U.S. With a crop of new sub-labels popping up, the last months of 1999 should be interesting.

Arjuna-Totally Lost

(Cenobite, Netherlands)

The second new Cenobite record within the last 4 or 5 months, have the gods

smiled upon us? This is without a doubt a good installment but I didn't

like it as much as the previous "New Generation" by Leviathan, this one

didn't have as much of Cenobite's trademark progressive sound that I've

come to expect. It's Arjuna's first  outing without partner The Beyonder

a.k.a. Rodney Balai who was around  the first time out Cen.#4. On this

release you got a slower re-mix of the classic "Shoot that Motherfucker"

along with "Rough is the Texture" and " The Source", both are heavily

influenced by The Predator who helped along with Guitar Rob on production.

The best track here is "Totally Lost" it's roughly the same pace as the

original mix of "Shoot that Motherfuck" and equally potent. Cenobite is

always been a great label and widely considered to be the cream of the

Dutch crop.

The Silent Hunter-Die! Those Are The Rules EP

(Execute #5/80 AUM, Holland)

I'm happy to report the newest Execute release is above average. I haven't heard anything previous under the name Silent Hunter so I'm not sure if it's somebody's new alias or another artist altogether. It's a close call but for once it seems the best track is on the logo side and not the info, "Blow Your Mind" takes up all of side A getting a little meaner and more abrasive past the half way mark. The other option is the title which

features a good sample with a semi-repetitive bleep and strong bass. What I

like about AUM tunes is that they have a longer shelf life than most others

before being considered too dated. You should be hearing this for months

down the line before #6 is out.

Tieum

(Gobble #7&8, France)

Believe it or not some of these French labels like Gobble and Quantum are

technically new school partycore labels that really don't always belong

lumped together with the rest of the distorted noize stuff. Although

creative, they're not always consistent through every release and receive

criticism because they're not all amiga and crunch or cuz they use synth.

The title track and "Band to Bite Mole" are the best of "Turn the Key" #7,

there really wasn't anything I didn't like. In comparison the only thing

acceptable on #8 is "Kick It" a good mid-tempo pounder on the info. Gobble

releases out of order sometimes and I'm still waiting for #6. In the

meantime pick the early Gobbles 1-5.

Darius G- Star Fuckers EP

(Zone #3, Germany)

Yet another in a series of new party labels from Germmany, this has been

one of my favorite records to spin as of late. The EP maintains a strong

sex theme throughout and gets the award for the best use of the long Cheech

Marin "pussy" sample from Dusk til Dawn. "Horny Hookers" is my favorite,

along with "Gabber Bitch" both are laughable and mid-paced. "Fuck Like an

Animal" has great chopped up synth similar to Death Row's stuff.

Interesting yellow cardboard box this record came in, this is the first

Zone I've picked up in the series, I'm definitely going back for #1 and 2.

DJ Olive-Hardcoholics EP

(BEAST #10, France)

Definitely for the headstrong, BEAST has been paving the way for the French

sound that is really catching on. This five song release is really the

creation of DJ Loky and Kyo-o, all produced by DJ Olive for B.E.A.S.T. On

the logo side is Kyo-o with two cuts, "Warez Coalition" and "Go Shoot

Yourself." Both of these have aggressive bass, fast tempos, with

mind-bending 303 noises that tease in and out of the bass lines. Flipside

is DJ Loky with "Metaltank" and "Wishaw," each with delicious acid and

synth loops that break up the bouncy bass lines. The last track on this

side is "Betatest" which both Loky and Kyo-o created. Not exactly a tune,

just imagine listening to one sound, and then its frequency and pitch is

played around with...All in all BST #10 is a jewel,  a prime example of

French frenzy.

Raysa

The Doom Generation

(Hall Phuture Series #1, Holland)

Now this is real progressive hardcore by definition. Very close to progressive trance with hardcore bass or maybe hard techno with hardcore builds, either way it's the shit!  If you picked up Hall #1 you know what I'm talking about, there aren't a lot of labels solely focusing on this sound yet. Other spin off sub-genres such as trancecore to name one, has

been a letdown sounding a lot more like happy trance with a total lack of strength. This is not so with progressive core which has started to take the 180-190 gabberers by storm in the past few months. My point is that there is new sounds for partycore out there, you just have to make an effort to look for them. A small cadre of labels are popping up, seek them

out and be enlightened.

