This third in a series of genre compilations delivers a helping of industrial, gothic, and ambient (sometimes all in the same song). While the people at Etcetera Records and True Tunes have an intelligent and knowledgeable understanding of the rock aesthetic, they favor the lighter, mellower side of things. So, when I saw this volume of the series and its track listing of Saviour Machine ("Behold A Pale Horse") and Wedding Party ("Alliance"), I grabbed it excitedly for inspection and review. If you like your synapses popped with electronic blips and strobe lights, you have 16 worthy bands to discover here. While nearly half the material is available on other albums, you wouldn't find it all collected somewhere else. And we get some special tracks here, like a preview of Tara Vanflower's release on Projekt Records, a special track from Jeff Elbel and Ping, and even an appearance by "artistic statesman" Steve Scott. Quality abounds, but notable mentions should also go to the ambient "Cypher Dreamscape" by Nova Sphere, "Requiem" by Brian C. Janes, and "Whisper" by Evanescence, for the courage to crank some guitars on this album(!). Beautiful stuff. Kudos to Etcetera for compiling a disc on the same quality level one could expect from Flaming Fish or Blacklight Records.
