Review: Various Artists – 'We're In This Together: A Tribute To Nine Inch Nails'

VARIOUS ARTISTS 

'We're In This Together: A Tribute To Nine Inch Nails' 

TRIBULATIONS 

Only a month after their impressive tribute to Bile, the Tribulations team unleash to arguably the biggest band to ever come out of the industrial scenes, Nine Inch Nails. There have been a few tribute albums to NIN over the years, including piano, lullaby, acoustic, and string quartet versions... so the contributing artists have their work cut out for them to come up with some different variations on the ample source material.

Acts such as Corlyx, Killchild, Man Woman Machine, Acidrodent, Visions In Black, Marc Lowe, The Cryptids and more take on iconic tracks such as 'Reptile', 'Wish', 'Heresy', 'Hurt', 'Into The Void', 'The Becoming', 'Gave Up', and Something 'I Can Never Have.

The variations in artistic styles are far greater her than say the previous Bile compilation, and some acts stick close to the source material while others go off in other directions. It's a shame there are two versions of 'The Becoming', and 'Reptile' – while both versions of each track are great – with no representation from 'Year Zero' or 'Hesitation Marks' it feels like the album could have covered more ground.

As with all compilations the mastering ties things together nicely once again by creating a cohesive sound from amidst the various genres at play here. Even with some major stylistic shifts in the track list the album flows nicely from start to finish.

Nine Inch Nails are a band that have been covered many times and in many different ways. Approaching this as a tribute album curator or a contributing artist is no small feat, and everyone involved once again deserves praise. And if this wasn't enough we can expect a tribute to Front Line Assembly in the near future as well.

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Review: Various Artists – 'We Reject: A Tribute To Bile'

VARIOUS ARTISTS
'We Reject: A Tribute To Bile'
TRIBULATIONS

A cornerstone of the 90's Industrial surge, Demonic Electronic group Bile are well overdue a tribute album of their own. And who better to fulfil that than Tribulations. With tribute albums for Skinny Puppy, Ministry and Coil already released the label has quickly built a reputation for putting serious effort into these digital compilations.

The aggressive and experimental fluid nature of Bile's back catalogue offers an untold wealth of potential for covers and the likes of Killchild, Acidrodent, Flesh Eating Foundation, Neo Land, and Cyphier among others are stepping up to the mark to take on the likes of 'Sex Reflex', 'Jerk', 'Teknowhore', 'I Reject', 'In League' and more.

As with the last release the track listing is shorter and tighter than the impressive sprawls of the first two albums in the series. But that isn't a sticking point by any means. Instead the track list is more focused, and there are no repeated covers.

The artists on this tribute not only compliment the sound of Bile, but also each other and the whole album flows really nicely. There are some stylistic shifts between the artists but on the album has been curated in a way to keep any jarring jumps between genres to a minimum and ensure the album progresses smoothly. And once again the result is a strong collection that shifts effortlessly between the idiosyncrasies of each band as they stamp the originals with their own mark.

Once again the album is well mastered to ensure the tracks don't clash and any discrepancies in the various recording processes and styles don't distract from the presentation of the album as a whole.

The series from Tribulations and it's contributing artists deserve praise for consistently creating high-quality free releases that not only pay tribute to some of the most important names in the scenes but allow talented acts show off their abilities to create interesting and original reinterpretations of the source material.

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Review: Various Artists – 'How To Destroy Coil: A Tribute To Coil'

VARIOUS ARTISTS
'How To Destroy Coil: A Tribute To Coil'
TRIBULATIONS
Coil are easily one of the most influential musical acts of the past thirty years. The avant garde, experimental, often unfriendly and yet utterly compelling works of the late Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson and Johnn Balance straddled industrial, ambient, new age, techno, acid house, noise, drone and just about everything else. Using dissonance as melody their influence can continue to be felt in a myriad of acts today. It only seems fitting that on the back of their Skinny Puppy and Ministry tribute albums that tribulations turn their attention to the esoteric works of Coil.

Acts such as Kanashibari, Construct, Void Prototype, Flesh Eating Foundation, Trust Crusher, Allofher Twitch, The Cryptids and more add their twists to already twisted tracks including 'Fire Of The Mind', 'Love's Secret Domain', 'Cold Cell', 'The Sewage Worker's Birthday Party', 'Restless Day', 'Paranoid Inlay', and 'Solar Lodge'.

