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Coone - The Challenge

Label: Toff Music
Catalog#: TOFF-024
Released: 24 Apr 2011
Style: Hardstyle

Buy it at Hardstyle.com
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As many have already noticed, our good friend Mr. Dirty Workz - Coone has just completed his new album under a lot of stress. He was put to the challenge to create a full length album within 30 days and also produce the larger portion of those tracks with some of Hardstyles leading artists.
It was a long and hard battle, with road trips to The Netherlands, Denmark and even Italy, but the Belgian jetsetter put those distractions behind him, slapped on his producing goggles and slaved away in the studio for hours, days on end.
Fortunately, Coone completed his challenge in the alotted time and each and every track has already become a huge hit. Every time I've witnessed Coone's sets, the crowed would scream the lyrics out as if the tracks have been in circulation for years! As I write this, Coone's album is making an onslaught on the Hardstyle.com top 100 list with basically all of Coone's tracks fighting their way up into the top 10 and annihilating anything in their path to the top!

Coone has also made DJ's worldwide very happy by supplying full length tracks on the album. This means that DJ's don't need to buy both the album and then the album samplers to finally play them in clubs. Nope! Coone has thought of everything and everyone! Although the tracks are still "mixed" they're still very usable during a DJ set. So my upmost respect goes out to Coone for that!

Now that we've covered the basic history of the album, it's time to blast through each and every track! I've decided to give each track a good listen through and share my personal thoughts about the track in a small, but fun nutshell.

