Showing posts with label Charts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charts. Show all posts

Thursday, September 10, 2026

Off-Charts: Is it future or is it past?

We're running a new feature: "Off-lists"

Paper fanzines were filled with charts; some DJs turned their charts into lists such as "10 favorite Dutch Gabber tracks".

Features in zines often also have additional lists such as "9 anime related Hardcore tracks".

We wanna build on both these currents; but, with these "Off-Lists" we will focus on themes and motifs that are more out-there, abstract, off-the-center. Exploring aspects and ideas that are rarely highlighted when people talk, think, or write about Hardcore.

It's no secret that techno and hardcore producers have a sweet tooth for future sounds - see here.
But also going to the past is possibility, or a fascination with time in general.
Why is this so?
Not sure.
Maybe time is just magic!

So here are 25 tunes related to the ticking of time. Not just hardcore, but electronic and other genres, too.


1. Temper Tantrum - Year 4010
2. Lory D - We are in the Future EP
3. The Mover - Time Traveler
4. Countdown FFM - V
5. Reign - Time Machine 


6. E-de Cologne - 5 Years on Gabba
7. Base Force One - Phuturist
8. Meta Morph - Through the Darkness of Future Past
9. Future Shock - Let it hit on
10. Justified Ancients of Mu Mu - What Time is Love (original) 


11. Nostrum - Immaculate (Time unlimited) 
12. Angelo Badalamenti - Moving through Time
13. Syrius 23 - Dark Age Survivor
14. Tangerine Dream - Zeit
15. Infernos Bros - Slaves to the rave (first rave age mix)


16. Marc Acardipane - Remember the Phuture 
17. DJ Rob - Love Time
18. Lenny Dee v DJ Edge - Silence of Eternity
19. Formic Acid - Eternia
20. Cyborg Unknown - Year 2001 (from the beginning)


21. Guru Josh - Infinity 
22. Cosmic Baby - Loops of Infinity
23. Profound - 4 O clock
24. 8 am - The Fog Track
25. The Dukes of Stratosphear - 25 O'Clock
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Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Off-Charts: Happy 909 day!

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Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Off-Charts: Hardcore Animals

Hardcore Techno and Gabber House bring out the animal in you!
Because:
You stomp like a bull on the dancefloor, howl like a dog, roar like a lion... and paddle your arms around like a penguin or other walking, earth-bound, non-flight bird thingy.

No wonder there are many animal themed tracks and releases within this style, too.

Here are some of them (also includes tracks of other genres, as usual)

1. Animal Intelligence - The Object of Rave
2. Kotzaak - Like a Raging Bull (compilation)
3. Erase Head - Pussy Cat
4. Cannibal DJ - Dog will Hunt
5. The Prodigy - Run with the Wolves


6. Biochip C - Cranefly Warriors - Massive Toad Activity
7. Whaleekomittee - Save The Whales
8. Hecate - Hate Cats EP
9. The Outside Agency - ...ants
10. Phoenix - Who's In Control ?!


11. The Outside Agency - Metal Slug
12. Rat of Doom - Before The Breakdown
13. Rolando - Knights of the Jaguar
14. Darius G - ... like an Animal
15. Fischkopf compilation - Otaku: Slick but not Streamlined


16. Gangstar Toons Industries - Camel
17. Cobra Killers - Cobra Z
18. Dominion - Unicorn evils
19. Scorpion - Second Bite
20. Thomas Ehlers - Elephant Junk Attack


21. Charly Lownoise and Mental Theo - The Bird
22. The Falcon - Tear you apart
23. Party Animals - Hou Op
24. Mouse - T4
25. Raver's Nature - Monkey


26. DJ Mongoose - Rip Shit Up
27. DJ Waxweazle - Hardcore Power
28. E-de Cologne - No Dolphins Allowed
29. GTO - The Bullfrog
30. Ramirez - El Gallinero


31. Pink Potassium - Radioactive Goldfish

We're running a new feature: "Off-lists"

Paper fanzines were filled with charts; some DJs turned there charts into lists such "10 favorite Dutch Gabber tracks".

Features in zines often also have additional lists such as "9 anime related Hardcore tracks".

We wanna build on both these currents; but, with these "Off-Lists" we will focus on themes and motifs that are more out-there, abstract, off-the-center. Exploring aspects and ideas that are rarely highlighted when people talk, think, or write about Hardcore.
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Monday, April 7, 2025

Shouting Hardcore Part 2 - Scream it out for the Tingler

In my music and cultural research, I just stumbled upon this little info.
It was found embedded within a plot summary about the movie "The Tingler" featuring Vincent Price.

'He discovers that there is a creature living in the spine of every human being that feeds on the fear of its host. If the host does not start screaming in a state of fear, the creature, known as the "Tingler", grows to full life size, which leads to the death of the human.'

I don't know the movie, probably some kinda kitschi-scari 50s affair.
But all irony aside.
I think there's some truth in the above statement.
If you chuck up all your emotions and swallow them, well that's not healthy at all. Even "dark" emotions like fear or panic...
So scream it out my friend!
Scream it out, until The Tingler itself gets scared and runs away, back to its own hellish dimension!

And what better way to scream out all your anger, pain, agony, fear, anxiety - than some good ol' hardcore techno and gabber house?

So here is a list of 10 more screaming hardcore tracks.

These tracks are about literal screams - i.e. not just loud vocalizing, but actual, deep, fried, human (or non-human) SCREAMS! 

