Virtual Riot - Stealing Fire | Album Review


10/18 = Virtual Riot - Stealing Fire
 - VIRTUAL RIOT IS FINALLY HERE AFTER 3 YEARS OMG... A HUGE RECORD and I was so ready to listen to 16 tracks where 13 of these are new. I can't lie I've definitely been missing Virtual Riot these past 2 years with his lack of releases. But it all was worth it because we have the follow up album of Simulation in Stealing Fire released on Monstercat WHICH IS HUGE, this was a big release and will likely define this 2024 EDM era. One of my favorite artists releasing a new album on my favorite label!!
 - First things first Virtual Riot continues to blow my mind. The first-listen through was so crazy because the transitions and progressions are so unpredictable and the sound design is just so incredible, this was some insane work. 
 - Virtual Riot polishes a modernized bass house tone here, lots of bass house, drumstep, midtempo, dubstep. Not much of future bass, color bass, progressive house. My favorite side of Virtual Riot is his melodic dubstep and his future bass, that's what made me love him so much, there's so many timeless classics in his discographies. I also love his electropop tracks w/ vocals. TLDR: love his melodic and less abrasive works. 
 - Here's my tracklist review after like 4-5 full listen-thrus:
  • Embark: And we embark on this track with really immersive strings and ambience and these sounds that sound like these digital synths being ready to be activated. Likely foreshadowing to future instrumentation. And then we have this super eerie riser that KICKS US INTO THE INTRO AND THOSE VOCAL SAMPLES AND NARRATION THAT TRANSITIONS INTO THE: 

  • Stealing Fire: "LETSGO!" the beat drops, the kick is grounded, that opening vocal chop just establishes everything. A masterful introduction, I really love this Embark and Stealing Fire combo it's so great just listening to that transition, SO GOOD, I REMEMBER I WAS SO HYPED WHEN I FIRST LISTENED TO THIS ALBUM. IT REALLY FELT SO SURREAL like we were IN FOR IT. AND THEN WE HAVE THIS WHIRLWIND OF BASS HOUSE LEADS, VOCAL CHOPS, STUTTERING, SYNCOPATION, FILLS, FUTURE HOSUE, COLOR CANNONS, IT'S INCREDIBLE. THAT FIRST DROP IS SERIOUSLY INSANE JUST ALL THESE ELEMENTS COMING TOGETHER IN THIS NON-ABRASIVE FORM IS ACTUALLY INSANE. IT'S SO NATURALIZED JUST HOW ALL THESE ELEMENTS CO-EXIST AND ACCOMPANY EACH OTHER. Seriously a mind-blowing drop and progression never seen before, just all those fills and samples are so intentional it creates such an immersive drop and it's such wizard-ly executed. That drawn out midsection + second drop with the syncopation and glitch hop is also insane, but to me that first drop just blows everything out of the water to kick off this album, I was literally like going crazy when I first listenedo this I was like "HOLY COW WTF AM I LISTENING TO?!!!" Probably my favorite track of the album.

  • Need / Get: Amazing track with this vocal chop section and structure, it's suhc a short yet impactful section that sets up that buildup and lead into the dubstep. This dubstep has this more airy, air-soft stab to it. And then we have that thematic rhythm that I know I've heard somewhere else before but I can't put my thoughts on it. I've heard that rhythm before from some pop song, I instantly knew that I heard it somewhere when I first listened to it but for some reaosn I can't find what it actually is. I really wish that opening vocal chop section could appear again at the end of this track because the fills I was hearing was literally so magical. Just all that ear candy and harmony on those fills is so insane LIKE WHY CANT YOU EITHER MAKE THIS SECTION LONGER OR PUT THIS SECTION AGAIN AT THE END TO REAFFIRM A THEME IN THIS SONG HELLO, YOU COULDVE STACKED THIS MELODY WITH THE POSTDROP IF YOU WANTED. So yeah after listening to this track multiple times through, it's definitely underwhelming because of just how next-level that vocal chop section is and it just kills me how short of an appearance it makes. It's such an insane section it deserves so much more love like holy cow. Dude that vocal chop section is actually so hard yet its only 8 bars and 8 bars total. Seriously could've been utilized way more in this track idk it might just be a personal thing of why I'm so attracted to that. 

