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Alphaverb - Substream

“AVIO Records presents it's first artist album, produced by Alphaverb. Alphaverb is known for his alternative approach on today's hardstyle and with this album he shows that he likes to think "out of the box".” 
Source: Hardstyle.com

First of all, I would like to say that the artwork looks great. It suits the feeling of the album, the personality of Alphaverb and his style. I am a big fan of his music, but I will try to make an objective review about Substream. 

01. Rockin' Da Rework
The first track is a rework of Hardstyle Mafia – Rockin’ Da Place (Alphaverb & Intractable One remix), released on Bazz Implant Recordings in 2007, it's one of my old favourites. The rework turned out great. I like that he kept the melody almost the same but updated the vocal, in particular between the climaxes, he auto-tuned the vocals. Also the outro mid is nice with the voice cutting. The message in the vocals is one which appeals to me and probably to all hardstyle fans who’ve visited an event. To see what he wrote about it himself as inside info visit the Facebook inside info link at the bottom.

02. The Otherside (Album version)
This track is also a different version of an older Alphaverb release. The thing that gives this track his soul are the vocals which he explained himself on his Facebook page. I think he really put the emotion he described on there into this track and I can only give him respect for it. Considering that hardstyle tracks frequently have no meaning at all these days, I think this track can be considered one of the best in hardstyle on that basis, only if you like such a message of course. Another track with a similar feeling is Abject – In Our Memories if you are interested.

03. Give It Up Again (ft. Bass Modulators)
This track was originally produced by the Bass Modulators and remixed by Alphaverb. I think it’s a decent one but not one of my favourites. I have to admit, it has a lot of energy in it. I am sure this track will work very good on the dance floors. My favourite part of the track is the second climax where he placed a vocal cut of up and reworked the melody on the afterbeat. 

04. Energize
This is the first track Alphaverb produced with Cubase and because of that, he admitted on his Facebook that this track is a bit more basic. This actually makes the track quite good as in some cases, less is more. This track is a basic, good party track in my eyes. His favourite part is the second climax, where I am more fond of the first climax. There is also a B-Twins remix of this track, both versions will be released on AVIO106. The remix is quite good but I prefer Alphaverbs original which is probably a matter of taste.

05. Just A Little Noise (ft. Run-A)
This track is co-produced with Run-A, a surprising name for me and I guess for a lot of hardstyle followers. The track has great screeches and a nice reversed bassline in the first part of the mid. The melody in the climax is not really my cup of tea, the second climax is done originally, but in total the climax just seems decent to me. The outro mid again, has some awesome reversed bass.

06. Controlled Choas
This track appeals to me more than others. The mid is typical Alphaverb style accompanied by raw reversed basslines and nice screeches. The second mid is especially phat. The melody and break aren’t too complex, only the change of rhythm is distinctive, a nice touch I think. The second climax amazed me and is surely my favourite part of the track, it is what the title says: Controlled chaos. The afterbeat synths remind me of Choirs by Zatox and The Rebels which was lovely.

07. Roots Of Evil (ft. Intractable One)
This track is great, I heard it for the first time at Q-Base and liked it instantly. It’s already released on AVIO104 and AVIO009(Vinyl). The part I like the most is how the climax kicks in, with kicks on all the notes of the melody. It seems the melody is the bassline of D12 – My Band, quite cool how they worked that into a hardstyle track.

08. F*ck The Nice Guys
A nice mid, decent Alphaverb style with a rhythm edit at the end of the mid. The melody and synth in the climax are quite original I think, it creates a dark tension. The track isn’t too complicated but that’s a good thing. The outro mid and the tiny break to it are great too. Overall this track is a very original simple track, with a nice dark atmosphere . It could really grow on me to end up as one as of my favourites on the album.

09. Substream
This is the title-track of the album, the vocals are edited a bit too much during the mid in my opinion, although the message is a nice one. The climax including the really raw sounds is very good, a real banger for the dance floors. The rhythm edit at the end of the climax is great too. I am really looking forward to hear this track at events. I think it really represents “substream”.