1. Napalm - Scream



2. Bakalla - True Force



3. Scarface - Blow Your Head Off



4. Sauerkraut - I Don't Believe In You



5. Marc Acardipane The Horrorist - Metal Man



6. U.V.C. DJ Narotic - Industrial Strength



7. DJ Tron - F*ck That Happy Shit



8. Napalm - Shit01



9. The Horrorist - Can You Hear the Sound?



10. Ec8or - Raving Hypospadie



11. DJ Jappo DJ Lancinhouse - F*kem Outro



Also check our earlier feature: "Hardcore Techno Anger Management - Release your rage in a social way"
https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2024/10/hardcore-techno-anger-management.html
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Monday, March 31, 2025

Voices of the Hardcore - Strange Vocal Manipulation in Extreme Techno Genres

People are fond of artists like Björk or Kate Bush because they have a peculiar way of singing, right?
Well, it's nothing compared to Hardcore Techno.
By the help of samplers, computers, and virtual fx units, vocal cords get the - well - Hardcore treatment.
Words are torn apart, twisted into squealing screams, or guttural growls from the pit.
Phrases get cut up and each vowel repeated at high speed as if you're scat singer operating a chain gun.
Voices become disembodied, in-human, post-human. Songs sound similar as if sung by aliens, angels, unclean spirits.
Cyborg, robots and terminator make an entrance and then disappear in the hall.

Let's cut the wordsmithing for now, and here are 11 techno tracks with the most experimental, bizarre, and - well - hardcore vocal treatment.

1. DJ Buby feat. The Stunned Guys - A.E.I.O.U.



2. De Klootzakken - Dominee Dimitri (Ach Man)



3. The Speedfreak - Pow Pow



4. Psyche Out - Man Ungginyu



5. The Aggressor - I'm Coming



6. E-De-Cologne - Ein Bisschen Frieden



7. Bald Terror - Drummachine



8. R-Trax - Devils Voice



9. Auto-Psy - Oxyde



10. No Name - Y-Droid



11. Brandon Spivey - Acid 1998



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Sunday, March 23, 2025

Brutal and straight-in-your-face Hardcore Techno: Looking back at Surgeon 16 Recordings

Techno, in the 90s, was a form of music which was too bold, wild, rough for most people - who rather listened to boybands, girlbands, or chic electronique discotheque music oh la la!
Then along came Hardcore, which made everything even more bold and wild.
But the evolution did not stop there; not at all.
There were a few groups and labels that truly pushed the envelope at what was acceptable in music, way past beyond the threshold of tolerance for sonic pain.
the most extreme offshoots of the whole gabber, hardcore, techno thing.

there was kotzaak in germany, brutal chud (also in Germany), blood'n'guts in the US of A, sans pitie and GTI in france... and the United Kingdom had Surgeon 16 records.

hard to find out who exactly was involved in the label, but the main projects seem to have been Pressurehead & UK Skullf*ck.

the only incursion by an outside artist has been made by noize creator (of the abovement brutal chud records). and both main artists only sparsely appeared outside the label, too, with a notable split release on trackless records (Denmark), and one on "evil spirit" (UK).

but not only these, and the main label 12"s are notable, but also the DJ mixes and cassette releases made by this unruly bunch.

because, my radio, believe me: these tapes contain some of the hardest gabber of the 90s.

but back to Surgeon 16 itself.
Well, how to describe the sounds?
Imagine you watched all the classic ultra-violent and / or nihilist flicks of the 70s to the 90s in a row - taxi driver, platoon, la haine, and then you went insane, and also got an overdose of adrenaline, dopamine, and a few other chemical substances. and you put all that in a production session.
that's how i'd describe it, and i mean that in the best possible way. because these tracks are just wild, man.

all the traces of funk, soul, "dance vibes" that techno once contained have long left the building (along with elvis). this is just bassdrums hammering away, overdriven screams, strange noises...
one track tells us that "i'm acutely aware that if i ever have to launch these missiles, devastation on an unimaginable scale will occur" before something resembling the sound of a burning and dying dive bomber comes in and the 250 bpm lunacy begins.
another is just an enraged man screaming in midst of machine-gun speed snare drums and machine-gun speed bassdrums.
and tracks like "16 clips" sound as if 16 clips had just been unloaded in your ear - and brain.

i guess you get the point by now - this is really music for the headstrong.
so better check the label right away!

11 tunes worth listening to:


1. Pressurehead -The Effects Of Pressure Pt.2
    


 2. UK Skullf*ck feat. Torah - Amphetamine Distortion  

  


3. Pressurehead - Henrietta

   

4. UK Skullf*ck - La Haine

   

5. Pressurehead - Darkest Days

   

6. Noizecreator - Feeling Like De Niro

   

7. Pressurehead - Final Warning

   

8. UK Skullf*ck - Sample Bastard

   

9. Noize Creator - Psychic Punk

   

10. UK Skullf*ck - Ave Em

 

11. Blood One - Self-Released Tape (1996)

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Saturday, February 22, 2025

10 Digital Hardcore Releases from outside the Digital Hardcore Label

Digital Hardcore Recordings released music by artists such as Alec Empire, Patric Catani, Shizuo, Atari Teenage Riot, EC8OR and Bomb 20, shaping the sound as well as naming it. But other labels were there; Bloody Fist Records was one of the most prolific labels involved in hardcore/gabber, industrial, breaks, noise, and related genres from Australia. In Milwaukee there was Drop Bass Network which specialized in Gabber and Hardcore. In London, DJ Scud co-founded Ambush Records with fellow producer Aphasic to focus on more extreme noise-oriented hardcore drum and bass towards the end of the 90's. And some great DH came from Japan as you will soon see!

