Bonkers 9 really hits the spot. It contains 3 CDs, like most of the Bonkers in the middle of the series' lifespan, but they are filled with the sweat and mixing perfection of three outstanding men. Unlike other Bonkers albums that are full of hit-or-miss quality mixes, this one is solid all the way through.

The ubiquitous Hixxy serves up the first CD with an excellent blend of his usual vocal-driven tracks, but also a healthy selection of awesome, "standard" hardcore tracks -- uplifting, fast moving, and (generally) cliche free. Make sure to check out the Styles & Breeze and UFO tracks, they are outstanding.

Sharkey, my usual favorite, presents us with another high quality mix. His CD contains a mixture of styles, from old skool feeling tracks, "standard" hardcore, and even a taste of the freeform hardcore genre he creates later on. The CD starts off strong, goes a little wobbly in the middle when it hits the old skool styled songs, then finishes with 6 stunning tracks, mostly collaborations with other geniuses. Any time Sharkey has a hand in creating a track, you know it will be brilliant.

Scott Brown completes the roundup with a typical Scott Brown styled mix. His middle years contain a smattering of vocal tracks with hip-hop influences, pounding pure hardcore tracks, and a small amount of terrorcore/gabba-esque "harder" hardcore tracks. All of this is present on his mix, but the darker stuff is downplayed. What we are left with is another superb mix with a variety of styles to keep the listener entertained or dancing all night long.

As the long-running series seemed to hit its stride a little more than halfway through, Bonkers 9, X(10), and 12 are all highly recommended.