Asure

This CD was probably what Bonnie and Clyde's last living moments were like while being pumped full of lead from a hail of Thompson machine gun fire. Asure comes from the "when you've reached your peak, it's time to die," 600-plus bpm, Alec Empire school of drum & bass, with its relentless heavily distorted, super high-density percussion. The only lacking element is any noticeable bass lines to help give these bone crushing industrial strength breaks their form. Otherwise, this recording is quite brilliant, with the odd mocking reference to rave culture through samples of jungle anthems as a way of subtly saying "you don't know hardcore until you've experienced Zone Beyond Reality." I for one agree. Asure drops samples of space warfare, drive by shootings and announcers bellowing "total carnage" through megaphones over a swarm of motorcycle engines before executing merciless drill percussion. Asure seems bent on testing the limits of drum & bass, making Zone Beyond Reality a definitive trip to the limits of this genre.