This is the compilation that really got me into proper old school EBM. I was a fan of Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb before I got this, but it really gave me a shopping list of things to look out for. Of course, it's not all EBM - including Chris & Cosey is a stretch - but still, it was an absolute eye-opener and started me on a path that has stretched my wallet, but pleasured my ears!

Curve have got to be one of the UK's most unfortunate bands. Emerging out of the shoegazer scene with a new crossover sound that only a small section of the UK scene was ready for, the commercial failure of "Cuckoo" led them to split at the worst possible time. In 1993, the UK mainstream wasn't quite ready for dark electronic rock, even with a Nine Inch Nails remix, the US scene wasn't ready for foreign bands doing what had only just broken through there. By 1995, the time was perfect, but Curve weren't there, allowing Butch Vig to create a band, Garbage, to fill the gap and attain the success Toni and Dean had craved. Their return in 1998 was simply too late, they had minor success with the singles off "Come Clean", but not enough to keep the label happy and it was downhill from there.

Whatever about the music, this album has some fabulous artwork by Messrs. Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly, two of the comic worlds most respected creators. Honestly, if you get the chance to buy the CD case without the CD in it for next to nothing, I recommend it highly.

OK, so now it seems Deep Dish's "Say Hello" has started a trend of plundering the underground scene. This is another Hungry Lucy/Claire Voyant/Collide style track - dark All About Eve-esque vocals, toned down trance underpinned with a vaguely darkwave sound. Once again, I'd recommend trying out the afore-mentioned bands who've been doing this a lot better for longer.

Ahhh, 1993 - the year that "industrial" broke through to the mainstream. All it took was Nine Inch Nails and Ministry to break through and suddenly a whole genre was redefined, much to the annoyance of many. Industrial died in 1982 when Industrial Records ended and all that came after was post-industrial (including the Electronic Body Music scene). That is, until somebody somewhere decided that it was a name that should be revived. Cleopatra released the first "Industrial Revolution" compilation in the States and "Hot Wired Monstertrux" came out on a major label in Europe, lumping the widest range yet of different bands together under the "industrial" label for a new generation of fans and the arguments and disagreements rage to this day. Are Sheep on Drugs, Front 242 and Meat Beat Manifesto really the same style of music?

It seems that working with Rammstein and splitting with Output has seriously affected Messrs Rebotini & Smagghe. While their previous work showed a very strong EBM influence and hinted at a connection to the dark side of music, 'Deceive/Play' goes all out. It's a hard EBM track with a vocal that's closer to Valor from Christian Death than anything in dance music. It's a great track if, though, if that's the kind of thing you're into, while the delightfully titled 'Nazi Trance Fuck Off!' is a powerhouse techno/EBM crossover.

It's funny how the music biz works. This single, the follow up to the smash hit "Flashdance", was always going to be a hit. The fact that it's basically an inferior version of a number of underground groups who've rarely even gotten within spitting distance of the charts doesn't come into it. The vaguely All About Eve vocals, the low key dance vibe - a bit trance, but not too much - compare that to Hungry Lucy, Claire Voyant, Collide, Theatre of Tragedy's last album or recent The Azoic, bands who've been doing this better for years. Do yourself a favour, if you kinda like this, but think it's a bit bland, try some stuff by the bands that do it better.

On record they're good, live they're amazing. Early Nitzer Ebb reborn, mixing classic tracks from the first two NE albums with rawer versions of their own material. Put it this way, if Nitzer Ebb were to reform, there's little chance they'd sound as much like their own early days. Even better than the real thing!

Sweet acid house country is what they call their music themselves, one of the most original groups to emerge from the UK in a long time. Musically skilled (as evidenced by the acoustic "Last Train to Mashville Vol.2"), constantly inventive, they mix the best parts of dance music with liberal doses of country, folk, gospel and more. Toppped up with radical left-wing politics and an interest in promoting human rights, Alabama 3 are a band to check out - especially live. It's a pity, though, that most of their singles are full of remixes that miss the point of the band and, to be honest, suck.