Various – Thunderdome X (Sucking For Blood)

Thunderdome X - Sucking For Blood was my first ever Hardcore Gabber CD, and therefore holds a special place in my heart. It was my introduction to the thunderous Gabber sound which thrilled and terrified me at the same time. Having just taken my first steps into Hardcore six months earlier, I was still learning about the music. The name, Thunderdome, slowly became synonymous with the sound. In high school I a school magazine being published and at the back cover was this Thunderdome rave party being held here in Brisbane, Australia. Later on I found out this was part of the first Thunderdome tour of Australia. Saving up enough AUSTUDY money I paid $40 (Central Station were charging $50, typical!) and rushed home to listen to this double CD. I was not disappointed, it was an amazing experience hearing this new music, it was exactly what I was looking for! In a small way, Thunderdome X changed my life forever. After 30 years, I thought I'd put on the nostalgia tinted glasses and see if it still stacks up to the whimsical heights it set back in 1995.

The first track usually means a lot to people, in this case its the surprisingly thumping Technohead track - The Number One Contender. What you have to is for people outside the Hardcore scene, Technohead were still known for I Wanna Be A Hippy. The was a massive song in Australia, so hearing The Number One Contender was a big shock to me. Those growling samples and hard hitting bassdrums made an instant impression on me. One thing I from the Hippy videoclip were these red and black shirts, sporting the Mokum Records logo. Besides this track, the other Mokum song on Thunderdome X is Tellurian - Squash The Floor. This was and is still an amazing track introducing me to the swirling Mid Sweeper Artcore sound that I would eventually fall in love with. Squash The Floor also seems to be the start of Michel Klaassen's journey into Cenobite Records which I also adore.

From Amsterdam to Rotterdam. It seems like a smart idea to include some Rotterdam Gabber and of course DJ Paul Elstak. Considering his huge popularity at the time in The Netherlands, it's a bold choice by ID&T not to include one of his big Happy Hardcore hits (not even a remix, maybe saving that for their Happy Hardcore CDs). In fact, they chose one of his rougher tunes, Evil Maniax - Psychopath, a great choice nonetheless. I think this was the first time I heard a guitar in a Hardcore track. Although maybe not as obvious there is General Noise from Rotterdam on Paul Elstak's Forze Records with their happier outing, Pump This Groove. It's not bad, and much better than most of their Tails and Noizer stuff. It's slightly amusing that notoriously anti-Happy Hardcore Drokz would have MC-ed over songs like this in their live act!

Part of the success of Thunderdome was the four of The Dreamteam. They were sort of ed at the hip, leading to a popular and profitable t venture for both organisations. I could be wrong but Thunderdome X was the first time all four DJs were not on a Thunderdome CD. 50% Of The Dreamteam missing in action. As such it took me a little longer to discover Gizmo and Dano. The first member of The Dreamteam is the Bumble Bee himself, DJ Buzz Fuzz. With Gizmo and Dano taking a nap: Buzz Fuzz, his record label Bzrk Records and his Bzrk mate, Jeremy feature heavily throughout this compilation. There's Buzzy's lovely remix of Pavo and Jordens Addicted 2 Raves off that super cool Bad Vibes picture disc. The track Summertime is one of those songs that took me a while to appreciate but I got there in the end. Buzz Fuzz transforms into Toni Salmonella :) for Once Again which also wasn't an instant hit for me, and I much prefer the Buzz Fuzz Mix on the actual vinyl. Jeremy also makes three contributions. There's the very slow Go With The Flow, I skipping over the song a fair bit because I didn't like. But it eventually grew on me and I stopped skipping past it. Jeremy puts on his Public Domain pants, there's the wonderful I Know It and his awesome remix of So Get Up which is one of the finest examples of Happy Gabber ever. It's also nice to see Public Domain playing this remix live on the accompanying VHS, Thunderdome vs. Hellraiser at the infamous Sporthallen Zuid. Two other Bzrk artists are on CD2, E-Rick And Tactic provide a very English Happy Hardcore song, Bring The Noise which is also played (by Darkraver) on the same VHS.

The other 25% Of The Dreamteam on Sucking For Blood is The Prophet. His solo track House Time has always been a little unusual to me, but back in 1995 it was weird and very fast! He does have a signature sound, so its unique and that's made more apparent with his track with DJ Delirium, Keep Your Body Pumpin'. Even though I like the Sweet Tee rap sample I'm still not 100% on aboard with the song. Speaking of Delirium and the above mentioned Bad Vibes, his tune with DJ Weirdo, Open Your Eyez (space) !!!, is another great example of Happy Gabber. There is another song on here by The Prophet......

