After an eleven year absence since their last recording effort, hardcore legends Strife have returned with ‘Witness A Rebirth’; 12 hard hitting hardcore anthems which ooze power and aggression and consistency that many bands should be jealous of.
Eleven years is a hell of a long time for a band to release a new album and it is intriguing for any fan to see how their beloved band have progressed. For others it may well be your first encounter with Strife (it certainly is for me). What we have been presented with is an album that is familiar to the old and the new. I listened to previous releases and Strife have a seemingly formulaic way of writing.
You take hard hitting moshy riffs, throw in gang chants, frantic strong drumming and aggressive roared vocals and vuala; you have yourself a Strife song. For some bands this is a bad thing because it sounds boring, lacks any creativity and you know what to expect, but with Strife they have a perfect combination. What makes the Strife formula work is down to that high level of consistency; heavy riffs are churned out like there’s no tomorrow and no song is weaker than the other. Its flow is perfect and I think ‘Witness A Rebirth’ could very well be the best hardcore album of 2012.
Featuring guest appearances from the likes of Scott Vogel of Terror, Marc Rizzo of Soulfly and Billy Graziadei of Biohazard the album is a masterpiece of hardcore, sure it sounds similar to their previous efforts but it is such a strong album.
What is apparent on this release is how solid it is musically and this is down to the fact that the drums on the record are provided by Igor Cavalera of Soulfly. They not only provide the perfect accompaniment to Andrew Kilne’s riffs but also give each song that solid backbone and drive, helping with the albums fluency.
Opening track ‘Torn Apart’ opens the album with a beastly riff that will ignite a pit in seconds and sets the tone for the rest of the album; a tone of heavy hitting mosh parts, gang vocals galore and a whole load of PMA inspired lyrics.
‘Show No Mercy’ ’s underlying riffs are just so heavy, mixing between the heavy two step beat to a thrash inspired ending with an easy sing a long ending of “show no mercy”.
Lyrical content is pretty simple which some could see fit to be criticised but it’s hardcore, it is blunt and straight to the point and Strife do it perfectly. Tracks like ‘Never Look Back’ with its intro of “Never look back, always look forward" demonstrate the simplicity of the lyrics, but it’s the delivery which really makes them.
Strife were one of the first and their legacy of heavy mosh-ladden hardcore has seeped into the present day. Now they have returned with an album showing the scene how it is done, it is a master class in heavy hardcore. Although some people have said that it lacks any new direction, and that it has the same sound all the way through, need to realise that this is hardcore and the reason this album is so good is its consistency; the songs blend well together and it is a reminder of what hardcore should be about.
4/5
‘Witness a Rebirth’ by Strife is available now on Holy Roar Records.
Strife links: Facebook
Words by Robert Maddison (@bertmaddison)
