Various Artists - Change! (Album)
Purveyors of teen-marketing listen carefully – supporting the arts is the key! Hot Topic (the American clothing store that specialises in hardcore/punk/Goth wear) has joined forces with Hopeless Sub City Records to provide us with “Change!” a DVD/CD pack that makes a difference. At least 5% of the RRP goes to the Hot Topic Foundation, which is all about supporting youth in artistic pursuits including music, writing, filmmaking, painting, and more.
The artists represented in this pack are many and varied, and appear courtesy of some of the best labels in the world (Equal Vision, Trustkill, Ferret, Epitaph, Victory, and Tooth & Nail). But enough about the philanthropy, this is a great little pack.
Let’s start with the DVD; it is a solid 16 tracks of loud guitars, tattoos, and tight jeans. It includes Chiodos’ The Words Best Friend Become Redefined, Every Time I Die’s We’re Wolf, Converge’s No Heroes, HORSE the Band’s New York City (this is a great clip full of neon and polaroids and electricity), and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster’sDry The River. The thing I liked most about the DVD is that these bands are commercially unrecognised by Video Hits or Channel V, unless they’re having some hard rock special, so I actually got to see the clips these bands work so hard on – and get introduced to some bands I might not have picked up before, like August Burns Red who kinda remind me of Parkway Drive (I think they even say “there’s blood in the water”) – seriously though, am I losing touch? Why hadn’t I heard of these guys before? If anyone knows some good up and coming bands, PM me.
My favourite clips were As I Lay Dying in Nothing Left which was just pure metal from the long hair and duelling guitars to the post-apocalyptic regime played out in the video. Followed closely by The Human Abstract’s Vela, Together We Await the Storm with its macabre silent movie texture, and GallowsIn The Belly Of A Shark, I love a clip that has had all the cuss words blanked out – there’s a significant amount of silence in the vocal line here.
Which brings me to the 21 track CD that’s chock full of punk, hardcore, and metal goodness. There’s a certain amount of band crossover, but mostly with different songs, and there are some notable additions. The tracks are mostly taken from 2007 releases and they’re actually listed – I love this about compilations, it’s like test-driving bands.
The most significant bands to join “Change!” on the CD for me were The Devil Wears Prada (they’re touring shortly too, will definitely be worth seeing), Parkway Drive (local boys make good on international scene), and Poison the Well. Definitely worth a spin.
