johnb820

We have a new classic here, and its name is Beyond Lightspeed. I think what I enjoy most about this album is how well each track is paced. A lot of artists could have the same sounds but unless they are put together in a meaningful fashion with good evolution it won't get that transcendental feeling across. The production is also very solid with nice warm basslines even on the last 4 tracks. The detail and time taken on these tracks clearly show. Lastly, excellent choice putting Tropical Sunset in the middle. It flows very nicely and it helps break up the album between the uplifting tracks early on and the intense tracks later in the album.

This compilation is pure quality, very psychedelic. If Perihelion is any indication of what E-Mantra's next album is going to sound it, we are in for a real treat. I'm not exactly sure what the first track is doing here but whatever. It doesn't really matter when the rest are so good. Excellent stuff! Thanks to the artists and Cronomi.

Alright, where to begin. First, I have thoroughly enjoyed everything this guy has made so far. His polished sound, expressive leads, and explosive climaxes get my goa senses tingling. So how does Exodus match up against his previous tracks? To be honest, Exodus seemed a little lackluster on my first couple listens. Everything was there, but something didn't seem right. 8 tracks later and I felt like the 70+ minutes had flown by. It became more apparent after time the originality here on display. I don't mean from the perspective of individual tracks or movements, or phrases, but rather I realized that Exodus plays much better as a whole. What I mean is the whole is greater than the individual parts. Exodus flows perfectly from one track to the next. But for the sake of the review I suppose I should be more specific. The Exodus Starts out soft with ambient notes sweeping in and out. Light percussion moves us along gently with eastern melodies setting the tone for the album. Nothing much to see here other than an extended intro for the album. Mysticism Our first real track here is slow to get started. A quiet thud replaces a typical snare. A few squelches and bright leads bounce around the kicks for a while. Background ambience plays a much larger role, not only on this track but for the majority of the album. Aurum Solis This one ups the tempo a bit. A nice intro with some panning and and electric frequencies give way to the kicks and relentless basslines. Arpeggios and faster melodies fill the mix with a nice intensity. For the majority of its 10 minutes it continues to meander and swirl. 4th Dimension The fastest track on the album gets going after some dude tells us something about space/time. This one has a tighter, rubbery bass line. High passes get swept in and out. Around 3:30 an absolutely explosive face melting acid riff takes hold. The level of detail on the delay and broken notes is fantastic. The rest of the song keeps up the intensity with big fills and ever changing melodies. I love the effects on this one. Fantastic. Dreaming Universe A flute like sound starts us off which will become the theme for the second half of this album. We are back safely in positive sounds again but not without plenty of background sounds giving a level of depth to this track that I think the others lack. Probably the most expressive melody on the album for me comes early on but disappears way too soon in favor of a sparser less interesting one. Also there is an absence of breakdowns here with the kicks continuing on through the evolving moments. I am certain this was done to keep the energy going through this point of the album. Otherwise a stellar track. Mount Meru Continues with the flutes that we began to hear on the previous track. As sort of the counterpart to Aurum Solis, this one also does a lot of meandering. A deeper snare tells us we are starting to come down. Nothing incredibly different about this one other than its bassline. Plenty of acid twists pan left and right. Around the 7 minute mark another surprise riff comes in and takes us through to the end. Astral Plane We are clearly in positive territory again. Soft ambient notes play around the shifting bass line. The kick is noticably deeper, a nice relief from the almost full on sounding kicks present on most of the album. This one reminded me a lot of something I might have heard on Afgin's album. Soft bright leads and slick breakdowns keep us nicely in goa territory. The arrangement on this track is fairly minimal which is one thing that disappoints me about Exodus. A extra layer or two would have been perfect in the parts between the lead melodies. A lot of Exodus feels aimless which is by no means a bad thing. Sun Sanctuary Definitely the funkiest song on this album. It reminds me of Ra's "Expand Consciousness" or Artha's "Insidelamp" except without the unnecessary fluff. This one is edgier and a highlight of the album. Head bobbing will ensue. I love that bassline. I think maybe this one could have used a deeper kick like on Astral Plane but I won't complain. What a way to close our Exodus. Overall, I wasn't quite expecting something like Exodus. It feels oddly minimal, or ambient with a few exciting moments mixed throughout. I believe Exodus works best if you listen to it from start to finish. There are subtleties that are not necessarily easy to pick out. Also, this needs to be played loudly! I mean, loud, and on good speakers. You won't hear the details and intricacies otherwise. Exodus is a nice addition for any goa lover and I believe it has potential some crossover with stuff like Astral Plane and Mysticism. Psychedelic lovers will find a nice easy listen, perhaps not as intense as it could have been. An interesting addition to the suntrip catalog but it doesn't stand up as well alongside E-Mantra or Filteria. Loads of potential are there though. The production on this album is nearly perfect, but I couldn't help but feel Exodus is a cautious entry. I don't know maybe Daimon is something more of what I was expecting or looking for. Still a solid release though. As usual, thanks to suntrip and simon and everyone else involved.

