Various - Red Jerry: Late Night Drive Mix

Muzik Magazine: 2002

Oh look, we're back in 2002, and Muzik Magazine's been kind enough to rope in Hooj Choons godfather Red Jerry in for a mix. With that, you instantly know this is gonna be a good ol' prog-athon, of the deep, dark, (dull?), tribal bent. After enduring such a long stretch of plodding McProg beats, this'll be a breath of fresh air. Still, kind of odd seeing a mix CD of such music featured on Muzik’s part, as they were starting their snarky “lol, prog is boring, grime’s the mint, mate!” phase when this came out.

Fortunately, Mr. Dickens provides an excellent freebie of a set. He’d already made a number of mixes the few years prior, including constructing deeper offerings for the Euphoria series from Telstar TV. Curiously, Late Night Drive Mix is one of the last CDs he put out. Heck, his entire discography quickly dries up shortly after this, possibly due to Hooj Choons shutting down the year after. I’ll grant he was more of a label runner than a producer or DJ, but considering the dominance Hooj held over the progressive scene, its sad things ended so limply for him. Oh well, I hear he still DJs here and there, likely caning out classic Hooj with aplomb.

As for Late Night Drive Mix, yeah, it’s 2002 prog, so you get some deep tribal cuts like Creamer & K’s Pipeline Mix of Blackwatch’s Foreshadow, Joshua Collins’ Phonosynthesis, Peace Division’s R U Somewhere, and 16B’s Escape. Meanwhile, Smith and Selway’s dubby chugger Yess makes for a strong mid-set peak, and a Tony Thomas tribal mix of 16B’s The Game hits another high point near the end. Good vibes, all said, especially for those 3am cruises down urban streets in search of an all-night beef noodle house (or the afterparty). I’m still bummed this sound fell off to the degree it did (deep tech-house just ain’t as fun), but maybe we’ll start seeing a retro-return in short order. It has been a decade since it was in vogue, after all.

What gives this freebie CD an extra bit of class over most ‘dark prog’ of the time is the inclusion of breaks and even electro. While it may not be surprising to find PMT’s remix of Creamer & K’s Wish You Were Here in the early going (deep prog breaks!), Anthony Rother shows up at the end with Red Light District. Okay, it’s an obvious cut too (Danny Tenaglia ended his Athens Global Underground with it), but it fits the feel of Late Night Drive Mix wonderfully, and makes for a great blend into the Smith & Selway remix of David Alvardo’s Blue, itself an excellent, pulsing slice of space-dub prog.

So perhaps not the most unique prog mix you’ll find out there, but for a freebie, Red Jerry gave Muzik a definite keeper for folks fancying this sort of sound. Definitely worth a pick-up if you see it lying about cheap in a used shop.

Various - In Trance We Trust 019: Kris O'Neil

In Trance We Trust: 2012

Well, at least I didn’t have to endure a breakdown until two minutes this time, but there it is once again. God almighty, when will this trope- oh, it’s already back to the beats. Well, good then. But I bet this opener will come to a full stop for a standard build-up and- wait, it’s already doing the build-up? Without a pause? Holy cow, and it drops right after the peak; no dawdling, just hitting that anthem instantly. Okay, that wasn’t so bad, but it was just a one-off, I’m sure. The rest of this disc will- oh, wow! The entire first half of this mix has tracks like that.

I’ll grant some builds go a tad long (Cosmic Gate just can’t help themselves), but there’s no sense of momentum lost - just bangin’ tune after bangin’ tune, many with a hooky anthem and hard rhythms. Hm, and snares or claps on every beat, no less; rather like hard house come to think of it. Hey, this isn’t trance at all, it’s anthem house!

Right, so I should have expected it from a 2012 mix CD, as tons of DJs jumped on that genre’s recent resurgence (and stop calling it retarded names like ‘trouse’ or Trance 2.0). I can totally see the euro-trance faithful hating Kris O’Neil’s offering to the In Trance We Trust series, signifying yet another example of the scene they reverently coddled turning to sounds more popular to a general audience. Yeah, well, them’s the breaks, kids. Now you know how the old-old schoolers felt when the Dutch sounds ya’ll loved started dominating trance many moons ago. Stings, don’t it.

Anyhow, Mr. O’Neil’s quick mixes (average of four minutes per track!) of tunes that keep the energy escalating does peter out by the midway mark, after which he indulges in some tepid vocal cuts (dear Lord, that Wanrooy track with Blake Lewis is hokey), and tech bangers for the end. A couple are okay, but can’t match the unabashed stupid-fun the first half of the CD offered, which was more than could be said for so many other volumes.

