It's hard to say what makes a track a good "introductory Hardcore track". One thing is the brutality of course, but other factors are also the dark mood, the outer space feel of Hardcore's Techno heritage, and the sheer experimentation and noize. But also the use and mixture of elements, such as the use of Thrash guitars and explicit rapping. And many other things. So I eventually had the idea to make a mix of all those tracks with these qualities.
The second idea was this: in the past I made tribute mixes to some of the legendary Hardcore producers. But why not make a mix with many of them, and for each one using a track that I consider to be among their best, but just one, so a large number of producers get featured?
Tracklisting:
01. Pressure Head - The Effects Of Pressure Pt. 2 02. Brandon Spivey - Reality Asylum 03. Zekt - The Last Dawn 04. DJ Skinhead - Take It Outside 05. The Speed Freak - We Shoot To Kill 06. The Kotzaak Klan - Powerstation Kotzaak 07. Disciples Of Annihilation - Brooklyn Mob 08. Nasenbluten - Machete 09. FFM Shadow Orchestra - Killing Zoo (Distortion Edit) 10. Somatic Responses - Freezing Point 11. Mouse - Oxyde 12. Nordcore GMBH - Robocop 13. Leathernecks - At War (Remix) 14. Delta 9 - Mortified 15. Ingler - Trek 16. DJ Freak - On The Edge 17. Rage Reset - Unknown Structure 18. E-De Cologne - No Dolphins Allowed 19. Burning Lazy Persons - If The Truth Be Known
There's growing interest in things like mindfulness, meditation, mantras, yoga, micro-dosing psychotropics, and similar practices in the west. Because it's becoming obvious there is more to experience and more to know than the ordinary state of things and ordinary state of mind have to offer - and there is no actual belief in the supernatural or magic needed for this realization.
E-De-Cologne - Dance Now
What is interesting, though, is that both the secular western meditative practices and the non-western, deeply spiritual techniques almost entirely center on the mind; on mental approaches. Mystic pondering, setting the mind to states of trance, "shutting off" the body; or all of these combined and more. Yet, human beings are not merely a head, brain, mind. They have bodies.
Rage Reset - Relax
And this is interesting, too, when you think about Hardcore Techno. We mentioned before that it is easy to get to states of ecstasy, euphoria, trance, serenity when dancing to Hardcore Techno beats. This is often associated with gaining deeper insights about life and the world as well (not necessarily on a religious level, mind you).
Alien Factory - All Night Until Daylight
So we have methods, practices, techniques here that run counter to almost all "mindful, meditative" traditions known to mankind.
Getting entranced and enlightened - by purely bodily means. Physical inspirations. Serenity and tranquility is not attained by your mind this time - but by the complicated, chaotic, intricate, energetic and powerful movements of your legs, arms, hands, feet, neck, butt; and the pumping and rhythm of your heart, lungs, and veins. To put it in poetry: the unfathomable mysteries of the flesh - become revealed to you.
Apple Juice - Raving Together
And this is also a good reason to not use drugs; because in my opinion they would diminish this experience.
Thus, we have discovered an interesting passageway there; a more interesting way to spend one's time than merely doing meditation & mindfulness. Who knows where this will lead us to?
Judging by track titles, album cover artworks, and similar content, there are some themes that Hardcoreheads are visibly fond of. One is activities associated with "banging your head" or "stomping your feet". Another is reaching for a state of euphoria / ecstasy. And a most definite one is Death. Including death on a (much) wider scale, like the end of civilization or the apocalypse.
Rage Reset - Endzeit
Now, I don't think it would do the Hardcore Community justice to take these things at face value. These are not depressive maniacs haunted by morbid fascinations (well, at least not all of them).
I think this focus on Death should be understood on a symbolic level - and not a literal one.
Syndicate - Grim Reaper
In art, culture, society, Death is often a metaphor and analogy for endings, finishing a matter, but also change, transformation, metamorphosis. We might say that Galileo "killed" the geocentric worldview, just like the research of einstein, darwin, freud, brought "death" to the ruling worldviews of their times. Yet no human or animal was harmed in the process.
