up any dancefloor at 3am with a haze of weed smoke hanging in the air. Pity it’s only on the CD release, however, but if you’ve ever thought of buying a CDJ, this is probably the tune that’d seal the deal.
Beta 2 drops Bad Days, that sounds a lot like Total Science’s remix of Ghostlife from last year. The computerized, fucked up stabs from that, or something like it make an appearance in a darked out stepper. K.O.T.P strike with Secret Fire on track 10, a roller of the highest order. Secret Fire reminds me a lot of the more dancefloor friendly Metro and Virus tunes of a few years back. Very, very classy, with an almost orchestral feel at times.
To continue with what I was saying previously, Kryptic Minds & Leon Switch will damn near blow you away with The King. Sample heavy, and bordering on breakcore for a bit, you’ll be terrified, and hopefully will want to break your neck with how fierce this tune is. “Talk is cheap motherfucker!” says the vocal, and the boys put their money where their mouth is in an epic closer to the compilation.
Disc 2 sees Goldie mix all these tunes up in the exact same order as the first disc, along with Total Science’s nu-rave masterpiece Defcon 69, forthcoming on offshoot Metalheadz Platinum in between Secret Fire and the barnstorming The King. A great return to form for Headz, who’ve been criticized for being a little flat over the past couple of years. But when you set the bar so high, you’ve got to be pretty good to reach it. Goldie and the Headz crew get it together, and have put together an album that’s definitely worth your hard-earned.