Thus, that’s the last of the In Trance We Trust series, perhaps period. ITWT019 was released a year-and-a-half ago, and though the label still comes out with the odd single, there hasn't been word on a twentieth volume hitting stores any time soon, digi or not. Gee, I know the whole mix CD market’s got little appeal to most young punters out there, but surely a mega-label like Black Hole Recordings sees some merit in maintaining In Trance We Trust. Did Kris O’Neil’s offering tank that bad to kill it off? Or was the inclusion of so much anthem house a sign that In Trance We Trust no longer trusts in trance?


If this really is the end, then it’s only fitting to have In Trance We Trust put to pasture. Let ‘em have it, guys!

Gen: “Zan’ei!”

M. Bison: “Psycho Crusher!”

Akuma: “Shun Goku Satsu.”






Dan: “Chouhatsu Densetsu!

Various - In Trance We Trust 018: Marc Simz

In Trance We Trust: 2011

I've gone on about how bad some of these In Trance We Trusts are, but they haven't been dreadful-bad or anything. Despite many stretches of misery, unoriginality, or boredom, I can at least get through them with some decent tunes along the way. This one though... Oh God, this one...

Not even ninety seconds in, and I’m hit with a full-stop breakdown. What the fuck was the point of those limp opening beats then? You didn’t mix from anything, Mr. Simz. Either start your set with proper rhythmic build to hook me in, or don’t bother at all – use an ‘ambient intro’ if you’re going this route. Fine, the main track is nice as an opener, but the next track after that has another full-stop breakdown. And the one after that. And after, and after, and practically through the whole bloody CD. So much for set flow. Here’s the start of a new tune, it stops, here’s your dithering breakdown and build, thump-thump, and moving on. And dear lord do these breakdowns ever go on. It’s like the worst of DJ Scot Project, but with plodding prog beats rather than pounding hard trance.

And I thought I’d heard some wretched ‘melodies’ in such breakdowns before. Saint X’ Gabriel has to rank up there with the most overblown Dutch synths victimizing my ears, made even more hilarious by the ‘minimal’ bloopiness that forms the rhythmic backbone. Give me the good ol’ days where Dutch anthems were just supersaw nonsense. Wow, how I miss those alre-

Ah, fack me, I didn’t mean for you to actually include those sort of tunes at the end, Marc! Virtual Vault’s really getting his System-F on with Freedom, Simz teams up with Geert Huinink for an orchestral breakdown-build that lasts nearly three fucking minutes, and Juventa’s As You Are is, well, about typical for the classic Anjunabeats sound. Guess it was alright for what it is, but not after such a pathetically structured set such as this one.

Man, even some of the tunes I kinda like have things working against them. Fefelove & Abramasi’s Try To Catch A Goldfish has strong, spacey trance elements in play, but are undone by a distorted low-end drowning everything out. Ruby & Tony’s Praya kinda tickles my ‘dumb-fun’ centres with its anthem and chopped up McProg vocals, but it don’t last long enough.

Ugh. In Trance We Trust 018 is a total turkey. I can’t imagine the series getting worse after this, but there is still one more to go. Courage, Sykonee...


Is this the worst CD of this reviewing project? Let’s ask the worst Street Fighter, Dan Hibiki, if it’s so.

Dan: “Hey now, don’t be like that. I’ve proven myself in the fighting arena, as I’m sure Marc Simz has proven himself in the DJ arena. In fact, I don’t even need to listen to this to know it’s the strongest CD of them all. Yahoo! Am I right, Jimmy?”

Blanka: “Aaroohoaahoo! (You go, Friend Dan!)”

Various - In Trance We Trust 017: Bobina

In Trance We Trust: 2011

Bobina is Dmitry Almazov, a very important person in the world of Russian trance. Wait, are there any others? I know plenty of Russians have made trance over the years, but beyond the occasional cross-over hit (hi, PPK!), none have made much of an impact on the scene at large. Not Bobina though. He got noticed by a few very important people in the trance scene of Western Europe, and gained enough of a following such that he’s consistently placed high in an online poll many folks used to take seriously. He must have blitzed his homeland for votes, and with no other heroes to support, trance fans of the Motherland dutifully came to his support, a Red Trance Army unlike any seen before. Sort of.

