Album Review: Armin Van Buuren - Intense

     I know this album has been out for more than a couple of weeks, but I wanted to do another album review that dealt with another genre of dance music. So that's why I decided to do one from the trance realm and did an album review of trance legend Armin Van Buuren's fifth studio album Intense. From the 17 heart-pounding tracks, this album shows that Armin still delivers for his genre's fans as he still incorporates his defining trance beats with crisp classical instruments, soaring vocals, and different components of electronic dance music.

Cover of Armin Van Buuren's newest album, Intense.
Property of arminvanbuuren.com

     Some of the songs that stood out was the opening track, "Intense." This track makes the listener feel like they are on a musical rollercoaster. At some points of the song you hear trance, a violin segment that fuses with the song, and a slower version of the trance parts of the song (which is known as another kind of dance music called "Trap"). By combining these different sounds into one song, it shows that Armin really took the time in this track to compile as many sounds as he could in order to make the song have a great flow.

     Other songs that stood out from this album was "Pulsar" as I felt that the fusion between electro house and trance were incorporated into the song. "Turn This Love Around" was probably, if not for "Intense," the song that stood out in that album. The way the vocalist just delivered her voice made it feel almost like a heavy locomotion sounding its horn to let people know that the train is coming through. It's just that powerful.

     All in all, Intense lived up to what the name of Armin's album title name is. The album had many components to the trance genre but it made Armin seem like he was more open to add other electronic dance sounds from different subgenres. He's done it again and he's taking trance on a wild exhilarating ride.

4 out of 5

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