Bedlam

Having already proven his production ability on the Devious Methods (1998) and Working With Sound (1999) full-length studio albums, as well as on numerous DJ-orientated singles, Hive showcases his turntable ability on Bedlam, an 18-track mix album released by Rockwell. The mix is just as intense and volatile as anything Hive had released to date, if not more so. Every track represents the tech-step side of drum'n'bass — for instance, producers Dylan and Kemal each contribute heavily to the mix — and Hive throws them down at a dizzying pace, making these already relentless tracks feel even more merciless as he moves quickly from one to the next. The mix really gains momentum about 20 minutes in when Hive drops one of his own signature tracks, "Surreal Killer," followed by Kemal's mix of Dylan's "Possession" and his own mix of Hak's "Glok." The mix continues full steam ahead from here, of course, coming to a grand finale when Hive concludes with Kemal's mix of Dom & Roland's "Imagination," a spacious track with a monolithic bassline lumbering painfully slow beneath an absolutely blinding flurry of manic high-end percussion. When Hive finally brings the track to an abrupt stop, silence never sounds so serene, a testament to the force and fury of this mix.