Digital Hardcore is ultmately a high-tempo fusion of Hardcore Punk and Electronic, which combines the harsh vocals and electric guitars of the former with electronic instruments such as synthesizers, samplers, and drum machines common in Hardcore [EDM] and Breakbeat Hardcore. I have this list BUT the reviews of each are straight from a 2019 revision by Goregaze and OuTbREaKRT who collaborated and made these picks and write-ups.

1. The Mad Capsule Markets - Osc-Dis (Oscillator in Distortion) (2001) track selection "Restart!"

The Mad Capsule Markets were one of the most exciting and forward-thinking Japanese punk acts of the early 2000s. Starting as a standard j-punk band, they slowly incorporated industrial and pop punk elements into their sound, with their 2001 album Osc-Dis becoming a big influence on artists like Rabbit Junk and Kitcaliber.

2. The Shizit - Soundtrack for the Revolution (2001) track selection "Audio Jihad II"

The original project of Seattle-based industrial/electro wizard JP Anderson from before he formed Rabbit Junk. The Shizit was a harsher and less melodic band than Rabbit Junk turned out to be, and their brand of industrial assaults often broached the realm of digital hardcore.

3. F_Noise - F_noise (2002) track selection "Aliens"

A short lived digital hardcore act from Russia that emphasized sheer noise and intensity in their songs. While they only stuck around long enough to put out a single album, it remains one of the most furious digital hardcore albums of the 2000s.

4. Curse of the Golden Vampire - Mass Destruction (2003) track selection "Parasite"

Curse of the Golden Vampire was one of several Digital Hardcore Recordings signees that jumped ship to Greg Werckman and Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings in the early 2000s. While their first album was a fairly standard digital hardcore release, their second album set itself apart by introducing significant grindcore elements, yielding one of the most intense releases in the genre.

5. DHC Meinhof - Bring Chaos to Order (2004) track selection "Rich Kids"

DHC Meinhof was a moderately short-lived band started by crust punk guitarist/vocalist Refuzer with vocalist Miss Magg Destruction and noisemaker Matt 669. The band put out a couple records in the mid 2000s before turning into Meinhof, a more traditional crust punk act.

6. AKIRA DEATH - Killer Family Business ～殺し屋家業～ (2007) track selection "Locust"

One of the leading acts in digital hardcore/speedcore fusion, Akira Death is the project of Akira Kanzaki and Akira Sato. Their music is fast, noisy, and chock full of digital hardcore attitude. Their unique live show and raucous music quickly made them a standout among the japanese speedcore scene, and both members have crafted diverse and unique solo careers.

7. BiS - STUPiG (2014) [Single] track selection " "STUPiG"

BiS is a self-proclaimed "anti-idol" band made to subvert idol music tropes. Their 2014 single STUPiG was produced by Mad Capsule Markets bassist Takeshi Uesha and made waves upon release with its combination of driving digital hardcore and saccharine j-pop.

8.Kitcaliber - ИΣVΣRLAИD SØUИDGIRL$ (2014) track selection " "DISTORTER"

One of several acts inspired directly by The Mad Capsule Markets, Kitcaliber is one of many aliases of Canadian breakcore producer Renard. Their songs are some of the most melodic to ever grace the genre, but Kitcaliber tracks aren't afraid to cut loose with an intense noise section or blazing fast tempos. One thing that sets them apart from the rest of the genre is their focus on concept albums, with each of their three full length records taking place in a single narrative universe and detailing the fictional duo's battles against abstract threats to society.

9. Coakira - Suicidegirls.jp (2015) track selection "Ultra Beast"

One of AKIRADEATH member 佐藤晃 [Akira Sato]'s several solo projects. Coakira is more focused on high tempo speedcore than Akira Death, but still includes the hefty digital hardcore elements that set Akira's music apart from the rest of the scene.

10. Machine Girl - The Ugly Art (2018) track selection "A Decent Man"

New York duo Machine Girl (originally just a solo project of Matthew Stephenson before being expanded to a duo with drummer Mankid with the release of their third album) is easily the most significant force in the modern digital hardcore scene. With roots in hardcore breaks, Machine Girl's music evokes images of the early days of the World Wide Web and brings a unique flavour of claustrophic intensity to a genre more commonly outfitted with walls of compressed noise and guitars.

and that's it. You can find the whole original list over here RYM Ultimate Box Set > Digital Hardcore and here's the playlists with most of the tracks Youtube Playlist / Spotify Playlist
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Monday, February 17, 2025

The 1000 Corrosions of Brandon Spivey

Brandon Spivey is an "unsung hero" of the 90s Hardcore and especially Acidcore scene. Prolific, involved in countless of projects and re-releases, but not as known yet as some of his peers.

Unfairly so. He produced some of the most hostile, nasty, tenacious, teeth-bashing Hardcore Techno tracks ever. His tracks often abandon the "groovy" and "party" roots of Acid House, replacing it with the sound of noise, screams, and an overdose of bass. The acid bleeps that are so characteristic for the genre, often get manipulated and modulated to such a degree that they sound more like the electronic lament of a tortured creature. While the reverberated vocal samples sound as if they are piercing through, into this universe from another.
Brandon's known for his political radicalism: working class, anti-authoritarian (he once said "I'm an anarchist but I hate the term and the movement"; and this revolutionary anger, spite, and fury obviously bleeds into his tracks, and this is likely what makes a lot of them 'rougher than the rest'.

It's not all noise and distortion, though; he is apt and producing acid, electro, and techno of the calmer variety, too.

Unlike other artists, he didn't stop by the 90s, but continues to produce music to this day.

