There was a time when a label celebration consisted of nothing more than a sampler CD with a hefty price tag (Dischord’s wonderful box set stood apart as the sole example of celebration over marketing for some time) but in recent years labels have been somewhat more inventive. Roadrunner produced the mostly excellent Roadrunner United compilation, Nuclear Blast managed a double set (the dark and light sets) and Century Media had established artists covering some of the label’s biggest hits. This is something different however and, as far as I am aware, something that has not been attempted before. A concept album recorded by artists from across the roster, tied together by oneman (Davide Tiso of Ephel Duath) to give the whole thing a seamless feel. That a label might attempt such a thing strains credibility, that it works, and fantastically so, pushes the boundaries of belief even further, but then Code 666 (home to the genuinely astonishing Axis of Perdition amongst others) has never been afraid of taking risks.
Rather than tie all the artists into a straight jacket, Code 666 gave their artists the task of recording one song (all the tracks had to be original) and then Davide set to work ordering the tracks and linking them with his own twisted industrial pieces. As a result the set works in a similar vein to the Trent Reznor orchestrated soundtracks to natural Born Killers and Lost Highway, with the album having an overall aesthetic of industrial gloom, and indeed the album has a soundtrack feel to it as it progresses seamlessly through moods. Picking highlights is difficult, because there are no weak tracks here, but Void of Silence and Axis of Perdition do, just about, stand out with their two contributions. The real star of the show, however, is Davide whose work on the record is truly outstanding. Bringing together such a mix of artists is not the most enviable of tasks, but here he rises to the occasion with admirable skill creating the ultimate industrial/ambient soundtrack to hell.
While not the cheeriest of listens, then, ‘Better undead than alive 2’ succeeds where so many other compilations fail by having entirely strong source material, a strong overall link, and it works as an album where you want to sit down and listen to the thing as a whole, rather than skip through for the highlights, a feat not even Roadrunner United pulled off. While you may be new to some, or even all of the artists here, this is an excellent introduction to a label who have burned brightly in the underground scene for ten years and if you do know all the artists then you’ll never find the tracks elsewhere making this a damn near essential purchase. This is a magnificent achievement – here’s to another ten years for the mighty Code 666.
