A brief note about the reviews:  Each selection is reviewed on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, and I've picked two favorite songs for each disc.  This is how the ratings are classified.

• Various Artists..."Cleopatra Enchantments"
• Various Artists..."For the Masses; a Tribute to Depeche Mode"
• Various Artists...Jevan Records Sound Sampler
• Various Artists..."Mortal Kombat"
• Various Artists..."More Kombat"

Various Artists..."Cleopatra Enchantments"

my rating:  *** 1/2
favorite songs:  Digital Poodle "Head of Levin", Kill Switch...Klick "Decanonized"

This is a 16-track compilation of hard industrial artists on the Cleopatra label. Pretty good representation, too: Digital Poodle, Noise Unit, Electric Hellfire Club, Die Krupps, Penal Colony, Laibach, Spahn Ranch, T.H.D., Noise Box, X-Marks the Pedwalk, Kill Switch... Klick, Lights of Euphoria, Blok 57, Psychopomps, Frontline Assembly, and Leaether Strip. I'm not sure how much of this might be rare or unreleased, but there are some very strong tracks here.

The Digital Poodle ("Head of Levin" - remix) and Noise Unit ("Kick To Kill") songs really make you want to get up and tear up your living room. The Die Krupps track ("Metal Machine Music" - Degeneration Mix) is a pretty good balance of guitars and electronic pulse. The Electric Hellfire Club ("Night of the Buck Knives" - Altamont Mix) was a little too subtle for my liking. Penal Colony ("Blue Nine" - Free Me Mix) was okay, although a bit forgettable. Laibach's "Die Liebe" is deliciously evil without being over-the-top.The offering by Spahn Ranch ("Breath and Taxes" - Deductable Mix) is slow and steady, but nothing spectacular. T.H.D. ("Cyberchrist") is pure electronic control, with a few samples from the first Lawnmower Man movie thrown in for good measure. Noise Box sounds like they're trying to be a mellow Rage Against the Machine...lots of guitar here, but it just didn't have any teeth. X-Marks the Pedwalk ("Abattoir" - Razorblade Mix) has a good groove to it. "Decanonized" by Kill Switch... Klick is probably one of my fave tracks. Some great industrial hooks, with slightly different vocals going on. Lights of Euphoria ("Subjection" - Violent Mix) is very aptly titled...an angry, spiteful, hateful track, but still retaining some subtle elements. "Burn Baby Burn" by Blok 57 is okay, but again, no real hooks. Psychopomps ("Hate") reminds me a little of early Ministry...catchy, infectious, and mean-spirited. The offering by Frontline Assembly ("Immobilized") is another great one. A skillful blending of drum-machine, synths, samples, and a distinct bass make for a very full sound, not something you get very often with industrial music. Finally, Leaether Strip brings us one of the darker tracks here, and the song title says it all ("Torture (A Suicide Note)"). Steady drums, moody synths, and depressing vocals. Mmm mmm good.

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Various Artists..."For the Masses, a Tribute to Depeche Mode"

my rating: ****
favorite songs: "Policy of Truth" - Dishwalla; "To Have and To Hold" - Deftones

Yes, a CD full of Depeche Mode cover songs, by modern bands. The collection is pretty diverse, and earns points just for that. Check it out...

The Smashing Pumpkins rings in with a very subdued, acoustic rendition of "Never Let Me Down Again". Now, don't get me wrong, I hate the Smashing Pumpkins, and I find it hard to even respect them as musicians, but I will admit that I like this song. They do justice to the original, but I don't hate them any less. Next up is God Lives Underwater with "Flies on the Windscreen". This version is, for lack of a better word, a little funky...not bad. Failure is next with "Enjoy the Silence". I haven't heard of Failure before this collection, and I don't think I'm missing much. The song starts off acoustic and quiet, then they kick in with distortion and noisy stuff, and the vocalist doesn't seem like a very good singer.

The Cure provides a real change of pace with their version of "World in My Eyes". The original always struck me as a fairly romantic song, but The Cure have created a surreal and very disquieting song. This version works really well, though, with Robert Smith's cocky-sounding vocals, this almost sounds like something a stalker would write for his prey.

Dishwalla is next with "Policy of Truth", and this is one not to be missed. The song has a lot of energy and retains much of the mood and tone of the original. Veruca Salt provides their version of "Somebody", a soft vocal-and-piano piece. I never thought the words to this song were particularly good, sounding like something written by a thirteen-year-old about his or her first crush, but I do like this version despite the lyrics. Meat Beat Manifesto does a good turn with "Everything Counts in Large Amounts". I can't tell if that's Jack Dangers doing the vocals on this one, but it really captures the essence of the original, which is cool considering how different MBM's regular music is from Depeche Mode. "Shake the Disease" by Hooverphonic blends their own rich textured sound with DM's original. This almost sounds like something Hooverphonic would have written anyway, so it's a good choice.

