Strike First’s newest family member comes to us from Hendersonville, TN. As Hell Retreats have been propelling themselves forward since forming in 2005 by setting motivational goals, and step by step they are realizing the benefits of their hard work. They have self released five-song demos each year for the past 4 years, and 2010 will be the year they see the release of their first full length album. The new project promises to be a polished culmination of their past work, showcasing their death metal roots laced with thrash and hardcore.
Look for their debut full length Revival to be released from Strike First Records on May 25, 2010.
Originally, from Albuquerque, NM but now I live in the Minneapolis area. I love Metal and Hardcore but I can tolerate pretty much anything. Albums I couldn't live without: Any Living Sacrifice album with Bruce on vocals, INXS - Kick, and AC/DC - Back in Black 
| Justin (Emergenscenery), 6m ago 
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Matt Baird (Spoken)
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The O.C. Supertones
A Past Unknown
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Memphis May Fire
Heath McNease
Belle Epoque
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I like their song they got up. I love most if not all the bands Strike First/Facedown signs. They have a knack for getting quality bands.
They don’t sound too bad. I like the guitars but I’d have to hear more to see if I like them enough.
They put on a sweet live show, rest assured. The cd as a whole is good, as well; especially for a first album.
David what album are you talking about?
I was hoping for the gun show, but good sign none the less
Yeah the gun show would have been nice too
I hear the other bands gonna be stand your ground
They’re touring now with thegunshow, so I bet strike first might be looking at them as well.
TGS told me they wanted strikefirst last summer, that would be awesome.
As Hell Retreats is cool too though… i like their sea of headbanging video
i love this band.. Im stoked they got signed by strike first/facedown.
Though I find multiple issues with the lyrics to the song, the music overall is enjoyable.
I, uh, quite liked the lyrics…
Best part of the band in my opinion…
Yeah not a big fan of the lyrics. As a former military man I kind of take offense to them. But the music is enjoyable
No offense meant to you of course, Steve. You’re my dude.
None taken Sam, everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I really like the music of this band
Churrrrr!
you know who has good lyrics? ADVENT
Absolutely. They really do.
And Take It Back! can be added into that category as well.
Declaration//AD? Maybe…
Josh, my main problem is that, while I don’t think the invasion of Iraq met the threshold of justified war (in other words, we cannot prove that our soldiers’ deaths and their innocents’ deaths that would not have happened otherwise truly prevented a larger number of deaths; we can’t definitively say either way, we can merely question the morality of invading), he seems to be pronouncing that we kill (without going into specifics) as a nation and that we don’t give as American Christians which is very false.
Lots of Christians, even the lukewarm purpose-driven and ordinary radical kind that I make fun of, give lots of money and time. It’s something we all need to pray and seek God’s will on but this song does nothing but judge and generalize.
He also seems to go back and forth from referring to America to referring to Christians in America. If you’ve read any of my other posts, you would know that many churches have been exposed as apostate and non-Bible-believing. Canadian band The Undecided made a song that was far better at pointing the finger at Christians living in luxury (“we don’t want your American Jesus, system of capital gain”). Only God knows what nations are going to Hell (“Oh Jerusalem! Oh Siloam!”) and, even still, there are sometimes going to be exceptions in those nations.
Plus, let’s say you are universalist President Bush and let’s say you did have doubts about the intelligence. I am pretty sure even he can gain eternal life based on what Christ did on the cross, if he would repent and believe.
It’s really too bad because there is a certain attitude I really like in the riffs, really upbeat, but I will not be buying this.
hey Chris, have you listened to “Thousand Yard Stare” by Craig’s Brother? It’s their new song. What do you think of the lyrics to that song?
I’ve read the lyrics, I haven’t heard it.
I will listen to some bands that sing about having a good time and having sex and it doesn’t bother me but I get tired of people who don’t understand politics, writing about politics. I don’t like Christian bands that only sing about how judgmental Christians are and overly traditional churches are (you know, like, the way Jesus and Paul said churches should be?) and I don’t like whiny lyrics about guys/girls. I also don’t like overly pessimistic lyrics.