Hardcore Italia is represented well on Thunderdome X, though mostly on the backs of three guys from Milan. Max, Buby and Giangy submit a great Italian Gabber track called Jesus Words. Buby, Giangy and Max submit a great Italian Gabber track called Musica Nevrotica. Giangy, Max and Buby submit a great remix for DJ Groovy's Shake It. DJ Groovy and Lee Newman from Technohead (rest in peace) are the only female producers on this release. I'd imagine this was a big deal for The Stunned Guys at the start of their careers. They would go on to be one of the biggest artists in the Hardcore scene. The other Italian track is by DJ Ricci and the hilariously named MC Hair! 200% Acidferious has stood the test of time, I that intense build up and fierce volley of kickdrums genuinely scaring the hell out of me. Excellent contributions from Italy.

Navigating the dark clouds over the North Sea, we have several songs coming out of Scotland. Considering he heavily influenced the Dutch Happy Hardcore sound, it seems appropriate to see Scott Brown's name on Thunderdome X. The Tartan Tekno (still sounds bad!) King has the lesser known Dum Dooby Dum which, again, took me time to enjoy. Credit to DJ X-Ess and ID&T, that Evolution release has three better tunes to choose from, so not going for an obvious hit. Conversely, they do feature Scott's biggest anthem (that's debateable) Now Is The Time. Even in 1995, it's interesting how slow Now Is The Time is compared to the other tracks on the CD. I think this is the first time I ever heard Now Is The Time. Scott Brown's two friends also make an appearance. Marc Smith provides the absolutely killer track Pump Up The Noize, loved how it speeds up at the end. Arguably my favourite track is A̶p̶o̶l̶y̶p̶s̶e̶ Apocalypse Now by Davie Forbes, just fucking awesome Scottish Happy Hardcore. Listening to these Scottish tracks and Ultra-Sonic, I learnt early on to keep my ears open for anything from Scotland.

Because I was just getting started as a DJ or trying to understand the concept of DJ-ing/vinyl, the Thunderdome IX Megamix really intrigued me. The idea you could "mix" this music was fascinating to me in 1995. So I've always loved this particular Megamix and it helped me understand Techno DJ-ing. Years later, I was happy to find out ID&T released these Megamixes as a CD single. So there was an Megamix Long Version to enjoy. It's like finding deleted scenes to your favourite movie. I was also incredibly happy to hear the extended Thunderdome X Megamix, hearing my favourite songs mixed like that was a real treat for me.

Inside the CD booklet is an absurd story of Pengo The Penguin. More importantly this leads to the creation of a big Happy Hardcore record label for ID&T called Pengo Records. So no surprise there's two tracks from Pengo. Oh 3 Steps Ahead we miss you. So Much Trouble is a fairly good track helped by a Public Enemy sample. Looks like he made this track before Drop It. Both tunes would go on to make the 3SA release the most sought after and expensive Pengo record. E-Rick And Tictac The Beatsquad for a nice little tune called Roll The Drum. What's interesting is in the Pengo story there's mention of a release by Scott Brown and this never happened.....

As a companion piece to this double CD there is a Thunderdome X vinyl. I actually bought this record off E-Rick (Tactic-less by 2000) @ VIP Records in Sneek for 100 Dutch Guilders! This was before Discogs and actual tracklistings for releases. Imagine my face when I find out it's only four bloody tracks! ID&T could have pressed a double vinyl like they had done previously, so many good songs to choose from. Anyway, the four tracks are exclusive to the compilation. About Sex by James Daltan is OK I guess, his sound is slightly odd but its different. James Daltan also made music with Ed Bout as Critical Mass who have the track Can't Stop. Critical Mass were a big Happy Hardcore act at the time and Can't Stop shows they were pretty good at making that kind of music. So much so, they helped start Pengo Records. The final song on Thunderdome X is In Control, In Effect by The Controllers, and in a way takes the album out with a bang. Hard, fast and energetic with cool half time rap samples. I once asked The Prophet who was Controller Two? He laughed and said I wouldn't know him. Thanks to Discogs the mystery person is Too Small who has the fourth song on the record. Kick A Hole is an above average track, the Rakim samples help immensely. Overall, the vinyl is OK but a little disappointing.

