Various Artists - This is What We Call British Industrial

This is a 2CD jewel cased compilation featuring 30 UK industrial acts. All the bands contributed and paid equally for this release to help promote alternative music in the United Kingdom. A donation from each band was also made to the Garden House Hospice Charity. As usual for this review I will just go with the flow, from track to track and feeling to feeling.

The album starts hard and loud with the industrial, punk and metal sounds of Action Directe with, "This Is Radio Hell (proletarian-jihad-mix)", an immense sound and guitars. A very good mix of punk aggression and industrial beats. A much less metal and melodic sound is then brought to us by AlibiTrax, "Collision". It's not dance music but the sound is so energetic and powerful you will dance to it.

"Rebuild Rewire (Club Mix)" by AlterRed is to me a synthpop composition, it even has an 80s sound, but is enveloped in a dark aura. This makes for me a somewhat familiar but somehow unique sound. The track has so much finesse, completed by the fine vocals. We continue with the unmistakable synthpop sounds of Analog Angel and "How does it feel", such a nice beat and overall sound, again complemented so well by John B's vocals.

Autoclav1.1 and "Walking Walls", changes things a little with this ambient IDM track. A great mix of instrumental sounds are used with some industrial beats mixed in, just enough to get it on this album anyway. It 's such a wonderful sound I think anymore would spoil it. In a very different way I am now pleased to hear one of new electro-industrial favorites, Cease2xist and "IAmDestroyer", a good dance track with punk sounding vocals, making for an interesting mix that works.

The electro/goth-rock Cyrogenica bring "Down with me" to the compilation. I got the Siouxsie and Sisters of Mercy sounds from the start, but I listened to this three times before I wrote a word because I knew I was missing something. A problem I find with these compilations is that you can miss a gem like this due to the sudden changes within the track listing. It's dark, heavy, atmospheric, the vocals are excellent,
everything a good goth track should have and yes it does also have an 'industrial edge'.
Cybercide's "Searchlight (Diode mix by Sebastian Komor)", bring us an extremely interesting industrial mix of 80s vocals, enough trance to make us dance with a sprinkling of heavy metal. I like the dance beat and melody but the vocals are what really do it for me. I am really having fun with this now.

Firewall (Infernal Inferno) by Death Emitting Diode, I found weak as an electro-industrial track and particularly the vocals. Draconic Elimination Projects follow with something really different, "Alice In Bondageland", includes a lot of samples which you will either love or hate, and I think that may change every time you hear it. It really is different, and I keep coming back to it playing it over and over. I must like it otherwise I wouldn't put myself through it, or would I?

The very industrial punk Flesh Eating Foundation add the Planted version of their "Seed the hate" track. Psychotic beats and schizophrenic vocals as usual which you just have to sing- a -long with. You can even dance to it while you sing. Future Frenetic with "Live Free", keep us dancing. A dance-floor filler, I very much like the trance sound and synths, with the techno beat within.

Ghost In The Static are next up with "Another Day", a big industrial sound and the superb guitars give it an kind of heavy metal meets industrial feel. Nice clear vocals accompany the big sound, blast it out and enjoy. Global Citizen's and "Early Morning Star" represents a very different side of the industrial/electronic scene. The sound is unique, moody, atmospheric, passionate, rich and decadent. Forget the comparisons, it's creative and most of all unconventional. It should have a "Parental Advisory" label, although in my case that is far too late.

History Of Guns with "I.C.E ", has a kind of punk sound but is hard to pin down to a genre. Just does nothing for me and I found it hard work to listen too. Inertia's "Repeat and Follow" is an aggressive electro-industrial track with a good dance beat, that with it's lyrics and chorus have made it a club favorite. The strong drums make it a winner for me.

Je$us Loves Amerika bring in an excellent powerful dance-floor filling electro-industrial track "We Are Unique", a great sound made by the unusual vocals, beat and great synths. Kommand+Kontrol are a great follow up with "Watched By Machines", an aggressive yet melodic dark dance track. It contains so much from old school EBM, Industrial, to even a hint of dubstep. Fortify by Kontaminant is once again a perfect following track, a good industrial dance sound, another dance-floor filler. I love the heavy beat and vocals.

Mixe1's "Spark In The Air", is a good mix of hard rock, even pop, with heavy guitars and almost pop vocals at times, whilst still maintaining a great melody throughout. Non-Bio change things a lot with "Beer Monsters", a dark ambient track with industrial overtones. But sounds like experimental synthpop at times, just doesn't flow enough for me and not to my taste.

Null White bring us "Underground Revolution", a heavy beat industrial dance floor-filler. Noticeable influences abound but the nice vocals keep it different, so we can sing and dance along. Outsight follow with "Beneath A Steel Sky", a high energy good electro-industrial dance track. It's smooth and has all the cyber noises I like to hear.

Paresis "I'm Not Afraid Of You 2.0", is one of the highlights of this compilation, and everything I want it to be aggressive, hard and you want to dance to it. Sci-Fi Mafia present the metal/industrial track, "Justice". Far from my normal listen, but this is storming and they may convert me. Shadow System continue with "Shadow Dancer", more great industrial dance music, made special by the trance beats. A hard, energetic, driving, pounding sound with good aggressive vocals, making another compilation highlight. System:FX's "OverdrivenRMX", apart from the vocals I could describe in the same way as the previous track, but with energy and aggression to the fore makes for another superb industrial track.

Terrornation and "X Factory", is electro-industrial with a major difference, the extraordinary vocals which make it for me combined with the heavy beat and you can also dance to it, always a plus. Xykogen is a UK Industrial Collective. "In Character" I would describe as a futuristic/experimental sound, I have a problem with this kind of music in genral but I must say it is well constructed and produced. We finish with ZeroPointZero and "Milkteeth", a thrash metal sound with industrial mixed in, I really am becoming a convertee to this kind of sound, and this one still manages to retain something of a dance beat. A great and suitably insane sound to finish with.

Conclusion:
This compilation does what it sets out to do and shows the depth and spread of Industrial music in the United Kingdom. I am sure it will spread the word through the domestic market, but I hope through reviews etc, it will spread much further which it deserves to achieve. As the spread is so great from synthpop to experimental it's not likely that you will like every track but for such a large collection and for the great price that cannot be expected. I would normally score this on mostly the percentage of tracks I enjoy, but I really feel the need to give it an extra one for guts. Finally it is also excellently produced throughout. May 07 2012