Review: Writhe by CVSY (Dark Ambient Album, Self-Released)

Glaring / Anna Nin is one of the most interesting Dark Ambient producers right now. Or is it really "just" Dark Ambient?
Apart from Industrial and Harsh Noise elements, there has been more and more rhythmic sequences in here music lately... I dare to say "dance" elements!
And it might be a coincidence, but I feel a throwback to the earliest days of Techno, Hardcore, Hard Acid, Doomcore Techno... when I listen to these tracks.

It's released using the aka CVSY. According to the info these were "Recorded live in summer 2026". Quite a feat, because it is still Summer, and it's a 17 track strong album after all, that she apparently finished in a very short amount of time!

I love these tunes very much, there is hardly any filler inbetween, the tracks, the concept are top... even if you are only remotely interested in the mentioned genres, please take a listen!

https://glaring.bandcamp.com/album/writhe

Demonic Wavs releases new Darklords 2 Doomcore Techno compilation

Are you a Doomcore Techno head? Would you agree that the scene became quite meagre in recent years (or recent decades)?
Are you tired of all that crap that labels itself "Doomcore" this day - even mainstream hardcore or sometimes hardstyle gets the "doom!" label slammed on top of the release?

Then, rejoice, my friend!
Here is the new Darklords 2 compilation, released on Demonic Wavs.
And it's really Doomcore, through and through.
It's like a who is who of the best producers in this genre.
So there should be something for everyone with a darkened heart on this one...

https://demonicwavs.bandcamp.com/album/darklords-2

5 Neo-Electro Techno reviews and a heads-up

Electro or Electro-Funk... well, it was a genre in the 80s, often lumped together with Hip Hop, the Rap scene, free style... the "difference" to regular Hip Hop is that it's made up to 99% of synthetic and digital sounds. Even the voices get "vocodorized". The genre was quite underground, best known tracks are probably "Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)" by Hashim or Planet Rock. And maybe the stuff by Egyptian Lover.

So, this genre got more or less replaced by the even more computerized dance, acid and rave craze of the 90s...
But when that madness did fade away again, towards the end of the 90s, some producers suddenly gazed back upon the 80s... and did some electro stuff again!

What followed was a looong evolution, that took several years and lasts till today. And now electro sounds are almost everywhere, and we got famous artists like Miss Kittin or Vitalic that are influenced by it... well, I guess, there are even *newer* artists around by now.

To cut a long story (or evolution) short, Pop / Dance electro type music is on one end of the spectrum... and then there is more obscure, refined, "sophisticated" stuff. And I want to talk about, and review, 5 of these releases right here. I (really) think these are essential for everyone who wants to go deeper into the... electro revival!

I-f - Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass (Viewlexx V-002)

According to their own accord, the bunker crew were some kind of nerd-squatters in the netherlands, that did those hardcore / acid parties in... well, bunkers and warehouses, with a bunch of weirdos freaks... from all walks of life.
and wouldn't you guess it, one of the DJs and producers associated with that scene, was electro-rocking it on the MTV(*) only a few years later. Because "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass" was on heavy rotation on the various dance programs of TV and other channels, and I guess a lot of people who came home or came down from hardcore raving and other nastiness on a friday or saturday night, sank down on their couch and turned on the TV... will remember chilling to this track when the very video of it came up.

so, yes, it's a literal underground "hit", and i love it, too. very good electro, cool futuristic lyrics... cool concept... completely the correct thing for cool cats!

(*yeah you are right I sneaked a "sk8er boi" reference into this review, i am sorry!)

https://viewlexx.bandcamp.com/album/viewlexx-v-002-space-invaders-are-smoking-grass

Umwelt - ... & The Day Came Part 1 (New Flesh - NF01)

That's the release that really put Umwelt on the radar for me... as a very cool electro producer.
I'm all about "Future Darkness". It has a very cool sample, or sequence of samples out of a speech from the Cronenberg classic Scanners.
The way it is used, it feels more like the broadcast of military commands than the dialogue between... two chemical mutants, as in the movie.
which fits to the beats, imho, as they are more like marching beats than electro.
and yeah, the whole release gives the feel that we are marching into a dark future!

https://newfleshrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-day-came-part-1-nf01

I-f / Jungian Archetype - Test Pilot Volume 1 (Viewlexx - V12 / 2A)

Hello?
"Shadow of the clown" is on here.
You don't know it?
It's this very weird acid / electro tune that seems to have a loop of 808 percussion. And 15-16 tones that get repeated for 7 minutes straight. and it is one of the best electronic productions ever. shows how far you can get with minimalism, aight?
also has become very popular in the doomcore techno scene now.

https://viewlexx.bandcamp.com/album/viewlexx-v12-2x-test-pilot-volume-1-2025-digi-release

Univac - Radiation (Bunker Records - 3092)

Apparently an electro / bunker classic, but i ve been a bit late to the (bunker) party, as i heard it for the first time only recently.
it's deservingly a classic. the killer track is a1. i don't know much about univac, but unlike some electro contemporaries, this project does not seem to aim that much at continuing the sound of egyptian lover or planet rock, but rather seems to find inspiration in kraftwerk. and maybe they are the only electro act that can claim they *really* sound like kraftwerk. and maybe... even a bit better.
oh and going back to a1. there is this "weird" thing with the main synth melody, as that it constantly seems to slide out of "pitch"... don't know what they did here or how they did it, but this gives the whole thing a very convincing "outer space" edge!

I-f - Portrait Of A Dead Girl 1: The Cause (Viewlexx - V12/ 1)

Supercool release by I-F.
Electro, as a genre, often feels as if it's music that was done by aliens.
But this is the type of music that makes you feel as if *you*, the one in the crowd, is the alien, while the DJ is human. if that makes sense!
I Do Because I Couldn't Care Less is such a tune. and a nice ironic stab at aphex twin the same.
And there is Envy. Not envy of other producers, but a track called "Envy".
It's one of the dirtiest nastiest "minimal" dance tunes ever.

Freak Electrique - Mr. Psycho (Top Secret/Test Series - TS-009)

There was something I always liked, and even adored, about viewlexx, bunker, i-f, well, the whole the hague electro / acid thing. And that is that they got releases where you don't know if it's a parody of ironic, or intentionally silly, or if they are serious. But even when they are, they still feel sincere at the same time, through and through.

This is true for this release too, a "top secret" release going by the name of the label, by the way.
There is that strange, vocoder-ized intro "speech", and it's kinda cheesy. Telling a tale about a "mr. psycho", who seems to be some kind of interplanetary, or even interdimensional villain. It's as corny as it gets, even ending with a spoken warning of "bang bang there goes your brain". But somehow it fits right into the mood of the track and everything is alright.
There is also a cool ambient intro at the same time, the track is "oversized" with it's 7 minutes... and yeah, if I need to describe it, I would say, personally, it feels like the intro track to a forgotten 80s space TV show from a parallel dimension.

The day I bought and listened to the "Industrial F**king Strength" CD in the 90s

Industrial Strength just put this behemoth back up, on bandcamp!

How about... instead of a review, a story? Or, a review, told as a story?
Okay, so let us rewind, right back, into the deep past.
I was thirteen years of age, it was 1994, and the techno/rave wave was sweeping across Europe.
*Everyone* talked about Techno, Trance, House music, all night parties, the drugs, the crimes, old folks and news anchors lamented the "misled" teenagers and the perceived threat by this "criminal" form of music towards German youth.. while the youth on the other hand, enjoyed this style of music and style of living, very much.
In connection to this, another thing got constantly mentioned, and that was Hardcore & Gabber. At the same time, unlike for the Trance, Dance, "Rave" stuff, there was an almost 100% media curfew and blackout for this form of music (only in Germany, eh?). And, without the widespread internet and video web sites and all that modern convenience, it was very hard for a person to dig deeper there.

Yet as I slowly advanced in age, I grew more and more curious about this "Hardcore" sound, that was mentioned by everyone & their dog. I asked my rave friends and acquaintances about Hardcore & Gabber, most of them told me "It sucks when you listen to it at home, but it's great music when you are at a party and on the dancefloor!". Because they apparently only enjoyed Gabber when out & raving, they did not have any EPs and albums I could listen to.
And frankly, back then, I was too much of a p**sy to sneak out at night, defy home rule, find a way to get beyond the door, and go to these 18+ all night rave parties (like a lot of teenagers actually did).