As with previous releases, some stick close to the source material and other's make their mark on it. Considering the huge range of Coil's work it's a shame that there are two versions of Cold Cell and Fire Of The Mind – all of which are great – but there are so many great Coil tracks it still seems like a missed opportunity. Nevertheless this is a strong collection that shifts effortlessly between the particular influences of each band and reforms the original tracks to maintain their original experimental flavours but ultimately make it their own.

As with all compilations the multiple genres and recording styles can be a nightmare for mastering but as with the previous two editions in the series this handles them with ease and manages the flow of the tracks into one satisfying experience.

Once more Tribulations and all the artists involved here deserve praise. The source material of Coil is a daunting task by any standard but the love and passion for the band is evident on every offering and ultimately compliment each other as well. This is another great outing and with the fourth in the series shaping up to be a tribute to Bile, we can expect more great music to come.

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Review: Various Artists – 'A Terrible Thing To Cover: A Tribute To Ministry'

VARIOUS ARTISTS
'A Terrible Thing To Cover: A Tribute To Ministry'
TRIBULATIONS

As controversial as he is creative, there is no doubt that Al Jourgensen's Ministry has made a significant contribution to industrial music from it's dissonant electronic beginnings, through to its progression into a mammoth metal subgenre. With a wealth of varied material in their discography it is only fitting that Tribulations, who brought us the impressive 'It Ain't Dead Yet – A Tribute To Skinny Puppy', last year turn their attention to Ministry.

A little leaner, but no less satisfying than their last instalment, 'A Terrible Thing To Cover' sees an impressive array of artists add their spin to classic and rare tracks alike. Notable contributions from the likes of Chrysalide, Dead When I Found Her, Caustic, IIOIOIOII, Acidrodent, Solemn Assembly, Flesh Eating Foundation, and Verin pull and twist the originals in different directions, some faithfully and others radically. But across the whole track list each act contributes a strong personal tribute to Jourgenson.

As with the previous compilation, it has been mastered well to assure there are no glaring differences in sound quality between tracks and even when moving between something more ear-friendly to another harsher contribution the track list progresses smoothly.

Again, this is a great compilation that shows a lot of love and respect for the source material and the legacy of Ministry. The artists may be as varied as Jourgensen's own sonic output over the years, but as a collective the sounds at play really compliment each other. With two really solid (and free) compilations in the bag already, Tribulations are setting the bar pretty high for themselves, so it will be interesting to see what they do for a third outing.

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Review: Various Artists – 'It Ain't Dead Yet – A Tribute To Skinny Puppy'

VARIOUS ARTISTS
'It Ain't Dead Yet – A Tribute To Skinny Puppy'
TRIBULATIONS

There is no question that Skinny Puppy have been one of the most influential acts to have emerged out of the industrial scene over the last thirty-odd years. Bands from Nine Inch Nails through to the likes of Dead When I Found Her all have a stylistic nod to Skinny Puppy within their sonic formula. It's with this in mind that Tribulations has compiled a 34-track free compilation of Skinny Puppy covers from a number of diverse modern artists.

At 34 tracks long it would be a bit much to break-down every single one but there really is something for everyone here. The gamut runs from synthpop right through to experimental noise. A few of the particular highlights include contributions from the likes of Leaether Strip, IIOIOIOII, Dead When I Found Her, Acid Rodent, Flesh Eating Foundation, Ghostlike, Kiforth, Necrotek, and Volt 9000. Each of whom add their own unique style to the originals.

Some tracks stick pretty close to the source material, while others go off in vastly different directions. It's great to hear just what artists will do when given free reign with someone else's material, and this album is a great example of that process. But for hardened Skinny Puppy fans you can be assured every contribution shows the band's work respect and love.

The compilation has been mastered well to assure there are no glaring differences in sound quality between tracks and even when moving between something more ear-friendly to another harsher contribution the track list progresses smoothly.

This is a really nice compilation, and for a free release really shows a lot of dedication from everyone involved. Hopefully this won't just be a one-time deal and we can expect more from Tribulations in the future, as this as certainly set a high benchmark for a good tribute album.  

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