There's a few stragglers I've glossed over, but still very important that they are mentioned. The Happy Verbs track is a neat Happy tune that totally doesn't sound like Happy Vibes. DJ Alex - Say What is a delight to listen to, I those kicks really pounding my teenage head. It would be silly for Thunderdome to ignore Ruffneck. The self referential track Who Is It by the "female" Knightvision is an instant classic. Hearing those kicks at the start of CD 2 always makes me smile. Delirium is not the only American enlisted by ID&T, DJ Oh Oh Omar Santana provides a superb Hardcore tune, Oh Oh Boy. DJ Rob and Coolman Records were also a big player in the Gabber scene and Stick Up (Chicomen Remix) is a worthy inclusion, quite fast Gabber with a Happy vibe to it. I've never really liked the Lords Of The Underworld tune, it just sounds fairly amateur compared to the other songs around it. But since it's on an ID&T label (Hellsound) I understand why its being showcased on here. The DJ Sim track is another exclusive track and quite good in my opinion, why it's been left off the TD X vinyl in favour for Kick A Hole and About Sex is a baffling mystery. Another song plugging a hole on this album is Nice Guys - Pump It Up. Really solid track that should be pressed on vinyl, maybe somebody could do something about that *cough* UHM *cough*. The Nice Guys turn into the bad guys under their more known names, Waxweazle and Guitar Rob, making a more serious song towards the end called Our Nightmare.

The cover art by Victor Feenstra is quite striking and probably markets well to the Core demographic audience at the time. Looking at the picture I always wondered how the Bat closes its mouth without stabbing itself to death? Did anyone fill in the questionnaire and win the Stereo set ( 2 x 200 watt WOW!) or promotional boxes? Did anyone ring that Ravers Phone line, not sure if its for genuine enquires or some weird sex-like phone number, haha! Far out, all that Thunderdome merchandise, I wanted so many of those T-Shirts! I will say I do have the massive A1 Thunderdome X poster on my bedroom wall. Got that and a few others when Central Station Records took down all their Hardcore posters in 1998. Also seeing those other ID&T compilations in the booklet helped finding similar music. Besides a handful of tracks, and even then they aren't that bad, there's a bountiful supply of terrific Hardcore Gabber tracks on Thunderdome X. The compilation is also a representation of the height of Happy Hardcore's popularity in Holland and Europe as a whole. The tracks on here were an important learning curve for me, and solidified my interest in both Happy Hardcore and Gabber. It was also the gateway to finding all those big Gabber record labels and their respective artists. Looking back after 30 years, Thunderdome X Sucking For Blood brings a lot of joy, smiles and good memories. If you like Happy Hardcore and Hardcore Gabber, I'd recommend this CD.

PS: Thunderdome X is the last time any tracks from Scott Brown's many record labels featured on a ID&T album. Scott successfully sued ID&T for unpaid royalties on previous ID&T releases. ID&T were forced to pay _______ Dutch Guilders, however they accidently paid Scott ________ British Pounds. By the time the mistake was detected, the money transfer was complete. Before anyone mentions, the Asylum remix on TD 18 was illegal. The information with Denztraxxx on Earthquake IV states "licensed from ID&T Music". Which probably means DJ Jordens sent the track to ID&T to plug a gap. Maybe even all three traxxx were going to be released on vinyl through ID&T. This didn't happen and Jordens sent the tracks to Scott Brown? I don't know, just taking a guess.

https://imgur.com/a/BvpA2qs

Thunderdome X
was my first with gabber & been hooked ever since.
good memories ♥♥ and many outstanding tracks on this one!

Not one of the best Thunderdome compilations but very liked because of two reasons 1) the era & 2) because two unforgettable tracks which are Technohead : The number one Contender & Knightvision : Who is it?

Some other great tracks are ;

CD 1

Duo Penotti : Addicted to Raves
Evil Maniax : Psycopath
Jeremy : The Flow
Baba Nation : Jesus Words
3 Steps Ahead : So much trouble
Dj Buzz Fuzz : Summertime
Dj Buby : Musica, Neurotica
Dj Ricci : 200% Acidferious
Thunderdome 9 Megamix

CD 2

The Prophet : House Time
The Beatsquad : Roll the Drum
Omar Santana : Oh oh boy
Dj Eric : Bring the noise
Scott Brown : Now is the time
Toni Salmonelli : Once Again
Lords of the Underworld : Girls give head
Critical Mass : Can't stop
Dj Waxweazle : Our Nightmare
The Controllers : In control, in effect

What about the misprinted version of this release?
There is one version with a misprinted booklet: Tracklist from CD2 shows the printing from Thunderdome IX.
I have this CD and I guess I saw this already here - but could not find it anymore...

The tenth release of Thunderdome series and the best one - including wide range of perfectly selected tracks and artists. The mood of the compilation is well made - the hardcore sound is not so hard, however, not so commercial and happy as in some previous compilations.