We had the privilege to receive a copy of the newest installation to Figures monsters series released through Doom Records for a full review! If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the EP make sure you check it out or just listen to it as you read this review, but be warned and prepared to travel down a dark road alongside the master of evil himself! If you like it show him support by purchasing it through iTunes below.
Figure – Monsters Vol. 4 | iTunes |
Deaths Gospel [Intro] (Kirkland)
Right off the bat Figure and Brawninoff set the tone for this whole EP. Utilizing dark and eerie vibes that they create focusing on a combination of demonic choir samples paired with that creepy slow piano you can relate to any horror movie. After the slow build up when those heavy chords hit and that sinister voice whispers to you, it feels like you’ve dived full fledge into the underworld just waiting for something terrifying to happen next!
The Crypt feat. Khadfi Dub (Wesley)
“Diabolical” is the best word to describe ‘The Crypt’. It’s certainly not the most filthy or intense song on the album, but it is certainly the most bouncy. Just when you’re getting into the groove of this track, Khadfi Dub comes in with some intense flow and just blows your mind. Halfway through his verse the beat changes up drastically and your mind is blown once again. ‘The Crypt’ reminds me of a much darker version of a typical Foreign Beggars song, and I am loving it.
Center of Hell (Wesley)
‘Center of Hell’ might be my favorite song on this album. I already loved Helicopter Showdown, but this collaboration has turned that love into an obsession. It’s got a very ravey introduction that gives you the feeling that you’re in some sketchy warehouse party, but then you get sucker punched dirty a fist of dirty bass. The overall theme of this album, it seems, is really creative tempo changes. The feel of the track completely changes about halfway through the song and takes you on an entirely different musical journey. I would expect to see people dancing to this song though, more like violent moshing.
Nightmares [interlude] (Kirkland)
Almost a calm after the storm that Center of Hell created Nightmares slows it down a bit, giving us a slow but impacting beat accompanied with some soft piano and low chords. This interlude gives you a moment to think about what adventures you’ve experienced so far and opens your mind to what’s next.
The Giant Eyeball (Wesley)
Ahhh. Now THIS is the Figure that I know and love. ‘The Giant Eyeball’ is just straight up dirty, and it is beautifully done. You don’t normally have the privilege of calling a dirty dubstep song ‘beautiful’, but this song is arranged so well and the sounds are so clean that you don’t really have a choice. I think this song really illustrates what makes Figure who he is, a dirty mother fucker..with giant eyeballs
The Blob (Samper)
Well Figure is back at it, melting faces and blowing minds that is. He has some seriously dirty dubstep for us with his gigantic tune ‘The Blob.’ The Blob originated as a 1950’s drive in horror film starring Steve McQueen and eventually lead to a sequel and a remake in the 70’s and 80’s. Figure captures the essence of the all consuming alien life form perfectly so if you guys don’t know about The Blob don’t worry, you will after you hear these vintage samples and epic drops. In my opinion this is one of the sickest tracks on the entire album. It has the perfect balance of fear, panic, drums and bass. This is some shit I would expect to hear if chaos just randomly broke out, which is exactly what is going to happen when he drops this monster tune at his next show. The alarms that sound at the beginning of the track are not enough to prepare you for the bass that is about to ensue. As soon as that first drop hits you will know what is like to be completely consumed by bass. In true ‘Blob’ fashion, the bass gets louder and the drops get bigger as the song progresses. It’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever heard. In the movies the only thing that could stop The Blob was freezing it with a cold substance, but you won’t find anything like that on this album because it’s all fire!
The Living Dead (Kirkland)
First off this track screams zombie apocalypse, combining a hard hitting bass line and a synth that almost seems like it’s screaming at you. At the beginning The Living Dead paints a picture in your mind of zombie torn world. Hundreds of mindless creatures wandering around feeding on anything they can find while you sit helplessly hiding. That’s until a menacing scream and minor increase of bpm turns this track into an all-out war! Add this one to my post-apocalyptic zombie playlist its killing time!
