Dead Sound At Juno Download

Review: On All Down, Dead Sound show that when it comes to hard techno, they have few peers. The title track is the most visceral offering, a storming affair with vocal snippets and a murmuring vocal featuring over grainy drums and distorted kicks. The Videohead reshape follows a similar path, with a crashing snare and doubled up beats underpinning a grungy bassline. It's not all peak-time thrills however, and "Where Was I" is a more restrained track, although to suggest that Dead Sound are being subdued is far off the mark. Glitchy percussion and a dubby groove lend it this semblance, but at its heart is a tracky rhythm.

Review: There is no room for ambiguity on this release, with Dead Sound targeting the peak-time dance floor. "It's Over" sets the tone for most of the EP, with crunchy beats underpinning a rolling rhythm with a tracky flavour. "Split Blood" is more uptempo, with Dead Sound's heavy drums riding a rolling, filtered groove and "Looking at You" features climaxes to the sound of screeching, coruscating riffs, smart filtered drops and bizarrely, a sample of someone coughing - all set to a rolling backing. Bas Mooy's remixes introduce some variety to the release: the first version is a mid-tempo industrial groove, while the second take is more club-friendly, albeit against the backdrop of a chugging groove and static percussive hisses.

Review: Following the first part of their Preemptive Action compilation, Pareto Park return with part 2; first up are Perc Trax's Dead Sound & Videohead, offering the hefty broken techno of "Pay Your Due" which has much in common with Forward Strategy Group's hefty but measured productions. Label boss George Lanham's "Rationale For Revenge" is similarly brutal, bashing out an overdriven chord over distended drone sirens, while Jake Conlon's "Pull Your Neck In" takes the pace up considerably with its jackhammer kicks and throbbing bass pulse. Ryogo Yamamori's "Hammer" offers his own industrial take on acid complete with sonorous metallic snares, and Morfogen's "Morfokone" provides a suitably underground take on big room techno with its rapid, almost trance like arpeggio. All in all a tidy package from one of techno's most promising young labels.