Various Artists – Punk-O-Rama V. 10

If you look into any punk fans collection, you are sure to see a giant “E” gracing the back cover of at least a few of their albums. What does the “E” stand for and why is it on so many classic CDs? Well, the “E” isEpitaph and why is it on so many great CDs? Simply because it is Epitaph, and everyone knows that Mr. Brett knows what he is doing and the label shows it as it rarely, if ever, disappoints with its releases. Proving that once again is the tenth installment of the famed Punk-O-Rama series; like always, the cheap as dirt compilation features a ton of the label’s greatest hits from current and upcoming releases. But, unlike on the previous compilations, Epitaph has done three very different things. First off, they graced the package with a little added bonus in a nice convenient DVD form. The DVD features twenty one brand spanking new music videos from the Epitaph roster. There’s videos from Pulley, Atmosphere, The Weakerthans, Horrorpops, Millencolin, The Matches, Dropkick Murphys, Bouncing Souls, Scatter The Ashes and more. The videos aren’t all amazing, but are a nice run down and a great added bonus to go along with the cheap ass CD.

The second difference on Punk-O-Rama 10 compared to previous versions is the biggest one: for once the label has placed songs on here that you can ONLY get on here. You can’t find them anywhere else (some you can over seas, just not in America) where as normally they just take songs from current releases. The compilation features new songs from The Matches, Pulley, This Is Me Smiling, The Special Goodness, Hot Water Music, The Offspring, Scatter The Ashes, and Bad Religion. And they aren’t all new songs either, Mission From God from The Offspring is a b-side from 1992, Pulley‘sBloodstain is from their Matters recording sessions and Bad Religion‘s News From The Front was recorded back in 1994. The Bouncing Souls also supply a live version of Anchors Aweigh while NOFXgives one that you can only get if you’re apart of the NOFX 7″ Of The Month Club.

The third difference isn’t as big as the previous two as it has slowly been introduced in the label’s past few compilations, but it is evident to see that Epitaph aren’t containing themselves to one genre only. They have the classic punk bands which have made the label famous like Rancid, Pennywise, The Unseen, Roger Miret & The Disasters alongside more emo bands like Motion City Soundtrack andMatchbook Romance and the hardcore bands such as Converge, Some Girls and From First To Last. Then, the most surprising genre is the hip-hop tracks by the likes of The Coup, Sage Francis, andDangerdoom.

Overall, a good compilation if you like Epitaph Records and their bands. It is cheap and well worth the money, just be prepared to skip over a few tracks if you aren’t in favor of Epitaph‘s new genre efforts.