The year is 1999. And Hardcore was almost as dead as the dodo. It wasn't a viable scene anymore, a scene where the commercial side of life could take advantage of. Hardcore wasn't in fact, dying, but going underground. But it didn't stop labels from releasing albums that literally no one asked for. Like Arcade and the release of a CD called 'Hardcore Power'. The only cool thing about this CD was the actual colour of the cover: it was blue, so it made the image at the front more ominous. But besides that, no one asked for this. Still, I bought it. Silly sausage as I was...
Yes, I was one of those suckers who still bought it. Do I regret it? Maybe, maybe not. I was still that teenager who spent all his pennies on CDs, and if it was an Arcade released album, or an ID&T released album, I would buy it, regardless if the album was good or not. Thousands of Dutch guilders were spent, just creating an awesome collection. And this just had to be in there, among the others.
If you look on Discogs and just see how much crap labels released toward the end of Hardcore (around 1998/1999), it's beyond belief. And Arcade tried to get a few pennies out of it. The album was, to me, a flop. It didn't start a movement, this was a one off album, not starting a new 'collection', like they used to do. It was just making money, the easy way. Don't even know what the villain of Scream has got to do anything with Hardcore at that stage.
The songs on this CD were already everywhere, so there was no need to yet again, combine them on a CD. And some of these records did not even deserve to be on a CD. But you'll understand what I mean by that, once you see the tracklist.
DJ Promo - Up Yours
Various DJ's - The Lunch
Neophyte - Number One Fan
The Stunned Guys - Deep Impact
The Masochist - Maso Feelings
Isaac & The Viper - Trigga Finga
G-Town Madness - So Real
E-Man - XTC Express (Higher Level Mix)
Men Of Steel - The Future Is Ours
Rob & MC Joe - Beat Is Flow (Hardcore Extended)
The Masochist - Funky Dope
Dione - Bad Boy Bass
Rave Creator - Divine Dancer
Buzz Fuzz - Jealousy (DJ Promo Mix)
Bulldozer Project - Mind Trip
Catscan - Lord Of Darkness
Dione - Low Down (Move Ure Body)
Marshall Masters - Don't Touch That Stereo (Radio Mix)
3 Steps Ahead - Paint It Black (Single Edit)
Guitar Rob presents Wap Squad Project - Disciples Of Hardcore (DJ Arjuna Mix)
It's got the big names on this album, so you know the songs were going to be great. Well, that's where you are wrong, oh so wrong.
The album starts with a good track by Promo, followed by one of the cheesiest and worst songs ever made. And there's a few songs on here that no one asked for, and were never my favourite songs to begin with. And I don't understand the concept of this album. It's a mixture of 'old' and 'new', short versions of classics that we had already heard a billion times.
For me, this album was a complete waste of all materials used to fabricate a CD. I would say 50% of the songs were OK. The rest were mediocre. Just bland as fuck. Not revolutionary anthems. Forgettable anthems, that's for sure. The only one that stood the test of time (for me) is 'Mind Trip' by Bulldozer Project. Closely followed by 'XTC Express' by E-Man. But all the other songs, are they worth it to be on this shitty compilation? 'The Lunch', yes. What a fucking caca song. My God.
I have never fully listened to this album from the first to the last second without skipping tracks. This has got to be the worst album for me, as I've skipped multiple records in a row, every single time I played it.
Not worth my Dutch guilders. This is a truly forgettable CD. And I'm glad to say that it is now landfill. Trash. Where it belongs!
Artist: Various Artists
Genre/Style: Hardcore, Gabber, Techno
CD Info: Hardcore Power
Length CD: 01:15:05
Tracks: 20 (twenty)
Release Year: 1999
Label: Arcade
Product Number: 9902366
More Information: n/a