Review by:
Jannick Andersen // DJ pr0fane (Dance N Dust Records)
www.sunrisesupplies.com



Artist: Triac
Title: Mean Between
Label: Ear Peaks
Format: CD (Jewelcase with 8-page inlay and DJ-insert)
Released: May, 2006
Cover: http://217.160.138.169/pic_b/epe1cd002_b.jpg


Review:

Israel is often criticised for only producing morning full on artists, but truth to be told, Israel has lots and lots of artists representing almost every corner in the psychedelic trance scene. The tech-trance scenes most well-known Israelis is the duo Triac consisting of Michael Reznik (also known for his progressive project Morax) and Ilan Lanz, who had their first release on Domo records back in 2002, and since then have appeared on releases from labels like HOMmega, Candyflip, Moonflower and Jester Records.

Now, 4 years after their first release, they are ready with their debut-album \"Mean Between\" - a release consisting of 9 tracks, and released by the recently launched Ear Peaks Music Group, which contains the 3 labels Domo Records, Tupan Records and Gat Music.


01. Vaporized Triangles [138 BPM]
\"Vaporized Triangles\" kick of the album, and they certainly don\'t hold back. There is a 1 minute long metallic, atmospheric intro, but after the rolling bassline kicks in, it\'s pure, powerful progressive with techtrance influences. The first half of the track is rather minimalistic and \"cold\", while they add some really deep and mighty pads in the last half. Great opener.

02. Encrypted Session [135 BPM]
Things get a bit more edgy and techy with \"Encrypted Session\". Despite the lower BPM, it\'s more powerful and crunchy than the album-opener, with pads that sound they come from a distant future where machines have taken over the world, and generally they seem to be digging more into the The Delta/X-Dream style with this track - and with a quite good result if might add.

03. Threshold Part 1 [139 BPM]
As if \"Encrypted Session\" wasn\'t techy enough, along comes \"Threshold Part 1\" - a dark and gloomy piece of brutal techno, where they explore the old The Delta sound even more. By far the darkest track on the album - not my favourite, but it certainly does the job.

04. Yatzek\'s Revenge [138 BPM]
Things get a bit more to my liking with \"Yatzek\'s Revenge\". It\'s not quite as dark and brutal as the previous track, but it\'s a lot more intense and dancefloor oriented, with a rolling bassline, and slightly uplifting melodic structures that complement the darker elements of the track. The best description of this track is probably \"full on meets tech-trance\", and I think it\'s an outstanding tune. One of my top favourites on the entire album.

05. Mean Between [136 BPM]
They slow things down a bit on the title-track \"Mean Between\". Gone are the relentless pounding beats, and instead we\'re left with an extremely melancholic and emotional piece of laidback, deep techtrance. Amazing piece of music this is - another highlight on the album.

06. Concrete Waves [139 BPM]
Ok, no more laidback emo-trance - we\'re brought back to the hard, pumping X-Dream/The Delta influenced style with \"Concrete Waves\", and once again they do a very good job. I must admit that I preferred the previous tracks, but this one is quite fine as well, and I can imagine it being one of the most-played tracks from the album by techtrance DJ\'s.

07. Sink (Live Edit) [136 BPM]
Next up is a live edit of the first ever release by Triac, the track \"Sink\", which was released by Domo Records on both a 12\" and the compilation \"Travelocity\". Judging by this version, it\'s quite clear that the Triac-boys have come an extremely long way since their first release, as this rework is really top-notch - plenty of new layers, and massive production with hints to the millennial minimal wave.

08. Threshold Part 2 [139 BPM]
\"Threshold Part 2\" maintains the groove from the first version, but is generally a more toned-down version. It\'s not quite as dark and brutal as part 1, and the added pads give it a much more subtle and thoughtful touch - and big thumbs up for the voice-sample work as well. Cool track, and I definitely prefer this over the first version.

09. Fast Food [132 BPM]
All good things come to an end though, but luckily the amazing \"Fast Food\" closes the album in style. It\'s a very distinct track - an emotional, deep blend of progressive house/trance with techtrance, and the result is really beautiful. Although the fade-ending is quite weird, and to me sounds like a desperate solution to running out of space on the CD (or something like that), this really takes my pick for track of the album.


Bottom line:

\"Mean Between\" is among the very best techtrance releases this year. Of course the competition is rather weak, as there are basically only of handful techtrance releases this year, but this album is really a solid piece of work that should impress both fans of the older The Delta/X-Dream type of techtrance, and full on or progressive fans looking for hard, metallic techno sounds. By borrowing influences from full on and progressive trance the album is also given a fresh touch, and therefore doesn\'t seem like a reproduction of the techtrance releases of the past.

All in all, this album is highly recommended.


Favourites:

1, 4 (!), 5 (!), 7, 8, 9 (!!)


Verdict:

8/10


Links:

Ear Peaks Music Group: www.earpeaks.com