One of my first ventures into hardcore, Strike Anywhere are definitely a band worth checking out. They are a melodic/hardcore punk band out of Richmond, Virginia. Change is a sound was their first full-length album, released in late 2001.
Lineup:
Thomas Barnett - Vocals
Matt Smith - Guitar
Matt Sherwood – Guitar
Garth Petrie – Bass
Eric Kane - Drums
1. You're Fired - Starts off with a high pitched noise that continually gets louder. At first, you'll always turn it up quickly to hear it but then turn the volume back down as the intro kicks in. Not the greatest song ever, but it has it's moments. 3/5
2. Timebomb Generation -One of my favorite songs on the album. Starts off with a nice guitar intro, then blasts into the verse at full speed. The vocals on this track seem to be fairly excellent. 5/5
3. Refusal - From the moment that Thomas screams “Go!” you know this is going to be an exciting track. One of the tracks on the album where you really want to sing along and it’s easy to do so. The song is catchy and another one of my favorites of the album. About 1:50 in, it slows down for a couple seconds, then comes back and completely blows you away. 5/5
4. Laughter in a Police State - ::sighs:: Another one of my favorite songs. Starts off with nice vocals. The whole song is put together really well and makes it an amazing song with a clear message behind it. 5/5
5. Sunset On 32nd Street - I know this song is one of the most popular on the album, but for good reason! It’s the longest song on the album, and gives you a good four and a half minutes of that genuine Strike Anywhere sound. 5/5
6. Detonation – Excellent vocal intro. This is pretty much just a 3 minute long rush that isn’t exactly a GREAT song, but its still pretty amazing. Another song where you feel like singing along with some parts. 3/5
7. Riot of Words – This song has an excellent bridge part with the back up vocals shouting and Thomas shouting back. “The higher the freedom the greater the cost” is just one of those lines that just seems to stick with you. Good song. 3/5
8. S.S.T. – One of the songs on the album I don’t listen to that much. I don’t know…. to me it seems kind of generic, and they cram a line together to make it fit and it comes off sort of stupid. “No justice anywhere, until we put it there” But meh, its still Strike Anywhere and it still delivers on the musical level. 3/5
9. Chalkline – As of right now, my favorite song on “Change is a Sound”. The verse isn’t that great musically, but it doesn’t matter at all because the vocals are so great and it really works well with the song. Great, great song. I especially like “We’re ungrateful for…. holy books, religious men, values of beauty, original sin. All this time we unwind it, I won't give up, I’m not afraid” This song is amazing. 5/5
10. Three on a Match – “They say we live like this, They say we die like this”. Great vocal intro. I don’t listen to this song very much, but I’m thinking I should start. It has many great lines in it. “We helped build a nation, and this is the thanks we get” 4/5
11. My Design – This song is fairly good. Good enough to be on this album, not great enough to be one of the tops songs. The song drops out near the end, but comes back in with the line “So we are living in a 500 year old prison in the minds and the hearts” This ending part is my favorite part of the song, it really comes across well. After the song kicks back in, Thomas repeatedly screams “When it falls”. Amazing ending. 4/5
I recommended this album for anyone who likes punk or hardcore. I give it 5/5, and is one of those CDs that I’ve had for a long time but I still listen to almost every day.
