1/ Badlands (Alternate Mix).
2/ Ups And Downs.
3/ Darquid.
4/ Never Sleep.
5/ CloudWalkers.
6/ Sleepy Hollow (VIP Mix).
7/ Back From Reality.
8/ Sky Wars.
9/ Arp Angels .
10/ Badlands.
After building up a solid back catalogue of releases on a variety of drum & bass labels, veteran DJ, producer and regular Viral-Mental Records contributor, SkorpZ presents his debut album 'Darquid' to the world. Featuring ten heavyweight drum & bass tracks ranging from gritty dancefloor numbers to deep and atmospheric rollers.
The album kicks off with the teasingly built up, extended intro of 'Badlands (Alternate Mix)' which perfectly sets the atmosphere of a lone Wild West gunman with it's brooding guitar licks and solid breaks. 'Ups And Downs' up next takes us into full-tilt, drum and bass, dancefloor devastation with it's combination of invigorating pads, rolling breaks and a booming bassline, before being followed by the albums' title track, the moody neuro-bass driven stepper, 'Darquid'. A track which manages to combine rock solid, dark textures with a riff that can only be described as dubstep don, Burial's 'Street Halo' on steroids!!!
The menacing introductory strains of 'Never Sleep' threatens to deliver cold and clinical neuro-funk darkness before it ingeniously blindsides the listener by throwing a series of heavenly pads into the mix alongside contemplative male vocals. My personal favourite track of the album appears next in the form of the hauntingly atmospheric 'CloudWalkers', which incorporates an intoxicating blend of thundering breaks and nasty bass which are contrasted by a gentle, yet catchy as hell piano melody. 'Sleepy Hollow (VIP Mix)' follows a similar format of combining melancholic pianos with thundering drumrolls, as if the golden age of rave had never gone away.
Euphoric synth notes do battle with menacing bass notes on the frantically stepping 'Back From Reality' before we are taken on a classic, oldskool vocal fuelled rollercoaster ride with 'Sky Wars', which is destined to get anyone's feet moving. 'Arp Angels' takes things in a more electronica meets D&B direction with it's use of a massive throbbing bassline and techno elements. The album reaches it's conclusion with the original mix of opening track 'Badlands', which adds a succession of heavyweight, rolling drum-breaks and booming bass pulses to the original's formula.
On numerous occasions throughout the album, Skorpz proves that he has a gift for merging subtle, atmospheric touches with massive dancefloor orientated elements, which grants 'Darquid' a perfect Yin-Yang quality. In other words, an album that is just as suited for nodding your head to at home as it is to tearing up the dancefloor at a D&B club. Essential drum and bass listening!!!
The SkorpZ 'Darquid' album is available to purchase from all good Viral-Mental Records digital stockists from now, so get yourself a copy and prepare yourself for some serious speaker damage!!!
Amazon..
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01G883MPC/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_FEmuxbNSGY186
iTunes...
https://itunes.apple.com/GB/album/id1117711712
Juno Download...
http://www.junodownload.com/products/skorpz-darquid/3117764-02/
Trackidown...
https://www.trackitdown.net/track/skorpz/badlands-alternate-mix/drum_and_bass/9810037.html
Follow SkorpZ on Facebook...
https://www.facebook.com/skorpzdnb/?fref=ts
Follow SkorpZ on Soundcloud...
https://soundcloud.com/skorpz1
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https://www.facebook.com/ViralMentalRecords/?fref=ts
Follow Viral-Mental Records on Soundcloud...
https://soundcloud.com/viralmentalrecords
For all Viral-Mental Records releases, artists and information you can check out the official webpage here...
http://www.viral-mentalrecords.com/home.html
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