I gave it a listen earlier today. Excellent stuff! Thanks!

How can you not like what this guy does? Energetic complex basslines, acid squelches, and captivating melodies. Been listening to Xibalba over and over since Dimensional Gateways was released and I have no doubt Exodus is going to be amazing.

What is that? Seriously, it just isn't computing. Like, I can't figure out anything about that. None of it makes any sense.

Favorite suntrip release? That would probably be E-Mantra - Arcana, followed closely by Ra - 9th and Energy Waves. Good times with good music.

I've been listening to this one a lot lately, glad to see others listening as well. Good soundforms.

Dunes of Gold sounds like a winner.

I really love the diversity on this album. Each song has something different to offer. A lot of it might sound like a movie soundtrack but there are enough little effects to see and hear to make for an interesting listening experience. I wanted to comment that I find the quieter mix a breath of fresh air amongst endless loud and unbalanced albums out there. Edit: I was about to post stand out tracks but then I decided everything on here is equally good. Only Wasp at the Fairies doesn't really interest me too much. Maybe it's a bit short, with an odd lead melody. The compositions on Sweet Sadness might seem a little standard, but the arrangements, mixing, and extra little sounds add a uniqueness that makes it stand out. To summarize, I am really enjoying it.

Radical Distortion - Radical Dysfunction Artha - Martha KOB - Keep Out Bums

Because we like to nitpick I will add my two cents. I really like the font and the cover is just ok. It is simple and effective but it maybe could have used more color or features. Anyway, the samples sound promising. I am pickier about the ambient and downtempo I listen to so I am really hoping for something progressive and fresh.

I just wanted to pop on here to say that I can't stop listening to this album. I won't write an in depth review as there already have been a few but I will say that this is what I've been wanting for a long while. At the moment Codex and Citrus Circus can't seem to leave my ears. It took a couple listens to get used to all the cues and movements but I am just really impressed by everything on here. I felt that Arcana was an adventurous goa album by E-Mantra last year and Temple of Chaos continues the trend of intense, original, emotionally charged, yet psychedelic music. I also feel the stuff on here is versatile. Temple of Chaos is not one to miss. Thanks again to suntrip and the artists as always for making it possible.

It wouldn't be the summer solstice without this! Yes!

Try watching Firefly/Serenity... Seriously.

This album still gets to me every time I listen to it. Words can't describe how beautiful these Movements are. I could only dream of the sweet, shining, and ethereal sounds all throughout this album.

What he said... Seriously.

That cover is just so... imaginative. ;-) My only opinion would be to make the text sharper in contrast to the design, placed in the base of the temple. Other than the cover, this one has potential to further degenerate my brain into a state of blissful chaos.

