13 years of Doomnicore - A message from Doomcore Records

Hello Dogs,
The main head of Doomcore Records relayed this message and statement to us:

I can't believe it - Doomcore Records turned 13 years old a while ago, and is still going strong.
It started as a quite and small label in the wintry days of December, in Hamburg, Germany.
It was intended as a label by and for freaks into Doomcore Techno music, horror movies, shutting themselves in and not going out anymore, having the blinds closed all day, and angrily or melancholically gleaming at the world outside.

There was no promo, no meaning, no message, no purpose, no goal, no sense, no rationaly. The releases appeared "black on black", with the infamous "three moons waning" illustration on each release. The releases did not even have a title!
They appeared quietly, and I thought they would disappear quietly again.
Because nothing seemed to matter in these days of social and cultural chaos.

But despite of this - or maybe *because* of this. The label started to make waves very soon. Music magazines like The Wire started to feature and review the releases. Pitchfork, Faze, Crack Magazine, Groove, all mentioned our efforts in one way or the other.

And instead of the Doomed Hardcore underground, the label suddenly became a darling to the indie rock and indie pop crowds. Who described us as being at the center of the ongoing 90s Hardcore / Techno revival. Was that the truth, or did the journalists exaggerate a bit? I won't judge on this.
But I knew that the amount of feedback and listeners became colossal.
People also wrote me and told me about Doomcore Records tracks that they had dropped at this or that club, essentially in all continents, all around the world.

To run a Doomcore-Hardcore Techno label with the main listeners being people into alt rock or indietronics was a very bizarre and surreal experience arc (or "aargh!")
Yet it also encourages me to sever the last notion of feeling the necessity to cling to "traditionalism" when it comes to Doomcore Techno mechanics.

So the label started to diversify well.
There were chiptune-like tracks, dark ambient, ebm... weird "folk" sounds on top of beats... even small-scale techno-opera conceptual releases.



But yeah, in the end it was inevitable to push things further. Because, were we not leaving the "doom" frame behind with the releases?

The first spin off got titled "Slowcore Records". It was influenced by the novel appearance of very low bpms in Hardcore and Techno tracks. Below 130 bpm, below 100 bpm, even below 60 bpm (one of the slowest tracks on that sub is a meagre 1 bpm).

We later got a lucky strike here, as an East European country banned all "Techno" and dance music within a certain bpm range. And Slowcore Records was below that range! I don't think our tunes were actually popular there, but theoretically, we evaded that radar sweep and could have still been played. So at least on the internet, a sudden spike of interest towards our music was felt.

And the next branching-off happened with the birth of Omnicore Records.
Now this, finally, was a label for *all* styles of music.
And I mean it. Yodeling on top of a sizzling frying pan, making field recordings of vintage neon lights buzzing? We would welcome it, if the quality is good enough.

But, more realistically, the majority of releases is centered on Hardcore and Techno sub-styles, especially early Gabber and Speedcore.

This also gave us the opportunity to fulfill a bit of an archivist's duty. As Omnicore did some releases of unreleased tracks by well-known 90s hardcore producers.

Doomcore Records is still going on, and one of last year's highlights to me was the release of a new vinyl record (which ended up being featured by The Wire again).

As we look back, the main label, together with its two subs, had put out over 350 releases in total.

And in order to celebrate this, and the 13 years the label existed, we are going to do a special set of events and releases.


Stay tuned for more information!

A forgotten Doomcore Techno classic: Epoch 90 - Last Night Of The World - from 1991

This is a very eerie, special, and notable release. I noted elsewhere that the pre-cursor genres to Techno - like New Beat or EBM - were often quite bleak and nihilistic.
Techno itself, on the other hand, was more hippie and fluffy cloud oriented - or directly dance tunes.

This is a release of 1991, it is deeply rooted in Techno and Electro. Yet it already foreshadows the apocalypse and merciless nihilism of styles-to-come; Hardcore, Gabber, and Doomcore.

The main track is build around a long intro (I guess it is one of the longest intros ever). Vocals and samples from Cronenberg's movie "Dead Zone" appear in this intro.
This is a movie from 1983, and based on a book by Stephen King.
If you don't want to get spoiled, cover your hands now:

The movie is about an american businessman who, despite his rampant insanity, runs for president, and manages to win the election.
And then tries to launch a global thermonuclear war.

I think this description is enough to "feel" the doom and gloom which is interwoven in these tracks.
And it's funny how one tiny change of "setting" can turn a whole record.

As the instrumentation itself is not that different from normal 90s techno. And with more "cutesy" and bubbly vocalization it might have slipped into a more uplifting dance / trance tune.

But, the gloom is here, and deserves its place as the top layer of these tracks.

As far as I can tell, this release is one of the earliest pre-cursors of the doomcore / darkcore genre.
The beats aren't exactly Gabber, but could pass as "Hardcore" back in 1991.
And the rest fits the bill.

So don't let this historic tune pass by your ears!

The enduring legacy of the c8.com messageboard - or how a 90s internet website changed the course of electronic music

Some stories are just too weird, too out there, to believe them.
For example, would you believe this one?
There was a messageboard and website, coming into existence by the mid-90s, that focused on electronic music and underground / sub-culture.
And that became super influential to the evolution of extreme electronic genres like hardcore techno, breakcore, speedcore...
That accumulated almost all alumni of these early scenes... or inspired & enlightened the "underground stars" to come?

But let's wind back and talk all about it.
What was c8.com, or Circuit 8 ?

It was a website set up on the "90s internet", run out of UK (rumor is that the admin was a 'stockbroker-turned-underground-figure').
Apart from its own content, it also became a host to other labels and artists - and some of the truly "big ones" in darker electronic music history.
The official Planet Core Productions web presence by Marc Acardipane and the other rascals was on there (another rumor is that the payment for this good deed was - free choice in any of the 200+ vinyls that PCP released in 7 years).
Nasenbluten and Bloody Fist were on there - the "aussie hc elite".
Somatic Responses had their first web presence there.
Low Entropy, too. Praxis Records, Widerstand, The Skreem magazine, Ambush Records, too many to mention!

