Ammo, "The Age of Terminal Irony"

This Belgian duo consists of John Sellekaers and C-Drik, whose production and performance has appeared on releases from Torsion, Ambre and Snog. The debut release has taken three forms, but the one in my hands is the German CD edition. It starts off being a rather powerful foray into aggressive modern dark drum and bass.

 

 

The assault is a feverish cold-calculated digital one, but most impressively the joy builds. After four original tracks, the album changes from a seemingly faceless, heartless power jam to a charming musical adventure. The second half includes excellent manifestations by Imminent and Silk Saw, a rather lukewarm remix by Panacea, as well as the atmospheric original "Reptiles in Paradise." Fans beware: the four-track German 12" release includes reprogrammed versions of the first two songs, not available on the CD and the 9-track US version on Gun Music only has five overlapping tracks.

samples:

• Ghost Phalanx
• Reptiles in Paradise
• Psychoville (Imminent mix)