S.o.t.D. - Lo – Nico

Lo – Nico

What the heck. Let’s start the new year off with a bang. Or at least some ferocious drums and pummeling bass. Oh, when it really gets going around the 3 minute mark...

S.o.t.D. - Input – Fierce & Nico

Input – Fierce & Nico

Uncompromising.

S.o.t.D. - Amtrack – Trace & Nico

Amtrack – Trace & Nico

Uh, yeah, harder!

S.o.t.D. - Mad Different Methods – Ed Rush, Trace & Nico

Mad Different Methods – Ed Rush, Trace & Nico

Dark, grimy, rumbling, ominous, powerful - exactly what to expect from these masters of the genre.

S.o.t.D. - Killamanjaro – Ed Rush & Nico

Killamanjaro – Ed Rush & Nico

Rides that line between ominous and mystical. 

S.o.t.D. - Mothership – Ed Rush & Nico

Mothership – Ed Rush & Nico

If I had to rush into a burning house to save some vinyl, I think the Torque LP would be one of the ones I would grab.

S.o.t.D. - Crystal – Fierce & Nico

Crystal – Fierce & Nico

Dark and ominous, yet I find this totally beautiful. Sounds really good really loud. The record this is from, Torque, easily one of my top ten favourite records ever.

S.o.t.D. – Squadron – Trace & Nico

Squadron – Trace & Nico

When it comes to drum & bass, I tend to prefer the more mellow and melodic end of the genre, generally the sort of stuff that LTJ Bukem and his collaborators are known for. But on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I love the dark, ominous mælstrom that Ed Rush and his collaborators (Fierce, Trace, Nico, Optical) are responsible for. The album this is from, Torque (which featured virtually all those lads), comes across as the soundtrack to a dystopian sci-fi movie where drones circle a nuclear holocaust battlefield as robot tanks do battle. Sounds very unappealing, but I LOVE this album. This track sounds like they sampled every sound that a Challenger or Abrams tank can make. The point at about 2:30 where the song really kicks into gear - good gawd!