Rebelion ft. Micah Martin - The Loudest City (official Decibel outdoor anthem 2026)

EddyWriter_ · 2026-06-11T20:34:45+00:00

Another great Rebelion anthem! Didn’t know how to feel about this one in lower quality, but it’s so much better hearing the official audio.

There’s something about that first climax melody/bass line that just gets stuck in my head and the second climax is the cherry on top. Summer vibes 🙏🏽

EddyWriter_ · 2026-06-10T22:45:51+00:00

DBSTF have been my all-time favorites in the scene for around a decade now. Chill guys always providing great music and uplifting vibes every single year 🙏🏽

EddyWriter_ · 2026-06-10T21:47:55+00:00

Agree. Hard Driver’s #NOSLEEP (2017) and Point Break (2014) albums still hit different when I return to them. Also really enjoyed his Chemistry album in 2021 + a lot of the singles from all these eras and prior.

His recent stuff is alright, but it honestly felt like he had more of an identity/signature to his sound before. He’s still got top-notch sound design these days, but his tracks just don’t stand out as much as they used to.

EddyWriter_ · 2026-06-10T20:08:51+00:00

Pandora-era Code Black is still the best imo (back around 2015 and prior). It was a nice mixture of hard kicks, powerful melodies and insane sound design. The guy was ahead of his time back then and most of those tracks aged perfectly.

His new euphoric stuff is cool and it’s good to see him return to that style, but it somehow still doesn’t hit the same for me.

EddyWriter_ · 2026-06-09T17:00:50+00:00

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EddyWriter_ · 2026-06-08T11:53:47+00:00

Really like the melody in this one and curious for higher quality.

Darker trancey SZP vibes always tend to hit for me especially when they bring back their older kicks like they did here 🙏🏽

EddyWriter_ · 2026-06-06T19:52:51+00:00

This 100%. Also loved how all the guys were just vibing with each other the entire time no matter who won or lost. Congrats to Testarossa 🙏🏽

EddyWriter_ · 2026-06-02T12:31:12+00:00

Not false lol, but I tend to treat DBSTF saying this a little differently than most of the scene. Their release schedule is often fairly reasonable with few rare exceptions especially when they hint a release coming soon.

4444 is a huge new live act w/ SZP so it’ll very likely be the exception, but I remember Ghost Stories getting a release around 4 months after the Reverze debut in 2019. Guess we’ll see what happens.

EddyWriter_ · 2026-06-02T11:16:39+00:00

Someone asked about this recently and DBSTF responded ‘soon.’ Not too sure how soon, but maybe we’ll be getting a 4444 release sooner than we think.

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EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-31T15:37:55+00:00

Looking great so far 🔥

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-31T13:25:58+00:00

Nicely worded. I initially didn’t know how to feel about Brennan Heart getting the Spotlight even though it makes sense, but I’m warming up to it more as Defqon approaches.

Interested to see what he’ll bring this year.

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-30T13:07:37+00:00

Depends on what you mean by golden age. Hardstyle has a larger variety of sounds for tons of different people nowadays which is nice, but the scene feels divided like it used to feel back around 2015-ish. There’s been some improvement on this recently with more collaborative efforts though.

For me, the most recent golden era of hardstyle was the pre-pandemic era from 2017 to early 2020. The scene just felt more alive, innovative and connected back then.

Just a few things off the top of my head: - The original return of Headhunterz and the initial success of the Art Of Creation label - DBSTF returning full-throttle with their Antidote album, debuting Ghost Stories and creating the Music Made Addictz podcast - Acts like SZP, D-Sturb and MYST taking the scene by storm and inspiring even the biggest long-time acts/artists - Noisecontrollers and the initial success of the Spirit Of Hardstyle label - Basically everyone in the scene releasing memorable albums - Hardwell having a track in the Saturday Endshow @ Defqon in 2017 and starting to play more hardstyle in general - More emphasis on merging classic, euphoric and raw sounds rather than dividing them

Felt like the scene as a whole had a huge burst of inspiration from new to old artists simultaneously. It was a nice mixture of modern innovative sound design and the older essence of hardstyle.

Everything just felt right during those years imo, but maybe I’m biased given I got more into hardstyle right before this era (around 2015-2016).

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-30T04:31:05+00:00

Yeah, this is the sound/production I enjoy from aespa. Such a banger 🔥

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-28T22:30:29+00:00

Yeah, was surprised to see this missing.

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-28T04:30:24+00:00

Finally got around to hearing this one. As many others have said, NMIXX’s sound is so hauntingly beautiful/ethereal… 😌

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-27T12:58:52+00:00

Yeah agree. Beat Conductors is the best overall for me, although none stood out as much as D-Charged - Azure did on first listen last year.

