The main track on this vinyl "44 Mag" sums up the Technodrome era perfectly. Raw lo fi hip hop samples not too dissimilar to some of the Bloody Fist releases give the track a lot of character whilst dark aggressive synths give it that militant vibe that the Technodrome Djs Hms, Lofty, Clarkee etc were famous for.

For me, the other 3 tracks aren't nearly as strong, but "44 mag" makes this a worthy purchase nevertheless.

The fact that this has not been reviewed amazes me.

This cd is the absolute epitome of class when it comes to mid nineties Jungle Drum & Bass. It was released just at the time when the ragga jungle deluge of 94/5 was subsiding in favour of more melodic, forward thinking drum & bass. World dance couldn't have chosen better Djs to illustrate this.

Cd 1 features Dj Hype, who was seriously on top of his game at the time of press. He lets loose with a 3 deck mix & scratch extravaganza that is pretty much seamless, showcasing 18 fresh tracks that would all go on to be stone cold classics in Drum & Bass.

Cd 2 is mixed by one of the best Djs there has ever been in the whole rave movement. Ellis Dee. His talent for arranging a set and taking you on a musical journey is unrivalled and it clearly shows here. The set is somewhat less aggressive than Hype's, building up to climax, easing off, building again, the mixing is seamless and you know you are listening to a master at work. If i was to pick one mix that had the most influence on me getting into Drum & Bass and djing in general, then this is definitely it.

Buy it if u can find it, this is the holy grail of Drum & Bass, mixed properly on vinyl by real Djs who knew what they were doing. They dont make 'em like this no more!!

This label is responsible for the butchery of some serious old skool classics. By butchery i mean the absolutely awful sound quality. It does not matter what system you play it on, if a vinyl is pressed on the cheap like this it will never sound good. I cannot stress enough that if you are an oldskool dj or collector, do not be seduced by the 5 star tracklist of these releases. Save up and buy the originals. A lot of the original presses don't cost that much anyway if you shop around and play the waiting game.

It is always a risk buying bootlegs. Some are ok if you are lucky, however these are definitely not. I have spent years building my collection and it is so much more satisfying to finally get that sought after original release you have been searching for, rather than opting for rubbish like this. Its really not worth the vinyl its pressed on.

This is in my opinion the best hardcore techno record to come out in the last few years. The Outside Agency have been at the top of their game for many years now and this really shows off their talents.

The four tracks here are much faster than their industrial stuff on Genosha and they use a lot of breakbeats with their furious kickdrums. I really like the way "International Karate Nightmare +" alternates between 2 bars of hardcore kicks and 2 bars of nasty drum & bass after the first drop. Its a wicked example of the genre fusion that is currently going on in the harder end of music.

The kung fu samples are used brilliantly and remind me of some old deathchant records. This really puts the fun back into the music whilst still remaining serious and dark, something which i think is lacking in a lot of todays hardcore.

I could easily play all four tracks in one set as they are all very different and each one seems to occupy its own place in the mix. I bought both the picture disc and the black vinyl press of this release because i like it so much and it allows me to hammer one out at gigs whilst keeping the other nice at home!

This track was a huge step in hardcore techno's evolution towards the rough break & kick sound we enjoy today. The break forms the main rhythm and the kick rolls along over it, constantly changing using various filters and distortions making it a more fluid rolling sound than most productions back then.

I first heard this played by Producer, Dolphin etc at some of the last North parties at lakota and in the gabba rooms of Hardcore Heaven/Slammin. It really stood out to me as it fuses hardcore and drum & bass whilst maintaining a dark industrial atmosphere.

A great tune that still gets played now and influenced some of todays excellent producers such as Deathmachine. Its the best Social Parasite release in my opinion, with Renegadedrummasheen coming a close second!

This tune is just crying out for a review. You don't get much more classic than this when it comes to early darkside/intelligent drum & bass!

The Beginning has a long intro starting with some eerie filtered explosion sounds and very dark chords, the main vocal, a female "oh woh oh woh yeah" building up slowly. Then it cuts to a rasta voice that says "strictly drum & bass!" and drops into a nice solid chopped amen which forms the body of the intro.

At the first breakdown you hear a scream-like sound which becomes the main hook of the record. This, combined with those chords and vocal makes it one of the heaviest, most moving pieces of music i have ever heard. It breaks into the amen with a nice Bukem style bass that compliments the melody perfectly, then in the middle section the amen is beautifully stuttered, with melodies dropping out to allow drums and bass to take centre stage.

The vocals and chords then build up again to a pause where the rasta "strictly drum & bass" sample makes a second appearance, before the track rolls out with another breakdown and a slight change of chord to answer the earlier main section. It is a very tense outtro, the scream and vocal increasing with some echo towards the end.

This is a seriously heavyweight track and well worth the price tag. It's an underground classic that is still cained on pirate radio to this day. I took 8 years to track this one down and believe me it felt so good to finally slap it on the deck and give it some rotation!! It has now been repressed in limited quantity by Sublogic Recordings so there is no excuse. Buy it!

I'm not a fan of the cheesy happy core sound any more but i must comment on the 3rd cd of this release.

Dj Fury always stood out for me in the late 90's as he was bringing a darker acid sound when most other djs playing at that tempo were opting for teeny pop two dimensional drivel.

This Fury mix is structured excellently, starting a little slower (160 ish) with some of his own and Helix's tribal acid productions on the xy2 label, then gradually getting harder and faster as the mix progresses. After the spine tingling "More Understanding" it continues to build until he drops an unexpected breakbeat track (Slam & Helix - Sikkakiks) in the middle, which works perfectly to set the listener up for the second half of the mix. He then takes it considerably harder, levelling out at the end with "Saviour", "Death By Stereo" & Sharkey's "Product Of Society" which are banging but very euphoric emotional tracks.

If you are into dark, tribal hard dance mixed with real vinyls that are more at home in a woodland free party than Ministry of Sound then buy this on sight. This cd was a massive influence on my musical journey. Do not be put off by the cartoon cover!!