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Stretch Arm Strong

Rituals Of Life (1999)
Ferret Records

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Contributed by: SideLinedForLife
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on March 28th 2002

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."

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Anonymous (August 4, 2002)

WOW! this cd is magnificient!!! This is by far stretch arm strongs best release yet. Each and every song has caught my attention and i have totaly fell head over heals for this album!! I believe that along with too bad your beautiful from from autumn to ashes, this is the best hardcore cd ever!

Kurt_F (March 30, 2002)

I LOVE this band. If you want a song recommendation, download "For Now". It's good to see this cd get a review considering all the buzz right now is about "A Revolution Transmission"

Anonymous (March 30, 2002)

Good review and good band. they deserve all the attension they get.

Anonymous (March 28, 2002)

"Welp, see you later"

Anonymous (March 28, 2002)

When were talking about elephants there are many kinds that comes to mind. Your mom is not too far away from reaching a cynical display overproduced by worldly events natralizing the space between four moving objects above the spectrum. The spectrum above the cynical display over does this system sometimes causing natural motion overcoming beliefs upon many. These areas tend to overlap one another by having enough transmittive speed to pass and glide motionless upon blankets of liquid. When the liquid melts it cause various effects such as speedy parts of display. This is exacatly why this cd deserves some attention. It is very good.

Anonymous (March 28, 2002)

if two heads are better than one then why arn't 4 balls better than 2. I ponder sometimes what makes me tick, its the grens blues yellows and reds that make me an asshole prick.

Bryne (March 28, 2002)

Nice review. I saw these guys live and they were awesome. At one point in the show a fight broke out and Chris had to stop the show and remind everyone what Stretch Arm Strong was about. That was, they didn't endorse violence, and that they weren't a soundtrack for violence. I thought that was really a big thing to do. These guys obviously have very strong beliefs and aren't afraid to stick up for what they believe in. Good for them.