Anyhow, he got a record deal with the all-consuming Black Hole Recordings, and as such got a chance at In Trance We Trust. Unlike the recent string of jocks in this series, Bobina already had some experience in the mix CD realm, so we can expect something with a little more structure despite still being constrained by the same ‘play record label’s latest singles’ politics we always deal with In Trance We Trust now.

The first three tracks are vocal trance. Well f

The first track, Reverie by First State and ‘has some personality’ vocalist Sarah Howells, is kinda fun, only that it’s totally Real McCoy’s classic euro-dance tune Runaway. Whether intentional or not, I haven’t a clue, but you can’t hide that chorus from my expert euro-detection ability (the hook screams mid-‘90s too). The second track has a bored sounding Jan Johnston on it, probably because it was Cosmic Gate originally doing the production. The third track has Hayley Parsons on it, who’s done little singing of note so moving on.

Actually, we don’t get anymore vocals until Bobina’s own You Belong To Me some midway through, and hoo boy is this ever set-up to be the anthem of ITWT017. Most of the tunes before were on a proggy tip, some nice synths and atmosphere created but little in the way of rhythmic momentum. Bobina’s cut practically erupts from there with rolling basslines, ultra supersaw washes and such. Really, it’s copying the ‘big Tiësto vocal remix’ formula, which he does pull off, I must admit.

Some good epic trancers with lovely sounding synths follow (I’m warming up to that T.O.M. fella’), plus some utter wank ones too (oh hi, Carl B). As many of them have halting, overlong breakdowns though, it naturally ruins any musical momentum this set had going for it. *sigh* Nothing changes is this bloody scene, does it.


Bobina’s from Russia. Of course the ‘Red Cyclone’ of the former Soviet Union has something to say about it. What does that big piece of beef, Zangief, think of ITWT017?

Zangief: “Comrade Bobina does the glory of Mother Russia proud, making music for European masses. I prefer the classics, Balakirev and Mussorgsky. Night On Bald Mountain good for wrestling bears in Siberia.”

Various - In Trance We Trust 016: DJ Observer & Daniel Heatcliff

In Trance We Trust: 2010

Hey, I know this Heatcliff guy! True, it's only just recently that I know him, on account he's had a track on but two volumes of In Trance We Trust ago, but it's something familiar. As I recall, it was also one of the better tunes off whichever mix that was (geez, it wasn’t that long ago – are these so interchangeable?). Don’t know anything about this DJ Observer dude though. According to the liner notes they’d been producing together for about half a decade, starting out with remixes for Gareth Emery (when he wasn’t so crap) and ...Robbie Rivera? Uh... *scurries to corner, rocking* It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright...

I’m not sure how the Misters Heatcliff and Observer go about their DJing, but judging by the arrangement of their set for In Trance We Trust 016, a suspected pattern emerges: one handles the instrumental cuts, the other shows love to vocal tunes. Oh God, are there vocals on the CD. Nearly every other song’s got some tart going on about something, and the first couple gals are annoyingly grating. Hannah Ray apparently got her break providing pipes on Armin van Buuren’s Mirage album, so I can give her some slack in not knowing how to handle vocal trance singing yet (and it’s not like Observer and Heatcliff give her anything interesting to work with). Not sure about Antonia Lucas though, as Lord Discogs may have her mixed in with another Antonia Lucas who sang on house records back in the ‘90s. Get your shit sorted, oh Lord!

After that bit of pain in the early going, things go prog-dull, plodding beats and uninteresting hooks one after the other. Matters aren’t helped when Observer and Heatcliff can’t even get figure out where they want to take their set, jamming in standard slices of euro-trance (Mastteo Marini’s Cosmic Place, their own Fall Call Right Back) in the middle before getting back to the trite McProg fluff.

Speaking of such, I must admit some enjoyment in First State’s Cross The Line near the end. Maybe it’s the better-than-average beats, or maybe vocalist Relyk shows more grace in her delivery than the gals at other points, but it did put a silly grin on my face. Following it with some interesting tech-numbers and an energetic offering from another pair going by T.O.M. & Tommygoff (Callisto Air seems like it learned from the Corsten Book of big-dumb-fun trance), I was almost saddened to have ITWT016 end when it did. Almost.


As luck would have it, Alpha 3 features a pair of fighters who you often face together, Juli & Juni, member of M. Bison’s elite super-soldier force known as The Dolls. What do they think of this CD?

Juni: Commencing audio sampling. Source indicates BPMs of 133 average, with error of 23% due to unfamiliarity of sound.

