Back catalogue: Hard Trance

Review: Our gondola having rounded a wrong corner, we wind up floating down the Styx via the Senne, as an unabashedly hell-themed classic trance record comes reissued through Belgian label La Musique De Beau Monde. D-Devils are a demonic Belgian trance act established in 1998; founding members Jo Jacobs and Pieter-Jan Verachtert did extremely well to uphold a fiery, chthonic theme over an expanse of decades. Dante's infernal Pandemonium is recalled on their dynamo track '6th Gate', a sinister, bat-winged-and-ram-horned trangressive techno netherworld, across whose magmatic lead line a certain brusque-voiced prince of hell urges us to take in the underworld's caustic surroundings: "the gates are open... look around you, they're everywhere... my guards are watching you... gate 6, pick up your weapons and fight, and dance with the devil!". Rising Belgian producer Erik Hubo laid these two remixes down in 2024, bringing an extra gladiatorial trance mood to an readymade eternal nightmare.

Review: A dynamic fusion of ghetto electro, trance and techno, this record is a fresh spin on familiar sounds. The title track, 'Booty Trance (feat Detroit's Filthiest)', is sure to stand out with crisp production that blends high-energy trance melodies with the raw edge of ghetto electro, creating an electrifying single. 'Another Time' shifts gears, drawing on 90s influences to craft an electro-techno hybrid that feels both nostalgic and forward-thinking. Its futuristic vibe and driving rhythm make it a standout for fans of classic electro with a modern twist. On Side-2, the Rawtakes Refix of 'Booty Trance' strips back the trance elements, leaning deeper into electro with a nod to Cybotron's iconic 'Clear'. The result is a grittier, street-smart version that feels grounded yet innovative. Closing the EP, the remix by Aura T-09 and Wheez-ie transforms the track into a hardcore techno anthem. The stomping beat and reimagined trance melodies elevate the energy, blending celestial tones with raw intensity. This EP is creative within the techno genre with diverse interpretations that will resonate across dancefloors and playlists alike.

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.