Blutonium Boy – Essential of Hardstyle Vol. 1 (2012)

Blutonium Boy is a DJ that needs no introduction to others in the world of Hardstyle. He began a series of DJ mixes of Hardstyle many years ago, created and produced his own tracks and all-round showed the world that banging beats could bang very well. What a legend.

This is the first in a series of compilations of selected tracks by Blutonium Boy, of which is centred around the artist himself. There are many compilations in this series alone. Is it worth hearing? Let’s check it out.

We begin with Intro – Essential Of Hardstyle Vol. 1 which is a short and pretty cool intro with gunfire and soldiers shouting, before Blutonium Boy introduces us into his world, the world of Hardstyle. He is your commander in this instance, so let’s press on with this album and mission.

The first cut is Brainshooter – Album Mix. This shows off Hardstyle, a type of music which sounds like a mixture of various forms of EDM, such as Acid House, Techno, Gabber and Trance. It’s a wonderful combination. This has its peaks and troughs, with a minor key melody in the breakdown of the track. Gunshot sounds aplenty are here, along with pounding kick beats, this album definitely kicks ass so far. Worth a listen.

Hardstyle and Acid – Ferris Edit is up next. It’s more pounding beats and hyper Ecstasy based melodies. By now, the music seems formulaic, although that is in no way a bad thing. This tune slows down, then speeds up in the midsection. The acid house like melody drops in, along with the rolling drumbeats. “Ah…kick it!” indeed. Great stuff.

Higher Level – Short Cut is a lot more trance music based here. It sounds more like that than the Hardstyle we should know and love. Still, it’s a worthy cut and a good point of crossover styles for both Trance and Hardstyle fans. Interesting touch. The drums are very fast here, and the sounds are imaginative. A good listen.

The next track Make It Loud – Album Mix was an early hit of Blutonium Boy’s, and sounds fantastic, with distorted vocals and other great samples and sounds at hand. This just sounds really quite good and is a Hardstyle classic. The midsection breakdown is just awesome. A must-listen for any EDM or Hardstyle fan out there. A great tune.

Next after that is Hardstyle Instructor – Blu Boy Edit. It is really super good, and once again, was very popular. This is a very good gym-style workout sort of music. A nice and consistent effort, even for EDM music. The distorted vocals here are tweaked to full effect, it’s a killer tune. The beats really bang hard towards the end making this piece even more interesting.

Paranoid – Massaka Edit follows, and is less emotionally paranoid and is instead, just a bit annoying to hear with that cut-up vocal sample. It’s a shame that this piece is the case. The rest of the track is, in general, quite good otherwise. Don’t hit the skip button though, just kick back and enjoy. Good, even if it is not great. The super banging beats make up for it towards the end, however.

Follow Me – Album Edit comes next. It’s more melodic and sounds more like later Hardstyle than early Hardstyle. Still, this music goes well with playing computer games, so bear that in mind. Many layers of audio triumph are here, along with Blutonium Boy demanding the listener to follow him. It’s brilliant and effective. Nice track. The suspense and breakdown with beats sound super psychedelic. Whatever Blutonium Boy was smoking, maybe we should do so as well? Who knows, but he thanks us for our attention too.

The next track Legalize – Blood Pressure Cut, is obviously about drug use, which is often explicitly placed on EDM tunes of many different kinds. It’s just really good and has some psychedelic imagery in it. It’s good EDM and original Hardstyle here.

After that, Set Me Free – Short Album Mix arrives and we enter a fairly straightforward EDM Hardstyle tune, with a begging voice to be set free. It’s spacey sounding and out there musically, it’s good Hardstyle for a great night out. Nice to hear. It goes through several different sections, a nice musical touch here.

Bullshit – Blutonium Boy Album Cut comes next. Using that word, it is rather explicit in intention. “Can you hear the fucking bullshit? Motherfucking bullshit” says Blutonium Boy. It’s a more subtle sounding track otherwise, but worth hearing all the same. The beats towards the end, once again, hit hard.

Turbodüse – Hardstyle Edit is an improved track on the last couple. “Let us hit your dirty face with this k-k-k-k-killer sound.” It then begins from there. Never a dull moment on this track, it really does sound good. An aeroplane engine comes halfway through the track to let one know that Blutonium Boy was taking off in musical terms, and is Hardstyle through and through. Great and headbanging fun.

Next along is Hard Creation – Hard Bass Edit. It is just that. Although Hardstyle is a fairly limited genre, Blutonium Boy shows us how it is done. Some warped sounds and loud, punchy beats draw us into the realm of music fantasy. Worth a listen. The main melody is more Trance based here.

The following cut Floorkilla – Pavo Album Mix asks the question, “Do you remember me? I was your Hardstyle instructor.” Blutonium Boy asks a series of questions, before launching into a melodic beatastic piece. It’s an interesting tune this one, making one’s ears prick up. Blutonium Boy will not be forgotten in the world of Hardstyle easily, even many years into the future.

Hardstyle Instructor Part 2 – Hit Edit is a continuation of that particular theme. Yes, we get that Blutonium Boy is the Hardstyle instructor and overlord. Doesn’t need to be said to the nth degree. Still, it is a good listen as we have almost completed our musical journey here. It almost breaks down into silence in the middle of the track but re-emerges to complete the mission at hand.

Trancin’ Your Mind is the last cut here. It seems more Trance driven, and simpler too. It has some particularly Trance like melodies and structures in this piece. The sampled quote here is pretty cool too, it sounds very Orwellian.

This is not the greatest album ever, but it is a good way to introduce people into the world of Hardstyle, even if they are not aware of what it is. A good listen from time to time, or whenever the party mood strikes.

Historical.

7/10