The Mover - World Downfall
People might talk about the "death" of values, knowledge, culture... but again, this ain't literal death. These are just some examples of "death" symbolism. But when things end (including those we consider to be 'good things'), other things can start anew. So this symbolism can also illustrate the ever-changing nature of the world, the constant flow of things - or even sudden turn-arounds.
Society of Unknowns: Dead by Dawn (The Endless Mix)
Most people are deeply afraid of endings - and change, on any level. So it turned to the bold strongheads of the hardcore scene to take up and to embrace the powerful but scary symbolism of death. After all, if you are on the wild side of life (and music) you are generally less afraid of things.
The Undertaker - Flatliner (Graveyard Shift)
I think the whole apocalyptic messages and imagery of hardcore - death on a cosmic scale - can be understood in the same way. It's not literal death of society, civilization, mankind - but the desire for a strong and powerful transformation of the world. (Without any focus on physical harm).
This canon covers the first generation of Doomcore Techno (i.e. Planet Core Production) and the second generation (the tenebrous contemporaries of PCP). It does not cover the later generations, i.e. those who were directly inspired by PCP and actively tried to build on their doomed legacy in one way or the other.
Or, in other words. It tries to cover the very beginnings of dark and shadowy Hardcore Techno emissions; that created a movement that is, to this day, as legendary as it is invisible. "Members only", so to say.
It contains both the more introverted, technoid sounds - and the all out twisted hardcore. The slower stuff - and the faster. The minimalist, and the monumental.
It also includes general dark hardcore tracks and those that are more "doomcore-adjacent", on the cusp, than pure breed doom sounds; but that we felt are important, too.
Of course such a list can only be incomplete and highly subjective. Each Doomhead might have different tracks that they consider to be their very personal favorites.
When it comes to the 90s era, another important factor was Fifth Era Records. But due to the unique nature of their releases, we felt it would not do them justice to try to catalogue and list them in any way; thus, feel very free to explore these highly recommendable sounds on your own!
Hardcore Techno tracks deal with a variety of emotions; many of these are considered to be "dark" or "disturbing" by western culture. Today we look at tracks that portray feelings of anger, aggression, fury, and frustration.
"I'm f**cking angry!". The prime example of an angry Gabber track. Violent shouting, profanities - add a bassdrum and some percussion, and that's basically all its components.
2. Napalm 02 - Scream
Scream it out, if you are full of rage! It's debatable whether this is a scream out of rage or out of agony. Still, this early Industrial Hardcore track is aggro as hell.
3. Agro - Bullen Raus
Let's keep the aggro theme flowing. "bullen raus!" is a german expression, equivalent to A.C.A.B., so we have some righteous rage against the system here.
4. D.O.A. - Unleash The Brutality
yes, yes, unleash it, let it flow, pour it all out. new york's hardest.
5. Somatic Responses - Fury's Theme
somatic responses are known for their beautiful, intricate idm/breaks compositions of later years. but this early outing is just a dirty kick to the teeth.
6. Rules Of Anger - Emotional Violence
Nomen est omen for this dark speed/acidcore track.
7. Deadly Buda - Housewrecker
"vengeance... revenge..." we hear you. we hear you well.
8. Rage Reset - Feel This
and yes, we are definitely feeling it. competently-produced Australian Amiga Hardcore classic.
9. ATR - Fuck All
ATR were always full of aggro. But this track shows them at their most enraged.
10. Temper Tantrum - Destroy The World
so yeah we already have a tantrum here, and these emotions are amended by the intent of world destruction. it does not get more belligerent. brought to you by techno hero Oliver Chesler aka The Horrorist.
11. The Berzerker - Reality
Let's go berzerk! To this death metal / speedcore anthem by Australia's Luke Kenny and his band
Hamburg has elements of a megalopolis, but also elements of green, untouched nature. The Itinerant Audio project ( https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2024/01/itinerant-audio-music-for-sonic.html ) took me to one of those patches within the city limits of Hamburg. An idyllic forest, peaceful, calm, ideal for long walks, cycling... It also connects to a medium-sized lake that's sweet for swimming in the summer, and a few fields.
