Leaderboard

Artist: MFG Title: The Message Label: Phonokol Date: February, 2001 1. Have A Nice Day 2. Wonderland 3. Brainwaves 4. Walking On Ice 5. Feels Like God (New Version) 6. Rise & Fall 7. Welcome To The Edge 8. Dark Waters 9. The Message "Hi. A sinister flying pod has just entered the Earth's atmosphere. Seconds remain before certain death rains from the heavens." Said every Pakistani villager. Yeah we call those drones. I'm piloting one from my basement right now. "Learn your geography Michael, you'll need it some day!" they said. Whatever. Joystick - $10 Monitor - $100 Ensuring that generations of Muslims despise America for all eternity - Priceless. Aharon Segal (no relation to Steven) and Guy Zurkel (no relation to...your mom. Maybe) have played second fiddle to the eternal procrastinators known as Astral Projection for as long as I can remember. Justified or no, these guys are masters in their own right. Their previous 3 albums were as goa as it gets, but with this one as this thread has illustrated is a bit of a departure from that direction. Sure there is still a goa flavor, but they morphed their style due to the direction that psytrance had taken at the time. Melodic? Of course, but don't break out the camel to make it across the Sahara as this isn't that kind of goa. First off these guys know how to use a sample. Ben Stein's deadpan delivery on Have a Nice Day to THE Matrix sample in Wonderland that even my na-na used in a home movie is well placed and adds to the tracks. The beats hit with power in a more full-on style and give an insight as to what they will do on 2006's Message From God. While not as cosmic in scope as Astral was, I appreciate their ability to set a tone. The whole album is dark and brooding with plenty of acidic leads and moody synths. My favorite? Dark Waters and Welcome To The Edge. While it may not be a true goa album it is certainly a fantastic psytrance classic IMO. MFG should stand for Mutha F*cking Gangstas. Bombs away! Oh. Uhhh...*drops joystick, crawls out Mom's basement window and hauls ass down the street* "Not my fault! New Jersey was already like that!" Mdk

MFG - THE MESSAGE 2000 PHONOKOL RECORDS Track list: 01. 08'20" Have A Nice Day 02. 09'19" Wonderland 03. 09'03" Brainwaves 04. 07'17" Walking On Ice 05. 09'22" Free Like God (New Version) 06. 08'20" Rise And Fall 07. 08'17" Welcome To The Edge 08. 09'06" Dark Waters 09. 09'26" The Message MFG's first departure from PURE GOA-TRANCE is a very, VERY melodic (with cinematic-esque overtures at times), thoughtful, and unexpectedly solid and beautiful PSYTRANCE album. A part of me does miss the Goa heavy influence. At least something feels missing. Maybe it's that spiritual element that Seraph mentioned. The magic of youth? I don't know. But I love that this is NO ordinary Psytrance album either! It's engagingly emotive at times (Tracks 1, 2, 3, 9), complex (3, 5, 8), and contemplative (2, 9). There are some stand out, powerful moments. But the trip this time around lacks the playfulness, eager energy, and complexity of their previous albums. They've matured in some ways. Their sound is smoother than ever. Production values are excellent. It's just not PURE GOA anymore.This is a melodic Psytrance album with touches of Goa/Goa influence. The emotive (warmer, more euphoric at times) factor beginning with Have A Nice Day is excellent. I just have to be in the mood to appreciate MFG's psytrance over Goa approach with this album. In enjoying it for what it is, I think many will enjoy it, and if I were to rate the song's, it would look something like this-- 01. Have A Nice Day - B+ 02. Wonderland - A- 03. Brainwaves - B+ 04. Walking On Ice - B+ / A- 05. Free Like God (New Version) - A- 06. 08'20" Rise And Fall - B+ 07. 08'17" Welcome To The Edge - B+ 08. 09'06" Dark Waters - A- 09. 09'26" The Message - A CONCLUSION This is a great PSYTRANCE album. MFG started out in the shadow of Astral Projection, but they broke out with their second and most definitely their radical third album. This is a mature, emotive, and passionately produced release. It's unique and has aged well since 2000. I do agree that it lacks a certain magnetic, playful energy. The album feels a little more digital at times, and that may be their shift from Goa to Psy. I simply hope others can enjoy this for what it is, not expecting a Goa follow up to the style of Project Genesis, let alone any of their past three classics. MFG didn't lower their standards to produce a conventional full on trance album. In stead they created a Psytrance hybrid of sorts and the result is a melodic, unique, trance-y, and engaging album with some exciting surprises, great usage of samples and musical TUNES, buildups, and climaxes. Oh, and there IS Goa influence regarding some of the mixing and synths incorporated into the Psytrance. And the last track is excellent! Favorite tracks: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 A-