A Change of Pace

[Geoff]

These guys are our current "local heroes" ... but they can't seem to sell many albums out of the area. They're doing a couple of unplugged shows this weekend here in town.

It seems to be a trend with modern rock. There are a lot of good pretty popular bands, but it seems the best of the bunch all seem to be over-looked completely and end up breaking up after a couple of albums (eg. Cauterize, SR-71, Summerhero, Day at the Fair, Die Trying, 18Visions, Jamisonparker etc.). And I won't be surprsed to see Just Surrender and Sydney fall victim too. I just hope Change the Pace keep at it. They seem to do a lot of promotion over at Purevolume so I hope they can make enough to keep going.

[hardrockhaven]

Thanks for the heads up on this one Geoff. Just went to the mall today and picked it up. Very good nu-breed stuff with a harder edge (which is always good). My brother Mark might not like it, but that's not saying much since he's actually starting to add some screamcore crap to his collection (So sad).

Anyway, "War in Your Bedroom" is a priceless track! I can see this one growing on me more and more after a few spins. A couple of fillers on it but definitely plenty of good tracks.

[metalmaniac777]

Thanks for the heads up on this one Geoff. Very good nu-breed stuff with a harder edge (which is always good). My brother Mark might not like it, but that's not saying much since he's actually starting to add some screamcore crap to his collection (So sad).

Careful what you say, little brother...Geoff likes Bullet For My Valentine just as much as I do. And hey, who are you to mock my heavy-metal tastes when you listen to wimpy Christian pop-rock like Avalon? Don't be bringin' the smackdown here, bro, or I'll have to tell the board about how you wet the bed until you were 15.

[hardrockhaven]

Thanks for the heads up on this one Geoff. Very good nu-breed stuff with a harder edge (which is always good). My brother Mark might not like it, but that's not saying much since he's actually starting to add some screamcore crap to his collection (So sad).

Careful what you say, little brother...Geoff likes Bullet For My Valentine just as much as I do. And hey, who are you to mock my heavy-metal tastes when you listen to wimpy Christian pop-rock like Avalon? Don't be bringin' the smackdown here, bro, or I'll have to tell the board about how you wet the bed until you were 15.

Haha, I stick one light AOR band on my shelf and I never hear the end of it. Avalon "Stand" was bringing me back to my Fighter days since Fighter is no longer around. And heavy is fine, screaming is not. The new Seether, new Disciple, and the new 18Visions are perfect examples of heavy but good. But I digress, I'm trying to explain good music to someone who lived at home until he was almost thirty Ooops, I didn't just say that did I? Hehe, ain't sibling rivalry grand, lol.

[Geoff]

Thanks for the heads up on this one Geoff. Just went to the mall today and picked it up. Very good nu-breed stuff with a harder edge (which is always good). My brother Mark might not like it, but that's not saying much since he's actually starting to add some screamcore crap to his collection (So sad).

Anyway, "War in Your Bedroom" is a priceless track! I can see this one growing on me more and more after a few spins. A couple of fillers on it but definitely plenty of good tracks.

Excellent. I like you better than your brother already. I kid... I don't want to get in the middle of this brother sandwich...

 

... or do I?

 

I kid. Glad to see another fan, mate. The only thing I'm confused about is that "f" word. Fillers? I didn't know this band knew the meaning of the word. Just out of curiosity, which tracks don't you like? I love every single track on this one.

[hardrockhaven]

Thanks for the heads up on this one Geoff. Just went to the mall today and picked it up. Very good nu-breed stuff with a harder edge (which is always good). My brother Mark might not like it, but that's not saying much since he's actually starting to add some screamcore crap to his collection (So sad).

Anyway, "War in Your Bedroom" is a priceless track! I can see this one growing on me more and more after a few spins. A couple of fillers on it but definitely plenty of good tracks.

Excellent. I like you better than your brother already. I kid... I don't want to get in the middle of this brother sandwich...

 

... or do I?

