Sunday, August 19, 2007

Policy Overkill - Happy Havoc Industries Overtime Mix

Hear The Track Here

Having just given one artist grief for giving me a ten minute track to review, I find myself at a complete loss as to what to say to this artist about his contribution. What me? Backwards about coming forwards with the verbals?? Surely it isn't possible for me to remain silent? This track would stop eight million charging rhinos (without a peppermint in sight) and that would be BEFORE you heard note one of the music. 'This one you'll need to download from my website' he says when requesting the review, 'as it's a touch...big...for Soundclick' Wait! read that one again A TOUCH TOO BIG for Soundclick.

What is it? The fekkin Titanic??

Well, I have reviewed some doozies in my time but HHI Overtime Mix has to take the all time record for being the longest track ever - probably in the whole history of recorded music. I almost crapped my pants when I started to download and noticed it was an extremely muscular 38MB or so (and this was an MP3 not a WAV) and I did do the doo when I came to slap it on my Ipod and noticed it was almost 45 minutes long. Best notice the emphasis there folks because this obviously will not be a quick listen. Admittedly, I am a bit crazy when it comes to hearing music, I really DO listen to everything I review several times but even this stretched me to my limits and I freely admit that I only played segments at a time. I listened to it once completely though just in case I missed anything. Note, too that there is an original version of the track on the SC website and it's only 5MB so it'll not hurt much; the link in this review is to this monster mix...

Uh oh CANNOT possibly cover it...

It's a funky little devil too, let me tell you. It's that initial groove that will get you into the track and it's that same groove that motivates the original and the intro to this. Mind you, from there on in, the landscape becomes both more industrial and a lot more experimental and by the time five minutes rolls round, most people will have their coats on. How Policy Overkill could expect anyone to last for yet another forty minutes is beyond even me. It's certainly an interesting (if increasingly noisy) diversion but not one to be approached in any way lightly. HHI Overtime Mix is the Mount Everest of tracks and not for the foolhardy. If you appreciate solid experimental electronica then this is a massive tour-de-force you are not likely to recover from quickly and one I find easy to recommend simply for the feat of keeping this thing alive so long.

Woooooaaaahhhh. Maximum. In.Every.Way.

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