Immediately upon opening my feeds today I was struck with several waves of nostalgia as accounts shared their Throwback Thursday posts. After gorging myself on said good feelings, and coming up empty on inspiring new music, it was clear that I was also meant to share a slice of the past. I've often felt the years around 2010 produced some of my favourite and most foundational music and memories, so with that in mind, I sought out a 10-year-old track for my own Throwback Thursday post. What I came up with was this Southern Fried stunner, Screendeath's Svengali-like sensation "Packback."
Released exactly 122 months ago (September 19, 2010), "Packback" is still as potent a production as ever. One of the greatest club weapons I've ever encountered, I can confirm from first-hand experience that this Screendeath slice quite literally commands whatever club it's played in. Of course, its iconic screwface-inducing synth lead is the backbone to its brilliance, but from its opening drum rollout to its progressive finale, "Packback" is perfect.
Right from the jump, Screendeath is deliberate and methodical in mesmerizing his listeners. The opening drum groove and subsequent horn hits are unavoidably, and inevitably, infectious. Whether your toes are tapping along or not, "Packback" is already in your head. And it's clear that Screendeath is setting us up for something sick here as the atmosphere grows through the subtle genius of his percussion's progression. Then comes the best part which, despite the setup, hits you like a ton of bricks as you and the rest of the room turn into puppets under Screendeath's command. The gorgeous groove of the drums plays perfectly against the shrill, shrieking synths. The result is that "Packback" becomes a siren, both in the alarm and mythological sense, but more the latter. Never loosening his grip, Screendeath continues his chokehold as the track gets further filthy and stupefying in the second half, offering up a little extra alien inspiration in the rebuild ahead of the second drop. And with that final rollout, the club once again moves in unison, doing the "Packback" version of "Walk Like An Egyptian," all the way out of the club and into the dark of night.
Take care when playing a track this powerful as you'll likely lose all autonomy, then again, isn't that one of the best parts of music? Either way, enjoy the awesome offering that is Screendeath, "Packback."