DJ Tron-Resurrection EP

(Head Fuck #5, Italy)

Again Tron shows us that he's not all brutal death. As one of a select few good, American speed/noize artists (including Delta 9) that still treat their fans to party core tracks. Head Fuck and a few of the other more amiga-esque labels often have danceable party tracks on the B-sides. Mostly the bass is paired with noize or distortion instead of traditional synth

but the BPMs are usually 200 or under. Originally these tracks were on Tron's "Resurrection" tape from winter 98, finally they've been pressed.  This is a mind bending platter of intense basslines, my favorites being "Demon" on side B and "Achluophia" -after the break it changes into some really evil slowercore that I liked. I like to see Tron put out tunes like these, super hard and fast but not overkill.

Jason Philips

(Static #2, U.K.)

More madness form south London, this label kind of reminds me of a cross between War and Beast but without any of the excessive noise. Static number one has been out for about five months, it's got the familiar "Point Break"

by Traffic and a killer Overcast track "The Only Way In". Jason Philips

takes over for number two and does a good job, all the tracks are useable

which is always a treat. "Ear Splitter" is very crunchy with a party style

bass and "Devils Womb" is dark progressive, best on +8. Not to be left out

is the Hellblazer re-mix of "Disorder Anarchy, Chaos" the fastest track and

the only one with any synth. A good sampling of styles, get behind this

label before everyone else rapes it.

Fuck vs Slag

(Defiant-White, Sweden)

This is even better Fucks last picture disc. This 10 inch doesn't have the

gothic graffiti art, but the tunes kick ass in the neighborhood of 195

bpms. "Only the Dead Know Brooklyn" on side A is clearly aimed at the

speedcore crowd, there's two mixes one that's pretty distorted and one that

has a lot of dark synth and double time kickdrums. "Hardcore History X" by

newcomer Slag (not from Trackless) is another banger with  lots of

re-worked snippets from anthems of the past couple years. It sounds like an

up to date version of the old "Infected" track by Shapeshifter on

Shockwave. Most of the average half-ass hardcore DJs won't have this yet

cuz it's hard to find but I'm sure within a month it will be played to death.

The New Crew-Tieum and Deus

(Tcher No Beat #3, France)

Like I said some French is good. Tcher No is taking big baby steps

with this release. Three crunchy, grit your teeth tracks appear from Deus

and Tieum (also on Gobble). My favorite of the three is "Busta's Shits,"

which takes up the logo side with its full-force, hard-hitting bass that

really keeps up its tempo from beginning to end, and makes for a great

pleaser if you're not into builds and breaks. Info side starts with "Reste

En Place" that is layered with bass lines switching back and forth and

choppy 303 noise. Last is "Modern Fuck" that has a real party sound to it

with some breaks and a "fuck you man" sample thrown in. If you like the

crunchy side of Gobble and Bloc 46 check this out, but I suggest passing on

#4 by Speedy Q.

Raysa

Beagle & Bullfrog-Krazz

(War #14, Germany)

Another good example of a label that appeals to fans of 180-190 BPMs as

well as the 200+ crowd. I like almost all of their recent releases

especially the War sampler #12 from last year. Here, the two track side is

interesting with the crazy "Brackwasser" and the straight to the head

"Boing 09". Turn it over to find my pick the delicious "Whats Umbrella" and

the odd three minute title "Krazz". There's a little something here for

everyone depending on what you're into. War has always been very reliable

in the strength and speed departments-#15 should be the shit.

Don Diablo- The TNT Re-mixes

(Refuse Special #1/ 80 AUM, Holland)

Refuse one was good but numbers two and four sucked, appealing more to the

acid techno crowd than hardcore, while three was great and is my favorite

so far. Now we have the three most classic TNT tunes re-fused for new

usage. The big question I had was how is the re-mix of "Kiss the Ground" ?

As it turns out it's pretty good and the best out of the three, but still

these mixes should have been harder, instead they come off as fairly mild.

"Brainwashed Killer" was slow and bouncy with no builds and "Better than

Better" wasn't much of anything either.  I've always liked Refuse I just

wish they were a little more consistent at times.

