LAXX has been quietly one of the most reliable names in dubstep for years and “Step 666” is him reminding everyone why. The track opens almost politely before the first drop arrives like a door getting kicked off its hinges. There’s a nasty, metallic quality to the lead that sits somewhere between a robot clearing its throat and a chainsaw with opinions. What I love is the restraint in the build, the way he lets the tension stretch just long enough that you start doubting whether the payoff is coming, and then it absolutely flattens you. The 666 in the title isn’t only edgelord branding either, the whole thing has a genuinely menacing low end that feels designed for a system big enough to rearrange your organs. I played it twice in a row at a volume my neighbours will remember. Dubstep gets written off as a dead genre every couple of years and then something like this lands and shuts everyone up. Turn it up and apologise to nobody.
January
Chrome Daydream
Chrome stars, jelly hearts and holographic colour. A nod to the glossy, optimistic graphics of the early web.