(fast forward two years, to 1996)

But there was also german television, with very long advertising breaks in between programs and movies, advertising hair care products, or new car models, or home appliances. and they also showed advertising clips for CD compilations like Thunderdome, Terrordrome, Braindead... and one ad that stood out for me was for a new CD called "Industrial F**cking Strength". Oddly enough, even though it was on german TV, it was all-english, while the Thunderdome Ads were dubbed, and the terrordrome braindead etc stuff was from germany anyway.

The TV slogan "the nastiest hardcore gabber compilation ever" had an immediate appeal to me, so I went out, to the next shopping mall, and bought the "f**cking" CD.

back at home, listening to the Cd in one go from start to finish, and ouch, I was really, really, blown away.
it does not start that hard actually, even felt a bit mild... but once I passed tracks like "mad as hell" or "gabber up your a**" i knew i was truly heading towards something good.

once i came to "c*** face" and "extreme terror", i actually had to take the CD out and take a break! i was seriously shocked by this amount of terror & violence in the tracks.
Guess i really was a p**sy back then.

but, over the time, I grew very, very fond of this compilation, and I guess it was the first *really hardcore* release i bought & owned. (and yeah, it's really, really hardcore!)

Get it here: https://industrialstrengthrecords.bandcamp.com/album/industrial-f-king-strength

Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/release/841780-Lenny-Dee-Industrial-Fking-Strength

Cosmic anarchists create conceptual 5-hour long "Ambient Hardcore" Techno track

Yup, it is exactly what is said in the title. One, whole track, and it runs seamlessly for 5 hours from start to finish.
How did someone or something arrive at such a - please allow the pun - "titan of work" ?

Let's hear it by the artists themselves.

"One of the topical inspirations for this release is that we were surprised to learn that, within Greek mythology and religion, not all Titans were killed or imprisoned after the 'heavenly' uprising by Zeus & his boys. Some Titans became aligned with the new Gods of Mount Olympus, and were risen to heaven, so to say.

This makes us ponder on these "Titan deities". And a picture appeared within our minds. What if, when we gaze into the night sky, the heavens, at the celestial clockworks, there is not a black void between the stars, nor evil aliens, but what if the cosmos actually had a Titan patchwork woven within?

So, in this track, there are the "sound of the spheres", cosmic space sounds, but they sound metallic, "titanic". While on the other side, there is a sound close to giant hammers in a stellar steel forge. Maybe shaping the primordial structure of the universe. Heavy duty cosmic construction work.
And one always fades into the other, and vice versa.

As for the more direct musical inspirations, there is the Mascletà, a well-known Valencian "rhythmic firework". which is extremely loud, sounds quite hardcore on its own. if you listen to a recording of it, you will see similarities to this very release.

then there obviously is movie scores as an influence, especially horror or scifi, by the likes of angelo badalamenti.

and, obviously, as cosmic anarchists, a main influence is krautrock. the whole electronic "prog rock" experience from berlin and germany during the 1970s. they liked to do long-winding, over-sized albums too, after all.

in fact, we set ourselves the task to produce a track that could pass as krautrock, techno, and hardcore at the same time.

as for the name? we like to honor threefold goddesses of various kinds. especially those with a "dark" or titanic side, too.
and the "rave on titan" refers to... well, we imagined this track to be the sounds that could possibly be played at a long, long rave party on another planet or one of its moons. raving in a giant amphitheatre, on the surreal landscape of another planet, while you look up at a crystal clear but changed night sky...

there is a special twist with the release. it's broken down into 3 and a half chapters, and we arranged them so that you could listen to the chapters in every possible order that you like, and it will still make a whole track!

but, yes, when it comes to it. it is one giant track that really runs for a complete length of 5 hours."

well said, cosmic anarchists, and i dont think there is anything i'd like to, or would need to add.

oh, maybe there is still one thing we should add: the audience should bring patience to this record. because there are literally beatless ambient passages that might last for an hour. before the action begins again.

https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-threefold-goddess

Seventeen Million

Folks!
With great pleasure I want to announce that The Hardcore Techno Overdogs and its sister magazine Cyborg Coffee have been read approximately ~17.000.000 times.

We can't believe it! Thanks to everyone who supports us!

New Release: Hardcore & Techno against Misogyny & Queerphobia

Everyone should be free, welcome, and allowed to love who they want to love, and to be who they always have been.
Yet hatred against humans that are "queer', lesbian, bi, trans, gay, non-binary, asexual, etc. is on the rise again...
Just like the hatred against women is on the rise again... sadly.

This is a release in support of everyone who feels, is, or wants to "queer", or just wants to be who they want to be.

The tracks on this release are in different electronic styles of music.
Usually the darker and more hardcore kind. Gabber, Acid, EBM, Hard Trance, Rave, Industrial... Speedcore.

The LGBTQIA+ community needs all the support they can get right now, so they shall receive it!
credits

Tracklisting:

Hardcore & Techno against Misogyny & Queerphobia
by Diverse Artists

1. Fight for your Right - La Revolución del S*xo 02:43
2. FeminGabberist - Not Necessary 02:57
3. Trans Hardcore Project - Trans Acid (New Derivate) 03:36
4. DJ Gender - Acidcore Pleasure Release (Special Edit) 04:47
5. Ace of Hardcore - Space S*x (Revisit) 05:28
6. DJ Gender - Androgyny (3rd Phase) 02:55
7. Trans Hardcore Project - As*xual Bis*xual C-s*xual 03:08
8. FeminGabberist - You Wish You Had A C!it (Extra Extended Version) 05:22
9. Ace of Hardcore - (F**k) the (P*rn) Industry (Extended Instrumental) 10:37

Omnicore Records 82
Doomcore Records 236
Slowcore Records 70

https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/hardcore-techno-against-misogyny-queerphobia

Before the Street Trash Alliance: A few rare German Early Hardcore releases

Mono Tone was not the first German "Hardcore only" label, but maybe one could say it was the first really big one. Besides the Planet Core crew, of course, and at that point they were into a mixed bag of genres.

The Mono Tone releases were featured on Thunderdome and everywhere else. But, alas, the label went away as quickly as it came. You can read (part of) the story about it elsewhere 
The Mono Tone roster partly re-grouped on the new Shock Wave label by The Speed Freak.
Shockwave gave rise to other labels like Anodyne or Speedcore Records, which became part of the Street Trash Alliance... the rest is Hardcore History.

But the entirety of this thing is not what we want to talk about. Rather, we want to look at the time *before* all that happened. There were some kicking Hardcore releases on German labels before that, too. Often on labels that usually were more into hard trance or intelligent ("armchair") Techno. And often by the same artists that later went to Mono Tone and the Street Trash family of labels.

BC Kid - Wild And Wonderful E.P. (Generator Records 9120-12)

BC Kid later became one of the main artists on Shock Wave, of course.
An early release with early hardcore, and, man, these hoovers are brutal. When you hear them loud & live it is like your skull gets melted from your head.
The BPM might not be as high as later brutal recordings, but in my opinion, this is harder than most "Speedcore" stuff.
Best track is Wild & Wonderful (eponymous!), with cool Akira samples, and some happy hardcore stabs that do not feel misplaced.
Followed by "go boom!"

Various - Destroy Deutschland ! (Force Inc. Music Works - 034)

Ooooh baby. Has there ever been anything better?
Techno label Force Inc had the guts to drop some political Hardcore.
The EP is split, not only in 2 sides, but there are also two styles.
Side A is early breakcore by Alec Empire (very rough!), and the b side is hardcore & gabber.
Mike Ink's "Lovely Ugly Brutal World" is probably known from Thunderdome.
The other tracks are more like acidic hardcore.

Shadowrun - SNES-E.P. Vol.1 (Force Inc. Music Works - 052)

Early collab by the Hardcore gamers Speedfreak & BC Kid.
All track names are references to some of the best Super Nintendo games (except for b1 maybe).
Style is already similar to the releases they later did on shock wave or mokum etc.
the winner track for me is "base you", with that very cool super parodius melody right in the middle of it.

Biochip C. - C8 E.P. ( Force Inc. Music Works - 045)

Very interesting early release by Martin Damm!
Because it already has the recipe for the later Speed Freak / Shock Wave stuff.
Including some very corny and fun samples.
But it's also still in a row with his earlier acid / hardcore releases.

Necromancer - Spacecakes EP (Generator Records 9116-12)

And here is a super early solo release by an aka of BC Kid / Psyche Out, too.
Quite similar to his later "Street Trash" releases, but also... close to rave / breakbeat, even trance, of that era (1993).
Not as extreme yet. But quite fun none the less!

