Darren Styles, Breeze and Hixxy team up again for the third installment of Clubland X-Treme Hardcore. Running off the back of two wonderful triple-disc hardcore albums, the third installment has some living up to do. The format for this third volume is exactly the same as the previous two… with Styles kicking the album off with the first disc, Breeze following on the second, and Hixxy adding the third ‘bonus CD’. I really don’t see any need in adding that Hixxy’s disc is a bonus, considering that all three albums have, so far, been 3 CD affairs (with Hixxy’s always the third), but I’m sure some marketing kid added it on the hope of another 10,000 copies sold.

Darren Styles kicks off the compilation with a hardcore version of Castles in the Sky, which surprisingly doesn’t sound as bad as you might think. It’s actually a more pleasant alternative to the Ian van Dahl original (not that that’s very hard!) It’s followed by Lost the Plot, which is a rework of the Wayne G classic Twisted, with the brilliant drugged up vocals. While these two tracks start the disc off in good enough fashion, it drops away enormously for the next four songs, with too much cheese (for my liking anyway).

Track 7, Dougal & Gammer – Nobody Likes The Records, saves Darren’s disc momentarily, with its dirty hard sound and brilliant (and I mean brilliant) vocals. It’s followed by a song that is brought down with atrocious vocals, which is a surprise considering it’s Darren’s own track, Skydivin’ (Vocal Mix). Face Down Ass Up is a hardcore reworking of the hard house classic, and it’s another highlight, as is Darren Styles’ own remix of Silver Water by Vince Nysse & N J Hinton. Apart from those two tracks, the second half of the disc really lacks in quality songs, ultimately ending on a weak note with Make This Happen.

Breeze takes over on disc 2, and it’s full throttle from the outset with All About from MC Storm, Flyin’ and Sparky. Like the first disc, the standard of this disc really takes some getting used to, as the first 4 or 5 songs are average to say the least. The disc is picked up by the hardcore version of Tina Cousins – Truly, Madly, Deeply, which is brilliantly remixed by Breeze & Darren Styles. Body Rox – Yeah Yeah was one of the biggest anthems of 2006, and it’s brilliantly reworked into a hardcore anthem of if its own through the remix genius of Dougal & Gammer. My Direction and Rise Again are two more highlights on the disc, but there’s too much inconsistency for it to proclaim quality.

Last but not least is Hixxy, the master of hardcore, with a 15 track selection of anthems. Hixxy’s got some right crackers in there, and he starts off like a nuclear war with the stunning Untouchable. The second tune, Take Me With You, is another Raver Baby vocal highlight. This disc is easily the highlight of the album, although it probably peaks a little too early with Hixxy’s own remix of Overload by Voodoo & Serano.

Unfortunately this album fails to meet the high standard set by the previous two editions. It’s not up to the standard of Volume 2, and is not even as good as the very average Volume 1. It fails in tempo, programming, consistency and quality of songs. It’s missing that significantly ‘happier’ hardcore sound that the previous two offered. The only consistency of this album is that it’s inconsistent! Hit and miss is an understatement. If you’re only just getting into the hardcore scene then you could well enjoy this album, but if you’re a seasoned veteran you might find yourself snubbing this album.