Yet if you look beyond it's beautiful trees, leaves, flowers, this place is maybe not so untouched and silent at all.
There is a lot of activity tied to this place, some euphoric, but also some very disturbing stuff.
At one time, hikers stumbled upon a bunch of discarded plastic bags. It turned out they contained human remains.
A well known explicit movie actress posted an invitation on the internet for a "fan ****"; quite a lot of people volunteered. The video shooting, which was done on an open place next to the forest, and during daylight, caused a quite scandal in Germany. Public nudity is semi-legal in Germany, but this happening was a bit "too much", even for the Germans.
The lake is also surrounded by a nude beach, which is designated as an LGBTQIA+ "cruising" area, and a very popular one at that.
Underground raves and parties are held within the forest area; especially related to psytrance.
So there is *indeed* a lot of stuff going on at that location.
Now to our own little project:
It's a video illustrating a walk through this very forest; with some edits and twists and some surreal peculiarities. All of this is underscored by Doomcore, Dark Ambient and Slowcore Techno sounds.
Trying to portray some of the strange sensations of this special spot.
You can watch the video as a whole (not uploaded yet), or its various parts that align to its respective tracks.
Part 1: Cosmic Anarchists - Drifting In A Timeless Void
Part 2: Αναρχία Αραχνοειδείς - The Bite Of The Spider (Chapter 5)
Part 3: Hamburg Penumbral Orchestra - The Sun
Part 4: Time Kanzler Green - Slowly Visiting Another Planet
Note: the rating means "compared to other PCP releases".
Thus, if a record has "only" 49 or 31 percent here, this does not mean it's bad; compared with other Hardcore or Techno EPs they would be 88 or 94 or higher; the percentage just "seems lower" for the sake of rating these PCP records in a way that seems sensible, and to have a bit of comparison with the other releases.
Kotz 0 - Leathernecks - Test Attack
"Zero" is an odd catalogue number, so i guess it somehow predates the creation of the label (maybe a "test" release, as the name says)? The classic "at war" is on here, a diss track against a huge german 90s label. Rough gabber-terror-stuff.
71 / 100
Kotz 1 - Stickhead - Slaughterhouse E.P.
The later kotzaak by miro releases usually get much more love, but I think these early one's have their merits, too. Proto-Speedcore-Terror, still very much tied to the gabber sound.
41 / 100
Kotz 2 - Stickhead - World's Hardest Kotzaak
Things are building up now. With tracks like "check dis mutha down" or the eponymous "kotzaak", miro is arriving at his trademark death metal inspired ultra-violent, ultra-somber sound.
72 / 100
Kotz 3 - Dogge Team - We Came To Hool
Apart from the test attack, this is the only release by marc on kotzaak. A very unusual "terror" release; it's a bit as if his earlier pcp music got the ultra-speed, ultra-distortion treatment.
38 / 100
Kotz 4 - Jack Lucifer - I Am Living Death
This is essentially the starting point at which miro began introducing icy, tenebrous, "gothic" synth sounds to his tracks. A track to look out for is "95 knights", one of his best works, that led to quite a few remixes later.
70 / 100
Kotz 5 - Stickhead - Gimme Death E.P.
Stickhead is at work again. More dutch-Gabber-influenced "terror" this time, yet fierce as hell.
52 / 100
Kotz 666 - Jack Lucifer - 96 Knights
The big one's coming! 96 knights is probably the epitome of the "hardcore terror" sound and scene. One of the most beloved pcp outputs ever. While the majority would go for the "into the death" mix, i actually think the flip side is even one tiny notch better.
666 / 100
Kotz 7 - Stickhead & Don Demon - Once Upon A Time In Frankfurt
Another legendary release. Some of the most intricate, serpentine, monumental compositions in hardcore - with very high "production values". Should be the right thing for any terror-head's frightened heart.
100 / 100 (a perfect release!)
Kotz 8 - The Kotzaak Klan - Powerstation Kotzaak
After the complex kotz 7, this is slightly more reduced, direct, a "straight rush to the brain". It could even be that these tracks were "live produced". Adrenaline- inducing hardcore overdose.