10 tracks produced or co-produced by Brandon Spivey
  1. Collective Strength - Family Affair https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv6Vn7nUkGA
  2. A'Simetric - Take To The Skies - Weapons Grade Acid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82TimynVFIo
  3. Brandon Spivey - Acid 1998 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeolhgJrpcE
  4. Habitual Offenders - Cutting Edge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba7kC_j0Bro
  5. Simetric - Weather Report https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omIdPM8b8VE
  6. Brandon Spivey - Phase Distortion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx9Sft5Oj-U
  7. Brandon Spivey - Reality Asylum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaN8JOAb73A
  8. Brandon Spivey & Richie Anderson - Night Drive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDo6sWgtWfs&t=586s
  9. Prole Synthesis - Reference Point https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRfG5TxdEk8
  10. Agro - Undisputed Truth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArvG2WuMpVI
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Saturday, February 15, 2025

Luvable Cheesy Happy Hardcore & Dance Playlist for Valentine's Day!

It's the day of love again, of sweet smiles, happy hearts, cozy cuddles, kisses for your krush...
So let's drop all pretense of sophisticated and smartelligent music, and give in to a cheese fest of unashamed Happy Hardcore and Dance tracks from the 90s! 
  1. DJ Lingo & The Skycat - Together Forever
  2. Critical Mass - Burning Love
  3. Ohm - Take A Trip To Paradise
  4. Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo - Stars
  5. Mark Oh - Randy (Never Stop That Feeling)
  6. RMB - Redemption
  7. Solid Base – I'm The Girl Of Your Dreams
  8. 4 Tune Fairytales - My Little Fantasy
  9. Uranus - Flowed On A Vibe
  10. Circuit - Transport Of Love
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Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Off-Charts: Heaven and Hell

We're starting a new feature: "Off-Lists".
With these "Off-Lists" we will focus on themes and motifs that are more out-there, abstract, off-the-center.

This time we're both looking at heavenly and infernal hardcore techno related tracks.

Sorted from "mellow techno" to "heavy gabber".
  1. GTO - Love is everywhere
  2. Church of Ecstasy - The Passion
  3. Moby - Hymn
  4. Mindviper - Messiah 2000
  5. Alternative Creators - Sound Creation
  6. Fun-a-Tic - Heaven's Cry
  7. Raver's Nature - Walk Like A Priest
  8. Marc Acardipane - Only God Can Judge Me
  9. Taciturne - Mourning
  10. Reign - Light and Dark (The Next Dimension)
  11. Members of Mayday - The Religion
  12. Perpelexer - The church of house (heaven & hell mix)
  13. Cyberchrist - Spirit
  14. Igor - Talking about god
  15. Frozen - Out of the light
  16. The Possessed - Black Blood
  17. Noface - Master of the lost souls
  18. Freez-e-Style - Enter the gates of darkness
  19. Negative Burn - Gates of Hell
  20. Mechanism - Spirit in Descend
  21. R-Trax - Devils Voice
  22. Doa - Unleash the Brutality
  23. Somatic Responses - Hellbound
  24. Disciples of Belial - Lucifer we Praise Thee
  25. Jack Lucifer - 96 Knights (Burn My Brain Mix)
  26. Ec8or - 666
  27. The Berzerker - Evil Worlds Beyond
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Monday, January 27, 2025

10 of the Most Controversial and Disturbing Hardcore Techno Tracks

Trigger Warning: Contains associations with lunacy and other heavy content

Hardcore and Gabber are genres which are generally more on the bleak and dark side of things, but some of its tracks can get *really* twisted, depressive and disturbing.

We don't "judge" these tracks; we don't think the artists behind these tracks were sick puppies, nor do we think that they merely tried to be "shocking".

And in no way do we want to disrespect or "accuse" any of the artists and producers involved.

In fact we think a lot of these tracks are pretty sparkling brilliant.

It's just that, similar to genres such as industrial or dark ambient, hardcore has the tendency to document the hidden and disturbing aspects of human society; but we think this can actually be quite progressive and liberating.

1. RMB - The Place To Be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYvVVkCq_2I

Whoah, what's this? This is one of the darkest topics right at the start. The track samples a TV broadcast about the Waco siege.

For those who are too young to remember, the Waco siege was a stand-off between a group of religious fanatics and the US Government. It ended with the lunatics setting themselves and their farm on fire (the "official version" of the story), or the members of the cult being wholesale incinerated by the FBI (the "official version" of the story, as told by conspiracy crazies).
These happenings caught the attention of the world for months, and kick-started the whole alt-right movement in the US of A.

Why did RMB make a track about it? We don't know. Judging by other tracks and statements, they definitely were more on the left side of things.

2. Collective Strength - Family Affair https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv6Vn7nUkGA

A Noizecore-Acidcore track produced in a joint effort by DJ Freak, Delta 9, Brandon Spivey, and Richie Anderson. Features sampled statements of a real life serial killer.

3. DOA - Ya Mutha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vReoi1B5k8E

I felt sick in the stomach when listening to this track for the first time at teenage age.
Rumor is they sampled an actual recording of a violent-schizophrenic stalker.
Might be just a rumor.
Track is still disturbing as hell.

4. Noize Creator - NBK pt. 1-3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaDzzgf_OIM

Natural Born Killers was one the most twisted movies of the 90s, this one samples it, and is also one of the most twisted tracks of the 90s.
(It's in german language, by the way.)

5. Disciples of Belial - Lucifer We Praise Thee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vFrzJnmx_g

Satanic / devilish imagery is abound in Hardcore and Gabber, nothing too unusual.
But what if its done by a real satanic cult?
As is the case here, as the mastermind behind these tracks is a practicing theistic satanist.
This group tried to play the story big by giving interviews, in which they for example stated they would conduct black masses during midnight at a notorious British cemetery.
Now *this* was just a story, invented for shock effect.
Or was it?

