"Lost Disciple Records' premier volume of the "Visionaries of the Macabre" compilation series features approximately 74 minutes of music from 15 diverse bands, spanning virtually the entire spectrum of extreme Metal styles.  The vast majority of these tracks are rare or previously unreleased.  The compilation opens with a short soundbyte spoken by the recently cancelled television show Millennium's lead character Frank Black, and this is the intro for Pessimist's "Mensa Rea", a typical, brutal Death Metal piece with a solid production and occasional Black Metal vocal interjections.  Next is a live version of Oppressor's "Valley of Thorns", which is melodic, heavy Death Metal incorporating some technical guitar playing, guttural vocals, impressive lead guitar, and the inclusion of dark clean guitar passages.  Avulsion offers their brand of very dark, underground sounding Death Metal with equally dark growling.  One of my favorite selections is Somnus' "Silent Reverence", a Black/Death/Doom Metal piece infused with such elements as somber female vocals and melodic guitars, stringed instruments, and piano.  Eternal Suffering's track is downtuned, underground Death Metal with plodding sections and a slight hint of a "Groove Metal" influence.  Admirers of Disembowelment's "Transcendence of the Peripheral" will no doubt enjoy Dusk's "Yearning for Eternity", since it's the exact same type of dark, mystical, reverberating Doom/Death Metal filled with guttural vocals and long, plodding sections accompanied by tranquil clean guitar.  The well known Cryptopsy's offering is a raw, brutal Death Metal piece.  Although this compilation is dominated by Death and Doom Metal, Imperial's raw Black Metal sound based on dissonant guitars, throaty lead vocals, and guttural vocal interjections provides some diversity.  One of the more captivating tracks, in my opinion, is Ceremonium's "Under the Eternal Horizon", which is slow Doom/Death Metal including dark, melodic guitars and deep, solid growling.  In contrast, Nebiras follows with a raw, old school Black/Death Metal piece including fast, blasting parts and a melodic section accompanied by reverberating spoken vocals.  Next is a Satanic Death Metal piece by Acheron, complete with a couple of well played solos.  Nosvampyrum provides a fast Black Metal composition, and not surprisingly, considering the band's name, it's accompanied by haunting keyboard melodies.  Perhaps the most unique track of the compilation is December Wolves' "We Are Everywhere", which combines Black Metal elements with a heavy dose of Scandinavian Folk Metal in the vein of Otyg's "Alvefard".  Directly following the December Wolves track is another very unique composition which happens to be one of my favorites, A Tragedy Unveiled's "Innanna", a long, subdued Death/Doom Metal piece incorporating excellent, melodic guitars and prominent use of piano and acoustic guitar.  The CD ends on an extreme note with Aurora Borealis' "The Storm", a very fast, blasting, melodic Black/Death Metal piece which appropriately fades out with the sounds of falling rain and thunder.  This first volume of "Visionaries of the Macabre" is a very well put together collection of extreme Metal bands and styles.  Its inclusion of bands representing all of the major categories of Death, Doom, and Black Metal, as well as its incorporation of Metal styles ranging from slow and melodic to fast and brutal, and just about everything in between, means that every Metal listener should be able to find at least a few enjoyable tracks.  Another great aspect of this compilation is that it's not comprised of the most well known bands, so even very knowledgeable Metal listeners will most likely be introduced to at least a few new bands.  I honestly have to say that this is the best label released compilation I've heard. NINE BITES ON THE NECK!!!"
- Ryan McCue - The Koffin Online

This comp. has a very strong line-up of bands. It includes many bands which became more widely known through their appearance on the comp., such as Aurora Borealis, Avulsion, Dusk, and Somnus. Despite the "printing error", the CD is of exceptional quality, with a constant EQ so you don't have to adjust your volume from band to band and song to song. Highlights of this "best comp of 1998" are:  - Pessimist 'Mens Rea'  - Oppressor 'Valley of Thorns' - Avulsion 'Desecrated Ground' - Somnus 'Silent Reverence' - Acheron 'Ave Satanas'  Overall, an EXCELLENT work, published by Rich and Lost Disciple Records. One of the very few CD's which made me wish I had a CD player in my car. Get this comp., if you do not already own it, NOW.
- Necrosis 'zine