The dubstep gods have finally come through and blessed us with a release that was written in the stars – one of my all time favourites Mesck brings the heat to Deep Dark & Dangerous! The US producer has been tearing up sound systems for close to a decade now, but still appears to be evolving like dubstep’s answer to the Terminator.
‘Terror Management‘ is Mesck‘s latest collection of larger-than-life cyberpunk oddities that could lend itself as a soundtrack to any William Gibson novel. Similar to last week’s feature, the project opens the imagination to a science fiction world of chaos and turmoil, outlined by Mesck‘s quintessential sounds, samples and bionic muscle that continues to upgrade itself.
The opening title track ‘Terror Management‘, foreshadows the EP’s underlying themes of a technological apocalypse, with distant ominous chimes hanging over the drop with great anticipation. Like a shot of Betaphenethylamine, it’s a ferocious descent into a fire pit of swelling distortion, blistering kicks and archetypal Mesck samples that give a nod to hip-hop and sound system culture, almost overwhelmed by a vat of sub-driven dynamite that you shouldn’t expect to cease from now on. Punishing drops become a recurring experience throughout the record with the following ‘Lithium Vision‘ succeeding in standing against the power and prominence of it’s fellow tracks. Mesck flexes his sound design pedigree, forging steely impenetrable textures and a flow so cold, you could find yourself slipping on the frosty dancefloor. The onslaught of ‘Void Mechanics‘ is a stand out cut for myself, you’ll know what I mean once the initial drop essentially leaves you with a couple of black eyes. You know I’m a sucker for anything that resembles a soundscape of a violent sci-fi disaster and here it is; tough stifling bass design, hauntingly expansive drones, and enough grit that you can feel a layer of debris from a fallen building cast upon your stinging eyeballs. The journey concludes with ‘Canto XI‘, where Mesck brings the nine circles of hell into 2035 for one last bass driven inferno. A climatic arrangement of twisted ambient harmonies, violent FX that behave like stuttering chainsaws and the naughtiest of snares -a finale that leaves Night City officially ablaze!
Contrary to it’s title, ‘Terror Management‘ is an unavoidable confrontation of death and destruction through some of the most exciting 140 you’ll hear in 2022. It’s filthy, it’s slick, it’s Mesck in his latest and most monolithic form and a thrilling start to another year immersed in the expanding universe of Deep Dark & Dangerous.
‘Terror Management‘ EP is out 21/01/2022 and available on vinyl and to download from the Deep Dark & Dangerous Bandcamp.
Check out Mesck on Soundcloud and Instagram.
Check out Deep Dark & Dangerous on Soundcloud and Instagram.