6. Pressure Head - The Effects of Pressure Pt. 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-EcE6wcnLo

A track about - global thermonuclear war. And this Noizecore-Speedcore track really sounds like an all-out war is going down. Dive bombers, fire at will...
"The end of the world" indeed!

7. Brandon Spivey - Reality Asylum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaN8JOAb73A

Yes it's got to be here, right? And not just because of the infamous "Spread Aids!" artwork.
It's based on the classic sound collage "Reality Asylum" by British anarcho-punk collective Crass. Which the pressing plant refused to put on the record, considering it too blasphemous and offensive.
It's a very long and very direct assault on Christianity.
And Brandon adds drums that feel as hard as tungsten to it, and noises that sound like a pig is getting slaughtered.

8. Current 909 - The Lockdown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zttXZgPLe2Q

No, it's not about "that" lockdown.
This Doomcore track samples "Ghosts... of the civil dead", a late 80s disturbing scifi flick about life in prison.
While the sampled speech might sound quite harmless on its own, if you know the movie and the context, everything becomes grim as hell.

9. Delta 9 - Phreaked https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBm9xluDIZs

I don't know the source, but between the hammering drums and thrash guitars, we hear the cries and whimpering of a man losing his mind... a very frightening and terrorizing experience...
"I need medication", indeed.

10. Violent Aggression - Shizoid Fukd Soul https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHlfXj6_DI0

An early and very violent proto-speedcore track. Features the dialogue and screams of a man who is seen as insane (but he insists this is not the case), being threatened with shock treatment and all...
Actually from the classic sci-fi flick "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers" (this time in German language).

So this was our list of disturbing hardcore.
Now sleep well (if you can).
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Thursday, January 16, 2025

Serious Cheese: An attempt at a defense of the Happy Hardcore genre

Note: In this text, "Happy Hardcore" refers to the 4/4 dance genre of the Netherlands and central Europe; not the breakbeat-infused style with a similar name that was popular in the UK.

In the 90s, there was a common route for people who got into harder electronic music; first being into "radio approved" dance / euro-pop stuff, then getting into more "serious" techno, trance and "rave" music, discovering "happy hardcore" as a tougher variant of it; finally discovering the more popular variant of hardcore and gabber with the likes of Thunderdome and Raver's Night compilations - and then falling into the deep, deep underground of crazed hardcore techno done by stark raving lunatics; industrial strength, drop bass, fischkopf, epiteth, and the rest...

Once situated in this rabbit hole of the trve and disturbing hardcore speedcore and noizecore contingent, its fans rejected the "commercial poser crap" of the music genres they had listened to before, and swore to a steady diet of caffeine, self-isolation, and weekly trips to the few underground record stores (often traversing more than 100 kilometres) to get the 'good stuff' in rapid hardcore.
Because we were mean and evil hardcore freaks, right?

Over time, these "style wars" and their strict fences mellowed a lot, and most hardened gabberheads can admit that the sound of the early Thunderdomes was maybe not as bad at all, or agree to liking a few rave and trance classics.
yet in this acceptance and "reformation" of the hard styles, one particular style is usually left out, and being treated as the odd one out.
And that's the Happy Hardcore productions of the 90s.
Most people would not admit that one could *seriously* like these tunes. on an ironic level maybe, but rationally? isn't happy hardcore much too cheeesy, with the squeaky voices and oh-so-happy melodies and their lyrics of a paradise hidden somewhere, up in the skies of love and bliss?

so let's take a closer look at this.
initially, i would have seconded the amotion above. yet, if you think about it... people are also able to "seriously" revere a lot of pop and rock music, and i do, too.
still, acts like Madonna, the Beatles, New Order, Depeche Mode had some happy, cheerful, maybe even silly songs, too. no-ne would say that this music is just for teenagers and could never be enjoyed in an earnest way.

therefore - "cheese", happiness and trash are not an obstruction to sincere fascination.

and, if you take an even closer look, there are some peculiar particularities in the happy hardcore genre of the 90s.
first, a lot of happy hardcore songs are actually quite hard, rough, fast; for example, the drums sometimes hit harder than in their gabber counterparts, and some of most crazy/energetic/psycho hoover riffs can be found in these tracks.
happy hardcore is able to one up gabber in brutality.

2. all the swirling happy rave stabs and pitched-up vocals can be seen as cheesy trash; but they can also be seen in a different way: as psychedelic, and having a psychedelic feel / effect on the listener.
i think there is an aesthetic link to the 60s / 70s psychedelic, prog-rock and krautrock productions; because these as well often used "childish" sounds, ideas, noises, lyrics, nursery rhymes, novelty song concepts in their songs. yet it was still serious music.
"cheese in" doesn't equal "cheese out".

3. and while we are at the melodic level; believe it or not, but some of the melodies in happy hardcore are actually outstanding and interesting on a music theory level (the composers might have not been consciously aware of this, though). but more on this elsewhere.

so, there is a lot going for happy hardcore, and don't be ashamed to admit that you like these sweet and cute but also vicious and psychedelic songs.
because nothing is more ferocious than a happy and smiling psychopath, right?

10 interesting Happy Hardcore selections from the 90s:

1. Critical Mass - Burnin' Love (2 Da Core Mix)

2. Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo - Your Smile (Happy Hardcore Mix)

3. Lords of the Underworld - Making Moves

4. Happymen - Love is You (Stunned Guys Hardcore Mix)

5. Profound - 4 O' Clock

6. DJ Hooligan - Love Time

7. Mark 'Oh - Randy (DJ Hooligan Remix)

8. Marusha - It Takes Me Away (Core Remix)

9. Suspicious - Lovewaves

10. Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo - Wonderful Days (Rotterdam Mix)
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Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Great new Hardcore Techno related releases from October to December 2024

Okay, so the situation is this:
There is a lot of awesome, exciting Hardcore music being poured out. Yet, this still goes largely unnoticed. The sound is just not *getting through*. Many people focus on the same labels, artists, festivals, over and over again. So most of the "good stuff" remains - invisible.

