Great comprehensive collection - Well, to be honest, I don t own this guy, I ve never even heard it, so I don t how the live tracks are. I do own and I have spun the living shiiit out of the two studio albums featured on this collection: _Hand of Hope_ and the follow-up _Martyr_ - two albums most MA fans will cite as the band s best. Unless you re a collector, I would recommend starting with this guy and then disseminating your bills over the rest of the band s catalogue. So here we go..._Hand of the Martyr_ is a rather expansive collection, in spite of the misleading 96 and 97 release dates. The first five tracks (featured on _Hand of Hope_ as well) were actually first released on _The Cleanest War_ LP (Conquer the World) sometime before. Anyway, _Hand of the Martyr_ showcases both the band s metal-tinged hardcore days (with _Hand of Hope_) and their hardcore-tinged metal days (with _Martyr_). Though many MA peeps were big into _Culture_ at the time and subsequently big on Damien s vocals, I personally think _Martyr_ is light years beyond its predecessor, which features the mighty Kevin Byers in the limelight. In fact, I would highly recommend listening to the _Martyr_ samples here on Amazon just to hear this guy s throat. Try Puppet and Soldier.In terms of sound, I only really feel like talking about _Martyr_. As I ve mentioned in other reviews, a good comprehensive analysis of 90s metalcore comes through 5 discs: Zao s _Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest_, New Day Rising s _Memoirs of Cynicism_, Converge s _Petitioning the Empty Sky_, Unbroken s _Life.Love.Regret_ and, of course, through this guy right here. Seriously. Thick and crushing guitars slam your head off the pavement, Slayer-esque riffing (minus the obnoxious King/Hanneman soloing), throbbing breakdowns that churn out intertwined guitar chugging speared by tight, breakneck chokes, hypnotic drumming, brooding acoustic passages fastened to dense guitar distortion, and my main man Kevin B. spewing out vegan-straightedge ideals, hissing yet fervent... Forget this new wave of Gothenburg-inspired metalcore... It s only comprised of bandwagon bullshiiit bands that ll be playing something different when its popularity dwindles. Funny this is: you ll always know who the scenesters were with their banal tattoo-sleeves and Killswitch Engage logos. Get this and know.