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Black Amalgam: An Excursion in Gabber, Speedcore, Death and Black Metal

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Last night, American hardcore/speedcore DJs and black/death metal bands joined forces in Las Vegas, NV to reinforce the powers of the underground in an outstanding way.  Since we were in the city of sin, bands Demesic and Dead Reckoning were certain to make an appearance and our headliner Acid Enema performed as their live duo (Noth on guitars, Abhorrent on the mic and programming), which is what I’ve been waiting for since Gabberfest 2015!

Demesic live at The Bradley. black Amalgam show. Las Vegas, NV.
Demesic live at The Bradley. black Amalgam show. Las Vegas, NV.

The night was held together by Los Angeles’s Speedcore Militia members Slyten and Arcid as well as Las Vegas’s own DJLD and HellNegative! The live acts were a lot of fun and refreshing to the standard line up/transitions that we are used to seeing at raves and also shows the support and cooperation we have across the spectrum of American music groups and collectives. “I want to keep pushing boundaries.” says Acid Enema’s front-man Abhorrent. “I want to continue expanding interest into more metal influenced hardcore and speedcore, also as a way to open new ears and generate interest in the hardcore sound; combining musical tastes may do just that!” HellNegative feels the same way about the combination, saying, “By booking hardcore alongside other genres, we have a chance to introduce our music to a completely different demographic. And thanks to last night’s show, we’ve converted a few metal heads into speedcore and breakcore fans.”

Slyten at the Black Amalgam show. Las Vegas, NV.
Slyten at the Black Amalgam show. Las Vegas, NV.

There seems to be a theme going on here, as Noth also mentions that unity is a key aspect for the growth and continuation the American hardcore scene. “There is a lot of dissonance between genres and shows like these bring fans of both styles together and could maybe even cultivate a love for something new.”

There’s still plenty of evidence that the American hardcore scene is alive and thriving, even in these dive-y little bars like the Bradley which dedicated members will flock to so that we can catch up on the latest happenings and events that are coming up in the near future. You are bound to meet the right people and to make the right connections in this underworld and for Las Vegas, there isn’t a better way to get your fix than its plethora of diversity in a city where you may never run into the same person twice.

Announcements, Articles, Daybreaker

Apocalypto featuring Frontliner: Pre-Game Analysis

It may seem like a one-off to many, but this weekend Las Vegas sees one of its biggest influxes in tourism that doesn’t take place within the “summer months” or the holidays; I didn’t know this until I began driving down into the dust bowl monolith itself and witnessed all of the trailers and vintage vehicles making the same trek as I; there is always plenty going on in this city as you know, but rarely do we get to say that we are going to Vegas for hard dance music. This Saturday, ‘Ravealation’ has given us the pleasure of enjoying Hardstyle much closer to home with another ‘Apocalypto’ event featuring the “melody man” himself FRONTLINER! Since I’ve driven 6 hours into town for this event, one of the front men (and mastermind behind ‘Apocalypto’ in this writer’s opinion) Matthew Levin has agreed to sit down with me and discuss how events like this are becoming ever more possible in the city that already has it all.

What is the Apocalypto concept and how is it becoming a pivotal point for hard dance music in Las Vegas?

It’s a concept that allows us to throw hard dance events for experienced and new fans alike. We plan on treating Apocalypto as its own brand… it exists as its own entity.  Apocalypto will act with the best interests of hard dance music fans in mind, and we plan on delivering incredible experiences to these great people. Our goal is to strengthen the current hard dance foundations while expanding our music to new demographics.

 What can people expect from Apocalypto this Saturday?

First and foremost: amazing sound. My number one concern is always having powerful sound. There are fewer things in life more disappointing than a Hard Dance party with weak sound. The venue itself has fantastic sound, but we have still elected to reinforce it with our own punch. On top of that, there will be plenty of lasers and other visual productions. As for the talent, I am 100% confident in all of their performance capabilities. I think every attendee is going to have an absolute blast.

 What do you think is Las Vegas biggest reason for the lack of support for hard dance music?

