Josh and I have been discussing this CD lately, and I decided it was time to bump this old thread - and copy my ancient review here... There was some talk about excessive usage of range clipping/compression on this CD, but I really have no idea about technical stuff like that... Anyway, here's the review once again:
Overlap – 6th Sense
Format: CD
Artist: Overlap
Title: 6th Sense
Label: Zillion Mental Anarchie, Greece
Cat. #: ZMACD017
Year: 2003
Track listing:
01. 07’36†6th Sense
02. 07’26†No Way Out
03. 07’26†Deep Diving
04. 07’42†Ghost Story
05. 07’23†Bump in the Night
06. 07’37†Naked People
07. 07’25†Children of the Universe
08. 07’33†Transformation
09. 07’07†Doors
10. 08’23†Deja Vú
Review:
From Russia with love…
Brilliant tag-line ZMA! ;o) I know I’m late on this one – it was released six months ago, but I think it deserves a review… Overlap is a project by Russians Vechaslav Bogachev and Misha Puchkov of Neoris and Neogen fame respectively. They hooked up in 2002 and this is their debut-album… With mastering by Volker Konig (aka Ololuiqui) and with the release on ZMA, the basis for some dark n gritty, Russian vodka-trance should be spelled out quite clearly… Let’s find out what the boys have come up with…
Let me take you thru the tracks…
#01: First up is the title-track 6th Sense… A long, eerie intro sets the mood… Horror atmosphere and some spooky FX… And then; the thick, groovy bass-line… After a little fiddling around with metallic beats and electronic farts its go-time… The track is now in full, phat effect… This is such a hectic, multi-layered tune… So deep – perfect for a progressive night-time set! Nice!
#02: Another intro full of character… They boys are playing around with twisted effects… Did you notice the sample of a Gregorian choir that was there for just a sec?... We quickly launch into the groove – a rich, succulent bassline accompanied by some very trippy, evil melodies… Again, there are more layers than I can count… This is dark, progressive night-trance at its best… I’m loving it!
#03: Let’s dive deeper… This intro is also – surprise, surprise – spooky… Very trippy feel it has – you could cut the tension with a knife… ;o) This is another darker progressive tune, yet slightly groovier than its predecessors… There are a couple of minutes in the middle of the track that gets just a little to tedious for my taste, but it gets much better towards the end… Somehow they manage to incorporate light, fluffy melodies into a dark, gritty track… Skilled guys! ;o)
#04: Yikes, a ghost story… Yet another scary intro… The bpm is increased and then it goes brutally full-on - with a dark edge… But let me stress, that this in no way, can be compared to “neo full-onâ€â€¦ As my fellow reviewer Basilisk pointed out, “[Overlap tracks] usually don't have blaring distinct melodies - instead, we return to the old Goan concept of LAYERS […] to bring a fullness and richness to the sound. So what you have are full-on tracks that are very upbeat and full of action without being mindless or corny or obnoxious.†… Well said Bas… This is the way full-on should sound… Excellent!
#05: Things that go bump in the night… This is another border-line progressive/full-on track… Check out the excellent use of percussion… There’s a whole bunch of stuff going on at the same time – for the untrained ear it might even sound a bit too hectic, but with an open mind, a proper PA or in headphones, you get a thrilling experience… Sweet!
#06: Time to get naked… This is the fastest track here (145 bpm) and this is one mean-ass bombshell! Full-on in nature – but with strong tech-influences… Feather-like happy melodies interweaved into blasting, deep basslines… Check the distinctive “delay-reverb-effects†used intelligently especially in the first half of the track… Smashing track!
#07: Let’s take it down a notch… Just a little though… This track is more on the progressive side – yet there are still many psychedelic effects most commonly found in full-on tracks… Twisted, tribal, percussion and brilliantly fitting kiddy voice-samples… The bassline is mean and infectious and the acid is running strong! Another brilliant track!
#08: Woow, what the hell is that sound? A pitched-down chainsaw…? Whatever it is, it’s effective... It’ll haunt you – buzzing in your head! Again, loads and loads of layers with all kinds of effects imaginable… Dark, haunting, trippy bits and pieces… A short break for breathing – a twisted voice sample – and some brilliant melodies thrown in again and again – making up one hell of a sweet track!
#09: Let’s go back to the more progressive side… This is somewhat deeper and funkier, yet maintaining the familiar Overlap style that is present throughout the album… There are all kinds of elements from different styles in this track… It’s a big old mosaic of dub, tribal, electro, tech, minimal, progressive and full-on… I can’t really put a label on it, it’s just good…
#10: Time for the last, slightly more chilled track Deja Vú… Well, it’s not chilled like that – it’s just a tad slower… Check out the rain-effect – lovely! Also the organ sounds are wicked… Very, very slick production here – the sounds are crystal clear… I also like the percussion work here… And again, well-fitting voice samples… Nice way to end the album!
Right, so this was released way back in December 2003 – but I missed out on it the first time around… And that was a serious error on my behalf, ‘cause this is no less than brilliant! The bpm range from 138 to 145 and we are treated to a very smooth production… The overall feeling I get when listening to this, is amazement – I can’t even begin to think how much time and work went into creating this… There are soo0oOoo0o many layers, the flow is flawless and the sounds are so well-polished… Style-wise, they excel in pioneering the merger between various sub-genres of psychedelic trance… The cover-art is simple, but very fitting for the style on the album… I’m sure this will appeal to both tech-trance, prog and full-on fans with an open mind… I strongly suggest you to check out this unique album, if you haven’t already!
9/10
Favourites: 2(!), 4, 6(!), 7(!), 8(!), 9
DeathPosture
:sun:
External links:
Overlap:
http://www.overlap-project.com
ZMA Records:
http://www.zmarecords.com
Psyshop:
http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/zma/zma1cd017.html (Audio samples available!)
Saiko Sounds:
http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display_release.asp?id=3836
Chaos Unlimited:
www.chaosunlimited.co.uk/cgi-bin/product.asp?LR=ZMACD17
Trance-shop:
http://www.trance-shop.com/de/catal...9&osCsid=6ed0afb117421265411d18d499b9f863
