Similar to other forms of art like metal, horror movies, gothic literature, Hardcore Techno always had an inclination towards dark and taboo topics such as anger, aggression, violence, pain, rage...
The "psychological" effects of such a sheer onslaught of terror like it is expressed in some Hardcore tracks might be up to debate; but most "Gabbers" are extremely mild-mannered, friendly, and good-hearted in 'real life', so this effect can't be that bad.
Plus, Hardcore has a claim to invoking a beneficial "cathartic release" of pent up emotions that is more sincere then in many other forms of art; because this music is made to be experienced in a party / club setting where you can quite literally and instantly 'release your anger' in the form of dancing, jumping around, stomping on the floor, screaming, banging your head or your fist; moshing, slamdancing, pogoing; throwing a choreographic tantrum in any way you seem fit (pun intended) until all the rage has left your body and the darkness has been vanquished from your souls.
By the mid 90s, a diversification of the Hardcore genre took place. Some producers adopted more happy sounds, pop vocals, and cheerful melodies, and the "rage" of former hardcore sounds transformed into more of an "euphoric energy"; this was especially true for the mass-market and TV, radio, heavy rotation aimed releases that earned quite a few hardcore producers a 'gold record' award by the music and entertainment industry. And, on the other side of things, producers began to push the aggression to a higher level, creating tracks that were more and more brutal, ferocious, vicious, grim, merciless; this usually happened on the more underground side of things and "lesser known labels" - "lesser known" at least compared to the mainstream Hardcore audience, because, after all, this very extreme sound has and had plenty of followers around the world as well!
This is a look at some of these "ultra-brutal" sonic expositions. Again, we focus more on the "classic" era of 90s Hardcore. Because, after the 90s, the hardcore scene split up into so many sub-scenes; and quite a few of these, together with the followers, claim to be the most extreme and shocking; adding a subjectivity that would demand a wholly different approach to this very topic.
DOA - Unleash The Brutality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzj21FkREmY
A track that embodies this feature in its very title. So let's Unleash The Brutality.
A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, sirens and screams - it's "Hardcore, you c**ksuckers!", after all.
DJ Skinhead - Extreme Terror (NYC Mix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2vyJERz9S8
Yes yes, the very incarnation of a terror track - and some say its first.
And in one of our favorite mixes of it.
Delta 9 - Hate Tank (Buckwild mix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-Bf23g-D1s
Hate Tank was already tough, but this remix by delta 9 himself manages to 1-up to.
This is the kind of aggression and insanity that makes you worry whether it might actually crack your mind.
UVC vs Narotic - Industrial Strength
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUnrt9riomQ
Oof! The scream sets the tone for the mayhem to come. A true skull-breaker of a track.
Bakalla - True Force
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-h3f5M15uM
Bakalla upped the aggression and BPMs quite early in the 90s. This one of "Terrordrome" fame is a fine example for that.
Noize Creator - NBK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIFARQO4-Hc
Feeling like De Niro? Not this time, as Noize Creator strays from his favorite sampled actor, and let's Mickey and Mallory talk instead. And it's indeed a killer of a track!
DJ Tron - Zombie (Die Slowly)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCEYwBk6Msg
There are plenty of angry tracks by DJ Tron to choose from, but this one has it all; spite, ruggedness, and a complete fuck-you attitude. more than 'jus a lil bit of the old ultra-violence'.
Stickhead - Check This Mutha Down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNdDqAX6SPE
Kotzaak was one of the hardest, and this is one of the hardest of Kotzaak (I hope this sentence makes sense logically).
Napalm - Shit01
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujn4XQfTmHE
Can't have this list without Martin Damm aka the Speedfreak who was "harder like the rest" from a very early point on. This is a track in his napalm disguise on his napalm label full of speed metal guitars and bpms.
Pressure Head - Effects of Pressure Pt. 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TppjKOb5z8
Surgeon 16 is a label that is (still) able to frighten even the most hardened gabbers, and this is a perfect track hosted on one of its vinyls. "Devastation on an unimaginable scale will occur", indeed!
Brandon Spivey - Reality Asylum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaN8JOAb73A
Spivey did some of the most fucked up tracks that ever saw the light of day - or the darkness of hell, maybe.
This very ode to christianity ("I vomit for you, jesu") shows his talent as its zenith.
So, if you're still standing after listening to these tracks: do you agree with our choices? what ultra-brutal tracks do you know or prefer? let us know in the comments!
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