Various

I had no clue that Germany was pumping out such bold tunes. This is the first compilation disc from the Hard Edged label and it's pretty damn good. While the world's appetite for drum & bass grows, it is a pleasure to see the genre being moulded by those outside of the UK. "Vendetta," by Kabukki, has a familiar "Apache" feel to it. It's not as catchy as the Matrix tune but the beat is there. There's a real jazzy side to this producer from the Precision crew. "Full Contact," by Neutrik, is also a nice rollin' tune. There are diasporas of drum & bass sounds; Revelation Mode explores a range of eclectic sounds - hard beats, jazz loops and even slow tempo pieces. However, the majority of the sound on this compilation is vibrant with the precise dark drum & bass production made famous by Ed Rush and Optical/Ram and Bad Company. Some of the tracks, like "Borderline Syndrome," are quite abstract, bringing in trance like synth melodies over amen break loops. Bu the best part of this product has to be the mix CD and the multimedia data CD. It's almost worth the price for the amazing data CD track that puts you into the hard-edged music scene. The data CD includes some great graphics showing a 360 degree view of an exemplary Hard Edged jungle night. I think it's time I chartered a flight to Berlin.