Various Artists – {un}known Vol. 1

Although the basic concept behind all music compilations are the same, they can really be broken down into two main categories. The first is that of the popular compilation. These are compilations that everyone knows about and that everyone wants to buy. Albums like the yearly Warped Tour compilations, the occasional charity CDs like Vagrant‘s In Honor: A Fight To Beat Cancer album, and the famed Atticus‘Draggin’ The Lake series are some examples of compilations in the first group. The second category is the smaller compilations. These ones are released to little or no press and generally only appeal to a certain fan base. And although these albums are good, they generally aren’t received quite as well as the more popular ones. One such compilation is Double Blind‘s first mix CD, {un}known vol. 1.

Like all music compilations, {un}known Vol. 1 follows one basic structure: have a few bigger name bands on the list to make sure people will pick up the album and hear the less known bands. Luckily,{un}known doesn’t go overboard with that here. Although they do feature a fair few of well known bands, there isn’t one main stream band on here, they are all pretty relatively “unknown”. Some of the bigger bands include Tooth &Nail/Solid State heavyweights Dead Poetic, He Is Legend and Project 86 along with Drive Thru Records‘ Halifax and Warcon‘s Bleed The Dream. Like they are supposed to, all those bands supply solid songs creating a sturdy backbone for the album to build off of (of course, A Shadow On Me by Project 86 being the standout track), and they build off that with everything they’ve got. Padding off the rest of the fourteen tracks are some phenomenal hardcore bands that don’t get mentioned nearly enough. The Panic Division gives the album a previously unreleased song with Versus that blows your mind and Greeley Estates‘ unreleased Life Is A Garden surprises you with its slightly mellower tone that is still able to scream like crazy. The alternate version of Tripside‘s Fear Of Falling also adds a serious kick to the album right where it needs it most.

Although this album won’t be picked up by the masses, it has enough of an attraction in it to catch the eye of any aspiring hardcore fan. Bleed The Dream, The Revolution Smile, Hopesfall, Opus Dai, and more all add up for one solid compilation that can be replayed many times without becoming boring. All in all, a solid compilation with a great lineup of bands supporting it throughout.