Tristan - Close Zen Counters / Talisman

Now this is a classic! As with all Aquatec releases (or at least the ones I have), the mastering isn't really top notch. In this case it's a little heavy on the treble for my taste. Nothing major, but enough to catch my attention.

"Close Zen Counters" is a very bubbling track with big, high-pitched effects flying about. The melody early on is rather anonymous and won't do much, but I guess thats the point, because the one he throws at us after the break has to go down as one of the best melodies _ever_. Sadly it's not as loud as I'd want, but it's one of the few melodies from any psy-trance or goa record that I can find myself humming and unable to get out of my head. Along with the noises and other little stabs of melody it makes for a damn fine track, catching the very essence of the old goa style. The mid section offers a nice, very high pitch resonating melody over the wall of sounds he's built up. Then that fantastic lead melody creeps back in, but sadly at a slightly too low volume.

"Talisman" is more growly and agressive, with more of a UK acid vibe to it than the A-side. There is a fair bit of nutiness going on, so people who are into crazy stuff should give this a go. It doesn't do much for me though, unless I'm in just the right mood. It feels too fast and hectic, without any certain purpose or reason. The melodies are way weaker than on the A-side.

Conclusion: "Close Zen Counters" is fantastic! Had it only been blessed with a slightly better mastering it would have been one of my all-time favourites. "Talisman" isn't very interesting.