And now, in order to actually *push* these very new underground sounds, we are starting this new series on noteworthy novel releases.
We won't focus entirely on Hardcore here, but also adjacent and otherwise special genres.
And, of course, not just on the unknown dogs, but also some well-known releases that retain an interesting and / or underground sound.

Here is the fourth (and final) entry for 2024.


1. The Darkcreator & The Man Unknown - Mirror Me [FDD.007]



Doomcore / Doomtechno.


2. Minimum Syndicat - S.C.H.O.R.L. (KILLEKILL029)



Electro / Hypnotic / Techno.


3. Alec Empire - Death Rays (Self-Released)



Haunting Ambient and Noise.


4. Naos - Resurrection (wave VIII) (Self-Released)



Occult Doomcore.


5. PFP - NDE unacceptable noise_v001 (Self-Released)



Self-released noise.


6. Braintrance - Tsunami E.P. (Braintrance)



Ravecore / Hardtrance.


7. Acid Special #2 - 303 Headbangers [MOK318]



Acid, Acidcore, and Gabber.


8. DJ AI & Low Entropy - Intelligence of Doom [GBBR099]



AI aided Doomcore Techno.


9. Hecate and Friends - Various (Self-Released)



Breakcore / Experimental


10. V.A. - Ravebreakerz 02 (RODBKZ02)



Techno / Electro / Breaks / Oldschool
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Thursday, December 12, 2024

Off-Charts: The Prestige of The Illusionist

Oh Oh Oh, it's magic!
And it's true. Hardcore Techno and Gabber references imagery and tropes of science fiction, horror, the surreal & the fantastic... and a recurring theme is that of magic - and the magician ( we alluded to that in the past already - https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-magicians-legacy-unveiling-mystical.html ).

So... let's have an off-chart that deals with tracks related to stage magic, illusions, mindgames, trickery, wizards and witches!

(BTW: The title refers to two great movies about stage magicians that were released back to back. Hurry and watch them now!)
  1. Raver's Nature - No More Mind Games
  2. The Sorcerer - Summer
  3. Lords Of The Underworld - Making Moves
  4. Metatron - The Master Of The Lost Souls
  5. Barbarian - Wizzard To Hell
  6. Distorted Waves of Ohm - Beneath The Subconscious Lies A Distorted Mind
  7. Final Dream - Beyond The Infinite
  8. Omar Santana - Wizard Of Oh
  9. The Dead Hippies - What's That Spell?
  10. RMB - The Prince Of Darkness
  11. Alec Empire - The Robot Put A Voodoospell On Me
  12. Mad Doktas Of Mind Altaration - Learning The Hard Way
  13. Syncro Flash A/B - Satanic Doll
  14. Nordcore GMBH - Stairway To Hell
  15. Agent Orange - Mind Attack
  16. Joey Beltram - Mentasm
  17. Nightbreed - Door To Dreams
  18. Final Dream - The Sleeper Must Awaken
  19. Curley - Lysergik Delusions
  20. Mutoid - The Necromonicon
  21. Distorted Waves Of Ohm - Puppet Master
  22. 80 Aum - Mindcontroller
  23. Zekt - Phantoms In The Hall
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Monday, December 9, 2024

Warped Visions: An Audiovisual Dive into the Reign of Belgian Techno

Warped Visions: An Audiovisual Dive into the Reign of Belgian Techno (A Music Video Playlist from 1991–1992)

The early 1990s were a wild melting pot of creativity, giving birth to many iconic sounds and styles in electronic music. For fans of old-school rave, this era is often referred to as "the golden age of rave." With few established templates, artists had unparalleled freedom to experiment, leading to the foundations of many modern EDM genres, such as Hardcore, Drum and Bass, Hard Dance, and others. Between 1990 and 1992, the first forms of Hardcore Techno and Rave emerged, particularly in Belgium, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany.

One of the standout styles from this golden age was Belgian Techno. Known by several other names—Techno-Rave, Rave Techno, Hardcore Techno, Nosebleed Techno, or Hoover Techno—this style combined elements of New Beat with a futuristic edge. Characterized by heavy use of hoover sounds, choir stabs, buzzing synths, convulsive riffs, and pounding beats (occasionally with slow breakbeats), it was intense, deranged, and unmistakable. Even if you’re unfamiliar with the genre’s name, chances are you’ve heard its iconic hoover synth or classics by artists like T99, Joey Beltram, Channel X, LA Style, or Human Resource. If you’ve got that sound in mind, you’re already halfway there.

Despite its massive popularity during this period and its influence on modern electronic music, finding music videos and live performances from Belgian Techno can be quite challenging. This is partly due to the variety of names used for the genre and its frequent lumping with adjacent styles like Breakbeat Hardcore and New Beat. Its liminal nature as a precursor to Hardcore means it often falls through the cracks of genre categorization. As a result, algorithms and tagging systems fail to surface Belgian Techno content, leaving fans without a definitive audiovisual repository.
But look no further! We’ve curated an extensive playlist of music videos and live performances that embody this seminal style. Whether you’re a nostalgic fan or a newcomer ready for a nosebleed-inducing crash course in Belgian Techno, this playlist has you covered!

