Word of advice: when you have a stack of DVDs sitting
around, slated for review, and the spine of one of them, in large pink text on
a black background, reads This Ain’t Your
Mom’s Hardcore Vol. 2, it’s not unreasonable to assume that your girlfriend’s
eye might be drawn to it, and think it’s porn.

This Ain’t Your Mom’s Hardcore is a punk/aggro
compilation disc, and a suitably eye-opening and tympanic membrane-annihilating
one at that. Featuring almost two dozen bands and almost 150 minutes of video, the
disc spotlights 28 ferocious live performances by artists such as Maylene and
the Sons of Disaster, Bury Your Dead, Destroy the Runner, Misery Signals,
Secret Lives of the Freemasons, The Chariot, Haste the Day and As Cities Burn. (Incidentally,
this reminds me of the time a friend and I spent an entire chemistry class
period sitting around thinking up band names for another mutual friend, and
while I’m unable to remember them all, it’s safe to say that a little more
brainstorming should have likely gone into some of these handles.)

Shot mostly in and around the Atlanta
area, these packed shows, filmed from every angle, serve as a loud, loud reminder why
nothing quite compares to a live rock concert. While the material itself is
quite uneven, and in fact generally ranging on the downside of average, the video footage
itself is filled with incredible breakdowns, sonic blasts and energy; the variety, in both
venues and stagecraft, is something to be admired, if only barely through the din. Among the more memorable
acts are Grace Gale, August Burns Red, Classic
Case and Thumbscrew. I also really like the
name Twelve Gauge Valentine, but am unfortunately unable to give their music a
thumbs up. Fleshing out the live sets are some music videos and interviews,
though the regional, super-niche appeal of some of these acts renders those
bits for the most part irrelevant.

Housed in a regular Amray keepcase, This Ain’t Your Mom’s Hardcore Vol. 2 is presented on a region-free
disc, with a solid Dolby digital stereo audio track that captures the
hard-charging aural demands of these thrash-and-burn acts. Not for all tastes,
definitely, but the sheer volume has to be appreciated on a certain level I suppose, especially at a time when so
many concert discs try to fallaciously inflate or pad out their running times. C- (Concerts) C+ (DVD)