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VA - Monarchie II (ZMA - March 2002)
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___luizparreiras
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Posted : Mar 23, 2002 05:27:40
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[b]VA - Monarchie II (ZMA Rec. - Greece - March 2002)
1.Vibrasphere - Katapult
2.Ibiza Connection - Dreamland
3.Treibstoff - Humanoids
4.Morphem - What I Need
5.Prisioners of the Sun - Japanoid
6.Biodegradable - A Spoon in the Jungle
7.PPS Project - Toxic
8.Filur - All Shine
9.Voladores - Back From Hell
[/b]
Well, this just arrived in my mailbox, and I thought it'd be nice to write a review for my friends here in the blue room.
So, Hercules ventures into new uncharted territory, less tech and more atmospheric morning sounds. I've been a fan of Zillion Mental for quite some time now, and this disc is somewhat of a change in directions, which i really appreciated. It is dancefloor oriented disc, and a very good one at that, though imo there are some history problems here and there, which are a little drawback, but in itself not compromising the overall quality of the tracks.
It kicks off with the Swedish duo Vibrasphere, so i was expecting atmospheric morning sounds, and instead I'm greeted with a massive bassline and kick, and a somewhat dark atmosphere and sound games. Digging music big time here. Very good flow, little break (break and build up work could've been better imo) and that digging urge i so enjoy to feel. This is an invitation to the dance floor dudes! Next up we have the great Haldolium duo, debuting a new side project called Ibiza Connection. Now we have more of the morning feeling i've talked about: great fat bass and kick, nice little perc work and metallic sounds here and there. Some melodic lines add to the mix, and it slowly builds into a good dancefloor piece. Nice to see the classic "blue pill" sample being used, reminds me of good times. Let's move on to one of the masterpieces of this disc, Treibstoff's Humanoids. These guys have been showcasing their talent for some time now, but for me they really broke it with TNT and Nautilus on Medium. Here they bring their act up a notch or two, with a morning progressive masterpiece. Awesome driving bassline, atmospheric sound games and beautiful melodic lines. Puts a smile on my face and makes me wanna dance my knees off. Morphem follows, and i'm usually not a big fan of his work, but "What I Need" surprised me positively, with a nice flow, little hi hat work well built, and some really psychedelic sound games throught the track. He changes the flow from time to time, doesn't let the rhythm down at any time. Very enjoyable track all in all. Moving on to the acclaimed POTS duo, in their typical style, massive progressive tune with tribal touches. Japanoid has a very nice flow, interesting bassline (a little club influenced, which is a plus, shows they are evolving), nice snares here and there, and some atmospheric background sounds which really add to the morning feeling i get from this track. Open air dancefloor material. The Americans are up next, Biodegradable start off with another Matrix sample, the spoon one (remember?) and we move into darker realms, with stronger bass and kick, they really have improved their sound work lately. More of Hercules' style here, techier sound, a lot of sound layers fit well, but at least for me it's a mood breaker. Doesn't go along with the rest of the history of the comp. The same happens with PPS Project's Toxic, a dark psy tech massive tune, as one can expect from them. A track I would otherwise like a lot, but in this disc it doesn't fit well. Anyway, it's a massive tune, powerful driving sounds delta-style, and Son Kite's mastering talent shows here, as nothing is misplaced, you can hear every little sound game. They use some tiny melodic lines sometimes, which i hadn't seen before from the duo. All in all a nice heavy track, unfortunately lost in the history of this comp. Next up we got Sebastian's solo project, and we head back into sunshine territory, with the great "All Shine", an awesome tribalistic morning tune, with a nice breakbeat-like bassline and great build that makes you wanna dance. The voice sample Ahhhh is great, fits well with the melodic line and gives way to another round of knee-destruction. To wrap things up we got a new Greek act in town, Voladores. They debut with a great morning tune, in a slower mood than the rest of the disc, very goaish in a way, good relaxation for the body and the soul. Beautiful sound work, some room for improvement but showing great promise.
Conclusion: a must buy for all progressive lovers. All tracks in a very high level of quality, with a little problem in history as I've already said, but all in all one of the best releases of the year so far. I would love if Hercules kept ZMA going this way. Favorites: 3, 8, 9, 2, 5.
Sorry for the long review guys, it's my first one here :-)
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___Nomad
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Posted : Mar 23, 2002 12:13:18
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i haven't listened to it enough, but i liked what i heard so far, there are quiet a few style changes throughout the cd, but imo it doesn't make it worse, i think it shows that with this order (and i think it's the right one) the cd still works quiet well, and the progressive parts get along with psy and tech oriented parts of it .
favorites : hmm too hard to say, i liked it all there's a track for every mood :)
btw nice review Luiz . |
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___starjoker
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Posted : Mar 23, 2002 12:39:34
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first of all - great review..
second - i didnt hear it yet but sure will.. u gived me right tatse to this..
