Friday, 3 September 2021

EP Review: Live at the Guillotine '88 (Remixes)

 

Live at the Guillotine ’88 (Remixes)

By

Chess Moves Junior Disprol and DJ Mada

 


A little while ago I dropped a review for the release of the original single of Live at the Guillotine '88. If you remember back to that review, I described the single as something akin to Death Hop. It was a brutal single that didn’t just not take any prisoners and left the floor littered with heads of those who chose to listen.

So, what could you do to single of this nature in releasing a remix EP? Could you improve on it or even take it to new levels, was this indeed even possible? Well, let’s see…

The EP is made up of four straight remixes of the single. The first is the Executioner Mix, with it’s heavy drums and orchestral notes it almost places you in the role of the executioner. Seeing everything though the eyes of the one behind the blade, this mix puts you in a place where you have just been hung, drawn and now you’re being quartered…

If the feeling of being quartered was not enough, then the Slice of the Blade Mix takes the visceral nature one step further. The violent scratch and violin intro leads to a dark pounding beat that is boom bap Hip Hop. Its dark nature means that you feel every slice of every word and musical note as they cut into your awareness.

As you are reeling from what has just happened the scratch and bass intro opens you up to the Off With His Head Mix. The gritty and raw electronic vibe of this one builds across the length of the track, constantly bringing you focus to the sharp blade that is poised above your neck. This one does not place your head on the chopping block facing away from the blade, oh no, here you just watch and wait till eventually the razor-sharp blade drops…

Finally, as you lay in pieces, a mournful intro leads you into the Gravedigger Mix. As the gravedigger awaits another burial the tone here is more somber with drums, cuts, and a mix of electronic sounds. It is still raw, mirroring the brutal nature of the journey of the body being laid. But soon the rawness and the brutality is just a memory as the spade cuts into the earth to cover the body…

Chess Moves has done a cracking job here of taking this brutal track and giving it four new vibes that are different but, are also linked. They are individual but, also parts of a larger story. The overall vibe here leans far more towards Hip Hop than the original but, having said that, it loses none of its brutal nature and, you could even say, it is now more horrorcore.

These four remixes are raw and unapologetically slice away at your nerves. The distorted nature of Junior Disprol’s vocals claw at your ears and rip into your mind. Together these four tracks reach into your very soul like you are the victim of Pinhead from Hellraiser. There is no where to hide, no place to seek solace for once you open yourself to this EP, you are on you way to a new experience of experimental Hip Hop Horror.

Another aspect to note is the way DJ Mada has totally flipped the cuts on these remixes. On the original the cuts were ferocious and cut through your mind like a chainsaw fuelled by Nitrous. Here he has cut back on the ferocity and taken a more dextrous, even clinical approach.

On a lighter note, once you have given this a listen and dragged yourself back from near oblivion, Chess Moves is now making his boom bap beats available to rappers and DJ’s. If your interested, then check out the link below.

After that little lot, I’m off to get exorcised…

Peace out,

Steve

LINKS

More streaming links etc will be available soon

Check the remixes on Spotify Here:

https://open.spotify.com/album/62ct6pAmNALFb0zTXaomGx?si=RXeKLveaSAW1Xb8H_5S4RA&dl_branch=1&nd=1

Check Here for those Chess Moves beats for your next Project:

https://www.beatstars.com/chessmoves/feed

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