acid-brain

Agreed, and I can't understand the negative thoughts above. Especially since there's such a variety of tracks, some of which are so old-school. Adobe Of The Damned reminds me of when I first listened to Cassandra's Nightmare and Sandman's Witchcraft and is my favourite track here. @astralprojectionwe've chatted before about how we both love MFG's Project Genesis sound, you are on a different planet to me if you think Dying Sun is "horrible"!

Two track-by-track reviews of Netherverse have been posted now, would love to see yours too. I'm surprised you didn't enjoy this EP, in my mind the quality is equal to the album.

A long-awaited album by the master of dark goa & psychedelic trance! We got a taster of some of these tracks in Xenomorph's ZNA Gathering 2019 set (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN3N1BEkHB8) and finally five years later the new album is released. However, not all the tracks from that performance, such as the amazing Atrocity Archive, were released on either the recent EP nor this album - hopefully another release is upcoming. Further, a few of the tracks are mixes of existing released tracks with very minor changes. Why do I love Xenomorph's music? 1) A huge part of why I like psychedelic music overall is its ability to create powerful atmospheres. Xenomorph is almost unmatched at that. His tracks tell stories ranging the whole spectrum of darkness from apocalyptic hopelessness to unhinged lunacy to stony-faced esoterica. 2) Xenomorph's melodies are very strong. Classic tracks like Abominations are surprisingly melodic. The combination of dark storytelling talent with melodic payoffs does much more for me than most later darkpsy. 3) Lastly, Xenomorph kept forging a unique path, each album is novel and just so different to what anyone else was doing at the time. It's no surprise that he's gained many fans with this uncompromisingly creative approach. 01 Sinister Contours This track's name describes it perfectly. The first half feels like an intro to the moment when the sinister contours really kick in at around 5:00 with tense eastern melodies, croaking acid, and spooky samples. The main lead is brought back in and the tension just ratchets up and up with so many intertwining ominous layers. A build up which we might anticipate leading to a break down actually leads to the addition of an off-beat clap along with an echoing foreboding sound at 6:55. A driving new melody starts emerging and and at 7:45 most layers drop away leaving this new theme. The pressure release ultimately happens at 8:00 when a cheeky goa melody drops! At this point I have a huge grin on my face. Despite how much I love this track, some aspects seem a little overprocessed for my taste, such as the main lead when it first comes in. The break at 6:50, which was previously understated in the ZNA Gathering clip with just the clap added, now also brings in another layer which makes that section a little crowded - maybe my headphones need upgrading. 02 Dying Sun (Sol Aeternus Mix) A fantastic song already released on the Gamma Draconis compilation. I didn't do a detailed comparison but it sounds like the bassline has been thickened and some minor tweaks have been made (the original track did have poor mastering for some reason), otherwise everything is the same. The storytelling of the sense of melancholia about the dying sun is beautifully expressed. 03 War In Heaven This one is a cool change of mood and pace, and recalls industrial/EBM artists like Velvet Acid Christ and Hocico when they have dabbled in trance. Less of the high-tech psy leads or Xenomorph's signature menacing atmosphere. The focus is more on danceable high energy with a gothic touch that can actually end up sounding euphoric. The interlacing arpeggiated melodies at 4:00 are absolutely gorgeous!! 04 Negative Time (-L Di-Dt Mix) Again, it says this is a mix but the version sounds pretty much identical to what was released in the Negative Time EP. The track takes off like a rocket with a bouncy bassline, and at 0:55 comes a massive and absolutely delicious lead. Then a slower response section with more metallic sounds, which finally runs out of energy at 2:40. Suddenly to be replaced by another massive resonant lead, mirrored by a shimmering second melody, I could listen to this section all day as the modulations sound so nice. A series of acid melodies slowly build up the energy back to a metallic section, it's clear we're heading for something big. At 6:40 there's a spine-tingling breakdown leading to a very old-school goa climax! 05 No Beginning No End Not such a fan of this track personally, feels like it's perched between the styles of the last two tracks. Lots of interesting ideas but not structured with the urgency of previous tracks nor with any real stand out sections. The only dud on the album. 06 Nebula Of Souls Yet another change of style, this track is more of a slow-burner compared to the others and evokes the mood of hopelessness and weirdness most similar to the Qlippoth album. Intriguing start feels like being in a space station drifting through freezing space. Again the title is fitting. At 3:00 a crunchy growling lead starts to takes the fore. The track builds up in intensity until at 5:45 a sad stringed instrument melody comes in. I can see why for some fans this would be the top pick of the album, it's easily the darkest track here. 07 Subdimensional Anomaly Time for another more trancey track, but with a pensive mood. Big sweeping pads and a lot of more subtle layers over the top take us all the way to 3:00 where we get a radiant psy lead along with a big snappy snare. The track doesn't evolve in any major way from here but doesn't need to. It's absolutely beautiful. 08 Abode Of The Damned This one heavily reminds me of Cassandra's Nightmare, still my most loved Xenomorph album. The first half has the twisted horror style with a playful array of spooky squelchy sounds. The second half breaks out into powerful melodies that just get better and better on top of a pumping bassline. The melodies aren't particularly memorable however unlike the previous track. 09 Netherverse Wow a rare psybient track from Xenomorph, this one also wouldn't have felt out of place as the last track on many oldschool albums. The first half is deeply atmospheric and intriguing, similar to Koxbox's Searching For Psychoactive Herbs. Unfortunately the change of direction that feels like it's coming at some point never does arrive, besides a small modulation near the end. Still an enjoyable track but could have been more. Overall, there's a large variety of styles here, and at first I think this makes the album as a whole difficult to comprehend. It's harder to fully appreciate tracks 7 and 8 after you've just listened to the nightmare tour de force of Nebula of Souls. After repeated listens I really appreciate the quality of each track and there's only one that I feel is weak. Perhaps the biggest surprise is how euphoric a few of the tracks are, especially Negative Time, one of the least dark songs Xenomorph has produced. But still has that signature intensity and urgency and I love it. I'm a sucker for the big psychedelic leads used and production level is high as you'd expect. I expect the range of styles is due to the long time period this album took to put together, and my only disappointment is we didn't see more new tracks instead of a few minor mixes of existing songs.