 

I kid. Glad to see another fan, mate. The only thing I'm confused about is that "f" word. Fillers? I didn't know this band knew the meaning of the word. Just out of curiosity, which tracks don't you like? I love every single track on this one.

I gave this another spin last night Geoff. Good stuff indeed. The two fillers I was talking about are "White Lines & Lipstick" and the very last track, something about the phone lines (I don't have it sitting in front of me). Those two tracks just don't cut it for me. But, "Shoot From The Hip" and "Prepare The Masses", oh yes, rock on!

[Geoff]

Thanks for the heads up on this one Geoff. Just went to the mall today and picked it up. Very good nu-breed stuff with a harder edge (which is always good). My brother Mark might not like it, but that's not saying much since he's actually starting to add some screamcore crap to his collection (So sad).

Anyway, "War in Your Bedroom" is a priceless track! I can see this one growing on me more and more after a few spins. A couple of fillers on it but definitely plenty of good tracks.

Excellent. I like you better than your brother already. I kid... I don't want to get in the middle of this brother sandwich...

 

... or do I?

 

I kid. Glad to see another fan, mate. The only thing I'm confused about is that "f" word. Fillers? I didn't know this band knew the meaning of the word. Just out of curiosity, which tracks don't you like? I love every single track on this one.

I gave this another spin last night Geoff. Good stuff indeed. The two fillers I was talking about are "White Lines & Lipstick" and the very last track, something about the phone lines (I don't have it sitting in front of me). Those two tracks just don't cut it for me. But, "Shoot From The Hip" and "Prepare The Masses", oh yes, rock on!

You are indeed a man of good taste! I'd have to say those two are probably my two least favourite too, but I'm a sucker for the whole album and still love 'em. I think 'Safe And Sound In Phone Lines' is a nice touch to end the album with.

 

But yeah, at least we can agree that this generally kicks a severe amount of ass. There's too many faves here, but my picks would probably be 'Take care', 'I wanna be your rock n'roll', 'Recipe for disaster', 'Shoot from the hip' and 'Prepare the masses'. Damn I love this disc!!!

[Geoff]

Bump because I won't be satisfied until everyone has a copy of 'Prepare the masses' in their CD collection. Everytime I listen to this I swear it gets even better.

 

I think I'm going to put it out there that this is the 3rd best "modern rock" CD I have heard after Cauterize's 'So far from real' and 'Paper wings'/'Disguises'. Even a little above the near-immaculate SR-71.

[phaffas]

Bump because I won't be satisfied until everyone has a copy of 'Prepare the masses' in their CD collection. Everytime I listen to this I swear it gets even better.

 

I think I'm going to put it out there that this is the 3rd best "modern rock" CD I have heard after Cauterize's 'So far from real' and 'Paper wings'/'Disguises'. Even a little above the near-immaculate SR-71.

 

well you buy everyone a copy. problem solved.

[Geoff]

Bump because I won't be satisfied until everyone has a copy of 'Prepare the masses' in their CD collection. Everytime I listen to this I swear it gets even better.

 

I think I'm going to put it out there that this is the 3rd best "modern rock" CD I have heard after Cauterize's 'So far from real' and 'Paper wings'/'Disguises'. Even a little above the near-immaculate SR-71.

 

well you buy everyone a copy. problem solved.

If I had the money I wouldn't (I was so close to typing 'I would' but then I realised I wouldn't), but I'd like to because I'm so sure everyone would be happy with my present.

[TIM (2)]

You know, if i'm honest my copy doesn't get used all that much... I do like it, but it doesn't jump out of the CD rack at me when I'm looking for something to play....

[Geoff]

You know, if i'm honest my copy doesn't get used all that much... I do like it, but it doesn't jump out of the CD rack at me when I'm looking for something to play....

The only way to fix that, mate, is to play it more!

 

I love this disc.

[Geoff]

Wow, I just died today.

 

'Just No Better Way' is the new EP which has just been released by A Change Of Pace. It is the first album to include the lyrics and voice of new singer, Micah Bentley. "The music on this album is a complete new style being lighter and more "poppy" compared to the older heavier music with screaming lyrics under former singer Torry Jasper. The album contains 5 new songs, and also acoustic versions of the songs."

