Album reviews

Twenty Years Of Free at Last 

Free at Last By Stretch Arm Strong
Album Review/Retrospective By: Jake Jackson
 
On September 13th, 2005, South Carolina Hardcore legends Stretch Arm Strong released “Free At Last” originally on We Put Out Records and in 2025 to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of this pivotal release Iodine Recordings is releasing it on vinyl for the first time which I personally cannot wait to get my copies in along with the cool “Free At Last” merch. With that being said, I thought it’s only fitting to talk about one of my favorite hardcore punk albums of all time from one of my favorite hardcore punk bands of all time. Since becoming a big Stretch Arm Strong fan in the last several years, what drew me to the band was the lyrical content and the overall positive aspect of the band. I love many different styles of hardcore, but I really enjoy the positive, uplifting, and melodic style of hardcore that Stretch Arm Strong does so well, and in my opinion, they are one of the very best bands in that lane. In my opinion, the band has a perfect catalog, but I think the perfect records to introduce someone to Stretch Arm Strong are “Free At Last” and the 1999 classic “Rituals Of Life”. “Free At Last” is twelve tracks long, clocking in at thirty-eight minutes, and it kicks off with the perfect opener, “The Hardest Part,” followed by other standouts from the album titled  “Hearts On Fire” and “Faces”. Track five, “To The End,” is probably my favorite song on the record, closely followed by “Faces” and “Landslide”. The record also has a really cool acoustic closer titled “A Time For Peace” that I think is one of the most unique closers to an album ever. “Free At Last” also marked the last release for the band until the surprise release of the fantastic EP titled “The Revealing” in 2024 on Iodine Recordings, and if you are a long-time Stretch fan, I can’t recommend it enough. I can’t express the impact that this band still has in the hardcore scene and how important they still are in   2025 and getting to see them live for the first time at Furnace Fest last year was truly unbelievable and it is a set I will never forget as well as attending LDB Fest a tremendous hardcore fest in Louisville, Kentucky earlier this spring  I wore my A Revolution Transmission long sleeve and Stretch hat and several people stopped me to tell me they loved my shirt and hat haha. Lastly, I can’t recommend this record and band enough. If you love positive, anthemic, and uplifting hardcore, then you will love Stretch Arm Strong.
 
Favorite Tracks: “Faces”, “To The End”, and “Landslide”.
 
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Let God Sort Em Out By Clipse Album Review 

Let God Sort Em Out By Clipse 
Album Review 
By: Jake Jackson 

It has been almost sixteen years between the release of Til The Casket Drops and Let God Sort Em Out, but let me tell you it was well worth the wait. Let God Sort Em Out is the fourth studio album from  Virginia-based hip-hop duo Clipse, consisting of brothers Pusha T and Malice. The duo went on a hiatus in 2010 after Malice decided to leave the group. In the years leading up to the release of Let God Sort Em Out. The duo found themselves reuniting with long-time collaborator, the legendary Pharrell Williams, who is one-half of the iconic production duo The Neptunes. Williams produced all tracks on the LP as well, serving as executive producer. Let God Sort Em Out was uniquely recorded at the Louis Vuitton Headquarters in Paris, France. It was released independently with distribution from Roc Nation, with two singles being released: “Ace Trumpets” and “So Be It”. The LP’s run time is 13 tracks clocking in at 40 minutes and 47 seconds and it kicks off with my personal favorite track “The Birds Don’t Sing” which is lyrically referring to the passing of Pusha’s and Malice’s parents which features John Legend, Voices Of Fire, Pharrell Williams, and the one and only Stevie Wonder. “Chains & Whips” is the second track on the LP featuring Kendrick Lamar, who possibly has delivered one of my favorite lyrics of 2025 with  “Let’s be clear, hip-hop died again, half of my profits may go to Rakim”. Track three, “P.O.V.,” with a guest feature from Tyler, The Creator, is also another standout track on the record. This record also has incredible features from Pharrell, Lenny Kravitz, who plays guitar on “Chains & Whips”, The-Dream, Stove God Cooks, Ab-Liva, DJ Clue, and last but not least, the almighty Nas. Not only is this record having the best rollout of 2025 with all of the outstanding in depth interviews leading up to the release it is without a doubt in my opinion the best Hip-Hop record of 2025 and spoiler alert Let God Sort Em Out will be on my end of year list and it’s great to see Pusha and Malice back together with Pharrell creating lyric driven Hip-Hop that is self-released in 2025 that is topping the charts with 118,000 units being sold on the first week debuting at #4 on the Billboard Top 200, #1 on the US independent charts, and #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart as well charting very high internationally. Lastly, you can catch Clipse on tour in the United States starting on August 3rd in Boston with the tour concluding in Detroit on September 10th, and if you are close to or live in the St. Louis area they will be in town Monday August 18th, 2025 at the Factory In Chesterfield and you will not want to miss it. 

 

Gridiron's "Poetry From Pain" Album Review 

Poetry From Pain By Gridiron 
Album Review 
By: Jake Jackson 


“You still on the bench and we still the benchmark” is one of the many quotable lyrics from the brand new LP from the Hardcore outfit Gridiron, which features members of Never Ending Game, Simulakra, and Scarab. Released on Blue Grape Music on May 30, 2025, Poetry From Pain is the follow-up to 2022’s “No Good At Goodbyes,” which was released on Triple B Records. “Poetry From Pain” consists of 12 tracks with a total run time of 32 minutes with four singles being released in advance such as “Talk Real”, “Mascot”, “Still Playin’ For Keeps (Big Umbrella Remix)”  featuring Daniel Son, Jay Royale, and Pro Dillinger, and lastly “26/9” with “Talk Real” and “Mascot” receiving music videos which if you haven’t checked those out I can’t recommend enough. This record is a personal highlight for me so far in 2025, and it will without a doubt be on my end-of-year list. I simply can’t recommend it enough. I believe Gridiron offers something musically for everyone, especially if you love a hybrid of Hardcore, Rap, and Metal. Not to mention the eclectic features such as Daniel Son, Jay Royale, and Pro Dillinger on “Still Playin’ For Keeps (Big Umbrella Remix)”, nothing, nowhere. On the title track “Poetry From Pain”, Mike “Truck” Ryan of Missing Link on “Roses”, and Big Body Bes on “Heavy Metal Money (Seen It All Before)”. Lastly, you can catch Gridiron on the Summer Slaughter tour along with Hatebreed, as well as several headlining shows, and Furnace Fest in Birmingham, Alabama, on October 5th. 

Favorite Tracks: “Army Of None”, “Copycat League”, and “Paydirt”.  

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Album cover 

Artwork and Layout by Denis Haliovic