Encryption - Timecode

South Africa may just be the next country to make a huge splash on the global trance circuit. Let’s not forget that some of the best stuff on Vibraspirit 23 came from there, and if this release is anything to go by then we can expect bright things in the future. The vibe here is metallic, hectic and energetic – those peak-peak-peak-peak moments for somewhere between that one tab that sends you over the edge and the little green men telling you to take an axe to those pesky neighbours who looked at you funny the other day. Artifakt’s Muse Crypt is warpy and wobbly, with manic metallic hair raising melodies and kick ass groove, and Damage’s Wizzkid which swiftly follows has one of the heftiest basslines of the year, ballsy and with enough punch to floor Tyson, and dark feedback vocals like the hybrid bastard of Marilyn Manson and the bloke out of Underworld. Malediction from Phyx is a techno brain in a trance body with a dangerously infectious hook, and Shift’s Demon Twist and Zinkwazi take the conventional psy format, sodomises it in front of its parents, and craps on its living room carpet before flicking the finger on the way out. Damage steps up again with Distorted Visions which I guess delivers what it promises – no less that 145 bpm of phasers, mad noises, and psychotic grooves… powerful stuff. Rabdom L’s Kodene is a harsh and hard dark number with some nice cinematic effects, but it’s Artifakt’s Sex & Death that steals the show. Eleven and a half fast-paced minutes, a hip hop intro that somehow evolves into a killer bit of trance, a proud and posturing bassline that farts analog everywhere, a wonderful bit of acid and an ending that goes completely tits up mental. Impressive stuff, and if you like your trance dark, gritty and mountaintop-mental then lose yourself in this.