The Rageful Eighth Hardcore Techno Overdogs Anthem

We got some great news to announce!

A new production by Godfather Death, who, so far, was more known for his remix work here and there, and I think he did a mix set too... somewhere.
And now they come slamming through the door with the new The Hardcore Overdogs anthem! The Eighth, actually.
The Rageful Eighth.
Because, you know, this one is... tough as ßell. really.

But check for yourself. Without further ado, here is the new anthem!

Oh, and the styles? Doomcore, Oldschool, Dark Ambient, Gabber, Speedcore.

Tracklisting + Info:

Godfather Death - The Rageful Eighth (The Hardcore Techno Overdogs Anthem)

1. The Rageful Eighth (Bunny Version) 02:23
2. Drum Test (Model Eight) 08:11
3. Hamburg Hardcore Anthem (Godfather Death Remix) 03:49
4. The Rageful Eighth (Quiet Choir) 02:34
5. The Rageful Eighth (Doomcore Mix) 03:11
6. One More Choir 00:53
7. The Rageful 8th (Extended edit part 1) 05:58
8. The Rageful 8th (Extended edit part 2) 07:40

Doomcore Records 238
Omnicore Records 83
Slowcore Records 71

https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-rageful-eighth-the-hardcore-techno-overdogs-anthem

The blue sun of Afghanistan and how to shoot a "techno-hardcore music video" (or any other genre) on a zero budget

An excerpt from Low Entropy's Producer Diary: How to shoot a "techno-hardcore music video" (or any other genre) on a zero budget

When you are an artist, and do music, and been around for a while, and you (or others) think the music is, cool, then, it might be cool to have a music video for one or two of the tracks, too. Not (just) for promotion, but because it's fun, can be creative and... yeah, it can be an extension of the music. because the mood or atmosphere of the video can align with that of the track. or, if you are really bold, you could even create a video that somehow "explains" what we hear in the track.

the problem is that artists are always low on money, especially little underground rats like ourselves. that do not live in the spotlight of glamour and the... big bucks!

but let me tell you that there is a way out. let's roll right back for this one.

Part 1.

Note: No AI has been used when writing this text

let's start at zero (budget). since the history of music videos, since the early beginnings in the 1960s and 1970s, broadly speaking, there have been 3 main categories of music videos:

a) videos that "just" show the band performing the song, nowadays these videos are usually shot in big stadiums, but in the early years, the "music video" often really just was the band playing in a studio room. early videos by Queen or other rock bands were like that.

b) narrative videos that tell a story. have a plot, something that happens from the beginning of the video right to the end. these became much more expensive and complicated over time. stations like MTV loved them, and a lot of them have become cult classics.

c) "weird", montage, fx, "art house", strange videos. oh, baby, now we are talking! this is the really really good stuff. it can be everything and nothing. they follow no story, neither are they a performance video. it could just be flashing images, or weird claymotion, or any of what i mentioned above (like art house stuff...).
they were often very close to surreal or dadaist art... but, oh wonder, despite of this, some of the most famous music videos fall right into this category!
for example, "sledge hammer" by peter gabriel.

Part 2

so, let's get back to our "budget" problem. if you have zero bucks, which option of these three... looks most appetizing? what is the easy choice?
the multi million dollar narrative movie type of music video...?

no no! it's the surrealist montage, of course.

and if you look back at the roots, the 70s and 80s, even back then, low budget artists did this type of music videos. especially in new wave, or industrial, or goth...

you don't need to buy an expensive camera, you don't need to hire a crew of 100 actors, make up artists, practical effect designers... you don't need to fly to Jordan, nor do you need to have 2 dozen unclothed models pedaling on a sports track, nor do you need to ride on a dolphin while playing your electronic guitar.
(in case you don't get it: the last three were references to three of the most famous music videos. by sisters of mercy, queen, and guns n roses, respectively).

the video could be created out of video footage, it could be created out of electronic fx, it could be created out of... anything and everything.

but how do you do it *right*?
so that people don't laugh at you, wave their sticks at you, and tell you your precious video is nothing but an art waste!

that's a very good question, and i will give you one answer out of many: it still has to have a good idea. you have to come up with an idea that feels good and, at best, is grande and cool and everything.

Part 3

so, i will give an example of one of my own "music videos" that did not cost me a thing.
"Tierra del Fuego". it's a track of mine, in the style of techno-hardcore, 160 bpm.
it's inspired by old videos of the 90s, that had no narrative too. maybe one could term them "rave montage" videos.
inspiration includes video like Drax - Amphetam1ne, Quench - Dreams, Biosphere - The Shield, Aphex Twin - Westworld

so, here are some ideas for it, that i have used in the video.
the idea for the entire video actually came to me when i was looking at the TV program schedule. there was a movie or documentary, i think it was called "under the blue sun of afghanistan".
i went like "what the heck?". since when did afghanistan have a blue sun? is the sun different there, then in the rest of the world or what?
is there something in the air that creates the impression of the blue sun? or some weird reflections off the mountains?


no, the answer was more simple. it was about the shooting of the 3rd rambo movie, which took place in afghanistan. and the effect the hollywood production had on the people.
now what about the blue sun? the movie was not shot in afghanistan... and the production team did not like the gleaming, burning, orange-red sun of the place they were at. so they decided to put a blue filter on it. they explained that it created the effect that the entire movie takes place on a different planet. with that weird blue light in the sky.

i thought "this is very interesting". it is a simple, but very powerful effect. that changed the entire movie. by just using a filter!
everyone could do that. and, i could do that, too, of course.

so, i searched for free, public, domain footage, of suns and landscapes on the internet. i downloaded something, added a blue filter, boom, off we fly to another planet!

(btw if you "copy" my ideas, place make sure that everything is public domain etc)

a rave montage video should also have a recurrent element in it (in my opinion), and that's this weird, glowing, round, flickering ... "thing". looks a bit like a spring on a mental trip (in my opinion). it's orange-red, so this is a bit like a counterpoint to the blue sunlight.

now that i had these 2 elements, i kept adding more and more, dancers, road trips, computer fx, ravers, cyberspace... you got it!
and kept cutting back and forth, which created quite the flickering and crash of colors (intentionally).

so, voila, the video was finished. just took 3 days, 0 bucks, you might not like these ideas (but i do), it might not win a price in cannes or in hollywood, it might not be the best thing ever, but it's a video, and it does the trick.

and, if interested, i am sure you could do something similar, too.

ain't that a cool end to our story?

here's the video:

you can also watch it on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkzC4_PSh6c

or check the track itself: https://lowentropy.bandcamp.com/album/tierra-del-fuego-the-nucleus-project-august

or read this text again, on my blog (soon!) https://lowentropyproducer.blogspot.com/

GabberGirl interviews The Tyrant about Skumkore Muzik

We are proud to present a new feature by GabberGirl for The Hardcore Overdogs.
This time, she interviews The Tyrant about Skumkore Muzik and other topics related to his music.

GG: When did Skumkore Muzik begin, and what was the concept for it?

Skumkore was supposed to be initially a publishing company but sort of forgotten about. When Bobby Tense, Axys-Deza & I first started FUHD I had gone to an audio engineering school in NYC and had a music business class but when we signed a master purchase agreement deal with Industrial Strength it was sorta unnecessary. Once we signed with Crapshoot Hardcore I brought it back. That contract was just a license agreement for the 1st maybe 3 or 5 years. I can't recall exactly. I feel like I'm on trial.

GG: It is hard to find info on Skumkore’s history, as a truly underground label this makes sense to me. I can see a vinyl release by Hellz Army on Discogs listed under Skumkore and is so rare that it costs collectors between $150 and $200 for a used copy. But it also seems this same album is being offered on Apocalypse Records. What other releases was Skumkore known for? Is Skumkore related to Apocalypse Records? Did Skumkore release the Team Bring It CD compilation from 2005?

Thank you for the question. (Have you noticed all politicians say that now? ) Hellz Army is of course related to Skumkore, we're all skum. In a good way though. Hellz Army is The Tyrant, Nevermind & Tense. I can't believe people are asking for a crazy price. I may be posting for sale vinyl mint condition not opened for sale at the skumkore bandcamp site. ( http://skumkore.bandcamp.com ) Not sure how many left but it'll be cheaper than $200. Nevermind has the digital files on the apocalypse site so that's pretty cool. I'm glad he's still keeping the label alive. I appreciate him very much. The Team Bring It Comp was just a collaboration while I was living on the west coast. It's a collaboration from East to West artists from the US. People can pick up the compilation at https://tbi25.bandcamp.com/

GG: Has this always been your label or have you had partners in the past?

