Few others can wallow in worm-infested dirt, offer somber hymns to the moon-drenched night, and chainsaw trees with such teeth, and also implement breakbeats.
With guitar string-buzzy vocals like a tongue out-of-focus, McCarron edges hair metal with falsetto, restrained ballast yells, a ballad, and elemental guitars.
Stacks upon high influences from black to death to thrash to classic ’80s metal, emerging from the tunnel as one enigmatic tactical unit of metal might.
The intellectual content of their compositions lives up to its literary counterpart, never conforming to pop-punk standards and always trying something new.
Every song’s a fresh new trip, every second song an infection, every third a raging holler-out ecstatic anthem. I’m reminded of the underrated Handsome record.
Strife was one of the leaders in the ’90s hardcore scene. With their recent demise, it’s only reasonable to put out a collection of songs previously unreleased.