Intermission:
The term "Circuit 8" is actually a throwback to the hippie days of free love, substance, and rock'n'roll.
"Circuit 8" is a concept conceived by lysergic guru Timothy Leary. The highest state in his list of "mind's circuits", that can only be accessed by near death experiences, deity interventions, "extremely high doses of acid", and, I would assume, by raving to hardcore beats at 6 minutes after midnight.

End of intermission.

C8 was also a test field for the newest internet tech (as in, really fancy stuff for the 90s).
So music streaming and downloads were already established a few decades before our present commercial streaming services...

As such, the electronic music youth flocked to the website. No matter if you lived in south africa, india, berlin, post-soviet moscow, south america... you were now in tune with the newest stuff in the electronic noise sector.

the catchphrase of the page was "dark, sick music" and i guess that phrase checks out!

Eventually, a "mailing list" was set up, which was a bit like a message board. Just that it was used via e-mail.

A crowd began to rise on the c8 mailing list, and when the "noise to signal" ratio began to teether in the wrong direction, a new, secret group was set up within c8.

This second layer, "secret community", unknown to the regular c8 users, was instrumental in setting up and coordinating a lot of quite spiffy projects or record releases.
i won't name the names of the people that were part of this, because I think it's better if some things stay secret.

Fast forward a few years, and eventually a "true" message board is set up, that became a community, to another iteration of the "scene".

It is very weird that almost all of this has been almost completely forgotten, except to the ones directly involved.
I mean, a project, that was important to "prime movers" in electronic music, like Planet Core Productions, Nasenbluten, Somatic Responses... should be mentioned somewhere, in the history books?
But no, it seems that the world had decided... to keep quiet on this one.

Apart from the "direct intervention" through c8, a lot of then-upcoming artists were influenced by the site & the board. and especially the crowds of the breakcore scene.

At least in this sense, the c8.com web page lives on... and hey, maybe we will finally reach "Circuit 8 consciousness" one day!

(Short) list of nice tracks related to c8:

Miro - Purple Moon (was online at the website, months ahead of the release.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMKbCf8gXmk
The Kotzaak Klan - Powerstation Kotzaak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL2QSU7pv24
Base Force One - Welcome to Violence (early breakcore track) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcvVazgDxm0
Society of Unknowns - Dead by Dawn (The endless mix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE2pjiQQsXQ
Somatic Responses - Sickwave https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsE6dhZ0vmo

Free free to check out this archived website for some fresh memories: https://darksickmusic.com/c8/archive/

2nd Note: There is a petition going on that aims to bring back the c8.com spirit in some way. Feel free to take a look at it here: https://nc.skillz.biz/apps/forms/s/rf99KpxC4gxaNA6bz3oCEApT

The intense world of 90s Hardcore and Techno parties (Video Feature)

The intense world of 90s Hardcore and Techno parties #gabber #rave #live #festival #dancing #party

90s Hardtrance/Ravecore in Review (Video Feature)

Video feature to: https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2025/12/90s-hardtranceravecore-in-review-hidden.html

Review: Alec Empire - Test Ratte (Self-Released)

It must have been somewhere around the early 2000s. A friend, who was also somewhat of an archivist and historian of underground music - and especially harder electronics - asked me if I heard about "Testratte".
I had no idea what he meant. "It's an alias of Alec Empire. He produced an EP using that name, but it never got released". I was all ears at that point, of course. He sent me a link to a webpage - I guess it was either a webpage related to DHR, or even a myspace kind of thing - where Alec had put up 2 tracks from this unreleased release, that could be streamed.
I was totally blown away by this material! I tried to record the stream a bit - but the recording was very lofi. I ended up including a few seconds of that clip in a DJ set I played on the occasion of a Hamburg squat-type all-nighter, in-between "Toccata und Fuge in D-Moll" by Johann Sebastian Bach, crazy speedcore records by French itinerants, and some works by Hamburg's own music maestro, Jörg Buchholz (which, at that point, also happened to be crazy speedcore tracks).
Excuse me for this activity that borderlined on bootleg!

Either way, shortly afterwards, the online stream, the sounds, all info from the release disappeared, like being sucked into a black hole, as if all of this never had happened.
The world turned on... and forgot...?

So I am more than happy that these tracks appear again, with even more material, and as a legit release.

The amount of material would actually fill an album and, according to the info, it was planned as a double 12" vinyl.
So I would say we got a true "lost media" album re-release of digital hardcore sounds, right here, right now.

Now let's ponder a bit on the sounds.
In my opinion, this is *the* hardest electronic release of the 1990s. Period.
I assume these tracks were created in the 1993-1995 date range.
At this point, no other project was faster, or more distorted, more insane.
This is a few years before the term "speedcore" began to appear on record releases. Yet it essentially slams at 200+ bpm from start to finish!

It's a ten out of ten.

This is no numb nut "gabba" record either. Like the info text implies, it's "half way" between the decline of Techno and the rise of Digital Hardcore.
So, even if you are only marginally interested in the history of electronic music, check this one out.

From a cultural perspective, it's weird that this was never released before. It would have made its mark in the rising hardcore techno scene, and thousands of "speedcore chaps" in today's age would look upon it as a classic and collector's item.

Yet, these people might actually be the lost, "drug fueled and substance abused" crowd that this record was created *against * - if we follow the info text that had been put on bandcamp next to the release.
So all of this might make sense after all.

