CD REVIEWS - Dance

RAM TRILOGY: MOLTEN BEATS

(Ram Records)

Despite being based in Hornchurch, Kiss FM DJ Andy C's Ram Records has quickly established itself as an important component of the drum'n'bass scene, with releases from Origin Unknown and remixes for Ed Rush & Optical and DJ Krust. For the Ram Trilogy project, Andy C is joined by Ant Miles and Shimon (so perhaps Ram Trio would have been a more apt name?) and after their two Chapter EPs, Molten Beats is an eagerly awaited debut album. It includes some of those familiar EP tracks - "No Reality" and "Mind Overload" in particular have been played on all the country's darkest dance-floors, and new tracks like "System Error (Y2K)", "Terminal 2" and "Snake Bite", with their fierce drums and growling bass, are equally suited to the task of thrilling and scaring a sweaty dancefloor. None of it is particularly original. Ever since tech-step became drum'n' bass's dominant sub-genre and the dancefloor demanded bass-lines that could make your insides rupture, too many producers have been working with the same limited palette. But Molten Beats is still thrilling and, although best appreciated at a very high volume, many of the arrangements are actually rather subtle.