Dom & Roland – Last Refuge of a Scoundrel (Sampler)

Anyone that knows drum ’n bass will instantly get excited when hearing of a new Dom & Roland release. I’ve been crazy about Dom Angas’s releases since stepping foot into drum ’n bass in 2001. It’s rather clear – the man’s production is off the charts with so many styles to choose from and of the highest quality.

We all know Dom for his productions on Moving Shadow, Dom & Roland Productions, and his earliest hits on Saigon; not to mention tunes on other premier labels like Renegade Hardware, Breakbeat Science, Quarantine, Commercial Suicide and of course – the brainchild of Goldie, Metaheadz.

Three years ago, we were treated to the likes of Outta Endz and Unofficial Jah (as well as VIP versions of both) on Metalheadz, and now we’ve got the real deal – Last Refuge of a Scoundrel – Dom’s seminal album on one of the most influential labels around.

The first four tracks have dropped as two 12” samplers –

METALP008LTD: (Clear Acetate)
A. DMT (Ft. Hive)
AA. Inna Soul Jah

METALP008:
A. Siren’s Song (Ft. Robert Manos)
AA. Tone Poem

To see Hive on a tune these days is something special. In the past, Dom and Hive had collaborated on the premier release of Dom & Roland Productions with Chaos Theory, and Hive has shown his production prowess in the combining of Parasite and Adrenaline as Paradrenasite on the Chronology Album, as well as a pristine remix of Do U Voodoo.

DMT is secreted by the brain in dream time, and those who lucid dream know the effects of this euphoric state of being. Melodic textures lead us into the forest of the mind, complimented by the pair’s ability to create sinister soundscapes. Big bass permeates up through the song, before the two take a break. Meditation time perhaps. Nope. Not so. Count on your brain lobes getting smashed into the bass bins while this one rolls.

Continuing the journey, a long introduction to  Inna Soul Jah sparks memories of a tune not too far past in Jungle Beast. Well designed and full of atmosphere, rays of malevolent jungle breaks peak through the first and second drops.

Moving through to the second sampler, Dom recruits longtime drum ’n bass soldier, Robert Manos to aid in a sweet lullaby, Siren’s Song. Reverberant pads, and the echo cut through fantastically. A bit more minimal than the previous two, multiple vocal layers and aesthetics will undoubtedly create a memory out of this

Rounding out the second sampler, Dom smashes with Tone Poem. Led into a train wreck, the bass is big, bad, and some of you might not be ready for this. The reece bass is enough to shatter windows, but that break… in a genre where so much of the music has to be sorted these days, Dom keeps it nasty like we had it in the 2000s. Rumbling/screaming bass and hard drums are all that’s needed.

Bravo, Mr. Angas. You’re a legend, and Last Refuge of a Scoundrel proves it. And this isn’t even the entire album. Oh gosh! Keep an eye on the Metalheadz shop as the long player drops Oct. 7th.

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