Skumkore was sorta my idea. Of course you can't do it on your own but the support and artist contribution from Nevermind and Tense was the beginning. Any artist I have worked with is always a contributor you can really include Madame Chao, Fiend, Deadnoise.



GG: What is your connection to Madame Chao and can you give any background on the newest Skumkore release?

My connection with Chao started in around 2000. We met at a basement spot we all used to hang out at. He was playing some of his VHS tapes of his visual art. I was blown away. We always crossed paths between the west and east coast. When I moved back from the west we formed a real good friendship. Even did a small tour in canada with duran duran duran. you can listen to my set here https://teambringit.bandcamp.com/album/the-tyrant .... The 1st release was actually inspired by my wife. She asked me if there's one thing I can do that made me a little bit more happy and the 1st thing I thought was to start a new label of my own. Apocalypse started with Tyrant and Tense. But like Larry Nevermind said in his interview with DJ Asylum, managerial positions have changed and I couldn't be more happy then to have Larry still doing it. Skumkore is meant to be sort of free for all Music genres. Apocalypse has that signature speedkore. I just want to give a different avenue to expose more.

GG: The artwork on the vinyl release is fabulous and memorable. Who designed the album art?

The artwork was all Madame Chao. Let's not forget though Jared Knight gave the concept of course Adam knows his visual art but Knight was the inspiration and especially on the Side A track "Compulsion of the device". I met Knight through Chao. He used to go by the name the headless rapist. It's unfortunate he passed away, but Chao always gives props when props are due. You can even see it on his website of whatever he samples. madamechao.com



GG: Is the Madame Chao digital and vinyl release a reboot for Skumkore Muzik, or a one-off reminder of Skumkore’s existence?

Well it's not really a reminder. It just came up with an idea of how to start something new not really associated with anything from the past. It was sitting there for years for me to rediscover. Skumkore 25-2 Is coming with most likely a 7" with Duran Duran Duran and Fury 8. Steve Fiend mastered the 1st 7" and the 2nd one once it's ready to go. Also in the works is a digital online world peace compilation my wife is working on. artists to include Madame Chao, Nevermind, Midnight Sonny, Fiend, myself (the tyrant), Fury 8. A 2 part digi release to focus on how the conflicts of political powers that don't really reflect the will of the people. Especially in Gaza and Israel. Not everyone agrees with their government of law.

Thank You for all your questions and movement for the scene.

The Hardcore Overdogs... the next generation?

Look at this, isn't it great? (Zoom in to see it better)

One of our readers and fans used our magazine to gather knowledge for a school project and presentation in their German language class!
Awesome.
Please go on like this!

Review: Various Artists - Astral Wave Vol 2 (Braintrance)

Braintrance is my favorite (and only?) label for new Ravecore and Hardtrance productions, and I think I said that 10 times already.
But it's true, I know no other label that does the old sound, and does not mix it with more boring "new" styles like mainstream hardstyle or hardstyle or whatever.
It's just pure, card-carrying, trance / rave hardcore.

This little release is a bit harder (and faster) than the usual output on the label. And that's the way (uh-huh, uh-huh), I like it!

Various Artists - Astral Wave Vol 2

1. Wasi Distorsion - Super Saw 05:32
2. Astral Wave - Symphony Of The Crown 05:16
3. Dj El Gris - High Spirits In The Shadows 04:51
4. Ninu Brt - Bright 05:51
5. Mr. Ace - Panic Transmission 07:01

https://braintrance.bandcamp.com/album/astral-wave-vol-2

Bandcamp Friday coverage - August 2026

Here at the Overdogs, we often do a kind of "live coverage" on Bandcamp Fridays.
Trying to find+review the goods.

This is not just about Hardcore and Techno, but all kinds of styles... so watch out!

Note: No AI was used when writing these texts / reviews.

(Edit 2: One more update)

P.S.W. 2022 - Brutalism (Order Doesn't Matter) (Bunker Records)

Is this the summer of brutalism, or what? Kim Petras just had a single out called "Brutalist" (very good, btw!), the Hypertechno band "Brutalism 2000" was just featured on European TV channel "Arte", and now, our dirty electro rockers from The Hague come out with this.

This pesky little style of cold war architecture is high in demand, right now, isn't?

But let's get down to business, or rather, music.

Dutch label Bunker is legendary for its minimal / early Techno (Unit Moebius, Rude 66, I-F). Then they did a U-turn at the turn of the Millennium and did all those retro 80s electro-funk releases (Legowelt, Rude 66 and I-F again). Which even put them on heavy rotation with the MTV (I kid you not!).

And this new EP is something I was hoping for, but I did not expect it. It seems like an unlikely, "schizophrenic" fusion of 80s electronic b-boy funk, and early 90s minimal / harsh acid.

Bon Appetit!

https://bunker-panzerkreuz.bandcamp.com/album/brutalism-order-doesnt-matter-panzerkreuz-space-war-2022

(Edit: Three More Reviews)

John Carpenter - Cathedral (Self-Released)

Yes, *the* John Carpenter. Director of Halloween, Big Trouble in Little China, The Thing, In The Mouth of Madness...
Is he some eccentric rich guy that now wants to do music, too?
Very far from it! Carpenter has always been a musician; more specifically, he did the score and soundtracks for a lot of his own movies. He is one of the true electronic music pioneers, in a group with people like Giorgio Moroder, Vangelis, Kraftwerk, Jean Michel Jarre...
One of his compositions even was adopted by Bomb The Bass (a UK techno group), and became an early rave hit in the 90s.

This album seems heavily synth-wave inspired. But, well, it's actually the other way round. Synthwave is a genre that was co-created by our director here. Not intentionally, but synth-wave as a genre is to a very large part inspired by Carpenter's early movie soundtracks (well, and also the aesthetics of the movies itself... like "Escape from New York").

So it must feel a bit like a god coming home to his own creation... right?
But, yeah, this album is grand! Or, as the info text reads:

"An abandoned cathedral. A gruesome murder. A powerful supernatural entity living in the catacombs. It all comes to a head in downtown Los Angeles."

https://johncarpentermusic.bandcamp.com/album/cathedral



Wavelan Vs. Disintegrator - B2B / Your Power (Industrial Strength Records)

A release by Oliver Chesler, who is a legend in Techno / Hardcore music (author of tracks like "Flesh is the Fever" or "One night in NYC", also John Selway, another Techno Legend, and Carl Carinci, a Gabber legend (author of tracks like "Brookly Mob" or "NYC Speedcore").

With this line up, you might expect something super hardcore, but it's more like acid techno. With a touch of early Goa. Or rather, that typical "american" psytrance / goa vibe, that often is in their 90s techno production, for some reason.
it's still quite hardcore, and mental.
spiffy + cool!

https://industrialstrengthrecords.bandcamp.com/album/wavelan-vs-disintegrator

Cave Castle - Ancient Ones (Clan Destine Records)

I know Clan Destine Records from Glasgow (great pun in their name, btw!) as a label for the toughest of the tough. Speedcore, Noize, Industrial, EBM... Breakcore.
So I was a bit astonished to hear this release. Definitely won't give you nosebleed while listening, this time!
It's more like gloomy, chilling breaks, electro stuff.... also in the vein of lo-fi hiphop... but more "fierce", if you catch my drift. Good beats to relax / study, too!

The label itself de-classifies it as "New album ov Dungeon Rap". Which is a good term, too!

https://clandestinerecords.bandcamp.com/album/anicent-ones

Alien Skin - Black Flowers Remember (self-released)

Alien Skin was a surprising discovery for me this year. The "band" / project quickly turned into one of my favorite things. TBH, I first feared it was AI or an otherwise "artificial" project. It all seemed too perfect!
But no, it's a project by George Pappas, who played in the band Real Life (the band that wrote "Send me an angel" in the 80s).
It's not about angels, it's about aliens. And if you know Real Life... you might expect what kind of sound to hear here. 80s Synth Pop, Wave, New Romantics... all over again.
In my opinion, it shows that a veteran is at work here because... it doesn't feel too overloaded, or changed. Does not really mix Synth Pop with "newer" styles.
What it does though, is to add a layer of emotion, longing...