Juli: Low frequency ranges effective at stimulating left frontal cortex, left parietal cortex, and right cerebellum. High frequency ranges possibly intended for non-human enjoyment.

Various - In Trance We Trust 015: Virtual Vault

In Trance We Trust: 2011

I'm embarking upon uncharted territory from here on out. All those DJs in prior In Trance We Trust mixes, I was familiar with on some level (mostly productions). I know absolutely no one going forward; though do recognize one name because of that blasted DJMag poll. After my tenure at TranceCritic, I saw no reason to keep tabs on the up-and-comers of the euro-trance scene (though I must admit some perverse enjoyment out of watching trance-crackers wail to the stars over the abandonment of their heroes ...excellent). It's not like the music was doing much to listen in on anyway. Seeing as how these forthcoming five volumes all cover the three year span following that time, I'm getting a crash course in what I missed whether I like it or not.

For instance, I've never heard anything about this Virtual Vault chap. Lord Discogs has him down as two guys, but all I see is photos of one, Ben Huijbregts. He's also involved in a few other side-projects like Trebbiano and Lagan Valley, all of which show up on his mix for In Trance We Trust 015. Well, at least it's being more creative than just whoring his regular name out for everything he releases. He's taken trance production back to the old school, when you could have a zillion aliases to work with. Heck, he even used Virtual Vault here rather than Ben. I think I like this guy already.

This music on here’s pretty nice for the most part too. While the only cut that got my blood pumping comes at the end – a fun, twinkly melodic trance collaboration with Ørjan Nilsen called Too Late (wow, I thought twinkle-prog was dead in 2010) - there wasn’t anything that had me burying my head as in the previous couple volumes either. No breakdowns overwrought, no vocals too trite, hardly any sub-genre bandwagon jumps, and ...what’s this? Off beat voices plucks in Kimito Lopez’ I Am Rave. Oh man, there go my German trance nostalgia endorphins!

If anything, Virtual Vault shows something of a fondness for trance before all the electro, side-chaining, brickwall mixdowns, yada yada – whatever you figure the sound of roughly 2002 euro-trance was. This may be a deal breaker if you only want up-to-date sounds and such, but if you’re in the market for a more recent take on turn-of-the-century trance, ITWT015 should serve you fine.


Okay, this one went well, but I still fear the future. I need a fortune-teller to provide guidance in how I should proceed. Say, Rose, you lovely lady, might you be interested in reviewing some music?

Rose: “Not music such as this, immature man. I prefer the opera, and these ‘musicians’ use of baroque chords fool me not, nor should they you. The cards point to other forms far more appropriate for your particular personality, should you remain on your chosen path. Do not falter, no matter how bitter the wine tastes. Fill my glass, please.”

Various - In Trance We Trust 014: Daniel Wanrooy

In Trance We Trust: 2009

The good news is the compression production is behind us – oh, the wonders of sonic dynamics and space between the beats, crystal clarity and not a trace of mud in earsight. The bad news is we’re entering the ‘generic vocalist’ era of trance now, with two such indistinguishable gals gracing us with their non-presence in the first few tracks of In Trance We Trust 014 no less. Okay, tons of vocal trance since even the ‘90s suffered from this; at least Black Hole Recordings had enough clout in hiring ladies with some personality. JES may have always sung from the back of her throat as though she was about to have a wonderful bowel movement, but she stood out as someone unique. Melissa Mathes sounds almost identical to Susie (4) in this CD though, and it only gets worse after this one (Lord help me, there’s still five more discs to get through).

Anyhow, Daniel Wanrooy. He’d already been DJing on the side during his days as one-half of Progression (they of multiple progressive trance singles you’ve heard but probably can’t remember), so he’d been active for a while before striking out solo. Having his chance at an In Trance We Trust volume was a good start in getting his name out there, but he fails to do much of note with his effort. The opening is the usual smattering of pleasant Balearic numbers and McProg vocal cuts, then he heads down the god-awful anthem road with tracks containing breakdowns and builds that go on far too long and seldom offer a memorable payoff (holy cow, is that Topher Jones cut ever pointless). It’s just like Carl B’s mix, but at least with better sound design.

Things got interesting with some strong tech-beats in Daniel Heatcliff’s Phoenix. Yeah, it abuses the breakdowns too, but when the tune’s on, it’s on! It definitely regained my attention in this mix, and I was engrossed in where it would go next when… Oh dear, those vocals, they’re awful. This whole track is awful. Who the fuck is this, and why is it so familiar? *checks tracklist* Fack me, Richard Durand! Not that twat again, I thought I was done with you. We’re getting this shoved in our face just because he had that album out too, aren’t we.

