| Author
|
Twisted System - Core (Timecode Records 2006) CD
|
DeathPosture
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
142
Posts :
547
Posted : Jan 27, 2006 14:39
|
Twisted System - Core
Cover: http://tinyurl.com/7ul8p
Artist: Twisted System
Title: Core
Format: CD (jewel case)
Label: Timecode Records (South Africa)
Cat. #: TCCD015
Distribution: Arabesque
Date: 25 January 2006
Track listing:
01. 08’20” Stark Raver
02. 08’28” Razor
03. 07’25” Business Hippie
04. 07’44” Mad Minor
05. 08’00” Resistance
06. 08’41” The Forgotten v.3.0
07. 07’21” Outer Dementia
08. 07’24” Daorithe
09. 07’40” Beautiful People (Tribute Rmx)
Review:
Wall-to-wall, hard-to-the-core night trance
It wasn’t until well into the new millennium that South African psytrance started to catch my attention – and to make matters worse, I didn’t really pay much attention to Timecode Records before the release of the Trojan compilation in 2005… And yeah, I’ve been kicking myself ever since, coz this is indeed a quality label with a bunch of really interesting artists on their roster…
Twisted System is a dynamic trio consisting of Ian Summs (Phyx), Chris Hoy (Shift) and Rabdom L… They released their debut album The Dealers in 2004. I haven’t heard that one, but especially Phyx’ compilation tracks have impressed me a great deal the last couple of years… Most of the stuff I’ve heard from Shift has been pretty banging too, so yeah, I’m hoping this album will do it for me…Let’s find out…
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: Stark Raver
“Lord Vader…Yes master! …Riiiiise!” Does the world really need another tranced up version of the Star Wars Imperial March? I think we all know the answer to that… Anyway, obviously this is a blatant piss-take track… Or at least I hope so, coz this is seriously bad! Riddled with cheesy Star Wars samples, Darth Vader heavy breathing and *that* feet-cringing theme… Puuuuuke! The sad thing is that the rest of the track seems pretty damn solid… I just can’t get past that damn Star Wars crap… Yikes, what the hell have I gotten myself into here?
#02: Razor
Luckily Razor comes along and saves the day! Fuck yes; this is exactly what I was hoping for… Fragmented, multilayered, climactic, banging psytrance… Like a big, wide wall of sonic energy drenched in acid and with twirling melodies all over the place… Just like the many impressive Phyx tracks I’ve come to love… A smile-cracking track if there ever was one… Sweet!
#03: Business Hippie
“Do you all feel like getting high tonight?” Yes please! Whereas the previous track was twirling, happy-go-lucky psytrance, this track takes a slightly darker approach… The bassline is heavier at least, but luckily we still get endless amounts of raging acid-lines… There’s literally acid all over here… Several times throughout the track, the guys successfully incorporate emergency sirens into the track – and it works surprisingly well… That’s right; this is banging, relentless and powerful psytrance… Nice!
#04: Mad Minor
March of the penguins! On this track we’re well into the darker hours of the night – with a healthy dose of action-packed, fast-paced, acid-ridden night trance… The bassline rolls at an incredible speed and the high-pitched melodies are downright evil… Again the soundscapes are huge here – and the guys manage to create the wall-of-sound illusion… Sheer brute force! A real dancefloor stormer… I like it for the most part, but it doesn’t work as well for home-listening as some of the previous tracks do…
#05: Resistance
Half-way through the album we get a very tasty intro… A seemingly uninspired bassline is soon accompanied by a variety of freaky FX and eerie samples from horror movies… Throw some seriously tweaked percussion + half a can of acid ketchup into the mix and stir well… Sprinkle a handful of industrial metal riffs on top and garnish with a haunting, eerie atmosphere… A yummy dinner in only eight minutes! Class!
#06: The Forgotten v.3.0
The next track carries on down the same spooky path… Some disgusting creature is giving birth in the intro but is soon disturbed by an evil bassline… Soon more FX are added and the track unfolds… Dark, gritty and spooky night trance – with an impressive drive… Slowly the old acid-meter is cranked up and eventually all hell breaks loose… A nice track, but maybe a tad too dark at first… I’m not saying this is a bad track – not at all! I like it… Especially the last couple of minutes!
#07: Outer Dementia
As if things weren’t grim enough… Here’s another heavy-set, nocturnal piece of propane-injected psytrance… Slowly evolving, this track evolves into another huge dancefloor bomb… It reminds me of a tranced-up version of the ancient hard-house anthem B.O.N.Y - The Angels’ Cry (B.O.N.Y. Mix) … Yeah, this is literally wall-to-wall sonic mayhem – very euphoric and instantly rewarding… Brilliant!
#08: Daorithe
Daorithe is a small step towards industrial-sounding psytrance with its sharp metallic hisses and glasslike kick… A predictable melody is bubbling in the background and frankly the novelty is starting to wear off now… Sure, the break is refreshing, but generally this track reminds me a little too much of Chemical Crew stuff… Yikes!
#09: Beautiful People (Tribute Rmx)
“It's all relative to the size of your steeple…” The closing track is a tribute to the classic emo-industrial tune Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson… On paper this has disaster written all over it, but actually this is a pretty decent tune… I’m impressed by the level of accuracy in which the musical elements from the original are duplicated… Obviously this is still a psytrance choon, but most of the juicy Manson bits are here… Not too shabby at all! I like it!
