Various Artists - Hellectrified Exposure Vol. 1

I'm not too familiar with the folks over at Crysella Records (I've only ever reviewed one of the albums that came off the label once before), but compilations are always fun ways to learn more about the label and what type of music they tend to cater out to their fans. And, this one titled Hellectrified Exposure Vol. 1 intends to dish out music from the finest EBM, dark electro, and industrial projects. And, eleven tracks from eleven different artists await for me to explore.

The first track comes from Psionic, and serves up a decent dark electro track. A steady beat that sounds really good during the chorus, the voice was a bit hard to adjust to, but I got used to it and was able to enjoy the track.

Hungarian act Necrophone came in next with Levaglak; a nice dose of EBM beats came in with the song. The vocals were definitely touched upon, but I wasn't all too huge a fan of the digital effects that accompanied them. If I could describe them, it sounded like someone was shouting at a fan. Not that great.

Evil Goat Riders from the Netherlands gave out their play with Chaos. Not bad, but I feel as if the balance levels weren't all that great. The vocals weren't exactly spot on, and the echo effect placed on them, as slight as they were, allowed a hollow sound in the song. Not bad, but not great either. This track lied somewhere in between.

Resistent Project came off with a nice hit, more electronics backed by an EBM beat all the way through. Though repetitive, and the electronics could have toned down here and there for a new sound to breakthrough somewhere along the lines, it wasn't half bad.

Sonic experimental project The Fearless Sound Corporation took a run for their money with the next track, and the result wasn't too bad. Robotic vocals with a steady beat, although repetitive, was alright.

More on the side of dark electro, Dark Line Spectrum delivered the first song that I really was able to get into with Eternity. From the somewhat growling vocals to the constantly moving beat with ambient sounds coming in and out made for a sinister sound and really stuck out.

Half instrumental, half not, Anamorphosis brought out L'Architecte. The song sampled the Matrix, and brought along a decent electronic work. A little on the unmastered side (at least that's the way it sounded), but decent.

Toxicanimal had a really hard beat going for their song, Open The Gates, but the vocals presented were a bit odd. Distorted, but with an effect that made the vocals ripple in a sense, it was hard to completely get into.

Ethan Fawkes was the second artist to stick out to me on the compilation with Leave The Hive. Ambient works combined with somber tunes for the first fifty or so seconds before a guitar came in with a steady beat behind it. Riveting screams came in keen to metal, paired with some regular, clean vocals. Followed shortly was another somber instrumental section, with samples of a small child screaming, and it finally ended back with more industrial metal hi-jinks. Superbly done.

An instrumental (with your usual dose of sampling) hit with Genetic Disorder's Koma Harsh, unnerving, and completely danceable, I easily got into this track. This is one of those songs you put on when you feeling like stomping so hard that your foot crashes through the floor.

The last song on the compilation came from Baron Noir and was another instrumental. Though not as powerful as the previous, it certainly managed to get out the creepy factor with a hysterical laugh that passes through as well as random sampling throughout. Not bad, but certainly spooky.

And, this wasn't a bad compilation. Genetic Disorder, Ethan Fawkes, and Dark Line Spectrum all put out a fantastic song on the compilation that absolutely enthralled me completely and utterly. I can't really pick which artist outdid the others, for they all were wonderful. The rest of the songs weren't bad, but they just really couldn't compare with what these gents brought to the table. If anything, just check out those guys songs. They're worth it. Sep 16 2014