Spaced out quality here from Systematic boss Marc Romboy, with his debut solo release on Herzblut. It's got that delirious, progressive feel to it right from the word go - it really leaves an impression from the moment you press play. In fact it made me start thinking about the guiltily pleasurable tech-trance of a bygone era… Nick Warren, Humate, Der Dritte Raum etc., but slower. The dreamy, rolling synth that remains throughout the song is eventually hijacked by a growling undercurrent in what is a highly promising crescendo, only for momentum to be lost somewhat as the growl meanders off on one for the duration.

Never the less, Romboy was onto something with this, and Christian Smith makes good use of it with the B-side. It's a more conventional affair with a long and gradual build-up and a nice reward after the breakdown, where Smith recognises the need to combine the growl and the dreamy for an extended period at the peak of the song rather than restricting it to the build up as Romboy did; and plentiful cymbals/hits add an increased urgency that is also most welcome.

Romboy wraps things up with Stratosphere, which is similarly ponderous in build-up to 616 Seconds but eventually boils superbly to a scary climax, and as is a feature of the entire release, uses some fantastically crafted sounds to get there.

This is well produced stuff, and at times, brilliantly intense.