Gydra - Snake Monastery LP [Eatbrain]

Welcome to my first album write-up! I apologize in advance for the wall of text that is about to follow.

Background

For my first "proper" album review thread, I decided to tackle something close to my heart: Neurofunk. As fate would have it, one of my first label loves Eatbrain has been planning to release their first solo artist album. For this enormous milestone they reached out to one of their finest artists on the roster, the Russian duo Gydra!

Maybe I'm just stubborn, but it is still weird for me to write "duo" instead of "trio" when talking about them. Or maybe it's because they still use their three-headed logo. In any case, the group was founded way back in the distant lands of 2014 as a trio consisting of the godfather of the Russian DnB scene DJ Bes, the amazing Moscow based producer Menfort and Mizo. In 2017, Mizo has departed from the group and went back to his solo career. Everyone involved in Gydra possesses incredible talent, as they have shown the world time and time again through their incredibly clean productions that have landed them releases on labels like Eatbrain, Bad Taste, C4C, Trendkill and of course Neuropunk and TAM Records. Wait, why of course? Because Bes was one of the earliest DnB pioneers in Russia, duh, everyone knows that! But just in case someone reading this skipped their Intro to Russian DnB History classes last semester here's a quick rundown:

From what I could gather, Bes, aka Eugene Besman, started producing around the millenium and pretty much never stopped. But more importantly, in 2001 he and Step, Dissident, Ruffen founded Total Advance Music Records, better known as TAM Records. Their mission was to promote and unite the Russian DnB scene into one place and oh boy did they succeed in that. Apparently around 90% of all russian DnB artists had a release on TAM at some point. But Mr Besman, not to be confused with MC Bassman, did not stop there. In 2007 he started one of the biggest podcasts of the scene, the Neuropunk podcasts, in which he showcases the best new releases of his fellow countrymen until this very day. In 2018 the TAM label owners felt like they have achieved their goal and started anew, this time as Neuropunk, the label.

In short: they are goddamn legends of the scene. Legends that are today releasing their debut album. Not just their debut album, but also the first Eatbrain solo artist album, ever. A lot of firsts today!

A throwaway line that I couldn't fit into this text but that I still wanted to share:

• Another nice name for Gydra would be Drumsound & Bes-line Smith, hehe.

Track Breakdown

Let's get to it then, shall we?

The duo prepares you for what's to come storytelling-wise on Monastery Gate (Intro). If you are familiar with the Neuropunk podcast, this voice-over intro probably won't surprise you. Neuropunk is not just a normal podcast, they always inject little storytelling and world building bits and pieces here and there. However this album is not about the usual Neuropunk themes of apocalyptic wastelands and hacking into the government, but about martial arts. The voiceover makes you feel like you are in some sort of adventure movie about a martial arts master. Maybe a video game even. Not going to lie, I love it.

From this atmospheric intro we go straight into one of their biggest tunes as of yet: Lava Run. One of the most Gydra-esque tunes I know. A very atmospheric start that acts as a nice little bridge between the intro and this first "real" tune that quickly descends into a naughty drop. Their catchy basslines (more like Beslines, amirite) are out in full force on this one. Works perfectly to establish the scenery.

While your first challenge as a martial arts master was to complete the Lava Run, Shadow Strategy is about your first actual fight. As expected from Gydra, the buildup builds onto the theme of the album flawlessly. All the little shwooshs and schwings during the drop make you feel like there's stick or even sword fighting going on. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. But I don't care, it's fun to imagine all that while listening to it.

Next up we got another instant-classic single: Hangjaw! If you are as confused as I am about the name of the track, here's a great definition from a certain non-rural dictionary: "When some one smokes cannabis and as they get stoned there jaw hangs a bit open and seem unable to keep there mouth closed due to the effect of the drug." Okay seriously though. Hangjaw is yet another entry in the list of tracks with great intros. With this one it starts innocently enough but soon enough a sense of dread overcomes you until the track explodes into a vocal sample frenzy. I cannot overstate the creepiness of the buildup enough, it instantly transports you into a "Oh darn I'm screwed" state of mind. Really fun tune.

You think you are safe from whatever a Hangjaw is? You couldn't be more wrong. You have just entered the Horror Room. You hear an alarm. The doors close, trapping you inside. A horrible abomination descends from the ceiling. You only have your wits and your trusty fighting stick, or whatever you are fighting with (I'm not judging), with you. This one takes you to way deeper depths than the others that came before, with the track getting progressively deeper as time goes on. Some old-school samples here, a few clanking metals sound there and bam, you got a naughty tune.

Next up, we're at the Stoning. Really no idea how this fits into the story of it all, but who cares when the track itself is such banger? A magnificent intro, a catchy call-and-response during the drop, fun little voices in the background adding to the creepiness factor, in order words, Gydra vibes through and through. Just makes you want to bounce in your chair.

