Masters Of Ceremony – Hardcore To Da Bone

The first version of Masters Of Ceremony was the talented Jeroen Streunding from Neophyte and Rob Christensen who had been making some tasty tracks with Paul Elstak under Evil Maniax. Masters Of Ceremony is what M.C. stands for in Hip Hop.

Hardcore To Da Bone is a classic Gabber track and embodies the aggressive attitude of Hardcore Techno. The song centres around a clever, rhythmic manipulation of T99 - Anasthasia. Neophyte had a unique kickdrum around this time, a low bassy drum that really packs a punch, this is clearly heard in Hardcore To Da Bone. The vocal samples used are also exceptional. The main sample is taken from Erick Sermon (one half of legendary rap duo, EPMD) and his verse on Cypress Hill's Throw Your Hands In The Air. The Lawnmower Man sample is effective. But I always enjoy "yessss I am invincibleeeee", that is the final words of one of the villains from the 1995 James Bond movie, GoldenEye. The second half of the track is complemented with a nice synth melody that buzzes across the track. A true Hardcore anthem and a fine example of Rotterdam Gabber.

Mass Hysteria has two main samples, both of them are taken from Funkmaster Flex's 60 Minutes Of Funk Volume One. The Mass Hysteria sample is by Puff Daddy, or his more ridiculous name: P Diddy. The speech is actually the introduction to Side B on the mixtape. Side note, he's called Puffy or Puff Daddy because when he was younger he would puff up his chest to make himself look bigger. The second sample is the borderline silly nursery rhyme in the middle. That is from DJ Kool - 20 Minute Workout which is also on Side B of the tape. The cut up synth stands out and the drum has a slightly higher tail to it, still pounding as hell though.

I have always liked Happy Hour. I've wondered if the title is a reference to Happy Hardcore, because technically there is a female vocal and a piano section. Also Forze Records was started to cater for Happy Hardcore. Probably a pub/bar reference. The chipmunk vocals come from Everybody Be Somebody by Ruffneck .... not THAT Ruffneck! This was a massive House track in 1995. There's two drums used, there's this House/Trance type of beat and then there's the trademark punishing Neophyte kickdrum, the percussion on top of the beat also works well. The piano used in the track is the opposite of Happy, it has a deranged feel to it. Very interesting, plus those Neophyte drums underneath. The first and last breakdowns have that raw synth sound that only Neophyte can produce, fortunately Mr. Streunding uses this sound in the other amazing records he made in 1996.

Techcore is a strange track. It is based on two wobbly sounds that become boring very quickly. The track is further hampered by an awful kickdrum. The only thing remotely interesting is the Bring Da Ruckus sample which is taken from the introduction to Busta Rhymes' first album, The Coming.

PS: The cross bones on the cover is a X, the Roman numeral for 10, and this is Forze 10. Am I reading too much into this? Probably.

Good but kind of expected. Where I lost it was the vocals. I would like it even more with more variety!!