Artist: Blu Mar Ten
Album: Love is the Devil
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London-based Drum & Bass outfit Blu Mar Ten (BMT) have been producing music since 1996, have released four critically acclaimed LPs and countless singles and remixes, yet they remain relatively unknown. ‘Love is the Devil’ deserves wider exposure and could certainly twist the arm of those still convinced the genre is all brash MCs and 160 bpm tempos. The album manages to encapsulate the broad spectrum of sound that Drum & Bass can offer, from the hard-edged but harmonious ‘Into the Light’ to the deep and cerebral ‘All Thoughts are Prayers’, ensuring ‘Love is the Devil’ appeals to both purists and newcomers alike.
Artist: Korn
Album: The Path to Totality
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Not a band to be left cowering behind the false pantomime of Nu Metal, a genre that threatened to become old pretty quickly, Korn have re-launched with ‘The Path of Totality’ and catapulted their music into the world of ‘Nu-Nu-Metal’, which is essentially the result of drunken orgy betwixt Metal, Drum & Bass and Dubstep. (NB: before I get into trouble, please note that in this context I evoke those labels in the loosest of terms). So does this sound represent more than an allegory of the aimless ejaculate of bedroom confined teenage boys? Well, if it does, I can’t divine it. The Path to Totality would seem to lead not to totality, but to banality and is best-avoided.
Artist: Tycho
Album: Dive
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If your New Year’s resolution is to relax more and exercise less (why fool ourselves) let me introduce you to this exercise in beat perfection. Tycho’s ‘Dive’ is a blissful, synth-soaked, driving and passionate homage to the sublime. Virtuoso tracks such as Daydream, ‘Dive’ and ‘Hours’ are resplendently creative and verdantly lush, infusing real live drum sounds with savvy acoustics and psychedelic harmonies. Dive is worlds ahead of its largely lackluster genre bedfellows, so if you want to usher in the year by kicking back and tuning out, this album is definitely for you.