Tracklisting:

Alec Empire - Test Ratte

1. Test Ratte
2. Blast'Em
3. D.A.C.
4. What The Hell
5. Pro Ceeed
6. BunkR
7. Die Psycho-Droge

https://alecempire.bandcamp.com/album/test-ratte

At what age are you too old to do Hardcore Techno? (Confessions of a "Gabber Elder")

hi-ho,
there is this insane thing going on the internet about "getting older" and (seemingly) "old age" in relation to music, culture, and music culture. i see questions on online forums like "is 30 years too old for raving" or "can i still go to a metal concert at 40" and so on.

this is very weird to me. i might belong to the older "generation" too - gen x, on the cusp of being a millennial (i.e. born november 1980). i'm also part of a dj / producer group called "the gabber elders". because we are DJs into hardcore techno (also known as "gabber house") since the 90s.

so allow me to chime in my own 51 cents, in this "rave age" debate, and other issues.
let me put my walking aid aside, slip into my slippers, and sit down in my rocking chair, while i tell you a story (just kidding).

let me tell you how it was back then, the hardcore techno scene ca. 1994. my personal point of view, but i guess others felt the same.

for us, there were essentially two things: on one side, there was boomer culture, mainstream society, a world run by squares and bores. which they assumed to be the "normal" world, which was made up of what teachers, parents, and a lot of other people called "everyday life".

we didn't like this world very much, or simply were not interested in it. and maybe we just did not fit in there.
so the "social freaks" and outcasts of that 1990s society turned to the subcultures and the underground, where - surprise surprise - millions of people like us were already waiting, and having the time of their lives.
it was like an own family, community, a legit underground nation.

a few years spent together, of party, and bliss, and friendship... and for some of us these times continue to this day.

so let's look at hardcore techno specifically. most of us were teens or young adults like me. the people who slamdanced to 280 bpm beats, who flocked the record shops, or who crammed themselves into cars and trains each weekend to ride to the best parties in cities all around europe.

but a lot were not. the people who promoted the parties, rented the clubs, ran the record shops usually were not.
the same was true for a lot of the djs and producers.
there were a lot of older subcultural types as well, from the 80s ebm / industrial scene, or 70s punk, or avantgarde intellectuals.

and no one, literally no one, ever thought: "oh this geezer or chick, is a bit too old to rave with us. tee-hee!"

everyone was welcome in this scene. regardless of skin tone, nationality, religious affiliation, age, criminal record, physical appearance, mental health status, social standing, or economic class (well, upper class people might have had it harder - but we allowed some of them in, too!)

age and "getting older" was really a total non-topic.

and, to be honest, i think this has not changed that much. i hope the "age debate" is more of an internet bubble chamber echo feedback loop, that has no real footing in reality.

because ya know... you are never too old to gabber, or to do hardcore techno.

and you know why?
because hardcore never dies!

Gabber Elders Website: https://thegabberelders.com/

Review: Kotzaak Unltd. - From The Darkest Depths (KOTZ CD 02)

follow up to the first kotzaak cd release / compilation.
and there is a lot of stuff going on here.
On CD 1, there are a kind of "best of" tracks that did not find their way to the first compilation - from the "classic" kotzaak period in the 90s.
But there's also "best of" tracks from the kotzaak re-launch after the millenium.
And finally there are a few unreleased tracks, too!

Then on CD 2, there are a bunch of live recordings from The Kotzaak Klan and the Kotzaak acts - all over Europe.
Plus a kind of "mini album" of Jack Lucifer tracks.
These were part of the "Contaminated Black Planet" album, that was conceived earlier, as a stand-alone release, and was finally digitally released in... 2017 (yes!)

One of these album-tracks is actually hidden on CD 1, too.
And now, let's take a look at the unreleased tracks - because these are the goodies you are likely going for, right?

"Tormental Beginning" feels like a drumless black metal piece played on synths. With tormented voices by Hamburg Hardcore Head Triebtäter.

"Determinate" is a quite novel encounter. "Slow" Kotzaak style - with hc punk / meta shouting!
"Mangled" is most classic kotzaak all the way!

"From The Darkest Depths" on discogs:
https://www.discogs.com/release/443514-Various-From-The-Darkest-Depths

Fresh, cold and chilling Doomcore Techno food

Hi,

It's nice to see the Doomcore subculture is still kicking, and there have been quite some nice sets been put up over the course of the last weeks!

Check them here:

Bdacid - True Creator Tributes 1 - Miro Tribute

☠ ƁƉ∆ϾỊƉ ☠ · True creator tributes 1 - Bdacid - Miro tribute

Https://soundcloud.com/bdacid/true-creator-tributes-1-bdacid-miro-tribute

Alan2ski - Everyone Is Doomed

Alan2ski · Everyone is Doomed\\Alan2ski (Doomcore Vinyle)

Https://soundcloud.com/alan-le-goff-21378364/everyone-is-doomedalan2ski-doomcore-vinyle

Kriegsbeill - Doomcore DJ Set

KRiEGSBEiLL · Doomcore DJ set

Https://soundcloud.com/kriegsbeill/doomcore-dj-set

Zxfldwn - Set Vinyle Doomcore To Hardcore - Welcome To Nuketown

zxfldwn · Set Vinyle Doomcore to Hardcore - Welcome to NUKETOWN

Https://soundcloud.com/maxime-guillonnet/set-vinyle-doomcore-to-hardcore-welcome-to-nuketown

Livestream Lady J Invites: The Specialist (Dark/doomcore)

The specialist · LIVESTREAM LADY J invites: THE SPECIALIST (dark/doomcore, industrial, hardtechno set)

Https://soundcloud.com/thespecialsitdj/livestream-lady-j-invites-the-specialist-darkdoomcore-industrial-hardtechno-set

Baas 50 @ Houseveteranen Nomen Est Omen - 1-11-2025

HouseVeteranen · Baas 50 @ Houseveteranen Nomen est Omen 1-11-2025

Https://soundcloud.com/houseveteranen-mix/baas-50-houseveteranen-nomen-est-omen-1-11-2025

Elephantdjmix - Session # 165 - Ley Mar

ELEPHANTDJMIX · Session # 165 LEY MAR

Https://soundcloud.com/elephantdjmix/session-165-ley-mar

Krakore Kaotek'nik - Set Techno/doomcore/hardcore

Https://soundcloud.com/kentiin-daviau/set-techno-doomcore-hardcore

Faceteknoname Sound6tem - Darkness.wav

Https://soundcloud.com/faceteknoname/darkness-wav

A second look at Planet Core Productions: More reviews of mysterious releases

It's a new year, and it's time to look at the works and back catalogue of planet core productions once again.
because there is still so much stuff to find (..."is anybody out there?")

This time we (almost) entirely look at releases that the artists did on other labels.

Note: No Ai has been used in writing these reviews!