I mean, yeah, Synth Pop always had this dark romantic thing, and I think Alien Skin extended it even a few notches farther.

https://alienskin.bandcamp.com/album/black-flowers-remember

Various Artists - Overlook. Music inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (Unexplained Sounds Group)

Is there anything more awesome than the Unexplained Sounds Group on Bandcamp?
They do these great anthology releases, for example about Dark Ambient artists out of Iran (!) or Experimental Electronic music out of China (!)...

According to the info text, this one here, "Overlook is a music compilation inspired by The Shining, the 1980 film directed by Stanley Kubrick".

I also want to share the "genre" description from the info text:
"The artists involved explore a wide spectrum that spans ambient music, experimental electronic composition, Berlin school, hauntology and works situated between drone music and contemporary classical practices,"

Everything clear?

It says it is inspired, but I think it could also work as a kind of "second OST" to some of the scenes in the movie.
This is very experimental stuff, at a high level, *but*, and that's the big plus for me, it also has a really powerful mood and atmosphere in the tracks.

https://unexplainedsoundsgroup.bandcamp.com/album/overlook-music-inspired-by-stanley-kubrick-s-the-shining

Prince Istari - Escape From The Tomb Of The Synth Lich

I wanted to skip this one, but then I noticed it is called a "Dungeon Dub" release, and I got curious.
I guess the idea is to combine "Dungeon Synth" with Dubstep / Dub-breaks...
According to the blurb, it is the soundtrack to a table top / dungeon crawl, that can be ordered along-side the record.
Not sure which part of the project is real, fake, or a parody...
The tracks themselves sound like a re-run of Stranger Things (the intro!) and electronic dub reggae beats layered on top... also sound quite whimsical.
But yeah. It's good stuff!

https://spb-hamburg.bandcamp.com/album/escape-from-the-tomb-of-the-synth-lich

Overdog of the past: Lunatic Asylum - Cabal (Energy Flow) (Polydor / Zeitgeist)

A post-PCP release, a few years after his tenure at Planet Core Productions.

This is no mental psycho gabba underground, like we were used to hear by Guillaume.

This was at a time when the hardtrance wave was at the height of its turn towards mellow (paradox) but was also still quite cosmic.

This shows he was readily able to make tunes with chart appeal sounds, that were still cool and fresh and sincere (in my opinion).

The melody reminds me a bit of his earlier, biggest hit "the meltdown". I must say it also reminds me of Fear Factory's Resurrection! ( hehe )

The "remixes" are actually quite similar and, as far as I can "hear", mainly vary in length.

There is even a tiesto remix on it!

Why did this tune never become a charting big big trance hit? 

I don't know! It would have deserved it.

https://www.discogs.com/master/128092-DJ-Hitch-Hiker-Pres-Lunatic-Asylum-Cabal-Energy-Flow

Overdog of the past: Ilsa Gold - XXX 4 Gasometertrax

Can a release by Ilsa Gold by an Under/Overdog? Yes, because of the following reason:

Many years ago, a friend told me a real bombshell of a story:
he showed me some document (forgot what it was) which indicated that Planet Core Productions, when they were still around, had plans to release an EP by Ilsa Gold.
I mean, how awesome would have been? Two of the most iconic hardcore / rave icons of the 90s... joined in a project!
But, as we know, it never happened.
What did become of the release?
So my friend has this theory. The tracks on this EP called Gasometertrax actually grew out of the aborted pcp project!
Could be a completely wild claim, or maybe there is some truth on it.

The tracks sound indeed very different to almost everything else by the ilsas.
Very monotonic, "rave arena" sounds... slower. And no cheesy and corny samples like in other ilsa gold tracks.
Or maybe these were just "inspired" by pcp.
Either way, a unique and outstanding release!

https://www.discogs.com/artist/13350-Ilsa-Gold

New Release: Acid Special #3 - Area 303 (Mokum 346)

Mokum has that thing where they do compilations, with new tracks by (new) artists plus tracks from their older releases.
This is quite the style-clash sometimes, when millenium or contemporary "mainstream" hardcore gets hit by the much rougher gabber & terror sound from the 90s.
This release follows the same concept, but, oh wonder, here everything blends together in a much nicer way.
I guess the acidcore of the past and the acidcore of today is not that far from each other!
And yeah, that's what it's all about. Acidcore, Hard, Acid-Gabber, Hardcore with acid sounds... dive in, but don't burn yourself.

Rating: 303 stars out of 5

https://mokumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mok346-acid-special-3-area-303

Overdog of the past: Review of Hypnotizer - Into Nowhere (Things To Come Records)

If there ever was a release worthy of the "overdog" tag, it's this one. With "overdog" I don't just mean underdog releases, but releases that should have become big, would have become big, needed to become big, and there is really no reason why... it didn't happen.

So this one happened right when the big, big hardcore mania of the 90s had faded away. Despite the release date, it was actually produced a few years earlier.

The crazy gabber sound had splintered into many sub-genres... one of them was doomcore and "phuture rave" and Miro (also known as the Hypnotizer) was the big star there...
Yet this release is even further down the road. It's hardcore, tech, doom, everything, yes yes... but it is also future pop, ebm, goth, synth pop... or at least very very close! I could rather see goths and wavers dance to this than gabbers... (and ravers).

So, I guess, with this dark pop appeal, it should have drawn in large crowds!

But there is more. I think it is the zenith of technical quality, on this release.
The tracks are super loaded, complex...
For example: "The light is leaving" has a minute long futuristic "audio play" as the intro alone...
And when we listen closely, it almost feels like all "voice actors" are actually miro with a split personality.

So yeah. Great production, underground stuff, with mass appeal attached to it.
Why did it not rock the charts? Not sure... we might never know!

Information:

Hypnotizer - Into Nowhere
Label: Things To Come Records - TTC-006
Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US

A1 - The Light Is Leaving 5:22
A2 - Alone 2:29
A3 - Hypnotizing You 4:02
B1 - Within The Fog 2:19
B2 - Into Nowhere 3:42
B3 - My Shadow 4:41

https://www.discogs.com/release/50979-Hypnotizer-Into-Nowhere

Witchcraft Techno Circle releases Hardcore and Techno EP bundled with liminal spellbook!

The "Witchcraft Techno Circle" just has a new album out, and it comes with a kind of ebook.
But let's hear it in the words by the Circle themselves:

"A while ago, or maybe aeons ego, we received and perceived the call of Hecate. We are too humble as servants to our Goddess of the Crossroads to claim that we can validate and specify what her exact messages and wishes are.

But our magical intuition made us feel and whisper the following:

As we are musicians and songwrights, Our Deity of the Liminal suggests us to enchant our art and music with magic of the benevolent kind.

In order to help, heal and benefit troubled, lost, and hurting souls.
And this help might indeed involve a release and freeing of painful, infernal energies, or a short visit to darkened realms.

And this is mirrored in our compositions, which, too, involved light, darkness, pain, pleasure.

Unlike other spiritual music, that only involves light and kind emotions.

We hope that listening, dancing, and meditating to this music has a helping and healing effect.

Yet we want to add more chapters to our spiritual efforts, that go beyond music.
Thus, included with this release are 14 short texts. These texts deal with magic and spiritual topics.

Maybe most importantly, there are texts that explain how to create magical art and magic music oneself.
There are also texts about spells, about personal experiences. And about Hecate of course.

We hope that all of this may be useful, and helpful!"

https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/flames-of-hecate

History of Hardcore Techno: Looking at Agent Orange Records (The son of Napalm).

Martin Damm aka The Speed Freak is probably the only producer in the world who made tons of 250+ bpm nasty speedcore-gabba tracks in the underground scenes. And still owns a few music industry certified "golden record" awards. For his enormous amounts of sales for the dance productions he did "on the side".

By the mid 90s, his own label was called Shockwave Records. Which, again, sold pretty good, as a lot of that stuff ended up on compilation CDs that were sold... everywhere!
This was already nasty hardcore techno, but a bit more accessible... and for the even more extreme stuff, that sometimes went above 280 bpm, and surely was devoid of melodies or singing, there was the sublabel, Napalm Records.
"Strictly Limited to 500 copies", according to the vinyl print.

The only "problem" was that both labels had mostly productions by Martin Damm and his crew themselves. They were prolific producers!

And for this reason, another sublabel was forged - "the son of napalm", also called Agent Orange.
Word was that only producers-who-were-not-them were allowed to release on here, but that rule was not always strictly enforced.

And now... let's look at 6 releases in this very piece of Hardcore history.

