Digital Juggernaut (12 Inch Blade)

Reviewed by GreyBrow on (Monday, May 21, 2007) Rated 8.4 / 10

Category	Rating
Track Structure	9
Interest	8
Melody	8
Performance	8
Lyrics	0
Enjoyment	8
Recording Quality	9
Commercial Appeal	9
Overall	8.4

12 Inch Blade by Digital Juggernaut

 

Okay – it’s not exactly a picture of a digital juggernaut but it is from a postage stamp and, if you were able to turn it over you would find, on the back, more than enough room for me to write what I know about breakbeat J - so with that in mind, I’m going to start off writing about something I do know a bit more about – language.

 

Juggernaut comes from the Sanskrit word “Jagganath” used to describe Lord Krishna and meaning “Lord of the Universe”. The reason it came to describe modern day articulated vehicles is as follows:

 

One of the most famous of Indian temples is the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa, which has the Ratha Yatra (chariot procession), an annual procession of chariots carrying the murtis/statues of Jagannâth (Krishna), Subhadra and Baladeva (Krishna's elder brother). During the British colonial era, Christian missionaries promulgated a myth that Hindu devotees of Krishna were lunatic fanatics who threw themselves under the wheels of these chariots in order to attain salvation. Such a description can also be found in the popular fourteenth-century work "The Travels of Sir John Mandeville." The fact is that devotees have sometimes been crushed accidentally in the past as the massive 45 foot tall, multi-ton chariot slipped out of control. Many have also been killed in the resulting stampedes. The sight led the Britons to use the word "Juggernaut" to refer to other instances of unstoppable, crushing forces. (Courtesy of Wikipedia).

 

And here is one:

 

 

 

 

So, by that token Tim EP (as he is known on the message boards) has a performing name meaning Digital Lord of the Universe and is an unstoppable crushing force – now there’s modesty for you..lol.

 

And if he really is the Digital Lord of the Universe (DLU) then one can only surmise as to what the “12 inch Blade” of the title refers to.

 

I’m not going to speculate here but the track itself is a powerful piece of electronica that has great energy and depth so it's either a homage to a Wesley Snipes film (and sequel) or a touch of braggadocio in respect of a certain part of the anatomy.

 

Either way, the track lasts for 4:40 of really quite frenetic action, so if it is the latter and the DLU can match that in real life – fair play.

 

BTW, have you noticed how I’m covering up for my lack of knowledge of this particular genre by being a touch saucy and a little bit erudite in the hope that no-one will notice the lack of a convincing critique of the music itself?

 

What I will say about this track is that it moves at a great pace, is very well constructed, by which I mean that, as you listen, you notice a great many variations in the basic theme that tend to show a shed load of time and attention has been paid to its construction. The quality of the mix is excellent and the blend of sounds spans a broad and effective range of the sonic spectrum.

I wouldn’t mind betting that, even if breakbeat isn’t your thing, it would be worth the 4:40 of your time finding out (and anyway, if you have been reading this slowly you should just about have heard it all by now).

 

And if you happen to get the chance to listen to this while driving down the motorway behind a Royal Mail juggernaut carrying post to the four corners of the country, well so much the better!

To listen to the track Click Here