TRACK REVIEWS

Harshrealm
Butterfly Effect (Pre-Mix)

Posted: Wednesday, June 06, 2007
By: Ilker Yücel
Editor

Japan's Harshrealm proved with their debut, [She/Underwater], that they were capable of blending dissonant aggression with lush atmospheres of melodic beauty. Of the many songs on the album was "Butterfly Effect," on which Slick Idiot's En Esch offered his distinct vocals to what was already a punchy techno rock track. Now, on bandleader FINN's MySpace profile, we hear the Pre-Mix of "Butterfly Effect," a perfect dance floor track of swirling trancelike synths and pumping techno beats that would certainly have people raving 'til morning. The interplay between FINN and En Esch on the vocals is much more prominent than on the original version, though spaced out across the eight-minute-long mix, allowing the listener to take in the essence of the melodies. It could be argued that the mix is not overly impressive as it is very much a standard dance mix, and it would have been admittedly more interesting had there been more inclusion of the guitars and other elements of the original. However, as it is labeled a "Pre-Mix," and given the length of time it took Harshrealm to record and release [She/Underwater] – having placed several of the songs in a demo form on their MySpace page – it could be that the mix is incomplete, thus promising even more good things in a final version. Only time will tell, but as it stands, the Pre-Mix of "Butterfly Effect" is at the very least great dance floor filler that many DJs would do well to include in their set lists.