  • Dino Killer: What a unique dubstep track with this dinosaur identity. There's monster noises, arabic-esque sampling, nature documentary voiceover samples, and this buildup thats just so epic. That second drop is SERIOUSLY INSANE, oh my god I remember when I first listened to this track. Litearlly a mind blowing 2nd drop, its literally like dinosaurs dying noises and VR creates dubstep out of it, and then there's so many different sections that kind of trade, syncopation everywhere, the dinosaur bass smashing your ears, this is classic Virtual Riot. This kind of track reminds me of Simulation where I associate that album to just this collection of insane tracks, each track I just can associate instantly to their sound and rhythm, and it just creates this roster of future bass and dubstep tracks. With Dino Killer I can instantly attribute it to the dinosaur fakeouts and that FILTHY 2nd drop. Seriously insane track.

  • Star Destroyer: Another insane track with these analog leads and synths. This is literally what it sounds like for stars to be destroyed. This stuff is just so insane man, AND THEN THERES THIS DEEP, LOW THROAT-SINGING MID-SECTION??? HELLO??? And then it pulls to this drawn out arabic-infused speed-house section?? This track structurally is simply insane. Only Virtual Riot can pull something like this off. That throat singing out of the blue is still so crazy to me. 

  • Give in to you: The lead single of the album, "Give in to you" is some dark midtempo collaborating with Rezz. It could definitely use some variation with the 2nd drops but nonetheless it's a very serviceable track. Nothing too mind blowing here, the vocals are great too, though the vocals get kinda annoying it's super intentionally breathy. 

  • Scorched Earth: Here we have a shift towards this dark techno and future garage, and Virtual Riot somehow makes Techno enjoyable?? I hohnestly don't know how he does it, I'm trying to understand what elements about this song makes me like it, and maybe its the phonk snare, or the fluidity of the Techno, idk. I think it's just the overall progression remniscient of synthwave. Also love that random future garage section at the end, it rounds and finishes out this track perfectly.

  • Impending (interlude): An interesting interlude here that kind of formally establishes the 2nd half of this album. With this type of somber instrumentation with an eerie ending it feels like all that "killing" and "destruction" done earlier in the album is kind of resolved and we start to like start our own fire or something idk man but its like an optimistic kind of tone.

  • Believe What You Want: The 2nd single with this new sound of Virtual Riot, it's very digitalized and all the stabs have this digitalized substance and pacing to them, but not digital to the sense of Simulation digital, the bass and kit is still grounding it towards this "stealing fire" theme whatever that may mean. We also have a really nice decay into this midsection and I just love Virtual Riot midsections you never know what to expect and for this one it's this simmer'd down vocal chops call and response type action, really smooth. 2nd drop just goes ALL IN, really fire track with a really solid and concrete progression, I just wish there were more melodic runs tied in with everything, I think that could've really made this track something insane. 

  • New Energy: A very abrupt switchup to this chilled-back instrumental loop-heavy progressive track. I really love the analog almost-whistle synth, and those crunchy breakdowns in the background taht somehow find a way to fit in with everything. This track really proves VR's versatility as he just gathers these arrays of sounds and melodies and drums and makes it so cohesive with these progressions and transitions. I think this track could've acted as an interlude track, as it really feels like something is brewing up (from those bass breakdowns that appear in and out) amidst all these chilled-out sensations and instrumentations. 

  • Nights On Fire (2024): One of the most unique tracks in VR's entire discography, it's this liquid d&b with these amazing vocal chop sections, it releases such a natural yet electronic atmosphere, a simplistic yet detailed sound. And then it progresses to these wubs, then after that everything just combines and I can't even describe this track anymore. Something about the hit on every 4-beat kick for the liquid d&b is also very intentional, there's a very subtle pause that almost seems delayed and trippy, and also the hi-hats cut out that draw the attention to it. Really love this track, its def in my top 3 of this album, it's not what anyone would expect to fall in love with out of this album but those vocal chops are so great along with just the progressions. Also this track is a VIP from Nights on Fire from 2011 which doesn't even have any vocals, go listen to the og its quite interesting.

