The Third Kind - Dyatic

Occassionally, the deep dark depths of occult dubstep will surface a truly incredible record. I think it's safe to say that, in that regard, Dyatic has stolen the metaphorical contemporary show.

Energized by his signature alien flow, "The Third Kind" is packed with some of the best ideas in the industry, providing a genuinely crazy listening experience with twists and turns and tribal drums and frenzied vocal samples that blend into the mixing. The opener, "Insights", graces us with a very neat introduction to the premise of the album, that predicates itself upon the infamous hollow earth conspiracy theory—which is slightly absurd, but it provides pretty good food for an LP. Dyatic punctuates each and every track with his style and flow; where other producers would be stale, Dyatic is engaging. Okay, "Lightkeeper" is a little weak and a little annoying (though it does have its moments), but persevere through that one and suddenly the atmosphere becomes more immersive, the hits become harder and, most importantly, the ideas begin to flourish. "Redshift" through to "Enforcer" is track run that slams hammering blow upon hammering blow upon the generic flows of the modern scene, and following that up with the wonderfully groovy "Body Flicker" is practically an ultimate middle finger to anyone who thought even a little bit about it being repetitive. This is my favourite part of the album—Dyatic shows that he's not just another dubstep producer, he's a bass pioneer, striking sparks with glitch hop, trap, and bass house—but not to worry! The heavy production continues! In fact, it only grows, crescendoing into a mildly terrifying finale in "The Gaze Of A Monster" that cannot really be described in words for its terrifying atmosphere and lore implications.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I like this album. A lot. I will admit it's not for everyone, as (in particular) the rap samples could be annoying and perhaps out of place, though I do feel like they blend well and aren't too intrusive other than a few key moments. Naturally, the "alien flow" is the LP's main attraction—clearly Dyatic knows this—but he doesn't skive on worldbuilding, progressing the album through a more hopeful first half and a much darker second half. Atmospherically, it might run into a few problems here and there, and the flow can be a little overused at times (yet who doesn't make these mistakes? Very few) but the transitions are flawless and I'd love to see more producers trying to branch out their style like "The Third Kind" does.