Super Dragon Punch!! - Feral

Influenced by synthpunk, 8bit, and industrial, half-Belgian, half-Mexican producer Jérémie Venganza has been dabbling in the electronic scene for more than fifteen years. Under the name of Super Dragon Punch!! was his debut EP "Shatter" released in October of 2017. The artist brought in a diverse range of talent for remixes including the likes of Assemblage23, Terrolokaust, Iszoloscope, and WO††W. Following their debut, Super Dragon Punch!! went on to perform live in Europe, Mexico, and Japan with the likes of Suicide Commando, Centhron, Surgyn, Alien Vampires, Pro-Patria, and many more. 

Four years passed in between their debut "Shatter" and the present in which Super Dragon Punch!! has released their debut album "Feral". The project's attention to detail on the album is not be unheard, as they even brought in Racso Agroyam (Hocico, Dulce Liquido) to mix and master the album while adding in a few punches of his own. Not being locked down to a single genre, Super Dragon Punch!!’s debut album “Feral” is a fun run through quirky industrial dance mechanics fused with EBM, futurepop, and 8bit shenanigans. 

‘Inhale’ begins the album and generally sets the tone for the entirety of “Feral”. We’re given that classic industrial dance beat, complete with somewhat crunchy percussion and almost harsh EBM-like mixing of the beats. It’s a down-and-dirty process that puts the crushing basslines first and allows the samples surrounding them to act as prominent decoration. This sort of brings me back to the late 2000s and early 2010s, when I was first discovering the larger side of industrial music and what it contained. 

The third track on the album, ‘Distance’, is a good showcase for Super Dragon Punch!!’s 8bit love. From start to finish, retro-video game sounds are sampled throughout the track whether it’s in the form of quirky synth lines, the sounds of laser shots a la Star Fox, or the clean, high pitch notes that follows the track through to its end. This is what makes Super Dragon Punch!! stand out more than any other aspect on the album. The same could be said for ‘Select’, which is a brilliant little number complimenting “Feral”. 

My biggest complaint about "Feral" lies with the vocals and their place in the mix. I noted that, upon my first run of the entire album and as soon as 'Inhale' played, that the vocals are drowned out to the point of obscurity on the songs. While the beats on the album are fun, upbeat, and danceable industrial bangers, the vocals seem like a tacked on addition that hold no weight. I believe that "Feral" would have been better off as an instrumental album rather one with the vocals that are hardly heard. My other minor complaint lies within the track length and the lack of variety within. Most of the tracks on “Feral” last around five to six minutes in length. During that play time, the songs lack enough variety of transitions to warrant that play time. A song needs to change-up a couple of times during that length in order to maintain attention. Most songs I could bop to for the first three or four minutes; following that, I dazed off into the distance. 

Super Dragon Punch!!, then, is off to a great start in their career with “Feral”. Their crunchy industrial dance beats shine brightest when mixed with their 8bit influences. I would like to see a lot more of that combination; it’s what makes Super Dragon Punch!! Stand apart from other dark dance albums within the scene. Tracks such as ‘Distance’ and ‘Select’ are some of my favorites on “Feral” for that very reason. The vocal mixing needs to be fine-tuned, however, as Venganza’s voice is lost in the mix. I also believe that Super Dragon Punch!! either needs to cut the length of tracks or find a way to make them just as addictive in their final minutes as they are during the beginning. Nonetheless, I always have a fun time listening through “Feral”, be it on my way to or from work or slinging weights at the gym. Thus, I give this album a 6.5 out of 10!