3-th - i payed attantion to this checnge direction by hercules a litlle while ago and now im sure ZMA going to be "my" label..
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___DJ_Kenneth
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Posted : Mar 23, 2002 15:54:39
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well i've heard some of the tracks already, and i am still waiting 4 my mail order, but from what i've heard its a great comp'... i am looking 4ward 2 listen 2 it...
i am dissapointed by 1 thing though... i was expection 2 c the Midi MIliz remix 2 Morphem's Ambrosia... 2 bad...
anyways...
I'll give a full review soon.... |
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___anarchiest
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Posted : Mar 23, 2002 17:32:21
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in couple of months there will be out the miliz rmx.
Anyway thanx all of you for the great support
cheers |
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___theodore
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Posted : Mar 24, 2002 01:43:36
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great traxx - great music !!!
imo the best zma release until now...
my favs : 3,5,8,9
btw great review luiz - continue...:)
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___DJ_Kenneth
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Posted : Mar 24, 2002 02:15:27
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10x herc'...
and i cant wait 2 hear u a play on wednsday!!!
Tech-trance at its best!!!!!!!!!!!!
Give'em in the HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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___DJ_Leo
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Posted : Mar 24, 2002 02:51:39
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one of the best compilation zma guys released.
this cd must be in any cd case [color=Red]!!![/color]
good work H ;) |
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___spin@
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Posted : Mar 24, 2002 03:19:18
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a realy good one hercules :) |
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___DJ_HIKARI
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Posted : Mar 24, 2002 08:42:19
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Cant wait to hear this cd. sounds very nice. its got some nice groups on the cd. good luck. |
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___kaz
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Posted : Mar 24, 2002 15:14:19
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Excellent album, my favorite ZMA release so far. |
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___Psai-Sai
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Posted : Mar 24, 2002 18:34:13
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A simply brilliant collection of some of the best tunes I heard lately, great great music. favorites are :
Vibrasphere - Katapult
Treibstoff - Humanoids
Morphem - What I Need
Prisoners of the Sun - Japanoid &
PPS Project - Toxic[b][/b]
Beware of the new Segment (Morphem) album to be out next month :)
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___triplex
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Posted : Mar 24, 2002 20:09:24
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killer release! i love it
biodegradable and vibrasphere are smooooooth! :) |
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___ShivaS
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Posted : Mar 24, 2002 20:41:21
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vibrasphere just kills me again and again....
aaah somebody stop my CD!!!!!
;)
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___shahar
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Posted : Apr 1, 2002 13:20:08
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[b][u]Monarchie II (ZMA, Mar. 2002)[/b][/u]
1. Vibrasphere- Katapult 7:14
2. Ibiza Connection- Dreamland 8:41
3. Treibstoff- Humanoids 7:48
4. Morphem- What I Need 7:21
5. Prisoners of the Sun- Japanoid 10:21
6. Biodegradable- A Spoon in the Jungle 8:12
7. PPS Project- Toxic 6:34
8. Filur- All Shine 9:00
9. Voladores- Back from Hell 8:51
CD no. 9 from ZMA, and for me it's one of the best Hercules has made since the first Monarchie, and so, though the style is different for sure, it deserves this name. Most of the tracks are real good, the sounds and stories are diverse and interesting, just the organizing of the tracks is a bit confused to me, and it looses direction in the end.
We have here Vibrasphere with the massive atmospheric Katapult, Ibiza Connection with Dreamland, really a good track, but I just don't think I wanna hear on the dancfloor those blue-peel-red-peel samples again. Definitely overused. Any way to take them out of the track? Triebstoff with a real powerful scandosound stormer, huge atmosphere and crunch included. Morphem change the atmosphere a bit with a lighter tune with a bit of an old school aroma to it, but nothing exciting. POTS, which I usually don't like with a grabbing horse-riding rhythm with groovy robotic percussion and a subtle jazzy melodic ending- moving the body, relaxing the mind. Biodegradable with yet another matrix sample, but this one is forgiven fully, because this track is really refreshing and fun to listen to. A lot of crazy things happen here, all laid on a very crowded bass-line combination- we're talking psychedelic mornings madness here. PPS Project, uprising Israeli tech-trance machine, start with a heartbeat, and continue with alienated hard industrial sounds topped with levitating semi melodic clubby sequences. Filur goes to even more clubby realms with Seb's larger than life sounds- the track itself doesn't speak to me, and it also feels out of place here. Voladores close with a very percussive and very old school melodic track.
[b]Bottom Line:[/b] Very good release with a lot of atmosphere and space and driving energy. Starts with great morning sounds and ends in the clubby realm. [b]Favorites:[/b] 1(!), 2, 3, 5, 6(!), 7.
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