After the wobbly start, I was really nervous that the whole album would turn out to be a pile of stinking crap… But I’m happy to say that my doubts were put to shame! This is indeed a good album – with more than a handful of fine tracks… The first track is a real stinker, but I’m sure it’ll find its audience nevertheless…
As mentioned above, I like the majority of the tracks here – and I’m really impressed by the level of energy these guys put forth in their music… It’s very intense four-to-the-floor dancefloor napalm… In that sense, this album is a very handy DJ tool, which also makes it less handy for home-listening… Journey-wise this suffers from the Killer Buds-syndrome – the tracks are simply too similar and it’s hard to enjoy the all to the fullest in one sitting… But hey – individually the majority of these tracks are pretty damn good…
Timecode fans will most likely take well to this album and I will not hesitate to recommend it to fans of fast-paced, acid-ridden, danceable night trance… Enjoy!
Favourites: 2(!), 3, 5, 7(!), 9
DeathPosture
External links:
Timecode Records: http://www.timecode.co.za
Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/release/611574
Saiko Sounds: http://tinyurl.com/cbhlu
Psyshop: http://tinyurl.com/d7nhv
Play.com: http://tinyurl.com/746ll
Chaos: http://tinyurl.com/ce8ur
  On really romantic evenings of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion... |
|
|
|
Le Lotus Bleu
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
114
Posts :
438
Posted : Jan 27, 2006 14:52
|
|
cough cough not released yet ... |
|
|
|
DeathPosture
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
142
Posts :
547
Posted : Jan 27, 2006 15:21
|
Quote:
|
On 2006-01-27 14:52, Le Lotus Bleu wrote:
cough cough not released yet ...
|
|
What's your point?
On really romantic evenings of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion... |
|
|
|
neuromantik
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
28
Posts :
593
Posted : Jan 27, 2006 16:38
|
His point is that you should...
Quit taunting us with your promo releases of killer albums!! 
More seriously, it is bad form to review yet unreleased material. |
|
|
|
Acidhive
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
76
Posts :
2014
Posted : Jan 27, 2006 17:08
|
Couldn't agree more. I hate seeing reviews of albums I'll probably like which aren't even out yet. It always makes me think: wtf?? Not that the review is bad, it certainly isn't... it's just that it should be reviewed when it's buyable at the shops.
"Subconscious unravels at the point of death, and all time it has known erupts into a moment. As death extinguishes us, so we become it."
[Esoteric: Subconscious Dissolution Into The Continuum] |
|
|
|
traveller
IsraTrance Senior Member
Started Topics :
234
Posts :
3803
Posted : Jan 27, 2006 17:47
|
Quote:
|
On 2006-01-27 17:08, Acidhive wrote:
Couldn't agree more. I hate seeing reviews of albums I'll probably like which aren't even out yet. It always makes me think: wtf?? Not that the review is bad, it certainly isn't... it's just that it should be reviewed when it's buyable at the shops.
|
|
Why? It's probably (usually) out in like a week..
"The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn't have a space program."
- Larry Niven |
|
|
|
poncho
Started Topics :
2
Posts :
60
Posted : Jan 27, 2006 18:15
|
Quote:
| Some disgusting creature is giving birth in the intro but is soon disturbed by an evil bassline…
|
|
Love the Twisted System project!!!
Peace |
|
|
|
DeathPosture
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
142
Posts :
547
Posted : Jan 27, 2006 18:27
|
Guys - chill out! The official release date was two days ago, but recently Arabesque pushed the release date a week... So it's not like I'm weeks ahead of schedule here...
Anyway, you have something to look forward to... ;o)
/DP
On really romantic evenings of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion... |
|
|
|
neuromantik
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
28
Posts :
593
Posted : Jan 27, 2006 19:57
|
@DeathPosture
I forgive you for your hasty review if and only if you send me a copy now!!! NOW I SAID... can't wait.... too long... need core injection STAT!!!
 |
|
|
|
DJSarasin
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
27
Posts :
789
Posted : Jan 28, 2006 04:06
|
|
Rah
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
77
Posts :
498
Posted : Jan 28, 2006 07:18
|
Quote:
|
On 2006-01-27 14:39, DeathPosture wrote:
Like a big, wide wall of sonic energy drenched in acid and with twirling melodies all over the place…
|
|
Pun intended
elementoftime.net
musique à la carte in mp3 & wav.
Sonic-energy.net
Reviews, interviews, downloads, articles. |
|
|
|
daksinamurti
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
94
Posts :
1489
Posted : Feb 5, 2006 03:42
|
|
Meta-Morphosis
IsraTrance Senior Member
Started Topics :
216
Posts :
4980
Posted : Feb 5, 2006 13:43
|
Hmm i would say all the tracks have been seriously thought about and are different against each other.
But personally "stark raver" is just too much for the intro track. 
Loads of acid melodies here for sure 
Favourite tracks are 2,3,5,7
South africans are here in 2006
“What we need is the development of the Inner Spiritual man, the unique individual, whose treasure is hidden in the symbols of our mythological tradition and in man’s unconscious psych.” - CJ Jung |
|
|
|
aleph
Phyx
Started Topics :
28
Posts :
45
Posted : Feb 7, 2006 09:20
|
Hey -
release date was extended to february 3rd - its out now -
|
|
|
|
Ren
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
16
Posts :
174
Posted : Feb 8, 2006 10:09
|
|
