Strike Anywhere – Iron Front

Strike Anywhere‘s sociopolitical melodic hardcore has always been a brand of music that I’ve enjoyed. Their albums have been energetic, pointed and topped off with Thomas Barnett’s solid vocals screaming powerful lyrics. They’ve been a band that I would happily play back through on repeat and loved seeing live but their albums, for some reason or another, rarely pulled me back into them completely unless the band were planning on returning to Edmonton for a concert.

That is, of course, until Iron Front; their fourth album that simply screams to be played again and again and has rarely left my CD player in the last month.

It’s not that the band has really done anything different on Iron Front than they have on any of their previous releases, however the album just feels much more compelling than anything they’ve done before. They’ve increased the melodic portion of their melodic hardcore formula but not in a negative way. They haven’t polished up or become poppy but have created more memorable hooks and jammed packed the album with vocal sections that alternate between call and repeat portions and gang sing-along’s. It helps create a sense of inclusion that is only further cemented by their lyrical call to arms.

Iron Front doesn’t see Strike Anywhere scaling anything back. They’re still fast, they’re still pissed off and they’re still aggressive. You can listen to the lightning fast Spectacular to get your blood bubbling but instead of staying in the high speed tempo they seamlessly merge into Blackbirds Roar which gets your mind racing as well.

There isn’t a filler to be seen on the album and there isn’t a single song you’ll want to miss; whether it be the call for revolution in Failed State, the fist pumping anthem of I’m Your Opposite Number or the spectacular chorus in The Crossing – each song has its own merits. But it is when they work together that Iron Front really shines. Barnett’s vocals are spotless, the engineering sounds perfect and by the timeIron Front comes to an end you’re already anticipating the repeated listen.

This is melodic hardcore as it should be. This is sociopolitical punk as it should be. This is punk as it should be; and this is one of the best records of 2009.