Locust is next, another band I hadn't heard of until now, with an amazing lounge version of "Master and Servant". This time around the vocals are alternating between a man who sounds like he could be taping radio commercials for the new line of 1960 Dodge cars, and a smooth-toned woman. This is set in front of a slow, subdued-yet-finger-snapping lounge rhythm. Probably the most different of all the tracks on the disc, and well-worth the inclusion. "Shame" by Self is next. This is another new band to me, but I have no interest in finding any of their other material...in short, this song rather sucks. Monster Magnet does "Black Celebration", and they do an okay job of it, using more electronic stuff than most fans might be used to (if you've only heard "Space Lord Mother", this is way different). Rabbit in the Moon makes a rare appearance here with "Waiting for the Night". This is a great one, the soft crooning of some unidentified woman over a drum-and-bass track. Apollo Four Forty does a fair job with "I Feel You", but this version doesn't have the sexy swagger that the original had. I don't know how you're really supposed to pronounce Gus Gus, but their version of "Monument" is a good one. Deftones slam in with "To Have and To Hold", an excellent version. The music is very powerful, with subdued yet strong vocals...this one is just too short. And last comes Rammstein with the almost obvious choice of "Stripped". This is another of those songs with more to it than just the "romance" level...this version turns the raw "passion" of the original into raw menace. The music is pretty typical Rammstein, nothing you really haven't heard before, but a nice ending to the disc.

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Various Artists...Jevan Records Sound Sampler

my rating: *** 1/2
favorite songs: "Realm" - Lestat; "Parallels" - Fragment

This disc showcases three of the bands on the Jevan Records label, and it's a pretty diverse mix. First up is Lestat, a good goth/darkwave band. Their first track, "Realm", is a subdued blend of synths and drum machine, with the vocalist talking/growling out his lament over a lost love...lost to suicide, it would seem. Not a new topic for darkwave music, but they do it well. "I move from side to side, I look through lifeless eyes, I'll watch you forever, I'll watch you as you die."

The next band at the plate is Bath, another darkwave band. Their music, however, leans more toward the industrial genre. "Hel", their first track, is a hypnotic noise-percussive rhythm over the woman or women's chanting vocals. "Blood is the bath, the beast is never far". While Lestat evokes a more "traditional" goth mood - turn out the lights, light some candles, dance around with a cute goth chick - Bath's music is much creepier, tinged with a kind of surreal sense that seeps into your spine.

Fragment is the final band represented on the disc, and again different from the other two. The music itself is goth-oriented, but with samples instead of vocals (?). The description sounds like My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, but the music doesn't sound anything like them. Very dance-worthy stuff here from Fragment, and overall a fairly strong collection. It's definitely got me looking for other material by these three bands.

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Various Artists..."Mortal Kombat" movie soundtrack

my rating:  ***
favorite songs:  Psykosonik "Unlearn (Josh Wink's live mix), Napalm Death "Twist the Knife Slowly"

In attempt to capture some of the intensity of the video game, and some of the movie, the songs offered here are an interesting blend of techno (Orbital, Psykosonik) and industrial (G//Z/R, Fear Factory, Bile) and heavier (Napalm Death). It is not without its weak points, however. Gravity Kills and KMFDM are two examples of this. The KMFDM track is noticeably uncharacteristic, with an almost pop-like chorus. The Type O Negative song is okay ("Blood and Fire"), but I think they could have picked a better song from that group.

Naturally, this disc wouldn't be complete without the ubiquitous Mortal Kombat theme by The Immortals ("Techno Syndrome", 7" mix), and Utah Saints does their own rendition in "Utah Saints Take On the Theme From Mortal Kombat", with more dialogue clips from the movie, and a little less techno-sounding.

The Sister Machine Gun track ("Burn") is a great choice as they try not to box themselves in to just one genre on this collection. "Invisible" by G//Z/R is another great one...definitely captures the "heavy" sound that seems the norm here, but they put an original spin on it. Getting into the more techno side of the balance we have Psykosonik and Juno Reactor. The Juno Reactor track ("Control") perfectly fits the movie with its frantic energy. The Psykosonik track ("Unlearn", Josh Wink's live mix) is essential as well...retaining almost nothing recognizable from the original "Unlearn", but showcasing Wink's incredible deftness at the remixing helm. The Orbital selection ("Halcyon + On + On") from their second release several years back presents the listener with an unlikely contrast, immediately following Juno Reactor with its ethereal, almost "new-age" feel. Overall, there are some weak songs here, but the quality of the good ones outweighs them.

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Various Artists..."More Kombat"

my rating:  ***
favorite songs:  Sepultura "Chaos B.C.", Gudrun Gut "Firething"

This disc is the follow-up to the Mortal Kombat movie soundtrack, and like its predecessor, it is a wildly hit-and-miss offering. But also like the first disc, when it hits, it really hits hard. The opening track by Psykosonik ("It Has Begun") is quite catchy, despite the obligatory samples from the movie. The Sepultura track ("Chaos B.C.") is one of the best on the disc...definitely more "industrial" than "traditional Sepultura", but still hard as anything off the "Beneath the Remains" disc from several years ago. "Ruin" by Crawlspace, who eventually became Sevendust, is without a doubt the strongest track.

The G//Z/R effort presented here is a strange one...I still haven't really caught on to what they're trying to do. It just seems very confused in its execution. The tracks by Killing Joke ("Drug") and Alien Factory ("Higher") are mediocre offerings, as are "Exiled" by Chemlab and "Weight" by God Lives Underwater. Nothing spectacular in any of those. And Loaded clocks in with "Fatality", the apparantly mandatory Mortal Kombat song...this one features samples from the video games rather than the movie.

"Deeper Down" from Sister Machine Gun is a disappointment, especially considering how much I liked "Burn" off the first MK disc. Cubanate is annoying...I don't understand why the vocalist is trying so hard to sound like Lemmy from Motorhead. The Crystal Method track is pathetic, to put it bluntly.

There were a couple surprises, though. Gudrun Gut, an "unknown" for me, present a really strong offering with "Firething". And Bablyon Zoo's "Spaceman" was, I thought, a very strange choice for this disc...surprisingly mellow. Now if only I could take a few tracks from both CDs and put them all on one disc...

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