XP8 - X: A Decade of Decadence

After leaving Infacted Recordings during 2010/2011 the Italian XP8 has started to release their own products through their own label 2393 Records (as well as Deathwatch Asia). You could say that 'X: A Decade of Decadence' is their first true release, since the first release standing on their own where the remix EP 'Still Frames' (it included two previously unreleased tracks). So how does XP8 stand all left out to the wolves? Pretty great actually.

Seven brand new tracks all having the great quality you would expect from an artist like XP8 and with 10 years of experience under their belt. Last review I wrote was of their second album 'Hrs:Min:Sec' and even though I love that album, you can almost touch the quality improvement since then.
'Hrs:Min:Sec' was raw and hungry, 'X: A Decade of Decadence' is filled with quality and professionalism.

XP8 have found their sound and made it theirs, and even though many of the new tracks are not so surprising, it's hit potential in most of the material they have here. Especially the tracks "Bullet Hole", "Burning Down", "Fragility" and "Wake Up!", with their truly strong choruses as the topping of the cake.

What does strike me as surprising is the beaty "Trip" featuring Stewart Who?. A very laid back track with flowing beats together with the soothing voice of The Government telling you what you want and what you need to make your life complete. However, this experiment does not end in a Hollywood explosion, rather a cure for cancer. It's a lottery to add tracks that seem out of place in the middle of an album, but this time they won.

There's three remixes on this release as well, one remix by Aesthetic Perfection of one my favorite tracks "Muv Your Dolly", while Autodafeh have taken on the track "The Art of Revenge". None of the remixers adds any special flavor to the originals, leaving me in a state of indifference. One that truly manages to stir up some emotions is the Vanity Police remix of "Cuttin'n'Drinkin" which in its original version is truly epic, here though it's completely raped into something unlistenable that leaves me feeling dirty in so many ways. Avoid it.

XP8 shows their true colors in this release with their brand new tracks, showing us why they deserve to be a big name, however, I would probably had left the remixes out of the mix. My suggestion is that when you come to track 8, go straight back to the beginning and listen to XP8's impressive work from all over again. Feb 08 2012