Luke Slater's Fear & Loathing is the antidote for those who feel as if dance music is about to combust on a diet of force-fed, chart-bound nonsense. Deep in the underground albums such as this still hold a flag for uncompromising tastes. As an esteemed techno artist in his own right, Slater's made an name for himself with a precision tooled sound that's lean, mean and tighter than Kraftwerk waiting for their giros. Here on a mammoth 44-track extravaganza, the equally talented jock pays host to his many peers, racking out the best of a stripped-back, machine-fuelled sound not quite in step with today's Ibiza massive. CD 1 begins with the human, almost organic sound of scatter-shot saxophones, but quickly succumbs to more synthetic pleasures. 1st Bass' "Slam Me Down" is as angry and squalling as a ram-raided beehive, while a track taken from Jeff Mills' AX-009B album clicks and whirrs with icy, droid-like intent (and no, your CD isn't dirty, those skips are for real). Midway, and the pace gets seriously frenetic, culminating in break-straining monsters such as "Transmitter" from Michael De Hey and a couple of Slater's own explosive offerings. CD 2 is a slower, more considered affair, yet no less incendiary. Here, deepest tech-house, mashed-up breaks and classic Detroit flavours all rub shoulders, reaching a logical conclusion on FC Kahuna's valiant mix of Felix Da Housecat's "Silver Screen Shower Scene". There's nothing to fear here, and little to loathe. --Paul Tierney