Hailing from the Seattle area, Champion has been electrifying the hardcore scene with their high energy shows and positive straight edge message since 1999. This re-issue of the bands first two 7"s "Come out Swinging" and "Count Our Numbers" is a great look back at their early days. I realize the 7"'s were already available from Bridge 9 but having them on one CD is nice for those of us without turntables. The 14 songs come at you with a fury and will have you ready to pile on and sing along. The lyrics are a bit cliche of course but are also far better than a lot of bands. The general themes include unity, friendship and community, the four basic food groups of the genre. With any posi band you will have all these elements carefully placed throughout an album and Champion does this in a very genuine fashion. The tracks that stand out in my mind are Fourth of July, Monument and A Thank You Note, which is a call against the bully mentality & violence in the scene.
I have been listening to hardcore for 15 years or so and most of the hardcore bands I like are older or broken up. In the case of Champion however I have found a newer band that captures the energy and sound that made bands like Gorilla Biscuits, 7 Seconds and Youth of Today so great. It is nice to see bands that still want to bring positivity and unity into the scene, no matter how idealistic that may be. With hardcore it always boils down to two things, first, does the music on the CD capture the bands live intensity and do the lyrics cause the listener to feel a connection and think. I would say with this release both questions are answered with an astounding yes.
Similar sounding releases
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