What can I say about this album? This is the best compilation Suntrip has put out next to Opus Iridium. The Awakening - This is a midtempo track which starts out beatless until around the final third when the track kicks off. My favorite parts of this track include a little whir that runs throughout and the key changes near the end. This is a lovely track from Mindsphere to start us off. Inhabitants of the Sun (Gnostic Theory) - Astrancer has this uncanny ability to provide bright, liquid sounds and neat patterned soundscapes. The leads are uplifting and warm while the deep bass line bounces along. This one continues the bright sounds from Mindsphere's opener. Indian Attic (E-Mantra's Tellurian Remix) - E-Mantra moves us into a more psychedelic realm taking all the best melodies from Khetzal's classic and combining them with his classic space acid sound. The result is really stunning and unexpected. I love how E-Mantra just runs with the kicks a lot longer than most artists and it becomes hard to tell how you got from point A to point B. God's Tears - Rain and hail starts falling. You know you are in for a ride. This song probably sounds the most "off" to me because the kicks are a little compressed and the leads don't have a lot of power behind them but PharaOm and Somnesia deftly keeps the listener traveling with nice climaxes. Reformation - This is the hardest hitting track on the album with fast paced arpeggios and nice drum loops. I would say this one seems short for some reason with only one real lead before the track ends on a section which seems a little out of place. This was the first track that got my attention but it has lost my attention equally as fast. Athanaton - The second Astrancer track on this album has a similar style to his previous one but the pacing and movements within the track is just perfect. There is moment when you might expect a climax but instead it drops the leads and goes into this deep dream like world. This is also the point on the album which really takes the listener to another place. Eureka - My personal favorite. The track starts off with this Indian melody not unlike something you might hear from Khetzal. It then just soars in a cosmic sort of way, each 32 beats morphing and flowing. The simplicity in this track is brilliant but yet with low rumbles swinging in and out, big sweeps, bright strings, and the perfect use of tight arpeggios and melodies, Eureka is like something out of a dream. The first time I heard this one I just sat there in my chair awestruck. Time Current (Silver Remix) - Continuing the deep travels into the euphoric dream, Ra gives us a remix of Time Current from 9th. While it says remix, this is really a totally new track. Much like Antares track, this remix just floats with a level of control unmatched. Laying one melody onto another and slowly working into the new one really works well here. One fantastic climax later the dream finally comes to a conclusion. The Beach - And then to remind us of how fun Goa trance can be Space Elves gives us a fantastic, uplifting track along the lines of California Sunshine. There is a party going on! Thanks to suntrip and the artists for their work. While this album might not be full of twisted psychedelic trance, I feel that this is a new exploration of the genre in a way that I could not compare. Energy Waves is a deep, entrancing, euphoric, and exciting journey, perfectly mastered, mixed, and produced from all the people involved.

I don't want them to go broke and have to give up on the scene because a Goa album doesn't get well received. As I said, The Prophecy and Open Society are fantastic tracks that I would not mind hearing on the new album.

IMO Amen was a move in the right direction. There are plenty of people who first got into Astral because of that album. Sure, they tried all modern ideas, some to lesser success than others but I could easily take an album full of The Prophecy and Open Society. And yes, Goa's success in 2008 and 2009 have certainly influenced them. At this point, having been out of the spotlight for so long, I think they have nothing to lose by putting out an album like Dancing Galaxy but that is for them to decide.

It doesn't get more electro/romantic/industrial than Music for the Masses. Depeche Mode made synths and drum machines sexy to the general public. About the new AP album, I sincerely hope it has new material on it. An older tracklist several years ago had all the tracks they have released since then alongside remixes of Open Society, and The Prophecy.

Artha is similar to Hallucinogen in that they both have just those extra few tracks in the mix to give depth and almost everything is modulated and controlled, from the hats to the leads. Every time I think about Hallucinogen I imagine how much a new album would mean to the scene but if it isn't going to happen, it won't happen and we just have to deal with it.