After a lengthy drive from Manchester we arrived at Slammin Vinyl at around midnight ready for some hard action. We had never seen it so busy, ever. We spent a good 20 minutes driving round trying to find a parking space after asking clueless attendants where to go.Parked up and a quick dash to queue. Surprisingly for a night that was so busy we zipped though the queue very quick, well done Slammin at last. We had a wander round, popped into Rollers, Fastrack, the outdoor stage & then the one we came for The Sanctuary and the famous Sweatbox. Arriving in the Sweatbox was quite a shock, it was boiling in there from a truly awesome atmosphere, we expected it to be a good night in there but didn't expect it to be this good, the place was just rocking to the sounds of BILLY BUNTER (I think) who followed under-rated DRUID. Next up was DJ/MC RIBBZ with an impressive Acid Techno set. RIBBZ also MC'd the evening in pure style alongside the cheeky SQUIDGY B, these guys know how to MC like it should be done. After RIBBZ came legendary CLARKEE (who's put a little weight on i noticed, hehe) who just lifted the roof off the building with a classic set of Area 51, Death Chant & Ruffneck, this was fabulous. Only problem was, half way thru the sound system packed in for about 10 minutes but when it kicked back in BOOM the hyped up mental room went crazy. Crazy enuff for the next DJ - the one and only DJ PRODUCER, the crowd in there couldn't make enuff noise and the temperature reached gas mark 8 I reckon. PRODUCER played a set of Helter Skelter/Technodrome classics mixed up with current releases...pure gold! Oh my gosh, this night was simply magic, PRODUCER stopped is set to make way for the one we came to see the mighty DJ SASS, we just love this DJ. RIBBZ gave an eloquent intro for DJ SASS explaining who he was and that we are about to be assaulted with extreme techno, then POW!!!! SASS opened is set with a 280bpm monster tune called "street fuckers", the one that starts off with the rhyme "fuck your mother & your father & your punk ass brother too, fuck each & everyone one of you", hehe, that ripped the place apart. He then took us on a journey of the finest Gabba & Terror with the BPM's going up & down, just like it should be instead of one tempo/style sets most other DJ's play. This way you get a chance to dance a little more relaxed until SASS to lift the BPM's again to make you explode once more...I hope Slammin Vinyl keep DJ SASS on their roster for all future events, he is without doubt the hardest DJ in the UK who clearly loves what he plays and plays his music in a technical fashion unlike any other DJ, he is just fabulous (and no he's not paying me to say this). DJ SASS's set came to an all too quick end for the grand finale of the night brought to us by the one, the only DJ SCORPIO who brought the BPM's right down for a classic end to this poignant night and couldn't have chosen better music. Thank you so much to Slammin Vinyl for bringing back the Techno/Gabba room to large parties. So few promoters have the insight to invite Gabba/Techno into their nights which is terribly sad because I don't know of a more powerful music and parties that advertise themselves as hardcore nights should mix up their line ups with some REAL hardcore for a change. This can only be healthy for our scene. Can't wait for the new venue Slammin', thank you. This brings to a close the book on the story that is The Sanctuary (rip)
