Masters of Horror (CD) by Various Artists

The images in the very impactful album art of Masters of Horror are enough to send anyone into a week of nightmares. The red skull on the black cover is the least of it. The real disturbance comes from the inside paintings found in this jewel box package that opens up in all directions; depictions of tortured souls, mouths open in agony and despair.

The music found in this collection, 30 tracks divided evenly between two albums, is not as horrifying as the accompanying art. But it does the run the gamut from goth to metal, from haunting to shrill to deafeningly loud.

The artists run the gamut too: big names like Mudvayne and Andrew W.K. alongside lesser known acts such as Every Time I Die and The Bled.

Among the familiar, Mudvayne, the first act in this set, opens up with "Small Silhouette," a thrusting track built on crashing guitars and screaming, yet melodic choruses.

It is a pattern repeated often in this set. The sound gets harsher in tracks like "Lazarus (In The Wilderness)," by Funeral for a Friend, and eminently more melodic in cuts like "Enjoy the Silence," by It Dies Today.

And then, there are also moments of quiet beauty, most notably Murder By Death's "End of the Road," a tale of a convict facing the death sentence. The deep vocals, sung plaintive over simple guitars and bass hook the listener, drawing us into the story as the end draws nearer and the music rises to the inevitable climax. It is riveting, and terribly sad. It is also an exception in this collection.

Similar to disc one, disc two is mostly about thrashing guitars and screaming vocals, beginning with Buckethead's "We Are One." It begins with relentless rapid-fire drums and vocals in quick succession that then dissolve into what can best be described as musical chaos.

But along with the shrillness, there is more musical variety here as well, from more traditional rock and roll to material that is actually sedate.

Such is the case with the introspective opening of "In Transit (For You)," by Matchbook Romance, and more compelling still, "Hindsight," a folksy, bluesy song of longing by Bed Light For Blue Eyes.

Horror, then, is not just about death and ghouls, but also about other kinds of fears, more mundane, yet equally terrifying.

By Leila Cobo