Time for a small interlude. Did I say small? Sorry I meant to say absolutely L A R G E. Hunt For The Black Egg is a short but oh so sweet transition piece whose gnarly half-time vibes will make you question your sanity. Oh yeah, apparently we're hunting a black egg!

It seems like while we were hunting for the weirdly colored egg we got stuck in a Poison Trap! And now we have to fight whoever trapped us in a Mortal Kombat style fight. For this unusual scenario the duo decided to mix a breakbeat rhythm with some of the biggest Neuro sounds they could gather. As cheesy as the Mortal Kombat sounds may feel at first, the way they transform this old-school sound into a modern Neuro madness is nothing short of masterful.

I'm not sure if we're still fighting the same person or a new one, but in any case, they seem to be a master of the infamous Snake Style. You know, the one where you hold your arms like this: ¯\_. Snake Style is one of those tracks that has a weird melody in the drop where you are not sure you like it at first, but after 3-4 listens you start hearing it in your sleep. The back-and-forth between the high-pitched version of the melody and the darkest of the dark bass version of it creates an interesting and catchy sound that just creeps into your brain.

After successfully thrashing the Snake Style master, it is time for the Spirit Challenge. Contrary to what the title would suggest, this one goes hard. Well, it's not a Spirit Spa Day, I suppose. One of the deeper tracks of the album, while still very much having the signature Gydra sound. The drop might seem simple at first, but with all the variations throughout they still managed to keep it interesting. Paired with some very hard-hitting drums, this makes for quite a banger.

Now it's actually time for a bit of a break. Before we go on to fight the endboss, we have to prepare mentally. Gotta be in the right headspace, you know. In Meditation, a collaboration with fellow countryman Nuvertal, we get to hear what a Gydra roller would sound like. And I'm not talking about the foghorn kind. As someone who has listened to quite a bit of Nuvertal and Gydra lately, you can very clearly hear elements from all involved parties. On the one hand taking elements from Nuvertal's deeper atmosphere and on the other from Gydra's bass work. The super fast drums could come from both of them, to be honest. A great mix of their styles.

Now that you have cleansed your soul and mind, you prepare for battle physically. How, you ask? With a Battle Dance, of course. Come on, this is stuff you learn on the first days of being a martial arts master, you should know this. The last thing you want in your final battle is a torn tendon or something, so you of course warm your muscles with slow but heavy movements. Slow and heavy, just like this half-time track. Not the usual Gydra sound, but still fire. The way they modified the "Welcome to the Den" (really struggling on that last word) vocal from the intro into an ultra gnarly half-time bass puts a smile on my face. Would probably blow me away on a soundsystem.

Now that we're prepared it's time for some more fast-moving madness on Wipe, this time in collaboration with IHR. Of course I don't mean the german word for "you", why would I, I mean the italian neurofunk supergroup that is Inward, Hanzo and Randie! Before we start our journey to the final boss, Bruce Lee gives us a quick pep talk about Emotional Content. The intro already makes it crystal clear that the real challenge has only just begun. The drop that follows takes no prisoners. Amazing would be an understatement. Some of my favorite drums on the LP (I like them fast) combined with a whole lot of varying parts that are honestly just insanely good. Towards the end of the first drop an organ begins to play and it's my favorite thing. Makes you feel like you're playing the end boss stage in Castlevania or something. One of my favorites of the album.

We did it. We're at the Dragon's Lair. The end of our journey. You are in a enourmous cave, water droplets dripping down left and right. You enter the cave by moving aside a door made out of stone. It is here. You hear its footsteps. Its mighty roar in the distance. This distance is getting smaller and smaller, it's getting closer. The atmosphere is tense. And that's just the intro! Man, I love all those tiny stories Gydra is telling with this album. After this amazing intro they drop into the largest bass and breaks madness of the album. It's a journey of a track, my favorite of the LP by far. The story-telling is already very fun, but the amazing drop(s) push it over the top for me. What a way to end an album like this!

As a small epilogue we have the very creatively named Outro. To the backdrop of some Asian flutes, that I wish I knew the name of, and other asian instruments our master welcomes us back home. Apparently now that we have slain the dragon (yay us), we will become a dragon ourselves? Okay okay, I'm ending this now before this gets even more convoluted.

Summary

Just one word: AE!*

Okay maybe a few more. Gydra's debut album effort didn't disappoint one bit. From start to finish the album has an incredible atmosphere, the highest of the high production levels and fun storytelling. It's not just a collection of tracks, it's one coherent piece of music that takes you on a journey.

Highlights for me are Lava Run, which I didn't love immediately but grew on me so so much, Wipe, which embodies exactly the kind of speedy neuro I love from Gydra, and Dragon's Nest, which is just a Neurofunk masterpiece.

* It's a Neuropunk Podcast reference