Armin Van Buuren proves his worthiness again with A State of Trance 2007. By now, I have come to expect a solid step forward in skills, maneuverability, quality track selection and generalized mixing with each subsequent A State of Trance album. My expectations were met and perhaps even surpassed as this double-disc set lunges at the EDM fanatic with its superbly contrasting pair of CDs. Wildly surpassing all of his previous artistic efforts (save Boundaries of Imagination, arguably) the first disc (aptly dubbed `On the Beach,’) radiates all the Balearic Dutch trance glory that Armin has become famous for. The disc is extremely soothing, with non-abrasive female vocals which are more pleasing and cohesive than those found on Tiesto’s albums and spaciously atmospheric relaxation, the disc melts away any bodily tension - leaving one free to melt and groove in the summer sun. “Light The Skies,” “Together We Rise,” “The Distance” and “Touch The Sun” are all wonderful testimonials to summer wonderland. As relaxing as the disc initially appears to be, however, Armin lends a hand in some sinister booming beats, so different than the preceding tracks that I found myself completely caught off-guard - and loving every moment of it. My walls actually shook with the booming madness. On The Beach is the more versatile of the two discs, showing Armin at the top of his game and, in my eyes, finally cementing his name in my list of top trance DJs.

The second disc, “In The Club”, predictably lives up to its title - it is quite obviously the more hard-hitting of the two discs. However, Armin injects some interesting artistic integrity into the forefront of the CD with a hauntingly orchestral “Misere,” leading into a similarly thematic “Rush Hour.” This motif continues to peek its head above the surface across the rest of the disc, but halfway through “Rush Hour” the basic pretense is dropped and the bpm rise like the pulse of a man running for dear life. Initially, within the first five or six tracks, there is inconsistency regarding the mix of quickly paced anthemic club music and slower sections influenced by ambience. `Inconsistent’ does not necessarily imply un-enjoyable; quite the contrary, in fact. But I did see this as the type of deviation I would have expected from Armin given the steady maturation of his style as the ASOT series has moved forward. One thing I will say about “In The Club” is that I found myself wishing I were still listening to “On The Beach” roughly seven or eight times during its duration. ITC just did not capture my attention like OTB did. It is a very good Armin CD, but more of a typical Armin disc. I thought it very much akin to the “Dark” disc of ASOT 2005, but it certainly surpasses that disc when it picks up about halfway through with tracks like “Evergreen” and “Firefly.” I love those two tracks and feel they mark the transition between the enjoyable, if uneven, first half of the second disc and the clubbier “dance-your-ass-off” second half. From “Evergreen” onward, it is a very urgently uplifting disc and anyone with a sympathetic nervous system will find themselves moving, either in a desk chair or on a sweaty dance floor. That’s the kind of Armin I like, and that’s the kind of trance I pay for.

I had high hopes for this double-disc as previously mentioned; these hopes were briefly dashed away the moment I saw Armin Van Buuren posing on the cover of his new album as if he were Lance Bass. I assumed he had become conceited due to fame. A word to the wise (and what would an album review be without a cliché?) - NEVER judge a book by its cover; nor an album, for that matter. I placed Luke Fair’s Balance 011 as the top-ranking progressive house mix of the year the moment I heard it. I now predict Armin’s A State of Trance 2007 to be the number one trance mix album for 2007, hands down, unless another DJ pulls off a miracle. If you’re an old friend of Armin Van Buuren, you’ll be delighted with this one. If you’ve just met the man, start here. Because as far as Balearic trance for 2007 goes, it simply doesn’t get any better than this.

-James Woodruff

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