Spiritual Combat - Hellrazor EP (R & S Records - RS 92017)

One of the most mysterious, most esoteric, most arcane releases by pcp and acardipane.
Not because it is obscure - we know that is was done by the mover.
But it's quite "off" the other projects by pcp...
The entire A side belongs to breakbeats, not techno or hardcore hits.
Flipside is Mover style.

The A side begs the question if you prefer to play it at 45 or 33 1/3 rpm.
The entire tracks are made up of disjunct, strange sounds. Cosmic stuff. Voices calling you from nowhere. Alien talk talk.
But not just head-centered. Stuff that sounds heavy, heavy, on the dancefloor, on the speakers.

Spiritual Combat - Pro Black

https://www.discogs.com/release/6128-Spiritual-Combat-Hellrazor-EP

Ace The Space - 9 Is A Classic (Remixes) (Dance Pool - DAN 658975 2)

A group of 9 remixes of this very classic. (the original is included as a 10th bonus track).
stand-out mixes for me are the 303 nation and human resource remix.
extra bold gabba. thunderous tracks. and the hoovers get mental on top of that.
still, to these days, i consider these to be amongst the hardest techno tracks.
and i guess they did hit even harder back then on release day in 1993.

9 Is A Classic (Human Resource Remix)

https://www.discogs.com/release/58853-Ace-The-Space-9-Is-A-Classic-Remixes

Lunatic Asylum - The Meltdown Mixes - A.L.S.O. Remixed By The Mover (Dance Pool - DAN 659704 2)

"a.l.s.o." stands for "A Lunatic Space Odyssey". Which, according to the man, was a tale of raver's, ecstacy, and lupines. don't ask!

Apparently, this release was the first contact between PCP and Lunatic Asylum aka Dr Macabre.
A fruitful semi-decade of collaborations followed, including the #1 slow-gabba arena smasher "poltergeist"!

So, what happens when two music master minds meet?
I think this release sits inbetween the style of Marc and that of Macabre. A double boost!

none of the remixes sounds like the other.

make sure to check "Planet Phuture's Irradiation: Boccachio Past". after the intro it turns into a "cold rush" style dancefloor devastor.
and "Ruff Traxx Mix". one of the most notorious, and best pcp productions ever. just a bass, a drum, and a vocal.
running in a loop for 3 3/4 minutes.
you might think this is foolish - but check this one on the dancefloor!

https://www.discogs.com/release/109675-Lunatic-Asylum-The-Meltdown-Mixes-ALSO-Remixed-By-The-Mover

Colors Of Amsterdam (Yellow)

Another lesser known work by Acardipane.
Mover / Mask (Behind the line!) style; very close to Alien Christ, but without the suburban knight tune.
Very early, but also quite interesting work by Marc!

Colors Of Amsterdam - A1

https://www.discogs.com/release/242416-Marc-Acardipane-Colors-Of-Amsterdam

DJ. Jacques O. - Rave Can Can (BMG - 74321 23967 2)

One of the more sneaky releases by Marc Acardipane. He did this one using the "Jacques O." moniker, and I assume the O stands for "Offenbach".
In all three mixes, the melody is based on the well known composition Galop infernal, which is even better known as "Can Can".
The original mix is actually Dance Ecstasy type Rave-Hardcore. A bit "minimal", but powerful.
The Party Tribe Remix is more fleshed-out, including hoovers, pianos, and other sweet sounds.
The ATB remix is the "most" cheesy one, very dancefloor-friendly.
The Single mix is similar to the Exto Rave mix, just a bit shorter.

There is also a "funny" music video to this release, which seems to draw from cult classic movies like The Godfather, Goodfellas, and / or Pulp Fiction.

D.J. Jaques O. - Rave Can Can

https://www.discogs.com/master/149496-DJ-Jacques-O-Rave-Can-Can

Ace The Space - 1 Gun - 2 Gun - 3 Gun - Roar! (Dance Pool - DAN 659526 2)

in my head, this release forms an ace the spacy "trilogy", together with "9 is a classic" and "go voodoo".
as i think there is a formula that links them: bold / zany rapping, and hardcore rave sounds.
a dangerous and very effective formula, for sure!

as a bonus, there is the original version of "go voodoo" (which is different from the track on de 2001), and "your special attraction" included.

Ace The Space ‎– 1 Gun - 2 Gun - 3 Gun - Roar!

https://www.discogs.com/master/31297-Ace-The-Space-1-Gun-2-Gun-3-Gun-Roar

DJ Jacques O. - Kiss Me (Coconut - 74321 32405 2)

I assume this is the second releases by "Jacko" aka Marc Acardipane.
Has quite libidinal lyrics, but the more explicit parts are hidden behind a "bleep".
All tracks are more or less in the style of euro-house or dancefloor, club music.

DJ Jacques O. - Kiss Me (Radio Edit)

https://www.discogs.com/release/768727-DJ-Jacques-O-Kiss-Me

Miro - Purple Moon (Mindstar - MS 14)

"Purple Moon" made quite the rotation in the 90s.
This licensed release includes a "downpitch original". Which is just that, no tricks or surprises (I suppose the DJs could have pitched it down by themselves... actually?)

The two "remixes" of purple moon and understand don't just sound like a remix, but as if the whole tracks have been re-built from scratch, more or less.
the speed is slower, the bass hits harder (and deeper). the arrangement is quite complex, and there are lots of nice filter sweeps and fx on the synths...

i guess it's up to your appetite which version you prefer.
the originals sound more hardcore and raw. these sound more refined, classy, and dance-heavy.
and i guess i prefer all four of these tracks! (five, if you add the downpitch).

