If there’s one thing that DJ and producer Skrillex’s return last year showed, it’s that dubstep didn’t die. After the meteoric boom and subsequent bust of its raucous, bass-heavy sound over a decade ago, he adapted his sound to accommodate wider audiences. The development of new styles, like color bass, and a rise in popularity for underground labels primed the genre for revitalization in the 2020s.
Christian Valentin Brunn, also known as Virtual Riot, has occupied a loose middle ground between two spaces in recent years. While he isn’t necessarily as ubiquitous to the genre as artists like Skrillex or Excision, Brunn’s influence on the scene has continued to grow — he was sampled on “The Mandalorian” soundtrack and has credits on Justin Bieber’s “Justice.” His sample packs and presets have also inspired aspiring artists, with many viral videos demonstrating his sound-design wizardry. “Stealing Fire” is Brunn’s latest album, since his 2021 release of “Simulation,” and shows Virtual Riot at his most eclectic.
The lush and adventurous melodies and cinematic introduction of “Embark” starts the record off with a refreshingly immersive moment of pure atmosphere. The songs are as emotionally deep, just as you’d expect from an album with titles like “Dino Killer” and “Star Destroyer,” but avoids an overstuffed abrasive sound that might only appeal to mosh pit-starters, “Stealing Fire” has variety.
“Star Destroyer” has choppy drops with tribal drums that ratchet up the track’s energy — contrasted by computerized blips. The jumpy, metallic drums and hectic synths of “Need / Get” also show Brunn’s ability to balance heavier melodies with almost-liquid sounds, adding to its murky breakdowns. Similarly, “Believe What You Want” is a frenetic banger that weaves between tried-and-true brostep drops and grimy trap basses. “Scorched Earth” progresses from stomping four-on-the-floor techno rhythms into spacey, warbling garage in its final minute.
Despite being one of the album’s less ambitious tracks, lead single “Give in to you” further demonstrates Brunn’s frenetic genre-hopping. His signature growls and bleeps mix with midtempo connoisseur and collaborate Rezz’s steady industrial groove — making a hard-hitting yet cohesive track, all topped off with ominous vocals from artist One True God.
Snippets from Skrillex, Disclosure, The Prodigy and even U.K. dubstep pioneer Burial are peppered throughout “Stealing Fire.” Although they don’t always take the spotlight on these songs, their parts play a significant role in enhancing the overall energy. He also occasionally inserts samples from his own discography, reintroducing his drum and bass melodies with “Nights On Fire (2024).” Given this context, “Stealing Fire”is an earnest tribute to Virtual Riot’s inspirations and contemporaries, rather than an attempt at recycling old hits.
This sentiment is further accentuated in the second half of the album, which contains some of its most adventurous shifts. The boastful vocal samples and chimes of “Ridiculous” segue into a ravey, broken cord drops that can only be described as utterly bonkers. “New Energy” is a delightfully low-key cut, layering guitar plucks and twinkly chip sounds over wonky sounds that evoke images of technicolor skies and a pixelated seaside.
These moments of atmosphere building culminate in “Holding On To Smoke.” Although Raven Gray’s vocals feel like an abrupt attempt to evoke emotion after the amped-up intensity of the previous songs, the tune’s ethereal vocals and vibrant, stuttering electronic sounds blend and build on each other seamlessly. “Holding On To Smoke” effectively reflects Virtual Riot’s forward-thinking style and the myriad of inspirations behind his music simultaneously. Its production would hardly feel out of place on an album like Fred again..’s “ten days,” while also clearly harkening back to EDM subgenres like future house that rose to prominence in the 2010s.
It would be temptingly easy to write Virtual Riot’s output as music made for festival-going headbangers, or — God forbid — YouTube gaming montages, but there’s a crystal-clear energy driving much of “Stealing Fire.” Brunn allows himself to be creatively unrestrained across the album. The manic, never-do-anything-twice nature of so many songs only underscore the idea of “good artists create, great artists steal.” All the distinct directions Virtual Riot takes through sampling and his own signature sound design fully display his versatility as an artist. As niche or in-your-face as the music might be, the album is worth a listen.
Contact Kaleo Zhu at [email protected].