E-Cutz: Cat. # EC 2004/2
Released April 2004
TRACK LIST
A. Bilingual (8:37)
B. Monotune (9:02)
(2010 Update:
Wow, who would have thought this was going to be the end of Cosmic Gate's hard trance era. This review is definitely a product of its time, as the duo's whole change of direction isn't even touched upon here.)
IN BRIEF: More quality from the Cosmic Gate crew.
With some good, solid percussion that progressively adds layers driving the first two minutes of Bilingual, Cosmic Gate's most recent EP sets us up for quite the stomper of a track. Things calm down briefly as bass kicks begin to throb from beyond a murky veil, allowing a pulsating saw synth to slowly emerge from the background. Less than a minute later, the percussion kicks back in, the synth becoming more focused and punctual in time to the rhythm as it slides across the stereo spectrum. Soon though, things fade off again to the throbbing bass kick permeating the background. A great little piano melody fed with a bit of reverb plays out, eventually gaining momentum in itself as some synth pads join as well. This breakdown goes on for perhaps a little too long (a minute and a half) considering how driving Bilingual started out but there's enough momentum carried over into the piano melody to keep at least some part of the body moving.
And anyways, once things do get going again, the anticipation built up to the return of the main synth lead and percussion is enough to really get you moving. Things play out quite typically from here, with the main synth lead and piano melody alternating turns in carrying the song to a brief percussion lead-out; however, when the elements used are as good as they are here, this can make for a good set piece.
Monotune on the flip gives us techy percussion to start out, setting up a respectable pace. Over two minutes later things calm down, allowing a crunchy, stuttering saw lead to emerge from the background, eventually gaining enough momentum on its own to allow the percussion to fade away for the time being. As it gains intensity, the synth smoothes itself out, becoming fuller in sound until...
Um, it just dies, actually.
After a second's pause, the synth starts up again, starting from a low tone to build in intensity as it leads into heavy, driving percussion, embellishing from Monotunes opening percussive elements. When these two ingredients feed off each other's energy, we are fed some incredibly vigorous stuff for a good minute. After we are given a chance to catch our breath with some reduced percussion, the song cycles itself over again, adding a bit of a pulsing bass and a few extra effects to mix a little diversity before capping off some eight minutes in with a simple percussion lead-out.
I rather enjoyed these two cuts from Cosmic Gate. Granted, they aren't going to re-define trance anytime soon but neither do they dilute the name either. This is solid, four-to-the-floor material that knows its role as set pieces tailor made for getting the crowd moving. The pauses in momentum are, for the most part, welcome respites from the intensity of these tracks, although I did feel Bilingual's carried on a bit longer than it really needed to. Still, this is a welcome release to any fan of hard trance's collection.
Score: 7/10
Written by Sykonee. Originally published 2005 for TranceCritic.com.© All rights reserved.
Released April 2004
TRACK LIST
A. Bilingual (8:37)
B. Monotune (9:02)
(2010 Update:
Wow, who would have thought this was going to be the end of Cosmic Gate's hard trance era. This review is definitely a product of its time, as the duo's whole change of direction isn't even touched upon here.)
IN BRIEF: More quality from the Cosmic Gate crew.
With some good, solid percussion that progressively adds layers driving the first two minutes of Bilingual, Cosmic Gate's most recent EP sets us up for quite the stomper of a track. Things calm down briefly as bass kicks begin to throb from beyond a murky veil, allowing a pulsating saw synth to slowly emerge from the background. Less than a minute later, the percussion kicks back in, the synth becoming more focused and punctual in time to the rhythm as it slides across the stereo spectrum. Soon though, things fade off again to the throbbing bass kick permeating the background. A great little piano melody fed with a bit of reverb plays out, eventually gaining momentum in itself as some synth pads join as well. This breakdown goes on for perhaps a little too long (a minute and a half) considering how driving Bilingual started out but there's enough momentum carried over into the piano melody to keep at least some part of the body moving.
And anyways, once things do get going again, the anticipation built up to the return of the main synth lead and percussion is enough to really get you moving. Things play out quite typically from here, with the main synth lead and piano melody alternating turns in carrying the song to a brief percussion lead-out; however, when the elements used are as good as they are here, this can make for a good set piece.
Monotune on the flip gives us techy percussion to start out, setting up a respectable pace. Over two minutes later things calm down, allowing a crunchy, stuttering saw lead to emerge from the background, eventually gaining enough momentum on its own to allow the percussion to fade away for the time being. As it gains intensity, the synth smoothes itself out, becoming fuller in sound until...
Um, it just dies, actually.
After a second's pause, the synth starts up again, starting from a low tone to build in intensity as it leads into heavy, driving percussion, embellishing from Monotunes opening percussive elements. When these two ingredients feed off each other's energy, we are fed some incredibly vigorous stuff for a good minute. After we are given a chance to catch our breath with some reduced percussion, the song cycles itself over again, adding a bit of a pulsing bass and a few extra effects to mix a little diversity before capping off some eight minutes in with a simple percussion lead-out.
I rather enjoyed these two cuts from Cosmic Gate. Granted, they aren't going to re-define trance anytime soon but neither do they dilute the name either. This is solid, four-to-the-floor material that knows its role as set pieces tailor made for getting the crowd moving. The pauses in momentum are, for the most part, welcome respites from the intensity of these tracks, although I did feel Bilingual's carried on a bit longer than it really needed to. Still, this is a welcome release to any fan of hard trance's collection.
Score: 7/10
Written by Sykonee. Originally published 2005 for TranceCritic.com.© All rights reserved.
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