AWAKE/STRONG Records

AWAKE/STRONG RECORDS

Mike from Awake/Strong Records submitted the three releases on his label out of Pennsylvania: a record by My Turn to Win, Fahrenheit 451’s complete discography, and a compilation. I took it upon myself to go through the three and tell you what I thought.

MY TURN TO WIN
“Whatever It Takes”

This seven-song release comes from the South Jersey/Philly based five-piece My Turn To Win. They play a very old-school sounding, straight-forward hardcore style with all the themes intact: loyalty, honor, pride, brotherhood. It’s all covered.

The band is tight, with a good fast pace that finds its heavy moments in all the right places, but mainly flies down the centerline. Good sing-a-longs and breakdowns, the occasional influence of metal for good measure, and frontman Dave Rosney doesn’t throw with the all-too-common cookie monster new school vocals, but a higher-end shredded cry that brings you back to the earlier eras of east coast hardcore.

Good production, good songwriting, and definitely a band I think I’d enjoy seeing live. It’s all there.

FAHRENHEIT 451
“If I Knew Then What I Know Now”
The Complete Discography

Fahrenheit 451 did what so many other bands failed miserably at: they combined urban music and culture with hardcore, and they made it work. Funk, soul, hip hop, latin, just flavor, thrown into a whirlwind supported by solid musicianship and great songwriting. I can’t really think of a band that sounds like this, but many that would like to. F-451 is the soundtrack for the block party you don’t want to miss, where everybody is dancing, smiling, laughing, singing, and nobody gets hurt…well, too badly at least.

The CD includes “The Thought of It,” their first demo, the two songs from the “NY’s Hardest” comp, a bunch of unreleased tracks, as well as a few live cuts from their 2005 reunion show at CBGB’s. The production is flawless, with perfect mixing and editing, and it is just an essential compilation of the body of work from the South Bronx guys.

The bonus to this well-packaged joint is the DVD, which features the 2005 live reunion show at CBGB’s and a documentary, that combines old footage, band interviews, and reactions by people who were around during the band’s reign in the late 90s. A classic slice of life look at Fahrenheit 451 for fans and those new to their material.

Get this one. An essential addition to anyone’s collection. Armando sums it up on the interlude into the cover of Fugazi’s “Waiting Room.”

“Have some fun. Isn’t that what hardcore is all about?”

“MUSIC BY PEOPLE LIKE US”
27-song compilation

Compilations are always scary. Sometimes they have a few good songs mixed with a bunch of bad ones. Sometimes they are all bad. Most times, they are label-driven and just a means to promote their artists, which is fine, but again, as a whole, usually bad and end up collecting dust on untouched shelves.

“Music By People Like Us” isn’t one of those cases. It’s like the good mix tape a friend makes you. The beauty of this one is it features some of the heavy hitters from hardcore (AGNOSTIC FRONT, SICK OF IT ALL, MADBALL, BLOOD FOR BLOOD, DISTRICT 9, KILL YOUR IDOLS, IGNITE, ONE4ONE, SKARE TACTIC) as well as some great newer bands (WISDOM IN CHAINS, BLACKLISTED, MODERN LIFE IS WAR, DEATHCYCLE, BRING OUT YOUR DEAD, ALWAYS UPRISING, 20 BULLS EACH, OLDE YORK, DEATHKILLER, KILLING KINGS) who, as Mike from Awake/Strong states, “get it.” And of course, a couple great tracks from FAHRENHEIT 451 and MY TURN TO WIN. The surprise track was the Raybeez acoustic tribute, “Open Letter” by Walter Schreifels of GORILLA BISCUITS and QUICKSAND fame. An unexpected but very cool surprise in the middle of the comp.

The insert features write-ups for each band by everyday people, like me and you, just sharing and reflecting their thoughts on the bands, what they mean to them, and why the music is relevant. The voice of the “everyman” is rarely heard like this, much less released as part of a record. I thought that a perfect and appropriate touch. I don’t need to sell you this record. It sells itself.

I’ll leave you with one fan’s excerpt about SICK OF IT ALL. I think it speaks for itself…

“I couldn’t relate to the epic stories in the lyrics of Iron Maiden, the hard partying of Motley Crue, or tales of shooting and drugs with N.W.A. One was just as unreal to me as the other, but SOIA, that was real and it spoke to me like I think it can speak to any human being. We all see wrongs in the world, we all are angry at the things we cannot change. Sick of it All truly is such a fitting name, because that’s what I was, and at 32, I still am.”

http://www.awakestrong.com