Simulation - Virtual Riot

This album is fun, colourful, and might implode your ears. Dubstep's just like that sometimes.

Beloved German producer Virtual Riot releases his concept album "Simulation" on the label Disciple, and it's ultimately an album that feels like it should be much better than it actually is. That's not to say it's bad—it's pretty good, actually; "Simulation" packs colourful hits and slamming basses, fueling punchy riddim drops and a bombardment of energy in a very Virtual-Riot-esque brostep fashion, but this time, in slightly newer territory—not completely new, both for the artist and for the scene, but relatively new nonetheless. Embracing a future riddim style, that derives both from his renowned crashing riddim style and the more vibrant colour bass style, Virtual Riot looks to ground "Simulation" in a digitized, virtual reality environment, and in that, "Simulation" excels. With a largely happy-go-lucky vibe to the project (perhaps rooted in the melodic "Rewrite", or the carefree "Get Away", or even the poppy "Back In Time"), Virtual Riot sprinkles in elements of narrative via tonal shifts, primarily shifts into a darker, heavier tonality—look no further than "Exile" or "Fork Funeral"—that also gives him liberty to play with dense riddim tracks alongside the joyous future riddim that makes up the majority of the tracklist. But tonality and narrative is about as far as the album gets. Many of the melodic tracks feel a little repetitive as the album progresses, and, on the flipside, many of the heavy tracks seem to fall into uninspired tropes and slightly generic ideas. And, in general, a lot of the production doesn't quite feel as high quality as it should be—not that it's bad quality, but it does feel like it's lacking something.

Creative in the narrative and uncreative in the production is, ultimately, what "Simulation" boils down to. Though it's conceptually refreshing (albeit a little overly theatrical at times), Virtual Riot doesn't quite make it out of his comfort zone as a producer, and that results in this project struggling to be interesting at points. "Simulation" will not be Virtual Riot's topping project, but it has laid a very solid conceptual foundation for one, and it has proved that Virtual Riot is so much more than just another brostep artist.