Summary - Audio quality is very good. There is some noise on a couple of the samples though no doubt an effect rather than a defect in the recording process. There are some real speaker breaker sounds on here at the sonic extremes so watch those cones ! Throughout the collection there is heavy application of effects, to extremes in places, I don't think that you'd be looking to do much more with these samples.

I have to say that I'm reviewing this CD out of sequence, but stuck it in the CD player for a quick listen and was immediately struck with the sonic diversity and ended up writing the review of it ! If your a lover of abstract sound then you'll love this collection for sure. There is a great deal of sonic manipulation and creation that has gone into the CD to produce a wide range of abstract synthetic textures, tones and rhythms. Certainly belongs firmly in the "Weird Sounds" camp, has a foot in both the Synth and Industrial camps but without belonging to either.

There are a lot of interesting and original sounds on offer, even if you may not want to use a whole sample, especially for those of us to whom sample memory is an issue, there are a whole host of interesting sounds to be extracted from the textures and soundscapes that the collection provides.

The big "but" with a collection such as this though, no matter how interesting it is sonically, is how would anyone actually use some of these sounds ? Whilst if your writing a film score for a science fiction film then that answer is obvious but for more mainstream musicians it may be a more difficult answer. Frequently whilst reviewing the CD I thought, great sound, but how could I use that. There are obvious intro/outro uses for some of the atmospheric samples, and blending with loops for others, but I think for some there would have to be a fair degree of creativity needed.

Alien Artifakts will certainly appeal to those creative people who are looking to add a large range of abstract synthetic sounds to their sonic library, there are certainly some great sounds and atmospheres in this collection. Whilst the collection is genreless it may appeal most to those people making ambient, industrial and dance tracks as well as multimedia, film score and multimedia producers. I wouldn't suggest the CD as an early introduction to the world of sampling but for those looking to expand their sonic horizons then this may well be the release for you.

Overall - Value for money 8/10 - Usability 7/10 - Documentation 8/10 - Sonic Quality 8/10. Abstract and alien sounds for the creative - 8/10

Click here to go to the Big Fish Audio website - They have a demo track online