REVIEW: 'The Hammer Falls' by Stranded

So we’ve had little over a month to get our teeth into the new Stranded release, The Hammer Falls, and like a fine wine we’ve been letting it sit before making a judgement on this record. We’re going to a take a look at the EP track by track, and then give you my final verdict on this record.

Stranded have consistently innovated on each of their releases to keep their sound fresh, new and exciting. This record is no exception and kicks off with “Stranded”, a song which is laden with Suburban Scum and King Nine style influences alongside menacing riffing from guitarists Jess and George. Dan Wilson’s throaty vocal style cuts through perfectly on this record, helping carry the violent and tense sound on this track. This song is eerily reminiscent of Stranded’s early work from 2016 such as Out Of Luck, Step Up and The Key. The song harkens back to their old stylistic take on writing music, which I think serves as a great reminder as to how far they’ve evolved their sound.

“Soul 2 Take” then stomps its way onto the musical scape, with it’s intro paying homage to late 90’s NYHC bands and other bands who utilised stompy groove like rhythms in their music to get legions of angsty fans moshing in unison. The track itself contains more the original sound Stranded honed on their 2016 demo, but with much more of their more recent topes, such as sung phrases from singer Dan Wilson and musical passages with headroom to break away from the constant driving riffs usually found in the majority of hardcore tracks. Around the 1:10 mark we are introduced to Terror Ave style riffing that has more recently been replicated by Chamber, another Midlands based hardcore band. “Soul 2 Take” is incredibly well composed by the members of Stranded and calls back to their earlier work whilst revitalising that sound.

“Seeking Life” brings more of the NYHC influence, which is becoming increasingly more prominent on this release. Now that is far from a complaint, as anyone who knows what my musical taste is like, will realise that this is my favourite stylistic approach to hardcore. This song contains more of the hard hitting riffing found all over this record, alongside a vocal part from guitarist Jess Webberley which brings a more visceral style of vocal to the soundscape. Jess’s vocal fits perfectly into this section, as she almost spits the words out in a visceral manner encapsulating the aggression and fury poured into these wonderfully crafted tracks. The song is not short musical innovation either, as around the 1:49 mark it becomes clear that Stranded have expanded their musical influences and taken some stylistic tropes from bands like The Beautiful Ones with their almost “shoe-gaze” like sound. This song really flexes Stranded’s creative muscles and brings a fresh sound to this record.

“Reject The Blame” then comes into the mix with a wall of feedback, and an intricate drum section before kicking into another aggressive driven riff laden with Dan Wilson’s commanding vocal passages. Drummer, Zak Jenkins, has a wonderful ability to serve the song perfectly creating hard and aggressive driven rhythms without adding unnecessary fills and flair, which in turn keeps the songs grounded and heavy. Stranded add a more metallic flair on this track around the 1:22 mark, which further shows off their musical ability as a band. This song also bring more time signature and tempo changes which easily makes this one of the grooviest tracks on the record, whilst also remaining extremely hard.

“The Pass” sits second from the end of this brilliantly crafted record, and it is by far my favourite track on this EP. It brings the usual driven riffing found all over this record, but has a new and refreshing take on hardcore hidden inside. We are introduced to a vocal harmony with Dan and Jess singing over a riff that is reminiscent of bands such as Linkin Park and other “softer” Nu-Metal bands of the era. I genuinely cannot recall another time when a Hardcore band had the creativity and vision to include something like this in one of their songs, which really shows how far stranded have evolved their sound. Stranded have shown that they are extremely talented song writers and musicians in this track, and proved that they are much more than just another UKHC band. This track isn’t 100% stylistically removed from the rest of the record though, it still has the usual Stranded musical tropes, and really proves that this record has a brilliant sense of cohesion between songs.

The record then wraps itself up with “R.T.O” which I believe stands for “Read The OConcrete Selective” (Got to plug where you can). This track easily has the most menacing introduction on the record, which is further made to fund evil by the crafting of the song. This song was written with mosh in mind, it is easily the heaviest and most violent sounding track on the record. The start of the songs has an unending vocal passage from vocalist Dan Wilson, which helps create a frantic feel to this track. Some work which I haven’t spoken about on this record needs highlighting too as it usually too easily ignored, bassist Joe Galkowski has absolutely nailed his tone for this record, every single time he drops into sections his bass work fills out each track and makes it sound absolutely huge. This is possibly the perfect ending to an EP of this calibre, and Stranded can look at this release and be proud of what they have created.

To close. The Hammer Falls, and it falls hard. This EP is a brilliantly crafted collection of new and innovative songs and does something that Stranded have always done, ever since their 2016 Demo, and that is push the boundaries of what can be written as a hardcore band. This record is vastly differently stylistically to “NOWHERE 2 TURN” and their 2017 Promo releases, as it calls back to their earliest work, but revitalises it and gives it a more evolved facelift. I genuinely believe that this is where Stranded have found their sound, and I would like to see more of this on their next release.

There is only one criticism I have for this release, and it took me a while to think about it. This release just isn’t long enough for me, I wanted more as I believe this is one the best written EP’s in a long time. To Dan, George, Jess, Joe and Zak you have crafted one of the most refreshing and interesting releases I’ve heard this year, cheers for the riffs!

By Jack Beale-Burchell