Back catalogue: Hard Techno

Review: Valerie Ace solidifies her rising status in techno with her third vinyl EP, 'Givers & Takers', on her Hardwon imprint. The title track sets an ominous tone with a slow breakbeat and interlocking percussion, building tension before a heavy bass climax. 'Eat Dirt' lives up to its name, switching between breaks and straight sections to pound the floor with relentless intensity. 'A Moment Lost' wastes no time, charging out of the gates with rapidly evolving snares and filtered bass punches driving the track over atmospheric background sounds. The afternoon or afterhours vibe of '3PM' is enhanced by seasick synth layers contrasting against malignant drums, creating a sense of uncertainty. Each of the four tracks offers a hard-hitting techno experience, showcasing Valerie Ace's skill in crafting intense workouts. Givers & Takers confirms her premier place in contemporary techno and this EP is a great example to her ability to push boundaries and keep the energy high on the dancefloor.

Review: This new solo outing from Aussie talent Ad Nauseaum has it all - acid, rave, techno, hardcore and more. 'Omega System' sets a pretty brutal tone to get things underway with filtered synths and blazing acid lines searing about the mix over raw, hard, flat drums. 'Alpha System' is even quicker and brings serrated synth madness to video game motifs and slamming kicks. Last of all is 'Always Acid,' a track that was made back in 2004 but doesn't sound in any way out of date. It's another one to blow the roof off any party.

Review: It doesn't seem like the hard techno revolution is going anywhere any time soon. AnD (techno) is a label making sure of that and its sixth missive from the boss is another one to make the eyes water and the heart race. The white knuckle slammer that is 'I Got So Much' kicks off and then 'Screeching' does just that with a terrifying sense of anxiety and menace. 'Your Energy' is all glitchy sounds, squealing textures, hard techno drums and twisted sirens and the final part of this techno equivalent of a Monster energy drink overload is the rip-snorting 'On A Mission.'

Review: OMEN Recordings's next release is a big one that unites Axkan and Duellist on the same slab of wax. They take care of one side each and we're told the inspiration for their sounds was making a "shared response to the turmoil of global conflicts." Duellist kicks off and suggests with his offerings that he is anxious, unsettled and in fight mode because 'Oxidative Stress' is front-foot techno with monstrous bass energy. 'Stains Of Time' is another one with brash drums and perc and plenty of tension, then Axkan offers the hypotonic loops of 'Warfare' and broken beat menace of 'Thermobaric.

Review: "A record planned for almost 30 years is finally happening!" say the only notes with this new, one-sided and limited edition hand-stamped 12". It finds DJ Heartchore offering up two versions of the same track. 'In Love' is a classic hard techno banger with more energy than a classroom full of nine-year-olds after a crate of Monster energy drinks. It issuer rave fodder for main room deployment and also included is a 1994 Tool with a more old school feel but no less of an impact.

Review: The DJ Producer goes in hard here with a special one-sided 12" that uses all of its almost 11-minute lay time to pack in as many hardcore references, sounds and motifs as possible. It is a head-spinning, ear-tickling medley of legendary status that comes as a massive tribute to DJ Hellfish and the 100th release of his Deathchant label.
It's an absolute bomb of a tune, packed with energy and intensity, rave sirens, caustic pads, distorted bass and chopped-up shout-outs. Brilliantly mad.

Review: Strap in for a bracing and exhilarating ride just before Christmas with this new and fierce outing from DJ Speedsick. It's hard techno in its most pure form right from the first beat, with 'A Sort Of Schizophrenic Feeling' blazing a raw, textured trail. 'Execution Style' is another dark one with a crisp broken beat and reverb-heavy bass, 'History Of Overreacting' is a moody late-night menacer and 'Death Reversed' is train-track techno with smart filters. 'God Willing' shuts down with a bang and pure dance floor power.