Rosti and Wicked-The Try-Out EP

(Tricky Traxx #1/80 AUM, Holland)

Another new sub-division of one of this column's favorite labels, this is

a three cut release from guys who are no strangers to Aum fans. Though a

bit slower-paced than other 80/Aum pieces, Tricky Traxx delivers a great

party sound with bass lines dripping with acid and synth sound. "Hardcore

Acts" occupies the logo side with a dedication "to all those hardcore acts,

fuck off!" Very progressive, pounding bass with some dark acid lasers.

"Swing" and "Most Wanted" are full of synth stabs and rhythmic bass on the

info side, very typical of the Aum sound. Keep an eye out for the next

Tricky Traxx, be sure to pick up the other new AUM sub label Unknown

Species #1 if you haven't already.

Raysa

Mind Crash Ltd.-Confusion EP

(Netherlands)

Three out of the four offered are mostly average party tunes that did not

win me over the first time out or the second. I ended up buying this EP for

the wierd masterpiece "Time in Uprising" by DJ Wicked on side A. With an

array of blips, bleeps and sqeak noises thrown about, 45/-6 is the optimal

speed to keep the bass pounding nicely. The second half doesn't slow down

and considering it's over seven minutes long, it's worth playing to the

end. Some of the past stuff that I've heard from Wicked on other labels is

comparible to this, not an end all but a nice break from the formula.

DJ Epitah & Spiritual Child- 2 Presidents

(DHYM #3, Holland)

Nothing I've heard on DHYM has been as good as the "Balls to the Wall" EP

#1, now considered by some to be classic. Number two "Dicks & Bitches" and

on DHYM Black label "Scumbeats" have been marginal, you can add this to the

pile. When I saw who the artists were I had high hopes for this 10 incher

especially since I'm a fan of Epitah from his days at Mutant. His side eded

up being the worst of the two, done in the slow new sound style. "Journey

the Attack" by Spiritual Child was a little better but still doesn't cut it

compared to his past work on Explosive or to what's being put out by the

choice aggressive labels. Will DHYM get back up to speed? Probably not,

wait and see.

DJ Producer and Hellfish-21st Century Core/R2

(Deathchant Records #20, UK)

Not since Deathchant #14 have we been blessed with this duo's

brainbruising. Again, we have each mastermind on his own side, with one

song apiece. Producer begins the journey in "21st Century Core" with a

bloody fight sample and a threat to not go anywhere, then soon the ear has

been sucked in for good as acid and electronic sounds peep in and out until

finally the bass drops in. It's all about "Co-defending the title" as the

Chuck D. sample says, with nice and steady bass lines, some hip-hop beat

breaks (it wouldn't be Producer without it), and a very futuristic

compilation of noises that keep the listener delighted. Hellfish's "R2" is

just as entertaining, with a jungle beat intro that sneaks into pounding

bass, all with distorted synth loops and some sci-fi samples. Take heed,

Deathchant has a secret weapon when these two geniuses get together.

Raysa

H2OH Rec.-Hardcore for the Headstrong

(CD Compilation-H2OH, NY)

Omar Santana serves up a wicked continuous mix of his lables best anthems.

The "underworld mix" starts off with the Thunder Gods and works it's way

through such classics as "Power Pill", "Mind Ripper" and "You Shall Die"

but also includes some of the newer releases like "Brute Force" and "20,000

Hardcore Members" by Da Predator. In my opinion this is a better comp than

the one Omar put together for Moonshine (Hard Corps), the track selection

is better and the mix is rapid fire. Musn't forget the crazy demon art on

the cover which caught my eye, overall a great CD.

DJ XTREME TOP TEN PARTY TRAX

POWER PEOPLE- Cerebral Disrupter (Futurecore #1)

JASON PHILIPS- Devil's Womb (Static #2)

DARIUS G- Horny Hookers (Zone #3)

DJ TRON- Demon (Head Fuck #5)

TWISTERICALS- Pain (Italian Steel #16)

DOOM GENERATION- Spooksville (Hall Phuture series #1)

SLAG- Ill Omen re-mix (Defiant #4)

DJ TRON- Achluophia (Head Fuck #5)

TIEUM- Kick It (Gobble #8)

SILENT HUNTER- Blow Your Mind (Execute #5)

MANY THANX: RAW DEAL AND HARDTECH DISTRO U.K., EINZIGER, SLAG, OMAR S.,

DEAD NOISE, DOUBLE D, MAJESTIC DISTRO, AND DJ SLIDER