Bizarre Inc ‎– Playing With Knives

Although Playing With Knives is an anthem of anthems, and was dropped pretty much everywhere in any set, from its original "STORM 25" release circa early 1991. I got rather fed up of it after a couple of months. Although it was quite commercial, it definitely was a ground breaking tune and definitely has its place in rave history, without any shadow of a doubt.

However, the track which is often overlooked resides on the flipside, which is angrier, grittier, darker, and uses the Roland Alpha Juno 'mentasm' sounds explosively, together with trippy, tubular type of bells in-between, deep synths, complex 909 patterns mashed-up, and the famous 'Helter Skelter/Radio Babylon' breakbeat throughout. One other notable sample is the well known scree sounding riff lifted off from Set Up System's seminal belgian techno slammer Fairy Dust causing extra havoc.

Best played in a hardcore techno set rather than a hardcore piano/house set. Saying that, don't know what came over the producers...Perhaps they had enough of the hard, ear bashing they were inducing themselves to? Only near the end the track, it flips into an extremely melodic, mellow, ambient string, epic flutey bit, which fades out.

This breakdown section was sampled by the likes of Mike Slammer & DJ Red Alert on their Slammin' Vinyl release, which was a hardcore jungleistic chipmunk rinser 'In Effect', pitched up to the max! Which appealed more to the 3rd generation of raver (chavvier or rudebwoy type, you know who your are :P) about two to three years later. Who had more of an alliance with happy/chipmunk hardcore & jungle than the original acid house, techno or the original hardcore sounds of 1990/91.