acid-brain

As a relative youngling and goa newcomer who only discovered the genre slightly over 10 years ago, everything that was said above rings true. Sandman - Witchcraft is an excellent choice for an album that sounds more fresh and engaging than other goa releases. Most of the other albums that caught my ear in a similar way are probably better classified as psy: Pigs In Space, Koxbox Dragon Tales, COP, late 90's X-Dream. A track like "Fairy in The Dragonforest" sounds like a more evolved version of classic goa trance, with much better rhythm section! Ultimately it leads to a debate into exactl

Thanks for the tip, this artist is great.

Absolutely agreed. Reading back through the reviews of this album, I'm surprised to see different tracks highlighted by people. Most tracks on this album are great, but Zero Barrier is the absolute standout. Like you said it's not repetitive at all, but dances around a couple of key melodic ideas which are developed until there's a huge payoff at the end. It's hard to think of another goa track which is structured as well as this. Moonart is also fantastic.

Zero Barrier is my favourite track by CHI-A.D., the track structure is just so complex and incredible. It only unleashes the melodies after 7:00 minutes of build-up, and when they come crashing in with huge psychedelic energy. What a track!

It's definitely a total masterpiece of the Ambient genre. The tracks send you into a deep meditative state and it's difficult to explain how they are so effective at doing so. I remember reading a few years ago that the artist had disappeared off the face of the earth, has there been any trace of him since?

Glad Psynews is back online, it was down so long I wondered whether it was coming back

For some reason I never checked out this early project from Krys Kylven (UX) and RX Heaven, perhaps because the EPs are lower rated on Discogs. But some of the tracks but this artist absolutely rock! They pay a ton of attention to rhythm and visual textures and are clearly inspired by industrial and EBM but combines with goa melodies. It's just a shame the mastering isn't always so good - whatever, it was the mid 90's. Best is Tripperspaced, with its a classic swirling goa bassline, spooky main hook and perverted rhythmic melodies. Lots of breakdowns and the melodies build in intensi

Yeah, an extremely talented band for sure. I did want to highlight Maya Moon though as having such an insane intro that the rest of the track doesn't live up to it. Etnica - Spheric Koncept is another

Maya Moon by MFG

^^ what astralprojection said

It's been ages since I listened to Magick Universe. One of this albums where it sometimes sounds really dated, but other times it has moments of brilliance so good it convinces you it's among the best trance ever made. Dreamstar has elements of a crossover into Oakenfold uplifting trance but then drops back to the acid depths of Dimension 5, before suddenly pulling off the uplifting melody again - a beautiful gem. I'm surprised the album wasn't more popular, the style sounds perfect for the dancefloors of the time.

Fairy in the Dragonforest is the best track here, starts with a very ear-catching melody and has a fantastic rhythm which stands out among goa tracks!

Tracks with intros so interesting that the rest of the track can't live up to them. The best example I can think of is Darshan - Psychokinesis - very psychedelic and the kick is powerful when it comes thumping in

Having lived in China for a while myself, I'm not sure I'd want to for a longer period. The strong response to the virus comes at the cost of a very authoritarian government and the near-total obedience of the population towards it. The liberties of the West are very important, despite not preparing us well to deal with events like this. There's a reason why most Chinese with money or connections have been emigrating to the USA, Canada or Australia for decades now...

I didn't realise how good the title track Helium was until listening to this album again today. The melodies shimmer and are insanely psychedelic. At exactly half way through the track a very memorable melody comes in that goes up and down like a big sine wave, pulling you in and out. Fantastic.