The exalted fruit of a great record label
ixion75 | 02/02/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Century Media Records has in the first decade of its existence brought the heavy metal community some truly superb music, and it should come as no surprise that this box set sports some excellent tunes. Released to celebrate the label's 10th anniversary, it is not only a collection of great metal from the label's artists, it also represents hands-down some of the best heavy metal of the 1990's. The music is divided among three discs: Western Hemisphere, Eastern Hemisphere, and Rare and Unreleased material.Disc one, Eastern, starts the set off wonderfully, with classic tracks like Merauder's "Master Killer" and Cro-Mags's "See the Signs." The eclecticism of the label is reflected adequately in the set, which includes everything from the rap and hip-hop influences of Stuck Mojo and Candiria to the industrial-charged music of Strapping Young Lad. There are recent tracks from Nevermore and God Forbid as well as a ten year old one from Demolition Hammer.Disc two is as stunning as the first, with songs representing some of the finest metal releases of the 90's: Samael's _Ceremony of Opposites_, Tiamat's _Wildhoney_, Sentenced's _Amok_, The Gathering's _Mandylion_. The last band along with Lacuna Coil present some rare and haunting female vocals alongside their musical attack, and elsewhere there are mind-melting combinations of beauty and power in selections from Moonspell, Borknagar, Old Man's Child, and Rotting Christ. The third disc contains some odd pieces-- an atypical Moonspell song, Sentenced covering Faith No More, and an hilarious Stuck Mojo track. In addition to Samael covering Venom, there's also a demo from Grave, b-sides from Tiamat and The Gathering, and a live performance from Iced Earth. In addition to Japanese-release bonus tracks from Morgoth and Nocturnal Rites there is also a track from Despair, whose members were responsible for starting the European office of the label, as well as being CMR's first signing.The box set has colorful artwork featuring maps of the world which emphasize the "global" theme of CMR, as well as medieval-flavored dragons and boats. The discs come in a slipcase which also houses a 98 page book, half of which tells the story of the label, the other half of which are pictures of the bands and the label's members. Bands who wrote pieces for inclusion in the booklet are Stuck Mojo, Skinlab, Cro-Mags, Cryptopsy, Asphyx, Moonspell, Strapping Young Lad, Unleashed, Turmoil, Tiamat, Morgoth, Only Living Witness, and Shadows Fall. There's an interview with Robert Kampf, singer of Despair and veteran of the label. There follows a discography of CMR's entire back catalogue listed by year, and written pieces by CMR reps.For the price the package is definitely worth it, and unless you already own the records I highly recommend this set to any fan of 90's metal. Even if you do own most of the cds already, the 3rd disc has hard-to-find and import-only tracks that more than justify the price. Limited to 10,000 worldwide, this might be one of the best metal compilations ever released."
Superb box set
N. Durham | Philadelphia, PA | 12/10/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"To celebrate Century Media's 10th Anniversary in 2001, they released this handsomely designed 3 disc box set featuring some of the best cuts from the label's best bands. Featuring tracks from favorites like the Cro-Mags, Eyehategod, Iced Earth, Skinlab, Shadows Fall, Candiria, Samael, Tiamat, Moonspell, Nocturnal Rites, Lacuna Coil, Arch Enemy, Angel Dust, and of course Stuck Mojo and Nevermore; this box set is an absolute must own for any and every fan of Century Media records. Although there are some things to be desired (maybe a bonus DVD with live footage or another disc of rare material), this set, and especially it's full color booklet, have been so meticulously put together that you can't help but appreciate it. All in all, this package at this price is a true deal, and is a must have for true metal heads everywhere."
"Decending from Heaven..."
djhexane | Ohio, USofA | 03/15/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Obviously i'm speaking of this boxed set (as well as The Hunter by Iced Earth that appears on it). Three wonderful discs filled with some of the best metal to appear on the Century Media record label for such a low low price! How can you turn this down?! It would be heathenistic! The first two discs are the best of of the artists around the world and disc three is filled with unreleased and live material from those bands. There is also a 100 page colour booklet that comes with it, filled with interveiws and pics of the bands as well as a complete century media discogrophy. And speaking of discograpghy, after looking at it, it would have been nice if the boxed set was a few more discs bigger, they left out a ton of awesome bands. But whatever, they did a good job filling three discs with a wide variety (such as Nevermore, Lacuna Coil, The Gathering, samael, Iced Eath, Strapping Young Lad, etc etc etc and on and on and on.Do yourslef a favour, get this. Weather you are a long time fan of metal or new to the genre. There is enough here for everyone to like, love, and grow old together with."
Track Listings (18) - Disc #1