Download's "Toooly Hooof" is a remix from III, nice and danceable with Key's stylistic touch. A Duck, D.R. Goettel's solo project, delivers "Quakerz (Revision)," an awesome tune light years ahead of its time insofar as techno sounds go. The platEAU track is quiet and makes a nice ambient break in the beats. The Doubting Thomas track has their classic dancey, hard-hitting beats with wavery synths in the background. The compilation stops to beat the dead horse that once was Skinny Puppy by including "Rodent (Remix)," seemingly stuck in here merely to have the name dropped (an "exclusive, unreleased" track). Next is a new Tear Garden track ? a bouncy and touching tale of abuse, from "To Be An Angel Blind" sessions. Ryan Moore donated a somewhat predictable Twilight Circus tune. Philth's track, "Sanity Shovel," is a bit boring at first, though later picks up and is reminiscent of his last album, The Escapist. Floatpoint is Philth and D. Handrabur ? who together create a wonderful electronic sounding track, "Foundflap," heavy on the Eastern influence. "I Still Ate Here," from cEvin Key sounds like an outtake from the 'Music for Cats' album which didn't make the cut. Lustmord's "Infinite Domain" is an alternate version from an upcoming album, 'Metavoid,' which has me convinced enough to look forward to it. Off and Gone consists of the same people as Floatpoint, but thri contribution is a faster A Duck-style beat-driven track. While "Fate's Faithful Punchline," from Legendary Pink Dots is beautiful, this 'version' is all too much like the original ? with very little differences. Dead Voices on Air meets Dropstar for album's closer, "Rijn" -- it's a minimal soundscape with quiet, processed vocals ? much like other DVOA stuff of this nature. This compilation is really a great disc overall, as expected when dealing with 14 exclusive tracks from some really wonderful artists. samples:
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