Mega Drive will be releasing his brand new album 199XAD on 4^th October through FiXT Neon.

This is a direct sequel to his 2014 dark wave triumph 198XAD which garnered great reviews from critics and fans alike. He will be rediscovering the intense horror sound fuelled with distorted bass and heavy synth. It is an important album to demonstrate how versatile the synthwave sound can be. The return to this tremendous sound adds plenty of excitement to what 199XAD can offer and to see if it does live up to expectations. Can Mega Drive recapture the sound of success of 198XAD?

199AXD starts off with the dark ambient sci-fi intro to set the tone for the album. Gun Hag is a thunderous industrial rock track that feels like a punch to the throat. NARCS has a vicious bass and some sweet synth melodies. Crypt Diver sounds like Metroid on a tonne of Steroids with its incredibly dark atmosphere. Nikita is a soothing ballad of an unexpected relaxed ambience from this album. Orbital Strike has a rock solid bass chugging throughout the song with not many surprises.

SKULjammer is a ridiculous adventure of dark wave and musicianship that makes it stand out from the rest of the album. H.exe seems more like an analogue interlude that’s coated with distortion and chip tune influence. Streets of Fire is an absolute blast that sounds like it’s been ripped from the Blood Dragon soundtrack and gave it a horror themed makeover. Terror Eyes is vicious and intense with its swift kick sound, aggressive bass and again experimenting with ambience. Source Code takes things down to something you would hear in an 80s chase montage. Active Denial System is a ferocious 6 minute powerhouse that deserves that volume to be cranked up.

199XAD is a fantastic sequel that is definitely up there with the likes of Aliens and Terminator 2. Mega Drive maintains and sticks to the origins of 198XAD and makes this record sound like it’s long lost twin. It’s sound is insanely vicious and violent and Mega Drive specialises in the pure intensity coming from 199XAD. 199XAD is a signature Mega Drive record that stomps through your speakers like Godzilla through Tokyo and it is essential to anyone who fancies the grittier side of synthwave.

– Matthew Clewley
Designed by SpaceMaster

« The production is much more crisp and the melodies feel a bit more polished , making this album feel like 198XAD in high definition. »

– NewRetroWave