After one year of working DJ Thera finally finished his first artist album. The anticipation was going through the rawstyle scene since the first preview of Training Sessions and it’s time to see what lies behind this man.
DJ Thera himself gave us a great behind the scene with “Behind The Training Sessions”. 20 episodes full of background information about the tracks and the production of his album. As a result Training Sessions is more than just an album.
The first of the 14 tracks is rather unspectacular but representative of DJ Thera’s sound. We like the symbolism that “The Gate” is a gate to the album. A good start for the album, that brings you in the right mood.
“Strong” is the first track with vocals and unluckily doesn’t apply to my taste of music. Yes, featuring guest Yuna-X has her own unique voice, but the production sounds a bit unprofessional compared to the others. Moreover, it’s one of the few tracks with a melodic main part.
“Tiger Season” is a good example of one of DJ Thera strengths: creating awesome rawstyle intros. Short and sometimes bizarre sounds in addition to a punchy kick. Especially the intro lead just fits the audio pattern!
Name giving track “Traning Session” is theatralic and vitriolic. Different saw leads, build up to an epic main part supported by a scratchy, rough kick. After 12 tracks DJ Thera has still a lot of “Ammunition”. He surprises me with more and different main and intro kicks. People with a good hearing will find all kinds of new details on nearly every track on this disc.
“I really like kickrolls and screeches”, that’s the easy explanation by DJ Thera for the three tracks “Crazy”, “Crazier” and the “Craziest”. Each track a bit harsher and harder. The screeches are getting higher and higher and after “Craziest” you are literally crazy because of the extreme pitched sounds, kickrolls, rough vocals and screeches.
“The Dome” is a beautiful ending for Training Sessions. Taking off with melodic vocals and a piano made to calm you down after the “Crazy Trilogy” – but still fast paced and raw.
You find all tracks as original edits with intros and outros. A continuous mix is not included.
Training Sessions is not an album for everybody, that’s for certain. But that is not the point of this album. Raw, experimental and 100% Thera. You will pick up different sound designs throughout the album. If you are a rawstyle fan, this album grants you classic rawstyle tunes combined with new approaches that you shouldn’t overlook. Check out the behind the scene or the previews to make sure you like this unique and “raw to the bone” hardstyle!