I think population density and overall population is the issue. If you look at shows in LA, they can pull attendees from all of their suburbs, even as far as the city of San Diego, which is a two hour drive away. A lot of people believe that Vegas is a large city, when in fact it’s not larger than a small town. Another aspect that makes throwing non-mainstream parties difficult is that Vegas focuses significantly on supporting the casino club industry, which is prevalent here. Overall, I would say we are seeing a steady increase in Hard Dance support in Las Vegas, which is always a good sign.

What more do you think can be done to strengthen the hard dance scene in your city? As a whole?

I believe that sharing the music with a variety of demographics will be the fastest way to grow the scene in Las Vegas. Electronic music as a whole has a huge following in this city, yet the majority of these people have never even heard of hard dance, hardstyle, or hardcore. To spread hard dance as a whole, I believe that a similar approach must be taken, in that we need to penetrate other electronic dance communities and share our music with them. On top of that, and I’ll receive flak for saying this, but I feel that most American Hard Dance DJ’s do not present the music well to neither the experienced fans nor especially the inexperienced/new fans. I could write an article on all the consistent mistakes I see/hear American hard dance DJs execute, and eventually I plan on writing that as an information piece.  Sidenote: to revisit the earlier statement regarding people in Las Vegas not having knowledge of “hard dance, hardstyle, or hardcore,” I would like to add psytrance to that list.  Here in Las Vegas, Jack Spaidz has proved time and time again that psytrance is cheerfully welcomed at Apocalypto, and I would like to see an expansion of knowledge regarding that genre, along with the rest of the more standard hard dance genres, both here in Vegas, and across the states.

What is in store for us and Apocalypto in the future?

We are looking to grow both as a company and with the rest of the hard dance scene. I don’t see a limit as to how far we can take Apocalypto, I’m just happy to be along for the ride and put on great shows for the fans.

You can witness American hard dance acts Jo Ji, Kung Pow, Jack Spaidz, the debut of RVLTN Black and of course FRONTLINER this Saturday, April, 16th at the Hard Rock Café (Paradise Road location) in Las Vegas, Nevada!

Daybreaker, Digitracks, Reviews

Malice – I’m a Beast – Track Review

Here is another name in the Rawstyle scene that you need to become familiar with. If you think Warface, Digital Punk, E-Force etc. is the hardest it gets, well, you have a lot of research to do, and you can start with Malice’s two-track release. ‘The Arrival’ certainly has its merits, but it’s the title track that really captures the power this guy has in his productions. Malice has always teetered close to the edge of hardstyle/hardcore so if you’re looking for a track to end/bridge your sets with, look no further than the works of Malice!

 

Daybreaker, Digitracks, Reviews

Warface & Regain – Wakin’ Up – Track Review

Regain is the key player in the latest wave of raw up-and-comers. Pushing the boundaries with his rock/metal influences he’s created a harder design for the raw and continues to show how important his role is that even artists like Warface want to collaborate! Continuously picking up the pace (Rawstyle was being produced at 155 BPM but now 158 is becoming standard), both of these artists combine their talents to create ‘Wakin’ Up’, out now on End of Line Recordings. It’s no wonder raw is taking over when you hear that aggression being pumped through sound systems of 70,000 + watts. You’ll know what I mean when you hear this one.

Daybreaker, Digitracks, Reviews

Tymon – Rituals of Distortion: Chapter 1 – Track Review

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Released last month as the 100th release for New York based hardcore record label Industrial Strength Records, industrial demon Tymon has put out what I consider so far as THE best hardcore release of 2016. Slow, eerie, crunchy, everything that the Aussie has become famous for is featured in this three-track release. ‘Crunch Time’ is the top track (you’ll notice right away), but both ‘Fade to Black’ and ‘Instakill’, which both feature a slower kick and a simpler sound design, are still produced and mastered with the upmost quality! And the fact that this is released as a “chapter 1”, I certainly hope this means that another release from this man is coming up in the near future, perhaps just as astounding.