  • Ridiculous: I love this track and sound from Virtual Riot, there's this reggae-type lead and the drops and stabs just hit so hard. This is literally a new, modernized VR sound, that postdrop paired with that reggae background is such a unique type of atmosphere that we've never heard from VR before. And then that 3rd drop or final drop with that simulation-esque whirlwind of colors and vocal chops just launches this track to a whole another stratosphere, it's such a short section before the track end. I think it works really well, though I do admit there is a lack of cohesion with this section, it does seem kind of random, I'm a big fan of it tho, it kind of plays into this "ridiculous" theme because you listen to that outro and your mind is literally blown and u just cant help but say to your self, "this track is ridiculous."

  • VROOM: We got some like arabic-infused drift-midtempo or wahtever this genre is lmao, its a really drawn out track in its buildups, and its also quite repetitive in terms of the progression. It kind of repeats this main melody with different backings, counter melodies, fakeouts, and instrumentation. To me it's a solid track, more of a filler track to me that I won't visit too much and won't get too many streams for me. There's way better midtempo that Virtual Riot has produced, including notably "exile" which is prob my favorite midtempo track ever. 

  • Reconnect: This track radiates Simulation vibes so much just with those colorful leads, backings, and higher-pitched vocals. That drop is also FILTHY, this is some really insane bass house design just all in all. The melody, the mix down, the bass house leads, its just so polished and professional. And then that postdrop with all those samples and digital synths and color cannons just take me back to that Simulation era even more. Beautiful section. And then it transpires to this B-section with BELLS?? LIKE A GLOCKENSPHIEL BELLS?? You know Virtual Riot's past midsections like this have been super dramatic and flashy in the past and although they hit so hard and they're so memorable, notably that "CHROMA" midsection that is ACTUALLY INSANE and is just so flashy with all the effects and instrumentations, it really makes you float. This "Stealing Fire" era of midsections and B-sections seem more random, naturalized, and mature. You can definitely argue that it's leaning more towards filler in the song, but I appreciate this direction and approach. And then that analog synth solo'ing to finish and fade off this song is SOOO GOOD those runs are so free and I love that synth sound so much I just love that design I wish there was more of this in the album this is my favorite version of VR. So yeah safe to say this track is up there in the rankings too.

  • Black Sands (interlude): This track sounds like some video game music for some game that i cant quite put a finger on. Maybe like those geometry dash dungeon things or something idk. Anyway, the fills and progressions are so great, the strings add a lot of tension, and I love those thoughtful crash cymbals, those crash cymbals sound so thoughtful they way they are subtly mixed in with all of the instrumentation. I'm not sure how to interpret this song in the grand scheme of this album though, it just osunds like a track within itself and not within some bigger project, I can't quite find the cohesion, though it does transition into the next song and set the stage really nicely. So I guess there's that, maybe it's like Black Sands and Holding On To Smoke combine to create this double-edged chapter to end off this album and journey.