88 / 100
Kotz 9 - Bold Bob - Dive Into Steel
Bolb bob is at it now. More monotonous, more hypnotic, but still quite grand.
69 / 100
Kotz 10 - Jack Lucifer - Console From Hell
I think this was released *after* the end of pcp? A very out-of-the-ordinary combination of death metal and hardcore - with "synthesized" guitars, growling vocals, and devoid of "gabber" drums.
New Hardcore Techno releases worth checking out and more - 3/2024
Okay, so the situation is this: There is a lot of awesome, exciting Hardcore music being poured out. This is going on for a few years now; and it's getting better, the amount of new releases grows, and things get more experimental, varied, and frigging rough at the same. Yet, this still goes largely unnoticed. The sound is just not *getting through*. Many people focus on the same labels, artists, festivals, over and over again. So most of the "good stuff" remains - invisible. This is especially true for the internet and social media, where there is a serious lack of acknowledgment of the very lively new Hardcore *underground*.
Well, cue The Hardcore Overdogs. This was one of the reasons to start this e-zine. To give these new and old over/underdogs the spotlight that they so exceptionally deserve.
This does not mean we hate the "mainstream" artists. It's just not what we want to push.
And now, in order to actually *push* these very new underground sounds, we are starting this new series on noteworthy novel releases. We won't focus entirely on Hardcore here, but also adjacent and otherwise special genres. And, of course, not just on the unknown dogs, but also some well-known releases that retain an interesting and / or underground sound.
The series will be quarterly, with an entry for each quarter of the year. This list is not exhaustive or complete, of course. These are just the picks we decided to center on. There is much more stuff out there! But let us go ahead now.
Here is the third entry for 2024.
1. Somatic Responses - Abred Hanesyddol (Aneurysm Recordings)
2. V.A. - Fucking Hardcore Tokyo Vol 3 (Mokum Rcords)
3. V.A. - Trash (Teknoland Production)
4. V.A. - The Summer is Tragic! (Gabbaret Records)
5. Christoph de Babalon / Replicant Impulse - Irreversible Corruption (Dirgefunk Records)
6. V.A. - Specter Of Death (Dodendans)
7. Matthias Koch - Filth (RIOT Radio Records)
8. Technohead - Mokum Classixxx - I Wanna Be a Hippy
9. PFP - sundays in slow motion (Self-Released)
10. V.A. - Gabber Made In Chile (Made in Ghetto Label)
In our journey with The Hardcore Overdogs, and in our mission to spread the "good stuff" from the 90s and the current days, we encountered some obstacles that seem to be more on the surreal or peculiar side of things. One of these is that apparently, at least on the internet, an almost babylonian-level name confusion seems to have taken place. Which is that we've been hit with claims that "Hardcore is not Techno", "Hardcore Techno is not Techno"[sic!], "Gabber is not Techno", "Gabber is completely different from Hardcore", and so on.
How people arrived at these conclusions, and whether this is just an "internet phenomena" or effects the real world, too, is beyond our knowledge.
But let us try to clear things up a bit and do some research and digging.
Technohead - The Number One Contender
1. In the beginning, *Techno* was one thing, united, a whole. Or if we do not want to introduce this word just yet, let us put it this way:
In the late 80s and early 90s, a new movement, a new culture emerged. It was designated a youth movement by the media, even though a lot of its movers were boomers, or even older. But certainly, most of its members were amongst the younger age range. At the center of this new movement was a brand new type of music; or rather, a whole matrix and rhizome of inspired sounds; let's not even try to debate what the defining element of these was; let's say most had an energetic, upbeat, "driving" beat. or, like one pioneer once stated, the core idea was that you finally had music where you could go berzerk and insane on the dancefloor (rave!) - unlike earlier 70s and 80s "dance" genres such as funk, disco, eurodisco... maybe a "punk" moment in "dance history?".
either way, nowadays there are several terms for the different cells of that rhizome: acid, house, techno, ambient, rave, trance, breakbeat, jungle, hardcore, gabber...
