Ok, this is a compilation CD comprising of some of the best bands on Household Name Records with many different genres of music coming in here, with the downright punk rock, the plain hardcore, and the infectious skacore. The label strives to get the best music out their, and in my opinion they definitely do this because every band that they sign have considerable talent for what they do and this CD certainly reflects this.
The many different styles on show here show bands of an extremely high calibre with the best tracks from all of your favourite bands. You have the Skacore on this CD represented by Milton Keynes very own Capdown, and the track which they provide for this CD is the skank inducing ‘Faith No More.’ This is an extremely heavy track, showing Capdown’s fine Skacore at its best as this is one of my favourites by them and I was really pleased to see it on here. It is extremely guitar heavy, with fast drumming, extreme vocals and a great Ska feel about it that makes you realise that this is Capdown that you are listening to and once you learn this it is something that you will never forget.
There are also plain old Ska tunes on this one without the core such as Kenisia, and to a certain extent Big D. Ok, if you want you could categorise Big D as Skacore but I really don’t think that they are to be honest, as they have a blinding horn section, awesome drumming, great guitar playing, and the most amazing vocals you have ever heard in your life. Sure, their vocals do have a tendency to go Hardcore sometimes but they are not always like this and they are not just heavy for the sake of it, the band go heavy when they feel that they need to go heavy to put across their points. Kenisia on the other hand are more of a Ska Punk outfit with a distinct Ska beat about it, with an added flavouring of Punk and infectiously catchy lyrics. The vocals here are what make it so special, with a Ska feel throughout they are always strong and stand out as being far more than your average, run of the mill Ska Punk band that seem to be one a penny at the minute. Lightyear also provide a quite Ska’y tune with ‘Three Basics,’ one of their popular tracks from the critically acclaimed ‘Call of the Weasel Clan.’
If Punk Rock is more your thing then maybe you should check out Antimaniax as this track is a good example of Punk Rock with extremely Punk vocals and also a slight Ska feel about it. Other Punk songs that seem to stand out here are Captain Everything’s ‘Picture Of You,’ (an infectiously catchy tune with a very English feel about it,) The Take’s ‘Gene Pool Song,’ (Punk how you’ve always imagined it,) and Adequate 7’s ‘Two Minutes’ (one of those songs that no matter how many times you listen to it, it is never enough and you always have to go back for more.) Not to be forgotten of course is the classic ‘Drunks and Punks’ by The Foamers, which you may have heard on their self released ‘Football EP.’ A great track of Punk Rock fineness from a band that know the scene back to front and have Punk tunes that you would die for.
Ok, last stop – Hardcore. There are many Hardcore bands on this CD and this is still good to here, as once upon a time Household Name Records was all about Hardcore so it is good to see that they have not forgotten their roots. You have the Swedish Punk scandal of Da Skywalkers, Fig 4.0s aggressive hardcore, Five Knuckles angry and meaningful ‘State Of Awareness’ – one of the first songs I heard by them and still one of my favourites, Thinktank’s melodic-hardcore at the flick of the switch take, and my favourite of them all – Red Lights Flash with ‘The Red Tape.’ This is an amazing track and in my opinion is probably the best track on here. This has to be one of my favourite bands of all time, this band is an extremely exciting one with hardcore vocals, biting guitars, and heavy drumming. If this isn’t a great combination then I honestly don’t know what is. Ever since I set my eyes on this band they have been in my CD Changer. Not one for the faint hearted this one, but ones for the likes of me who love a lot of bite in their music and have a personal motto that is ‘the angrier the better.’
So, there you have it – one of the greatest compilations ever put together by man and released on the best British label that there is, that’s right, Household Name! Get a load of this as for only a quid you can be in on the action so get in touch with the label now you stingy git – its only a quid at the end of the day, even if you don’t like it it’ll make a good beer mat!
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UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