The Challenge
Popping in the CD, we're presented with Coone's first track. The Challenge.
The vocals are from an unknown vocalist. Well, apparently Coone works with him and the vocalist/rapper does kind of remind me of a softer version of DMX. Yeah, I know my rap, gangsta! Fo' Sho'!
The melody should already be branded into your very musical soul if you've followed all of Coone's Challenge video blogs, because it was used as the title track.
In a nutshell, this is a great opener for Coone's new album and I can already tell Coone has been spending a lot of time on his kicks, because they're a lot better than what I was used to in his previous releases. It has a softer punch than most of the kicks we may be used to, but I like it. It fits the track nicely!
But enough of this gangsta rap homie! Let's get our trance on and float away with the second track!
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Traveling (ft. Scope DJ)
Coone and Scope DJ hit the nail on the head with this track. Although "Orion Too - Traveling" was used as inspiration, the whole vibe and fullness of the track is utterly stunning. This is clearly my favorite track on the album and the reason is simple: Traveling has an amazingly beautiful melody which gives me goosebumps everytime and also fills the air with a great summer vibe.
As soon as the break kicks in the melody can be heard rolling around in the background, slowly building up to the ultimate climax to then hit you over the head with such an amazing phatness, you can't help but throw your hands in the air and jump around to the beat while singing the lyrics.
What an absolute top track and it will surely be responsible for providing one of those special, memorable moments during one (or all) of the summer events which are not too far away.
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Universal Language
I'll say it straight off the bat, this solo track by Coone sure as hell surprised me! It has a really great vocal and the lyrics are pretty awesome. It reminds me of "Words from the Gang", though not as rough. I really like the synth as well, a saw tooth with a slight square sound underneath and of course the melody is a great party starter. It doesn't give me goosebumps, but it doesn't have to as this is a pure party track. Fun vocals, great melody and nice drive to get everyone moving!
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D.W.X (ft . Da Tweekaz)
At first, I wasn't too sure about this track. I know Da Tweekaz like to make light, fun tracks with some goofiness thrown in, but they seem to have taken a more serious stance to D.W.X. and for that, I'm thankful. It's still fun, but at the same time it's also nice and rough. I was listening to this track in the car on my way to work and the kick was pounding the hell out of my speakers, with a nice "whoomp" in the low-end to just make everything shake! I saw the look of disapproval on the faces of all the people I cruised by, windows shaking as I fistpumped my way to work.
The vocals are fun, which is typical of Da Tweekaz and the melody is very well done. Just like Universal Language, this is a pure party track with a whopping kick thrown in which produces a shock wave of bonebreaking force!
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The Way That I Ride
You have to love Coone's inner "Gangsta" when it comes to lyrics or track names. I suppose we can even say that "The way that I Ride" is a nice mix of different styles.
You've got the Hip Hop/Rap title, Hardstyle kicks and melody and Pop/Rock vocals from the U2 cover band "Crystal Dream". A nice mixture of styles and truly the way that Coone rides. The climax has a nice drive to it which really makes you want to get up and jump around while thrashing your air guitar and pretending you're U2 star Bono, all the while flashing gang signs at your party buddies on the dancefloor.
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Moment Of Creation (ft. Ambassador Inc)
Fenix (half of Ambassador Inc) is great with kicks and we're treated with a pretty awesome reverse bass to swallow you up and then spit you back out in a sweaty mess on the dancefloor. I'll be perfectly honest, I'm not a huge fan of the melody but it does make the track a little more Raw (in a softer form) and lends all its power to the kick for some pure fistpumping moments. I wouldn't even mind the whole track just being one big reverse bassline, with that pretty nifty vocal chattering away underneath. With that said, I feel this is a typical Ambassador Inc. track with a funky rythmic melody and nice hard kicks - but what more could you want?
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The Words (ft. Psyko Punkz)
As usual, the Psyko Punkz have done their own vocals, which usually makes their tracks quite unique. The whole atmosphere reminds me of Coone & Psyko Punkz' previous collaboration: Dirty Soundz. Honestly though, the lyrics are quite good. It doesn't exactly have a distinct meaning, but it's a nice description of how a party is perceived by people and how Hardstyle in general (usually) makes people feel. The melody is very interesting and in combination with the kick, sounds quite raw with a slight euphoric touch thrown in. Just imagine this one pounding away while you're blasted by strobe lights. Sure as hell is blinding your eyes!
I couldn't expect more from this collaboration. It's pure Psyko Punkz style, with raw sounding lyrics and vocals, a nice strong kick and a pretty awesome melody!
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Musical Notez
This is another solo track by Coone and at first listen, this (together with Universal Language) is one of Coone's best solo tracks. Not just on the album, but in general. I really feel Coone has grown in Hardstyle and he's really done a great job with this track. It also seems he likes the combination of saw tooth synths combined with an underlying square sound. The track is strong, with a softer female vocal - which I personally like - and the melody is quite catchy! Always a good thing on the dance floor.
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Come Take My Hand (ft. Ambassador Inc)
The intro of "Come take my Hand" is quite funky and doesn't give away its secret of the epicness that's to ensue. I'd even dare to say that this is a step away from the typical Ambassador Inc. sound with a nice push on an euphoric sounding track to sweep you away. I really like that little "buzz" sound in the reverse bass. It kind of tricks your brain into thinking your speakers are rattling.
The inspiration for this track is taken from a track by the Dutch Eurodance group: 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor (what a mouth full) - Come take my Hand.
As soon as the break opens up with some nice orchestral sounds and a vocal from Des'Ray, we're treated to some trancy sounds to help build the atmosphere as the climax slowly swells up from a pluck into a phat sounding climax with a nice, heavy (but not too raw) kick underneath. If I have to give this track a place in my "favorites", I'll surely say that "Come take my Hand" is up there alongside (but still a little way off) "Traveling".
Both Coone and Fenix have definitely supplied us with a great euphoric feeling which does produce some goosebumps!
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Open Up The Trunk
Wow, it seems the further I get in the album, the more epic Coone's solo tracks become. From the first second, hearing the filtered and distorted intro kick, I knew that the kick used in this track would be nice and hard.
Coone wouldn't be Coone without some nice "rap" vocals about... well, weed. This time around, Coone borrowed his vocals from "Kritikal - Green and Purple". Fo' real bra'!
The melody is quite simple, but is beautifully complemented but that pretty raw kick. My favorite part would still have to be the mid intro/outro, which is just the kick drilling away at my eardrums with some clever psychedelic screechy sounds thrown in to give it all that extra "umph".
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Pacmen (ft. Ruthless)
The collaboration with Ruthless is one of the tracks that surprised me during one of the last video blogs of Coone's Challenge. I know that Ruthless can produce some pretty banging stuff, but I honestly didn't expect this and after hearing it played live, I can certainly say the sound system must have had a headache after being beaten up by such brutal sounds. The nintendo/pacman samples used are very clever, which makes this track nice and fun and keeps it nice and jumpy. But wow, it has been ages since I've heard such an awesome jump track - nice and oldschool with a brutal kick!
The quote used (by Marcus Brigstocke) has always been one of my favorites and is quite clever:
"If Pacman had affected us as kids We'd all be running around in dark rooms, munching pills and listening to 8-bit electronic music", which is so ironically true.
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Crossin’ Over (ft. B-Front)
Now we're getting down to the Raw style. B-Front is the master of Raw-style (next to some other artists of course) and I couldn't expect any better from this guy. What a track! The kick just brutally pounds away, like a nonstop artillery battery.
The break is filled with a great atmosphere as a swell of dark sounding synths fills your soul, as if all of the underworlds demons are about to be let loose! Honestly though, the atmosphere and buildup really reminds me of "B-Front - Inner Creativity", which of course isn't a bad thing, as that track was amazing.
This is an absolute pounder that I'm sure will make any Raw style lover happy... or angry... or whatever Raw style lovers like. It sure made me happy!
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Audio Attack (ft. Zatox)
Ah Zatox! Everybody's hero! As I've mentioned numerous times, Zatox has yet to disappoint me as all of his tracks are spot on! Some great in your face vocals are used to set the mood and Zatox's awesome screech sounds really complete this. It really is an Audio Attack!
The melody is great, maybe not my favorite, but still worth a lot of praise. Great Raw style, with a raw but euphoric melody, pounding kicks and awesome lyrics. Coone and everybody's favorite Italian (no, not Mario) have done it again! Their collaboration really is a masterpiece and I'm not just saying this because I'm a fan!
Buy it