(AI disclaimer: ChatGPT has been used on some parts of this text.)

Belgian Techno-Rave Music Videos 1991–1992
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Saturday, December 7, 2024

The 1000 Heads of Technohead

Michael Wells has quite the legacy and is a legend in the world of hard, "danceable" electronic music.
having his roots in the EBM, industrial, early techno and BDSM scene of the 1980s, he became a trailblazer during the techno boom of the 90s, only to be elevated to the state of a hardcore superstar.

and we truly mean the *super*-star designation here. He formed the Technohead project together with his wife Lee Newman, and the single release "i wanna be a hippy" (sampling a hippie cult movie from the late 80s for the chorus) is a contender for the best known, most played, and most danced to hardcore-adjacent track of the 1990s. was there any discotheque, city-fest or village party where this track was not played, in between songs by tina turner, backstreet boys, beck, and culture beat?

the heavy rotation of the attached music video on the major music television channels of europe also meant the first acquaintance with gabber styles & clothing for many viewers, including mokum records style hammers (dont ask, just watch the video, dude!).

but this part of his legacy should not overshadow his maybe even more important works.
he is a versatile producer in a variety of styles, from slowcore to extra-speedcore.
never just focusing on the "bang bang bang" of ecstasy inducing gabber tracks, but adding depth and an extra dose of darkness to his tracks - maybe not surprising, as his roots lie in the kinky electronic industrial world of the 90s, as mentioned above.

yet more than that, he was also an activist and agitator for a more sophisticated and experimental sound of hardcore - one of the few people at the top of the scene who realized the unexplored potential of this sound, and envisioned ways that the scene could have taken.
one fall-out of this approach were his "technohead" compilations, which were one of the very few CD compilations featuring deep, deep underground tracks by labels like fischkopf, praxis, riot beats... that were available and exposed at chain stores and similar outlets, introducing a whole generation of hard heads to these soundwaves - for the first time.

but alas, hardcore did not take this route - all of this is history, by now.
or isn't it? because maybe there is still hope - as this sound lives on!

thus let us look at 10 tracks by the very Technohead (and various akas) down below.

1. Church of E*tacy - The Passion
 

2. Technohead - I Wanna be a Hippy
 

3. Elvis Jackson - Ahh Soul

4. Signs of Chaos - Killout A2

5. Technohead - Stay Down with the Hardcore

6. Chosen Few - After Hourz (Technohead Remix)

7. Technohead - The Number One Contender

8. Technohead - Accelerator 2

9. Technohead - Heads*x (Nanotech Mix)

10. Signs of Chaos - Killout (One Step From Death)

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Monday, December 2, 2024

EBM, Newbeat and 80s Industrial tracks by later Hardcore Techno artists

We like to cross boundaries, right?
So in this issue of jumping beyond border fences, we will take a look at EBM style tracks - done by ferocious Hardcore artists!

1. Cyborg Unknown - Year 2001 (Transcendental 12" mix)

Done by Marc Acardipane.


2. Superpower - Molecule Man

Done by The Horrorist and Miro / Stickhead.


3. Acrosome - Wake Up America

done by oliver chesler / the horrorist's brother, who also did some hardcore releases.



4. The Horrorist - Power Is Force

The Horrorist solo.


5. Scaremonger - Soon We All Will Have Special Names

Acid-newbeat proto-techno.


6. T.S.A.R - Treu Sind Wir (Infinity Mix)

"Arranged by Acardipane".


7. O - Das Spiel

Kinky new beat-techno by Martin Damm aka The Speedfreak.
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Saturday, November 30, 2024

Peculiarities of the 90s German Underground Hardcore Techno Scene and Sound

The scene in Germany - just like in the Netherlands - was not monolith. It was varied, fragmented, with multiple tendencies, styles, groups, players, movers, shakers.
Some were into more Acidic or Technoid stuff. Others into fun party Gabber. Maybe even into Rave- Trancecore music. And Speedcore, Breakcore, all-out terror.
But regardless of that - there are some common descriptions and motions we can attribute to this scene - even if it is not a "one size fits all" thing.

Because compared to the Dutch scene, there was much less focus on a cheerful, "happy", or dance sound.
Instead - an affection towards brutality, violence, mayhem and things bleak, nihilist, and depressive.

So instead of dance-y hoovers you had trash metal samples; instead of pitched up female pop singers you had monologues by robert de niro or sergeant paula about death and war; instead of MCs calling you to get down and join the dancefloor you had the most heart-rending screams by people of all genders sampled straight out of "video nasties" and similar media; and instead of a "bouncy drum", the bass kick more often resembled the sound of a pile driver or other heavy duty machinery.

Oh, despite of all this darkness and obliteration, these producers, fans, and underground "party" people were not violent maniacs "in real life". Those that I met were often amongst the most friendly, elated, optimistic people I know.
It's just that they were seriously messed up in their heads. In the most positive way! Like we all are.
Likable freaks.

Ah, and on the topic of parties: the Dutch had big stadiums, arenas, small or large-size clubs and discos...
And in Germany the parties were often in squats, abandoned buildings, under a bridge, in a hole, in the mud....
No ventilation, no lights, just ~150 people cramped in a pitch black room with fog, strobes, and 120+ decibel of killer bass frequencies.

Like one of the Hateparade / F**kparade creators once said: "You know it's a good party when your clothes are covered in mud afterwards".

There are certainly similarities to the scenes of other countries - like USA, UK, France, Australia... but we will look at that at another time.

Instead we will look at 11 tracks of the 90s German Hardcore scene - right here, and right now!