Wanrooy seemingly corrects this atrocity by offering up more tech bangers to finish, but it isn’t enough to save INWT014 from being a middling affair. Kinda like most of his music, sadly.


It feels like ol’ Daniel’s always been around, yet never made much of a mark. Adon’s been around since the very first Street Fighter, but do you remember him from any of the games?

Adon: “What kind of introduction is that? I’m the ‘God Of Muay Thai’, and you want me to review European trance music? I ought to snap your spine for such disrespect! Get out of here, I’ve a date with destiny by defeating the man with the ‘Ten’ symbol on his back.”

Various - In Trance We Trust 013: Carl B

In Trance We Trust: 2009

Wait, Carl B. DJ’d too? I recall he had a brief flirtation with popularity around the time this came out, and was even tapped for a track in Tiësto’s In Search Of Sunrise 7. I also remember calling that tune cloying or some derogatory shit. Dear Lord, and his mix for In Trance We Trust 013 features four of his productions. I can expect pain on this one, can’t I?

Well, no, just boredom for the most part. Say what you will of the track-by-track up-and-down quality in the old editions of this series, at least they had personality. Hell, even Johan Gielen’s effort in the last volume had distinct music throughout, dodgy though some of it was. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for Mr. Barrdahl to unleash the super-compressed epic trancers that was yet another awful attribute plaguing the scene (read up on the Loudness Wars, kids). His collaboration with JPL on Orchid Blossom is a perfect example of it, beats and synths hopelessly muddy, with no dynamics to speak of. Let these tunes breathe, for God’s sake. Things thankfully clear up with Existone’s Sunshower, an excellent slice of energetic trance that kicks everything that came before to the curb. Even the dithering piano breakdown’s tolerable, but only because all the bloody breakdowns that came before were pants.

Oh yeah, there’s a ridiculous amount of breakdowns in this set, easily the worst batch of the CDs I’ve covered. I can handle a few here and there, but these are of the gratuitously overlong type, with those piercing ‘melodic’ synths that are about as subtle as a boulder to the face. I get that was sort of Carl B.’s thing, and if you wanted to stand out in the trance glut in those days, you needed those ultimate anthems in your arsenal, but not one after the other. Wasting them in the early portions of a set is just overkill.

A couple dabblings outside this sound crop up on this mix, like minor electro elements found in Fred NuMF’s Directions and Mr. Sam’s Cygnes . Also, the track Sticky Tape features music on minimal techno bent, and is totally out of place in a set such as this. It does segue nicely into the dull final stretch of tunes though, so there’s that.


Carl B.’s production is like a brickwall of sound. Edmond Honda is a big brick of sumo. Clearly a perfect guest reviewing match if ever there was one.

E. Honda: “Ghaa, ha, ha! I like your gumption, comparing me to boisterous music like this. No doubt the great art of sumo is comparable to the impressive sounds on this CD. These were made by the Europeans? Hah ha, I knew the world had much to offer, but I never dreamed they could outdo even our finest kabuki troupes in theatrics. Maybe I should take in some concerts there. I’m certain they’ll welcome a world-famous rikishi such as myself at a club, ghaa haa ha!”

Various - In Trance We Trust 012: Johan Gielen

In Trance We Trust: 2007

After years in the underground, Belgian Johan Gielan seemed poised to break out into super-stardom along with those Dutch trance chaps. A popular production alias (Airscape), plenty of side-projects, remixes, and collaborations to flood the market with, and even a part of Tiësto’s inner circle when Mr. Verwest still had his hand in many things Black Hole Recordings related. Yet he never could reach that next level, at best relegated to second-tier status in the euro-trance pantheon. All things considered, it wasn't such a bad place to be throughout the '00s, but not for a guy who easily stood toe-to-toe with the big boys at that decade's start.

He’d done all that he could to stay relevant; that is, bandwagon jump at every opportunity. Oh yeah, he definitely got in on some of that electro house shizz, dragging the genre with him into the In Trance We Trust series. It’s odd even having Gielen helm another volume years after he did 004, given the label’s tendency of offering it to up-and-comers. The liner notes claim he was brought in to properly take the series into this uncharted realm of electro, which is funny since hardly anyone in the euro-trance scene even liked those farty sounds soiling their uplifting melodies.