 

1. The First Time We Ever Met

2. I Found Myself Today

3. She Believed (Never In Her Self)

4. The Safest Place

5. I'll Be There

6. The First Time We Ever Met (Acoustic)

7.I Found Myself Today (Acoustic)

8. She Believed (Never In Her Self) (Acoustic)

9. The Safest Place (Acoustic)

10. I'll Be There (Acoustic)

 

If I ever get this bullet out of my skull I will try to give this thing a spin, but I'm not embarrassed to admit I am a corpse inside and completely uninterested. For those interested, Torry Jasper was pretty much the sole song writer, and obviously lead vocalist. It would be like Cauterize without Jesse Smith, who wrote and sung everything.

 

As dramatic as it is, to me this news is as bad as if someone had told me the band split up. Crushing blow, as this was the band I had put all my hope into after Cauterize's demise.

 

On another note, I'm curious to know when all this happened. I was keeping tabs on the band's progress and had no idea Torry Jasper wasn't in the band, let alone there was a new disc out... wtf happened? "Lighter and poppier" - how about fuck off?

[Geoff]

Okay, after calming down a bit I reminded myself how fond I am of this band, and I am still interested to hear what they have to offer. I read around a bunch of places on the net and this new EP's actually getting good reviews. The thing that is pissing me off, though, is that it doesn't appear to be available anywhere. It looks like another f*ck up where you can only buy it off Itunes. For those interested, apparently there are some new songs on their myspace page:

 

http://www.myspace.com/achangeofpace

[Geoff]

I sit here spinning 'Just no better way' and all I can advise is that you don't throw a bit hissy fit like that homosexual drama queen above and just listen to this for what it is. Sadly, there is no trace left of 'Prepare the masses' era A Change of Pace and that really does break my heart, BUT, the new version of the band is still very, very good. The first 2 songs are good, but 'She Believed (Never In Herself)', 'The Safest Place' and 'I'll Be There' are better than good. These are great songs and if this were a new band on the scene (which they pretty much are) I would sure as hell be here telling people about them based on the strength of this EP. So I do recommend you check this one out. I'd love to hear a full disc.

[Glen]

I sit here spinning 'Just no better way' and all I can advise is that you don't throw a bit hissy fit like that homosexual drama queen above and just listen to this for what it is. Sadly, there is no trace left of 'Prepare the masses' era A Change of Pace and that really does break my heart, BUT, the new version of the band is still very, very good. The first 2 songs are good, but 'She Believed (Never In Herself)', 'The Safest Place' and 'I'll Be There' are better than good. These are great songs and if this were a new band on the scene (which they pretty much are) I would sure as hell be here telling people about them based on the strength of this EP. So I do recommend you check this one out. I'd love to hear a full disc.

 

 

I listened to some of their new stuff on itunes a couple of weeks back and was shocked it was sooo different to 'Prepare The Masses'. I didnt have the heart to post it on here tho - afterall I broke the sad news about Cauterise.........you might think I had it in for you??!

[Geoff]

And maybe you do, mate. Yeah, I agree - completely different sound now. Not even sure they should have kept the name of the band as that Torry Jasper guy pretty much was the band... as you can tell quite clearly from the new songs.

 

Still, as I said... the new songs are very good and I am still very much a fan of this band.

[Geoff]

Looks like there's 2 new songs on myspace:

 

http://www.myspace.com/achangeofpace

 

I only heard one on a really, really low volume here at work and it sounds good. Interesting to note that of the 5 songs they have up on Myspace: 2 are new and the other 3 are from 'Prepare the masses'. None from the 'Just no better way' EP. As much as I thought that was a pretty cool EP, I do hope this means they're sticking with the more explosive sound of 'Prepare the masses' and discarding the mellow sound of 'Just no better way'.

 

No info about a new disc though...

[Mullethead]

Ooh nice...need the hookup on this too.....