Miro - Understand (Remix)

https://www.discogs.com/release/137138-Miro-Purple-Moon

Marshall Masters feat. Da TMC - Double Platinum

pcp did a lot of great releases, and these releases have their fans.
but they also did some "full-length compilation album" CDs, like prolos have more fun, or this one right here. and i think even marc said that these types of release brought in quite a bit money.
i think some of the fans do not care much about this, because for them it's CDs with tracks that they already know / have on vinyl, plus some "fillers".

but, in my humble opinion, these strange "PCP CD" releases are true techno opera albums, with a concept, vision that links them.
even though it might be a "corny concept", as in the smash? or tschabos CDs.

but the "filler" tracks are usually quite good.
and this is very true for this release, too.

so much exclusive CD only tracks, that sound exquisite, and that you can't get hold of on vinyl!

https://www.discogs.com/release/164900-Marshall-Masters-feat-Da-TMC-Double-Platinum

Electro Warriors of London: Taking a look at Battle Trax Records

Battle Trax is a label that was set up in the midst of the 90s by "electro-maestro" Phil Klein.
I guess it's still off the radar for a lot of people. It came quite early for the "retro-electro" boom (even "space invaders are smoking grass" became an MTV a few years later - despite The Hague scene around I-F being a prime mover in the first electro revival).
And, maybe even more importantly, it was much harder, more dirty, zany, or to put it bluntly: hardcore - than the rest of the electro funkoids.

Time to throw a glance back at this one, and look at the first 5 releases.
These established the sound for things to come.

And, and lets not forget: the label did *not* get stuck in the 90s, or became defunct - but is still (more or less) alive and kicking.

Battle Systems - The Killer Instinct E.P. (Battle Trax 001)

The inceptory release on the label.

It's interesting, as you can see a melange of sounds of the London electronic/hardcore underground here. A lot of stuff that only began to bloom in the years that follow later - like the industrial and electro labels in the city at the turn of the millennium (and beyond). Even a bit of acid-tek.

But let's not digress beyond the core of this release. Great, slamming, steel-reinforced "electro" hardcore.

Listening Suggestion: Battle Systems - Annihilator

I Borg - The Borg Collective E.P. (Battle Trax 002)

A quite singular release, really.
Supposedly based on the beat of an earlier tune by Cybernet System and Dynamix II.
I'd describe the sound as "Hardcore Techno" meets "Electro" - even though "Detroit Techno" purists might disagree here.

All tracks actually sound quite "similar" - there is the abovementioned beat, there are star trek / borg related samples, even a similar bass-bleep...
But it's still a great release, and a true hidden gem in my opinion... futuristic, cold, very hardcore... what more could one ask for!

Listening Suggestion: I Borg - Engage The Borg

Industrial Bass Machine - Industrial Bass Machine Vol. 1 (Battle Trax 003)

The second collab by Dynamix II and Bass Junkie on this label, as far as I know.
Less "frontal hardcore" than the earlier releases, but gritty, rought, corrosive and neet never the less.
And there is an extra dose of funk and futurism.

Listening Suggestion: Industrial Bass Machine - IBM (We are the Future)

Battle Systems - Hardware E.P. (Battle Trax 004)

If I would write down a personal top 10 of electronic 1990s releases, this would be in there.
It's really a league of its own, also in the style of sound.
Not heard anything as this one elsewhere. It's like high-speed-gabba with a broken rhythm and non 4-4. But it's also like distorted and overdriven 80s electro funk.
And those basslines sound like some haunted paganini took up a bass guitar and jammed these notes into the future.

Listening Suggestion: Battle Systems - Atomics

Cybernet Systems - Cybernizm E.P. (Battle Trax 005)

Two of the best tracks of Cybernet Systems' "Robot Movement" are on here.
Hmmm how to describe them.... this is pure phuture-shock, like getting all the great sci fi flicks of the 80s and 90s directly rammed into your brain in 3 minutes 23. robocop, terminator, blade runner... these are the pictures i get in my mind when i hear these sounds.
There are also 2 "exclusive" tracks on here that were not on the CD. They are cool.

Listening Suggestion: Cybernet Systems - Voider

Review: Kotzaak Unltd. - …Like A Raging Bull (KOTZ CD 01)

A CD that compiles the best - and the hardest, darkest - of Kotzaak tracks.

If you are new to the label (or new to Planet Core Productions), this CD is an apt introduction.
And yeah, the music really slams you like - A Raging Bull.
I reviewed most of the tracks elsewhere; but PCP also packed a whole bunch of "previously unreleased" tracks onto this one, which is a nice move indeed.
So let us look at these:

Stickhead - Intro
A similar, but also new and different track to the intro of one of the earliest vinyls.
I love this one, as it has a kind of "hip hop", slowed down breakbeat. But the super dark, super bass heavy kotzaak synths at the same time!
A few years before the rise of "Death Hop"

The Kotzaak Klan - Locked Inside
I think not all releases on Kotzaak have the style that is associated with the label. The Stickhead / Don Demon / Jack Lucifer type.
The early releases were different, and the later releases were different.
Fans of this style can rejoice, because this is actually a track of the deep "Kotzaak Style", that you might not have heard before!

Stickhead - Sadistic Base (K.K. Liveversion)

I've seen Kotzaak live a few times, and it always stood out to me that they had a true live concept. They did not just "press play", but they had a true live band which turned the thing into more like a death metal concert.
And the tracks were completely different versions to the original tracks - "live versions"!
So it's extra nice some of these live tracks can be found on here.
And this is one of them.

Stickhead - Check This Mutha Down (K.K. Liveversion)

The same is true for this one.
The bass might not be as heavy as the vinyl version, but it is more frantic, hectic - adrenaline shot!

Bold Bob - Terminated (Remix)

Much, much more brutal than the vinyl original!
The terminator is coming to crush you.

Pantheon of Absurdity: A look at the most twisted and deranged sub-genres of Techno and Dance music

When people hear words like Techno, House, or "Electronic" Dance Music (a term I detest), most people likely have the following images in mind.

Rich, fashionable young women and men "dancing" in Ibiza, London, or New York night clubs, their expensive clothes still spotless, one margarita in one hand... maybe still holding a successful business contract from earlier today in the other hand.

I.e. spiffy, elated, harmless "fun" for the middle-to-upper class and otherwise jaded personnel.

But behold! Since the inception of "Techno" and "Acid House", there was also an underbelly to the whole techno-house thing... and that pit in the underground goes way deep, deep and dark.

There are also completely violent types of Techno music. And those parties were not held in €1000 night clubs, but squats or evicted buildings, and the people on the dancefloor were ex-punks, skinheads, squatters, metal kids... or legit lunatics. As in: escapees from the mental asylum (I'm not making this up - I met them at the parties. Some even became friends to me).