(some of) these terms existed back then, too. but they were not used as "clear-cut" as they are now. but most importantly, the whole thing was still united - as mentioned above. so people who listened to this music, no matter if it was trance or acid or breakbeat, felt as being part of one scene, one movement. they went to the same parties, wore similar clothes, clung to similar thoughts, ideas, concepts...
Chosen Few - Gabberdam
it was not like there was the "trance crowd" on one side of the fence or the "acid people" on the other. at most clubs, festivals, squats, what we now consider to be "different" styles were played during 'one night'. maybe house at start, then some techno, and finishing the night with hardcore and gabber. and in the morning hours, ambient and other chilled sounds.
of course, not everyone liked everything. even back then, people had a craving for the "harder stuff", while others disliked it; or they were left cold by more "cheesy" house tunes, while others loved this. but it was still one scene.
so, because of this, it made sense to introduce a "catch-all" term for this youth movement that encompassed a confusing number of different styles. in germany, this term was "techno". everyone and everything was called techno, especially by the mass media, but also by the majority of the movement itself. acid, trance, rave, gabber? it was all called "techno". if you bought at "techno" compilation at one of the chain stores, it could have any style we already named.
Stickhead - Trance Terrorizer
to give one example: at the "techno" section of one larger chain stores in the midst of hamburg, you could find CDs such as: terrordrome, thunderdome, hellsound, raver's night, pcp's "the hardcore champions", smash? - prolos have more fun, c-tank - nightmares are reality, braindead 2 - the lurking fear, murora test one, alec empire - the destroyer, atari teenage riot - 1995, johnny violent, "industrial f**cking strength"... but also mellow and sweet house, techno, dance compilations... within centimeters of each other.
because, yes, most people who listened to trance and house and "normal" techno also listened to hardcore and gabber at the same time. so it made sense to put them all in one place.
in the netherlands, the "catch-all" term seems to have been "house" instead. which, from my understanding, meant both the "mellow" house stuff - and "gabberhouse". while in germany, by the mid 90s, "house" was more or less only used for the "mellow house" stuff - as a sub-genre of "techno". confusing, isn't it?
another term that was used in germany in these days was "rave" - "ravers" would listen to rave music and go to "rave parties" like mayday, loveparade, thunderdome... that's how it was described by the media and some of the scene's followers.
in the usa, "techno" and "rave" seemed to be the words of use, too. but not sure which terms where used in other nations or continents.
Rave Creator – A New Mind (Mix A)
so, depending on which country you go to, everything was either called "techno", or "house", or had an entirely different name.
but "techno" and "hardcore techno" were definitely terms that were used heavily for "gabber" and other hard things. but probably not inside countries such as the netherlands.
as the 90s went on, the scene, this united youth movement, split up and broke apart. DJs would no longer play all styles on one "floor" or in one set, suddenly raves had designated "house floors" or "gabber floors" for the respective style of music.
eventually, even parties themselves would no longer feature a cornucopia of sub-genres; instead there were parties and festivals specifically conceived for trance, or house, or gabber... (which was a rarity before that, even if it might have existed).
if you went to a "normal" techno or rave party in germany in 1993, it was unlikely that the DJ would not drop at least a few hardcore and gabber tunes.
by 1997, if you went to such party, it was unlikely that you would hear any hardcore at all!
the hardcore scene, too, branched off into different styles like speedcore, breakcore, doomcore, "millenium", oldschool - but this is an entirely different story!
D Mob - We Call It Acieeed
so, in our conclusion to this text, we repeat it once more: "hadcore", "techno", and "gabber" were words that were commonly used to refer to the same form of music.
A spokesperson by Doomcore Records had the following to say regarding this surprising decision:
Doomcore Techno folks usually hate the overground, the mainstream, pop music, so this decision might rub a lot of people the wrong way. But, if you look at Taylor, the music she does now... It's songs about depression, self-harm, s*icide, loathing humans, the world, everything. It's vengeance, revenge, spite, scorn... wishing destruction on everyone that wronged you... wishing destruction on everything you see. It's about descending into a void, chaos, an infernal vortex of thoughts and emotions, thought and desires. It's about lust, sinfulness, pr*miscuity, erasing any trace that is left of "christian family ideology"...