Somatic Responses - Agent Orange 2

The Somatic Responses were one of the most unique acts in the 90s world of electronica, and, even for them, this is a very distinct release.
As you know, Somatix started with a more "straight" Hardcore / Techno sound, and then turned into that weird ambient / idm thing with "disjunct" beats, as they like to say.
And this 2-tracker sits right square there. It aint broken idm yet, but it is not quite "hardcore tech" anymore. It has the best of both worlds, so to say.

B2 on here is actually one of my all time favorite tracks ever. The bassy sawtooth-lead-synth really brings it home for me. The "melody" reminds me of video game music, jean michel jarre, german 50s radio "tonstudios"... all rolled into one!

Doc Gringo - Agent Orange 3

Gringo aka Roger Cobernuss is a bit like the secret weapon or hidden dog of shockwave (and mono tone earlier on).
There's the "gringo theme" on here, and this track blows all the gabber competition of its time out of the water. It just slams with its kicks and noise!
but behold... the b-side is an early speedcore track, and this is, once again, harder than the rest!

Biochip C. - Agent Orange 5

The track to go on here is "black sunday". It transitions from one genre to another. I think speed freak / biochip c is one of the only producers who can pull off such a trick.
There's industrial / techno, then it breaks down into noise, there is a breakbeat part... and it erupts into some type of low frequency gabba rhythm.
oh and the trade mark martin damm fm synthesis sounds ring on.

Seveso - Agent Orange 1

The very first Agent Orange.
ABC-Alarm is a German term for an "air raid" type of large scale civil defense warning siren about nuclear (atomic), biological, and chemical attacks or catastrophes.
And the eponymous track is one of the hardest and most abrasive speedcore tracks of the entire 90s decade. I think this is done by abusing a lot of analog gear, and then cranking the levers up to 13 while jamming on the setup.
And the b-side is a sweetheart as well.

Listening Suggestion:

Lasse Steen - Agent Orange 7

Just like Somatic Responses had one of their best eps on this label, so did lasse steen.
And I am talking about the track "Phreak Show" which breaks down into a kind of descending synth line melodie which is... well it sounds as if the score to frankenstein - the movie was conducted by mc escher. if you catch my drift.

Storytime: I played my first gig at the Techno Viking Parade (over 25 years ago)

Hey Hey,
You Dogs!
Here is a piece by one of our authors, Low Entropy.
About a gig and event that happened in their music past.

Recently I saw an image that was a throwback to one of the most popular memes ever: the very famous "Techno Viking" video. I hadn't thought about that for a long time, but it made me instantly nostalgic.
Because the same party that the Techno Viking video was shot at, was also the place where I performed my first electronic live performance ever.

But let's roll right back first. Of course this party was not really called "the Techno Viking Parade". It was called the ****parade (the first word is a profanity). This party existed because... well do you remember the Loveparade in Berlin? Biggest Techno party ever. 2-3 million ravers each year. Endless partying.
The loveparades began in the early 90s, but as the years went on, "commercialization" set in or, like people would say today, "ensh*ttification". It was no longer a parade that was set up by the freaks and ravers themselves, where everyone was welcome. "Pay to play" became an issue. Business interests, and even political parties tried to grab a share of the cake.

A lot of the OG Techno and Rave guys were no longer "welcome" at the Loveparade. So, they set up their own parade, that happened at the same time as the Loveparade. First called the Hateparade, then it was called the ****parade (because the slogan was "**** the loveparade!".

Everyone who was not "mainstream techno" was welcome there, so gabbers, punks, skinheads, freaks, squatters, goth, old hippies... well, everyone! started to flock there. Literally from all over the world. I met people from Japan there, Peru, Canada... you got it.

I of course needed to be there too and I knew I needed to play my music there! When I was 15 year old, I had begun producing weird experimental noise music... gabba, and harder techno stuff. On strange MS-DOS based "tracker" programs (before I switched to windows 98).

Now I was 19, I just had my first record out (500 copies on 12" vinyl... quite meagre, eh? but you gotta take what you can take) and heading to berlin.

my first gig was actually supposed to happen 2 nights before, during the extended "****parade" weekend. I guess it involved 12-13 separate parties... at least!

but the promoter overbooked the venue! so my gig fell flat.
my gig at the ****parade nearly fell flat, too. Our float was boxed in by two other floats, and I had technical problems setting up my equipment, which involved me playing my tracks from CD-R and shouting into a mic (quite meagre, eh? but you gotta do what you can do).

Thankfully, a few DJs from the Spiral Tribe helped out and played their vinyl sets first, so I had my gig re-scheduled to a later hour, which also meant more people had arrived at our parade, which started to get super crowded.

Now let's get back to Techno Viking. To be honest, I never assumed the video would blow up that much!

The whole meme / viral video thing was still in its infancy, so how could I have known. The "all your base are belong to us" craze already felt surprising in those years.
Plus, Techno Viking was far from the only "surreal" and strange occurrence at these parades.
I remember when I went to the first parade, in 1997, the first sight I saw was a nude woman, completely covered in golden bodypaint, dancing on a float to dub/techno/reggae. And there was some "against commercial love" related sign fixed to the float.
Or nerds from tokyo, dressed in full "candy goth raver" style. They filmed everything and everyone, I wonder what happened to that video.
I also have vague memories of some old, ragged man, standing in the middle of the parade, long beard, and slowly waving a huge wooden staff around. Street magician, i suppose.

So yeah, the parades were a festival of freaks, freaks like me and you and everyone who liked weird stuff.

Which might explain why the "techno viking" incident happened in the first place.
I actually - scrutinizingly - watched the techno viking vid over and over again, to check if my own music / performance is audible in the video (blame my ego). But no, i cant hear anything of it.

There is also a short vid that is running for just a few seconds, which shows me playing at the parade. But in that video, Techno Viking is not visible. Ah well.

My own gig was a lot of fun, though.
And it's nice to think back to that party now and then, or these days in berlin. and to the techno viking meme, of course.

And all this happened, on almost exactly the same date, as i am writing this text.

Note: No AI was used when writing this text.

News Flash: The return of the Shock Wave

Shock Wave Recordings was one of the biggest Hardcore Techno labels of the 90s in Germany, and one of the biggest in general. One of the few labels that managed to break through the dominance of the "bouncy hardcore" sound that was coming out of labels like ID&T at that time.

The label had its own sound more or less. Other Gabber labels at that date were quite close to Dance music, Happy Hardcore, and all Jazz.
Shockwave was into horror / trash movie samples, lots of hip hop and rapping vocals, acid, noize, death metal guitars, and really, really fast BPMs.

But always served with the tongue in cheek.
So if you happened to be into Morbid Angel and Sepultura, the Evil Dead and Re-Animator movies, or were into Manga, Akira, Ghost in the shell *and* happened to be into Techno at the same time - this was the perfect label.

So it's quite nice to see a return of the legends.
The first release is already out (see tracklist below).
More info, and more releases to come!



Various Artists - The Saga Continues (SH-3434)

1. The Speed Freak - Hit You Like A Shockwave 03:58
2. Chryzis - One Step Further 05:00
3. Stormtrooper - Psycho-Pets 05:08

https://refusion.bandcamp.com/album/the-saga-continues-sh-3434

https://www.discogs.com/label/1383-Shockwave-Recordings

The Gabber Elders Obscure Summer Mixmarathon - Time and Date

We announced the Gabber Elders Obscure Summer Mixmarathon a while ago - now can give you time & date, too!

