*Update: per the label, all proceeds will be going to Amnesty International rather than Humanity Gives due to a lack of transparency on the latter charity’s part. With the exception of this notice, we have left the original contents of this article unchanged.

There’s a lot to be afraid of these days.

Of course, this is old news to anyone who has opened a computer, phone, TV, podcast, book, newspaper, magazine or vacuum-sealed package of quad-ply Man Wipes anytime in the last 4 years. Since 2016, it seems we’ve been engulfed in a cataclysmic blanket of scalding moral ash, the mountains of our civic institutions collapsing into volcanoes of corruption and corporate decadence, now oozing molten disillusionment and social decay. The list of grievances are as varied as they are many, from withering civil rights, dissolving programs and protections, offices poisoned by capital, broken promises and acts of ghastly evil, perpetrated against all manner of people and environments. It is impossible to list them all.

What’s more, this state of persistent hair-raising anxiety and moral dejection has already been the inescapable bedrock of existence to the many underprivileged throughout the world further back than we can properly comprehend. From immigrants to ethnic minorities, the poor and ostracized, the misunderstood Other and women in general, it is clear over and over that a repeating theme of humanity is the hateful few perpetrating abuse and raining fear upon the trusting many, time and time again.

Even as I write this, the lady behind this label and compilation has taken ill with the coronavirus in Scotland and Bernie Sanders has just withdrawn from the Democratic primary, in yet another demonstration of the power of private interest. It is that world in which we live, where it is important to remember the most important tools and power at our disposal: each other. Even as she lay in hospital, the compilation continues, ahead of schedule even, carefully handed over to staunchly anti-fascist metal act Order of the Wolf.

It is that world which needs labels and compilations such as these, bands such as these and most importantly, listeners like us. People who are eager to seek a deeper level of engagement with art and community, and who are more likely to offer a hand up to those who are stumbling or a shoulder to those beside us, rather than a boot for licking or a dingy nickel trickling down from above. We know what the boot feels like and do not wish it upon anyone, and know that the only way out of the muck is together. More than anything, it is we who long for hope, action, community, culture, joy, shared communal experience and that embrace in the willingness to help others.

With that in mind, the proceeds from this compilation will be donated to the charity Humanity Gives.

we felt it was extremely important to help a charity with an International reach. Given the recent Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, we are even more enthusiastic about helping a humanitarian organisation who aid those in need worldwide.

The compilation features a wide variety of very vocal artists of all genres, from the black thrash of Necropanther, heavy hardcore of Allfather, death metal upcomers like Putrescine, Toilet ov Hell regulars Stormland to household names like Neckbeard Deathcamp and even the legendary Sacred Son himself; voices from all corners of the globe and every subgenre speak in unison against hatred and bigotry.

It is not an easy time for hope, nor an easy time to plan for or try to build a future, when the predictable institutions and foundational routines seem to shake beneath our feet. But there is one thing that is always easy and that is to succumb to hatred and become blinded by fear. While these are natural and understandable reactions under these conditions and strange times, it is also within our grasp to remember that a little extra effort and support among ourselves is a power unto itself, and one that cannot be taken away by authorities nor measured in terms of a savings account. And even when our institutions and leaders fail in all manners both large and small and the fabric of the Social Contract begins to wear thin and tatter, we can still make the world a better place in our own ways, one small riff at a time.

Hope Versus Hate Records does not tolerate fascism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, austerity or abuse. We are mental health advocates. We believe animal lives matter. If you share similar values, then we welcome you to please join us on our journey.

Release date: Friday 10 April, 2020

Bandcamp: https://hopeversushaterecords.bandcamp.com/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/hopevshate