Nothing To Dredd About Drokk

Warning: this album will increase your odds of getting a speeding ticket if listened to while driving. Drokk: Music Inspired by Mega-City One by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury is the perfect soundtrack to a nonexistent sci-fi action film. The tempo and atmosphere created by Barrow and Salisbury match the quality of all the great science fiction movies of the 70s and 80s and, at times, surpasses many of them.

Mega-City is a fictional landscape described in the British comic book 2000 A.D., which also tells the tale of the famous Judge Dredd, whose characterization was brought to fame by Sylvester Stallone in the 1995 film. Mega City, itself, is described as a huge city-state that was formed to help with the population explosion that took place in the 21st Century. Overpopulation, murder and various other crimes run rampant and the city is run and controlled by a council of “judges” that serve as judge, jury, and executioner.

From the opening track, “Lawmaster/Pursuit,” you are taken away and immediately transported into this fictitious future dystopia. Beginning with a slow, pulsating heartbeat build up, it leaves you anticipating more until, finally, the synths kick in followed by the drum beat. You feel as though you are a citizen of the city navigating through the alleyways of this God-forsaken neighborhood, praying that you reach your destination.

The song “Inhale” has a grim, apocalyptic surf style intro that transforms into a complete annihilation of ambient and white noise. This pattern repeats several times, letting the melody feel like a safe harbor in the ocean of fuzz and noise that builds more aggressively as the song prolongs.

Barrow and Salisbury have made an impressive piece of work with Drokk and it’s an album that deserves a listen. They have crafted a living, breathing replica of Mega-City and, although it might not be a place to plan your next vacation or the ideal location to raise a family, once you enter the city limits, you are guaranteed an adrenaline-filled joy ride.