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Review: DJ Mob & MC Enemy - The Album Sessions 2 [Album]

THC // 'The Album Sessions 2' eclipses the original and knocks it right off the playlist

by johnedden, September 18th, 2012 and has been Read 1104 times.
Last Edited by: Chris MUG5 Maguire September 18th, 2012.

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'The Album Sessions 2' might seem like a poor name for the second album from DJ Mob & MC Enemy but, what they lack in title creativity they more than make up for in the quality of their songs. The talented duo announced their intent on the hardcore scene with their original The Album Sessions album last year; a rip-roaring beast of a hardcore album jam packed with anthems and beats galore. It was a huge success and as you played it back, you had to question if they could ever build on such a good album. Well, build on it they have for The Album Sessions 2, whicheclipses the original and knocks it right off the playlist.

Opening with single bars from MC Enemy, The Album Sessions 2 kicks off with a hardcore remix of Ian Van Dahl’s classic 'Castles In The Sky'. It adds an extra dynamic to the dancefloor classic with an underlying thumping hardcore beat and MC Enemy’s own bars in between each chorus.

The album continues its early pace with 'Out of My Life' and the first thing you notice is that The Album Sessions 2is nowhere near the quality of its predecessor – it's so much higher!. This isn’t DJ Mob & MC Enemy remixing their favourite hardcore songs (they do remix a few) but is original material penned by them for dancefloors nationwide. And it couldn’t be better!

DJ Mob is clearly heavily influenced by the euphoric hardcore scene, such are his uplifting beats and powerful melodies. However, DJ Mob is not opposed to the new, harder style of hardcore that sniffs out the most ferocious beat that you can imagine and smashes you over the head with it. 'Jump' does just that and, as its title suggests, is the ideal tonic to get dancefloors heaving all over the world.

What makes DJ Mob & MC Enemy so unique is how well they blend as artists. They know each other so well that they don’t have to second guess each other’s moves, instead MC Enemy knows just when to spit his bars in between DJ Mob’s anthemic melodies and monstrous beats, so as not to overwhelm the listener. There’s a lot that can be said about the presence of MCs in the current hardcore scene as more and more seem to be getting involved in live events and recordings all the time. Most are simply a nuisance as they drown out the music with their incessant rhymes but MC Enemy and the famous top two of Storm and Whizzkid have mastered their trade so as not to overpower the music, instead complementing it perfectly. Being in the top three is something that MC Enemy MCs about throughout this album and, he can be proud of that achievement. That said, The Album Sessions 2 suggests that MC Enemy could soon be hogging the top two tiers of the MC world in the future, instead of languishing in third place.

As a duo, DJ Mob & MC Enemy are as flexible as they are consistent and there is no better proof of this than their house music side project, Front Runners. House is quite a way away from hardcore but, as DJ Mob & MC Enemy show in 'Dancefloor' and 'Since I Let You Go,' House can sound just as good remixed as hardcore can!

It is without doubt that half way through the album DJ Mob & MC Enemy hit their peak though, with the track, 'Anuva Level.' Opening with an addictive melody, 'Anuva Level' soon erupts into a frenzy of beats that you cannot help but dance to. It is one of those songs that has the ability to lift a tired crowd and is a useful commodity for DJ Mob & MC Enemy to have under their belts. 'Anuva Level' is a justifiable title because this one is by far above everything else on the album, which in itself is a huge compliment.



Just as DJ Mob is diverse with his musical skill and knowledge, MC Enemy is a diverse MC and he proves that he really can spit bars to anything as he MCs his way through 'Otis Freestyle,' a reggae-induced monotonous melody. On paper, MC-ing and reggae shouldn’t work but, on record, it does! However, as MC Enemy wittingly says at the end – you wouldn't catch him doing this at a rave.

And so DJ Mob & MC Enemy launch back into the hardcore and another Front Runners mix, 'Feel It' which sounds just as good as a hardcore anthem as it does a house tune. It is 'Out of This World' though, when you next encounter something along the scale of 'Anuva Level'. Much like Hixxy’s famous 'Spaceman' mix, 'Out Of This World' is one of those hardcore songs that embraces futuristic instrumentals and powerful choruses that have the power to uplift almost anyone, albeit with a slower start than 'Spaceman.' It is this song that makes the statement DJ Mob & MC Enemy are ready for greater things and are ready to become headline acts. Not since Storm & Styles or Gammer & Whizzkid has a DJ and MC integrated so naturally to create a perfect blend of music and vocals. As a breakthrough DJ, Mob is easily leading the younger generation of hardcore producers and with him he brings MC Enemy. The future of the genre is in very capable hands!