Mobthrow: Mutant Dubstep Vol. 3
Spectraliquid

Beat slicer Mobthrow (Anhel, one of Spectraliquid's founding members) completes the aptly-titled trilogy of Mutant Dubstep EPs with his own blistering, half-hour take. The EP's five cuts are sometimes ferocious in the extreme (“Deathstep” anyone?) so there's little chance anyone'll nod off when Mobthrow's material melts one's speakers. Opening with an ear-catching splatter of digital noise and crackly clarinet sample, “Jazz Monsta” grabs one's attention immediately before plunging into a bitches' brew of twisted “breakstep” beats and pungent, smoke- and acid-filled atmosphere. “Breakstar” merges dubstep's bass-heavy thrust and an industrial-strength hammerhead attack for five minutes of skull-rattling intensity. A truly viral synth line spits toxic fire through the tune's middle while pummeling breakbeats bludgeon lifeforms into submission in the trenches. Burrowing even further into the underground, “Deathstep” emerges as an even more annihilating presence once its head-chopping beats and ten-ton bass wobble enter the picture. Sporting a snare crack so huge it might induce seizures, “My Dub Kingdom” finds Mobthrow remixing Future Sound London's “My Kingdom” of all things; enough of the original remains for it to be easily recognized but it's toughened up considerably in the upgrade. The final track, “Jazz Monsta,” is a tad anomalous by comparison simply because it's a Mobthrow remix of a Mad EP track, though even here the former manages to pull the cello-laden original into a cauldron of noise and grime. Regardless, this final installment in the series includes moments of head-nod so strong they could induce whiplash.

May 2009