The Blob Returns (Samper)
Nothing but straight BASS music right here as The Blob makes a return on Monsters Vol. 4. This time around Figure combines with Dirty Deeds to unleash this monstrous track upon listeners everywhere. The track has a very dance worthy type feel to it but don’t let that fool you, as soon as that dope disco passes everything changes and pure bass music gives way to a horrifically awesome drop. I swear this tune gets more and more intense every time I listen to it. I had the opportunity to speak with Dirty Deeds about the collaboration and this is what he had to say:
“For our “Blob” collaborations, we wanted to capture that scary, classic drive in movie vibe. I began by getting the theme sounds and samples together using material from each era of The Blob films: the 50’s original drive in film with Steve McQueen, The funkier and almost comical 70’s version and the more sci-fi sinister 80’s version of the film. Next I started putting various bass lines together that seemed to fit the Blob feel. After that Figure added his signature touch and we started to play it out at shows. Eventually the tunes were refined, re edited, and finalized for the album.” Side note: “It was awesome to finally release music with my man Figure, as we originally had a tune called ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ that was unfortunately lost when his computer took a dive in Canada the previous year. Finally, we may put out this additional ‘Candyman’ collab on DOOM Music, but you’ll have to wait n see.”
Are You Afraid of The Dark feat. Lexi Norton (Kirkland)
Hands down my personal favourite from the EP, I already loved Figures style but then add the tantalizing lyrics from Lexi Norton with a small side of reverb and voila a dish best served in the underworld. With an almost calm lyrical infused beginning this track gives off a different vibe then the rest of the EP. This of course only last a short span until Figure blasts your face with his signature dark grimy drops that we expect from the master of horror himself. Just when I didn’t think it would get any better the second drop hit and I lost it listening to the masterfully chopped syths and wobbles! This song has the perfect amount of transitions between tempo and melodies which creates a stellar that exploits beauty and horror all together.
Ade Due Damballa (Samper)
Here’s another seriously filthy bass track for you to shit your pants to. Ade Due Damballa features wicked samples from one of the greatest Horror films of all time, Childs Play. Including Chucky’s sinister laugh and the “GIVE ME THE POWER…” part of the voodoo spell that turned our favorite Good Guy doll into a murderous serial killer! The drums and bass that kick this track off will have raging until the bitter end. The samples, synchs and bass lines are aligned in only a way Figure could think up, which is to say: the scariest way imaginable. The Chucky laugh sample that he used is so creatively and horrifically entwined with some of the sickest bass lines I’ve ever heard. Figure truly is a master of his craft. This is an absolute must for Halloween playlists.
The Devil (Wesley)
The evilest of the evil, the prince of pain, the king of fear. It’s not the Devil. It’s Figure. This song goes hard as HELL (Get it?). Figure really pulled out all the stops for this grimy drum and bass banger. ‘The Devil’ is extremely high energy, but i’m personally not a big fan of all the breaks in the song as it kinda kills the momentum built up by the fast beat. The drums are absolutely superb though, and the synths he’s using are fear-inducingly good.
Cocytus [Outro] (Samper)
Figure wraps up Monsters Vol. 4 in what is perhaps the most fitting way possible with Cocytus. The word translates to “River of the Wailing.” In Greek mythology Cocytus is one of five rivers that run through the underworld, Hades. It is probably most famous in Dante’s Inferno as the frozen lake in the 9th and final circle of Hell that contains Satan and all the traitors of the world, in which all are buried in the ice to varying degrees. Sick electric guitar riffs, snares and drums open a tune that soon flows into a river of dark bass lines and menacing synchs. Samples of people screaming and wailing are infused into the outro to give it its name. This is a great track to end a great album. Figure truly is a genius on the front lines of horror and bass music. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next and wouldn’t be surprised if one of these tracks ends up being scored into a horror film in the near future. BIG shouts to Figure for keeping it fresh and horrifying! I hope you guys enjoy listening to the album as much as we did!
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