Battlegrounds

(Roadrunner)
by Chaz Thorndike

“Only for the hardcore, strictly for the headstrong, oh yeah, motherfucker!”

A battlecry for the new breed. Force-fed hate since birth, resorting to apathy to stay sane, at ease with high-end technology, and partying at speeds that would husk “normal people” in an instant, that’s hardcore.

There was a time when raves filled the craving. Then came the peace-loving hippies and the MTV tag-a-longs. Raves still blow arena rock out of the water: That’s not the issue. The problem is that they’ve re-packaged the rave, softened it’s psychotic edges, and upped the price. Cybercore went back underground. The new movement is Gabber. It’s harder, faster, and more vile and violent than the PC raves your mom and dad are now letting you go to. They make raves seem like a high school dance. Gabber is to dance what punk is to rock.

“Pump that pussy, make me feel it” is the vocal for the first song. That’s it. 150-250 beats per minute throbbing with slam-me-hard energy and sweaty fun. Chosen Few, Search & Destroy, and Technohead produce and mix tracks here, using both original material and samples from disco, noise, classic rock, metal, and the news. Some may complain that it’s not “original” music, but they are usually still in the Elvis-Stones-Zeppelin-Pearl Jam mindset. It’s a wholly separate frame of reference. It’s based on pure energy. Sexual energy. And electronics. If you don’t get it, go sing to your Dylan records. This is cyberpunk.