Stretch Arm Strong

Rituals Of Life (1999)

Ryan

Hardcore seems to be on the rise more than ever with bands like; Boy Sets Fire, Shai Hulud, Strong Arm, and of course the ever popular Stretch Arm Strong(named after that really rad toy). I myself am not a huge fan of the whole hardcore genre but some bands like the ones metioned above seem to pull me in.

Stretch Arm Strong is a South Carolina hardcore band(they are not a Christian based group) that was formed in 1993 which consist of five members. They all put in a valiant effort to produce a solid release that is found in Rituals Of Life.

Rituals Of Life can be best described as energetic, hard, and breathtaking. First Energetic: From beginning to end this disc never lets up and you can feel the energy pass through your body as the screaming vocals send shivers up your spine. The guitar playing is simply fantastic, and will leave you wanting more. The drumming to me on the other hand sounds kind of simplistic, and maybe thats because I listen to Strung Out too much, but the drums are played hard enough to keep this music alive.

Hard: This is not a cd your mom will appreciate. This is not along the same lines as New Found Glory. And this cd is not "light" my friends. This is the kind of music that is played when two people are beating the hell out of eachother in a mosh pit at a concert. Never will this cd ever sound poppy enough to be on that "certain TV show" that everyone loves to hate.

Finally Breathtaking: There is not many albums where you actually are a part of the music. It's hard to explain but when the vocals are yelled out thoughout Rituals Of Life you actually feel the singers voice in your body. It's quite amazing.

After all of the good things I've said about Stretch Arm Strong you may ask why only an 8 out of 10? Well like I said I'm not a huge fan of hardcore at all, but this cd honestly refreshed me. I never thought I would here a hardcore album that is so intense and angry on the surface, but so possitive in the lyrics that you can actually understand even though the singer is belting them out at the top of his lungs. This band has a bright future and if you don't believe me pick up their newest release, "A Revolution Transmission."