Of course all of this is stuff you would only rarely, rarely read about in the glossy techno and dance mags for the "upper class twits of the year".

But let's cut all the words now. And look at some of these subgenres.

Here is a list. With features we wrote about some of these sub-styles so far.

Industrial Black Metal / Blackened Speedcore
Psycore (600+ BPM Psytrance)
Acidcore
Screaming Hardcore
Noisecore
Extreme Metal x Speedcore
Early Rotterdam
90s Japanese Hardcore
Ultra-Speedcore
Breakcore

Corrosive for your mind - The most deranged cases of Acidcore Techno
https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2024/11/corrosive-for-your-mind-most-deranged.html

The world beyond 300 BPM: The fastest Techno tracks of the 90s and the origins of Ultra-Speedcore
https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-world-beyond-300-bpm-fastest-techno.html

Psycore: Discovering the dark, deranged, and disturbing side of the Psytrance spectrum
https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2024/11/psycore-discovering-dark-deranged-and.html

The Zenith of Brutality - When Black Metal meets Extreme Techno
https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-zenith-of-brutality-when-black.html

Scream it out: Hardcore Techno with vocalists
https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2024/03/scream-it-out-hardcore-techno-with.html

(A few of the) Roughest Early Breakcore Tracks
https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2024/11/a-few-of-roughest-early-breakcore-tracks.html

The Hardest Days of Rotterdam Style Gabber
https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-hardest-days-of-rotterdam-style.html

Inferno Unleashed: When Extreme Techno meets Extreme Metal
https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2024/04/inferno-unleashed-when-extreme-techno.html

Japan's 90s Hardcore Techno scene was wild
https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2025/09/japans-90s-hardcore-techno-scene-was.html

Noisecore Techno: A look at one of the most abrasive genres in all the world of music
https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2024/08/noisecore-techno-look-at-one-of-most.html

Bonus Feature:

Voices of the Hardcore - Strange Vocal Manipulation in Extreme Techno Genres
https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2025/03/voices-of-hardcore-strange-vocal.html

11 Facts you did not know about "Wonderful Days" (Video Feature)

11 facts that you did not know about the ultimate Techno Rave banger of the 90s - "Wonderful Days"

Transcript:

"Wonderful Days" by Charly Lownoise and Mental Theo helped to bring Techno and Rave music to the mainstream in the 90s.

1. It was actually based on a 1970s Dutch rock song called "help, get me some help"
2. before charly & theo, other artists already covered it
3. including some electronic versions, too (like this east european cover from 1984)
4. charly & theo started as hardcore techno and gabber house producers (music video to live at london)
5. really *hardcore* producers
6. rumor is that mental theo was involved in compiling the early thunderdome cds (sorcerer - summer)
7. apart from the netherlands the duo was especially famous in germany (like in this german TV feature about Charly & Theo in 1997)
8. even after the hit they stayed hard to the core (hardcore feelings)
9. and not just in words (your smile - hardcore remix)
10. they still perform live
11. and "wonderful days" has been covered and remixed many times since then (such as this drum and xylophone cover)

The Techno History of Samples: Part 1 - "We Wanna Be Free"

Hello Dogs,

In our mission to research the history of electronic underground culture - especially centered on techno, rave, hardcore... we set ourselves a new objective:

To shine a light on the context of its popular, re-occurring, "meme" like vocal samples.

Why did these occur in the first place?

Music that existed around the 1st heyday of Techno - late 80s, early 90s - was not as sample heavy, most of the time. Like glam metal, pop-rock, the first boybands...

Vitamin - My House is your House 

Well, the reason is that most of the productions were made by low-budget, low-brow (and sometimes low-life) producers.

The other "dance" epigons of those times were able to hire professional singers, or whole orchestras to layer over their dance grooves (hello S.A.W.!)

Just sampling something else was a much cheaper method.

There were other, more high-brow reasons, too:

Techno dismantled the way music was supposed to be, to sound, to be produced.

No more real guitars and "real" percussion. To exchange the human voices made of flesh that dominated recent decades - from the Beatles to Madonna - with the digital croaking of the sampler, made perfect sense.

And sampling was a new tech, could be used in ways that are out there, psychedelic, zany. The right soundtrack for the jilted generation.

Let's stop right here. And get to our first exhibit.

"We wanna be free"

One of the earliest samples in one of the earliest "rave" hits. Later it has literally been used in 1000s of other tracks.

I assume only a minority of the sweat and smoke-drenched ravers were aware of the actual origin of the samples.

It's from a 1960s movie called "the wild angels".

So let's talk about it:

The Wild Angels (1966) - On Hippieploitation, Peter Fonda, and an iconic movie of 90s Rave Culture (that most Ravers never actually watched)

The movie stars a still very young peter fonda - a few years before his role in "easy rider". Other actors to note are Nancy Sinatra and Bruce Dern.

The movie is on the fringes of the "hippieploitation" movie fad of the 60s and 70s.

These movies were often marketed as exposing the horrors, s*x, and violence (and music) of the 60s counterculture to the boomers and squares of the precedent generation.

Of course, these horrors to the most part only existed in the imagination of the boomers.

They often ended up attracting the very counterculture generation they warned about. The hippie youth was interested to see some wild exploits of bikers, hippies (i.e. themselves), revolutionaries and drop-outs too, of course.

And I guess most directors and studios knew this.

And, despite this pulp / schlock framing, some, or rather, most of the hippieploitation movies are quite well-made, deep, and sincere work of arts. They just had a smaller budget than the "big hollywood" productions.

#1 Primal Scream - Loaded (Official Video) 

Peter Fonda seems to have been a central star of this movie-wave; apart from the wild angels he also starred in other movies with a similar concept, like "The Trip", or the abovementioned easy rider.

I said this one is borderline hippieploitation, as the topic is not directly hippies, but real rough outlaw bikers.

The outlaw biker culture is somewhat lumped into the 60s "counterculture" media perception lens. Bikers play prominent roles in other iconic counterculture flicks as well, like fritz the cat or - "Easy Rider" again.

The bikers serve as a channel for a lot of "hippie" vibes in this media creation. Like the concept of "free love", living outside society, job or work culture. And there is quite a lot of talk by Fonda and his friends about sticking it to "the man" and otherwise dodging and fighting boomer-based authority figures.

