Acidlab - Route 303

I gotta say it: 1998 is my favourite year for psychedelic-goa trance. This was the year when the so called golden era was over and the music had taken different directions. I’m always digging albums from this year and one album I’m never tired of listening is Route 303. As soon as that live, raw guitar hits the stomping psychedelic rhythm of track 1 it’s pretty clear that something completely different from your regular trance is ahead. I love guitars in my music. Being it trance or 300 beats per minute hardcore I go crazy for them.

This album does not have those usual melodies or any Indian or exotic influence. The occasional melodies tend to be somewhat minimal and short and there are lot of creepy sounds hissing in and out making the overall atmosphere very spooky. Right now I can’t compare the music here to anything else. It’s incredible that this band recorded under the name Cwithe for Blue Room and released the album Illegal a year before – it has absolutely nothing to do with that.

The non-trance tracks are Sonic Juice, an almost (or it is?) drum & bass track and the end track, Neuroanarchy. Rather than the usual ‘style predictable’ downtempo trance track most albums ended with, Acidlab end with a rather eerie trip-hop/breakbeat hybrid with a very sinister atmosphere fitting perfectly with the rest of the album.

I guess this album is not everyone’s cup of acid. I might recommend listening before buying. A final comment goes on the cover. It’s cool and unique. A curious detail is that the tracklist is not printed on back but only on inside.