REGAL Vinyl & CDs

Review: Spanish label Involve hits release number 40 and continues to grow old disgracefully with some face-melting techno from a fine crew of miscreants. Regal's 'Undisputed' is a pilled up old school techno banger with flashy synth work, while DJ Emerson's 'Xtc' is just as intense but this time from the synth patterns, acid and banging drums which all coalesce into a thrilling ride. Tensal's 'Metaverse' is edgy and unsettling with its nerve stabs, fractured vocals and unrelenting kick drum power then Asstnt's 'La Linea' closes out with 90s white knuckle techno and filthy guitar riffs in amongst the action.

Review: Monstrously glassy, yet heavy hard techno cuttage from the French RAW crew, who welcome four stunning audio fragments from various artists in their orbit. It's the seventh release in the Gemstones series, which is in turn inspired by different types of precious stones. Opener 'Neo Tokyo Vision' is an exciting and cutting tittilator, with massive rave stabs and a nigh-perfect balance of weight and highs, evoking the feeling of freely trawling the city at night with reckless abandon. Things grow grungier from thereon, with the likes of 'Black Mesa' and 'Burned Out' hearing the EP grow increasingly soily, subterranean.