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Review: Dark hard drum 'n' bass from one of the masters!

Review: Few producers enjoy the exalted position that Current Value does. And since he's moved back from his hectic crossbreed creations to more traditional tech drum & bass sounds, you can really hear the detail in every element. Xtrah is a man of similar frequency obsession, making this Cyberfunk release a really natural and honest project. Highlights include the cymbal-splashing twist on the triplet arrangement ("Escape") and the insane blocky snare funk on the total sci-fi freak out "Matchfit". With all other tech territories explored in between, one could easily argue this to be Cyberfunk's best release so far.

Review: Heavyweight Dutch neuro-troupe Blackout switch back to the tail end of 2015 and handpick four of their fieriest slappers from the vaults for this four-track V/A 12". Mindscape takes the lead with the electrifying seizure-inciter "One Sound", Current Value's "Rocket Science" reminds everyone why he's in a league of his own while newcomer Pythius's "Driveyard" reminds us why he was nominated as Best Newcomer in the Drum&BassArena Awards on the basis of a very slim (but growing) repertoire. Finally Optiv & BTK close the show with the shred-tastic bass riot "Dark City". Four essential cuts from Blackout's ever-developing chaos collection.

Review: Methlab: the agency behind some of the biggest names in tech D&B and innovative events around Europe continue their pact with Vegas & Maldini's Bad Taste imprint with the second instalment of in-house creations. As you'd expect, it's an all-out assault as Current Value leads the charge with a sizzling neuro racer "Pelham 212", the ever-innovative Billain tumbles behind with "Metal Jaws", a loose and frantic cut with drums that really shouldn't make sense, but definitely do. Elsewhere Optiv & Cza get gritty and abrasive on "Sub Surface" while Disprove, Signal and Audeka shove their middle fingers up at the space/time continuum with "Ritual". Brutal.

Review: Belly button deep into 2016 and Noisia serve up the second Invisible VA EP of the year. Once again, it's a range of old friends and new. And while the first VA session focused primarily on halftime inventions, this one is straight up D&B: Current Value takes the lead with harrowing cries over an industrial strength groove, Aussie newblood Dauntless lays down a lean Silent Witness-style design, Russian/English partnership Kije & Jay Mythix get wobblesome on the drums while Fre4knc delivers a classic subby roller with just enough twisted FX to keep it future. Yet another immaculate curation.

Review: The master of the most militant production in D&B, Current Value, returns with a genuinely unique double header for the Yellow Stripe label. Title cut "Maintainer" pummels with a kick-pattern and drum palette that sounds like no other where intense attention is paid to the sheet-metal snares and toxic bass textures. "Tremor" is even more out-there as scary, outer planetary sound design scrapes and howls over a techno-like rhythm. It doesn't get much more intense than this.

Review: Given the title, you would expect Environments, the second full-length from Machine Code, to feature music designed for a variety of moods and spaces. In a way, it fulfils that premise - though the 'environments' hinted at are dark, cramped and overbearingly creepy. Aggressively melding the low-end wobble and cranium-cracking rhythms of dubstep with elements borrowed from break core, squat party acid and nosebleed techno, Environments is a full-on aural assault over two action-packed CDs. This is intense, paranoid music for S&M sex dungeons, abandoned subway stations, panic rooms and nuclear bunkers. If that appeals, dive in - as dark and twisted records go, it's pretty impressive.

Review: Current Value hits hard with his first releases on Future Sickness! "Running" is just pure filth all the way! His mad crazy drum edits are like no one else and the bass stabs you where it hurts! This has been getting plays from every hard style DJ around the world.

Review: The Intransigent label turn to the talents of Current Value and DJ GIS. These two tracks are pure genius. As usual Current Value comes down with his no nonsense style, while for the flip side DJ GIS does not disappoint.

Review: The a-side comes with some heart tearing business. This one will destroy your soul! An eerie intro then 'bang' away we go to the dark side. The flip comes with some more filth and some amazing square wave trickery.

Review: Current Value is just tearing the scene apart at the moment! He brings yet another pair of ear bleeding tracks that will destroy any dancefloor. The a-side brings some heavy bass stabs with excellent editing while the flip is pure genius. Hold onto your hat.

Review: German scientist Current Value elevates his 14th studio album to wax status and the world is a better place. Rolling out over two heavyweight 12"s, this particular body of work explores the relationship between drum & bass and techno in a whole rainbow of interesting and uncompromising ways. From the pummelling non-stop 4x4s of 'Greed' to the glitchy, rising frequencies and twisted emotions of the title track, each cut takes a snapshot or a pinch of ingredients, inspects them on a microscopic level and turns them inside out. Elsewhere cuts like 'TNM' melt your face off with thundering beats and momentous energy while other tracks such as 'Deep Mind' go straight for the cranial sensation and fry your brain within seconds. An exceptional exploration. No one does it like Current Value.

Review: Mirroring its sister label Division's various artist EP earlier this year, Noisia's Invisible imprint delivers an equally varied and forward-thinking collection of left-minded drum & bass. Subtension blows the starter horn with the syncopated, seasick swing of "Hi There" before man-of-the-moment Current Value takes us on a graveyard adventure with the iced out minimalism of "Enticement" and unique soundscaper Hybris gets us all paranoid and twitchy with the industrial strength clunks and clanks of "Mission Creep". Finally Disprove & Signal close the show in style with deep machine breaths and purring kick/bass roll that's strong enough to melt tungsten.

Review: Well known for his strikes on Position Chrome, Current value comes back here with very strong tracks!!! Speed dreamy hard drum 'n' bass!!

Review: This label continues to go from strength to strength with 2 more killer tracks from current value.

Review: Crazy edits, rolls and drops on this release. Another head banging release from the Technical Itch stable.

Review: Soothsayer returns with its 6th release courtesy of Berlin-based phenomenon, Current Value. Having recently signed to both Tech Itch Recordings and Dylan's Freak and Obscene imprints, Current Value has methodically pushed the envelope with incendiary tracks comprised of brickbeats and distorted bass. "The Unspoken" is a decadent, discordant stomper bent on bludgeoning the speaker cabinets and dumbing the senses. The tune relies on a series of bastardized militant drum mechanics resounding in an utmost experimental fashion. Consider this a harsh and futuristic versioning of the tech-step sound of the past. Dynamic and corrosive, "The Unspoken" will leave an indelible mark on the sound of 2006. On the flip, "60,000 Thoughts" exhibits yet another venture into experimental drum works and dystopian atmospheres. Hard enough for fans of the nastiest dark-side sound yet clever enough for the drum-funk massive, the tune delivers yet another decidedly different rendition of dancefloor drum 'n' bass. This 12" delivers pure sledgehammer beats for the moshpit whilst offering something intelligent and provocative enough for the living-room electronica listener. Not for the faint of heart, night light advisory! DJ Support from: Limewax, Arsenic, Donny, DJ Hidden, Eye - D, Robyn Chaos, B - Key, Dustin E, Silent Killer.

Review: More madness from Current Value this time he delivers on the Obscene label. Two tracks of monstrous proportions dramatic vocal soundscapes and killer basslines as you come to expect from Current Value!

Review: Man of the moment Current Value makes his debut on Algorythm and delivers with this pounding monster of a tune named "Excellence". An awesome drum workout wraps around an acid induced bassline. Killer drum edits give way to screeching reeces and distorted 808 stabs. Then on the AA side something a bit different from Current Value with "Twisted". Melancholic strings give way to a relentless snarling hook of a bassline. The drums pulls it all together and turns it into a twisting technoid stepper.

Review: "Anticitizen", by Current Value, is excellent dark kicking heavy drum & bass.