Why do you want FLAC? Double blind studies show that MP3 320kbps or even 256kbps sounds equally as good, and takes up much less space. The only advantage of FLAC is that if you decide to transcode to another format in future, you won't lose quality.

Fantastic EP! Can't believe I only listened to this for the first time now. Dark, driving, metallic, highly psychedelic industrial goa.

Some great thoughts above. The first one that jumps to mind is Alienapia – Goapocalipsis (2010).

Thanks for the recommendations. The Trust In Trance compilations are a big blind spot, I'll hunt the best of those down. It looks like I'm missing some absolute classics like Goa Vibes Vol. 2. I haven't heard much "cosmic neogoa" besides some Celestial Intellience tracks which I liked, I'll look into that thank you! Also really appreciate the Rootless and MystikA recommendations as they do seem like exactly the type of modern compilations I'd like.

Hey, I recently organised my goa compilations CD collection. Is this a good collection? Which absolute classics am I missing? Truth is I rarely listen to compilations, preferring artist albums, and I want to work my way through these again. 'VA - 1993 - Project II Trance' 'VA - 1995 - Accidental Occidentalism' 'VA - 1995 - Concept In Dance' 'VA - 1995 - Distance to Goa 1' 'VA - 1995 - Goa Gil - Techno Spiritual Trance' 'VA - 1995 - TIP - Orange' 'VA - 1995 - TIP - Yellow' 'VA - 1995 - Trance Mix 6' 'VA - 1996 - Balagan' 'VA - 1996 - Destination Israel' 'VA - 1996 - Distance To Goa 4' 'VA - 1996 - Dragonfly - Order Odonata- The Technical Use of Sound in Magic' 'VA - 1996 - Further Definitions of Goa Trance' 'VA - 1996 - Goa Gil - Spiritual Trance Vol.2' 'VA - 1996 - Psychedelic Krembo - Selected Tunes Part 1' 'VA - 1996 - TIP Phosphorescent' 'VA - 1996 - TIP - The Mystery Of The Yeti' 'VA - 1996 - Transient 3' 'VA - 1997 - Destination Goa 5' 'VA - 1997 - Greetings from Goa - The Paradise of Psychedelic Trance' 'VA - 1997 - Psychedelic Krembo - Selected Tunes Part 2' 'VA - 1997 - TIP Singles 1' 'VA - 1997 - TIP Singles 2' 'VA - 1998 - Destination Goa 6' 'VA - 1998 - Psychedelic Krembo - Selected Tunes Part 3' 'VA - 1998 - Shiva Space Technology Israel' 'VA - 1998 - TIP - Beyond Colour' 'VA - 1999 - Psychedelic Krembo - Selected Tunes Part 4' 'VA - 1999 - TIP - The Mystery Of The Yeti II' 'VA - 1999 - Trance Foundation' 'VA - 2001 - Retro 10 Years of Israeli Trance' 'VA - 2003 - Blissful Moments' 'VA - 2005 - Apsara' 'VA - 2005 - Psytrance God Is Back' 'VA - 2006 - Pyramidal Trancendence' 'VA - 2006 - Trip To Dreamland' 'VA - 2007 - Golden Vibes' 'VA - 2007 - Golden Vibes 2' 'VA - 2007 - Human Hyperactivation' 'VA - 2007 - Twist Dreams' 'VA - 2008 - Freshly Cut Tomato' 'VA - 2008 - Goa Times - Now And Then' 'VA - 2008 - Golden Vibes lll' 'VA - 2009 - Nitz-ho-Goa' 'VA - 2009 - People Walk Funny' 'VA - 2009 - Suncokreti' 'VA - 2010 - Dancing Mavka' 'VA - 2010 - Dimensional Gateway' 'VA - 2010 - Elixir Of Life' 'VA - 2010 - Protozoa' 'VA - 2010 - Spiritual Rising' 'VA - 2010 - Temple of Chaos' 'VA - 2011 - Dimensional Gateway 2' 'VA - 2011 - Energy Waves' 'VA - 2011 - Erta Ale' 'VA - 2011 - Mind Rewind' 'VA - 2012 - The Omega Point' 'VA - 2013 - Blacklight Moments' 'VA - 2013 - Luna Nova' 'VA - 2013 - Mind Rewind 2 - Past Forward' 'VA - 2015 - The Brave And The Bold' 'VA - 2015 - The World Beyond' 'VA - 2016 - Mind Rewind 3' 'VA - 2020 - Gamma Draconis' 'VA - 2021 - Carpe Noctem' I also have most of the classic Pulse and Flying Rhino CDs.

