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Stealing Fire (Remixes) (Virtual Riot)
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The legacy of "Stealing Fire" returns with a set of fairly strong remixes set to try and do something different with Virtual Riot's distinct flavour of bass music. A lot of tradeoffs are made, a lot of production ideas are shuffled and discarded, but ultimately most of these remixes do bring something fresh to each track - though whether those fresh new things are well or poorly executed is a whole different story. Either way, this is 12 artists' attempt to 'steal fire' from Virtual Riot himself.



  1. Dino Killer - Dodge & Fuski Remix - A mindblowing change to drum n bass sees Dodge & Fuski surf the rhythms of "Dino Killer" with incredible proficiency. Straight fire remix that, although it doesn't go for the same balls-to-the-walls belligerence of the original, takes a very different route that swoops from high to high. (81/100)

  2. Need / Get - Bossfight Remix - Gritty, merciless remix from Bossfight with aptly overblown growls and roaring basswork that could knock a horse off its feet. Absolute slammer from start to finish - I think Bossfight was a particularly good fit for this track, too. (80/100)

  3. Reconnect - Everen Maxwell Remix - Everen Maxwell fixes the issues I had with the tonality of the original by employing a more tasteful blend of melodic and heavy rather than chucking you straight into the deep end. Still intense, still powerful, but with a bit more melodic appeal throughout. (78/100)

  4. Nights On Fire (2024) - Skybreak HALF BLOOF Remix - Skybreak strips the original of its DnB and rebuilds it into this sampling-rich melodic dubstep powerhouse of a remix, with some fantastic sound design and well-thought-out structuring. The empty trap switches in the second drop make no sense, but other than that this is a very strong remix, with a heartfelt voiceover from Skybreak at the end. (76/100)

  5. Scorched Earth - Culprate Remix - A pretty tame melody added to to a garagey first half develops into completely bizarre but very creative sound design and drumwork,. Once the techno section kicks in, Culprate reins the remix back in with strong production - like a lot of the other remixes, it feels like the punch is lost on this track, but I don't mind the tradeoff. (75/100)

  6. Star Destroyer - VIP - Swapping "Star Destroyer" to bass house was a change that I initially wasn't sold on, until about 5 seconds into the drop. The sound design adapts really well to this genre switch, and, though it loses the punch and multi-movement structure (and the extended Mongolian throat singing section!) that made the original so standout, it's a strong remix nonetheless. (71/100)

  7. Believe What You Want - Tokyo Machine Remix - Tokyo Machine doesn't do anything crazy to the songwriting present in the original, but he just adds his own flair. There's some of his brighter electro-leaning sound design and some of his stomping briddim stabs of his newer style, and it matches the flow of the track pretty well. My primary complaint is that the heavier dubstep just feels a little overblown when compared to the rest of the track, but there's enough of the rest that it still feels like an enjoyable listen. (70/100)

  8. Nights On Fire (2024) - hayve Remix - Enjoyed the incorporation of hayve's neuro style into the first section, it allowed the remix to motor along really nicely. I think their style would work really well on this track if they had leaned into it a little more for the second half, though, but it ends up being a pretty safe remix. (67/100)

  9. Reconnect - Moore Kismet Remix - Moore Kismet's production signature on this garage remix is so clear, what with his sampling style and sound design. The breakdowns and predrops are pretty great, but I'll be honest, the empty bassline-driven drops aren't really my thing. Final drop is pretty cool, but not enough. (66/100)

  10. Holding On To Smoke - Franky Nuts Remix - I would have loved to see a chill remix of this track, but Franky Nut's intense brostep take on "Holding On To Smoke" is pretty cool anyway, with his inclusion of vocal chops and big buildups. I didn't quite give this a higher rating purely because it feels disingenuous to the original. (64/100)

  11. Stealing Fire - longstoryshort Remix - Lacks the grand buildups and impactful songwriting of the original, trading it off for a somewhat tropey setup section. The sampling is great though, and the drops have plenty of power behind them, but I'm not entirely sold on the more drum-heavy flow in them. I'll admit though, the original is tough competition. (61/100)

  12. Ridiculous - RANKZ Remix - A ridiculous remix of "Ridiculous" that slows it right down and experiments with empty experimental drops that might have worked well in their own song, but absolutely do not fit into the chaotic energy of the original. The 'whoop' sampling in the drops helps, but it does also get a bit irritating. (53/100)

Average track rating: 70

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