Railgun

"Delta V" Limited Edition CD-R (EP, 2000)

The Terminator 2 sample that provides an audible link this band's moniker ignites this EP. But instead of heading, full blast, into the heavy industrial zone as one might imagine, this veers off into extremely creative and hard breakbeat but refuses to be easily pigeonholed. It's compulsive throughout and downright funky at times. Despite the complex sound manipulation, this never slips into self-indulgence. And Then The Machines' hugely distorted percussion joins a siren and a terrific, hard-rasping synth and richocetteing pings and bubble bursts. Schizm's chilled ambient dub flitting from one channel (ear) to the next, whilst a moving melody ebbs back and forth against some distant digital shoreline. Incredibly inventive. Beefcake enthusiasts will love this.

A semi-acoustic guitar, slowly plucked opens Interlude: Dream Four and is joined by a beautiful live drum sample. This is mood music for late night driving across obscure European landscapes. It's very short - but the perfect length to make its point and no more. Takshaka provide an extreme remix of Schizm. The imploding bass drum, rim shots and closed hi-hats signal a drum n bass styling, but when the bass synth pads come in, your tugged into an unfamiliar place yet again. The low-BPM Scar Tissue remix of Gunrunner mixes doom-laden industrial percussion with a high, melodic synth line - another combination that delights as much as it surprises. Finally, there's a one minute sci-fi movie sample filled outro in the shape of PDM. This selection of tracks would probably collapse under its own introspective weight if it wasn't for the genius behind it. So credit then to Nathan Moody as the creative force behind this release. 8/10

Rob Dyer

Official Railgun website: http://www.atomick.net/railgun