Excelsis, Vol. 1 ~ a Dark Noel

When Projekt Records announced its first holiday compilation in the mid-1990s, there were doubtless some scratched heads over the idea that the goth/dark ambient label would be doing such a thing. But the resultant effort is both a solid label sampler and a collection of sometimes haunting, unusual interpretations of classics. Standouts include Arcanta’s “Carol of the Bells” and Lovesliescrushing’s pulverization of the appropriately titled “Jingle Bells (Snowblower).”