Dylan – Corkscrew / Landmine

Grooverider played "Corkscrew" on dub at a Lonnie Fischer "Ultraworld" party at the DC Armory in Washington DC. I caught the end of his set and couldn't believe how sucky this music was. This guy went from playing the sickest darkside and happyhardcore to THIS.... What is this? I gave him a cold stare thinking I just traveled 6 hours to hear THIS!....! ! ! I eventually got an appreciation for some of this stuff and I actually bought this record forgetting at the time this was the boring amen track Grooverider actually played at that event. I kind of like this record now. I don't love it, but I like it. What I find that I do not like about this track now is the sound quality. It sounds very muddy and the amens don't really pop or sound warm at all. At this point in time, that's my only gripe. My other gripe is that DNB had turned away from sick tracks like FDB Project "The Core" and Harmony & Extreme "NRG Rush" but that's another topic...

Dark jungle seems to be retreating from the beats-by-numbers stream of two-step rhythms that have dominated the style for a couple of years. This release reminds me of the material that Renegade Hardware was putting out in '96- dark, menacing bass, intricate work with snares & hihats, and a handful of eerie synth stabs during the break. Landmine, on the flipside, is even better. It takes the bassline over the edge and into the abyss.