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Various

Sample This, Too! (2002)
BYO Records

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Contributed by: Adam
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on July 19th 2002

Most compilations don’t have a lot of planning put into them. I’ll argue that the best comps pay attention to theme and arrangement, but the majority of low-price label samplers tend to be patchy catalogues of a label roster rather than cohesive albums. “Sample This, Too!” avoids the common pitfalls, which probably has less to do with planning and more with the fact that BYO’s built one of the most solid rosters of bands in punk music today.

There’s a ton of unreleased material on this sampler. The Unseen contribute the scathing “Don’t Look Back,” which reminds me a lot of the Nerve Agents. Youth Brigade steals the show with the gruff and catchy-as-hell “No Difference Anyway.” The track proves the brothers Stern still have it in them, their new full length should be a blast. Pistol Grip contributes “Black Heart,” and for a young band they hold their own quite well against the big guns on the album. I’ve never liked One Man Army in the past, but their track “Victoria” is ridiculously catchy and has the biggest sing along chorus the band could muster. The Beltones contribute “Come Back,” which sounds like a more tuneful and coherent version of Leatherface. The amazing Forgotten continue to rule the universe with “Respect & Lies” from their upcoming full length. The band’s songwriting gets better and better with each release. The only track that didn’t excite me too much was Manic Hispanic’s “Lupe I’m Free,” but to each his own…

Most anticipated however are the samples from the fourth installment of BYO’s split series. The Bouncing Souls kick things off with “No Security,” which is easily the fastest, angriest Souls song in recent memory. Anti-Flag, who I usually avoid at all costs, contributes “No borders No nations” with Chris #2 on vocals. I surprisingly liked this track, so I’m hoping their material on the split is up to par.

The album’s full of good tracks from recent releases as well. From Kosher’s sing along “Robot” to Sixer’s anthem “Hero,” Manifesto Jukebox’s intense “No Love Lost,” Leatherface’s “Andy” and the acoustic “Killing Kind” from the Filthy Thieving Bastards. Rancid and NOFX contribute “Vanilla Sex” and “Corazon De Oro” respectively, but the novelty of these covers is starting to wear a bit thin.

BYO’s signed a lot of bands in the past year and have built one of the strongest, most unquestionably “punk rock” rosters of any label. A breath of fresh air compared to the boring, tepid output that many labels have been pushing lately.

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Anonymous (July 26, 2002)

erm...anti-flag is pop-punk.

LilPunkDude (July 25, 2002)

yes!!!! Great Punk Rock!! Great Cover!! ... whine all you like you little emo wussy's - PUNK ROCK RULES!

Anonymous (July 25, 2002)

whats all this pop punk glorification? this cd has some of the best real punk (these days) on it: The Forgotten, The Unseen, Anti-Flag, the Beltones (first time I heard them, great fuckin' song!), and even the bouncing souls got punk again on this cd... excellent new punk shit!

Anonymous (July 25, 2002)

OH! a new One Man Army song! OH!
if for no other reason.... this cd rules for that one!

Anonymous (July 25, 2002)

oh,yes! I found it in a store and loved the cover, I flipped it over and loved most of the bands on it.. I bought it because it was CHEAP, and I love it because it's pUnK rOcK!! I read some of the stuff ya'll have been writing, and yeah, the cover creates a bit of ...whatever..., but the MUSIC is why you should get this comp... I was so happy to get so many brand new, unheard songs! I can't wait until those new records come out... I've always liked BYO as a label (ok, maybe during the mid 90's something skrewy was going on, but it seems they've pulled their heads out and gotten back to the Punkness that was BYO - thanks for putting out a great, cheap comp that is really, really good!
Jen in TX

Lunk (July 23, 2002)

punks don't care if they're cool. if they do, they're not punks, they're posers. simple really. and i looked it up: apparently emo stands for emotional.

sloppyblake (July 22, 2002)

i got it for free. i'm glad i didn't buy it. it blew.

shindo (July 22, 2002)

Hahahaah, in the event that you're being serious, a word to the wise:

Listen to what you want, but don't CALL yourself emo. It makes you look like a dork now and will embarass you in 2 years when emo isn't trendy anymore.

BTW: I'd like to reiterate the amount that the new Youth Brigade and Forgotten songs rule...

Anonymous (July 22, 2002)

I don't know what emo is, but I do know that I am emo. Does that help?

wyzo (July 20, 2002)

10 for youth brigade.

wyzo

Anonymous (July 20, 2002)

Just because the guy getting beat up has glasses makes him emo? Grow up.

Anonymous (July 19, 2002)

once and for all: what the hell is emo?

Anonymous (July 19, 2002)

YEA!! it's about time someone had the balls to point out that EMO SUCKS!
I'm going to go buy this!

Anonymous (July 19, 2002)

I would have given it a 10, except I wonder why the poor emo kid is getting beaten up by the big punk chick... that's not cool... the music rules... but it's not fair to pick on us weak little emo dorks, so stop it, you big punk bullies!
...the meak shall inherit the earth!

Anonymous (July 19, 2002)

flogging a dead horse? who cares about Rancid and NOFX's covers... let's talk about how great the NEW stuff on this comp is! If it's going to take putting those commercially known bands on there to get you to buy it and here some REAL punk, then I say "so be it!" ...and when did punk become so pc? Smack an emo kid for jesus!

Anonymous (July 19, 2002)

This is definately one of the best new comps around right now... I only had to part with $3.00 (you can barely get a beer at a bar for that these days!) - I absolutely recommend this! It's hard to find any new great punk rock these days.... but that band Pistol Grip RULES, and the new Unseen song is one of my new favorites! Youth Brigade also have an excellent song on there, I can't wait to hear their new record! Good job BYO! Thanks for keeping it real!

Anonymous (July 19, 2002)

awwwww...that poor cartoon emo kid got the hell beat out of him.... -Fuzzy

seek (July 19, 2002)

funny album art. please don't respond with "violence is never funny", because it is... especially in cartoon form.

Vien (July 19, 2002)

If it wasen't for the bouncing souls and one man army, I would have wasted 3 bucks. This comp blows. Nice cover though....

TheOneTrueBill (July 19, 2002)

pretty good sampler... well worth the 3 bucks

Anonymous (July 19, 2002)

it bothers me that every single comp comming out now has atleast one, if not two of the rancid/nofx cover son it...as you said "thier novelty is starting to wear thin" Give it a rest.