10. Realization Of A Dream
Reading through the internet it appeared to me that this is the favourite track of the album for most people. In my view, the mid isn’t really special but it certainly is decent Alphaverb style. I believe I heard this track on Q-Base and it felt like a decent track back then. To my ears, this track sounds more “mainstream” then the others on this album. The second climax is very original though and I think the second climax will grow on me. I can see why this track is so popular but it’s definitely not my favourite on the album.

11. Destination Nowhere (ft. Intractable One)
This is the train, to nowhere. This track is a 2010 top 10 track for me. Overall it's very original and works perfectly on dance floors. The break in particular, with the train sounds, is fun at home and at events, where sometimes people imitate trains. Then some aggressive screeches kick in for the climax. This track is released already on AVIO006 as a vinyl and a download.

12. Back
This track is also already released as a vinyl on AVIO009 and as a download on AVIO102. The track has a great drive in it and I consider it as one of my favourites. I think the “melody” of the mid is a simple but a fun one, collaborated with the vocals and kicks it makes it all come together in a very energetic fashion. What I like about this track is that it doesn’t really have a break, in other words, it doesn’t have a big difference between mid and break because both melodies flow fluently into each other, this is probably what makes it sound a bit oldschool because that method was used much more in the early days.

13. Chemistry Of Sound (ft. The Machine)
The Machine always creates original rough tracks which made me very curious about this one. If you like hardstyle to be quite rough, you will like this track and his music overall. There is a lot of distortion is going on within this track. From what I can hear, the climax is absolutely tremendous. This could easily become one of my favourites when I get to know all the details in the track.

14. Thunderstyle (Remastered Album Mix)
Again, an old-time favourite of mine that has been re-vamped. Alphaverb remastered this because he learned some additional tricks and has probably gotten better at mastering since releasing this track back in 2008. The build-up is quite original in my eyes and what I like the most about this track is how the kick rhythms go simultaneously with the synths. The second break is very good too, you can hear a thundercloud during it and it kicks in again with a kick rhythm accompanied by synths. This feels so energetic and euphoric to me that I almost get chills of it, if you get to know the details of this track it will really grow on you.

15. Over and Over
I like the sounds in the mid, it reminds me a bit of In De Strieel from Southstylers which I really love, the total sounds of the mid are techy and somehow a bit industrial, but they are raw for sure. The break creates a dark tension and really makes you curious about what the climax may contribute and then the climax brings pure darkness. This track surprised me quite a bit, he sure as hell didn't hold back with it.

16. Stimulate Your Curiosity
Could be described in one word: Rough! This mid really blew me away. With such a track you can close off a set, a party, or in this case your first album. It’s a simple but really banging track. It is hard to describe this one, I can only describe it as I did earlier.

To conclude this review I can say that this album is really worth buying and it surprised me on some levels. The total diversity is “substream” with a slight tendency to mainstream with Realization of a Dream. It also contains some older tracks in a remastered or remixed version which makes the first listen of the album a bit less heavy, a good choice in my opinion. Overall I can say some tracks really gave me an adrenaline rush where others surprised me differently. If you’re a fan of Alphaverbs style this would be a gift from the gods for you, if you dig the so called “Raw Style” it will also meet your expectations or possible even exceed them. But when you’re a “mainstream” follower or not that into raw tracks, it's more than likely that only some tracks will appeal to you. This ain’t bad, as described in the interview with Alphaverb on Hardstyle.com he told that he creates what he thinks is good, or what he feels is right to do. If that means it only please a tiny group of fans instead of the masses then so be it, this is in my eyes the essence of being an artist. In my case, I already was a fan and tried to be really critical in this review instead of just firing compliments all over the place.

Previews: http://tinyurl.com/273kvwe
Facebook Inside Info Topics (will be completed in the future): http://www.facebook.com/alphaverb?v=app_2373072738