Ranking remix compilations for albums I've reviewed!

Stealing Fire (Remixes)

Virtual Riot

The legacy of "Stealing Fire" returns with a set of fairly strong remixes set to try and do something different with Virtual Riot's distinct flavour of bass music. A lot of tradeoffs are made, a lot of production ideas are shuffled and discarded, but ultimately most of these remixes do bring something fresh to each track - though whether those fresh new things are well or poorly executed is a whole different story. Either way, this is 12 artists' attempt to 'steal fire' from Virtual Riot himself.

After Dark (The Remixes)

Essenger

I think Essenger's "After Dark" is, despite being one of my favourite albums, a rather difficult project to remix well, but I also think that — for what it's worth — these remixers have done a pretty neat job at adding something to this tracklist. Yes, I've linked the deluxe version, because, like the original, that's the only one available on Spotify.

Renaissance (Remixes)

Apashe

I don't expect this compilation to have the same level of orchestral control as Apashe's original "Renaissance" did — no one does it quite like Apashe — but I do hope the electronic sections in particular receive a lot of interesting different angles, especially considering that those were the weak points of the original. Spoiler alert: too much house, not enough angles. But don't let that detract from the actually creative remixes.

The Fae (Remixes)

YMIR

One of my 100/100 albums got a remix comp! I had high hopes, but unfortunately I feel like a lot of these remixes kind of missed the point of the original songs. But I can't deny that there are some damn good remixes here — a very strong package nonetheless.

Butterfly Effect (Deluxe)

Koven

Alright, the original "Butterfly Effect" was kind of boring, but it definitely had that trademark Koven charm to it. It's up to these remixers to maintain that charm and make things more interesting. Some big names, some smaller names, some in-between-names, and all of these are definitely remixes. Except for the three bonus tracks. Those aren't remixes. Naturally. The four-track-run between "Numb" and "Good Enough" is very good, but other than that, I've gotta admit this was a little bit of a snoozefest of a comp.

Divinorum Remixed

Au5

With an equal split of one remix per track, Au5 brings some sheer remix quality to "Divinorum". This was, in all honesty, a set of pretty strong remixes, even if some of the lengths were toyed with quite a lot — with all three 7-minute-long tracks being cut down to size.

Antagonist Remixes

Apashe

Even though most of it is just techno and house, Apashe does brings the good, the bad, and the ugly to his 2023 album "Antagonist". Note: I've linked the Part 2, because it also contains the tracks from Part 1.

HUMAN Deluxe

Nitepunk

There's some cool ideas here, and unfortunately only a few of the tracks actually received remixes (there were other remixes, I believe, which weren't featured on this deluxe edition). But most of it comes down to one question: can the remixers live up to the energy Nitepunk delivered? The simple answer is, mostly not.