It’s Been… Strung Out – ‘Transmission Alpha Delta’ LP Review

Fat Wreck Chords; a label responsible for some of the most influential Skate Punk bands of our generation, and whose original roster includes legends such as Lagwagon, No Use For A Name and Face To Face, among many, many others.

One name that immediately jumps to my mind though, is Californian-based band, Strung Out.

With a career spanning more than 20 years, the band have honed and developed their sound, starting as straight forward Punk-Rock, to incorporating such undertones as Heavy Metal and Prog into their repertoire.

The latest full length LP, Transmission Alpha Delta, is the product of everything that came before. It’s a throwback to Strung Out’s signature sound, consisting of riff-heavy, melodic vocals and deep lyrical content, which not only make you question the world around you, but your own human condition.

Transmission Alpha Delta is the first release since 2010’s Agents of the Underground, meaning this release has been long awaited by fans of the genre and the label (I guess you could say Strung Out have lived up to their name…).

Why all the anticipation? Well, fans of these genres know that Strung Out have always acted as the seamless middle ground between Punk and Metal, being one of the very few bands to pull it off successfully.

Opening the album with an excerpt from the famous The Great Dictator speech, courtesy of Charlie Chaplin, it wastes no time, with only a short build up before the adrenalin kicks in.

Within the first ten seconds, the high standard has been set for the rest of this album, paying homage to their previous, “No bullshit, just Rock”, album intros.

Keeping this tone for the first few tracks we then hear the calculated beginning to ‘Black Maps’, reminiscent of the band’s cross-over EP, The Element of Sonic Defiance, which, in one foul swoop, took them from Skate Punkers, to pioneers of the genre.

Here’s a video for the single ‘Modern Drugs’:

A little later on we see the 90s resurface. With tracks such as ‘Nowheresville’ and ‘No Apoligies’, I’m taken back to their 1998 album, Twisted By Design, and the overall sound of southern-Californian Punk which thrived in the decade.

It’s incredible to see Strung Out still keeping with the old-school sound, but with the added wisdom the years have given them.

There’s a good reason this album took five years to create. The devotion and artistry that is evident within this release simply could not be rushed. This album is a must own for Skate-Punkers and Melodic Hardcore fans alike.

Shredding solo’s with a Pop-Punk sensibility? To this day I wonder why I never heard them on a Tony Hawk game!

The album is available from Amazon and iTunes, and from the Fat Wreck Chords Official Website. And to keep up with the band and check out tour dates, check out their Facebook page.

#StayFresh

Editor’s note: This was Jay’s debut article for Musically Fresh. Walked it. And some of you loyal MFers might recognise Jay from Swindon three-piece, Strength In Blunders, check them out HERE.