Restrained cracked the code with his debute album ‘The Mental Asylum’

By Nina van Zelst 06 December 2019

None other than Restrained presented his debut album The Mental Asylum last week, in which he introduces his sound to the hardcore world in no less than 17 tracks. We’ll tell you exactly what you can expect from this brand new album: this is Restrained presents The Mental Asylum!

“He has been locked away for long enough. Withstanding the stress of isolation only made his resolve to break out even stronger. As he now ventures into the outside world, his menace will reverberate throughout the land. Take the stand and join Restrained on his first artist album, The Mental Asylum!“

To introduce the album Restrained starts off with the title track ‘The Mental Asylum’ – right off the bat one of the hardest tracks you’ll find on this musical collection. Together with MC Diesel he immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album, which is completely filled with hard kicks and mighty melodies.

“Somebody scream!”

The collection continues with the Refired remix of ‘Gangsters’, in which the paste is taken to the next level. Track number 3 ‘Court Of Justice’ with Rejecta, follows and is definitely one of the hardest bangers on the album. With influences coming from the raw hardstyle genre these two sounds allign perfectly, which makes it quite understandable this track has been rocking mainstages over the last couple of months – among which even the Defqon.1 Power Hour!

The Mental Asylum continues with the great solo track ‘I’m A RCKSTR’ and number 5 ‘The Grimy Way’. This Restrained collab with GridKiller is a guaranteed success to blast through your car speakers, with a build-up and tempo that make you shiver and nearly break your accelerator listening to this one.

“My house is your house and your house is mine!”

The next absolute banger of the album is the Restrained remix of the well-known ‘This One Is For You’ by Neophyte & Scott Brown. This track represents the very first hardcore production Restrained ever heard, which of course made him want to remix it as well. For The Mental Asylum he did this truly well: “My house is your house and your house is mine!”

The collabs are still going strong, with ‘All About Crime’ by Restrained and Mental Disorder coming in at number 7. This one is filled with a hard bass to which you can just imagine yourself getting wild at a party. About halfway through the album right now, you can also tell Restrained has shown an immense variety of sound: with influences coming from different musical styles, he truly knows how to deliver something unique with every single track.

“BREEKIJZER, komt ‘ie!”

We’re continuing with another strong solo called ‘Dark Dreams’. If there’s one title that fits the track perfectly it has to be this one: even though it remains a hardcore banger, Restrained supports these hard kicks with a dark and dreamy vibe. ‘Dark Dreams’ has a great melody and is definitely one you need to put in your playlist.

The next collab on the album is with none other than Tha Playah, an artist of which we already know his grand talents. In ‘Heart Attack’ he combines his strengths with Restrained for another grand track, in which both musical influences of the producers morphe into one hardcore banger. Number 10 ‘BREEKIJZER’ really stands out because of its title, which ones again fits the vibe perfectly: this track is a nice change and just some casual hard ass banging. Also another fun fact: Restrained’s grandmother is actually in the track screaming “komt ieee!”

“Let’s bring this shit back to the oldschool”

After the hard solo ‘Hardcore Chemical’ there are no less than two true 5-star tracks on the album. Firstly Restrained joined strengths with Nosferatu and Rob GEE for ‘Lack of Creativity’ – huge names who together created an amazing track. The three men start of strong with the true old sound: “Let’s bring this shit back to the oldschool!” In the second part of the track this oldschool sound is combined with the hardcore of nowadays, which all together provides an epic result.

Next up the men from Destructive Tendencies are introduced to The Mental Asylum for the first time with their remix of ‘Concrete Jungle’. This track just makes you want to party right then and there, also because of the great uptempo melody that is being blasted though the track. This remix is truly one you want to listen to! After the GridKiller Remix of ‘How i Roll’ and ‘Bounce 2 Diz’ with Neophyte – two hard tracks in which you can definitely tell the album ending is coming your way – the DT duo once again appears on your screen.

In ‘Lead The Pack’ Restrained and Destructive Tendencies combine their influences; a grand track with a strong melodic build-up. And with this it’s time for the very last banger of the album, number 17: ‘Bounce 2 Diz’ one more time, only now it’s the Relianze frenchcore remix. This is of course the perfect way to end The Mental Asylum: the harder touch of frenchcore combined with the musical melodies you already heard during the previous album tracks.

Conlusion Restrained presents: ‘The Mental Asylum’

With his debute album The Mental Asylum, Restrained truly cracked the code. This musical collection is filled with melodic bangers, consisting of both strong solo’s and impressive collabs, in which Restrained show a great variety of musical influences. The Mental Asylum is definitely a must-listen for every hardcore lover!

Restrained’s debute album The Mental Asylum has been officially released via Neophyte Records, which you can listen to via this link. To be kept updated on the latest Restrained news, keep an eye on his socials.