The Bug - Angels & Devils [Ninja Tune Promo]

Heavyweight. A monster. An epic piece of bass and noise, sparse in parts, packed and super condensed in others, featuring angelic voices like Liz Harris and Inga Copeland, Dancehall goddesses like Miss Red and Warrior Queen as well as fierce MCs like Manga and Flowdan on fire - this is what Kev Martin's latest and freshly released album assault "Angels & Devils" is all about. A climaxing, tense, athmospheric and pre-apocalyptic tale that serves its most intense and thrilling tune "Pandi" without a single beat but on an overdose of gravel, ecclesiastic, moanful organ chords only accompanied by simple hi-hats in its last quarter, a sonic dwellpoint before the ruminant, mantra'esque collaboration "Save Me" alongside Gonjasufi announces the advent of death, chaos and hatred with the ultra-compressed Industrial Dancehall killer "The One" which sees Flowdan spitting on peak level whilst military drumrolls, darkest walls of sound and megaton-heavy bassdrums turn down the building. It's a war on the streets outside no-one is safe from and The Bug is firing from heavy ordnances here beatwise before a 30 seconds Noize and feedback excess leads into the next anthem and introduces a new level of Grime music - we call it DistoGrime. The intro clarion sequence of "Function feat. Manga" calls out for a rewind and floors go bonkers when the distorted basswaves break their way through the speakers like a stampede. Bass wars continue on coldest sci-fi low frequency modulations whilst Death Grips is on microphone duties in "Fuck A Bitch" - a tune set out to destroy any EDM rave in seconds due to ultimate sickness. More Flowdan power is to be found on the quartertime Post-NoizeDub apocalypse "Fat Man" drastically describing the urban killing fields of today and building a bridge between the bass and the sedative-induced DeathRap genre of the states. With "Fuck You" we see Warrior Queen making another bold, unquestionable lyrical statement before Flowdan is closing the circle on "Dirty", opening the DistoGrime banger with a remarkable line: "Everythings not ok, though..." and this is what The Bug is setting out to express with "Angels & Devils" for a reason. Essential album. No excuses for not getting it.