  • Holding On To Smoke: And we end off this album with a 6:46 adventure of a story, as long as being the only other listed collab besides "Give in to you". This track kinda oscillates between these raw vocal sections and then these drop sections. Those hollowed-out woodwind synths kind of remind me of the postdrop in "Ridiculous" with these hints of color house and ambience layered on these jumpy garage grooves. The track title itself is quite indicative of a closer, holding on to smoke, lots of symbolism. It's a solid closing track with lots of depth in that ending section with all the ambience and smoke/thunder sounds. It kind of ironically takes me back to the beginning of the album where we were clearly embarking on the journey, all the synths activating, the thunder starting, but this time it's on a closing, bittersweet, reflective note. Really beautifully executed. 
 - Stealing Fire is definitely all over the place, but I'd argue there is still this core "stealing fire" theme whatever that may mean, I interpret it as this dark, destructive, chaotic, gloomy atmosphere, almost dystopian. Production-wise, this is some of VR's most mature, modernized, evolved bass house. Before, all of VR's dubstep/drumstep/riddim was just these flashy sound-design BOMBS thrown in your face and now there's more thought on this creative, experimentation, garage aspect of production. You really notice it throughout these tracks and the drop, and they still GO HARD with the leads dont get me wrong. Then with Virtual Riot you have to focus on his signature midsection designs, in which these midsections and slowsections have become less flashy too and more towards becoming filler, though it's in this new thoughtful light that reminds me of some Teminite midsections (like "Raise the Black Flag" and "Ghost Ship"). Many of these midsections ("Stealing Fire",  "Dino Killer") are rather linear, on-pace, and conventional midsections (acting more as a 2nd verse), thus primarily acting as filler and setup to buildup and add tension towards this big grand 2nd drop instead of acting as a whole new melody and contrasting section that adds a new character to the song (though "Believe What You Want" and "Star Destroyer" entirely proves me wrong). 
 - There's also many of these high-energy dominant tracks structurally that aren't the conventional verse drop verse drop arrangement such as "Ridiculous", "Need / Get" that just commit all out to these drops and progressions with NO BS in between. This isn't a new concept for Virtual Riot, but it adds great variation off his dubstep and bass house structurally between track to track which is great towards the contrast and cohesion of this album as a whole. There's also quite a good amount of these track that really stick out and explore other genres, such as "Scored Earth" with techno, "New Energy" with this ambience progression, "Nights On Fire" with this vocals and vocal chop lead liquid d&b, "VROOM" and "Give in to you" with their midtempo, and the interludes and their instrumentals. You stretch this definition further and you can argue to include "Ridiculous" with this reggae backbeat, and "Reconnect" with this colour house that reminds me of "Don't Need You" back on Disciple. Heck, you can make a case for all of these songs. Title track "Stealing Fire" with whatever you call that 1st drop and its brilliance, "Dino Killer" and its quite literal dinosaur dying noise dubstep, "Star Destroyer" and its quite literal star destroying dubstep, etc. The only conventional tracks that are more on this "sleeper" side is "Believe What You Want" and "Need / Get" and "VROOM" which really shouldn't receive this label but it does and it speaks to VR's standards and creative quality.
 - So undoubtedly a banger album, I think it met my expectations just perfectly, it wasn't underwhelming nor overwhelming, though rating-wise I expected to give it a rating a little higher than what I end up giving so maybe a little underwhelemed? I had very high standards for this project because it's been 3 long years for me of very lacking VR uploads. 
 - Many people say this album is cohesively a mess, and I agree. However, the overall tone and bass house that VR produces in this album is so authentic and it's just this modernized bass house where he really polishes his sound, he really does evolve with time. Reminds me a lot of Skrillex and how I'll never understand how he constantly pioneers new sounds and genres and progressions for the rest of the EDM world to awe upon. 
 - I'll definitely rank the best moments of this album as:
  1. "Stealing Fire" 1st drop
  2. "Embark" + "Stealing Fire" intro and transition. This is cinema as an mp3 file.
  3. Nights On Fire and its replayability/versatility.
  4. "Need / Get" 8-bar vocal chop intro.
  5. The "Dino Killer" + "Star Destroyer" duo of tracks.
  6. Ridiculous.
  7. Reconnect and all those colorful blips + keyboard solo
  8. + more
 - Another roster of VR tracks, I can't add all of htese to my playlists at once, and that feels so comforting knowing I've got tons of VR content to get myself fully immersed and settled into this next year.
Rating = 8.5/10
Favorite Tracks = "Stealing Fire", "Nights On Fire (2024)", "Reconnect", "Ridiculous", "Scorched Earth", "Need / Get", "New Energy", "Dino Killer", "Star Destroyer", "Holding On To Smoke", "Believe What You Want", "Embark", "Give in to you", "VROOM"




Lyric(s) of the Post: "This sh* - t go-o-oing i-i-insane"

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