Unitron Blue Stahli-Antisleep Vol. 01

'Antisleep Vol. 01' is the debut studio album by Industrial metal/rock project Blue Stahli. At first glance, this may seem like an overwhelming listen when you see that there are a total of eighteen tracks on the album. However, all of the songs are very short at around the two-minute mark, the longest song clocking in at 2 minutes and 48 seconds. Along with all of the songs being short, this is an all instrumental album.

The album opens up on a strong note with the pulsing drum machine beats and guitar crunch of 'Overklocked'. This provides a great introduction to the album, however this is quite the varied album. You do of course have many heavy pulsing songs like 'Overklocked', '88 Rounds Per Minute', 'Accelerant', and 'Leadfoot Getaway', but you also have songs delving into Drum 'n' Bass, Trip-hop, Techno, and other styles. The Drum 'n' Bass is most heard on tracks like 'Shotgun Senorita' and 'Doublequick', while techno is heard on the track 'High Heeled Low-life'. Other styles include middle-eastern instrumentation, heard in one of my favorites, the industrial groove of 'East'. It perfectly combines middle-eastern instrumentation and industrial metal. Another really unique track is the melancholy 'Premeditated', with a very menacing guitar riff.

All instrumentation is by sole member Bret Autrey, and he plays all instruments very well. With how varied the album is, he's able to show many talents throughout. It is a bit inconsistent, but I find that to be one of the strong points of the album. You never know exactly what kind of track is going to come next, so it adds an element of surprise on first listen. I find this to be surprisingly enjoyable.

Overall, I recommend this album to any fan of industrial metal/rock and electronic music like drum 'n' bass. It's short, but one soaring ride of drum machines and crunching guitar.

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