[Geoff]

Just did my random check-up on these guys on Wikipedia and it says they've released a new EP this year called 'In this together', however there is no tracklist and a web-wide search came up with nothing but a new video for this new song. Check it out at myspace:

 

http://www.myspace.com/achangeofpace

 

Great new song. If anyone knows anything about a new EP, please let me know. I think I like this song better than anything on the 'Just no better way' EP, which was also good.

[Geoff]

Okay, so the new disc 'It could be worse' is out and about to be heard. My verdict? It's great. Sure, they will never be the band they were without Torry Jasper but there's no doubt they've given it a red hot go and produced the best album they could without one of my favourite songwriters to come out of the last 10 years or so in music.

 

On this album is a new version of 'Weekend Warriors' which kind of displays how much stronger the songs that came from Torry Jasper's pen were. Plus the musical backing at the time of 'Prepare the Masses' was just so much more explosive and intense.

 

But I didn't come here to be negative as I really like the new CD. Take out 'Weekend Warriors' and a new version of 'I'll be there,' re-recorded from their recent EP and you have 9 new songs. Here's the track list:

 

01 – Never Settle

02 – What The Hell Happened

03 – Maybe Someday

04 – Weekend Warriors

05 – The Other Way

06 – Hot Til’ She Talks

07 – I’ll Be There

08 – Cut Me Off

09 – Let Me Down

10 – Where Do I Go From Here

11 – I Wanna Know

 

There's nothing poor on here at all and every song is worthwhile. My two early faves would be the stunning ballad 'The Other Way,' which is excellent. And the heavy closer, 'I wanna know,' which is quite spirited. It total honesty, I possibly will end up preferring this disc to 'An offer you can't refuse.' That one was great too, but this is maybe just a little more consistent throughout. I dunno, would have to hear them both back to back to confirm.

 

Either way, check this one out.

[Geoff]

Well, well, well. Just as a background, every few years (it's been more than a few, as I found out today) I throw Cauterize, Jesse Smith (their lead singer and songwriter), A Change of Pace, Torry Jasper (their singer and songwriter for their 'Prepare the Masses' album) and Boys Like Girls into Google and see if there has been any movement from any of them recently. Sadly, they're three pretty dormant forces.

 

However. I found out today that Torry Jasper actually rejoined A Change Of Pace in 2012, and was with them until 2016! Apparently there was talk of a new album being recorded, but nothing was ever released and the band supposedly parted ways finally, just last year.

 

But, I just found out today that Torry Jasper, the mind behind the brilliant 'Prepare The Masses' album has actually recorded a new album with a new band.

 

I have not heard this yet, but played most the songs on this page today. He is definitely still in there, even though this is a different style to ACOP. But some of this stuff sounds pretty cool, and the dude knows a hook. Check it out. The project is called Video Head System and their debut, released in January this year, is called 'Be Kind, Please Rewind' and it's available for a reasonable $7 (download only) at bandcamp:

 

https://videoheadsystem.bandcamp.com/

 

 

1. The Wrong Way 03:51

2. Responsibilities 03:08

3. Phantom in the Night 03:08

4. Right Now 04:09

5. We Are a Wildfire 03:45

6. Kites 04:29

7. Disaster 04:19

8. Plug In, Tune Out 03:22

9. Ordinary 03:42

10. Never Enough 04:01

11. Make a Sound 03:22

12. Young and Unknown 04:23

[Geoff]

Oh, looks like all the tracks are on youtube. Here's a few random ones;

 

 

 

 

 

[Gotthardline]

I don't believe i have ever listened to 'A change of Pace'

 

I am guessing the debut album is the best place to start ?

[Geoff]

I don't believe i have ever listened to 'A change of Pace'

 

I am guessing the debut album is the best place to start ?

 

Holy shit mate, no. Just get 'Prepare The Masses' and retire happy.

 

To be honest, I like all their stuff (well, the debut EP is a bit rough), but there is a clear, bright shining light in their discography and it is the marvellous 'Prepare the masses' album. Here's a few examples of it's awesomeness;

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kty7R6FFx8w