1. Noize Creator - World Wide


2. Bakalla - 30 Stunden Schmerzen


3. Stickhead - Check This Mutha Down


4. S 37 - Offspring Of The Night


5. Amiga Shock Force - House Full of Gangstas


6. Taciturne - Alles Schweine


7. Ec8or - Raving Hypospadie


8. Eradicator - Worringen


9. Lord Nord - Sandman


10. Sonic Overkill - Föhntwiesau


11. Napalm - Trash Hard

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Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Psycore: Discovering the dark, deranged, and disturbing side of the Psytrance spectrum

Do you like Psytrance? Goa? yes? (Although I've been told these are actually two *different* genres).
It's so-so for me. Yeah there are some "hits". Really good stuff. Also among the oldschool. LSD, Hallucinogen, Astral Projection, Trust In Trance, that kind of stuff.
But let's face it. There are too many "fillers"; endless clones with perpetual "woob woon woob" bass drums and eternally rising and descending cut off frequencies.
Yet, there is one thing that is very interesting to me - that I love a lot.
Psycore. A pocket genre, a miniature style. That, I think, so far managed to elude and evade the gaze of the "mainstream eye".

It's a combination of Psytrance and Hardcore... no wait... this dry description that does not do this genre judgement at all.
It's amongst the most deranged, nihilistic, and sanity-shattering music I ever heard. You take some sounds of psytrance, maybe goa - and speed them up, until 200 bpm, 300 bpm, even 1000 and beyond. everything becomes psycho, the basslines become the walls of a lunatic institute, the sonic structures just rush by, you fall into an endless chasm of fluctuating sounds, until your mind goes into vertigo (and starts to scream).

I'm not certain how popular / attached to the general psytrance scene this psycore pocket genre actually is.
Is it just some freaks who do it? is it played at a lot of psytrance parties?
is it like some obscured black metal or synthwave genre that noone really knows - except a few insiders?

I don't know - but i know the scene and sound is vital and alive, has its dedicated fans and followers, and is going strong since years.

Oh yeah, it's also interesting how psycore gives the "psytrance" tropes and topics the hardcore treatment.
these tracks no longer talk about 'being one with the universe', or hoping for a happy future of humanity, or attaining a state of calm, mindfulness, and serenity - the plates on their menu are the end of the cosmos, the destruction of logic, chaos, disorder - just sheer cosmic horror, basically.

so better take care!

now here is a selection of 10 notable psycore tracks:

1. Dravna inxtibhiothic - aokigaravna - 280BPM



2. Dravna - Dimension at C - 137 (220-240 BPM)



3. Paranoise - We Are Freaks



4. Black Phillip - Triunfo de Venus



5. Infra - Series No. 1 {260bpm}



6. Arcek vs HyperActive 25 - Wicked 210bpm



7. Intraception - Occult Frequencies (250)



8. Omnipresent Miscreants - The Warped Quantum Holes



9. ToxiKlouds - Run



10. ToxiKlouds - Kerberos

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Saturday, November 23, 2024

(A few of the) Roughest Early Breakcore Tracks

Even though Breakcore came from Hardcore Techno and was entwined in it, it eventually split off and grew into a scene of its own (a bit similar to other former "Hardcore" genres like Gabber, Speedcore, Doomcore...).

It could be argued that the global world of Breakcore was at one point even *bigger* then Gabber or Tech-Hardcore...

And for sure it evolved into something more varied and multiplied than its roots...

But lets stay at these very roots for a while (and maybe let an apple fall on our heads)...

Because the earliest output that was considered to be breakcore was often not *that* rough or extreme yet... still very much tied to pre-existing breakbeat, jungle, drumnbass, even techno sound...
It one upped the brutality, yes, but still..

"Is The Prodigy related to Breakcore?" was an ongoing discussion in 90s internet forums; an example of this perceived ambiguity.

So because of this, we are gonna take look at a few early compositions that really stood apart in experimentalism, extremity, surrealism and kick-you-in-the-butt-ism.

Tracks that would have scared the mainstream drumnbass or "*-step" crowd away off any 90s dancefloor...

Thus here it is.

Some of the most extreme early breakcore tracks.
  1. Ec8or - Part of the Thing https://youtu.be/pCHFOJYuQpU Ouch! So hard
  2. Christoph Fringeli & DJ Scud - Body Snatcher https://youtu.be/96ArxhH3SYITaking some techstep methods used for an own track... but turning them totally insane. "There is no need for hate now."
  3. Alec Empire - Black Sabbath One of the most f*cked up tracks. https://youtu.be/D4a2hJpofe8
  4. Leo Anibaldi - Kamikaze https://www.discogs.com/release/423906-Various-Anti-Orario-EP "Sound of rome" legend Anibaldi goes sepultura.
  5. Society Suckers - Shizophrenic https://youtu.be/yd-RAPYYnYY?si=0ThuLarknMqHiaP4 'I want to rule the world". Well, who would not?
  6. Hanin - Nizza It's nice that one of the hardest early breakcore tracks was released by a girl. https://youtu.be/Vop0OUFU77I
  7. Aphex Twin - Come to Daddy Richard D james contribution to the emerging breakcore scene. Pogo-dancing to this track at the Widerstand Records truck on the ****parade in berlin 1998 - were you there? https://youtu.be/TZ827lkktYs
  8. Patric Catani - Still Wanna Win (I Can't Lose) Giving your mind the full on treatment https://youtu.be/ysRs1E_-25c
  9. Amiga Shock Force - Fastbreak Produced in 1998 - but not released before 2003. Good morning, Vietnam! https://youtu.be/4BWzAVtLFxg?t=3266
  10. Christoph De babalon - Residuum This slams so hard! https://youtu.be/YW-MPWVwyVE
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