I always thought this album was a drop in quality compared to the first 3 classics by MFG. But I've been listening to it more recently and think it has some really great tracks. For me Dark Waters is the standout with a beautiful and emotional progression. There's melancholy in this track which isn't really felt elsewhere in MFG's work. When I think of all goa artists, MFG probably are my favourite. Every album is different and their production is so atmospheric and unique. And rather than seeing The Message as the end, I now see it as being the final step of MFG's development, perhaps not as stunning as earlier work but still strong and still experimental in its own way.

@psytonesI purchased the Revisited Album and the better mastering has really helped me enjoy the details of the other tracks more. Great recommendation, thank you!

Finally got to this album almost two decades later... Wow, The Invisible College and Quintessence Unfurls are mindblowing to my ear. These tracks are so subtle, with just enough melodic payoff to make them enjoyable for a more goa loving person. What strikes me about these tracks is that they are like puzzles that my brain can just about piece together as a coherent progression. Especially The Invisible College. The whole tracks builds up tension which is paid off from 6:30 then a brief return to the beautiful pads of the intro. The track is enigmatic, uncompromising, and not easy to pin down. The other tracks may grow on me but the similar basslines wear me down pretty quickly, and as Jon Cocco pointed out a long time ago (I love going through his reviews even though I don't always agree with them), there aren't enough sweet payoffs or standout sections to really cling onto for me. But, I've always struggled with darkpsy for some reason, I find a small number of tracks utterly amazing and can't really bear a lot of the rest.

I don't rate all the tracks on this album, but the first one "Fungus Fever" is magnificent. Probably still my favourite track by Triquetra even though they've released many excellent ones. The best thing about the track is it's structure, going from melody to melody and building up throughout the 9 minutes in the hypnotic way the best old-school tracks do. Sadly I think many will have missed this since the EP was self-released, but it's one of the top new school goa tracks IMO.

Agreed, a lot of the early Elysium stuff is fantastic. The album Dance For The Celestial Beings is an absolute classic of the genre. Couldn't care less about any drama the artist is up to these days.

That's really interesting especially as Trance2MoveU also liked the track. The best way I can describe it is that the choice of sounds send me spiralling straight into a "bad trip". I can't appreciate it psychedelically at all because I feel it's going to send me into a dark place. That's caused by the timbre and composition of different sounds rather than the harmonies. And this is coming from a big fan of Xenomorph and other dark goa. Strange. I'm more of a forest-head and I thought this was overall a strong release. I can understand why from one perspective a track like "Betarave" would be seen as lacking direction, or "Pitchbend" would be seen as not developing enough, but the focus in these genres is on different areas (as Anoebis said) and for me they do a better job at bringing me into the trance state than most other stuff out there. And these differences in opinion probably just point to fundamental differences in taste, and as was said above, it's a great thing that Suntrip is putting out different releases to cater to all of us.

Yes it's interesting indeed to see how we have almost the opposite opinion on several of the tracks. I'm guessing with the number of hearts that more people share your opinion. Or they just like your more-to-the-point review style better.