Various Artists - Past Present
Various Artists
Past Present
Can you tell a cover version of a classic ’80s hardcore song from a brand new hardcore song? For its 150th release, venerable hardcore label Revelation Records (the imprint that brought the world Sick Of It All, Gorilla Biscuits, Judge, Bold and a fistful of other acts from the genre’s golden age) has recruited a bunch of present-day HC acts (and some still-standing veterans, like the aforementioned SOIA and Bold) to re-record anthems that got the pit roaring every Sunday afternoon at New York City’s CBGB back in the day. Buying the album isn’t tax deductible, but it is kind of a charitable donation, as 50 percent of the profits go to Human Rights Watch. But that’s not the only good reason to buy the thing; musically, many of these covers are straight up ferocious. The disc kicks off with Sick Of It All roaring through Warzone’s “As One,” followed by Bold reworking Supertouch’s “Searchin’ For The Light” as a hard rock track with an almost Southern-rock guitar sound. Songs by Youth Of Today, Gorilla Biscuits, CIV, the Movielife and even Texas Is The Reason get redone by the likes of Death By Stereo, Set Your Goals, This Is Hell, Mikoto and others, and though songs by Breakdown and Killing Time would really have rounded out this tribute to the old-school scene, what’s provided is more than enough. Past Present closes with Walter Schreifels tackling Sick Of It All’s “Pushed Too Far/Friends Like You” as a two-minute medley on a hard-strummed acoustic guitar; the result sounds like the most pissed-off Violent Femmes song ever.
Revelation http://www.revelationrecords.com
