There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that label owner Markus Staiger would have done nothing different than to laugh in your face, had you told him twenty years ago that he will one day become the owner of one of the biggest and most respected Indie labels in the music industry.

Yes, it was back in 1987 that the now legendary compilation "Senseless Death" first saw the light of day and since then many things have changed, always for the better. I guess we all agree that birthdays are a good cause for celebration and the label's way of doing that was through releasing two albums under the name Nuclear Blast Allstars - the second endorsement of which is entitled "Out Of The Dark" and whose review you are now reading.

As the title of the project suggests, this collection of songs should feature the involvement of a number of prestigious musicians who are or were signed with the label. This is indeed the case, but only as far as vocal duties were concerned - all ten compositions were composed, produced and played by Peter Wichers (ex Soilwork) with the exception of drum duties, which were handled by both ex and current Soilwork drummers Henry Ranta and Dirk Verbeuren respectively.

Now, I have to say that I was initially quite disappointed by that decision, seeing as there are quite a few great bass players and guitarists that could have added more 'spice' to the project with their performances, yet I realise that the real reason was to provide Peter, who has not released anything since the "Stabbing The Drama" days (2005), with an opportunity to put his name back on the 'metal map'.

Anyway, I have to admit that the overall result was far better than I originally anticipated, seeing as some of these ten compositions are quite interesting indeed. The album kicks off with "Dysfunctional Hours" - a modern sounding Scandinavian composition which combines the best elements from both Soilwork and In Flames.

The riffs are rhythmical and heavy and Anders Friden's melodic vocals are quite catchy - definitely one of the most 'commercial' songs of the album. "Schizo" is very interesting in the way it combines the ferocity of late Hypocrisy with the unique atmospheric/melodic tendencies of Pain, with Peter Tagtgren's vocals performing the role of the 'glue' that brings all these different elements together. Peter's attempt to create compositions that would fit the vocal style of his 'guests' was clearly audible, but not always successful in my opinion.

I believe that "The Overshadowing" was far away from recreating the experimental nature of a Scar Symmetry composition and "Devotion" seems to have covered the aggressive but completely missed the melodic side of Wintersun - on the other hand, though, "Paper Trail" is quite fitting as an example of a modern era Armored Saint composition, with John Bush's performance being amongst the most impressive of the album, and "My Name Is Fate" brings to the surface some really interesting aspects of Mark Osegueda's amazing voice.

I have decided not to rate this release and there are a few reasons behind that decision. To begin with, I am not quite sure as to whether I find this 'project' a sufficient tribute to a label that has offered so much to metal. More importantly, though, the knowledge that "Out Of The Dark" is scheduled to be released as a twin CD, the second part of which was not sent to me and which features a number of bonus tracks and classic compositions from the label's roster, left me slightly confused and annoyed. Anyway, I expect the fans of modern Swedish Metal to invest in this collection without any hesitation but as far as the rest of you are concerned, a few spins prior to any purchase would definitely not harm you.

Review by John Stefanis