[2015] Syndicate - FISTC-06 Realms Of Darkness (1995)

Syndicate’s second full length cassette album (running at almost 100 minutes) took place fairly swiftly after the release of ’Prisoners Of War’ earlier in 1995. This album showed Syndicate getting a little sharper in their approach, and was a definite step up from the previous outing, both in a production and ideas sense. The track selection is mainly focused on 4/4 hardcore, with a side serving of manic chopped and layered second-generation breakbeats. Again, the Burke brothers’ mammoth collection of hip hop was raided, sampled, chopped and rezzed out, creating an unapologetic and jarring listening experience. Several tracks from this cassette wound up on a Syndicate 12” vinyl release put out by East German label Juncalor Records in early 1996, titled ’One Of The Fisters’ (JR000110). That record contained mostly updated versions of several speedcore tracks from this cassette, produced almost entirely by Gavin. The track ’Keep It Underground’ was an answer-back response