In fact, I’m not even sure Gielen’s fond of them either. He only uses a couple such tracks at the beginning (which instantly ruins the pleasant Balearic mood set by opener Sex On The Beach from 8 Wonders), and much later care of the Wippenberg Remix of Super8 & Tab’s Needs To Feel (wow, did Wippenberg ever suck at electro). His set’s all over the place too, tracks jumping in tone with little care towards flow.

I guess there’s a decent moment in the middle when things get proper euro-trancey, but methinks he’s just attempting to build up his own track, Magnetic, as the centrepiece, going so far as to use Tiësto’s Elements Of Life as the lead-in. Hell, they even share similar orchestral aesthetics. Sorry, Johan, you’ll never be ol’ Tijs, especially at that late stage. Also, it’s rather sad that, with tons of familiar trance names on ITWT012 (Steur, Ottoviani, Kyau & Albert, Vincent de Moor), that the utterly unknown Ryan Blair trumps all them with Flapjack. Shame the guy only released the one single.


Gielen’s effort makes me think of a poor man’s Tiësto. How appropriate then, that we get Charlie (the poor man’s Guile) as our guest reviewer.

Charlie: “I’ve not much to offer in the way of musical analysis, but I can point out the technical attributes of this mix. Most of the transitions are functional, which I assume is what one expects of these mix CDs. I believe a DJ in this field is also expected to ‘maintain momentum’, which this one fails to do on numerous occasions, the rhythmic section often dropping out entirely. Research shows people enjoy dancing to this music, but reduced pacing confirms a tactical deficiency on the DJ’s part.”

Tiësto - In Search Of Sunrise 5: Los Angeles

Songbird: 2006

This was supposed to be In Trance We Trust 009, featuring Mark Norman. The bill of sale enclosed with my delivery claims this should be ITWT009. Even the barcode sticker on the back of the jewel case informs this should be ITWT009. Clearly, this is not ITWT009. It's Tiësto’s In Search Of Sunrise 5, a series that still falls under the Black Hole Recordings umbrella, but has nothing to do with the In Trance We Trust sub-label. I may as well review this regardless.

For a Mark Norman DJ mix, this sucks. No, wait, I haven't a clue what a Mark Norman DJ mix sounds like. If anything, at least where CD2 of this release is concerned, it sounds like a Markus Schulz set, a total bandwagon jump of twinkly McProg on Mr. Verwest's part. Ah, the Los Angeles tag makes sense now, likely suggesting this genre was wholly an American thing. Of course, using Miami as a setting would totally tip his hand, so here’s the West Coast instead. It’s also an excellent collection of the sound, all the big players bringing their spritely melodies, deep atmospherics, and grumbly basslines to the game (Alex Stealthy, Ozgur Can, Super8 & Tab, Global Experience, Jonas Steur, etc.). There’s not a duff cut in this mix, everything moving along with class.

In fact, I’m having a hard time believing this was all Tiësto’s doing. I’ve never heard such a smooth-flowing mix from the man. Always there’re those moments that leave you scratching your head. CD1 has a perfect example, the inclusion of Fonzerelli’s Moonlight Party early on, a single instance of electro house in a double-disc release where it has no place at all. It serves no context, and is utterly forgotten about by the end. Yeah, it’s that Basic Perspective cut totally stealing the show on CD1 doing that, rendering all those vocal cuts to the dustbin of forgotten hyped singles – I’m looking at you, Karen Overton.

Anyhow, In Search Of Sunrise 5 is definitely worth your attention if you’ve fond memories of this era of progressive trance. I personally didn’t, but listening to CD2 here, I’m warming up to it, like feeling the first rays of a sunrise. Wow, what sap.


Since this mix comes from a different branch of Black Hole Recordings, here’s a guest reviewer from another Capcom fighting game: Roy Bromwell, the “Strong-Armed American” of Rival Schools.

Roy: “I’ve no time for this nonsense. There's a football game coming up I gotta practice for. Hmph, it’s just because I’m American, isn’t it - that I know about everything here. You’re right, but this trance stuff? It’s not being played by an American, just some guy from Europe. Belgium, right? Tiffany’s into this stuff though, go ask her.”

Tiffany: “I get to review music? Oh, what fun! I looooovvveee Teesteo and his songs. I once went to a party, and there were lights, and glowsticks. Amazing! So’s this CD. So fun singing that JES song! Hey, where’re you going?”