October: 10 drum 'n' bass releases you need to hear this month

Noisia 'Outer Edges' (Vision)

No collaborations, very few vocals and no radio-friendly top lines in sight – just 18 tracks of super-deluxe hardstepping d’n’b and experimental industrial fury that no-one else can hold a candle to when it comes to expert sound design. Twisted synths that sound like giant squid tentacles dripping in radioactive ooze; jackhammer drums that knife across the soundscape; raw funk riffs that buckle the 170bpm formula into a crushing sub-bass lick: this is production that’s a dimension apart. A microcosm of the sonically intricate and heavyweight sound and brand the Dutch trio have built in the six years since their first LP, ‘Outer Edges’ is your entry point to a group that have transcended d’n’b and created a new sonic wormhole for thousands of voyagers.

9/10