Nukleuz seem intent on hitting us with a huge array of compilations & releases lately, and they continue this trend with the third installment in Frantic Residents!

Starting the journey, we have Total Confusion which has a stomping hard beat, a messed up vocal sample, and a pretty pounding tom section, very much fitting into more of a Hard House breakdown, than Trancier. The Kick comes in later on, and once again it is heavy, very reminiscent of a Dutch Hardstyle kick in sound, and this track definitely ends up that way, pretty simple, with just enough going on to keep you interested. The first transition is very interesting, especially as it is pretty prolonged, something you don't find all the time on Mix CDs as you would in a liveset. The Familiar Can You Feel It is next, a track that's made a showing on at least one cd I've reviewed this year, obviously the djs & labels regard it highly! Slowly breaking down with a snazzy Snare roll, we're into a sample, including crowd noise, when the awesome lead melody comes in, sounded fresh & static, and leaving the feeling that if you touch it you'll get electrocuted! I'd probably note though, that it's unusual to hear this so early on in a compilation, as I personally consider it something i'd play later on. The following track which is co-produced by Steve Hill & James Lawson has a nice breakbeat early on, a sound I think is very effective over harder music, and the breakdown incorporates a lot of kicks with a nice fat main pad used, with lots of quickfire notes leaving us gasping for air, and sounding very trancey indeed.

Following on, we've got a few remakes of trance songs, which will take us through to the mid section. First up, Dark Viper remix Matt Williams take on Fixation a track which personally a lot of people I know aren't keen on because of the original being their preference, but as always, I'm going in with an open mind & wide ears. Fixation includes a typically hard dance synth, with a lowish bass, and another long breakdown, where we get a nice kick, and begin to hear sections of a familiar melody. It takes quite a while for the main riff to start fully though, and apart from the very hard dance synths used in the background, the main lead seems to be quite similar anyway to the one I'm used to. We're soon mixing, and a very familiar vocal will be heard, but with a slight twist in the true Hard style we know & love! Bullet in the Gun has done the rounds as a trance anthem, and now takes hardland by storm, in this awesome remix, not a lot you can say about it, take the vocals, add a nice array of background sounds, mix with a funky bassline & swirling synth, and you have this tune, just time to put those hands in the air & sing along, you have to know the words by now! Keeping the original melody & sprucing it up in his unique style, Guyver brings us another storming mix, maybe not to everyones taste, but for those who populate the huge harder edged clubs, this will go down nicely. Next on is a remake of one of my favourite tunes ever, Reincarnations from Shark Boy & Dave Holmes. Once again this takes the original melody up, shakes it around a bit, and leaves it in a nice order. Synthage comprises of typical UK Harder stuff, and the heavy bassline is a plus, just adds a tiny bit more feeling to it, complimenting the melody well.

Steve Hill brings us the next tune again, Wicked 2003 which also has a couple of vocal samples, one from a young sounding boy, and another from an older man, informing us that it's gonna be 'Well Wicked' and the synth drives over the top of this, once again typically sounding and continuing on a simple pattern. For the first time really as the track mixes into Take You Out, I can hear a nice array of percussions, some of the earlier tracks didn't use a lot more than a Hi Hat riff, but this has a nice background to it, A Melody what goes very low in places is the main focus of this song, driving along with a male vocal sample. Having a quite funky sound to eat as the beat comes back, the track has some very nice elements, and take us through the harder trance side of life. Not a lot can be said about the next tune Lock Up that's not already been said in the past, as this is one of the oldest rave melodies I can remember, and fits in like any classic would, with plenty of legroom, no economy class tune here, definitely one that takes you on the journey in style. Remixed if I'm correct by an Andy Farley Alias (If I'm not feel free to clobber crew member Jay with any blunt object you may find!) The main addition here is a heavy bassline, especially in the breakdown, really tests those speakers. Carrying on, we're into a track that has a very heavy bass riff, and begins quickly with the melody, just taking a bit of time for the sights and to let a couple of funky electric sounding almost acidish sounds on board for the ride. Another tune with a male vocal inserted, this one is about on par with the others, nothing majorly different to write home about, although it does a good job after the huge predecessor to keep us back on track, Silverspeed (God's Child) Is soon forgotten as another familiar female vocal comes through, time time Neon lights present Not Over Yet Which like the remake of Bullet in the gun earlier on, is the original elements like the vocals, given the harder dance treatment. Probably better than the other one too, this one really brings back memories as I belt it out, hoping the neighbours don't think I'm any more nuts than they already do. The vocals are slightly higher (Not mine!) than the original, maybe a whole key above, but it still is effective, with an intelligent breakdown too, with Swiss like kicks used, hard & dirty & bouncy.

Tempting as it is to hit the back button and relive the memories, it's time to carry on, and we do so with Jon Rundell & Matt Williams bringing us Can You Trust Yourself which has an awesome low bass section, giving us an evil sound, and a range of fx & percussion used sparingly to give us a stormer, although the melody is the main part for me, typically electric sounding, it has something about it, probably in the riff of notes that takes my ears to another dimension and back again, all in 5 minutes, not bad really! Following this, the first appearance from both Nick Sentience & Phil Reynolds, 2 of the very best who need about as much introduction as Royalty to know who they are, (Instru)Mental takes us with a low sounding bass, and a lead pad that can only be described as sublime, you'll have to pick up a copy to hear what I Mean here, although anything Nick touches seems to turn to gold. A Remix of a very familiar track from legendary Ben Keen comes next, with Bad Ass being remade by James Lawson on this occasion, I can't help but find myself waiting for the old 'Bad Ass' deep male vocal to come in, and the madness to begin, and I don't have to wait long, with a synth used here almost old skool sounding at first, and a huuuuuuuge bass heavy synth at first, bringing memories of hard house from 2000 when BK & Nick Sentience were owning all in sight. the old skoolish lead comes back too, and we have a heavy but funky song, really leaving you gagging for air. Coming towards the end, the final two chapters begin, with the Lee Pasch remix of I Need Your Lovin' which is in this case short compared to some of the other tracks used, but we still get enough time to hear the heavenly vocal & melodic talents of Lee Pasch, giving us sublime Harder music. All things have to end though, and this does with the 'Frantic Theme' aka Get a Life with Steve Blake & Phil Reynolds on remix duties. This is a heavy sounding song earlier on, but later on breaks down with a nice melodic part, and tells a story, which must sound weird live, people who've heard this will understand! The bassline underneath the melody is quite a great aural pleasure too, giving us a beautiful ending to the CD.

Conclusion:
For those who maybe haven't heard Steve Hill, this is a good example of mixing and the harder style that is rocking people down at Frantic, Another top notch release from Nukleuz, due to hit your stores very very soon!