Review: Only a hard techno label would be brazen enough to call itself Danger Wank. There is much more worth investigating here though than just the semantics: Fist Of Fury grabs you by the throat with its overdriven percussive loops and flat, slamming drums on 'Minimaythm Demoniae.' It sounds like what happens when you have too many windows open on your computer with sound playing from one that crashes. Al Core brings squealing synths and horrorcore sleaze to '007 Bald Frenchcore' and Celsius tickles the inner war with the abstract sounds and malfunctioning drum patterns of 'L'Appel Du Vide.' Kyo_O's 'Releaser Fucking' gets a brutal LeeloO Hardcoholics remix to close down this serious sonic assault.

Review: NeoAcid returns with another EP of uncompromising techno, a sonic assault that's sure to leave a lasting impression. Flkn's 'The Jam' sets the tone, a relentless barrage of distorted kicks and acid lines that feels like a descent into a chaotic, industrial underworld. Collaborations with Jacidorex and Vcl push the boundaries further, their twisted soundscapes and distorted rhythms creating a sense of exhilarating chaos, like a runaway train hurtling through a dystopian landscape. On the flipside, Pisapia takes the reins, offering a slightly different flavour with hypnotic grooves and infectious melodies that add a touch of dark energy to the mix. A headfirst dive into the depths of techno, a sonic thrill ride that will leave you disoriented and exhilarated.

Review: Released only a year on from Jacidorex's Unfaced, an acid techno tumbler of big proportions, now comes a new V/A sourced from many a peer in the upstart Belgian artist's orbit. First, we've the collaborative 'Midnight Express', a cleanly tenebrous slink through twinkling, bubbling, upstream synths and hypotense builds, before the hardcore-informed 'Krazchen' by Acidus serves to harrow dancefloors worldwide with evil banana slip synths and cavernous kicks. A melodic turn is marked thereafter on the call-to-dance 'Into The Floor' by Ansbro, while Mahtal 'All In This' continues this trend into hardstyle techno, with its especially clever use of pitched-up and resampled kicks.

Review: RIOT Radio is a fiercely independent techno label based in Scotland that roll out another in its 'limited as fuck' series of releases. This one is also Matthias Koch's first-ever vinyl release and offers some eye-wateringly jacked-up and frosty beats that are all primed and ready to blow up any dance floor. Take 'Vice' - a heavy, marching cut with wiry electronics and fuzzy sonics. 'An Angel Told Me To Do It' is alive with ghoulish voices and screw synths and 'She Bites' then slams out more swampy techno madness. Low Entropy's 'Stripped' remix closes out in brutal and brilliant fashion.

Review: Koenig Cylinders always kept it hella real with their techno. The pair of John Selway and Oliver Chesler were pioneers of the hard stuff first time around and now that it is back en vogue, why not reissue this classic? 'Untitled' opens with a freaky vocal and eerie synth sound before '99.9' brings a wall of white noise and slamming drum patterns. 'Carousel' is an urgent wall-rattler with cantering drums and rave sires that light up the 'floor and 'Choreomania' shuts down with razor-sharp synths and acid flashes that tickle your brain. Arresting tackle of the highest order.

Review: Low Order returns with his sixth EP in five years and in doing so continues his exploration of relentless industrial body music. Things open with immersive noise textures building into the driving bass pressure of 'See The Land' which is reminiscent of Portion Reform's classic sound. Tracks like 'Angel Cycle,' 'Stand Still' and the title track showcase his unstoppable momentum and explain why he and his sound are dominating European clubs. The closing track envelops with dreamlike drones, feedback and distorted vocals embodying a haunting, gritty realisation. Though rooted in extreme styles, this EP keeps its focus on the dancefloor.

Review: Nantes-based producers Luche and Laton Rave, both rooted in the free-party scene and affiliated with Esprits Sauvages and Chat Manik, channel their underground origins into this latest Acid Avengers split EP. Across four tracks, they tap into the raw, hypnotic energy of early acid techno, weaving together influences from tribe, doom, and Belgium's old-school rave scene. 'Pain Bird' and 'Some Days Don't Exist' showcase Luche's knack for atmospheric intensity, while Laton Rave's 'Celestial Bloom' and 'Hornest Revenge' push deeper into shadowy, propulsive territory. A dark, electrifying release built for all-night sessions under open skies.

