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The question has different meaning to different people. Some people consider the bloated, baroque heights of epic trance in 1999 to have already killed the genre, whereas others believe trance died merely when epic went wrong. I think the latter.
You can't point at any one person, but some are more culpable than others.
His earlier work notwithstanding, I think Armin is most to blame for the collapse. He was widely considered the future of trance in 2001, but he took the sound further into pop music than ever before, and supported a new generation of mediocre producers to finish the job. His embarrassing remix of Seven Cities was the beginning of the end, followed by the horrifying 76. As soon as I heard Burned With Desire, I knew it was over.
The Gabriel & Dresden fad of 2003 also played a huge part, which soon formed into the twinkle prog sound of Miami and Schulz. As if things couldn't get any worse, McProg and Armin joined forces into a single Evil Empire, embodied by Armada and Andy Moor. Most people know the sad story from there.
Tiesto was the third major actor in the fall, but I don't think he could have achieved the cult he did without the efforts of Armin to steer trance into the "State" it was by 2003. Just Be came out well after Burned With Desire, As The Rush Comes, and a few dozen awful Armada releases. It's easy to pick on Tiesto, but I think he was just following money. With Armin, I have no similar explanation. He had the talent, he had the background, he had the vision, but he threw it all away. I've never understood it.
Paul van Dyk probably has more blame at his feet than Tiesto. Paul could have easily continued to push a solid sound and retained a devoted fan base, but instead he went on an increasingly commerical tangent. Why? Money? I never understood his betrayal either.
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