Read our earlier announcement here

And here are the goods:

Tune in at HCBX

11.7.2026
5:00 PM CET - 9:30 BST (London Time)
18:00 - 22:30 CEST (German Time)
12:00 PM - 4:30 EDT (New York Time
3:00 - 7:30 JST (Tokyo Time) (on 12.7.2026)

Order of time:

Low Entropy 5:00 - 6:20 PM CET
Techno 2 Extreme Hardcore

1. Kuadra - La Onda
2. Roughage - Internecine Noiz (Lenny Dee Remix)
3. No Mans Land - Termination ZX
4. Trashman - Cosmotrash (remix)
5. The Undertaker - Flatliner (Graveyard Shift)
6. Source Code - I'm Not A Number (Human Resource Remix)
7. The Speed Freak - We Shoot To Kill
8. Dr. Mueller - Nipples and Bass
9. Pascal - the future is ours
10. Gangsta Trax - Goodfellas
11. Phrenetic System - Fantasy
12. Wavelan - Over Phase
13. B.C. KID - Wild And Wonderful
14. Titanium Steel Screws - Dance The Night Away
15. Terror Arnold - Gabba Mission
16. Wasteland - First Time On This Planet
17. DJ Repete - Softy's Suck My
18. pHönk! - Angry
19. Temper Tantrum - Africa 4010
20. Lenny Dee - Hammer Head
21. Titanium Steel - Next
22. Source Code - I'm Not A Number (Ace The Space Remix)
23. Temper Tantrum - Industrial Strength
24. Delta 9 - Phreaked
25. Temper Tantrum - The Underground
26. Delta 9 - The Hate Tank (Buck Wild Remix)

Nikaj 6:20 PM - 7:25 CET
Oldschool and Gabber

27. Dj Rob-Caveman-Rave34.
28. *Technohead-Accelerator#4-Mok028.
29. *Scarface-Shock Intro-BR370.
30. *Evil Maniax-The Creators Of Hardcore(Rotterdam Mix)-Rot034.
31. *X Crash-Go Brooklyn-DDR008.
32. *Satanic Madness-Reality-JD1002.
33. *MPo-Untitled-SR001.
34. *Sauerkraut-They are back,Let me hear it again.
35. EAR2000653.
36. *Noisee Boys-Kokaine-HSR003.
37. *Nuts-Freedom-5th Gear3928-2
38. *Buzz Fuzz-Freedom.DTP.
39. *The Carpenter-Zaguhh
40. -Hardstuff0009.
41. *Krimson-Praise Jesus 2000651.
42. *The Jokers-Mietje-JD001.
43. *D.A.C-House Of Hell(Nightmare mix)-ENP002.
44. *Cycloton-Liquid Bass-RB1214.
45. *The Houseviking-Power Resistance(remix)015
46. *Demolition Team-Bust Da Bee-DSR7 101.
47. *Cellblock X-House Of Spoo-Lab028.
48. *Dj Houseviking-Power Resistance-HSR-002.
49. *R.Wagner-Beyond The Ultimate-Dom Rec 001.
50. *Johnny Violent-Happy Birthday-Mosh153.
51. *Hooihouse-Poen Aan De Eure-Mok2.

DJ Asylum 7:25 PM - 8:28 CET
Hardcore and Terror

52. Traffik - Bit Stream (190)
53. DJ Producer - Signal Confirmed (195)
54. Total Output - I'm Going To Eat My 303 (200)
55. David Lagon - Ho My Bitch (200)
56. Sarin Assault vs Al Core - Tralcore (200)
57. Somatic Responses - Old Evil (Part 1) (200)
58. LSA - Meltdown (200)
59. Ingler - Kohl (201)
60. Diplomat & Trouble - Praise The Acid (201)
61. Habitual Offenders - Cabbage (204)
62. Effecthunter - Freedom (205)
63. DJ Freak vs The Porridge Gun - Natural Born Killa (218)
64. Pressurehead - London (220)
65. Shrui-khan - Borderline (220)
66. Disciples Of Belial - Holosphere (222)
67. Hammer Damage - No More (224)
68. Biscanna - Splitting Atoms (226)
69. Pardonax - Parting Ways (230)

GabberGirl 8:28 PM - 9:30 CET
Speedcore!!

70. The Destroyer- My Brain is Sick Remix [Head Fuck Records- HDF008(D-Boy Black Label/So Real)] 2000
71. Cenobit- Beef Syndrome (STRIKE 024) 1999
72. DJ Tron- Doom (Deathcore Mix) [Head Fuck Records- HDF005(D-Boy Black Label/So Real)] 1998
73. Bruchkopf- Speedcore [Brain Distortion 01(United Speedcore Nation)] 1998
74. Berzerker- Inhale [WIDERSTAND 09] 2000
75. DJ Tron- Cannibal DJ [Blood n’ Guts Records- BNG002] 1997
76. Thanos- Death Penalty [Sacred Underground Productions 01- SUP01] 1999
77. Tyrant!- Frustrations [Skumkore Muzik 01/Apocalypse Recordings- APOC001] 2000
78. Terror Junkie- Die Bestrafung [BD01 (USN)] 1998
79. Christ of Noise & David Lagon- Loud Bastard MED (Provision Records 03)1997
80. Armaguet Nad- Apocalyptic Dream [Dead End Records- DER 05] 1997
81. Memetic- Track 2, Side A [Bloody Fist 020- Fist-20] 1999
82. Menace- Elements [STRIKE 026] 1999
83. Tense & Nevermind- Hate Cops [APOC001] 2000
84. Siege- Driven [STRIKE 026] 1999
85. Bruchkopf- Amokk [BD01 (USN)] 1998
86. The Destroyer- Mass of Shit Remix [HDF008 (D-Boy Black Label)] 2000
87. Bombardier- Chamber [Hangars Liquides 09- HL 009] 1998
88. Thanos- In Your Face [SUP 01] 1999

The History of Hardcore Techno: Looking back at Strike Records from Leipzig, Germany

Steffen Kuschel kept 66.6% of the underground hardcore techno scene afloat and alive in the 90s, and the years after. He ran sound base music, out of leipzig, germany. Was host to a network of labels, sub- and side-labels. And distributed half the scene, from bloody fist artists in australia to the other side of the globe.

the main, "own" label of sound base was strike records. i'd say it was one of the pillars of the "german" variant of gabber. fast tracker type music, lots of metal guitars, lots of swear words. less melody and harmony in vocals, unlike the kissing cousins from the netherlands.

so... let us take a look at 7 outstanding records of strike records! (i refrained from saying "the 7 most striking..." ha!)

Various Artists - Straight Out Of Newcastle (Strike 008)
https://www.discogs.com/release/47687-Various-Straight-Out-Of-Newcastle

Oddly enough, most of these tracks are outstanding pieces, even when compared to the rest of their output.
Like Grim Reaper, Shitbeater, or No Significance, which are amongst the hardest and wildest by the respective artist. Quite the feat for a compilation release.
But I guess my own favorite is "no sex", which is an oddly "calm" breakbeat track by Nasenbluten (well, it's not the breakcore you would expect with bloody fist) which fades into super melancholic pcp-like sounds.

AXL - Hardcore (Strike 006)
https://www.discogs.com/release/120982-AXL-Hardcore

i always had a thing for these tracks. it's not ultra hard or brutal or anything.
but it has these weird, amiga type pads throughout the tracks. almost like ambient trance gabba!

Various Artists - Strike Records Vs. Bloody Fist (Strike 015)
https://www.discogs.com/release/56796-Various-Strike-Records-Vs-Bloody-Fist

clash of the 16 bit core titans!
fav by far is "patchcore" by sandkorn for me.
not because the other tracks are bad. but because this track has some super insane sounds that i never heard elsewhere.

Nasenbluten - Cheapcore EP (Strike 020)
https://www.discogs.com/release/90154-Nasenbluten-Cheapcore-EP

my 2 cents: not as good as not as good as 100% no soul guaranteed.
no wait, let me reverse this opinion: there are some brilliant tracks on this one, like the early breakcore track "check the sound".

S37 - En Ordentlig Omgang Røvsutning. Uden Ost - Tak! (Strike 019)

https://www.discogs.com/release/52558-S37-En-Ordentlig-Omgang-R%C3%B8vsutning-Uden-Ost-Tak

Together with folk like Noize Creator, S37 was one of the german artists that stripped the gabba sound to its bare necessities. No need for a groove, melodies or happy singing. Drums, screams, death metal samples, go!
After the stuff he did on Juncalor and Brutal Chud, this is the one where that concept is fleshed out the most.

Rage Reset - Sydney Core EP (Strike 012)
https://www.discogs.com/release/121029-Rage-Reset-Sydney-Core-EP

good quality gabba as usual with rage reset.
"Fortex" has been played at quite some parties and DJ mixes.
"subconscious" is my pick, though. almost completely minimal, some horror flick strings, plus a nasty reverberated kickdrum. but that is enough. the track rocks.

S*icide Squad And Max Death (Strike 018)
https://www.discogs.com/release/3702300-Suicide-Squad-And-Max-Death-Untitled

666 might be the number of the beast, but 13 is the number of death... am i right?
maybe it's only logical that max death is on here then.
S*icide Squad was one of the projects by simon underground, as you probably know. and they are still one of my fav "amiga style" hc projects (even though, i guess, strictly technically speaking, this was not done purely on amiga).
and the "death side"... this is strike records at it's best. take no quarters. just brutal, brutal hardcore.
"go insane!"

The Hardcore Techno Overdogs Anthem VI - Ritual of Rave

The Hardcore Overdogs return, with a brand new anthem for their magazine.

