Strangers "Demo"

The Review
Gold Coast newcomers Strangers show promise, but also room for improvement on their demo release. Black Flag’s influence on the band is undeniable, but fellow hardcore punk legends Minor Threat are more prominent to Strangers sound due to their mixture of shorter track times, and thrash metal-riffery grinded against rough vocals. However Strangers also experiment and tread into power violence territory, with the endings for “Demons” and “No Man is an Island” shifting gear into an onslaught of screams, sounding reminiscent of power violence band Charles Bronson. Strangers are not without their flaws however, sometimes the thrash metal inspired guitars sound subdued; the solo at the end of “Depersonalised” sounds like it pleaded to go longer, but was denied. “Third Eye” begins with little instrumentation accompanied by screamed vocals, and although the vocalist is consistent throughout most of the songs, it’s hard to bear- especially due to the majority of the demo being musically driven. Strangers strongest songs are when the bass hits full groove, such as in Sycophant and Depersonalised, and the band choose to incorporate other genres such as power violence, which will surely create mosh pit mayhem.

Stand-outs
Depersonalised
No Man is an Island


Overall Rating
6/10