“Thousand Yard Stare”‘s lyrics are about specific soldiers, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder so I don’t find them too volatile, except for: “Till we can
I really liked the lyrics too.
i read the lyrics, and it really doesn’t call out anything about the Iraq war or anything like that. He basically writes about how American Christianity has become a contradiction and how they aren’t taking care of the poor, blah blah. the only point where i think the military or whatever comes into the song is when he writes “America, if we can find ways to kill people, We can find ways to help. Quit with the over-spending on violence.”
i can see where the first part might seem like it’s a reference to the war, but it doesn’t have to be. it just depends on how you look at it. and the second part merely talks about the immense amount of money spent on military in this country. It’s a lot of money, and i tend to agree with that part of the song. MLK once said “A nation spending more money on military defense than social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
OK, but isn’t it at bare minimum poor lyric writing when you are painting one diverse group of people with a broad stroke, then lumping in a new target as if they are one and the same?
devin spenny is my hero
No, Chris. I think that if the lyricist here himself sees a problem with American Christianity (or if some other lyricist has a problem with anything, really) then he should write about it. the point of writing is not to have everyone agree with you or like what you’re writing about, but to get your ideas and points across. people forget that hardcore and even metal started out as just a bunch of pissed off kids who took out their aggression towards the world through music. not every band in the “Christian” realm is going to write songs that every person that calls themselves Christian will agree with, and because people think differently, you have to accept that and not bash them.
Charles: <3
How’s that for a “Contradiction”? You say that he should, as a Christian, judge American Christianity as a whole if he has a problem with it BUT I should not bash him and I have to accept him. So Christians can judge other Christians as long as they are assuming that you can actually criticize the opinion or action of an entity that you yourself admit features a variety of opinions?
I actually probably agree with his assessment, but just like with Derek Webb, the questions come up: “is that too broad of a target?” and “will observers be apprehensive about attending a church because of this?”. I think saying Christian America, not some segment, is anything is just as bad as when a (“)Christian(“) says all kids who date and not court are lusting or that no homosexuals are born gay. Judgmentalism comes from both ends of the political spectre.
If you want good, scathing reviews of segments of American Christianity, check out Seventh Star’s “The Seventh Star”, “Brood of Vipers”, “Be Wary”, “My 96th Thesis” and “World War III”. They contextually criticize by giving the criteria for the churches they are talking about, including the Laodicean Church prophesied in the Bible. To fight against American Christianity, to me, is more pointless than announcing a War on Terror. At least the characteristics of a terrorist were spelled out in the bills and were true for every terrorist. In the Undecided song I mentioned, it is a specific attack on Christians who don’t give, rather than on American Christianity as a whole.
In “Contradiction”, the American Christianity talked about doesn’t leave room for some of the most prominent American churches, those of John Piper, Mark Driscoll, and Charles Stanley. Disagree with their doctrine or teaching (and I do, at present times with Stanley and in the past with Driscoll) but these churches give thousands and thousands and send out many to the mission field.
I believe all people who support the attack on Iraq are morally wrong but I don’t assume they don’t have intelligent reasons for why they think they are right and I know Christians are not supposed to judge non-Christians. The fact is, if you are going to include “overspending on killing” in this argument, there is much more to consider. Is he now attacking Christian America rather than American Christianity? I promise you America, as cozy as it is for us away from persecution, we are not a Christian nation. Our last two presidents have had a lot of executive power to help the poor and, in terms of philanthropy, have continued to preserve our country’s legacy of helping third world countries and sending relief and food to countries that need it. Sure, by invading Iraq, we did not do the poor who died a great deed, but it doesn’t completely obliterate our past and present compassion. All that said, our last two presidents are not Christians. This is not a theocracy. There are a lot of faiths across this country. You can take the Calvinist argument that “My God, we are not under you” is very ignorant of the verses that suggest that, just like the weather, that all powers and dominion are placed there under God’s provision.
the above statement is amazing.
@Chris
“How
@Chris
Stop being the typical American Christian bitch and try to open your eyes on what this guy is saying. The song was obviously written about guys like you. Ive seen the guys live before, and what they stand for is completely different than what youre getting at. They also put on a kick ass performance and I will definitely buy this when it comes out!
@Chris
And in case my previous post doesnt go through. To sum it up, you are the typical Christian this guy writes about. I’ve seen these guys live, and what they stand for is completely opposite of what you’re getting at. They put on a great performance, and I will definitely buy this cd!