And the last one was quite furious and fast, am i right?
the next one is almost the total opposite, a real slowcore banger, with very low bass frequencies.
99 bpm, to be exact.
can you still dig it?

it's almost goth / ambient / industrial sounding.... but the rave vitamins are plainly audible, too!
a true, dark, heavy ritual for all raving aspirants...

just like you would expect from the overdogs.
and 1 faster remix and 2 different tracks are included as well.

Info and Tracklisting:

The Hardcore Overdogs - Anthem VI - Ritual of Rave

1. Ritual of Rave (One 2 Three) 03:51
2. Low Entropy - Festival Riot 02:35
3. Ritual of Rave (Good Dog - Part 1) 08:45
4. Ritual of Rave (Good Dog - Part 2) 07:51
5. Meta-Morph - Musical Stairs (Ambient) 03:45
6. Ritual of Rave (Bad Dog - Part 1) 04:07
7. Ritual of Rave (Bad Dog - Part 2) 03:51
8. Ritual of Rave (Bad Dog - Part 3) 07:15

Omnicore Records 79
Doomcore Records 234
Slowcore Records 68

https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/anthem-vi-ritual-of-rave

The Gabber Elders Obscure Summer Mixmarathon - Save The Date - 11.7.2026

The sun is turning round and round each yeah, just like a record, baby, just like a record.
And when, finally, the sun is at its highest of the year, you know it's time for a new edition of The Gabber Elder's mixmarathon!
and this is what we are gonna do. we're gonna have a party. we're gonna have another mixmarathon.
for last year's summer mixmarathon, the theme was: all styles of the 90s, or 90s styled hardcore. beginning with slowcore and doomcore, then acidcore and gabber, and ending with the most frantic terror and speedcore.
now this year the apple did not fall that far off the tree. there is still a mix of styles, and a build up in energy...
yet there is also a special twist: the gabber elders only play rare and obscure records.
the stuff you never heard about! (hopefully)

so that the rare / underdog tracks of the 90s see the light of day for once, too.

like last time, there will be a special video / visual show that accompanies the music.
the whole thing is hosted on youtube, will be broadcasted live, and will run for several hours. so be there, or be square (wave).

Update: Time and Tracklist

The Gabber Elders are:

Low Entropy (Hamburg, Germany. Age: 147 Years old)
GabberGirl (Minnesota, USA. Age: 83 Years old)
N.i.k.a.j. (The Netherlands) Age 158 Years
DJ Asylum (Bathgate, Scotland, Age 126)

The mixmarathon is presented by:
The Gabber Elders https://thegabberelders.com/
HCBX https://www.youtube.com/@hcbx666
The Hardcore Overdogs magazine https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/
Pure and Obscure records https://nikajs.bandcamp.com/

16 bit were enough: when Commodore Amiga computers ruled the Techno and Hardcore dancefloors around Europe

everyone knows the commodore 64, or c64, or "bread box", of course.

the single most sold unit in computer history, to this day.
the "sequel" computer by the commodore company might be lesser known, sadly.
the commodore amiga is a bit of a glitch in the timeline of computers.
when it was engineered in the 80s, it was way ahead of its competition.
4096 colors at once, build-in parallax scrolling, a GUI that looked (and worked) better than microsoft windows, multimedia abilities...

Hardsequencer - Magic Flight

A techno-trance tune created on an amiga by German producer Hardsequencer

it seemed to be off for a good start, and even managed to wow a few bona fide stars, like andy warhol, debbie harry (blondie), timothy leary...
but in its homeland, usa, the computer remained obscure. a lot of people blame the (mis) management at commodore, a company that seemingly was in perpetual decay even back then. rumor is that one of the engineers even left a message of "we build it - they f**ed it up" somewhere in the circuits of the first amiga models.

Christoph De Babalon - Babylon 90210

Scary jungle by Christiph de Babalon

while it did not get much traction in america, it became a big, big hit in europe, particularly in countries like uk, germany, france...
most people now remember the amiga for the games that were made for it, or were ported and re-designed for it. because a lot of now-classic games either saw their debut on their amiga, or did shine the brightest on that system. lemmings, the early lucas art adventures, populous, rick dangerous, the turricans...

Taciturne - Mourning

Taciturne's "ambient gabber" track

and that was it. slam the kid on the coffin now, kid!

but hey! not so fast. did we not mention multimedia capabilities?
and indeed, the amiga had a huge and lasting influence that went way beyond playing video games at home with your friends.
it was a major player in creating and shaping the various rave, techno, hardcore scenes that swept over europe in the early-too-late 90s...

Cybermouse - My Dorectives 

Dark techno On hamburg cult label fischkopf

the c64 was legendary because unlike other system of its time, the company did not pack a generic "beeper" type sound chip into its system. they designed the SID chip, which a lot of people consider to be a real synthesizer.
the commodore company kind of repeated this trick with the amiga. they did not give it another soundchip that generated simple sine, saw, square waves... instead they designed a real, miniature "sampler" chip for the amiga. this sound chip was called Paula, after one of the girlfriends of the engineers.
just like a real sampler, it could trigger and play pre-recorded sound snippets and samples at various speeds and pitches, and do a few basic effects on that.
it was limited to 4 channels, but clever composers could bypass that restriction easily (for example, if you sampled one drum loop, with 7 different types of percussion, it would still take up only one channel).
bitrate was often not so good either, even though a friend of mine insists that the "lofi" sound quality of most amiga tunes were not the result of tech restrictions, but the lazyness of the composers.

Static Tremor - Resistance 

The Heutling brothers were known to produce high quality amiga hardcore.

despite these visible (or audible) flaws, the amiga had many pros and advantages as a sound machine:
it was very cheap, at least compared to high standard, "industry" equipment
you had more memory and therefore you could use much longer samples and sounds, compared to "real" samplers in the same price range. this means you could have long string sounds, vocal passages, etc.
it was inside a computer! coders could create programs for it, that used the chip / sampler in any way they wanted.
no need to hassle with getting a sequencer for your hardware sampler, setting up midi, wires, fx, gear (which would have been super expensive as well).
it was all inside one box, back in the mid 80s already.

Neophyte - Execute (Live at Thunderdome) 

Oldschool amiga hardcore

the amiga did not make it in pop, or any genre like that. but the techno and rave producers started to flock to that computer.
maybe because the early techno scene attracted a lot of "outsider" artists with zero budget and industry connection, so an affordable computer-sampler system with "overpowered" abilities had quite the appeal.
the first wave of producers that used the amiga in a massive way were the acid house crazed ravers in the UK scene. a lot of classic breakbeat, and later, jungle tunes were made on the amiga.
amigas were used in "mainland europe" too, though, and there are some classic techno and trance tracks made on an amiga.
to this day, not all producers gave full disclosure of their amiga use. the amiga still had the ring of being "lofi" to it, so artists that wanted to be seen as more credible might not have admitted of using one.
that means there are probably still a lot of records out there that there were made on amiga, but without anyone knowing that this was actually the case.

Amiga Shock Force - Shoot em Breax 

Metal-jungle by the shock force

amiga music did shine it's brightest light in the "dangerous" hardcore techno and gabber-house underground.
there were countless of hardcore classics that were produced on an amiga. there were whole hardcore groups that exclusively used an amiga for their music, like nasenbluten or the amiga shock force (nomen est omen, eh?). there were labels, like bloody fist records from australia, that to 90% released amiga produced hardcore music.

Nasenbluten - Machete 

One of the amiga-gabber classics

other labels, especially in the netherlands and germany, used some more or less clever tricks to mask (and hide) the lofi sound of the amiga: by wholesale slamming reverb and EQ boosts on the entire track!

and this was not a niche thing! DJs played amiga music next to "regular" tracks in their sets, and sometimes amiga produced music even made it to the national charts.

Hardsequencer - Broadcast (live at mayday)

More rave madness by hardsequencer (the first 5 minutes)

i find it funny that some remember the amiga as the machine where they played cutesy pixel platformers in their cozy bedrooms, while on that same night, 20,000 crazed ravers went wild to amiga-produced hardcore tracks on a gabber festival 100s of kilometres away.

it's hard to speculate, but I could imagine that, at least in the beginning, 5-10% of hardcore records were actually produced on an amiga.
these amiga tracks and bands then influenced other producers, and they then influenced even more producers...
so the amiga had a huge impact in that scene.

Ec8or - I Dont wanna be a part of this (live in japan)

"Digital hardcore" made on amiga

And here is a playlist featuring classic amiga hardcore and techno tracks:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUdJgXot-vsc