Subjekt 2 Change (S2C)

I normally don't post reviews from cds that are over six months old, but for this band I will make an exception. Don't anybody else expect the same treatment, because this is the first time in years I have done so.

I first saw the band live on Jan 24th at the Seattle Prog/Power Fest. You know a punk band has to have something special to play in front of a bunch of prog metal fans. There is also a cool cd-rom section on the cd. It has videos for "A Thought", "Frank's A Crowd", & an 8 minute promo that includes the two videos and so much more. Their singer does know that the guitarist is way bigger than him and that spitwads in the face would be a bad idea...right? Watch the cd and find out! This cd is pretty damn good if you have an open mind. It may be too metal for punks and too punk for metalheads, but the rest of you will love it. I think I just found another band on my "If record labels had half a brain this band would be signed" list. - AbrasiveRock.Com

[Subjekt 2 Change]
Fun fun fun. Good music, great attitude. I wish the buffer zone was smaller between the crowd and the players as I would love to see the members get in my face more. There were moments when the talented gi-tar-ist Allen, would get his rock pose on and I would just quiver from his awesomeness. Other times I felt the band was constricted to the stage and I felt they had energy that they wanted to release on all of us. This too shall pass. Scott has a style that is reminiscent of "Mommy, can I go out and kill tonight" sometimes, but that is not at all bad. There is a symbiotic blend of old punk, hard metal, and random crazy beats pumping out of these guys. I believe it sets them apart from most of the crowd in some ways.. That and the singer is the coolest midget since that one chubby Oompa Lumpa. Did I mention they played "Detroit Rock City" with "Breaking the Law". I FUCKING EXPLODED! It was sad that most the kids there did not know what the fuck these old people were freaking out for, but it was nice to have our moment. - He-Whore (AR)

It’s pretty ballsy for a local band to start off an album with an instrumental, but Subjekt2Change is a pretty ballsy band. They’ve made it their own personal mission to change your preconceived notions of what punk music can do and redefine your aspirations of what punk should do. S2C is not just punk, it’s not just metal, it’s not even just punk-metal. They call it intergalactic punk rock, but can that even sum it up? It’s the idea that everything is fair game and there is no reason to be limited to one sound, one genre, one type of fan. It’s the perfect album for punks who like variety or broader music fans who like speed and talent.

Mainly, though, Subjekt2Change is the synthesis of Allen’s surgically-precise guitar-playing and Morgan’s high-energy, breakneck-speed drums with Scott’s fluid bass and throaty vocals. Even though it sounds like S2C has at least five members, nope, it’s just those three boys. Allen brings the metal, Scott brings the punk, Morgan brings the mph, and somewhere along the way all kinds of other genres came along for the ride.

S2C’s self-titled album has enough diversity to please anyone, even me. I mean, I’ve finally found an album I can listen to more than three times without getting bored! There is straight punk-metal, like “Half-Open Door,” a passionate letter to an ex-love punctuated by intense drums and Allen’s liberating guitar solo. From there, it slides into the rockabilly “Drunk Love” (which is an hilarious ode to getting hit on in a bar by the absolute wrong person) and “12BB” (a tribute to another local band and a song that gives me goose bumps because Scott’s vocals possess a husky sex appeal I would not have thought him capable of). There is also the radio-friendly popPunk “Not Forgotten” which should not fool you with the upbeat tempo but force you to delve deeper and look for its real meaning. And for an example of truly gifted guitar work, check out “Rasta Metal,” a reggae-influenced instrumental that is too singular for any lyrical accompaniment. S2C even throws in a little Spanish in “Mentiras,” a fiery political-punk song if you can decipher it.

The boys of Subjekt2Change don’t call themselves intergalactic punk rock to be pretentious – they really have set no limits and given you every reason to listen to what they have to say. Not only will these boys show you a really great time in about 40 minutes, they’ll ask you to think twice before you accept the same old song done by the same old band that sounds exactly like the song they did before and the one before that. I encourage you to check them out – they also put on a live show that never disappoints whether they’re playing a packed club or a house party only two hours from hell. - Aridnea (SeattlePunk.Net)