CODE (ft. Deepack)
The crazy Deepack duo are renowned for their crazy, hard and in your face Hardstyle and I knew from the start I'd like this track. They've spent little time on the intro, which is basically long enough for a mix in. They head straight on over to one hell of a mid-intro with an amazingly hard kick and screech to add more drive. Now, personally, I don't really like the melody that much, but I guess it's not a show stopper as just when you think the melody would break off into an amazing climax, we're blasted with one hell of an anti-climax. Get your fists out and those teeth grinding, because this is hard!
People can complain all they want about the anti-climax, I absolutely love it. What a way to build up even more energy in a track, it's even hard for me to sit down and write this as I just want to jump around and slap the hell out of the air *punch* *pow* "Take that... air!"
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The Challenge (Evil Activities Remix)
Now, my Hardcore knowlege is pretty much nihil. Infact, when I'm at a party my poor legs are usually so screwed that I head off home by the time the Hardcore artists dominate the stage. So, I'm going to be judging this track as someone who is new to Hardcore.
However, I do know that Evil Activities produces some nice "easy to listen to" (that may be a bad choice of words) Hardcore. By that I mean, his productions are usually very easy to party to. They're not too rough and are still fun enough to enjoy with non-Hardcore fanatics at a party. Evil Activities has done a fantastic job in remixing the title track "The Challenge" into one mean Hardcore moshpit. I've heard harder Hardcore kicks, but because this is pretty mainstream, Evil Activities has made the track rough enough for a Hardcore fanatic to enjoy at the end of this epic album and easy enough for everyone else to clench their fists to.
Buy it

In a nutshell, Coone has done an amazing job on this album and has really shown the world that this Belgian means business. Coone has already earned my deepest respect for taking "The Challenge" on, looking it straight in its evil eyes and simply slaughtering it to bits. Each and every track has been produced in record times and still turned out to be absolutely awesome. Of course, everyone will have their favorites, but as a whole, "The Challenge" has become a very interesting album and Coone's sound has definitely matured!

Buy the album at Hardstyle.com
Buy the album at Toff Music

Check out the small 9 minute preview of all tracks