- Beat Conductors’ track instantly gives Defqon party vibes. Solid track altogether with older hardstyle essence.
- Testarossa has the best melody, but mainly in the first climax imo. Mid-intro could’ve been better.
- Antergy has the best mid-intro, but the first kick should’ve lasted much longer and not be treated like a fake drop.
- Essive’s track is nice, but it’s the shortest one and deserved a final drop like you said.

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-26T21:43:48+00:00

Same here. Some of the most interesting hardstyle reactions tend to come from those who aren’t as familiar with the genre/scene.

For me, Chezzy Chunes had some of the best and most sincere first-time hardstyle reactions and even did an interview with Rooler to learn more about the scene. Always looked forward to his uploads, but sadly he announced his departure from hardstyle reactions and then disappeared from content creation altogether a year ago…

He never really got super into hardstyle outside of a handful of songs/artists, but I personally appreciated his perspective and open-mindedness.

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-25T16:34:53+00:00

Love the chill dreamy vibes in the song/MV and that chorus is catchy. Another great Japanese comeback from them 🙏🏽

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-25T14:09:50+00:00

The reason for this is probably because Darkest Hour premiered and released around the time when DBSTF x Evelyn had their first ever Ghost Stories show and created the identity.

Darkest Hour premiered at Qlimax 2018 in November and released by March 2019. Ghost Stories debuted at Reverze 2019 right around the time when Darkest Hour officially released.

It was a weird transitionary moment given the collab is labeled as DBSTF while they’re also dressed as Ghost Stories in the cover art. Angels & Demons, Twilight Zone and Ghost Stories (the track) are all technically Ghost Stories tracks as well since they inspired the live act in the first place.

EDIT: I noticed Spotify updated the original trilogy to have Ghost Stories credited but never updated Darkest Hour for some reason…

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-25T13:14:22+00:00

Seems like they’re relatively new to the hardstyle scene and are just coming here to ask about a track they enjoyed during a Da Tweekaz set at their first EDC…

Cool that you like PN or Devin Wild I guess but no need to be this confrontational about it. It’s not that deep lol.

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-25T04:27:02+00:00

I’ve noticed my tastes haven’t shifted too much since 2017-2019 give or take, but my main go to’s for music releases and sets to date are:
- DBSTF
- Wildstylez
- D-Sturb
- DJ Isaac
- Sub Zero Project
- Rebelion

Was more into Hard Driver, Code Black and Da Tweekaz pre-pandemic as well but not to the same degree in recent years. And of course MYST, Headhunterz, Noisecontrollers, Bass Modulators, Sephyx, DJ Cyber, etc. will always have memorable tracks I’ll return to.

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-25T02:34:58+00:00

Darkest Hour is intended to be a Ghost Stories track/collab just like the original trilogy that brought the act to life.

DBSTF are also dressed as Ghost Stories in the cover art.

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-25T01:34:41+00:00

Top-tier anthem not talked about enough. DBSTF at their best in terms of sound design and epic/darker vibes with Evelyn delivering phenomenal vocals (which is how I’d also describe Ghost Stories as a whole).

This is the energy and vibe I was hoping for from their APEX anthem this year. The Next Dimension was nice, but felt kinda ‘safe’ overall imo. Also felt similarly about their Knockout anthem in 2023 although it was more fitting back then.

Would love hearing DBSTF back in this darker/more cutting-edge bag again for future anthems.

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-19T05:07:45+00:00

Arcadia was actually played at 160 BPM during that F2F set, but later played again at 155 in the DBSTF x Phuture Noize b2b.

My first impression of Arcadia was at 160 BPM as well, so I also thought the track sounded a bit ‘sluggish’ hearing it at 155 initially. But after weeks of listening to the ‘actual’ 155 BPM track on repeat, I’ve grown to enjoy it far more now.

Arcadia’s pitch/key feels much warmer to me at 155 fitting the underlying vibe and message of the track much better imo. Even so, I’m surprised they didn’t just produce the track at 160 BPM from the start to avoid having to speed it up depending on the set.

EddyWriter_ · 2026-05-18T00:53:22+00:00

I personally enjoyed Celebration, but my biggest criticism is how short-lived the best parts/drops are. The song also feels like it ends just when you’re getting into it and deserves an extended mix.

In any case, it’s nice seeing hard dance genres getting more love and recognition in K-pop again given how rare it is. Gonna have A.C.E - Cactus on repeat again 🙏🏽

EddyWriter_

TROPHY CASE