It's not totally lovey-dovey all the time. They are a brutal and violent gang despite this. And the plot contains a "redemption" arc for the Fonda character, leaving the nihilism and mindless violence behind.

Hardsequencer - We Wanna Be Free 

Before this happens, the movie actually ends on a real downer, with a scene that even I, as a life-long horror and "outrageous" movie consumer, find very hard to stomach or to watch.

I guess the hippieploitation / exploitation concept shines through here. The idea to "shock" the audience.

I won't say too much on it, but the sequence involves trespassing, booze, an *rgy, a priest, swastikas, and a coffin.

This "final segment" (that slams the lid on the coffin, so to say) is preceded by a speech of the Fonda character, that became a countercultural symbol in itself.

The priest asks the unruly bikers "But, tell me, just what is it that you want to do?".

To which our young Fonda replies:

"We don't want nobody telling us what to do. We don't want nobody pushing us around.

We wanna be free! We wanna be free to do what we wanna do. We wanna be free to ride! We wanna be free to ride our machines without being hassled by The Man. And we wanna get loaded. And we wanna have a good time. And that's what we're gonna do. We are gonna have a good time. We are gonna have a party."

Defcon 2 - To Be Free

And I guess this is good evidence that the movie really is not "just" about a criminal gang on motorcycles.

Like I said, they serve as a vessel for countercultural values, within the narrative and metaphor of the movie.

And the following generations seconded that motion.

The speech became iconic and was used, re-purposed in a myriad of media, which is impossible to count or keep track of.

Most importantly it found its home in the techno, rave, acid house, hardcore and gabba scenes of the mid-80s to mid-90s.

An early example is the Primal Scream track "Loaded" (the title should give a hint, right?"

But it kept being re-used, re-purposed.

Tempest 2000: Future Tense 

I suppose one could trace a kind of countercultural continuum there.

The values of the early hardcore ravers and acid house punters were not that far away from those of the 60s (free love, free substances... having a party).

So they felt "understood" by this 60s movie, even though it belonged to the earlier generations.

But plotting such a continuum would bust the scope and scale of this feature.

Maybe at another time, in another place, in another world.

The Gabber Elders Website Big Launch

Hello,
If you followed projects like:
The bi-yearly Hardcore Techno Mixmarathon Festival
HCBXCast
Mainstream Pollution
Doomcore Records Pod Cast
Mechanical Clown
and a zillion more projects

Then you probably ran into The Gabber Elders already.
Who are The Gabber Elders?
Well, can't you read properly? They are these old-*ss sorcerers and wizards who protect the Hardcore underground, true Elders of the tribe... no, just kidding.

The Gabber Elders are four veteran DJs, producers, movers and shakers from the Hardcore and Techno scene.
GabberGirl from Minnesota, Low Entropy from Hamburg (Germany), DJ Asylum from Bathgate UK (yes that's really the name of a town, and not a political scandal) and Nikaj from The Netherlands.
Altogether they are 999+ years old (no, not really).

And we wrote this very long text to let you know that The Gabber Elders website just had its big lunch. Oops, I mean, big launch! (Grandpa / Grandma style humor... sorry (not sorry))

It's run by GabberGirl herself.
And there you can you read more about each specific Elder.
And most importantly, you will be informed about upcoming projects.

But you must speak louder, young person, because them Elders don't hear so well anymore! In tarnation!

https://thegabberelders.com/

A look at overlooked hardcore-adjacent releases of the 1990s

Hello,
That's what we do. Or rather, our main focus.
Listing, reviewing, showcasing Hardcore releases (and similar genres) that created major (or minor) waves of shock when they saw the light of day in the 90s.
But might be overlooked or forgotten now.

Note: No AI was used in writing this text.

So let's get it on!

Tanith - T2 EP (BASH 04)

Tanith was once claimed to be the "hardest DJ on earth", for a short period in time... when the Berlin Underground was still ruled by zany Hardcore Techno.
This record is a showcase of this. In all the "early" Gabber, Hard Techno, whatever kind of music world... this is one of the most dystopian, the most anti-human, the most teeth-flashing around...
As if it was really done by a Terminator and not a human being.
Pioneer work from the ground up. I'd say what "Iron Man" was to Heavy Metal (the song, not the movie character, you fools), "T2" is for Hardcore and Gabber.

Lenny Dee - Untitled (ETC 131)

Just "Lenny Dee" in white lettering on the cover - a nice touch.
Each track is a 5/5 here, and each in its own way.
There is "Baby" and "Microdot", and these are really sweet acid-trance-techno things... with a NYC feel, imho, cuz their Techno always felt more isolated, cold, technological than on mainland Europe.
And there are "Hammerhead" and "Bug Spray". Hammerhead might own the claim of being one of the earliest tracks with a real brutal "Gabber" type of kick. And both tracks are gnawing, gnashing, caustic, industrial, infernal Hardcore masterpieces!

Cyberchrist - Information : Revolution (Praxis 16)

imho cyberchrist always was one of "the speed freak"'s most interesting projects.
and this 12" is outstanding, too.
yeah, there are some killer terror-gabba tracks at the start of each side. highly recommended.
but then... the second tracks.

there is a completely arhythmic hardcore/industrial track on side A. loud, and very minimalistic / futuristic at the same time.
imagine Schwarzenegger, in his role as the terminator, turning into a b-boy, then firing the gun in every direction, and then doing the same while breaking into a funky dance.

now side b... an ambient composition... with heavy use of frequency-modulation synthesis (martin damm was always quite good at that).
like a nightmare while your sub sinks down, down to 20.000 leagues under the sea.
then you wake up from the nightmare. and are still trapped in this sub.

https://praxisrecords.bandcamp.com/album/information-revolution-praxis-16

I Borg - The Borg Collective E.P. (Battle Trax 02)

A quite singular release, really.
Supposedly based on the beat of an earlier tune by Cybernet System and Dynamix II.
I'd describe the sound as "Hardcore Techno" meets "Electro" - even though "Detroit Techno" purists might disagree here.

