It’s been a while since both Monster X and Combat Recordings have dropped a release, so I was absolutely heaving with joy when I heard they were working together, with Monster X releasing his brand spanking new album on one of the UK’s finest underground labels. And it’s an absolute beast.
Never one to shy away from decimating sound systems with his heavy discordant breakcore, he returns to form on Radikalize. The sound production on this is insane.
10 tracks of crisp, detailed and brain-mangling electronics that veer with precision from cinematic, sublime drone ambience to frenetic, sustained and intricate drumwork, with all manner of obtuse machine rhythms in-between.
Radikalize resulted from a unique combination of factors: solid base of insanely good sound design skills, anger at world events, and the internalisation of the latter as fuel to focus on drum-splattered, hyper-detailed and immersive tracks.
What comes out of this process is equal parts rage and cold, alien precision. The process extends to the naming as well, avoiding fancy allusions to conceptual heights, tracks are deliberately untitled, assigned numbers RDK0 to RDK9 like on a production line; the music deliberately is left to do the talking itself, which it does with brutal eloquence.
It’s definitely not for the faint hearted (or those who like structure) but if you like seriously chaotic beats, intricate sound design and disgusting bass then this release is definitely for you. It’s one of the sickest releases I’ve heard all year.
Radikalize is out now through the Combat Recordings Bandcamp below.