It’s been 3 years since the last full length solo album from The Teknoist (previous was Trainwreck Magnetism – Ad Noiseam – 2011) and although he’s been busy putting out releases on his labels Ninja Columbo, Samurai Brylkreem and Our Fucking Jungle, it’s this record we’ve been eagerly awaiting the most. Tank Alligator will be his first release on the legendary Industrial Strength Records and that, for any hardcore producer, is a landmark in itself. Having already successfully released on Deathchant, RebelScum, Peace Off, Ad Noiseam and Planet Mu, this latest release on ISR will surely cement The Teknoist’s place as one the worlds most innovative and prolific hardcore producers to date.
Album Reviews
Check out the following reviews for Tank Alligator by The DJ Producer, Somatic Responses, Gore Tech and Scheme Boy:
Following in the footsteps of his previous Ad Noiseam outings, Hurricane Made of Zombies & Trainwreck Magnetism, The Teknoist returns to chin the fuck out of 2014 with his third album, Tank Alligator. Mixing up Post-Breakcore concepts with Rock, Rave,Metal and a fuck load of atmosphere, The Teknoist proves first hand that “Core” comes in all states, shapes & sizes. Titles like Beastage, Hippy Killer & Undead Roniins, No Known Cure are my personal faves, but it’s better if you just buy it on the day of release to work out your’s.
No hippys were killed during the making of this reveiw xxxxx
The DJ Producer
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We’ve listened to this LP MANY times now and we love the variety of genres / styles that are on display throughout it! We’re especially fond of the more dnb tracks, pure “bounce around the kitchen like a mentalist” material. Tracks like Bear Core, Tong Po, Beastage, Soulless Killing Machine and Gods & Monsters are real stand out tracks for us and demostrate The Teknoist’s true potential when he branches out to more broken beat work (more like this PLEASE).
We have to say we find Miike’s material far better than the current “hardcore” releases from some other artists, they never really develop or progress throughout the song relying on formulaic patterns and all to obvious drops, etc, where’s as Ms are always highly kinetic & progressive. Additionally great production is heard on the LP as well – it does sound nails!
Anyway, it’s on repeat in the car, which can’t be a bad thing .
Well done Boyo!
Somatic Responses
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The Teknoist is back, throwing sonic tantrums with a brawling mass of kick drums and angst. This one man dystopian disco for the undead brings us his latest instalment in way of the Tank Alligator album.
For this latest offering, The Teknoist brings to the table a powerful arsenal of all things core, spanning a wide variety of styles yet all united under the theme of “big fuck-off rave.” The British heavyweight packs a fatal punch to the skull of modern electronic music.
Due for release on Lenny Dee’s legendary Industrial Strength Recordings, the aptly named Tank Alligator is a punishing 11 course meal of core and pain.
Teaming up with fellow contemporaries like Australia’s autopsy nihilist, Passenger of Shit and France’s answer to Bohemian Rhapsody, Igorr, The Teknoist has created a future classic in Hippy Killer. We also see him collaborating once more with the enigmatic Dolphin to create what for me was some of my first exposure to this sort of music way back in Manchester around 2004 with the gripping Soulless Killing Machine.
But once again, more than just power and rage, The Teknoist brings the moving, ever-evolving sweeping synths and pads that separate his music from most, with the engaging juxtaposition of soundscapes in Tong Po the music builds into an epic and moving ballad, without loosing its structural integrity.
This album is a powerful reminder of core done right! It’s classic, well executed and something we’ll be hearing a lot of at raves worldwide this summer.
Gore Tech
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Tank Alligator; a hardcore album? No. A drum & bass album? No. The sound of Tank Alligator is the sound of The Teknoist, a unique specimen fuelled by pain and anguish, but resulting in a highly accomplished, genre smashing record that the “scene” desperately needs.
A decade ago The Teknoist, Dolphin and myself were all striving towards making Hardcore more musical, influenced by forces outside the UK hardcore scene like AFX, Autechre and µ-ziq, to name but a few. Our passion to develop a hard electronica sound that was more than just kick drums is what drove The Teknoist to launch his Ninja Columbo label. Now, a decade later, in a time of what seems like back to basics tune making, boring repetition and lazy production standards, the world needs The Teknoist to stick to that mantra and drive musicality forward in the Hardcore scene more than ever. Thankfully that is exactly what Tank Alligator does, in spades.
Yes this album delivers brutal kicks, smashed amens and edits that sound like a bar room brawl (as you would expect from this one man hurricane) but it’s the underlying sorrow and haunting atmosphere of the harmonic content, underpinning the entire album, that not only makes it stand out from the competition, but also makes it a very personal and reflective record.
Considering there are 5 tracks that feature other artists (notably a long overdue return to his partnership with Dolphin), Tank Alligator sounds like The Teknoist and no other. You can hear the pressure he puts on himself almost reaching tipping point, teetering on the edge of sanity with this album, yet it works, it flows and simultaneously makes you want to rave and cry.
If you want the same predictable dengs, pangs, kicks and snares that every other cunt is producing these days, then you’ll either be sorely disappointed by Tank Alligator, or you’ll be cured of whatever mental illness you’re currently suffering from. Either way I don’t think The Teknoist will care. This album was written, like all great albums should be, for himself. The rest of us are merely tourists along for the ride. It’s not here to tick boxes or to be nicely packaged into neat genres and thank fuck for that.
Scheme Boy