Total Eclipse - Collapsar / Direct Motion

Collapsar remids me very much of the beloved Partycles tune by the same artists, found on "V/A The independence trance revival" on Phonokol Records. Unfortunately, it is not as impressive. It definitely lacks the old school melodic punch, but is built upon really slick production, pulsating drive with enough spice layed over the percussion to keep things head and shoulders above sea level. The lead melody is dropped after the track is halfway through, just like in the aforementioned Partycles, but it is far away from the intricacy or catchiness of their classics, such as Waiting For A New Life, The Furnace or Chaotic Circus. Sure it is a cool track, but nothing more. Whereas Partycles made a great transition from a ticking track to a psychedelic monster, Collapsar never really picks up in either pace or ideas. Pity, starts out promising enough.
The B side has Direct Motion, one of those incredibly annoying 'goa trance tunes on tranquilizers'. Take an uptempo track and re-record it pitched down some 25%. I was actually a fan of these mid tempo goa pieces, fine examples would be Deep Frequencies by Pleiadians, New Aura by Tandu and Electronic from Astral Projection. This one goes nowhere, especially if one keeps in mind that the same guys released an entire CD of downtempo music a year before, as part of their classic "Violent Relaxation" sophmore album. In fact, my conscience tells me to let you know how you should skip this one and seek out "Violent relaxation" if you are curious to find out what the fuss was all about.