It's doom and gloom hidden behind a saccharine-acerbic voice, delivered by the form and appearance of an angel... an angel of death and darkness.
if that is not exciting for a follower of doomcore techno, then what is?
She comes off as a witch, banshee, monster, in her videos. she juggles with snakes, balances drugs on her tongue, gets chained up as a lust-slave in a sleazy way, tortured, electro-shocked, executed, and then gets her revenge and wrecks it all.
Very disturbing things!
her sound is not her poppy stuff from 1989 anymore... it feels more like a left-field and "left-wing" neofolk / industrial crossover with more then one trace of darkwave.
she talks about a "torture department" in her latest title... i mean, that's doomed stuff right there!
she does dark, sick music...
the only "fault" is she is not using techno beats... yet... but we at Doomcore Records can appreciate other styles and genres, too!
well, she is branded as a teen idol by the media, she is mainstream, she is not really underground...
but even from the viewpoint of the true cultural underground rats... should we blame her for that?
just an example: do you like Baudelaire? les fleurs du mal... i guess most people who are into doomcore techno appreciate Baudelaire.
but he is not very "underground" at all, isn't he? mentioned in a lot of movies, boring middle-aged teachers talk about him fondly... art snob hipsters love him. yet this doesn't take Baudelaire's gloomy appeal away for us, does it?
in his introduction, Baudelaire dedicates his poems to young men and women who are enlightened by the darker, more disconcerting and horrific sides of existence... and if taylor swift does a similar thing... giving the young generation of today an entry-level experience of doom and decay and scorn and blasphemy... well... then this is all the better for us!
About Doomcore Records:
One of the major players in the Techno / Hardcore circuit... 100s of releases with tracks by artists such as Nkisi, Drvg Cvltvre, or DJ AI. The label has been featured in magazines around the world such as The Wire, Groove, Pitchfork, Fact Magazine, Crack Magazine... And its beats have been shaken clubs from Moscow to Los Angeles! https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/
The reactions to our Mental Hardcore Health News were very good so far - much better than we expected, to be honest! A few people went "yikes!" of course, probably feeling uncomfortable when "mental heatlh topics" are mentioned - and some went "well, what has this to do with hardcore techno and gabber?" A lot! There is a quite deep connection between these two subjects. Let's take a look at that.
Some people listen to music "for fun", to feel good, euphoric; to be entertained, or to dance, or to be social, maybe even to flirt with others at a party... But music can also have a therapeutic and healing effect.
And, 99 out of 100 people that I met and who are into hardcore and gabber, told me that this was the main reason they listen to this very extreme and surreal genre of music. Well, they might not exactly word it that way - I, too, think terms like "therapeutic" and "mental health" can sound a bit sterile and clinical - but they employed words to the same effect.
They said that they turn to Hardcore when feeling blue, down, "being through with the world", weary, hopeless; or, 'to the opposite', when being full of pent-up rage, fury, anger, frustration; when being haunted by visions of vengeance and retaliation; and powerful sounds of hardcore would help them through this conundrum.
or they feel lost in a world that seems hostile, mean, merciless; a society and culture that neither cares, nurtures and supports them; but the beats of hardcore give them a feeling of individuality, rebellion, and self-esteem.
or they appear disconnected and dis-enchanted from the "mainstream" world, its misery, wars, negative politics, tragedies; and hardcore offers a voice to these voiceless, which allows them to feel understood and "not alone" for once.
I could tell 1000 more examples like this. but i guess you get the gist by now.
In one way or another, people in this "scene" feel troubled or are encountering troubles in their lives; and hardcore techno is their choice healing force, medicine, elixir that mitigates this pain.
and there are even a lot of folk who bear witness to the fact that hardcore music had the power and strength to help them "get through" when they met the darkest moments of their own life, whichever these might have been.
thus, hardcore is indeed deeply entwined in mental health subjects of all kinds.
and hardcore folk are bit different to other people in the respect that they do not merely listen to their favorite music to feel good; but because they know these sounds are strong enough to save their very souls.