All tracks actually sound quite "similar" - there is the abovementioned beat, there are star trek / borg related samples, even a similar bass-bleep...
But it's still a great release, and a true hidden gem in my opinion... futuristic, cold, very hardcore... what more could one ask for!

https://battletrax.bandcamp.com/album/i-borg-the-borg-collective-ep

Society Of Unknowns - Society Of Unknowns (Praxis 24)

collab between christoph fringeli and jason skeet. (and aphasic)
this is one of the earlier breakcore releases... and you can feel that the style was without a "solid framework" yet.
"transversal" is quite close to traditional jungle... while others use distorted, "hardcore" type drums.

i love this one because there is an interesting source of sounds aka samples... musique concrete, contemporary avantgarde from the past... this is more like an intellectual, auteur mode of breakcore...
not some rave/drug fueled low blow stuff.

and the main, sweet, wonderful piece for me is "dead by dawn" - the endless mix.

it's neither breakcore, nor hardcore, or in any genre really. one of a kind.
...like a sound collage, washing over you, voices and despair in the echoes... something reminiscent to steel works or a bell... and lower bass frequencies, too, yeah.

looping on and on. listen to it and maybe you will feel the same way.

https://praxisrecords.bandcamp.com/album/society-of-unknowns-praxis-24



Fast Identities vs. Aversity - Colored Fraud Vol. 1

I guess the reason you have come here is the final track - B3.
And yes, this one's worth going all the way.
Super-dreamy choirs are singing for the first few seconds. Then Acid-Techno-Hardcore madness reigns, down on us.
Other-wordly!

The other tracks are worth a bite or two, too, though!
Acid and Core in full effect. And, as the name suggests, a lot of the tracks are way faster then the other Acidcore output by Mr. Lasse Steen.

Astrid Gnosis talks about growing up in Valencia, her affection for Hardcore Techno beats, and the connection to her latest release "Rat Penat"

We recently reviewed Astrid Gnosis' release Rat Penat in our e-zine. Now Gnosis herself chimes in, to give us a "deep dive" into her mystery works.

1. The release references Spain and Valencia. Can you tell us how the track is connected to this region?
Is it related to the party, rave scene? Are there other connections, too?

Rat Penat means bat in Valencian. Part legend, part fact, I’ve always been drawn to the idea that the bat was originally something foreign, tied to conquest and outsiders, and later absorbed into the city’s identity as its symbol. It’s also a nocturnal animal, often linked to omens, which feels fitting for Valencia and its long relationship with nightlife, but also with what exists beneath the surface.

I grew up in Valencia, but I’ve now lived abroad for almost as long as I lived there. The track plays with that tension of belonging without fully fitting in, of being present but misunderstood. That mirrors my own relationship with the city. I was always a bit “other,” partly because I have Colombian blood, so that feeling didn’t start when I moved away. Living abroad just made it clearer.

In the lyrics, I also reference a line from the Himno de Valencia, “un tapís de murta,” which in the anthem presents Valencia as beautiful, liberated, and idealised. I twist that image by adding “y una rosa que marchita,” a dying rose. That line carries a personal reference to my mother, but it is also there to introduce a darker layer and a sense of fragility beneath the celebration.

What really pushed me to write the track was La DANA. When I returned to Valencia to help after the catastrophe last year, I witnessed an immense amount of pain and loss. It was heartbreaking, but also strangely familiar. Valencia is often seen as vibrant and thriving, but that vitality has always existed alongside something tragic and unresolved. The song is my way of acknowledging that underbelly, the grief, the exhaustion, and the things that never make it into the postcard version of the city.

In the end, I identify with the bat. Nocturnal, slightly on the margins, always there, even when unseen. Rat Penat uses Valencia’s own symbols to talk about a kind of belonging that is not clean or romantic, but real, layered, and marked by loss as much as by beauty.

2. It's a very Hardcore, Gabba release. You obviously feel at home in these genres. What sparked your interest in this type of music? After all, these are genres that are still sometimes "detested" by many other musicians.

As a teenager I was drawn to Hardcore and Gabber because they don’t ask for approval. That energy resonated with me straight away. There’s something very honest about music that goes directly for the body and the nervous system.

Growing up in Valencia, the Mascletà was also my first encounter with truly loud sound. My father took me to my first one when I was just a year old. That physical, overwhelming impact stayed with me and definitely shaped how I experience music. Hardcore and Gabber leave space for intensity, anger, euphoria, and vulnerability to exist at the same time without being filtered or prettified. For me, it’s deeply emotional music, even if that isnt always obvious.

3. It's quite visible that there is a vast number of influences in the track - Hardcore, dance, dark synths. Is that something you focus on now: going beyond "genre" rules, mixing things up?

I’ve never been that interested in strict genre rules. When I began developing my own sound in the studio, I called it nugabber. It was my way of blending references that shapes my music taste, a mix of hardcore punk, gabber, trance, techno, pop, all of it.

For me, genres are more like reference points than boundaries. Its instinctive rather than deliberate. I’m more focused on building a world that feels coherent on its own terms. If the track feels intense, alive, and intentional, then it’s doing what it needs to do.

Original Review:

Astrid Gnosis - Rat Penat (Self - Released)

The name "Rat Penat" apparently is tied to the history and mythology of Spain / Valencia.
And it's a fitting match, as that area is also known for it's legendary Rave / Party scene.
The "Rat Penat" logo itself reminds me a bit of the "Rave the Party" series of compilation CDs in the 90s.
Despite these optics, the audio is connected too. Rave vibes, Gabba madness. But it does not stop here. There is a kind of dark wave organ throughout the track, which gives it an eery early goth vibe... (remember the "Batcave" club, anyone?).
And Spanish language lyrics, sung by Gnosis herself... adds a mystical / sensual dimension to the track, too.

So, in case you did not get the "message" yet: this is a track that zig zags through genres, eras, maybe even dimensions...
And it's gonna kick your ass on the dancefloor.

https://astridgnosis.bandcamp.com/track/rat-penat
https://open.spotify.com/track/6A8YnWiUIy5IV2NyMEK0e2
https://www.deezer.com/us/album/872749662
https://www.beatport.com/release/rat-penat/5691893

Note: No AI was used in writing this review.