For those of you not keeping up on your German techno trivia, Paul Van Dyk's a DJ that got his break in the mid-1990's German dance scene, spinning his own homemade dark ambient techno.

Seven Ways is a reissue of his 1996 release, and it's a big step forward from his less-interesting 1994 record, 45 RPM. Where 45 RPM sounded tired and outdated, Seven Ways sounds like the dawn of a new era-- the beats on this record are fresher, cleaner and more sparkly all around.

Van Dyk gives us 11 tracks and more than 75 minutes of intense, throbbing pressure. The record sounds like the headache you wish you had-- dark, scary computer-simulated noises wash in and out, held together with beats that are more dense and chunky than your Aunt Ethel.

Another thing that makes Seven Ways so great is its insane amount of variety. Songs like "Heaven," "People" and especially the album's opener, "Home," present you with a flashback to that acid-drenched nightmare you had while clubbing a few years back; other songs like "Forbidden Fruit," the solid closer "Words," and the funky- like- Prince "Beautiful Place" simply take you to "that happy place inside your head."

For added enjoyment, Seven Ways comes packaged with an additional disc's worth of remixes and bonus tracks-- the 11-minute "Sundae 6 a.m." is a great track to spin when the crowd needs a good, solid dose of intense, ethereal dance music, or when you've just gotta go to the bathroom.

If you're not into electronic music of any kind, let alone crazy techno, Seven Ways isn't going to be met with any warm welcome on your part. But if you're looking for an upbeat change of pace from the skittering beats and Atari noises inherent in jungle and drum-n-bass-- and especially if you're a hardcore house/techno head-- you might find yourself humping this record.

-Ryan Schreiber