Review: MarcelDune returns with a fierce new outing on Intrepid Skin. Based in London and rooted in Athens, MarcelDune's musical DNA spans jazz, opera and punk DIY so he is known for creating a sound that champions resistance, authenticity and liberation. This release embodies that ethos with euphoric energy, heavy drums and unrestrained fun all butting out of the beats. The title track opens with serrated industrial grooves, while 'Remedy for Evil' brings bouncy, relentless rhythm. 'Tell Me Who They Are' features ricocheting vocal chops and angular percussion and 'Romantic and Other Fantasies' closes with pounding beats and a whirlwind of effects.

Review: Worldwide Heavy Industries Vol.1 is the latest wax drop from Flux Musical Art and Brutal Forms and it makes for an immersive trip deep into industrial soundscapes and futuristic themes. Dominik Muller's intricate 'Too Many Posers' soon sucks you in followed by Ryuji Takeuchi's dynamic 'In Your Mind' with its unusual rhythmic innovation. On the B-side, 6SISS and Hypnoskull's intense 'Losss' gets super raw with an industrial edge, while Low Order's 'Taste My Venom' explores darker experimental territory. Skumring's atmospheric 'Corpse-Ridden' closes the album with a mood as dark as you would expect given the title.

Review: AcidLab is back with a fourth dose of medicine and this one comes on translucent red vinyl with various different artists behind the beats. Musikaddikt's 'Acid War' is a straight-up techno banger with oversized hi-hats. Tassid & Eski offer up the best named tack of the year with 'Ok You Cunts' which is raved-up hard techno, Acidrats & Skandal get even more wild and unhinged with their barrage of wind-up melodies and hard-edge and flat-footed beats on 'Massive Murder' and last of all comes Crime with 'Knife Blast which is a big distorted wall of white knuckle rave-techno, not for the faint-hearted.

Review: Rats On Acid's Triple A debut 'Burn Out' hears the occasional ear-amazer emit an ecstatic edict in acid hardcore, teasing out a sad but true fact of the post-industrial, post-post-modern condition: burnout. Ah, yes burnout. That tired old, laborious effect of overwork and overshot ambition. How do we combat burnout? First of all, redirect our energies to skanking anodes of acid hardcore, not overtime at work. The EP's title track is mad fun, bringing acrimonious acids and aerodrome reverbs, while 'On The Jazz' restricts the mix-space to a narrow shaft, up which a determined, high-impedant melodic current climbs. 'Turn The Page' ends on a strangely excited, cacophonous stasis; we're amazed this one was made recently, as it has a real convincing 90s energy to it.

Review: Lithuanian hardcore techno producer Somniac One returns to her very own Somniverse imprint for a rabid new EP release, 'To All My Soggy Creatures Of The Night'. Chronicling four eldritch horrors on a goopy green vinyl record, this 12" opens on a sense of berserk immediacy with 'Poly Nightmare', its crunching hardstyle kick-tears seizing upon a restless crossrhythm that only then settles back a four-beat bed after giving us a certain fright. The EP continues as rhythmically expected from there on out, although 'Damp Dreams' is similarly prodigal and pliocene, its huge overhead string synths set against hard acid, and implied to sound as though they were the harmonic calls of a leviathan rearing its huge head above water.

Review: The Subdermic aka Lilly Phoenix is a Cambridge-based electronic artist who made her debut in 2010 with the acclaimed anthem 'Electric Cabaret.' Since then, she has released a diverse array of techno, electro, acid and abstract ambient sounds. Now, as part of the 'Limited As Fuck' series on this independent Scottish techno label she offers up her first strictly acid release and The Subdermic's first solo vinyl. The four-track EP is packed with relentless acid, with the first two tracks delivering high-energy intensity, while the third offers an acid-jack overdose. The release concludes with 'Cruel Diagonals' with its mesmerising vocals that elevate the experience.