Sven Väth - Steel / Ghost (Remixes) flac album

While the John Stralight is a typical production of his anno 2002, very much in the vein of his massive hit Blood Angles, it did the trick quite well. It has that techno/electro crossover potential that won him over seas of fans back in the day. Chainsaw bass line and weird electro effects, awkward melodic passages and vocoder vocal snippets are all unleashed upon a filthy 4x4 techno drum pattern. This was a very winning formula ten years ago, the problem is, people like mr. Zombie Nation have milked the cow beyond anyone's welcome, making the crowds get tired fast. Today, good for a nostalgic spin, although heavily dated, and the melody work borders cheesedom. There was a time when Kernkraft 400 and similar worked, but as soon as the goofy vocal on Ghost kicks in, you know it's time to hit the stop button...Flip the vinyl over and you get what I consider one of the three "holy trinity" remixes by the once high & mighty Marco Carola, the other two being his reworks of Jel Ford's Distinctly Neapolitan and Chris Liebing's Gassenhauer. The title of this one says it all, stainless steel indeed. Euphorically stomping percussion with complementary key stabs and wild, delayed hi-hat action make way for a massive break down some two and a half minutes into the track. The sensation during the swooshing build-up is overwhelming, it sounds as though a uranium fueled jet engine was on the verge of taking off, but is being firmly held on the ground due to intensified gravity - awesome! Needless to stress out, once it all comes together the drop is infernal and cherubic at the same time. An authetnic techno explosion: percussive, focused, sharp and damn groovy, with captivating sounds throughout, this is Marco Carola boasting his back then seemingly infinite production prowess, and the ability to transform a lesser tune into an absolute tornado of bewildering energy. An absolute corker of a banger, from a time when Marco was still a very fertile producer, churning out one amazing track after the other, outdoing himself with each next release... Get this one, it might not fit in with what you were planning to play on a saturday night, but it holds up pretty well, and still comes across as solid enough to validate multiple spins. Was one of my favorites back then, first heard it on Sven Vath's "The Sound Of The Third Season" mix, and never looked back.